A Sprig of Blossomed Thorn (5 page)

“W
hat are you doing here?” I exclaimed.

My heart had jumped on seeing Tony Aragón, for two nearly opposite reasons. The first was a natural dismay on having a police detective in the tearoom, particularly since he had been in charge of investigating the murder that had happened here on opening day. The second reason was that he was very attractive, which I knew was dangerous for me.

He shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. “Unofficial visit. I heard the dispatch call and thought I'd drop by to see if you needed any help.”

“Oh. Well, that's very kind of you. The paramedics are there.” I glanced uncertainly toward the parlor.

“Mind if I go in?”

I gave a helpless shrug, and started to lead him into the parlor. Kris came out of Lily and closed the pocket doors behind her, then stopped short on seeing Tony.

“Oh!”

“You remember Kris, my office manager?” I said.

Tony nodded. “Yeah. Hi.”

A slight flush came into Kris's cheeks, and she glanced down. “Hello. Please excuse me.”

She stepped past us, going out into the hall. Tony looked at me and I gestured toward Lily. He pulled open the doors and went in, and I followed.

Lily was a mess, cases of medical equipment lying open on the floor and torn plastic packaging everywhere. The paramedics had moved Mrs. Garcia to the floor and apparently tried to revive her, but they were no longer working on her. One of them was putting away a piece of medical gear, and the other was talking on his portable radio.

Tony stepped over one of the cases and looked down at Mrs. Garcia. He glanced at the nearer paramedic, who shook his head.

I bit my lip. Tony squatted down to look at the body, then stood up and glanced around the room. His gaze came to rest on the tea tray.

“Be a good idea to bag up that stuff, just in case.”

I stepped toward him. “Surely it was natural causes,” I said in a lowered voice. “She was very frail.”

“Just in case,” Tony repeated, pulling a pair of latex gloves and some plastic evidence bags out of another pocket.

So much for an unofficial visit.

I was annoyed, but I knew I was also generally upset, and that I shouldn't be quick to take offense. Tony meant well, and he was right. If any questions arose about the tea or the food, having them preserved would make everything easier.

I watched him pick up the teacup and ease it into an evidence bag. He did the same with the small plate of half-eaten food and the silverware, and slid the saucer into a third bag, then stood frowning at the tea tray.

“Do you need to take the whole tray?” I asked.

“No, but I should take the food.”

“Shall I get you a take-home box?”

He must have noticed the edge in my voice, because he gave me a sharp glance. “Yeah. Thanks.”

I stepped through the pocket doors and nearly collided with the Bird Woman, who had emerged from Jonquil. She jerked her head toward Lily, causing the red feathers on her hat to bob.

“What's going on in there?” she asked loudly.

I slid the doors shut behind me. “I'm afraid one of our guests took ill,” I answered, keeping my voice almost to a whisper.

“Did she croak?”

Knowing it could only get worse, I ignored the question. “Please excuse me,” I said, and hurried out.

I went to the butler's pantry and found Kris frowning at a large teapot. “That's for Jonquil,” I said. “I hope it hasn't brewed too long!”

I pulled out the infuser and poured a little into a tasting cup to check. Not too strong, and it hadn't gone bitter or stewy. I set the pot on a silver tray and covered it with a cozy.

“Could you take it to them, Kris?”

“Sure.” She picked up the tray and started out, encountering Dee in the doorway.

“I can take that,” Dee said.

“No, you finish the trays for Jonquil and Hyacinth,” I told her. “I'll be right back.”

I grabbed a take-home box, and also a plastic container and lid in case Tony wanted to take the tea that was in Mrs. Garcia's teapot. I had no time to be upset at the moment, but I knew that later I'd need fifteen minutes of privacy in which to freak out and then consume mass quantities of chocolate.

I followed Kris back to the front parlor. A woman and two pre-teen girls, all in dresses and summer hats, were waiting in the hall.

“We'll be right with you,” I told them, then hurried into the parlor.

The Bird Woman was still standing outside Lily, eavesdropping on Tony and the paramedics. Regular customers are bread and butter to an establishment like mine, and they must be treated like royalty, regardless of whether they might be a trifle odd. I smiled and gestured toward the tray Kris was carrying.

“Here's your tea!”

The Bird Woman looked Kris up and down. “Wow, that's a hot dress! You should have all your girls wear that,” she said to me. “You'd get more men in the place.”

Kris and I traded a glance, then she stepped into Jonquil. The Bird Woman followed her, for which I gave silent thanks. I went into Lily and gave Tony the box and container.

“Thanks,” he said, taking out his cell phone. “I better call someone to collect this stuff. I can't take it on my bike.”

“I could have someone drive it to the lab, or wherever it needs to go,” I offered.

Tony shook his head. “No. Have to maintain a chain of custody once it's taken into evidence. Thanks, though.”

The paramedics had packed up their cases and now started out with them. Remembering the party waiting to be seated, I hurried after them. The mother looked rather alarmed at the sight of the paramedics trooping out.

“Thank you for waiting,” I said, shutting the door behind the men. “Please come into the gift shop while I look up your reservation.”

