Murder in Cottage #6 (Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)

by Dianne Harman

  “I sure don’t have any perceptive powers. If I did, and if a voice had told me not to marry either one of my husbands, I would have listened and saved myself a lot of grief.”

  “I’m kind of fascinated by the niggle now that all this has happened. I think I’ll take it a little more seriously from now on.”

  “Okay, but promise me one thing. I want to be part of your next adventure. Who knows? You may be starting a whole new career by helping the police with unsolved crimes.”

  “Right now I’m so tired and wrung out, all I want to do is have a glass of wine, get some sleep, and go home tomorrow.”

  “Me too!”

  *****

  “Roger, it’s over. The police have Gina in custody, and there’s a good chance that she’s the one who murdered Barbara. When they interrogate her, they’re going to ask her about Barbara’s death. There’s nothing we can do here, so Judy and I will be flying into San Francisco tomorrow morning.”

  “I’m just glad to hear your voice. Promise me you’ll never do anything like this again. I’m glad I didn’t have to put on my case today, because I think my client would have been convicted if I had. I definitely wasn’t on my game. All I could think about was you and the danger you were in. Please, please, no more, or I may have to give up being a criminal law attorney.

  She laughed and said, “Roger, if it helps, I have no intention of doing something like this again. Matter of fact, I was pretty terrified.”

  “Give me your flight information, and I’ll pick you up at the airport. Tomorrow’s Saturday, so I don’t have to be in court.”

  “Roger, are you sure you want to see me like this? It’s not a pretty sight.”

  “Liz, I don’t care what you look like. I just want to make sure that you’re okay. I’ll drive you back to the spa and spend the night. See you tomorrow at the airport.”

  CHAPTER 24

  “I’m so glad to see you. I can’t believe it’s only been a couple of days. So much has happened,” Liz said to Roger when she reached the bottom of the escalator at the San Francisco airport. “I want you to meet my good friend Judy Rasmussen.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Judy. Let me take a look at both of you.” He was clearly dismayed by their reddish, purple, and swollen faces. “Well, from what you told me, maybe the swelling has gone down a little, and you’re not really looking like plums, but watermelons wouldn’t be too far off. How are you feeling?”

  Liz answered for both of them. “I think the worst is over. I don’t feel quite as itchy, but my skin still flakes off if I don’t slop on a lot of moisturizer or aloe vera. I guess this is just going to take some time. I’m so glad we found Gina, and no one else will have to go through this.”

  “Liz, Roger, I need to get home. Tiffany was going to stop by and feed Alex, my cat, but I imagine he’s really missing me by now. I was gone a little longer than I planned. Liz, I’ll talk to you later. You sure know how to provide someone with an interesting time when they come to visit you!” she said, laughing as she walked away, trying to ignore the stares of the people she passed.

  “Roger, you won’t believe what I found out just a few minutes ago,” Liz said as they walked out the door to the short term parking lot. “I called Sergeant Driscoll at the Bellingham Police Department to see if he’d found out anything from Gina about Barbara’s death. Evidently it’s like she’s mentally snapped. She kept talking about how the police couldn’t arrest her, because she gave money to homeless people and all kinds of strange things. She rambled on and on in a completely irrational manner. During her irrational rambling she admitted she’d killed Barbara.”

  “Did you find out how she did it?”

  “It’s kind of hazy, but from what the sergeant told me, she said she’d made a tea and laced it with juice from the roots of a plant called Water Hemlock. Sergeant Driscoll was curious and looked it up on the internet. Evidently it’s one of the most poisonous plants found on earth and has an almost immediate effect on the heart and breathing and causes a quick death. That fits in with what I learned yesterday evening from Wes, the coroner. He told me that the San Francisco crime lab results indicated Barbara’s blood sample had shown traces of something called Water Hemlock. He was familiar with hemlock, but not water hemlock and was getting ready to do some research on it. Anyway, the sergeant also told me she was rambling about finding the circuit breaker at the lodge and was able to turn the security lights off. Then she went over to Barbara’s cottage after she’d returned from dinner at the lodge and told Barbara she’d forgotten to give her the soothing tea she always gave her clients. That’s all I know.”

