Alex Harris 00 - Poisoned

drove back to our office. I told Sam I needed to go to the Brissart home. I knew Chantal would have everything under control, but I just wanted to check and make sure everything was okay. Besides, something Kendra mentioned yesterday about Bradley and the family history had crept into my sleep during the night. I wasn’t sure why it should stir anything in me, but it did and it wouldn’t hurt to check.
    There were two cars in the Brissart driveway—one, Chantal’s, and the other I didn’t recognize—just as long as it didn’t belong to one of the family. I had no desire to deal with any of them today. Mrs. Brissart seemed so, well…normal, and the rest were candidates for dysfunctional poster family of the year. I felt lucky; my whole family was normal. Well, there was Cousin Stanley. And grandpa. And of course Meme.
    I rang the bell and in a few seconds Mrs. Brissart answered.
    “Good morning, Mrs. Brissart. I’m sorry I didn’t call first but I wanted to stop by and see how you were getting on.”
    “Nonsense. No need for apologies, Alex. You’re always welcome. Come in. I’ll have Virginia make us some tea.” She held the door open and I entered into the large hallway. “Let me take your jacket.” Mrs. Brissart walked down the long hallway calling to Mrs. Platz.
    “Alex. I thought I heard your voice.” Chantal strode into the living room and took a seat next to me.
    “Mrs. Brissart went to get tea. So how’s it going? She seems in better spirits.”
    “She is. For the moment. She gets very depressed, though, at the drop of a hat. And the arrest of May last night kind of threw her into a tizzy. Though I think she’s rather amused by it in the light of day. I don’t know the facts of the arrest. Has John spoken to you?”
    “Actually, I was there,” I said. “The station called just as we were, umm, finishing up dinner, so I went along.”
    “Did you get a chance to talk with May?” Chantal asked, in complete awe of me having an inside track.
    “She actually asked me to sit in while they questioned her, but then John had to go insisting she have a lawyer present, and that put an end to that.” I rolled my eyes heavenward. “I left and went home and he never called. So he must have been with her all night.”
    Chantal shook her head. “I personally don’t know how they’re all coping. Maybe this trip will help them.”
    “Trip?”
    “Yes. Kenneth and Lillian are driving down to Virginia to stay with Lillian’s family. Kenneth and Lillian and Stuart took the car into town to have it serviced and to get some breakfast. I think Kenneth and his wife want to spend some time with their son. I know Mrs. Brissart hoped he would go to Virginia with them, but I don’t think he will. They should be back shortly.” Chantal pushed an errant piece of hair from her face. “Mrs. Platz is going to stay with her sister in Hartford for a few days and Mrs. Brissart is going with her—just to get away from this house. Which reminds me, Alex. Mrs. Brissart said it wasn’t necessary for me to come in the rest of the week but she’d still like to pay me. I told her no, but she insisted.”
    “Yes, it is necessary, Chantal. I don’t know what I would have done without you. And you, too, Alex,” Mrs. Brissart said.
    She held a large tray holding a teakettle, several cups, and an assortment of tea bags. I jumped up, took it from her frail hands and set it on the coffee table.
    “Alex, could you make sure you bill me for the entire week?”
    I nodded, knowing it would do no good to argue.
    Always Prepared paired Chantal with Mrs. Brissart last year. When it turned into a permanent relationship, I suggested that perhaps Mrs. Brissart would just like to pay Chantal herself thus avoiding the fees of the agency, but Mrs. Brissart liked the arrangement just as it was, and Always Prepared remained Chantal’s actual employer. I suspected Mrs. Brissart liked helping out young companies and this was her way of helping us.
    “Chantal tells me you’re off with Mrs. Platz for a few days.”
    “Yes. That’s right. We all need a break from this place. While I’m gone, Mr. Kaminski is going to paint the room where they found Bradley and have new carpeting put in. Even so, I’ll never go in there again.”
    “Are your son and daughter-in-law going back to London after they return from Virginia?”
    “In about a month, yes. I think they’re actually looking forward to it. Lillian has been so withdrawn.