Page 30 of Trick of Light
“I don’t have to, but you’re Luke’s brother, so I’ll give you that courtesy.” She checked off items on her fingers. “Motive. Ms. Brown was named in Amelia’s will. Means. She was treating Amelia for an unknown ailment she refuses to specify. Opportunity. She had a meeting with Amelia shortly before her death. And then there’s what she said when we told her Amelia was dead.”
“What did she say?”
“She said it was a long time in coming. No hint of sadness considering they were apparently friends. We call that suspicious behavior. That’s a lot of marks against her.”
With each word, his heart sank further. It all sounded so damning. “That’s all circumstantial.”
“It was enough to get a search warrant.”
He wondered what sort of toxic plants they might find; probably a few.
“Can I see it?”
She showed him the warrant, giving him a moment to examine it closely. It looked legitimate to him, although he had no experience with such things.
“Are you arresting her?”
“We just want to talk to her, for now, in an official police setting. But if we find any toxic plants, we will arrest her. She doesn’t have a license to practice medicine or dispense treatments.”
He could tell that Chen felt uncomfortable with the idea of arresting Tamara. What sane person would want to handcuff a tiny elderly woman who resembled an elf? Tamara was wearing her favorite poncho today, which she’d knitted herself from alpaca wool given to her by a patient. It made her look even more like a character from The Hobbit.
“Look at her. Does she look like a murderer?” he whispered fiercely. “Come on.”
Chen threw up a hand to block him. “I’ve done what I can. Now go tell Ms. Brown that her best bet is to cooperate.”
“Can I have a moment with her alone?”
“Are you her lawyer?”
“I’m not a lawyer,” he said through clenched teeth. “But I am her champion. Her term, not mine.”
Chen snorted with amusement. “This island.” She called to the other officer, “Hey, Hoop, can you give Ms. Brown a moment alone with her champion?”
After Hooper had stepped back, Barnaby crouched next to Tamara. “Are you okay?” he asked gently. “They didn’t mistreat you, did they?”
“They trampled my rosemary.” Her voice wavered, on the edge of tears.
“Well, rosemary is a very hardy plant, isn’t it? I bet it will smell great around here for a while.”
That brought a quiver of a smile to her lips. “Thank you for coming so quickly. Can you make them stop looking through my things?”
“I can’t do that, I’m sorry. But if you’ll agree to talk to them, maybe they’ll let you stay on the island instead of taking you into town.”
“Into town!” she cried. “I can’t leave the island. I…I…”
Detective Hooper stepped forward. “Ma’am, please remain calm.” Barnaby glared at the officer, who he’d barely paid noticed until this moment. Flabby dude with a sunburn and a receding hairline, possibly forty, or one of those guys who looked forty even though they were actually thirty-something.
“Leave her alone. You’ve already terrorized her enough,” he snapped.
“Mr. Carmichael, she got the kid-glove treatment, so cool it with the accusations. I was going to say that I agree with you. I don’t see why she has to leave the island.”
“Really?” Tamara clasped her hands together under her chin. “I can stay home?”
“If you agree to be forthcoming, we can interview you at the constable’s office.”
Detective Chen, who’d been supervising the other two officers as they conducted their search, appeared next to them. “What’s this? Are you turning into a mush ball, Hooper?”
“We’re here, she’s here, what’s the purpose of going all the way into Harbortown? That constable would have to agree, but?—”
