Henry and the other Abe had just sat down in the living area when the landline phone rang. Abe rose to answer it, grumbling something about yanking the cord out of the wall. While he spoke to the caller, Henry smiled at the man's lovable grumpiness, so much like that of his own son's.
"That was Jo," he told Henry as he sat back down next to him. "Wants me to relay a message to Dad to get over to a crime scene ASAP at the Heritage Arms on East 6th Street."
"Which, of course, you can't," Henry observed.
"She's gonna be pissed if he doesn't show up soon or contact her," Abe said, sighing.
"You mean more than she already is," Henry said.
The Heritage Arms in his dimension was also on East 6th Street and was a historic, residential hotel that had caught fire last month while undergoing renovations. The Fire Marshall had ruled it arson and after a body was found, Henry and his teammates had become involved to help track down the culprit, which they did. So he knew the layout of the building well. It would be so simple, he thought, to just pop over there in place of the other Henry. Obviously, it would be wiser for him to remain sheltered in at Abe's until his expected departure next Wednesday; but the thought of a new mystery, a new puzzle to solve, was tantalizing.
"Perhaps I might be of some assistance," he proposed before quickly rising and gathering up his coat and scarf.
"Oh, no, no, no, don't you dare!" Abe warned him, pointing a finger and scurrying behind him. "I know that look. Dad gets that same look whenever he gets the chance to hunt down a killer."
"Not hunting, Abraham," Henry rasped as he donned his coat and scarf. "Simply endeavoring to bring closure to those the victim has left behind and bring a criminal to justice. Just thought that if I can be of any help then I must try," he explained.
Abe studied him, frowning, then reached into his pocket and handed him a key. "Well, you're gonna need this to let yourself back in," he reluctantly conceded. "You're as stubborn as he is, aren't you?"
Henry took the key and dropped it into his coat pocket, stiffening a bit before replying, "I rather prefer determined." He smiled and headed down the stairs and out of the shop.
"Yeah, well, remember to stay determined not to get into any trouble!" Abe called after him. Meaning don't get yourself killed out there and especially not in front of anyone. Especially not in front of Jo.
vvvv
Henry's cab brought him to the Heritage Arms a little more than 20 minutes after the other Jo had called. The money was the same here as in his own dimension and he was thankful for that. Paying his fare was one thing, though. Getting past the unis and the yellow crime scene tape was another. Just as he was pondering how to get past them, he saw the morgue van arrive and Lucas hop out of it. Henry advanced quickly toward Lucas, ignoring the startled look on the young man's face.
"What are you doing here?" Lucas whispered, bending down slightly, his eyes darting around at the others.
"Trying to help," Henry whispered back out of the side of his mouth as they walked inside the building, avoiding eye contact with the unis who, at the sight of him, had slight frowns of both recognition and confusion. "You said, yourself, that my ID is identical to the type issued by the OCME here."
"Yeah, but - " Lucas started before he cut him off.
"No one should question my right to be here, then."
They soon found themselves in the apartment where the body of an elderly woman was in a sitting position on the sofa still holding her unfinished needlepoint in her lap. She wore an old, blue floral dress that went just below her knees; the hair on her head, a web of silver yarn. Her facial lines and wrinkles made her look ... sweet. As they moved closer, they became aware of the faint scent of lavender which Henry associated with a perfume called Primrose.
"Looks like she simply died in her sleep," Lucas speculated as they stood in front of her.
Leaning closer to her, Henry took in a deep whiff while waving a hand toward his face. Besides the perfume, another sweet, flowery smell lingered about her. The tea set in front of her on the coffee table garnered his attention.
"Lucas. Look at this," he said, flicking his head down toward the stylish, white, Royal Albert tea set of bone china with a delicate red rose on either side, including the lid, cup, and saucer.
"She was poisoned?" Lucas asked.
