A Bell in the Garden

by Sheri Richey

  §

  Finding Conrad sitting at the counter in the Fennel Street Bakery talking to the usual morning crowd that gathered for coffee every day, Cora greeted them all before ordering. Taking her coffee and cinnamon roll to a table, Conrad soon followed.

  “Starting the week off right?” Conrad said smiling at the cinnamon roll. “I thought I recalled you had sworn off these.”

  “It’s your fault,” Cora scoffed. “I was looking for you and you know I can’t resist these buns.”

  Laughing, Conrad pulled up a chair and put his coffee on the table. “So how is Amanda this morning?”

  “That’s why I was looking for you,” Cora said licking her fingers. “Bryan is having a hard time with all the people there. It sounds like they aren’t respecting his property very well and it’s his livelihood.”

  “I would be upset, too,” Conrad said as he blew on his coffee to cool it.

  “Apparently some people showed up yesterday, but another big group came today. Does it take that many people to excavate?”

  “Well, the State works with the university so they are mostly students I would guess.”

  “Maybe you could ease his anxiety a little. Amanda told him to call you, but he doesn’t want to be a bother.”

  “I’ll drive out there,” Conrad said nodding. “Maybe I can influence them to take a little care with things. Depends on who is out there.”

  “You think the Sheriff would be there?”

  “I don’t know,” Conrad said shrugging. He wouldn’t get anywhere if he was.

  “Unless there’s a camera crew, I wouldn’t think he would bother showing up.” Cora quirked her eyebrows up.

  Conrad looked into his coffee cup and huffed. “I can always give Alice a call if I can’t get anyone’s ear out there.”

  “I asked Amanda about the prior owners, but she said Bryan hadn’t mentioned it. Have you heard anything?”

  “Georgia Marshall down at the station told me a family named Burris lived out there before the Stotlars bought it. A young couple she said were having their first baby. She met them because she was pregnant with Jason at the time and they were is some class together. What is Jason now? Maybe sixteen? Eighteen? Something like that.”

  “I knew a Stephen Burris,” Cora looked over Conrad’s head searching her memory. “He was a big kid, blonde hair. He might be about 35 or 40 now. I don’t think he lives here anymore though.”

  “Well, nothing to worry about until they know how old the bones are,” Conrad said as Cora dabbed at her mouth with a napkin.

  “I need to get going. I think I need something from the drugstore.” Conrad frowned and then saw the twinkle in Cora’s eyes. “If Mavis happens to be working, I’ll see what she remembers.”

  “I’ll drive out and check on Bryan in a little bit,” Conrad said standing to push his chair back under the table. “I bet there are gawkers out there.”

  “Yes, Amanda mentioned that, too.” Conrad just shook his head.

  §

  Stepping into Chervil’s Drugstore, Cora looked around for Mavis but there was no one behind the counter. Strolling down the aisles she found her squatted down stocking the shelves.

  “Hi, Mavis. Long time no see,” Cora beamed and patted her shoulder as she walked around her.

  Standing, Mavis brushed her hands vigorously over her jeans. “Hey there, Cora. Anything I can help you find?”

  “No, I’m just looking. I didn’t see you leave Saturday. You worked pretty hard all day. Were you worn out when you went home? I know I was,” Cora said chuckling.

  “Not too bad,” Mavis said opening the top of the next box.

  “Your knees are not as old as mine,” Cora said giggling. “I’m not used to standing all day.”

  “I was happy to help the kids. I hope this business venture goes well for Bryan. He’s a good kid.”

  “Yes, they make a cute couple. I don’t really know Bryan all that well. I had him as a student, but he was a quiet boy. How long have you known him?”

  “Oh, several years,” Mavis said. “Since his parents bought the place.”

  “How long have you lived out there?”

  “Since I married Howard,” Mavis said squatting back down to shelve the vitamins she had opened. “Almost thirty years ago.”

  “Do you remember who lived there before the Stotlars? I’m sure Bing would have remembered, but I couldn’t recall.”

