“Scary. A little bit crazy-seeming. He didn’t speak, just wrote things down.”
“Did he say—or write—anything else?” I asked.
The boy turned to the old man and translated my question. “He asked for mushrooms.”
“What kind of mushrooms?”
“Amanita mushrooms. They are poisonous, too. Grandfather says he does not deal in such things. We would like this man not to come back, please.”
• • •
“That’s a lot of poison talk,” said Patience as we walked back to the car.
“True. But many medicines—maybe evenmostof them—are poisonous in the wrong dosage but helpful if administered very carefully. Like the aconite tea, which is used in a number of ways, such as to treat pain or bruising. It’s only deadly when not prepared properly.”
“So you’re saying maybe this fake Sailor guy was in the market for medicine?”
“No, you’re right. He was probably looking for poison. The question is, why? I’ve been thinking...”
“Good place to start.”
I opened the car door and looked at her over the roof. “Maybe therewasno motive.”
“What do you mean?”
“What if someone wanted to set up Sailor, for whatever reason, and Dupree was simply a victim of opportunity?”
“You’re saying some Sailor look-alike wanted the real Sailor out of the picture?”
“It’s possible. It would explain why he was so obvious about leaving the scene of the crime.”
“Putting aside the fact that this mystery assailant just happens to look exactly like your boyfriend—”
“Fiancé.”
“Whatever. How would this person know that Sailor knew Dupree, much less that Sailor had threatened him earlier in the day?”
“Good question. The only ones who heard that were Sailor, me, and Carlos.”
“You trust Carlos?”
“I’d trust Carlos with my life.”
“How about with Sailor’s life?”
“That, too.”
“All right. What about that dubious character who hangs out on the sidewalk in front of your store?”
“Conrad? I suppose he might have overheard, but he wouldn’t be involved in something like this.”
“You sure about that? Needs money for drugs, maybe thinks it’s no big deal to do a little informing on the side, doesn’t think he’s hurting anyone...?”
“No way,” I said with a firm shake of my head. “Not Conrad.”
She shrugged. “So what’s next, then? We go to Aidan and grovel? By which I meanyou’llgrovel, of course. I have no beef with the man.”
“I have a better idea. First let’s check out Sailor’s apartment. We can leave the car here; it’s just a couple of blocks over.”