"No," Henry replied. "You were correct in your first assumption: she slept away. Pointing to the full cup of tea, he said, "The killer intended for her demise to come about after she'd consumed this tea. But it appears she never had the chance."
"Well, well, well. Sherlock Holmes' icky brother, himself." The other Mike's disparaging voice came from his right as he sauntered in.
Henry swallowed before replying, not having given enough thought to an encounter with Mike's doppelganger. Training his eyes on the woman's corpse in an effort to concentrate, he continued.
"The teacup contains the strong scent of honey and oleander, a common flowering shrub. But all parts are deadly: the nectar, smoke from the burning plants, the twigs. Why, even the honey made from bees that have fed on rhododendrons, azaleas, and oleanders is poisonous." He swallowed again, aware that the other Mike was nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with him on his right, frowning at him with a penetrating gaze.
"The teapot, however, contains only the scent of the tea." He bent down, raised the lid of the pot and hand-waved another deep whiff into his nose. Placing the lid back on, he straightened up. "A loose-leaf, English breakfast blend. One of my favorites, actually," he added with a slight smile but still avoiding eye contact with the detective.
"Jo told me about you," the dark-haired detective said. "Said you're a doctor? I musta missed the part about you being an ME, too."
"He's not icky like Henry," the other Jo replied as she came to stand near them. Her gaze dropped from his face down to his ID. "But I'm missing something, too. Since when do you work for the OCME?"
"Oh, he's sort of just ... an ... interested observer," the other Lucas replied for him.
"Oh, yeah? Sure you're not from IA?" the other Mike asked, warily.
"Absolutely not," Henry quickly assured him, feeling insulted.
"Well ... okay. What killed the old lady here?" the other Jo asked.
"It would appear that she simply took a nap and ... never woke up," Henry replied.
"Interesting," the other Jo said. "Because two of her neighbors, Paula Frierson and Nathan Bishop, are accusing each other of having poisoned her." She held up a plastic bag with a small, dark brown, medicinal bottle with an eye dropper cap inside, pressing her lips together with raised eyebrows. "You're sure she wasn't?"
"Fairly positive," Henry replied, taking the bagged item from her and examining it. Handing it back to her, he speculated that it would have been easy for the killer to pour a small amount into the cup without the victim knowing it.
"However, if she had consumed it, she would have immediately begun reacting to it. Just like digitalis, the poison is a cardiac stimulator and causes sweating, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, unconsciousness, respiratory paralysis, and finally death. None of those symptoms are present."
Placing his gloved hands on both sides of the teapot and then on the cup, he straightened back up and told them, "This pot was brewed less than two hours ago. Enough time for some of those symptoms to have presented themselves." He bent down and looked closer at the needlepoint she'd been working on. The two detectives exchanged cynical looks while the young Assistant ME watched this other Henry in familiar, rapt anticipation of him sharing his next observation. Just like his own boss would.
"Lovely and quite intricate," he murmured, twisting his head to the left, then right, admiring it. "A Good Neighbor Memory pattern. Notice the newest, completed section indicating that she'd worked on it, I'd say, for at least half an hour before passing. The last few stitches haphazardly executed," he pointed out.
"They look alike, they walk alike, at times, they even talk alike," the other Mike playfully observed as he quoted a line from the opening theme song of the old "Patty Duke Show" in which she had a visiting, lookalike cousin. "Is, uh, butthead also a needlepoint expert?" he asked. He chuckled, shaking his head. "You guys seem to know a lot about the oddest things."
"I assume you are referring to my cousin," Henry told him, bristling at the unkind remark much to his own surprise. "One can only benefit from continued education, Detective. Broadens one's knowledge on a variety of subjects."
Turning away from a Mike with ruffled feathers and back to the victim, he announced, "She did not brew the tea with the poison in it. She would have succumbed even from the smell of it. Neither did she commit suicide by adding it into her cup. Someone else dropped it in (pointing at the plastic evidence bag) and left, thinking the natural course of events would unfold. Who discovered the body?" he asked, rolling his tongue around in his mouth.
