“We finally get to go back home. Lydia got word that we’d be given the green light to leave tomorrow.” Hazel walked over to smell some of the flowers sitting around the shop. “Everyone except Jacob,” she said. And then I heard it, the fake sympathy. I hadn’t been looking for it before because I never, in a million years, would have thought the spry, smiling woman in front of me, who I’d shared hundreds of coffee breaks with, could be a cold-blooded murderer. Her flippant remark and the knowledge that she had not only killed Jasper but had framed Jacob for the crime boiled my blood just enough to start asking questions.
“I guess it’s good that you’re moving on to that new job. You can put this whole mess behind you.”
Hazel breathed in the scent of a potted lavender plant. “That’s true.”
I walked to the shelf of potted herbs where she was standing and picked up a few of the dried leaves that had fallen off the plants. “I had a confusing conversation with Jacob this morning.”
Hazel seemed more than surprised that I had talked to Jacob. “Oh?” Some of the breezy smile faded.
“He said you didn’t get the job at Tremaine’s. I just assumed you hadn’t told him.”
She hadn’t let go of the stem of lavender yet, and the light purple stock pinched off between her fingers. “Yes, well no. It’s none of his business,” she said tersely. “It’s no one’s business. I’ll be just as happy to never see any of them again.” I’d unleashed someone who was far removed from the Hazel I knew. Her face tightened with anger as she spoke about her coworkers. “They are a snooty, selfish bunch of dimwits. Including Jacob. But I guess he won’t have to worry about replacing me when he’s behind bars for murder.”
“You mean for the murder you committed?”
Her blue eyes bulged behind her glasses. “Never thought you would turn on me. I guess I even misjudged you.” She turned, and I was sure she would rush from the store. But she took three steps and planted her face in her hands. Her shoulders shook. I walked to the work island to get her a tissue and reached it just as my phone buzzed with a new text.
I glanced at it. It was from Briggs. “Do you know where I can find Hazel Bancroft?”
I quickly sent back a reply. “Yes, she’s in my shop, and you might want to hurry.”
I walked over to Hazel. She grabbed the tissue from my hand and wiped her eyes but refused to look at me. “He was a cruel, awful person and he deserved to die.” She stared out the front window as she spoke. “This whole last year I have lived with the humiliation of that picture. People snickering behind my back. Extra boxes of tissue on my desk. ” She held up the one I’d given her. “I had to leave the company. Then Jacob—” She sobbed into the tissue. I felt genuinely bad for the woman. It was strange feeling so much empathy for a murderer, but I could feel her pain as she spoke. “I worked tirelessly for that man for years. The only thanks I got was a mediocre letter of recommendation.”
My throat was dry from the shock of it all. “How long have you been planning this?”
She turned to me with a dark scowl. “I’d thought up so many scenarios of how I might take Jasper’s life. I hated him that much. But when Jacob betrayed me, I decided to take them both. When the trip to Port Danby was planned, I knew my chance had come. And after I’d read that you had used your sense of smell to help the police solve murders—”
“You decided to frame Jacob by planting scented clues around the crime scene that would all lead back to one person.”
A weak, sad laugh fell from her mouth. “You’ve still got a super nose. In my job, I learned a lot about people. I knew Jasper had an insomnia problem. He took a lot of naps in the day to make up for not sleeping at night, and he used sleeping pills, even for those naps. When the weather forecast showed rain, I knew everyone would just be lounging in their trailers waiting for the weather to clear. Jacob left for the morning, so I used that time to go into his trailer and put some of his cologne on my hands. The clove cigarette was a last second idea. I lit it and waved the smoke around to cover my clothes with the scent. Then I put it out and stuck it in an ashtray. When I saw Autumn leaving Jasper’s trailer, I asked what Jasper was doing. She told me he was going to take a nap.”
“One thing I don’t understand,” I said. “How did you know that Jacob would sleep walk right at the time of the murder?”
“That incriminating piece of evidence was a gift, a well timed coincidence. I didn’t know—”
Her confession was interrupted when Detective Briggs raced into the shop looking as distraught as he’d been earlier in the day when he thought I was still on the plane. He saw me and the worry in his brow faded.
“Detective Briggs?” I made sure to say it as a question.
“Your text,” he started. “Never mind.” Without delay, he walked over to Hazel. “Hazel Bancroft, you are under arrest for the murder of Jasper Edmonton.”
Officer Chinmoor lumbered into the shop with Hilda to finish the arrest.
Briggs saw me standing in the background watching the entire surreal event with shock. He joined me. “I’m sorry. I know she was a friend of yours.”
“I still can’t believe it. I have to hand it to her. She had things pretty well covered. Jacob’s cologne, the clove cigarette.”
Briggs nodded. “The DNA sample on the end of the clove cigarette was Hazel’s. She lit the cigarette and picked up enough of the scent from the smoke to leave traces on the pillow. A pillow she knew would eventually pass by her friend with the million dollar nose.”
