Free Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 02 - Apple Pots and Funeral Plots by Peggy Dulle

she did the night before she was killed.”
    “Yes, but that was because she didn’t feel well.”
    I sat up straighter. “What? That’s the first I’ve heard that she was sick while she was here.”
    “She had an allergic reaction to something. She was sneezing, coughing, blowing her nose, and her eyes were even running. She was miserable.”
    “I have the same reaction to fresh flowers. They just make me sick.”
    “Well, I sent her over to Doc Gordon and he fixed her up. But the medicine made her drowsy, so she ordered in.”
    “That was nice of the doctor. Bill took me to see him and he gave me some medicine to help with my aches and pains from the accident. He’s a really nice man.”
    “Yes, he is. He’s been here longer than I have and we go to him for every ailment.”
    Thinking about the knife wounds, I asked, “So do you remember what Danielle ordered that night?”
    “As a matter of fact, I do. She said she wanted the thickest biggest steak that we had in this town. And that’s what I went out and got her. It was from Rogan’s Steak House. They have the best meat in this entire town.”
    “The food comes from the town. You don’t make it here?”
    “No. Whatever you order I go out and get it.” He pointed to my Caesar salad. “That’s from the Ida’s Café. She makes great sandwiches and salads.”
    “Well, I’d have to agree. This salad is wonderful.” I took another bite. “Did Danielle say why she came to Clainsworth?”
    “Not really. But she must have been a relative of Sally Hayes.”
    “Why?”
    “She asked a lot of questions about her and the fire. Nobody would be that interested in the death of a total stranger.”
    “Bill told me about the fire and how it burned for days.”
    “Oh yeah. It was spectacular. The flames shot out of the center of the house and then it smoldered for a week.”
    “Did they ever figure out what caused the fire?”
    “No. The house was very old and not well maintained. Especially since James, her husband, died. The fire chief figured it was probably an electrical fire. And one little spark set the entire house on fire.”
    “How’d her husband die?”
    “Mining accident.”
    “There’s still an active mine in this town?”
    “No, not for a decade or so. But he was an avid spelunker. Those are crazy people who like to explore caves. He was always exploring the mines. I don’t know what he was looking for but he never found anything except a few old mining tools.”
    “How was he killed?”
    “There was a cave-in at the mine and he was trapped. By the time we were able to dig him out, he was dead.”
    “There wasn’t enough oxygen in the cave for him to survive?”
    “No, it wasn’t that. The old mine’s full of rotting timbers and one of them fell and hit him on the head during the cave-in.”
    “How sad.”
    “Sally took it pretty hard.”
    “A couple of people told me that she was crazy and would call the police at all hours of the night and report prowlers.”
    “Yeah, I guess she did. But she didn’t seem crazy to me. Just old. And old doesn’t always mean crazy.”
    “I agree. Did Danielle have any visitors in her room?”
    Joe raised his eyebrows. “You mean like a gentleman caller?”
    “I don’t know. Did anyone come to see her?”
    “Not that I remember. She mostly went out during the day and then came in after dinner each night.” Joe stood up. “Well, I’ve got to go. It’s almost time for my sister’s favorite show and I always watch the front desk. She doesn’t like to be disturbed during her show.”
    I wondered if that’s why the lady at the front desk had been so short to me when I’d arrived. Had I interrupted one of her shows? I stood up and walked Joe to the door. “Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about Danielle.”
    “That’s okay. It’s hard to lose someone and not understand why.”
    “If you think of anything else, could you let me know?”
    “Sure, no problem.” He headed for