"Lady Barnacle," the other Jo replied, breaking out into a grin at their surprised reactions. "Not a human," she told them. "Lady Barnacle is a cute little dog. Her owner, Maeve Thomas, is a tenant down the hall. Said she was on her way out to take the dog for a walk but it got away from her and ran straight to our vic's door ... "
vvvv
"The door must not have been closed all the way," Maeve Thomas told the crime-solving foursome in a refined, Boston accent as her wrinkled hands cuddled her diminutive pet, a brown-and-white Basenji. "The door edged open, Lady B - Oh, that's what I call her," she giggled. "My late husband named her." Maeve shook her head full of silver hair, frowning. "Barnacle simply should not be paired with Lady for a proper name. She responds so much better to Lady B." She hugged and cuddled the dog, grinning and cooing.
"Um ... Mrs. Thomas - " the other Jo said, gently interrupting her.
"Oh! Oh, yes. Sorry. Now, where was I?" she asked, tapping a finger against her lips.
"The victim's apartment door edged open and Lady B - " the other Jo prompted her further.
"Oh. Yes. Lady B scooted inside and I scooted in after her with all apologies ready to offer my friend, Alouetta, but instead ... " she paused, her voice cracking. "There she was," she managed, sniffling. "I could tell that she was gone. In her sleep. So peaceful," she added just above a whisper. Then, realizing that further explanation might be needed, she looked up at all of them and added, "I'm a retired nurse - 43 years at Boston General - and I recognize when death has made its claim on a body."
When questioned about the young couple, Paula and Nathan, her amiable features turned dark. "Oh, those two," her voice now gruff. Leaning forward, she told them of how Alouetta had confided in her that she'd grown tired of the young couple's empty promises to repay several small loans she'd made to them.
"Why, just last week, Alouetta told me that she was thinking of taking legal action against them to recover what they owed her."
"How much money are we talking here?" the other Mike asked.
"Altogether? Somewhere in the neighborhood of $6,500," Maeve replied. "The last loan three months ago was $1,500 dollars. Alouetta said that they always promised to repay her but then grew angry when she threatened to take them to court."
The foursome shared a knowing look, thanked her, and left. Henry was almost certain that an autopsy would prove that Alouetta died of natural causes but the couple might still face attempted murder charges, along with conspiracy to commit murder, and bilking money from an elderly person.
vvvv
"Solved your first case," Abe announced in a congratulatory tone to Henry, raising a glass of wine to him. "On behalf of me and my humble dimension, we thank you," he jokingly added.
"Something that I miss being involved with," Henry admitted, smiling. "This case was pretty straightforward, though. A case of an elderly person having her funds siphoned off by schemers."
"Any idea which one tried to poison her?"
"Both of them," Henry replied. At Abe's frown of confusion, he explained further. "It's a simple case of them accusing each other, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the prosecution to prove that either of them did it alone. I recall a similar case of siblings who'd succeeded in murdering their parents. The Muir case. Both of them are laying the blame on the other."
"Hmmm. Sounds like you gotta trick them into thinking that the other has agreed to a plea deal. Ratted the other out," Abe said.
"They were going to try that just before ... " Henry's voice trailed off.
"Before you got sucked into this dimension," Abe finished for him. "Did you meet Sgt. Reece?"
"Yes," he replied. He had met the formidable woman. As formidable as his own Lt. Reece.
"Welcome to the 11th, Dr. Morgan. I understand that you've been helping my detectives put a case away today. Thank you," Sgt. Reece had greeted him, surprising him. "I know all the goings on in my precinct ... and the OCME. You, sir, seem to have popped up out of nowhere to be able to wear that ID. But ... we won't discuss that. That is, unless you suddenly 'pop' up again. Understood?"