  “Well,” he said, as he turned north on the freeway towards Red Cedar, “that explains about the security lights. She didn’t want to be seen going into Barbara’s cottage.”

  “Yes, and her roommates said she often stayed out late looking for plants and herbs in the forest near their cabin and often used them for treating her clients. She must have found the water hemlock plant there and then made it into a poisonous tea. Wes said he’d found traces of honey and because it was sweet, Barbara probably never suspected there was anything wrong with it.”

  “Okay, I can go along with all that, but why kill Barbara? From what you’ve told me, she’d only met Barbara the one time, when she gave her a facial that afternoon.”

  “That’s true, but remember what she did to Judy and me because we evidently reminded her of her mother. I learned from her roommates she mentioned that one of her clients had looked exactly like her mother. She must have been referring to Barbara when she made that statement. I imagine when she saw Barbara, something snapped, and it only got worse after she got the phone call from her mother. That must be when she decided in her twisted mind to kill her mother.”

  “What a bizarre turn of events. How are you going to handle the publicity when this breaks?”

  “I’m going to call Bart over at the Red Cedar Tribune and tell him what I’ve found out. He’s a very fair newspaperman, and I’ll tell him that as soon as there was even a hint one of our employees had murdered Barbara, I went to Washington to find her. I think I can put a pretty good spin on it, and publicity-wise, the spa will come out okay.”

  They pulled into the lodge parking lot. “It is so good to be home. I can’t wait to see Winston. I wonder if he missed me.”

  “I’m sure he did, and he’s not the only one. Sweetheart, I’ve been miserable the last couple of days.”

  Good grief, she thought. He’s called me sweetheart a couple of times now. He must really care for me. Wow. That just popped out of him like it was natural. I know I must look like I just stepped out of a science fiction horror film. Return of the Giant Plum or something like that. I like him more than I care to admit, and from what he just called me, “Sweetheart,” it sounds like he’s not going to be leaving me, because I went off “half-cocked,” and I look like a watermelon.

  “Liz, I’m not Jewish, but there’s a wonderful Yiddish word my mother used to say to me. She learned it from one of her closest friends who was Jewish. I can still hear her telling me, ‘Roger, that was a mitzvah.’ Loosely translated, it means a good deed. So, Liz, you did a mitzvah for Gina’s mother.”

  “That’s lovely, Roger, thank you. I’ll remember that.”

  They walked inside the lodge and went downstairs to her apartment. He closed the door behind him and said, “Come here. I’m not going to kiss you or anything, at least not for a few days, but I want to hug you. And I do wish you’d hurry with this healing process. When you’re up to it, I’d like to resume where we left off last time.”

  “Oh, Roger,” she said stepping into his embrace. “I can’t think of anything that would make me happier. Matter of fact, I have an idea. Close your eyes.”

  She walked over to a nearby drawer, pulled out a brown paper bag, and with a pair of scissors cut two eyes and a nose in it, and then slipped it over her head. She took Roger’s hand and said, “Okay, Roger, you can open your ey
es now.” She took him by the hand and led him down the hall to her bedroom, laughing, enjoying life.

  “Why don’t we just resume right now?”

  Winston would have to wait.

  Recipes!

  There's a surprise following the recipes.

  JONAH'S MUD PIE

  Ingredients:

  1 ½ quarts of ice cream (I like caramel or butter pecan)

  ½ cup Nabisco chocolate wafers, made into crumbs

  1/3 cup melted butter

  9 oz. jar fudge sauce

  ¾ cup whipped cream

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 375 degrees

  Mix together butter and chocolate cookie crumbs. Press into 9” pie plate to make a crust. Bake in oven for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

  When crust is cool, spoon ice cream into it and smooth with the back of a spoon. The ice cream layer should be about 2 inches thick. Put in freezer for two hours or more. Take out of freezer and spread the jar of room temperature fudge sauce over the ice cream. Return to freezer for two hours or more. Take out of freezer and smooth whipped cream on top. Put back in freezer and when ready to serve, remove from freezer, cut into pie shaped wedges and serve.

