Lettie entered the recently familiar portal and asked the officer on duty if she could speak with Mitch.
"He's on the phone. Can you wait?" The officer said after checking the phone console. "Of course." She could hardly wait to tell him what she thought. Sitting in the same uncomfortable chairs, she looked at her watch. Just enough time to give Mitch a piece of her mind and hurry back to the office to meet Alvin.
The oak chair was not the most comfortable especially if you squirmed. Another bad habit, she thought, just as she caught herself twirling her blonde locks. She determined she would be a good case study for a psychologist's paper on irritating habits. She retrieved her mystery from her purse and began reading. She reasoned that if you had to wait, you might as well use the time for productive pursuits such as reading or knitting. A familiar voice interrupted her concentration.
"Lettie, I was just trying to phone you. Come up to my office."
She followed Mitch to a stairway leading to the second floor. The second story of police headquarters was as dreary as the first. Ugly tile floors, utilitarian desks, and beat up wood chairs looked like they had seen better days. Mitch was a lieutenant and had an office with a window overlooking the downtown square.
Mitch had added some personal decorations to his small work area. There were pictures of two young boys holding fishing rods. Both boys' graduation pictures were on the gray metal desk, and a bookcase held more pictures and a plant. Two framed Norman Rockwell prints graced the walls. Several trophies and plaques adorned a shelf opposite the window.
Mitch offered Lettie a chair, which had stuffing poking through the seat. He moved behind his desk seated himself in his brown leather chair. Leather probably stretched the bounds of believability. Lettie noticed several patches on the leather-like fabric, unlike her tattered chair.
"We know what the poison is. It's Lily of the Valley."
This information tempered her nasty mood somewhat and diverted her attention to the matter at hand.
"Lily of the Valley is a flower. Perfumes are made from it."
"It is quite deadly. Both the flower and its leaves are poisonous according to Dr. Mathis. He is the chemist at the university who did the testing."
"I never knew that. I've always loved Lilies of the Valley. So does he think that someone ground up the plant into Charlotte's tea?"
"He's not the one to make those assumptions. He just does the testing. However, since the tea was tested, the logical conclusion is that someone, somehow got Lilies of the Valley into the tea mixture." "Well, those flowers are certainly plentiful this time of the year. Lots of people have them blooming in their yards right now."
"I know it's not going to be easy to find where the poison came from, especially since any individual could pick the flowers this time of year. It wouldn't even have to be someone who had them in their yard."
Lettie's mind was a buzz of activity. She was going to visit the Boston Tea Party and Autumn Leaves just as soon as she talked to Alvin Crabtree. If she could find out who bought the last batch of Charlotte's special blend that might give her a lead. She just hoped that the clerks could remember. Mitch's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"What did you say?"
"Daydreaming? You've always been prone to that, you know."
"Just thinking. It was nothing important."
Lettie didn't want Mitch to know she was going to meddle in his investigation. She would show him.
"Would you like to go to the movies tonight?"
"You're inviting one of your suspects to the movies?"
The sudden icy tone in Lettie's voice surprised Mitch. "You realize, don't you, that I would have to investigate my mother if she were part of a murder investigation. Surely you can't fault me for doing my job."
"You could have had the courtesy to tell me that I was a suspect. Why didn't you tell me that you had to check my alibi?"
Mitch was genuinely surprised at Lettie's reaction. "I'm sorry. I should have told you that I would be checking on you as well as the others. I honestly didn't think it would bother you. Besides I just assumed you would know this being such an avid mystery reader."
"Since we know each other so well, I didn't realize that you would check on me."
"Are you aware that your fingerprints are on the poison teacup? My supervisor would have my head if I didn't check you out."
"I tipped the teacup in my haste to call the police." Lettie said contritely.
"I believe you, but it is my responsibility to check out all the evidence in this case. You wouldn't think very highly of me if I didn't do everything possible to find Charlotte's murderer." Lettie's mood had changed from a boil to a simmer, and she started to realize that Mitch had done nothing wrong, but that she had overreacted.
"Can we call a truce and get back to talking about my original question? How about a movie tonight?"
"Sounds good to me."
"I'll call you when I get home, and we'll set the time."
Lettie looked at her watch and knew she was going to have to hurry to meet Alvin Crabtree at one o'clock. It was amazing how quickly her lunch break had gone, and it had been very productive. The drive back to Watkins Real Estate didn't take long, and Alvin was in his office waiting when she breezed in. He had always reminded Lettie of Mister Magoo. Not to be disrespectful, but his head was completely bald, not shaven, and he wore large horn-rimmed glasses. She guessed he was in his early sixties, slight of height and large of girth. He had been employed by WE for longer than Lettie could remember and was now in charge of the real estate development area for the firm.