"She, ah, invited me to observe while the couple was being questioned but I felt they had enough information to proceed on their own so I bailed, as Lucas would say," he said, grinning.
A cross between a grunt and a harrumph left Abe's lips. "It's a wonder you ever escaped intact," he told Henry. "How'd you manage to get away without being arrested for tampering with a crime scene?"
"I didn't tamper with it," Henry explained defensively. "Merely shared my observations and expertise with them and the Sergeant thanked me if you'll recall."
"Yeah, yeah, but don't do that again, please," Abe begged. "I was worried the whole time you were gone." He took a sip from his glass, casting an even more serious look at his houseguest. "Did Jo ask you again about Dad?"
"Fortunately, no," Henry replied. "Although I think she wanted to." He blew out a breath through his puffed cheeks. "Lying to her. Lying to my Jo. Lies, all the time lies in order to hide my condition! His, too, I suppose. It's beginning to wear at me," he confessed.
"Jo doesn't know about his condition," Abe reminded him. "When I realized that they were seeing each other, I tried to convince him to come clean with her. When we found out that she was expecting, I urged him again."
"What happened?" Henry asked, although he could tell by the look on Abe's face, it wasn't good.
Abe scoffed. "Told me to mind my own business, and that if I told her - which I threatened to - he would leave. That she'd raise the baby without him."
"So he does acknowledge that the child is his?" Henry asked.
"Oh, yeah, he knows it's his. He's just being an ass." Abe shook his head. "Telling her that crap about maybe it wasn't." He shook his head again. "Feel like strangling him sometimes. That's my little brother or sister and he won't even tell her the truth about himself!"
"How did she look today?" Abe asked after calming himself down. "She looked so tired and pale last time she was here."
"The same," Henry replied. "Worries me that she's not getting her proper rest or nutrition." He cautiously asked, "Does he ... has he ever looked in on her?"
"Beats me," Abe replied, frustrated. "I used to but ... kind of awkward for me to call her or go over to her house, ya know? She doesn't know my true connection to her and the baby. She thinks I'm acting out of pity and that is a definite no-no where Jo is concerned."
"Strong, proud woman who prefers to stand on her own two feet," Henry assessed. Sounds a lot like his Jo. His Jo? Ohhh, if only he could get back home. He'd do all he could to find out if she would be. His Jo. Abe's voice cut into his thoughts.
"I'd like to hear more about your romp through Sherlock Land but," he told him, rising from his chair with a groan, "time to call it a night."
"Um, Abraham," Henry began. "Does your father really sleep in the basement laboratory?" He hadn't seen a bed or a comfortable place to rest in there.
Abe paused, considering his words. "You take the guest room. End of the hall."
Henry thanked him with a sigh of relief and they both retired for the evening.
vvvv
The next morning, the shop received another visit from the other Jo, much to both men's surprise and chagrin. Not that they didn't like her, quite the opposite. But the less Henry interacted with anyone other than his son's counterpart, the better.
"Jo, uh, nice to see you," Abe greeted her, struggling to hide how uncomfortable he was with her being there. "Uh, Henry, uh, called and said he'd be back in a couple of days." In fact, Wednesday was only a couple of days away, so he wasn't exactly lying.
She eyed Henry suspiciously as the three of them stood in the shop's retail portion. "Where did you send him? Is he even in the country anymore?"
"He ... well ... he is quite a distance away," Henry replied. Then, noticing her more healthy-looking appearance, he said, "You look more rested than the last time we saw each other."
She laughed softly and replied, "Thanks, I guess. Still think I look kinda wrung out but I did manage to get a little more sleep last night. Your contributions in the Periwinkle case helped put those two away for a long time."
"Good. Good. Glad to have helped," Henry replied. He eyed the other Abe uncertainly and told her, "As soon as Cousin Henry returns, I, uh, we will be sure to let you know."