  PORK MEDALLIONS WITH WINE SAUCE

  Ingredients:

  1 large garlic clove

  1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

  1 tbsp. chopped fresh sage

  3 tbsp. olive oil

  1 lb. pork tenderloin, cut into ¾ inch thick medallions

  Salt and pepper to taste

  ¼ cup white or red wine (I’ve used both – whatever is on hand)

  ¼ cup chicken broth

  Directions:

  Smash the garlic clove with the flat side of a knife, remove papery covering, and roughly chop. Combine rosemary, sage, and garlic on cutting board and finely chop. (If fresh rosemary and sage aren’t available, you can use dry Italian seasoning.)

  In a 12 inch skillet, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over high heat. While the oil heats up, season both sides of the medallions with salt and pepper. Wait until a drop of water sizzles when dropped in the oil, then place medallions in the pan in a single layer and cook on each side for 1 ½ minutes. (Doesn’t seem long enough, but trust me, it is.) Transfer the medallions to a plate to rest or put in a warming oven.

  Add remaining 1 tbsp. olive oil to the pan. Add garlic, herb mixture, white wine, chicken broth and any juices the pork has released on the plate. Boil the mixture for 1 ½ minutes. Spoon the sauce over the pork and serve. NOTE: I like to serve it over rice or noodles.

  ONION BITES

  Ingredients:

  1 stick unsalted butter

  ½ cup finely chopped onion

  1/8 tsp. kosher salt

  1/8 tsp. pepper

  4 oz. cream cheese

  1/3 cup firmly packed grated Jarlsberg cheese

  3 tbsp. dehydrated minced onions

  3 tbsp. chopped fresh chives

  2 large egg whites

  ¾ lb. challah bread (You can substitute either Hawaiian or brioche bread) crusts removed and cut into ¾ inch cubes

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in small skillet over medium heat. Add fresh onion, salt, pepper, and cook about 4 minutes.

  Put cream cheese, Jarlsberg, and dehydrated onions in top of a double boiler set over water. Cook on low heat until melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add onions, remaining 7 tablespoons of butter, and chives. Mix well.

  Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold ¼ of egg whites into cheese mixture and combine. Fold in remaining egg whites. Dip bread cubes, one at a time, into cheese mixture and place on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake until puffs are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

  NOTE: You can freeze the puffs on a baking sheet and transfer to a container. Take from the freezer and bake as directed, without thawing.

  MEXICAN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE

  Ingredients:

  4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

  4 oz. semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

  4 oz. Mexican chocolate, roughly chopped (I like Iberra)

  2 eggs

  2 tbsp. brown sugar

  2 tsp. vanilla

  2 tsp. Amaretto (optional)

  Pinch of salt

  4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled

  1 ½ cups heavy cream, heated to boiling over medium heat

  Directions:

  Put all ingredients except cream and bacon in blender and blend on high for 30 seconds. With blender running, pour in hot cream and blend for 1 minute.

  Pour mixture into individual serving dishes. Refrigerate until set, about an hour. Sprinkle bacon on before serving or let diners may help themselves.

  HOT SAUSAGE GOODIES

  Ingredients:

  1 package Jimmy Dean hot sausage at room temperature

  8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated

  ½ tsp. salt

  ¼ tsp. sage

  2 ½ cups Bisquick

  Directions:

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

  Mix all ingredients together and roll into balls. Freeze on a cookie sheet. When frozen, bake for 25 minutes or can be put into container until ready to bake. Keep frozen. NOTE: Sometimes I have a dish of mustard out for dipping.

  *****

  Here's an incredible book that turned my life upside down, literally. I wish I'd read it 40 years back. It would have saved me a lot of heartache and made life so much easier. I've never come across something this good in recent times, and boy do I read a lot. The author (http://www.vivekrajanvivek.com) has been endorsed by Brian Tracy and T Harv Eker.

