Alex Harris 00 - Poisoned

me.”
    I buried my face in my hands. “It’s all my fault. I feel so guilty.”
    “What on earth are you going on about?” Sam came around the desk. “How could it be your fault? You left the house before he died.”
    I looked up. “Yes. But I wished it.”
    Sam scrunched up her face crinkling her nose. “You wished Mrs. Brissart’s grandson would be murdered?” Sam asked.
    “No. Of course not. What’s the matter with you? Geesh. I just, well. I just thought…”
    “You just thought what?” Sam’s impatience showed.
    “I thought with Halloween coming, and the weather getting cold, well, it seemed a perfect setting for a murder. You know how my imagination wanders.”
    Sam stood with her hands on her hips looking down at me. “Yeah, I know all about your great imagination. Like when you convinced me the O’Malleys moved away in the dark of night because the FBI wanted them for God knows what, and we broke into their ‘abandoned’ house only to find Mr. O’Malley engaged in a little afternoon delight with that babysitter of theirs.”
    “How was I supposed to know only Mrs. O’Malley moved out?”
    “How did he die?”
    “Mr. O’Malley?”
    Sam closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Bradley,” she said through clenched teeth.
    “No one is sure, but Chantal thinks it might be poison.”
    “Well, there. You couldn’t have possibly caused it.”
    “How did you come to that conclusion?”
    “Because if someone poisoned him than this murder had to be planned well in advance. Poisoning’s not an act of random violence. When exactly did you wish for a murder?”
    I looked sheepish. “Yesterday.”
    “Well, there you have it.” Sam returned to her desk. “It was already planned by then. You probably just had some kind of premonition or something.”
    “That sounds reasonable.” I brightened, my momentary lapse into martyrdom vanished.
    “Is John the detective on the case?”
    “Yeah. And Detective Jim Maroni. I’m a little worried about John. I’ll be over at the house until Chantal gets back and I’m sure he’ll be there talking with everyone. He already told me to stay out of it. I work alone ,” I said in a mocking tone.
    “Well, just keep your nose out of it,” Sam suggested, as she shuffled a stack of papers on her desk. “Just help Mrs. Brissart with plans and whatever else she needs.”
    “Would you?”
    “Well, no. I’d want to know every last detail,” Sam admitted, looking up at me.
    “Me, too. And that’s what I’m worried about. John’s not going to be very happy if I start asking questions.”
    “So don’t ask, just listen.”
    “Huh?”
    “Okay, so ask when he’s not around. He can’t be everywhere at once. Just make sure to keep notes and tell me everything.”
    I stood up. “We’re being ghoulish. And insensitive. I’m going to be helping Mrs. Brissart and that’s all.”
    “Right.”
    “I’ve got some things to do.” I turned to go back to my office.
    “Who’s Jim Maroni?”
    “Someone new John’s training. Kind of cute, in a very serious way.”
    “Probably trying to make a good impression. Listen, Alex. Before I forget, Mom called earlier and wants us to come over Wednesday night. Mom and Dad have a Trivial Pursuit game on Friday and she wants to practice.”
    “They play Scrabble on Fridays,” I said, a bit bewildered at the sudden change to long-standing plans.
    “They did. But Mom kept on winning and no one wants to play with her anymore.”
    “Well, isn’t practicing for Trivial Pursuit cheating? They could get the same questions on Friday.”
    “We come from a long line of cheaters. You’ve forgotten our grandmother, have you?”
    I brightened just thinking of my beloved grandmother who at this very moment was probably bilking someone out of their life savings over a Pinochle game. “I read some of the Brissart family history Bradley brought over. They sound very illustrious. The boughs of our family tree are not laden with aristocracy, no, we have a bingo-cheating loan shark for a grandmother on our mother’s side and an exhibitionist grandfather on our dad’s.”
    Sam laughed. “Be kind. Grandpa hasn’t had any more problems since they got his infection cleared up and Meme gives away more than she wins. Besides, mom assures me she’ll use questions from the original game and on Friday they’re using a new edition.” We looked at each other with more than a little suspicion. “I know, it sounds like