The Poison Garden by A. J. Banner

Author:A. J. Banner [Banner, A. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542042888
Published: 2019-10-21T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Kieran had mentioned that Diane had moved to the island to help her dad recover from heart surgery. But I had no idea where he lived or whether or not she was still there.

I swung by the farmhouse—no car in the driveway, no obvious sign of life. I thought of running back home to pick up my laptop, but the library was open for a few hours on Sunday and had its own public computers. It was housed in an old brick-and-wood Victorian at the edge of town. Inside, the rooms smelled of sweat and mildly of mold from recent flood damage. A few locals milled about, browsing the aisles or ensconced at workstations.

Seated at one of the computers, I logged in and searched the internet for Diane Jasper’s address. I found several Diane Jaspers in many states, of many ages. When I narrowed the search to Washington State, I found Diane Jaspers in Everett and Cle Elum, but those Diane Jaspers were in their sixties. Kieran’s Diane Jasper had to be in her twenties. The addresses then jumped to California, Nevada, Minnesota, Maryland.

A man sat at the computer next to me. I hunched forward at the screen, glanced up toward the checkout desk. The librarian, a young woman I did not recognize, smiled in my direction. I smiled back and returned to the screen, my heart pounding. I revised my search, looking for any person with the surname Jasper on Chinook Island. I found Frederick Jasper, age sixty-three—he had to be her father—on Kingfisher Lane, about eight blocks away.

Up at the house, I parked at the curb. The yard was overgrown, falling into neglect, but it appeared that it had once been well tended—a rose garden in the front beds, an apple orchard on one side of the house. The modern, boxy two-story house was set back from the road, painted in a rich, dark shade of mahogany. A white Prius was parked in the driveway.

I walked to the front step, on which a welcome mat read, HOWDY, STRANGER! I knocked on the door, my heart in my throat, expecting Diane to answer.

The man who opened the door, wheezing, appeared to have risen from the dead. His skin was ashen, and he coughed as he squinted down at me through the screen. He was handsome beneath the pallor, his mop of black hair surprisingly thick, combed back. Like a vampire, I thought. His aquiline features echoed Diane’s.

“May I help you?” he said in a phlegmy voice. “If you’re selling something, I don’t want it. I don’t buy Girl Scout cookies, and I’ve already found the Lord.”

“I’m not a solicitor,” I said. “I’m looking for Diane Jasper.”

His gaze narrowed even more. “She’s not here, and she won’t be here for quite some time.”

“I really need to talk to her. She might have been—she might be having an affair with my husband. Please, it’s important.”

He opened the screen door, stepping back to let me enter. The interior of his house smelled of fruity air freshener.

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