Death By Darjeeling

Chapter 43

“These mugs are neat,” said Haley. Federal Express had just delivered a large carton, and Haley was unearthing bubble-wrapped mugs from their nest of plastic peanuts.

“Did Drayton order these?” asked Bethany.

Haley nodded. “Gearing up for the holidays. We usually sell a lot of gifty items.” She held a ceramic mug in each hand, one a pink peony pattern, the other a Chinese dragon design. “Look,” she exclaimed, “matching tops to keep your tea warm. Pretty slick.” She pushed the carton across the counter to Bethany. “Why don’t you do one of your pretty arrangements while I pull my pumpkin scones out of the oven. See there, you can slide those trivets and candles over on that middle shelf.”

“Sounds good,” agreed Bethany as she admired the peony tea mug. “Has Theodosia seen these yet?”

“No, she’s still on the phone.”

Theodosia was bent over her desk, head cocked to the left, phone cradled in the crook of her neck. Her right hand clutched a black felt-tip pen. “Give me that plate number again,” she said. Nodding to the disembodied voice on the other end of the phone, she wrote AUY372 on a sheet of paper. She tapped the tip of the pen against the paper sharply, making a series of zigzag doodles around the number. Nervous doodles.

“And you did get a response from the Motor Vehicles Department? Oh, they’re faxing it now? Yes, of course I’ll hold.”

Theodosia continued tapping her pen nervously, and her gaze roved the room. It fell upon bookshelves filled with paperwork that demanded her attention. A chair heaped with storyboards that weren’t going anywhere for a while. Cartons filled with tins of holiday teas. She groaned inwardly. That tea alone represented almost 20,000 dollars in potential gross profit. Could she sell it and jump-start business? That remained to be seen.

“Yes?” She fairly bounced out of her chair when the voice came back on the line. “I didn’t realize a leased auto made a difference. Yes, it is interesting, isn’t it?” she said, although she was clearly disinterested. “You have the name?” She sat up straight, eyes riveted on the plate number she’d written on her paper. “Yes? Tanner Joseph,” she repeated in an odd, flat tone. “Thank you.”

She slammed the phone down so hard the receiver bounced back out of its cradle.

“Damn!” she cried.

Drayton was in Theodosia’s office in a heartbeat, easing the door closed behind him.

“Shhh.” He held a cautionary finger to his lips. “We’ve got customers!”

She whirled to face Drayton, chest heaving, complexion mottled with anger, auburn hair in a mad swirl. “It was Tanner Joseph!” She spat the name out with anger and disgust.

“What was Tanner Joseph?” Drayton asked quietly. He figured the surest way to calm someone was to remain calm yourself, although he could certainly be proved wrong in this case. Theodosia seemed absolutely infuriated.

“Last night!” she raged and began pacing the confines of her small, cluttered office. “Out in the alley!”

“Someone was in the alley last night?” asked Drayton. Now his voice rose a few octaves as well. “Theodosia, did something happen after we left?” he demanded.

“That idiot, Tanner Joseph, was out there. Gold Shield Security just called. One of their security guards got a read on his plate number.” She stomped her foot. “Of all the nerve!”

“But why would he...?” Drayton let his sentence hang there, searching for a logical explanation. He tried again. “But you already picked up the labels, so...”

His eyes met hers and realization dawned. “Tanner Joseph was stalking you,” whispered Drayton.

“No kidding,” she said glumly.