Chapter 4
4
Sunday morning. Theodosia slid out of bed and did a few stretches and leisurely toe touches. She pulled on a cozy peach-colored sweater and a pair of faded blue jeans and padded downstairs to let her dog, Earl Grey, out into the backyard. She yawned as she filled a kettle with water, set it to boil, then grabbed one of her Yi-shing teapots and a tin of English breakfast tea. Once her tea had brewed, she carried her steaming mug out into the backyard to see what Earl Grey was up to.
Earl Grey was sniffing around, reveling in the fact that it was a sunny day with the distinct taste of fall in the air. Even bright-eyed grackles, flitting gracefully from leafy palmettos to a nearby boxwood hedge, looked as if they felt a seasonal upheaval.
Still, amid all the blue skies, pink scudding clouds, golden leaves, and bird chirps, Theodosia felt awful. She thought back on the words of an old Kris Kristofferson song, “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down.” It seemed to capture her mood perfectly.
How could yesterday have gone so wrong? Turned so tragic? An innocent young girl had been killed, a bridegroom seriously injured, and a wedding totally derailed. And for what reason?
That thought niggled at Theodosia as her hand dipped into the pocket of her jeans and she pulled out her phone. She hit a button and, a few seconds later, Drayton came on the line.
“I feel awful,” Theodosia said without preamble.
“So do I,” said Drayton. “I woke up feeling sad and dispirited. Like I’m experiencing some kind of emotional hangover.”
“Why don’t we go to the hospital and visit Jamie? If he’s awake, we can talk to him, see if he can shed any light on what might have happened. Maybe he saw something.”
“In the split second before the roof collapsed?”
“It’s possible,” Theodosia said.
“You want to investigate,” Drayton said. He’d known Theodosia long enough that he could practically read her mind.
“Well, maybe. There is that. But I’d also like to see how Jamie’s doing. He looked as if he was banged up pretty bad. Maybe we could cheer him up with a basket of fresh-baked scones.”
“Mmn, who wouldn’t love that? But there aren’t any scones left at the tea shop. Even in the freezer. We sold our last batch Friday afternoon.”
“I’ll call Haley, ask her to run downstairs and get cranking.”
“If you say so. And I suppose, if push came to shove, I could bring along a thermos of fresh-brewed tea.”
“Works for me,” Theodosia said. “Pick you up in, what, forty-five minutes?”
“I’ll be ready.”
* * *
Drayton was as good as his word. When Theodosia pulled up to his house, he was waiting curbside with a silver thermos tucked in the crook of his arm. Dressed in dove gray slacks, a tweed jacket, and a bright yellow bow tie, he looked as if he were heading to brunch at Poogan’s Porch or La Bonne Franquette instead of going on a serious, sedate hospital visit.
“You look like a very posh Southern gent,” Theodosia told Drayton as he climbed into her Jeep. “Lord of the manor.”
“Now you’re making fun of me,” Drayton said as he settled in and pulled his seat belt across his chest.
“Not at all,” Theodosia said. “That’s what came to mind when I saw you standing there in front of your fabulous house.” Drayton’s home was listed on Charleston’s historic register. It had formerly been owned by a Civil War doctor but over the decades had been remodeled and added on to. When Drayton had purchased the home some twelve years ago, he’d spiffed up the outside, tuck-pointed the bricks, added a Chinese garden in back, and imbued the home’s interior with touches of French elegance as well as fine English furniture. Now it was a showpiece that had been featured in magazines, as well as the residence he shared with Honey Bee, his adorable King Charles spaniel.
Theodosia drove down Church Street, turned on Cumberland, and bumped down the cobblestone alley that ran behind the Indigo Tea Shop. A sharp toot of the horn brought their chef, Haley, running out with an indigo blue bakery box full of scones.
“Apple scones, hot from the oven,” Haley said as she handed the box to Drayton.
“The very best kind,” Drayton said.
“So you’re off to the hospital?” Haley asked. She was twenty-something, with stick-straight blond hair, blue eyes, and a pert nose. She looked like a college kid but could cook like Gordon Ramsay. She could swear like him, too.
Theodosia leaned across Drayton to talk to Haley. “It’s the least we can do. And thanks for baking these scones.”
“No problem,” Haley said. “Gosh, I feel awful about Celeste. And poor Jamie, too.” She shook her head. “Such shattered lives, in more ways than one. The whole thing—the wedding and reception—completely ruined.”
“Who knows what will happen now,” Drayton said.
Haley looked utterly forlorn. “Do you think Bettina and Jamie will still get married?”
“Hard to say,” Theodosia said. She hoped they would. But yesterday had to have put a terrible damper on their outlook for the future.
* * *
Roper Hospital at the Medical University was practically deserted this Sunday morning as they checked in at the front desk, got Jamie’s room number, and rode the elevator up to the fourth floor.
“So where exactly did you run off to yesterday with Riley?” Drayton asked as they walked down the hallway.
“We went over to Kipley Park,” Theodosia said. “And walked a trail that led around a bog to the end of the flower fields.”
“Because…?”
“Because I think somebody snuck in that way yesterday and sabotaged the greenhouse.”
“With the idea being what?”
“Kill Jamie? Kill Celeste?”
“So you were looking for clues?” Drayton sounded skeptical.
“Not just looking, we found one. Well, not an actual clue, but something that could produce a clue. We found a motion-activated trail cam.”
“And you think this camera might have captured a picture of the intruder?”
“That’s what we’re hoping,” Theodosia said. She looked around. “Jeez, what a maze, where is Jamie’s room anyway?”