"If you're trying to give me the bum's rush, don't bother," she dryly replied. "I came over here to see you, not him; to thank you for your help. But since you two seem to want me gone - "
They both began to protest when she turned to walk out of the shop.
"It's okay, guys. I'm sure you have an exciting cricket match to watch or something," she chortled. "And, um, yesterday's case will be my last for a while. My doctor's taking me off work early. Would have been next week but ... " she looked down at her baby bump and placed her hand on top of it. "Junior's a bit anxious to get out if you know what I mean."
"So, you already know the gender?" Henry asked, smiling. Jo nodded, smiling back.
Abe had moved past them to greet a man who'd just entered the shop but something didn't sit quite right with Henry. The man who'd entered the shop simply didn't look like the usual antique-loving customer. In fact, he didn't seem to really be focused on any of the items. Instead, he stood on the inside of the door and peered out into the street.
"May I help you?" the elderly proprietor asked.
"Nah," he quickly replied. "Just looking." But he continued to strain his neck looking out into the street to his right and then the left.
"Well, if you're not looking at the merchandise, I'll have to ask you to leave," Abe told him.
"Just back off, will ya?" the man warned him, glaring at him over his shoulder. "I'm not bothering any of your junk!"
"Junk?!" an annoyed Abe exclaimed. "Okay, that's it. Get outta here!" he demanded, waving a dismissive hand at him. Greatly concerned, Henry had edged past the detective and now stood beside Abe. However, Jo was a peace officer and felt it was her duty to still protect and serve her two companions. Her cop's instincts told her that this guy was bad news. She undid the strap on her holster and gripped the gun, her badge prominently displayed as it hung from its lanyard.
The man turned around to face Abe and found that Henry had joined him. "Who are you?" he scoffed. "The bouncer?"
"No," Henry flatly replied. "But I would advise you to do as my friend requests. You're two seconds past trespassing," he told him, matter-of-factly.
"Oh, am I?" the man chuckled. "You gonna call the cops on me?"
"He doesn't have to, genius," Jo told him, catching his attention as he peered over Henry's shoulder at her. "Det. Jo Martinez NYPD. Either you leave or get hauled in for disturbing the peace, among other things. I'm sure we can find a few more charges to pile on once we run you through our database for priors."
The man's previously unpleasant behavior seemed to melt away. "Look, Officer - "
"Detective," she corrected him. Her eyes bored into his.
"Detective. Look, there are ... people out there tryin' to ... tryin' to kill me," he told her, lowering his voice. "You send me out there, you sign my death warrant."
"Why do these ... people want to kill you?" Henry asked, still annoyed with the man but curiosity aroused. At the same time, he was doing his best to edge more in front in order to protect his two companions all the while realizing that Jo was just as determined to protect the two of them.
"Because I may have kinda sorta borrowed some ... cannabis from them," the slender, 20-something, dark-haired man haltingly admitted.
"You mean you stole it!" Henry barked at him.
"And you led them here?!" Abe asked, incredulous and angered.
From outside the shop, they heard a voice yell out, "There he is!" and pounding footsteps that came closer. "Tony, you bastard!" another voice rang out.
The man now had a name: Tony. He pushed his way past Henry and Jo, knocking them aside and sending himself sprawling. He jumped to his feet and ran to the back of the shop and bolted out of the door that led to the alley. Two figures in dark blue hoodies now stood in front of the shop. Abe had managed to lock the door when they'd first heard the yelling. The two outside continued to yell as they pounded on the glass door. Henry regained his footing and helped upright Jo. She brought her gun up and aimed it at the two outside and yelled for them to stop, which they promptly did. They backed away from the door with their hands up, then charged off to their left, away from the shop.
"I'm fine, guys, I'm fine," she assured the two concerned men. "Better lock that back door so he can't get back inside," she advised them and holstered her weapon.
"He'd be stupid to come back here," Abe declared. "Are you gonna report these guys? Because I sure want to."