  The Best Book on Money and Success That'll Take You to the Top

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1 - A New Beginning

  CHAPTER 2 - What Do You Want?

  CHAPTER 3 - Plugging Massive Energy Leaks

  CHAPTER 4 - Empty Yourself First

  CHAPTER 5 - Resistance Explained

  CHAPTER 6 - Sin, a Wretched Invention

  CHAPTER 7 - Nothing can kill

  CHAPTER 8 - The Turnaround

  CHAPTER 9 - Actionless Action - Act Without Acting

  CHAPTER 10 - Mother's Special Recipe for Success (Reader's Favorite)

  CHAPTER 11 - The Power behind a Choice or Decision

  CHAPTER 12 - Why do some people never get what they want?

  CHAPTER 13 - Be Very Selfish & Don't Forget the F Word

  CHAPTER 14 - Reverse Engineering your Deepest Fear

  CHAPTER 15 - Living in the Now & The Secret of a Billion Bits

  CHAPTER 16 - The Essence

  CHAPTER 1

  A New Beginning

  It was the first week of March and Spring was just around the corner, eager to burst forth and bless everyone with life and warmth once more. A beaming sun and blue skies dotted with white fluffy clouds greeted all those who had assembled. Smiles abounded, and even those who were grouchy couldn't help flashing their pearly or not so pearly whites.

  The organization catered to those who needed someone "to listen" to them in their moment of crises, and in the long run steer them away, tactfully, from committing suicide. It had been in existence for decades, tucked away in a quaint house in a leafy neighborhood in the suburbs. What these callers didn't realize was that loneliness was killing them, slowly and softly.

  Those who called the helpline came from all walks of life and over the decades the clientele included shop owners, taxi-drivers, cashiers, celebrities, office clerks, fast food workers, engineers, nurses, waiters, waitresses, CEO's, customer service reps, truckers, actors, actresses, loaders, baggage handlers, authors, directors, producers, janitors, warehouse workers, journalists, secretaries, bookkeepers, teachers, maids, pilots, maintenance people, lawyers, hoteliers, government officials, pimps, hookers, bankers, ex-convicts etc.

  Twice a year the organization would hold a get-together where the Chairman would host a
feast for the volunteers who were educated, compassionate, eclectic, enthusiastic and inspiring. The Chairman was a wise and generous man revered for his wisdom, both, from a monetary and spiritual angle. He wanted to share his secrets, "real secrets of life", with them.

  There are principles and then there are tactics or techniques. Principles are few and far in-between whereas tactics range in the hundreds or thousands. He wanted to share his life-transforming principles (and a few techniques), the best of the best, with these good Samaritans; they deserved it. The possibilities were limitless once the foundation was laid.

  The chairman had a handsome forehead, deep-set eyes, lush eyebrows, an aquiline nose and a head covered with silvery-white hair. The volunteers could invite their family and friends, and the event was always a memorable one.

  The post lunch session was the most precious part of the day. By then everyone had melted into each other and the gathering resembled one big, complete, happy family. The Q&A session would begin where they could ask the Chairman absolutely anything. No topic was deemed inappropriate or juvenile, and they were free to go in any direction. The volunteers came from all walks of life and despite vast differences, both economic and social, they all shared a common thirst for love, money and happiness. Yet, at times, the intensity of that thirst seemed to get in the way of everything they yearned for.

  CHAPTER 2

  What do you want?

  “So what's the first question going to be?” asked the chairman, as he smiled magnanimously.

  “How do we make money? Lots of it?” asked one man.

  “Yeah, that's a good one. We’re not happy living like this," said an older man. "A fat bank balance is always welcome.”

  “Anything else other than money?” asked the chairman, with a twinkle in his eye.

  “Ooh, ooh, and happiness at all times,” said a young woman.

  “Yeah, and a stress free life,” said an elderly lady.

  “All three if possible,” said one girl.