A Body at Book Club: Myrtle Clover #6

Chapter Six

"Doesn't that seem like a coincidence though?" asked Miles. "That she would happen on that very method of poisoning Naomi, right after the garden club meeting that mentioned it?"

"That's what makes it the perfect poison, though. By using Destroying Angel mushrooms, Lena could make it appear as though the garden club members might be responsible...and, conveniently, she was out of town for that meeting," said Myrtle. "Maybe she even heard a garden club member chatting about the meeting at her clinic and realized that would be the best way to finally get rid of Naomi. Or maybe she read the minutes from the last meeting—they're always listed online."

"She certainly still seemed to carry a grudge," said Miles thoughtfully. "It's something to consider, for sure. Do you think Red has already heard that that was a topic at the meeting?"

"I hope not. That gives me some time to question some of those women before he catches on. As far as he knows, I'm just trying to interact with them because of garden club business." She finished her coffee and pushed it away so that she could lean her elbows on the table. "Could you drive me somewhere tomorrow?"

Miles was cautious. "Where?"

"Just somewhere too far for me to drive. I have an errand," said Myrtle carelessly. Miles wouldn't want to drive her if he knew where she was going.

"You're not going to that psychic's house, are you?" he asked suspiciously.

Myrtle blinked at him. "Are you psychic yourself? Maybe it runs in the family." She hid a smile. Miles had been shocked to discover that the local psychic Wanda and her brother Crazy Dan were cousins of his. Shocked and discouraged.

"Why do you want to go see that old charlatan?" asked Miles with a groan. "She spends her days cheating the gullible out of their hard-earned cash."

"You're simply still reeling from the fact that you're cousins," said Myrtle with a sniff. "If you don't want to go over there, just let me borrow the car. Wanda may be rough around the edges, but she has great insight and intuition." She gave a little shiver. Sometimes Wanda was spookily on target.

"Rough around the edges? Wanda is rough all over. I think you're fascinated with her because she keeps giving you these dire prophesies. You're like a deer in the headlights," said Miles.

"Like I said, if you don't want to go, just let me borrow your Volvo. Come on, Miles—what are friends for?" She gave him a pleading look.

"All right," said Miles in a grouchy tone. "I suppose we can go tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to bring my hand sanitizer, though. Crazy Dan and Wanda's home could use some spring-cleaning. Summer, fall, and winter-cleaning, too."

Myrtle was already on another topic. "Could you look up Destroying Angel on your computer? I still don't have a great grasp on how that stuff works."

Miles pushed his chair back and went off to get his laptop. He signed in, pulled up a search engine, and typed in the name of the mushroom. He squinted at the screen. "No information."

"That doesn't sound right." Myrtle got up and walked over to look over Miles's shoulder. "It's apparently a serious poison. There should be tons of information on it." She leaned over far enough so that she nearly lost her balance and toppled over on him. Miles helped her regain her balance and she leaned back on her cane for support. "Oh, for heaven's sake. Miles, you put in Destroying Angle, not Angel."

"No wonder," muttered Miles.

"Destroying Angle—the scourge of Geometry!" Myrtle grinned.

"All right, all right," said Miles, even more grouchy. He quickly corrected the search term and the screen pulled up white, leggy mushrooms in what was apparently a variety of different maturity levels for the fungus. "It's actually a fairly attractive thing, isn't it?"