Free The Scarlet Pepper by Dorothy St. James Page B

killed him until after the autopsy. But as I said, it looks like suicide.”
    “Then no poison in his tea or anything as grim as that?” I said as a wave of relief washed over me. Perhaps Parkerhadn’t been able to face losing his position as a White House correspondent.
    It wasn’t murder.
    Thank goodness
.
    “We did find a travel mug. There was a bit of stinky tea left in it,” Manny said, forgetting his earlier promise to keep quiet about the details. “How did you know that?”
    “Good guess?” I suddenly had a difficult time catching my breath. Francesca had mentioned that she planned to put poison in his tea. Well, not
Parker’s
tea specifically, but…
    Oh, hell, if I were to be honest about it, the poison in the tea had been my idea.
    I knew I needed to say something to Manny, but I didn’t want to get Francesca in trouble before I had all the facts.
    It still could be suicide.
    I needed to step back and think.
    “What was he doing drinking hot tea on a day like today?” Annie asked. “It’s hot enough to blister the paint off a roof.”
    “Don’t ask me.” Manny started to watch me intently. “Casey,” he said, his voice low and cautious, “is there anything you want to tell me?”
    I pressed my lips tightly together and shook my head. As much as I wanted to say something to him, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t get Francesca into trouble. Not until I gathered more information about what had happened.
    If what Manny said was true and Parker had killed himself, the rest was just coincidence.
    That had to be it.
    Manny began to return to the work waiting for him at the crime scene when Annie whirled toward me. “My God, Casey. How could you?” She pressed both hands to her mouth. “The tea! I should have remembered right away. Francesca told me all about it. You said you’d put something—oh, yes, an extract from the yew leaves—into his tea. And here he’s been found with tea and a pill bottle. The murder is set up exactly how you said it should be done.”
    “I didn’t—” I started to say.
    Detective Hernandez had stopped to listen.
    “I didn’t plan to kill anyone. I didn’t
kill
anyone,” I protested, but the seeds of doubt had already been planted.
    Detective Hernandez’s gaze hardened.
    Annie finally noticed him watching us. “I’m so sorry, Casey! I shouldn’t have said anything. It’s just that…” She waved her hands nervously in the air. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
    “What’s going on?” he demanded.
    “Nothing. Really. Nothing,” I said firmly.
    “Are you sure?”
    Swallowing hard, I nodded.
    A news van with
Media Today
’s distinctive logo emblazoned on its side careened around the corner and squealed to a stop in the middle of the road next to the park. Kelly Montague, dressed in a tan business suit and light blue blouse, vaulted out of the van followed by a cameraman.
    Manny swore a colorful oath. “How did she find out so quickly? If she’s here, I’m sure the other vultures can’t be far behind. I need to get over there and deal with her questions.” His authoritative gait carried him over to where the news van had parked and the cameraman was setting up. As he walked past one of the uniformed officers, I heard him say in a low voice, “Make sure the ME includes a search for yew extract in the tox screen.”
    “Yew, sir?” the younger officer asked.
    Manny glanced back in my direction. The muscles in his jaw tensed. “You heard me. Yew. As in the plant. Now don’t waste my time. I have work to do.”
    Alyssa rushed over to Annie and me, her keys dangling from her hands, her sundress swishing around her legs. “You wouldn’t believe what it took to park. I’m four blocks away. What’s going on? What did I miss?”

Chapter Six

    What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself.
    —ABRAHAM LINCOLN, THE 16TH PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES
    “ P LAIN and simple. A suicide,” Alyssa declared after hearing the details of Parker’s