Poison Lilies

A Novel

Katie Tallo

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN:
  9780063211759
• Print ISBN:
  9780063211742
• Subtopic: Crime & Mystery Literature

“Moody and riveting.” —New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice

In this eerily riveting thriller—the follow-up to the international bestseller Dark August—Gus Monet becomes dangerously entangled with a powerful family whose wealth and success are built on dark and deadly secrets.

After moving back to her hometown and solving her mother's murder, Augusta (Gus) Monet thought she was finally settled. Content for the first time in her life. Done with digging into the past.

But it’s not to be. Cue hard reset number whatever.

When Gus makes a mistake she can’t undo, she does the only thing she can: cuts and runs. Packs all her things in the dead of night and takes off. Gus lands at The Ambassador Court, an art-deco apartment building with cheap rent in one of Ottawa’s oldest neighborhoods where no one knows her. The perfect place for a fresh start—or at least a good place to hide.

She soon meets Poppy Honeywell, her reclusive elderly neighbor who wanders about in a pink kimono like an aging Hollywood starlet and who happens to be a descendant of the Mutchmores, one of the city's founding families. When a body emerges from an icy pond in a nearby park, Gus’s growing curiosity with Poppy and her influential family suddenly takes a perilous turn with deadly consequences. 

The Mutchmores have been hiding a treacherous secret for decades—one they are willing to sacrifice anything—and anyone—to keep buried. Little do they know, that’s just the kind of secret Gus can’t resist.

Second Trimester

8

Unidentified Male

TWO WEEKS LATER, POPPY COMES DOWNSTAIRS TO SEE GUS. Another first. Poppy is fidgety, like a schoolgirl waiting for the bell to ring so she can run outside and play. Poppy has just had a visit from Constable Laframboise. She’s holding a piece of paper in her hand. Gus gets her a glass of water, but Poppy can’t sit. Instead, she paces back and forth. The water splashes on the hardwood close to where Levi was trying to nap in his favorite sunny spot. The dog is watching Poppy’s back-and-forth dance with one eye open. He doesn’t get up. Instead he stretches his neck as far as it will reach toward the water and licks sideways at the puddle, barely lifting his head.

Poppy seems overly excited by the constable’s visit. Almost giddy. Laframboise had stopped by to give Poppy a copy of the forensics results. As a courtesy, she said. The constable had read the findings out loud to Poppy.

A deep crack was found in the skull. Based on where the remains surfaced, this was deemed consistent with an accidental fall whereby the deceased’s head struck the low stone barrier of the bridge as he fell into the water. The skeleton was completely intact, other than the right foot, which likely detached over time. DNA samples proved fruitless in identifying the man since databases only go back to the late eighties. So no match there. The police anthropologist did conclude that the unidentified male was Caucasian, six foot two inches tall. The bones were estimated to be about seventy years old, and the man was likely in his twenties when he went in the water. The ID in the coat pocket and the timeframe that Poppy said her friend went missing both point to the same conclusion. The remains are those of Mr. Leo Ewart.

The case has been closed.

Poppy holds up the copy of the report. Her eyes are bright.

Gus wonders if she’s in shock. She looks almost happy.

“That must have been hard to hear,” says Gus.

Poppy shrugs. “It’s not him,” she says matter-of-factly.

Gus isn’t sure she’s heard her right. “Not who?” she asks.

“Leo,” says Poppy. “Oh believe me, love, there is a part of me that wishes it was him. Prayed it was him. Because, you see, then I would know for certain what happened to him. But now, I’m happy it’s not him. I wouldn’t have wanted such a horrid end for my Leo. No, whoever died in that pond all those years ago was someone else. And he was wearing Leo’s coat.”

Gus stares at Poppy. Wonders if she’s in denial.

“But you were so sure it was Leo,” says Gus. “The report says it’s Leo.”

Gus points to the paper in Poppy’s hand, then stops herself. Poppy can’t see her.

“This dang forensics report is how I know it’s not him.” Poppy smiles, handing it to Gus.

“Leo was five nine. It’s highly probable that a skeleton can shrink over time, but can it grow five inches? And that’s not the half of it. The constable said, other than the right foot, the man’s skeleton was intact. Completely intact. So it can’t be Leo then, can it?”

Gus is dumbstruck. She stares at the report. Not seeing what Poppy clearly does. Poppy lifts her left foot and wiggles her toes.

“Leo was missing a toe on his left foot. Cut off at the bone in a mishap when he was a child. I’m betting a toe can’t magically rematerialize, now can it?”

Gus can’t argue with that.

Poppy joins Gus and Levi for their afternoon walk in the park. She can’t be alone right now. The woman is bubbling with questions and theories. Gus gets it. Poppy just wants the truth. She’s no longer afraid of it or content with a bittersweet ending. And yet she didn’t say a word to Laframboise about the discrepancies. Why not? Why not help the police with their investigation? Doesn’t she trust them? Does she have something to hide?

Gus lets it go. She doesn’t press her friend.

Gus holds Poppy’s arm as they descend the stone steps that lead to the snowy path running alongside the apartment building. Poppy wears a long tweed coat and a pair of old-fashioned lace-up boots with fur trim that don’t look very warm. They head down the hill toward the creek. The wintery light makes everything sparkle, including Poppy’s eyes.

“Do you think Leo had something to do with U.M.’s death?” says Poppy out of the blue.

