Bed & Breakfast 22 - Saks & Violins by Mary Daheim

Author:Mary Daheim [Daheim, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mary Daheim
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2010-03-22T04:00:00+00:00

“May I come in?” she asked.

“Of course,” Judith said. “You remember my cousin Serena?”

Elsa pursed her lips as she gazed at Renie. “I think so,”

she said.

196 Mary

Daheim

“Don’t worry about it,” Renie assured her. “I’m eminently forgettable.”

If Elsa thought Renie was being funny, she didn’t react.

“I owe you an apology,” she said as Judith led the way back into the living room. “I caused an awkward scene for you the other night.”

“That’s hardly your fault,” Judith said, indicating that Elsa should sit on the matching sofa. “You were ill. In fact,” she added quietly, “I heard you ingested some kind of poison.”

“Yes,” Elsa said, perching on the edge of the sofa cushion. She seemed very tense. “Isn’t that incredible? Apparently, it was the same type that was used to poison poor Dolph.”

“Do you recall eating or drinking anything that Dolph had?” Judith asked in an empathetic tone.

“I’m not sure,” Elsa replied, hands folded tightly on her knees. “Olive’s quiche, perhaps. It was delicious, and I do remember telling Fritz to try it, but he told me that quiche was for the faint of heart. Or some such thing.” She laughed in an unnatural manner. “These young men—they have to assert their masculinity.”

“But,” Judith put in, “you think Dolph may have eaten some?”

“Yes, it’s possible,” Elsa said slowly. “I saw Andrea preparing a plate for Dolph. I’m almost sure she had put a slice of quiche on it. But was that the source of the poison?”

Judith admitted she didn’t know. “Frankly, I’m not sure there was any quiche left.”

“There wasn’t.” Renie, who was sitting on the sofa’s arm, looked sheepish. “I . . . um . . . polished it off while everybody else was outside with the emergency vehicles.”

Elsa gasped and Judith stared.

“Coz!” Judith exclaimed. “But you weren’t poisoned.”

“I know.” Renie turned doleful. “Are you sorry I wasn’t?”

“Hardly.” Judith tried not to smile. She didn’t want Elsa to think she was taking the matter lightly. “But that eliminates the quiche. Or rather, you eliminated it.”

SAKS VIOLINS

197

Renie shrugged.

“There were other foods,” Elsa pointed out, “but I suppose salads and fruit and such wouldn’t be the type of thing people would poison.”

“No,” Judith said. “It’d have to be something where the rhubarb distillation would be undetectable. Did you drink brandy?”

“Cognac,” Elsa said, but held up a finger. “Wait. Fritz refilled my snifter at one point. He may have poured from the brandy rather than the cognac bottle. They’re so similar, and he’s not familiar with hard liquor. He’s strictly a beer drinker at his age. But I’ve thought and thought since the hospital lab results came back, and I cannot imagine why anyone would want to poison either of us. It must be an accident, and I was the lucky one. Or so Fritz tells me.” She smiled fondly. “My son can be very protective of his mother. We’re devoted to each other.”

“That’s lovely,” Judith said. “Can I make you a cup of tea?”

“No.” The response from Elsa was abrupt, and she unclasped her hands in a flustered gesture.

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