Read Online The Extinguished Guest (A Lexie Starr Mystery, Book 2) by Jeanne Glidewell - Free Book Online Page B

said, "They've just had to pump your stomach."
    "What happened?" I asked. My words were raspy. I sounded like an old metal gate rubbing
     against a wooden fence post.
    "They discovered traces of tansy oil in your system, Mom," Wendy said. "It's the same
     toxic poison we found in Prescott, according to the results of the toxicology report."
    "Tansy oil?" I'd never heard of it.
    "Uh-huh. According to Nate, tansy is a poisonous herb once considered a 'cure-all.'
     Less than a tablespoon of the oil derived from it can be deadly. In other words, Mom,
     someone tried to kill you. And it looks like it was the same person who killed Horatio
     Prescott."
    "Fortunately," Stone said, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe his own words,
     "the massive amount of coffee you drank today probably saved your life. It diluted
     the tansy oil enough to prevent it from being a lethal dose."
    I nodded. My throat was too sore to speak more than a few words at a time. Stone spooned
     a few ice chips into my mouth, giving me immediate relief.
    Wendy lifted my hand up to inspect the IV infusion site. "Good, no signs of bruising,"
     she said. She turned toward Stone as she spoke again. "Why would anyone want to kill
     both Mr. Prescott and Mom? It's not as if they have anything in common. Do you think
     the person has a vendetta against the Alexandria Inn for some reason? Could any other
     guests be in danger?"
    Stone considered my daughter's questions for a moment before shaking his head. He
     brushed loose tendrils of hair away from his forehead. "It's possible, I guess," he
     said, "but I don't think it's very likely, Wendy. I expect it's more probable the
     killer is concerned that your mother may stumble on to the truth of who's responsible
     for the murder. She's been questioning all the Historical Society guests, and it appears
     as if it is one of them, not an outsider, who's responsible for the murder. That's
     why I don't want her questioning any of them anymore. I don't want her to even be
     present at the inn until the perpetrator is in police custody. The success of the
     inn is nowhere near worth her getting injured or killed over."
    Wendy nodded in complete agreement with Stone. I felt slightly betrayed. The ice chips
     had soothed and moistened my throat so I could now speak clearly. I'm sure I sounded
     more annoyed than I meant to, considering both of them had my best interests at heart.
     "I refuse to back down, Stone. I'll be more cautious, but I won't let the killer intimidate
     me."
    Stone knew me well enough by now to know I meant exactly what I said. Being poisoned
     by the perpetrator only increased my resolve to help see him ferreted out and arrested.
     Stone sighed and dropped his head into his hands. I listened to the near-hysterical
     ranting of my daughter, while sucking on a throat lozenge Stone had given me.
    When Wendy finally settled down and came to the same resigned realization as Stone,
     I cleared my throat and said, "I recall having set my cup down on the sofa table while
     I gathered up the ashtrays to empty and rinse out. Boris is the only guest who smokes,
     but he seems intent on distributing his ashes evenly among all the ashtrays in the
     various rooms. With the guests milling around in the parlor, any one of them could
     have slipped a dose of tansy oil in my coffee undetected."
    I paused a moment to reflect. "Weren't there ashes in the ashtray in Horatio's room
     this morning?" I asked. "I remember thinking the ashtray needed to be cleaned. That
     seems odd because I don't think Horatio was a smoker."
    "I don't remember even looking at the ashtray, but it wouldn't have been my primary
     concern at the time. Nor do I remember if Horatio smoked," Stone said. "But I don't
     really recall ever seeing him with a cigarette or cigar, or even a pipe."
    I couldn't remember seeing him with a cigarette or cigar either, and I tended to notice
     that kind of thing even more since I quit smoking. I always had to