"Hi, Alvin. I need to talk with you about Williams Lumber Company. In particular, your dealings with Amelia Williams."
"Well, Lettie, you always do get straight to the point."
"Alvin, I'm sorry. I know we don't get to converse that often, but I'm a friend of Charlotte Downey who was murdered on Wednesday night. I met Amelia that evening, and she was horrid. She seemed not to care one iota that her sister was dead, and I wondered what you think of Amelia."
"As you know, our development company has a contract to purchase all supplies from Williams Lumber Company. Actually, it's really a partnership with them.
"I never knew WE was in business with Williams Lumber Company. I just thought we bought building supplies from them."
"Sherman Watkins and Charles Williams grew up together here in Stafford. They were friends all their lives until Mr. Williams' untimely death. You will recall Mr. Watkins started the real estate office by himself. He didn't go into partnership with Mr. Edwards until several years later. So, Mr. Watkins and Mr. Williams drew up a partnership agreement between their respective companies to do real estate development. Williams would provide the supplies and Sherman Watkins would take care of the selling and promotion. Both men profited greatly."
"Then why did Mr. Watkins go into business with Mr. Edwards?" Lettie quizzed.
"Jordan Watkins."
Jordan Watkins was the son of Sherman Watkins and worked with Lettie at WE.
"Just between the two of us, we all know that Jordan isn't the brightest person in the world. Well, Sherman Watkins knows that also. He wanted to pass on the business to his son, but he didn't trust his ability to run it by himself. Taylor Edwards had his own real estate office. The two offices merged, and, at that time Jordan Watkins became the third partner, therefore, providing guidance to him and assurance to Sherman that he would have a secure future."
"Back to my original question. What is Amelia like?" Lettie asked impatiently.
"I've done a lot of work with her and have found her to be the utmost professional. She knows her business, and gets things done on time."
Lettie thought punctuality was one thing in her favor. That was the only thing she liked about her at this point.
"In fact, she met with me on the morning after her sister's death."
"I know that, and I thought that it was awfully strange."
"Not for Amelia. To her, the business is her life; it always comes first. She told me that the only way she could get through this crisis was to work. Her work is therapy. I wouldn't judge her too harshly on that point, because I find it quite natural for her to continue working even during this catastrophic event in her life. She did the same thing when her parents died."
"Jeff told me that also. Does she not have any interests outside of business?" Lettie queried.
"She and Jordan Watkins have dated for years, but I don't think it's serious.
"Amelia and Jordan." Lettie exclaimed. "I can't see the attraction. Oh, he's handsome enough with his dark hair, dark eyes and body-builder physique, but he's a bit on the dull side in the brains department. Of course, he does have a great personality," she added. "And then there's the age difference. Although attractive, she's in her fifties, and he's in his twenties."
Lettie wondered why she hadn't known that Jordan and Amelia dated. Of course, she didn't really associate with him. Real estate was all they had discussed and not often.
Alvin added, "Maybe she needs someone to counteract her strong persona. After all, she could be extremely threatening to most men. She is attractive physically, but most men I know would have trouble with her aggressiveness. She's more of a nineties kind of woman which might appeal to someone Jordan's age. In addition, nobody could say he is dating her for her money. He has plenty of his own."
Lettie thought that in the not too distant future Amelia and Jordan could have sizable holdings when old Mr. Watkins died. Could that have been a motive for murder? Could she and Jordan have conspired to get rid of Charlotte? Amelia was becoming an even more promising suspect.
"Is Jeff capable as far as the business is concerned?" Lettie decided she might as well find out as much as she could.
"Jeff could take care of that business as well as Amelia, but she won't give him a chance. She doesn't delegate authority well. Jeff is dedicated and knows what he is doing. The few times that I worked with him, he seemed to be on his toes and very knowledgeable."
Lettie thought that, if anyone, Jeff should have killed Amelia. After her talk with him at the Ladybug, she was becoming convinced that he could not have killed Charlotte.
Ending their conversation, Lettie felt she knew Amelia Williams a little better, but she still wanted to talk with her to form her own opinion. Maybe she would see her at the funeral home. She hurried back to her cubicle and took care of paper work. She made a telephone call to Jacob Stillman whose house she was listing on Saturday. She confirmed the appointment, retrieved her purse, and left WE for the day.