Murder Under the Tree Read Online Free PDF Page B

come to the point. We don't think Les' death was accidental.”
    Anne and Martin nodded in agreement.
    Sarah handed me the coffee. “So you've said. What makes you think that?”
    “Gut feeling,” Martin said, matter of factly.
    “So who would want to kill him? And what about evidence?”
    “That's where you come in,” Anne said in a low voice. “We need your help.” A few moments later, she added, “Of course, I will extend my expertise in the area.”
    I looked at each of them bewildered. I was not really in the mood to get involved in another mystery. I took a sip of the coffee and put it down on the end table next to my chair.
    “Sarah told us that you solved a murder of a professor a couple of months back, when the police, the coroner, everyone said it was an accident. You came up with the evidence to prove that it wasn't,” Anne said. “Same situation here.”
    I ate a forkful of the pastry while wondering if Anne's imagination, being a mystery writer was running away with her. I put my fork down. “Who would want to murder Les?”
    “I told you on the phone not everyone liked him.”
    “Nancy, the director, for one, didn't like him,” Martin said.
    I found that easy to believe, thinking back to my meeting with the sullen woman.
    “The way she ordered him around. He even used to complain to us about how condescending she was,” Anne said. “Might be why he was taking a new job.”
    They seemed to be pulling at straws. “Nancy has the right to ask an employee to do things.”
    “But there are nice ways of asking,” Sarah said, her voice rising in pitch.
    “How did peanuts get into the food?” I said. “Everyone who provided the food said they didn't use peanut products.”
    Anne put her fork down on her plate. “So you have already begun your own investigation?”
    “Nancy and Marissa both called this to my attention after Les died.”
    “We've been asking around and know of at least four residents with peanut allergies who were at the tea,” Anne said. 
    “None of whom had any allergic reactions,” Martin added.
    “I admit, that is peculiar.” As soon as I said that, I knew I shouldn't have.
    Martin, Anne and Sarah looked back and forth among each other and smiled.
    “That's what we think,” Anne said.
    “So you'll help us?” Martin asked, smiling widely.
    Sarah gave a helpless smile. “We'd appreciate it.”
    Anne's dentures slipped when she smiled.
    Not now. Not right before the Christmas rush. “They could have all eaten different things,” I said. “Les was eating so much and so fast, he probably ate at least some of everything.” Once the food was analyzed, that would narrow it down, to where it was from, the patisserie or the retirement home kitchen.
    “Martin, you mentioned the day of the tea in the lobby that Les was going to be leaving for a new job. Why would Nancy murder him? It doesn't make sense. He was going to be gone soon enough.”
    “Does seem like an erratic way to murder someone,” Sarah said.
    “It would be the perfect crime,” Anne said with enthusiasm. “I couldn't have written it any better myself!”
    Martin nodded. Sarah bit her lip and gave a small nod, looking at me.
    I sighed. “People don't kill someone just because they decide they don't like them. There has to be a real motive if it was murder. If he was murdered, we should be looking for someone who would have to have a real grudge against him.”
    I finished my cup of coffee and put it down on the table.
    “There are lots of questions...” I reiterated.
    Sarah continued my thought, “And we need you to help us answer them. What do you say, Kay?”
    “Are you in?” Martin asked, his eyes wide open.
    I stopped and thought for a minute without saying anything. The three of them reminded me of myself, Deirdre, and Elizabeth when we knew we had to investigate the ginseng murder. We couldn't let them get away with murder then, and it wouldn't be right to allow the villains to get away with