Crocuses and Corpses (Treehouse Hotel Mysteries Book 5)

by Sue Hollowell

  David said, “Mabel, you are more than welcome to come back here after the show. But just know, fur will be flying. When the show is over, we’re so ready to be done.”

  I took Mom’s hand that she had tucked into David’s arm and transferred it to my arm. “Thank you again.” I waved and we headed down the hallway to the lobby to be seated.

  The lobby was about half full of people waiting for the doors to open. I stopped in an opening near the Cats poster on the wall. “Mom, are you OK?” She hadn’t said a word for much longer than usual.

  The floodgates opened. “Chloe, I couldn’t be any better. If I dropped dead right now, I’d be a happy woman. When Cecil started showing his true colors, I wasn’t sure I would want to come on another cruise. I mean, why can’t people just be who they are? Why all of the secrecy and deceit?”

  Audrey looked at her watch and started looking around like she was expecting someone. She slightly shifted her weight back and forth between her feet.

  I worked to keep my focus and emotions appearing normal. “I’m glad to hear you say that, Mom. I think, overall, this has been a wonderful experience. There’s always going to be Cecils in the world. But we can’t let that ruin our fun.”

  “Well said, Chloe. How long before we can go in? These shoes are starting to hurt.” Mom stuck her foot out so we could see it.

  “Not long. Audrey, I just remembered I have to take care of something. Would you take Mom to her seat?” I transferred Mom’s hand to Audrey, giving her no chance to decline.

  “Of course. I’d be happy to.” Audrey looked at Mom. “I was telling Chloe that maybe next time I can bring my mom on the cruise and you can meet her.”

  Ignoring Audrey, Mom asked, “Chloe, where are you going?”

  I disappeared into the crowd. I needed to get to the captain and share my theory. I only hoped he didn’t view me as just another whack job, drunk on sea air. As I wove through the growing mob, I tried to organize my thoughts in a logical manner. I needed to have a coherent story by the time I got there.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  By the time I returned to the lobby, the entire crowd had been seated inside the theater. I rushed through the door before it closed, signaling the start of the show. I stopped before descending the aisle to my seat in order to catch my breath. I didn’t know if I was more out of breath from hurrying or the intensity of my accusation of Luke’s killer. On the way to the captain’s office I mulled over every single piece of evidence in my head, multiple times from multiple angles. There was only one logical conclusion. Complicating matters were the several people who had a motive, but only one who would carry it out.

  I held my ticket out to the usher, who shone her flashlight, illuminating my row and seat number. She pointed to a spot about halfway down the aisle to the right. I saw the empty seat in a sold-out room. I slow-walked to finish gathering my wits before I got there. Audrey was seated on the aisle, next to Mom. I scooted past and dropped into my seat.

  “Chloe, where were you? You almost missed act one,” Mom admonished.

  Little did she know, this production was nothing compared to the drama about to ensue. I tried to focus on the show, distracting my thoughts from how this would go down. While the song was playing, I intently studied the actors, deliberately noticing each detail of costume, makeup, and choreography. When the songs ended, I turned toward Mom and smiled. In truth, I was scouting out whether the captain and his crew would interrupt the show to arrest the killer.

  Act one completed and the house lights came on. “Wow. Wasn’t David wonderful? I can’t believe I actually know a real star. That makes me feel kind of famous.” Mom had such a unique take on circumstances. At times, I envied her perspective, interjecting the whimsy into life. But my brain always defaulted to the logical. That’s why I was so good at solving puzzles. “Let’s get up. I’d like to have a drink to celebrate.” Mom stood and Audrey followed suit, leading us up the aisle to the lobby.

  I might just join Mom in an adult beverage, or two. This was going to be a night to remember, and I needed something to calm my nervousness before Mom spotted the action. We merged into the crowd. I scanned for the captain or any of the crew. Nothing yet. I gently placed my hand on Mom’s back and guided her to the side of the room so we could make a plan. We stopped at the same place we had previously waited before the show started. I positioned my back to the wall so I would be prepared.

  The waitress approached and took our drink order. I seriously wanted to order two but restrained myself.

  Mom turned toward Audrey. “So why don’t we make a plan for your visit to our hotel? We’ll put you up in our nicest unit. It’s even got an elevator to make it easy to get to. And bring Charlie too. That way Max will have a playmate, right, Chloe?”