  “You heard about the bones,” Mavis said glancing up at Cora.

  “Well, yes, I knew about them,” Cora admitted, realizing Mavis saw her motivation for asking. “That’s what made me wonder. I’m sure the bones are decades old though and I couldn’t recall anyone there before the Stotlars.”

  “I don’t remember them all either,” Mavis shrugged and pulled another box closer. “There were renters in and out. Most people didn’t stay more than a year or two.”

  “That explains why I can’t recall, I guess. By the way, I didn’t get a chance to tell you your almond biscotti were delicious. If you ever decide to do some catering or sell some of your baked goods, please let me know. I’m a sucker for sweets.” Cora scrunched her shoulders up and smiled.

  “Thank you,” Mavis said and relaxed her shoulders. “Bryan has always been fond of them.”

  “I need to get back to work,” Cora said as she turned to head down the aisle. “Take care, Mavis.”

  “You, too.”

  Cora turned the corner and slipped out the door for the short walk to City Hall. She sensed Mavis had found her questions about her neighbors somewhat irritating, but maybe Mavis had received a lot of inquiries from shoppers today. Spicetown could be a gossipy place but Mavis didn’t usually participate. Living next door to the discovery of buried bones and being at the grand opening when they were found had probably put her in a spotlight she didn’t relish. Cora regretted adding to her angst, but she texted the information to Conrad as she walked.

  §

  Breezing through Amanda’s office to reach her own, Cora tugged off her coat. “I’m back. Did I miss anything?” Not waiting for an answer from Amanda, she pulled open her desk drawer and dropped her large satchel purse inside before sitting down.

  “Actually,” Amanda said entering Cora’s office right behind her, “I found out who owned Bryan’s farm. Well, kind of…”

  “That’s good,” Cora said leaning forward on her elbows. “Who was it?”

  “A company called Stanton Bell, LLC. He owned, or it owned almost all the land north of town until about thirty years ago when it started selling off small plots to different people.”

  “Interesting,” Cora said humming. “That name is familiar to me, but I don’t know why.”

  “Well, the company had a Cleveland address. I didn’t find any paperwork filed to subdivide it, but it started selling in five-acre lots up to some forty-acre pieces to different people after that. It still owns some undeveloped land out there.”

  “And how did you find all this out? Did you hear from Bryan?”

  “No, I looked it up online. The county recorder’s office had some information and then I called them and got the rest.”

  “Who owns the property next door?”

  “Where Mavis lives?”

  “Yes,” Cora said. “Did you notice when you looked up Bryan?”

  “No, but I can check. Wouldn’t it be Mavis? I mean she’s been there forever.”

  “Perhaps,” Cora said shrugging. “It may have her husband’s name on it. I think he was living there before they married.”

  “Oh, I didn’t know him,” Amanda turned in the doorway. “Let me check.”

  “One more thing,” Cora said raising her index finger. “Check with the Secretary of State and see what you find out about the LLC. It may only have an attorney’s name for whoever filed it, but you never know. I think that’s probably online too.”

  “Oh, good idea,” Amanda said nodding and heading back to her desk.

  Cora sent Co
nrad another text asking him to call when he was free so she could share Amanda’s information. Something was eating at her and she decided it was time to do her own online searches.

  CHAPTER 9

  “Bryan,” Conrad said waving his hand to greet Bryan who was standing at the base of the incline to his tree lot. Amanda had been right. There had to be at least twenty-five people around, most wearing white paper sterile covers over their clothes and shoes.

  “Oh, Chief. Am I ever glad to see you,” Bryan said shaking his hand. “These people are ruining my trees. Can you talk to them?”

  “Well, who is in charge of the site?”

  “The coroner has been here most of the morning, but I don’t see her right now. That man with the blue hat,” Bryan said pointing to an older gentleman with glasses who was standing behind the group in white, “He’s from the University. The guy sitting on the side in the yellow shirt, he’s from the State. He hasn’t done anything much, just stand around.”

