Poisoned Secrets

“Me, too. I took a look around your apartment. The intruder didn’t disturb anything that Aunt Edwina and I could find, but I want you to go through it when you feel better and let me know for sure. Did you see anything?”

“No. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I sensed something when I came into my bedroom and started to turn when I was hit from behind. I can’t even tell you if it was a man or a woman.”

David pulled out a pad with a stub for a pencil. “What did you sense?”

Maggie tried to remember what it was that alerted her to the fact something was different. A blank screen stretched before her. “I can’t remember.”

“Can you remember anything else?”

Maggie tried to replay the whole scene in her mind, but she always came up blank by the time she reached her bedroom. “No, everything seemed normal. My door was locked, and I let myself in. Nothing looked out of place.”

“Are you sure it was locked?”

“Yes, why do you ask?”

“I couldn’t find any signs of forced entry.” David jotted something down on his pad.

“So how did the intruder get into her apartment?” Kane asked before Maggie had a chance.

“I don’t know for sure. Could he have had a key? Maybe Henry gave one out to someone.” David made another note.

“That doesn’t sound like Henry, but I guess he could have,” Edwina said, her lips pinched together.

“We may never know for sure. Maggie, let me know if you do remember anything else.” Edwina’s nephew dug into his back pocket and withdrew a card. “This is my number. Call me with anything you can remember, even if you think it’s not important.”

“Do you think this break-in has anything to do with the murder that occurred in the apartment?” Maggie voiced the question that had plagued her since she had awakened, especially since it was possible the intruder used a key that he somehow got from Henry.

David stroked his chin. “Maybe. I’m not sure what, though.”

“Yeah, that’s what has me puzzled.” Maggie’s gaze sought Kane. “Where are Henry’s possessions? Who took them?”

“Edwina and I boxed them up, and they’re in the basement. Henry doesn’t have any relatives we can find.”

“So there wasn’t any reason for the murderer to break into my place.”

Kane frowned. “Not that I can see, but I’m going to beef up the security. I’ll be changing everyone’s locks. I’m checking into getting a security system for the building.”

“I’ll be talking to your tenants to see if someone saw anything.” David pocketed his pad and chewed pencil. “Aunt Edwina has already given me her statement. How about you, Kane? Did you hear or see something out of the ordinary?”

“No, since I came home earlier than I’d originally planned, I was in my workshop, finishing up a table. Until Edwina called, I didn’t know anything had happened. I had my sander going and barely heard my cell phone ringing.”

“I didn’t see or hear anything, either, and when I went up the stairs, there was nobody around.” Maggie shifted cautiously to make herself more comfortable—nothing helped.

Edwina took Maggie’s hand and patted it. “Don’t you worry. Tomorrow night at a building meeting in my apartment, I’ll get everyone to be on the lookout. This won’t happen again.”

Maggie wished she could believe that. Although neighborhood watches were effective to a point, they didn’t stop burglaries altogether. “Hopefully the robber saw that I didn’t have much to steal and won’t be back.”

Edwina squeezed her hand. “I’m sure you’re right, dear. The meeting will be at seven-thirty, and David’s going to give a little talk about what we can do to be more alert.”

Her nephew’s eyebrows shot up. “I am?”

“Yes, I want the tenants to see the seriousness of the situation, and a detective’s presence will make that point beautifully. Besides, I’m serving those cookies you love so much.”

David grinned. “And tea?”

“Of course, dear. Decaf, however, since it’s in the evening. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for keeping anyone up all night.” After another pat, Edwina released Maggie’s hand. “We’ll go and let you get some rest. This has been a trying day.”

Trying day was putting it mildly. Maggie shifted again. But thankfully the pain’s intensity had finally dulled slightly with the medication.

When Edwina and her nephew left, the energy in the room decreased to a normal level. “She’s a ball of fire.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she started patrolling the halls,” Kane said in a serious tone while a gleam danced in his eyes.

Maggie chuckled at that picture. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts too much.”

Kane moved closer. “Seriously, Edwina’s right. We’ll need to be more alert. Too much has happened in my apartment building in the past month. I’ll make what changes I can, but until the person who murdered Henry is caught, I won’t feel safe.”

“I agree. But it’s been almost three weeks. The longer it goes unsolved the harder it will be.”

“If you want to get out of your lease, I won’t stop you.”

“No!” Her fervent tone caused surprise to flare into his eyes. “I can’t move again. Besides, I haven’t got a connection to Henry, and there’s nothing of value to steal, which I’m sure the thief discovered. My old TV wouldn’t bring fifty dollars.”

“Then we’re going to have to hope the case is solved. The thing is Henry wasn’t a well-liked man.”

Maggie rubbed her temple. “Not liking a person doesn’t mean you’d murder him.”

“Let me put it another way. He was hated by a lot of people in Seven Oaks.”

“Who?”

“Probably everyone who worked in his department and others at the university.”

“Why?”

“He wasn’t a nice man. He took pleasure in making life difficult for others.”

Exhaustion cleaved to her. Maggie closed her eyes for a few seconds. “Are you one of those people?” When she peered at Kane again, she saw a glimpse of something that looked like distaste.

A shutter fell over his features. “He wasn’t one of my favorite people.”

The next evening Maggie entered Edwina’s apartment ten minutes late for the building meeting. People crowded into the older woman’s living room. In the short time Maggie had lived at Twin Oaks she had seen everyone at least once in the hallway, but she hadn’t really gotten to know anyone except Edwina and Kane.

Especially not her birth mother. Besides yesterday when she’d helped Ashley, she’d only seen Vicky once today in the hallway. And that brief exchange had left her drained. She wasn’t good at keeping secrets.

“How are you doing?” Edwina came forward to usher Maggie inside. “Let me introduce you to everyone.” The older woman took her by the arm. “Now that Maggie has arrived, we can start our meeting. Since she’s the new kid on the block, let’s go around the room and introduce ourselves.”

The person closest to Edwina tipped his head forward. “I’m Bradley Quinn. I don’t live here, but my parents live upstairs right above you. They asked me to come and report back to them. Mom isn’t feeling well, and Dad’s at a high school function.”