Peonies and Poison

Port Danby is in the middle of a scorching summer heat wave. Looking for relief from the sweltering temperatures, Lacey Pinkerton invites her newly minted boyfriend, Detective James Briggs, out for vintage movie night at the Mayfield Four Theater. It promises to be a fun evening filled with Humphrey Bogart, frosty lemon-lime drinks and, most of all, air-conditioning. But when the theater owner is found dead in his office, the classic movie date night turns into a murder investigation where the motives are plenty and the poison is suspiciously sweet.

So much blinding white heat reflected off the sidewalk, I half expected my sandal to get mired in sticky cement. A heat wave had roared into town two days earlier and it seemed even the cooling ocean breeze had given up trying to compete with the determined sun.

I took another sip of the strawberry, banana and yogurt smoothie I'd blended for breakfast and plodded toward the shop. Cooking anything on the stove or in the oven had been out of the question in my tiny house. I'd resorted to salads, sandwiches and all things that were refreshing and blend-worthy.

Kingston flew ahead but arced quickly to the ground when he spotted Elsie standing out at her sidewalk tables. My bird knew the small, fast moving woman with the gray and toffee hair was always a sure bet for a cookie or muffin crumb. To Kingston's disappointment, the box Elsie carried contained batteries and mini handheld fans.

Elsie glanced toward Kingston as he paced anxiously on the hot cement, still holding out hope that there were scones buried beneath the batteries. She placed the box on one of her tables and scanned the sidewalk.

Her white smile flashed my direction. "I saw the crow and figured the owner wasn't far behind."

I pressed the smoothie cup against my cheek. "I can't believe it's this hot already."

"Never felt anything like it. It's actually cooler in my kitchen, with four convection ovens blasting baked goods, then it is out here on the sidewalk. Smart that you left your bike at home today." Elsie pulled a tiny fan from the box and started putting batteries into its base.

"I tried to convince myself I was tough enough to handle the bike ride to town but the second I stepped outside, I raced back in for my keys."

Elsie shrugged. "You've got to get out before the sun comes up. I ran five miles before I opened up at dawn and the temperature was lovely."

"Yes, well, you are super woman and I'm the mild mannered florist who doesn't rise from bed until I can see sunlight peeping around the drapes."

Kingston waddled under the table we were standing at but even the shade of the table top wasn't enough to cool the cement. He danced back and forth impatiently, waiting to get inside to his perch.

"That poor bird is stuck wearing head to toe black." Elsie turned the fan on. I closed my eyes as a small blast of air hit my face." What do you think?"

"I guess the Great Table War is back on. I thought you two had grown bored of competing." Elsie and Les had taken sibling rivalry to a whole new level with their sidewalk sitting areas, but I doubted the fancy furniture and even the small handheld fans would convince people to sit out on the blistering sidewalk. Even the trees lining Harbor Lane looked as if they wanted to be anywhere but standing on the city street.