Gus is in the middle of bagging Levi’s poop. She pauses and looks over at Poppy.

“U.M.?” she asks as Poppy continues walking, unaware that Gus has stopped.

“Unidentified Male,” says Poppy as if it should have been obvious.

“He was wearing Leo’s coat. Maybe they knew each other,” says Gus, catching up.

Poppy seems at ease walking without her help. She links her arm through the old woman’s bent elbow just in case.

“Maybe he’s the reason Leo disappeared,” says Poppy, her breath puffing white.

“You think Leo saw what happened to U.M.?” Gus tries.

“Leo was compassionate. And it was cold. Maybe he gave his coat to a stranger. A homeless man who then fell into the water. Perhaps he tried to save him,” Poppy says.

“But why leave without a word if it was an accident?” says Gus carefully.

Poppy slows her pace, deep in thought. Gus can almost see the possibilities interlacing with the lines on her face. Her expression darkens. “Unless Leo and the man, somehow, had a fight and . . .” Poppy’s voice falters. She stops walking.

“You think Leo kil—” Gus starts to say what they’re both thinking, but Poppy cuts her off, squeezing Gus’s arm tighter.

“That’s why I didn’t tell the policewoman that it wasn’t Leo. I need to know the truth, but perhaps the whole world doesn’t,” says Poppy, shivering.

Gus doesn’t know what to say. She knows the feeling. That desperate, almost primal need to know what happened to someone you loved and lost, even if that truth scares you and could hurt you or possibly change how you see that person forever. Gus has been down that hard and lonely road.

“I need your eyes,” says Poppy, turning to Gus.

Gus lets go of Poppy’s arm and moves away from her.

Levi turns, ears perked, sensing something’s up.

“You’ve looked into the past. You’ve investigated a missing person. You solved the mystery of your mother’s death—you told me so yourself. You dug and dug until you got at the bare-bones truth,” Poppy says with a voice stronger than Gus has ever heard her use before.

Gus wishes she hadn’t told her anything about her mother.

“Augusta, I can’t do this without you. You’re the only one I trust. The truth is the only way I can move forward. You can help me,” she says, her feet firmly planted.

“But I don’t know what I’m doing,” Gus says weakly.

“That’s where you’re wrong, sweet girl. You know more than most. Because you’ve been there before. You know your way around. Not many people can say that,” says Poppy, then she adds, “I want to hire you.”

“I’m not who you think I am. I’m no detective. I’m a pregnant, unemployed pet-store clerk,” she blurts.

Poppy smiles and reaches out for Gus’s arm. Gus moves toward her. Poppy sighs, doesn’t say anything else. Together, they circle the pond, cross the bridge, and head down the snowy path and up the steps to the street above. Levi brings up the rear, struggling a little on the steps, finally scrambling up to the sidewalk a few feet from the Ambassador Court’s front entrance.

I will let Poppy down easy.

This is what Gus is thinking as they step onto the fourth-floor landing outside Poppy’s apartment. But when she spots the door ajar and catches a whiff of a terrible smell coming from inside, Gus realizes that the past isn’t going away quietly. It has been tugging at the hem of her winter coat ever since she came to the Glebe. Double-daring her to move into an old building and befriend an old woman. Laying all its cards on the sure bet that Gus is more at home in the past than the present. It’s been strutting and sweet-talking her for months now. Making her feel like she belongs somewhere. Like she’s not alone in the world. And now that it has her right where it wants her, it’s about to reveal its true intentions.

It has brought her another cold case.

One that someone definitely does not want warmed up.

9

Shannon

LEVI SNIFFS THE AIR AND LOWERS SLOWLY TO HIS BELLY. HE’S not going in. He knows something bad has gone on inside Poppy’s apartment. They can all smell it. Burnt flesh. Gus and Poppy creep arm-in-arm down the long, wide hallway toward the living room. A thin cloud of smoke snakes across the ceiling. Gus stops. The first thing she thinks of is the fireplace. She lets go of Poppy’s arm. She’ll go first. She walks ahead of the old woman into the living room. Nothing looks out of place. There’s no fire in the hearth. A sound draws Poppy across the hall toward the kitchen. Gus hears it too, a second too late. She turns. It’s the sound of water running. Gus is within an arm’s reach of Poppy when she spots the overflowing kitchen sink. A small waterfall pours down the front of the cupboard into a lake of water on the floor. Poppy’s toaster hangs by an extension cord over the edge of the counter, resting on its side in the puddle.

The cord is plugged into the socket.

Gus inhales sharply as she fully grasps what’s about to happen. She reaches for Poppy, grabbing the collar of her coat just as the toe of her boot dips into the edge of the puddle. Poppy’s body jerks violently as electricity surges through the fabric sole of her boot. A jolt of fire burns through Gus’s fingertips, shoots up her arm, and pierces deep into her shoulder blade like a knife. The two of them spill onto the hall floor, both flat on their backs. Poppy twitches then goes still, eyes closed. Levi races toward them from the front door. He hovers over Gus and licks her face, whimpering. She manages to grab hold of his collar, fearing he might step into the pool of electrified water inching toward them.

Gus turns her head, and that’s when she sees the body in the kitchen. The...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Present Day
• First Trimester
• Second Trimester
• Third Trimester
• Birth
• Acknowledgments
• About the Author
• Also by Katie Tallo
• Copyright
• About the Publisher