Free Midsummer Night's Mayhem by Lauren Quick Page B

like topsoil. She turned to a section marked with a black ribbon. “Technically I’m required by law to track all sales of poisonous plants as a matter of public safety record, so being that it’s a matter of record, I don’t see the harm in sharing the details with you.”
    Clover craned her neck to get a look at the list of names. She made an unfortunate conclusion. “If it’s a public record, then it’s also a foolish way to murder someone if there’s a record left behind, don’t you think?” That complicated matters.
    “When you put it that way, why murder someone in the first place? But I try not to think about the mind of murderers. I doubt they’re thinking clearly.”
    “No, probably not. So who was it?” Clover touched the rough edges of the book.
    Tabitha tapped the page with her finger. “You aren’t going to believe this. It was Oliver’s son, Austin. And he wasn’t the only wizard we sold belladonna to recently.” She cocked her eyebrow.
    Clover’s stomach lurched. “No way. I didn’t see that coming. Austin.” No wonder he was so unhinged. Not only had his father been poisoned, but he happened to purchase the same herb that killed him. That didn’t look good. But Austin was awfully calm for someone who murdered his father. What motive could he have? She’d have to look into their relationship more closely.
    “Who else?” Clover asked, bracing herself for more bad news.
    “Are you sure you want to get involved in all of this?” Tabitha asked. “Maybe you should leave this up to the sheriff.”
    “I don’t have a choice. Oliver Yearling was poisoned at my house, and out of a stupid mix-up, I’m currently a suspect.” Clover would love nothing more than to return home to her life of writing and puttering around her garden, but that was impossible now with the sheriff breathing down her neck, his warrant days away from being issued. She couldn’t risk waiting for Juniper to crack the case.
    “You, a suspect? But why?”
    “It’s a long story, but basically the murderer decided to use my party as subterfuge to poison Oliver. Whoever did this dragged me into it and now it’s personal. I’ve got to find out who had the means to poison him, how they did it at the party, and most importantly why.”
    “Well, I’ll tell the police you’ve never bought belladonna or any other poisonous plants from me, so hopefully that will help. We witches need to stick together.” She squinted down at the list. “You might as well know the other wizard I sold it to was Bradley Adams.”
    “What would Bradley want belladonna for?” Clover had known Bradley ever since he split from his wife a few years back, gave up his job in the city, and moved out to the Meadowlands to start his own brewing company. He worked hard and it paid off with a booming business. She had a hard time imagining why he would want poison. Her stomach seized when she remembered the empty bottle of ale next to Oliver’s body. It wouldn’t be too difficult to slip some belladonna into a bottle without anyone being the wiser. Unfortunately the handsome brewer had just become one of her suspects.
    “He said it was for muscle aches. I’m not a healer. I just prepare the tonics and herbal mixtures to use as remedies or sadly in this case as a possible weapon.” Her mouth turned down, her eyes drooping at the corners. “Bradley doesn’t come in all that often and usually it’s for a salve for his hands. I thought it was a little odd he needed the poison, but I try not to pry. I knew a dumb as dirt wizard who once tried to kill vermin that way, so who knows?”
    “Do you remember who the healer was who prescribed it?”
    “No, you’d have to ask him. But he seemed nervous about it. Not sure why. He’s usually so mellow. Living out here in the Meadowlands really agrees with him. I’ve never seen him angry or tense. He’s a nice guy as far as I know.”
    “That’s what I thought, but you never know.” Clover hated