They were scheduled for one of the front parlor seating areas, but I decided to switch them to Marigold, in the back parlor behind the gift shop. It had a window overlooking the rosebushes on the south side of the house, and no view of the street. I made a note on the reservation list and saw them comfortably seated, then hurried back to the pantry.

“Iris is here, but I put them in Marigold,” I said to Dee.

“Oh. OK.” She peered at the schedule taped to the pantry's refrigerator.

“I'll take Hyacinth's tray. How's the shower going?”

“Fine. How's Rosa's grandmother?”

I couldn't speak, could only shake my head. The hysteria hovering in the back of my mind threatened to come forward, but I fought it down, then picked up Hyacinth's tea tray and carried it out.

The paramedics had returned with a stretcher. I waited for them to pass, then delivered the tea tray to Hyacinth and returned to the front parlor.

One of the paramedics looked at me and gestured to an urn of flowers on a pedestal. “We'll have to move this.”

I picked up the urn and stood aside while they set down the stretcher, moved the pedestal, then picked up the stretcher again and carried it into Lily, pushing the screen aside. I put the urn back on the pedestal and followed them, wondering if I should call Rosa down to say goodbye to her grandmother.

No. That's what funerals were for. But I would have to go up and give her the bad news.

“Dang!” said Bird Woman's loud voice behind me. “Hope it wasn't the cucumber sandwiches!”

 

 

6

I
turned and saw the Bird Woman peering into Lily. I couldn't get to her at the moment, which was probably fortunate. My way was blocked by the stretcher which now bore Mrs. Garcia's body, tactfully covered with a blanket. The paramedics eased it out of the parlor and I hurried past them to open the front door. I had half-expected more disruption than they'd actually caused, and was beginning to hope that my patrons would be able to enjoy their tea after all.

But what if it
was
the sandwiches?

No, it couldn't be. Our food was completely fresh and of the highest possible quality. I'd watched Julio making the sandwiches myself.

I'd also eaten some of the scraps.

Brushing aside doubt, I saw Kris returning with the tea tray for Jonquil and followed her. The Bird Woman and her friends were standing at the window, watching the paramedics take Mrs. Garcia away.

“Wouldja look at that!” said the Bird Woman to her friends. “Last time somebody croaked here I didn't get to see it!”

“Your food is here, ladies,” I said brightly.

“Just put it on the table, honey,” the Bird Woman told Kris. “We'll get to it in a minute.”

“Shall I explain the menu?” Kris asked, glancing doubtfully at me.

“Nah, I know what it is,” said the Bird Woman, standing on tiptoe to peer over one of the crosspieces of the window. “Already had it once this week.”

Kris and I withdrew, knowing when to accept defeat. I returned to Lily, where I found Tony picking up the bits of plastic wrapping the paramedics had left behind.

“You don't have to do that,” I said, reaching for them.

“Figured you'll probably be needing this space.” He glanced at his collection of evidence bags and containers. “Um, do you have a bag or a box I could put these in?”

“Of course.”

I took away the trash and returned with a wisteria-colored shopping bag from the gift shop. Tony gazed at it briefly, then shrugged and started loading his evidence into it.

“I'll get the china and silver back eventually, I hope,” I said.

“Yeah, you will. Probably sooner than later. Hey, don't worry. This is just a precaution.”

He glanced toward the window as a police squad pulled up outside. The ambulance was already gone. I hadn't noticed its departure.

Tony picked up the shopping bag, then looked at me. “You OK?”

I nodded. “Yes. Thank you for stopping by.”

“You know, anyplace where a lot of older people come this is going to happen. The casinos get one or two a month, seems like.”

I smiled. He'd meant it to be comforting, but I found the thought of coping with dead customers on a regular basis to be rather distressing.

He was still gazing at me, dark eyes intent. “Should I call you, later?”

My heart gave a little jump. I nodded. “Please do, especially if you hear any news.”

“OK.”

We went out to the hall, passing Kris who was showing a newly-arrived party to their seating. Tony paused by the front door, giving me another long look. Finally he smiled and squeezed my upper arm, then went out.

I stood in the open doorway, watching him stride down the path to meet the policeman at the squad car. My arm tingled slightly where he had touched it, and I absently rubbed it.

Why, I wondered, was I so strongly attracted to him? He wasn't at all the sort of person I ordinarily spent time with.

He liked motorcycles and rock music. I liked china and lace and Mozart. I spent my days creating a delightful place for people enjoy a quiet cup of tea, while he devoted his to resolving some of humanity's uglier problems. He did clean up quite nicely, though, when he cared to make the effort.

I watched him get on his bike and leave, followed by the squad car. A moment later a sedan parked at the curb and three ladies got out.

More customers. Time to get back to work. I closed the door and glanced into the front parlor, then into the gift shop where I found Kris looking over the reservations list.

“Kris, can you hold the fort a little longer? I need to go talk to Julio and Rosa.”

“Sure.” She gave me a somewhat doleful look. “Give Rosa a hug for me.”

I nodded. Bracing myself, I walked back to the kitchen.

Julio was taping a note to the door of the oven. The kitchen was clean; he'd shut down for the day. He looked up as I came in.

“The last batch of scones is in the butler's pantry.”

I nodded. “Julio, I have some bad news.”

He straightened, turned, and stared at me. “Abuela?”

I nodded.