“Um, I think down and around that corner.”
“Quiet up here,” Theodosia said. They were walking past rooms where doors were open, but no patients were in sight.
“I suppose a lot of patients are released on Friday so doctors have the weekend off. They don’t have to pop back in to check on their patients’ status,” Drayton said.
“Guess so,” Theodosia said as they stepped around a linen cart that was sitting in the middle of the hallway. Beyond it was a meal delivery cart with dozens of hot meals under stainless steel domes.
“This is like an obstacle course,” Drayton said as they walked around that cart, too.
Delaine and Bettina were standing outside Jamie’s room talking in low whispers. Bettina was dressed in pale peach yoga pants and a matching hoodie; Delaine wore a bright blue skirt suit with pearl buttons and was clutching a matching Dior bag. They both looked fashionable, upscale, and deeply upset.
“Jamie’s parents just left,” Bettina said when she spotted Theodosia and Drayton. “They’re on their way to church at St. Michael’s over on Meeting Street, then they’re coming back here.” She gave a sad smile and added, “I don’t know why I just told you all that. Guess my brain’s still in a muddle.”
“How’s Jamie doing?” Theodosia asked in a sympathetic tone. She saw how Bettina’s shoulders sagged and deep worry lines were etched in her young face.
Bettina shook her head. “Jamie’s in a lot of pain. He’s got a fairly deep cut just above his right wrist. They had to bring in a microsurgeon to repair it. The doc had to do something like twenty-five stitches.”
“There was a tendon involved,” Delaine added.
“And Jamie’s nose is broken. So he has to wear an ugly gray plastic splint,” Bettina said. “And his ribs are banged up.”
“But not broken,” Delaine said. “Thank goodness.”
“Maybe we should come back later,” Drayton said.
“No, no,” Bettina said. “You should go in now. I think Jamie would be happy to see you guys. His…his spirits are pretty low. He feels just awful about Celeste.”
“Okay,” Theodosia said. She pushed open the door to Jamie’s room. “Knock knock. It’s Theodosia and Drayton. May we come in?”
“Theodosia?” Jamie said. He struggled to sit up in bed as they entered his room, then fell back against his pillows as if the effort were too much and said, “Hi, guys.”
Jamie looked awful. His face had the appearance of a cold, pale moon, his eyes were half-closed, and he definitely looked loopy from taking painkillers. His right wrist was heavily bandaged, and he did, indeed, have a strange-looking gray plastic splint on his nose.
“We just had to come check on you,” Theodosia said.
Drayton touched two fingers to his forehead in a jaunty salute. “How you doing, sport?”
“Not too bad,” Jamie said. Then he gave a tentative laugh. “Not too good, either.”
“He’s still woozy,” Delaine said. She and Bettina had followed them into the hospital room.
“We brought scones,” Theodosia said as she held up a box.
“And tea,” Drayton said.
“That’s great,” Jamie rasped. His throat was still dry from the anesthesia. “But maybe I could have a glass of water first?”
“Coming right up,” Bettina said. She hustled to his bedside, grabbed a pitcher of water, and poured out a glass. Then she handed it to Jamie along with a straw.
“Thanks.” Jamie sipped a bit of water, then set down his glass. He gazed at Theodosia and said, “You know about Celeste? That she didn’t make it?”
Theodosia nodded. “We know. And we feel terrible about it.”
Jamie’s eyes sparkled with tears. “That could have been me.”
“But it wasn’t,” Bettina said with a touch of flint in her voice. “So all you have to worry about is getting better.”
Jamie still looked distressed. “Not so easy.”
Bettina took his good hand, laced her fingers through his, and said, “We’ll get through this together, sweetie.”
“Of course you will,” Theodosia said.
They were all standing around Jamie’s bed, giving little coos and making encouraging remarks, when a motherly-looking woman in a pink-and-white smock walked in carrying a meal tray. “Let’s see now…,” she said as she checked the ticket that was stuck beneath the covered plate. “You’re Jamie Wilkes, right?”
“That’s me,” Jamie said.
“I’m Deanie from food service.” The woman smiled as she rolled his side table closer to his bed, then set his meal tray down on it. “I’ve got the lunch you ordered.”
“I didn’t order lunch,” Jamie said.
“Well, I’m guessing you must have been admitted late yesterday,” Deanie said. “So the kitchen sent up a standard lunch of soup, a sandwich, and applesauce. Here, let me give you a hand.”
Deanie lifted the dome off the plate, gaped in surprise at what was sitting there, and promptly let out an ear-piercing scream.
“What on earth?” Theodosia murmured as Deanie’s scream rose higher in volume until she practically hit high C.
“That’s a that’s a that’s a…” Deanie was so undone her stammered words were running on a loop, even as her hand jabbed the air furiously, pointing at what was supposed to be Jamie’s lunch. Theodosia followed Deanie’s shaking finger to the meal plate she’d just uncovered. And there, sitting in the middle of that plate, was a human skull!
Delaine caught sight of it, too, and let loose a piercing shriek. She took a wobbly step forward, stumbled, and bumped hard against Jamie’s bed.
Which hit the tray table, sending the thermos of tea crashing to the floor and setting off a cascading motion that caused the skull to rock back and forth while a beam of overhead light caught it just right, making it look as if one of the eyes were winking at them.
“There’s something you don’t see every day,” Drayton said in a strangled voice.
And then Theodosia was there, grabbing the cover and slamming it back down on top of the skull. But not before it rocked sideways and two empty eye sockets fixed her with a wicked gaze.