  “Did they tell you how long all this would take?”

  “No, they don’t want to talk to me at all. In fact, they keep trying to run me off, but I’m not leaving. I’ve got to keep an eye on these trees. The ones on the side, the little ones, those are Fraser Firs. I just planted them, and they need to be watered. They’re not like the other trees. The others are Scotch Pines and they’re established. I’ve spent years growing these trees to a size where I could plant them. I don’t want to lose them. They’re very fragile right now.”

  “I’ll see if I can get a word with the coroner. See if I can find anything out,” Conrad said scanning the area for her gray, almost white, hair. “Is the Sheriff’s office here?”

  “There’s a deputy sitting out in his car, but he’s planning to leave. They keep someone here at night, but I guess he doesn’t have to stay when everybody else is here. It’s been a circus.”

  Catching a glimpse of Alice’s cotton top, Conrad patted Bryan on the arm and started up the incline.

  Nodding a greeting to those he passed through, he finally reached Alice.

  “Hey, Chief,” Alice said cheerily. “What brings you out to our party?”

  “It’s a beautiful morning,” Conrad said smiling. “Just checking in on Bryan. Do you have a minute?”

  “Sure thing,” Alice said stepping away from the group of students. “I know the young man’s worried about his trees, Conrad, so before you say anything, rest assured, we aren’t here to hurt anything.”

  “So, he’s talked to you,” Conrad said looking around at all the equipment and people on their knees with tools.

  “Oh, yes,” Alice said shaking her head. “He’s done little else.”

  “But Alice, this is his only source of income and you are threatening that. I can’t pretend to understand all this, but I know that these little trees here on this end are fragile and require some care from him. He’s just starting out in the nursery business and…” Conrad saw Alice nodding her head robustly with a bored expression. Obviously, Bryan had shared his concerns with her. “How long is this going to take?”

  “No idea, Conrad,” Alice said shaking her head. “This excavation stuff is not my bag. It’ll take as long as it takes to keep the evidence intact. It does look like the whole skeleton is there though and that’s a huge advantage. If we can get all the bones out in good shape, we have a real chance at getting ID and maybe even a cause of death.”

  “Any idea how long the body has been here?”

  “That’s the hardest thing to determine and we may never know,” Alice said glancing at her phone. “I’d say somewhere between ten years and forty years. Maybe we can give you a better guess than that once the bones are cleaned.”

  “I know most of these are students and this is a great learning experience for them, but please try to get this removed as quickly as possible,” Conrad pleaded. His fear was the university leaders were keen to drag out the operation focusing on the learning opportunity and disregarding Bryan’s needs.

  “I definitely will,” Alice assured him as she placed her hand on his upper arm. “I’m sure he wants to know who this person is as much as we do though, so he needs to understand they will probably take this corner of his field to sift for any surface clues. They are trying not to disturb his little trees, but they’ll do whatever they think is necessary. If they find something near a tree, they are going to keep going.”

  “I’ll try to explain that,” Conrad said shaking his head.

  “He doesn’t want to look uncooperative.” Alice raised her eyebrows and gazed at Conrad oddly. Had Bryan’s fussing been interpreted as him trying to impede the investigation?

  “I trust you’ll do your best,” Conrad said as he turned to step down the hill. Bryan was at the foot of the incline anxiously awaiting his arrival and offered him a hand when his footing slipped near the bottom.

  “Let’s go inside for a minute,” Conrad said to Bryan with a furrowed brow. It was time to lay some things out clearly before Bryan’s concerns became a target of investigation.

  §

  “Hi, Cora,” Conrad said through his car’s Bluetooth speaker. “I got your message. I’m driving back to town now. I went to see Bryan.”

  “Oh, good. Is he okay?”

  “Yeah, he’s fine. He’s just really worked up about losing some of those new trees he just planted. They are some kind of special type or something. Amanda was right though. It’s a mess out there and way too many people tromping around.”

  “Was the Sheriff there?”