  “Mm-hmm,” I mumbled, keeping my head in the conversation but my eyes fixed on the door to the lobby. It should be easy to spot those white uniforms and hats as they entered.

  “Chloe, where’s your head?” Mom elbowed my side. I winced as she poked me.

  I looked at my watch. Time was running out for this to happen during intermission. What if they arrived during the show? Would they interrupt the performance to make the arrest? The waitress arrived with our drinks, just in time for my fidgeting hands to have something to do. I took a sip and closed my eyes. This was now out of my hands. I would just need to pick up the pieces with Mom after it was all over. As I opened my eyes, a sea of white uniforms approached us. I grabbed Mom’s arm and pulled her beside me next to the wall.

  At first, she smiled, assuming the captain was greeting guests before we returned for act two. Then, she looked at me.

  “No,” she whispered. Then she looked at Audrey.

  One of the crew members took Audrey’s drink and handed it to me. He took one of her arms and placed it in handcuffs. She turned and allowed him to place her other hand into the cuffs.

  “Audrey,” Mom said. She looked at the captain, then at me and back to Audrey.

  Audrey tilted her head and frowned, tears streaming down her face. “I would do it a million times over, Mabel. It just wasn’t right, what Luke and Cecil were doing to little old ladies. They took everything my mom had in her life savings.”

  Mom stepped forward and hugged Audrey, who buried her head into Mom’s neck. She stepped back. “But killing him?”

  Audrey looked around and decided it best not to say another word. She just shook her head. The captain and crew turned to leave the lobby, and the crowd parted for their exit, more drama during intermission than the show.

  Mom gulped down her drink and handed the empty glass to a waitress passing by. “You just never know about people, do you? Someone who seems normal isn’t. And then some weirdos are perfectly lovely individuals.”

  I gulped my drink down and considered finishing Audrey’s too. “Mom, if you want to head back to the cabin, I’m completely fine with that.”

  She swung around and faced me, her hand on her hip. “Not on your life am I going to miss the second part of the show. We need to get our money’s worth.” She forged through the bodies, making her way to the door for the theater. That woman could compartmentalize her feelings and reactions like none other.

  I couldn’t help being conflicted about reporting Audrey to the captain. I knew it was the right thing to do. She had to be held accountable for her actions. I had to believe killing Luke was an accident. Something had gone too far and she had stabbed him in the heat of the moment. Given that she was on a second cruise without her mom this time, it appeared she had some premeditated plan. I chose to think it did not involve someone dying.

  I followed Mom to our seats. She sat tall, ignoring the vacancy to her left. She turned to me. “Chloe, this cruise has given me so many ideas about fun activities we can do at the hotel.”

  I was so glad she was seeing the glass half full. That wasn’t always her take on events. “Me too, Mom. What do you think about the karaoke?” I braced for a negative response.
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br />   “That’s just what I was thinking,” she squealed. “Maybe we could do a duet together before the cruise is over.” She placed her hands in her lap, the plan in place. I reached my arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “It’s a date, Mom. I’m so glad we did this.”

  She grabbed my hand, and grinned. “Me too.”

  The lights dimmed, act two about to get underway.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  There’s no place like home. The mundane and predictability were refreshing and a welcome sight after the drama on the high seas. Mom prepared for her own grand performance at the garden club. She had been dropping hints to the members all week about the story she had to tell. If I hadn’t been there to vouch for her story, they might not have believed her.

  “Chloe, so let me tell the stories. You can just fill in if I miss something.” Mom strutted into Caroline’s Confections and Coffee Shop, where she would entertain the garden club with our adventures from the cruise. I wondered how much embellishment she would offer. But it was her show. I suspected they wouldn’t get an ounce of club business done today. Max and I followed Mom to the back room of Caroline’s, where they had the meetings. The room was packed, everyone anticipating Mom’s arrival. When she entered the room, the group applauded. Mom gave a little curtsy.

  Her friend Caroline rushed up to her. “Mabel, are you OK?”

  Mom waved her off. “Oh, Caroline. I’m fine. No man is going to take me down.”

  The room thundered with applause. “Mabel, we saved you a seat so you can tell us all about it.” Caroline signaled a lone chair in the front of the room, facing the others. It was as if Mom was giving a presentation.

  Max and I headed to the furthest table in the back corner. The spotlight was all Mom’s. She acted like she didn’t live for this stuff. But she did.