I crossed my arms for comfort. “We were friends but she had no problem using me for her sordid scheme. I feel duped.”
“No, she just had a good plan. She knew all her coworkers very well, it seems. Including all their habits.”
“Hazel ran herself ragged making sure to take care of everyone’s needs at Georgio’s, and she was repaid with a cruel joke.”
“Oh?”
“You need to check out Jasper Edmonton’s Instagram account. And there are some other details I know that I’ll explain later once the shock has worn off. It seems that this was pure and simple—a case of revenge.”
Chapter 37
Elsie had not only saved herself from a Valentine’s Day fiasco, she had turned her bakery date with Mr. Darcy into a triumph. Bright red and pink balloon bouquets floated up from the chairs and tables, and customers mingled with free caramel kiss cookies and tea while waiting for their turn to take a picture with the cardboard cutout.
Elsie spotted me on my way to my shop and slipped through her customers to hand me a free cookie. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Pink, and thank you for keeping this day from complete chaos.”
I glanced around at the happy faces. “Looks like everything turned out well then.”
“It did. Turned out everyone was rather excited to take a picture with Mr. Darcy, even if he was made of cardboard. I’ve got my laptop open in the shop with the series playing. So some people are sitting inside watching Pride and Prejudice as they sip tea.”
“Almost as good as being right there at Pemberley. Well, I better get into the shop. Ryder has some deliveries to make.” I held up the cookie. “Thanks for the caramel kiss.”
Ryder pulled on his coat as I stepped inside. “No Kingston today?”
“I figured there would just be too much going on to have to worry about him.”
Ryder tapped a pile of mail on the counter. “Mail came early. Maggie said she got an extra early start today knowing people would be waiting for their Valentines. Which reminds me. Dash stopped by on his way to the marina.” Ryder held up a rose made out of chocolate. “He was sorry he missed you.”
I took the rose and out of habit brought it to my nose to smell, only to remember it was chocolate. “Hmm, almost better smelling than the real thing. So do you have everything you need?”
Ryder patted his coat pocket. “Delivery itinerary, keys and my phone if you need me.”
“Perfect. And drive carefully.”
&nbs
p; Ryder walked out to the van. On big holidays, I rented a van for deliveries, but the store was profitable enough that I’d soon be buying a Pink’s delivery van of our very own. I shuffled through the mail and found an envelope that I instantly recognized with Jacob’s writing. It was a card with a pink rose on the front.
“Dear Lacey, Thanks for having my back last week. It seemed right from the start you knew I wasn’t the suspect. That means a lot to me. Have a happy Valentine’s Day and a wonderful future. You deserve both.
Love always, Jacob.”
I smiled as I pushed the card into the envelope. The week didn’t turn out at all like I’d expected, but in the end, the right person was charged. It was hard not to feel as much anger as pity at poor Hazel.
The door to the shop opened, and Detective Briggs walked inside. My mind instantly shot to the possibility that he’d come in to buy flowers for someone. I was fretting about the notion when he walked up wearing a half smile. “Miss Pinkerton,” he said with a polite nod.
“Detective Briggs.”
He placed a small package hastily wrapped in pink tissue on the counter. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
He’d come in not to buy another woman flowers but to bring me a gift. I nearly chortled in relief .
I picked up the package. “I wasn’t expecting anything.”
“I decided I needed to thank you for helping with the investigation … again.”
“Even though I wasn’t supposed to?”
“Even though you weren’t supposed to.” His brown eyes landed on the package in my hand. “It’s nothing much. Just thought it might come in handy.”
I laughed as I pulled open the tissue. “So you’re a practical gift kind of guy.” The tissue fell away revealing a notebook and pen identical to the ones he used.
“For future investigations,” he said quietly.
“I love it.” The moments where we gazed at each other without any emotions except admiration had grown longer and more frequent. And I might have been imagining it, but they felt just a touch more intense each time too. “Thank you, Detective Briggs.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Pinkerton.”
Did Lola’s mysterious ghostly photos pique your interest? You can read more about the Cider Ridge Inn and its cocky, irritating and far too appealing ghost in Death in the Park the first book in my new cozy mystery series, Firefly Junction.
Click on the cover to pre-order your copy for $.99
Tulips are blooming and spring is in the air in Port Danby. Lacey ‘Pink’ Pinkerton, the local flower shop owner and occasional detective’s assistant, is once again called upon to help sniff out the clues in a murder investigation. Full blurb coming soon.
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Caramel Kisses
Click photo to view the recipe online.
About the Author
London Lovett is the author of the new Port Danby Cozy Mystery series. She loves getting caught up in a good mystery and baking delicious new treats!
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Roses and Revenge (Port Danby Cozy Mystery Book 4) Page 17