"Suppose I should," she said with a sigh and reached for her cell phone. "There was a time when I would have pursued them. Can't do that now," she muttered. Her head snatched up and she spoke into the phone, identifying herself and reporting the disturbance at the shop.
Just then Tony reappeared at the shop's door, yanking on the knob and then pounding on the door. "Let me in!" he pleaded, his eyes wide with fear. He looked to his left then slowly backed away to his right. Jo attempted to move toward the door but Henry instinctively stepped in front of her. Everything happened in slow motion after that, although only in the space of seconds.
The dispute between Tony and the other two men escalated into an altercation during which one of them produced a gun and fired it at Tony, who managed to duck out of the way at the last minute. The two men and Tony ran off in opposite directions just as the distant wail of a police car siren was heard. The damage had been done, though. The bullet had passed through the large display window, shattering it. Along with Abe, Henry had managed to pull Jo further away from the front of the store with Henry positioning himself as their human shield. Abe didn't protest but was upset, nonetheless, because he knew what Henry was doing. Jo was upset because they were keeping her from doing her job and Henry was way too much in harm's way. And the bullet had found a target.
"You're ... Henry ... you're shot," Jo said, her voice just above a whisper. Her horror-filled eyes growing wider along with the widening blood stain on his chest.
He dropped to the floor like a rag doll, choking on the blood filling up in his throat. Abe and Jo knelt beside him. While Jo assured him that help would be there any second, he slowly slid his eyes away from her and over to Abe.
"East ... River," he managed to choke out before exhaling his last breath and vanishing before their eyes in a blinding flash of white light. Abe marveled at how stunningly different it was from the brilliantly white, twinkling stars seen after his father's deaths. He had seen him die more than once but Jo. Oh, God. Jo had seen this man die and he was afraid of what was going through her mind right now and how it might affect her and her unborn child.
"Jo, uh, I gotta go," Abe told her. She was shaking and blinking her wide eyes, looking around at the floor, around the shop, then back at him.
"Where ... where did he go? What just happened here, Abe?" she breathlessly implored.
"I can't explain right now," he told her. Then his heart jumped into his throat when she let out a small cry and clutched her round belly. Another cry and she doubled over. He eased her back into an armchair and knelt in front of her, asking if she was all right and realizing with great regret that Henry would most likely be getting arrested soon for emerging from the East River nude. He cursed that fact to himself, cursed Tony and his hooligan friends but also knew that he couldn't leave Jo. Then a thought crossed his mind as he lurched over to the landline phone and dialed a number. The arrival of a police unit was a welcome sight but there would be paperwork and questions. Questions he wasn't willing to answer.
vvvv
"Abe told me what happened," Lucas said as he sat behind the wheel of his car and Henry quickly dried off in the back seat. "It's all ... hard to believe," he added.
Henry pulled on the too-long scrubs rolling both the arms and legs up to accommodate his shorter-than-Lucas frame. "You're right," he replied, leaving the back seat for the front and closing the door. "I find it hard to believe myself, at times."
Lucas started up the car and asked, "Where to?"
The shop was ruled out because of the police presence most likely still there.
"Maybe you crash at my crib for a minute?"
"I suppose so," Henry replied. "But I'm concerned for Abe and Jo. I need to know that they're all right."
"Well, according to Abe, they're fine. But ... because of that dying and vanishing act of yours," Lucas began, "she's now in labor."
Information on poisonous, flowering shrubs found at
Description of a sweet, little old lady, courtesy of 'Saptaparna SAMAJDAR, A Thinker. A writer' How-can-I-describe-an-extremely-old-woman-Ive-met-in-words#
Information on old-style tea sets found at shop/by-type/teapots-tea-sets?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3OioivjW3gIVnSCtBh0xyAhoEAAYASAAEgLK7_D_BwE
Information on tea brands found at .
Information on small dog breeds found at . /blog/small-dog-breeds/#Basenji