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“You said you hold a potluck dinner. Had anyone started eating while you were gone?” Her punch might not have been the only tainted offering.
“No, we always wait until everyone’s seated. We sip punch and chat a bit while the crockpots are heating things up, and then we fill our plates. They love my punch and can’t resist getting into it right away. I never have to dump any out at the end of the evening.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I poisoned my friends with my punch. Someone tampered with it while I was in the bathroom. I just know it.”
“I think you’re right,” I said. “Who else came to the social that night?” Melly had given me the names, but she wasn’t there. Others could’ve gone to the event, and I didn’t want to miss anyone.
“The usual. Sue, my best friend all the way back to high school. She’s quite the poker player.” Grannie’s spine tightened. “She occasionally beats me, though I will say that I’ve had a winning streak and haven’t lost in over eight months.”
Grannie was a poker shark; she should try her skills in Vegas.
“Alfred arrived with Sue,” Grannie said, frowning. “They’ve been . . .” For whatever reason, her gaze fell to her lap where she fidgeted with a ball of yarn. “Datingfora year.” Her brow furrowed. “Let me see. Carla was there. She’s a widow. Her husband, Walter, was much older, and he left her a ton of money. He’s been gone nearly ten years now.”
I wrote that information down, though I wasn’t sure how it could play into the investigation. “Was Ginny there?”
“My younger sister’s stepdaughter?” Grannie said. “Only for a short time. She’s Bob’s caregiver, so she brings him to the event and then waits in the van.” She tapped my leg. “My sister was much younger than me. Ginny’s not a blood relation, though I did my best to treat her as if she was, at least until the divorce.”
“How old is Ginny?” I asked.
“Her late twenties,” Melly said.
“And Carla?”
“Thirty-seven.” Grannie nodded pertly. “Walter was quite the catch, though as I said, he was much older than her. In his seventies to her twenty-three when they got married. When he passed, she was amply rewarded, though I’m not sure she’d agree.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
Grannie sipped her tea and placed her cup back on the coffee table. “I’m not sure anything will ever be enough for Carla. He left her a big estate on the ocean here in town, plus a home in Florida they traveled to in the winter. She prefers Cape Cod and is always worried a hurricane will go through and destroy the Florida place.”
“Carla works with me at Creature Cones,” Melly said. “She stopped by not long after I opened, and we somehow got talking about me hiring someone. I offered,and she seemed excited to be working with me. She said it would keep her busy, get her out of the house.”
Grannie Rose grunted. “Walter was a horse fanatic. They went to all the races.” She sniffed and wiggled her spine. “Carla got to wear all those stunning hats. You know the kind I mean. I was quite jealous of that.” She patted the big gray bun neatly pinned to the top of her head. “I always wanted to wear one of those hats with fake fruit on it, but I didn’t quite dare.” Her hand landed on my knee, her grip tighter than I’d expect from such a tiny, frail-appearing woman. “Don’t let life pass you by without doing the fun things you’ve always dreamed of. Wear that hat. Bungee jump off the cliff. Go ziplining. I wish I’d done it, but I believe I’m now too old for something like that.” Her head tilted. “Maybe they have geriatric ziplines, and I could still fulfill that dream.” Her cackle rang out. “I could wear a fruit hat while I did it.”
“I bet you could.” Perhaps I could look into that for her. First, I needed to clear her name. Second, I had to make things right with Melly, who I suspected might like me, and who I’d pretty much rejected in my fumbling attempt to tell her about the promise I’d made to myself to protect my heart after being hurt. Third . . . I was sure I could come up with something.
“Who else was there?” Grannie tapped the names off on her fingers. “Me. Alfred and Sue, Carla. Bob of course, as was Hazel. Bob’s in his late sixties. He’s a widower. His poor wife died, and he’s had a tough time of it since. He said our church socials are the highlight of his life, that he looks forward to them all week long.”
I wrote down the details. I could start looking into everything online tonight.
“Tell me about Hazel,” I said.
Melly snorted, though I wasn’t sure why. She offered me the last cookie on the plate, and I munched through it quickly. I loved peanut butter chocolate chip cookies.
“Hazel’s seventy-two, and truly, she should retire.” Grannie cackled. “Though I understand why she doesn’t. Her work keeps her spry.” Her hand flicked to her floral housecoat. “Look at me, only eighty and using a walker, though I’ll point out that I’m still rehabilitating after my hip fracture and surgery. I plan to fling the walker aside as soon as I can and get around without it again.”
I bet she would soon.
“What does Hazel do to keep herself spry?” I asked.
“She teaches pole dancing,” Melly said, her eyes sparking. “She’s amazing, actually. I shouldn’t laugh. It’s not the pole dancing or the fact that she’s in her seventies while doing it, it’s the fact that when she first came to Mystic Harbor, she wanted to offernudepole dancing. The planning board’s gasps were so loud, you could’ve heard them three towns over.”
“I assume she wears clothing while she teaches,” I said.
“Yes, she gave up that idea quickly,” Grannie said. “She was quite the ballerina in her day until she was injured. I went to her first few classes when she opened her business here in town. It was fun, though I did worry about falling. I couldn’t hold onto that pole no matter how hard I tried. There are mats underneath, but at my age, bones break much too easily.”
“Grannie fell at the church function hall,” Melly said. “She slipped on something left behind by the janitor. It was horrible.”
“The local lawyer said I should sue,” Grannie said. “But I’m not one to do something like that.” She sipped the last of her tea and placed her cup and saucer on the coffee table again. “Maybe once I’ve tossed away my walker, I’ll take another class and prove to that pole that I have what it takes to ride it and ride it hard.”
Melly’s eyes sparkled. “No pole dancing, Grannie. Please. You don’t want to break your other hip.”
