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“I don’t think it’s that bad,” Ginny said. Her gaze met mine. “Grannie Rose used to make it around the holidays, and everyone loved it.”
“What did you do after you arrived?” I asked Bob.
“Let me see.” Frowning, he tapped his temple. “My mind’s not quite what it used to be, sadly. Part of my disease process. If I remember correctly, I was sitting there like usual, waiting for someone to bring me a plate of food. Not shoving myself to the head of the line like all the others usually do. As Ginny said, everyone thinks Rose’s punch is amazing. They’re like wild dogs sniffing prey. All over it whenever she serves it.”
“Even when Melly makes it for her,” Ginny said. “Which she did while Rose was in rehab and even after she got home. It was only that last night that Rose made it herself like she used to. Sometimes, Melly drops her grandmother off like I do Bob. But while I wait in the parking lot, Melly drives away.” She huffed. “Maybe next time, she’ll stay around in case Grannie needs her.”
“Come now,” Bob said. “You know Rose is doing fine. She might’ve needed help when she first came home from rehab, but she’s weaning herself off that walker quite quickly.” He smiled in a reminiscent way. “She’s still quite the woman. Rose was something else in her day. I asked her out a few times. Did you know that? She shot me down each and every time.”
“I imagine she liked you well enough,” Ginny said with a shrug. “Just not enough to date you.”
“Her loss.” Bob grinned. “All that’s water under the bridge now.”
I’d pretty much ruled Bob out. He wasn’t mobile, he could barely see, and these things weren’t something anyone could fake. Grannie Rose turning him down a few times years ago wasn’t a strong enough motive to frame someone for poisoning others. It appeared he’d had no way to reach the punch on his own. He arrived last, after the punch had been made. As for Ginny, she’d brought Bob inside and it sounded like he kept her busy until she went to the parking lot to wait. “You said people started getting sick shortly after you arrived?”
He frowned again. “I think so.” His face cleared. “Oh, yes, I remember now. Alfred vomited, then Sue. Not sure if hers was sympathy vomiting or not. You know how it is. Someone vomits and before you know it, the smell hits you hard in the sinuses, and it’s all you can do to hold down your cookies.”
“How did you know it was Sue and Alfred?” He couldn’t see well.
“Their voices.” He tapped his earlobe. “I don’t see well, and my memory can be faulty, but my hearing’s assharp as ever. I could kind of see them out of the periphery of my vision. They were bent over the big black trash bucket the janitor leaves for us. Hazel and Carla weren’t far behind in vomiting.” He tsked. “It was a damn shame actually. Other than samples the police took of the dishes, everything got thrown out. We get to take food home after the evening, and I look forward to it. I bring bread as my contribution. Store-bought cookies. It’s not much, but it’s an offering for the potluck. Ginny picks them up for me in advance. As my reward, I come home with at least three home cooked meals from the leftovers.”
Ginny’s concerned gaze swept across Bob. “I’ll keep taking him to the socials for as long as I can.”
“If they ever start back up again, that is.” Bob’s lips thinned. “I probably shouldn’t bother going any longer. It’s not like I can dance, though I sway in my chair. But I like to get out, and I don’t know how much longer I’ll get to do it. I look forward to it each week even though I can’t play poker any longer. Can’t see the cards or follow the play; not like I used to. But I eat with everyone else and visit.”
Ginny stared toward the ceiling, clearly thinking. “Grannie was in the bathroom when Bob arrived. Sue and Alfred were near the punchbowl with Hazel and Carla. Everyone held cups of punch, and I remember Alfred joking that he’d had three cups already. Sue laughed and said she’d had four. The bowl was almost empty.”
“That’s the way it always is,” Bob said. “That punch goes fast. In addition to cookies and bread, I usually bringa few bottles of ginger ale, which I drink instead of the punch. I have to drink diet. Once the punch is gone, the rest drink ginger ale while they play poker. I sit nearby and listen. That’s almost as much fun.”
“I asked Alfred and Sue if they had something contagious, because I would’ve whipped Bob around and taken him back to the van,” Ginny said firmly. “He can’t afford to get sick. Even a cold could wipe him out for a week or more.”
“Compromised immune system,” Bob offered. “Sometimes, living sucks. Don’t you agree?” His cackle rang out. “But it sure beats the alternative.”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
Bob grunted. “Don’t get old, son. Don’t get old.”
Kind of hard not to, but I knew what he meant. I stood. “I think that’s all the questions I have, but if I think of anything else, I’ll call.”
Ginny rose. “I’ll write down my number. Call me, and I’ll ask Bob and get back to you.”
“Thank you.”
She walked me to the door. “It was nice meeting you.”
“You as well.” I had a few things to think about. Clues that might lead to nothing and others that might tie this all together. I still had no idea who might have spiked the punch, however.
“If you see Rose, tell her I’ll drop off the paperwork next week,” Ginny said as she opened the front door.
“Paperwork?”
“In addition to caring for Bob, I pretty much run his business.” Pride shone in her voice.
“What paperwork are you talking about?”
“Everyone knows, so I’m not sharing confidential information. Grannie fell and broke her hip at the church function room a few months back. Bob’s business held the liability policy for the church. But Grannie said she’s not going to sue for damages despite her slipping on a big glob of floor polish. The janitor must’ve missed it when she was cleaning prior to the social.” Ginny leaned close and lowered her voice. “Bob doesn’t know that I’ve worked with Grannie, that I made sure the extra cost of her rehab was covered by the insurance company in exchange for her signing off on anything further.”
More twists in the plot? “What’s the name of Bob’s insurance company?”
