That was the man Reggie had mentioned. But how did Daisy know about him? Araminta hadn’t realized the depth of Reginald’s problem, but right now, she was more focused on his father’s murder. She pursed her lips and waited. “Sounds like someone with ties to organized crime.”
Daisy nodded. “And it would not have been good for Reginald if he failed to meet their demands. I—I knew Reggie was trying, but he was going about it the wrong way.”
“By stealing and selling priceless antiquities from the family’s cupboards.” Araminta nodded. “Yes, I knew about that.”
“Right,” Daisy said, clasping her hands in her lap. “But Archibald didn’t. The news would have devastated him.” She straightened again. “You see, I have a few… connections… from my life before I met Archie, so I made a few calls, and I met with Tony that night in the garden to give him the money so that he and his ‘collectors’ would leave Reggie alone. Of course, Reginald doesn’t know. I’ve not yet spoken to him about it. But Araminta, I’ve done what I must because he’s my stepson and I love him. I intend to make sure he gets help.”
She paused, her expression puzzled for a moment, then asked, “What did you mean about ‘I picked the flowers’? The police said Archie was poisoned.”
Araminta wanted to believe Daisy was telling the truth and that she hadn’t poisoned and killed her husband. In the back of her mind, a voice asked whether she wasn’t being honest, but there was something in her expression and her tone when she’d talked about saving Reginald from the men to whom he owed money that seemed very, very sincere. How could such caring be found in the heart of a murderer? And why would she go to the trouble of paying off Reggie’s debt if she simply wanted the family money?
“Convallatoxin, yes,” Araminta said then explained. “It’s a type of poison that can be found in lily of the valley.”
“The autopsy showed the presence of flowers in Archie’s system?” Daisy asked, still confounded.
“No, no. Not flowers specifically. In this case, the poison would have been in liquid form, water from stems soaked in a vase or something.”
“A vase? But I thought his food had been poisoned. Besides, there were only long-stemmed roses in the dining room that night, not lily of the valley.” After a moment of thought, she asked, “So how could the poison end up in the dining room?”
Araminta had wondered the same thing, and she’d come to the conclusion that Daisy had brought it down in a perfume vial in her purse, but now she wasn’t so sure. “I haven’t figured it out yet, Daisy, but when I do, you shall be the first to know.”
Back to square one, Araminta turned to leave, but Daisy quickly waved a hand to halt her. “Araminta, promise me you’ll say nothing of my meeting with Tony Romano or why I’ve done what I’ve done for Reggie to anyone. Not even close members of the family. Knowledge of his problem at this particular time would be bad. For both Reginald and the family.”
Latching on to details was a gift she often prided herself on, and today, it certainly wasn’t lacking. Araminta turned back and pinned Daisy with a stare. “At this time? Daisy, is something else going on? Is there more you haven’t told me?”
Pointing at the papers, folders, and books on the desk, Daisy put her fingers to her lips, motioning for Araminta to talk softly. Then she nodded and whispered, “I’ve found some discrepancies in the books for Moorecliff Motors. I’m not sure who, how, or why, but I’m absolutely certain of one thing: someone in our employ has been embezzling funds from the company. I would hate for fingers to be pointed at Reggie.”
Chapter Seventeen
“Well, here we go again, down another rabbit hole,” Arun complained to Sasha. After flopping down onto the thickly padded jewel-toned carpet in Archibald’s office, he rolled onto his back and sighed. “Now that Daisy has mentioned embezzlement, Araminta will be distracted from the task of looking for the vase. She needs that for evidence. Just figuring out who the killer is won’t carry much weight unless she has physical proof.”
Sasha glanced over at him from the corner, where she was busily inspecting a shadow. “Cut her some slack, Arun. It’s wise of her to give the matter some thought.”
“Yes, but can she not think on it after we take care of this dastardly murder business?” He rolled onto his side then sat up to groom, licking his paw and pushing it behind his velvety dark ear. “There’s a killer on the loose. We can’t just forget about that. The killer must be identified and arrested.”
“Can you not talk and groom at the same time? It’s hard to understand you with your mouth full of fur,” Sasha told him as she glared over her shoulder, her expression one of mild disapproval. “Besides, it’s just a monetary… um, momentary distraction, Arun. Give her a few minutes to digest what she’s learned. Araminta wants the matter of Mr. Archibald’s murder resolved as badly as you do. More, no doubt.”
Arun sat back on his haunches and yawned. “You’re always on her side, Sasha.”
“And you’re always on her back,” Sasha teased. She padded over to his side and playfully swatted at his ear. “Yours too. I think you’re getting lazy.”
He cut her a look. “And I think you’re getting—”
“Ah, ah, ah,” Sasha warned. “No name calling.”
“You started it,” he grumbled then got to his feet to go inspect the shadow in the corner for himself in case there was something she’d missed over there. One never knew with shadows, and it was often good practice to stare at them just to be sure. “What did you find over here, anyway?”
“Nothing. Just an average shadow, unfortunately.” Sasha glanced up at Araminta and Daisy to make sure they were both still occupied with the computer before making the jump onto the credenza behind the desk. Looking up, she swatted at the tightly closed cupboard door with a paw. “I still think there’s something in here, but this door latches so firmly.”
“Yeah, well, don’t count on Araminta to open it. She’s still busy mulling over the embezzlement story to recall what we’re supposed to be doing in here.”
Sasha’s purr sounded almost like laughter. “You’re so uptight this morning. Come, have a sniff.”
Arun meandered half-heartedly across the room again, his tail twitching this way and that. He sat in front of the credenza and stared balefully up at her. “Are you trying to distract them or what? You’re making so much fuss up there that one of them is bound to notice… sooner or later.”
He turned his head in hopes that Araminta would do just that, but she was still involved with whatever Daisy was showing her on the computer.
“Arun, I’m serious,” Sasha said. “Now, stop complaining because her attention is on something else for the moment and get your butt up here.”
He jumped, narrowly missing the fancy cobalt-rimmed vase with its portrait of Queen Louise. He crept carefully past the owl-face bookends. Those things gave him the creeps, reminding him of the time an owl descended out of a tree, talons forward, trying to make a grab for him. Luckily he was able to ward it off with his amazing fighting prowess. He plopped down on one of the ledgers that sat open on the credenza and watched Sasha stretch onto her hind legs and paw at the cupboard above it again. “Give it up, Sasha. It won’t open. I tried for ages the last time we were in here.”