“Is everything okay with Jimmy?” I asked. I hadn’t seen them both since the evening at theBlue Moon.
“He had a tumble in the bathroom, and it wasn’t the first one. Dad’s right. He needs to be in a place where there’s help at hand, and where he’s surrounded by his buddies. I should have seen that sooner.”
“A tumble?” Was there anything I could have done? No, I told myself. Cookies and teas to ease pain and stress were one thing. But I couldn’t stop old age.
“Nothing too serious. He has a few bruises and Nick insisted on him using a stool to sit in the shower from now on. I’m on my way toSerenity Springs. With any luck they have a room for him available today. If I give notice on my apartment and move into Dad’s house, the fees shouldn’t be a problem.”
“That’s good news.”
I made us both a coffee before I showed him the lab report. He studied it with growing unease.
“Where did you get this?”
“It might have to do with Tim’s death. Why, what does it mean?”
“Contamination. Serious contamination in the soil.”
“Soil?” I jumped up so hastily Sam had to save my coffee cup.
I rummaged in the box where I’d put the crumbs of earth that I’d saved at Bert’s barn. I’d put the sample into a small tin which I now presented to Sam. “Like this?”
“Maybe. Only a real examination can tell.”
“Can you do that? With your lab equipment?”
“I can give it a shot, or if I can’t, I’ll call in a favor from a colleague. Once we have the results, we can try to figure out where your sample came from and get a sample to match them.”
“I appreciate that.”
He swilled the rest of his beverage. “I assume you didn’t touch the sample with your bare hands or used anything that muddies up the results?”
“I wore my gloves.”
A warm glow spread over me. We must be coming to the end of the investigation. I couldn’t tell if that was due to Sam’s willingness to run some tests or because he’d triggered another revelation. All I knew was that I was sure I had all the pieces of the puzzle. They only needed to be fitted into their proper place.
Chapter 27
Ange’s arrival coincided with Sam’s departure. “Quick, tell all before my yoga ladies arrive,” she said, nudging me to the library.
“I have no definite answers from him yet, but he thinks the lab results point to contamination.” I helped her arrange folding chairs in the reading nook, for a session of chair yoga.
“Bad enough that someone could blackmail Tim over it?”
“We’ll see when Sam has done his tests. But he reminded me of something else. I didn’t ask Trey Stone if there were only Candice’s fingerprints on the letter opener or if there were loads.”
Ange stopped mid-motion. “Did he send you a picture of the weapon?”
“No. All he said is that it was stolen from a stall.”
“Have you tried that spell again, the one that takes you back?”
“Why should I – Oh. Because I had a tiny glimpse when I opened the chest.”
Ange put the chair in place, made me sit on it, and rubbed my back. “Unless it’ll give you nightmares, to relive that scene.”
I took a deep breath and focused. Even without the yarrow, my mind flashed back to the discovery and the silver handle sticking out of Tim’s body. Just as I tried to mentally zoom in, the picture dissolved and switched to a scene from the fair in Cannon Hill. Candice, holding a silver letter opener at the same stall where Ange had later bought the napkin ring.
“My goodness,” I said aloud as the scene disappeared.