  Mom fluffed her skirt out and slowly lowered herself into the chair. She panned the entire room, nodding as she made eye contact with each person. “Ladies,” she began. “You wouldn’t believe it. But here goes.” She began with a general description of the ship and the activities available to us and Max.

  She began describing the play area for the dogs, and Caroline interrupted. “Get to the good stuff, Mabel.”

  Mom glared at her, not to be rushed through her story. “I’ll get there, Caroline. It’s all important. So I have to go in order.” Mom straightened an imaginary wrinkle in her skirt for a dramatic pause.

  She looked up and continued. “They have a karaoke night there. We might start that at the hotel.” She rotated her head, speaking to each and every person there. “That’s when we met that scoundrel, Cecil. But I didn’t know how bad he was at the time. I should have, though. Because I’m such a good judge of character.”

  Many in the crowd offered “mm-hmms” and ”You got that right, Mabel.” I so wish I had recorded this to share with my siblings. They would certainly get a big kick out of it. And I would have evidence of a pretty unbelievable story.

  “Well, he was really fun in the beginning. He wore these outrageously colorful suits. And he serenaded me at karaoke. It was magical—until it wasn’t.” Mom looked down and fidgeted with her hands in her lap. I didn’t know if she was reliving her emotions or pausing for dramatic effect.

  Pearl stood from her location on the side of the room. “Then what happened, Mabel?” Pearl sat, appearing a bit embarrassed from her outburst.

  Mom picked the baton right up and continued sprinting. “It actually didn’t take long before all of that became nauseous to me. It was obvious he was a fake. Max even knocked his toupee off his head.”

  A collective gasp filled the room. Hands flew to mouths and chests. Mom had them eating out of her hand. That woman missed her calling as an actress.

  “It’s all right. In the end, he got his dues,” Mom said. We had only been here a half hour and there was quite a bit of the story remaining to tell. Thankfully, Caroline had provided extra treats on the tables to sustain us.

  I was also getting a kick out of Mom’s version of the story. Hearing how she suspected something was amiss with Luke in the beginning. That wasn’t the impression I got after we left the salon. She had him walking on water. Maybe she was getting better at picking up clues but keeping a poker face. She told the group about Luke’s suggestion that she meet a friend and her radar shot up right at that point. Good for her. Max and I both missed that one.

  Caroline poured Mom a glass of water and handed it to her. If you didn’t know better, you would guess Mom was under arrest, getting the third degree with her statement. This story would carry the garden club gossip train for quite some time.

  She didn’t miss a detail from our entire trip, remembering specifics even my brain had skipped.

  Saving the grand finale to the end, her story seemed to slow down, extending out this grand attention. “I really have to give credit to Chloe and Max here too.”

  I laughed. That garnered me a dirty look from Mom like those I got as a teenager. I would give her every ounce of credit. I was just glad she was safe. “When Chloe left to alert the captain to Audrey’s crime, I had to act like nothing was going on. I gave the performance of a lifetime.” Did she actually know what was happening? I had no idea. Another flashback to my teenage years. Maybe we didn’t give moms the credit they deserved for their intuition about their kids.

  I shook my head, not sure what was real or not in this story I was integrally involved in.

  “Mabel, that’s incredible. I’m glad you guys are OK.” Caroline stood and began applause. The crowd joined in.

  “Well, you’re back home safe now. That’s why I won’t go on one of those cruises. Too much partying and nonsense,” came several comments from the crowd.

  Mom stood and slow-walked to the table with the pastries. She grabbed a bear claw and put it on her plate, returning to the center of attention. She plopped down and nibbled the pastry. “Well,” she began and took another bite, “I had the time of my life. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

  “Really?” I said, way too loud. All eyes turned toward me. I looked at Mom.

  She nodded. “Of course, Chloe. You’ve got to live a little.”

  “Really?” I repeated. That response earned me the glare. But I couldn’t tell if she was serious or only saying that for emphasis.

  “Yes, Chloe. I think the whole garden club should go on the next cruise.” Mom looked around the room to a resounding applause.

  I would have to enlist my sisters to supervise this crew. That would be one rockin’ boat.

  THE END

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  Also by Sue Hollowell

  The Treehouse Hotel Mysteries Series

  Peonies and Peril (Book 1)

  Violets and Vengeance (Book 2)

  Buttercups and Betrayal (Book 3)

  Mistletoe and Misfortune (Book 4)

  Lavender and Larceny (Book 6 - Available Feb 4th 2021)

  All available in Kindle Unlimited