Pretty Poison Read Online Free PDF

when they walked out of the cafeteria. Peggy pulled her cape around her and shivered in the breeze that rattled down the street.
    “Can I drop you somewhere, Dr. Lee?”
    “No, thanks. I don’t live far from here. And please call me Peggy.”
    Samson smiled. “All right. If you’ll call me Hal. I’ll be happy to keep you posted on my patient’s progress. Maybe there’s a logical explanation for the whole thing.”
    She held out her hand. “I’d appreciate that, Hal. If there’s anything else I can do or you have any other questions, I’ll be glad to help. I’ll send you that information about ginseng, if you like.”
    “That would be great, thanks. It’s been a pleasure meeting you.” He shook her hand heartily. “I’m sorry it had to be under these circumstances.”
    Peggy agreed. She walked back with him to the auditorium parking lot. Hal Samson was exactly the kind of man she should be interested in, if she was ever interested in a man again. He was a few years older than her. Intellectual. His clothes were a little messy, but she wasn’t exactly neat herself, especially when she was working.
    But where was that little spark when they parted company at his gray Volvo? There was no flutter when he waved to her from behind the window. She watched him drive away and sighed. She just wasn’t ready yet.
     
     
    PEGGY TOOK OFF HER GLASSES and rubbed her eyes. It was two A.M. She’d spent the last three hours searching through her files for any new information she might’ve missed about treating anemonin poisoning.
    Despite frequent updates from her colleagues in the study of poisonous plants, there was no new research on Anemone pulsatilla . The tiny flower was harmless enough and once used quite heavily for medicinal purposes. The oil caused skin irritation, and its primary component, anemonin, was still an active ingredient in other herbal preparations as a sedative.
    Trying to get the thoughts of death out of her mind, Peggy did what every gardener does when they can’t sleep: She took out her seed catalog. Scarlet runner beans and pink hibiscus were always soothing. She was thinking about planting some lilac bushes in her yard, even though they didn’t do as well in the warm, damp Southern climate.
    Despite the bright pictures, she couldn’t focus on the catalog. The day’s events weighed heavily on her mind, especially the dead man on the floor in her shop. There were so many unanswered questions.
    If Mark Warner were a little less of a celebrity around town, she wouldn’t have known him. He wasn’t there the few times she’d been at the Warners’ home. But there were so many newspaper articles about him; he was almost as familiar as the mayor.
    She suddenly remembered that a beautiful woman was at his side when he came to Brevard Court those warm fall days. She’d seen them together a few times in the shop. The pair didn’t act businesslike toward each other: heads bent close together, stroking each other’s arms. And the woman dressed a little expensively for a personal assistant.
    Of course, everyone had heard the gossip about the Warner family. Rumor had it that Julie and Mark both fooled around on the side. Maybe those rumors colored her thinking about the man.
    While Al’s idea that Mark got locked in the shop by accident was ludicrous, what if he was purposely hiding? Was it possible that he planned to meet the tall brunette there after the shop closed? She’d have to check with Keeley and Sam to see if they were there the night before. They sometimes dropped off plants and supplies at night. Maybe they saw or heard something.
    Peggy shook her head and flipped a page in the spring catalog without seeing it. That didn’t make any sense either. The Potting Shed was too small for her not to notice if someone was still there when she closed up. And a man in Warner’s position wouldn’t skulk around in a garden shop waiting to be locked in. He’d simply arrange to meet the woman at a