  “No, a deputy was leaving when I got there but they are posting one there at night. Alice was there, a State guy looking on and a bunch of university students. A lot more people than I expected.”

  “That could be good though,” Cora suggested. “Maybe it will be over quickly with that much help.”

  “I don’t think so,” Conrad said with regret. “I got the impression they are using this as a teaching moment, and that’s dragging it out. I heard the guy in charge of the students talking them through each little step, explaining things and making them do it over. It sounds to me like a bunch of wasting time, but what do I know…”

  “Tsk, that’s unfortunate. Were you able to convey Bryan’s concerns to Alice?”

  “Yes, but she was already very aware. Apparently, Bryan has been trying to talk to them all day. He just wasn’t feeling like they gave his concerns any merit.”

  “He’s probably right. They have a different motive.”

  “Exactly,” Conrad said as he coasted into town. “So, what did you find out when you went shopping?”

  “I was surprised Mavis wasn’t very forthcoming. She seemed a little miffed at my questions.”

  “She seemed really friendly Saturday.”

  “I know but she let me know right off she knew I was asking because of the bones. Anyway, she did tell me there were renters in and out before the Stotlars. None of them stayed long.”

  “That will be hard to trace,” Conrad said as he pulled into his parking space at the police department.

  “Oh, but the reason I asked you to call,” Cora said almost forgetting Amanda’s information, “the land was owned by Stanton Bell, LLC. Do you know that name?”

  “No, it doesn’t mean a thing. Do you?”

  “I feel like I do, or I should. It sounds so familiar, but I can’t place it.”

  “Stanton Bell? I wonder if it’s any of Bobby’s family.”

  “Or Howard’s. Mavis moved out there when she married Howard Bell. Is the sheriff related to Howard?”

  “No idea, but it may not even be a person named Stanton Bell. It may be a two people, one named Stanton and the other Bell.”

  “I hadn’t thought of that,” Cora mused. “Amanda’s checking on the LLC part. Maybe the officers of the company are public.”

  “I’m at the office now. Let me know,” Conrad said as he prepared to turn off the car and they agreed to talk later. Walking into dispatch, there were several officers mil
ling about. The day patrol was usually pretty slow in the mornings.

  “Hey, Chief,” Officer Roy Asher said between bites of his breakfast burrito. “Heard you found some bones this weekend. Any news on them yet?”

  “No, it’s the county’s case. I just happened to be out at the Stotlar place.”

  “Yeah, it can’t be the Stotlar’s doing though,” Roy said as he chewed. “They were good people. Bryan, too.”

  Conrad nodded and took some messages Georgia handed him.

  “We got any missing people?” Roy asked. “I mean like from a long time ago. Any missing reports open?”

  “Chief’s already pulled them,” Georgia said smirking.

  “I’ll take a look but without a time frame, I don’t know what good it will do,” Conrad said shrugging.

  “We could have a murderer right here in Spicetown,” Roy said wadding up the wrapper from his breakfast and attempting to shoot it into the trash.

  Conrad picked up the failed attempt and dropped the wrapper into the trash can frowning at Roy. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

  “Course not, Chief. I’m just saying…” Roy stood up and pulled on the waistband of his pants which kept sneaking under his belly. “I better get out of here. See you later, Chief.”

  Conrad waved at Roy and looked down at the messages Georgia had handed him.

  “Georgia, do you know what the Sheriff needed?”

  “Nope,” Georgia said spinning around in her chair to face Conrad. “He didn’t say, but it didn’t sound urgent.”

  Nodding, Conrad walked back to his office and started his coffee maker before sitting down at his desk. The other message was one to call Karen Goldman, a Spicetown resident he had helped last summer when her young son wandered too far from home. He hoped that hadn’t happened again.

  “Karen? This is Chief Harris. I got a message you called.”

  “Yes. Thank you for calling me back. I really hate to bother you, but the news this weekend has… I just had to say something.”

  “It’s no bother at all. What has you concerned?”