Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Series Box Set Volume 1 (Books 1 - 4)

by Cindy Bell

  “Take it easy, Dale,” Eddy said. “I just wanted to ask you a few questions.”

  “I'm a little busy,” Dale pointed out as he picked up the mop that had been resting against the wall beside the bathroom door.

  “It's about James,” Eddy explained.

  “Oh,” Dale lowered his eyes. He gripped the broom handle tightly. “That was a sad thing.”

  “Yes, it was,” Eddy agreed and noted the way that Dale was hanging onto the broom handle. “I just thought you might have noticed if he'd been out of sorts. Or maybe if someone asked about him.”

  “I don't exactly keep track of those kinds of things,” Dale said and looked up at Eddy. “What does it matter anyway? He had a heart attack.”

  “Oh, I know he did,” Eddy nodded. He didn't want to alarm Dale with the notion that it could have been murder. “However, someone went into his room after he passed and stole his watch. A watch that his son was meant to inherit.”

  “So?” Dale asked grimly.

  “I thought you might have noticed if someone had been in his room. Or maybe you would know who cleaned it?” Eddy suggested and took a step closer to the janitor.

  “I cleaned it,” Dale said and narrowed his eyes as he looked at Eddy. “I've got nothing to say about the watch.”

  “Did you notice anyone going in or out of his room after his passing?” Eddy asked as he stepped even closer, essentially pinning Dale between himself and the wall.

  “I didn't see anything,” Dale insisted, but his eyes flicked away from Eddy when he spoke. Eddy knew exactly what that meant. When someone wanted him to believe something because they meant it, they would look him right in the eyes. But when someone wanted him to believe something that was a lie, they would do everything but.

  “Who was it?” Eddy pressed, ignoring the denial. “Did you see the person, did they pay you off? Is that it?” he asked, his voice escalating slowly but hardening with intensity as well.

  “Look, old man, I don't know what you're talking about,” Dale growled and tried to move past Eddy. Eddy shifted in the same direction. It prevented Dale from getting past him, without ever touching him. It was another trick he had learned in his days of wearing a badge.

  “Not so fast, Dale,” he said sharply. “I'm asking you a simple question. I expect an answer. I know you know something, you might as well tell me now, because I will find out.”

  “Why should I tell you anything?” Dale snapped. His forehead was dotted with shiny drops of sweat. His face had gotten a little pale as they spoke. “It's not like you're the police or anything. I don't have to talk to you. Besides, I saw the way that guy, Mike, talked to his dad. He didn't deserve that watch.”

  “What do you mean you saw the way Mike talked to James?”

  “A couple of weeks ago,” Dale replied. “I was cleaning the villa next to James' and I heard arguing. So, I ducked my head out to see what was going on. James and Mike were standing there shouting at each other about money. Mike was talking about how much money James had, and James was saying that it was none of Mike's business.”

  “Sounds pretty vicious,” Eddy said. “Did they say anything else?”

  “I don't know,” Dale shrugged. “Unlike you, if it isn't my business, I stay out of it. I just went back to cleaning. But if you ask me, he didn't deserve to inherit a dime, so I don't really care about a missing watch.”

  “But you do know who stole it?” Eddy posed the question again with increased determination.

  “No,” Dale argued and again tried to get past Eddy. Eddy shifted in the same direction, blocking his escape.

  “So, you have something to lose in all of this, Dale?” Eddy demanded. “You're either protecting yourself, or you're protecting someone else.”

  “I don't know what you're talking about,” Dale insisted, though his voice had grown more desperate. “All I do is clean up around here, you know that.”

  “I think you’re hiding something,” Eddy challenged and towered over the young man.

  “I’m not,” Dale shot back with anger in his voice.

  Eddy glared at him, but he took a step back slightly.

  “I’ll find out if you have anything to do with this,” he warned Dale through gritted teeth. “This isn't over.”

  “Yes, it is,” Dale snapped back in return. “Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do!”

  Eddy had to clench his jaw to keep from saying something he might regret to Dale. Dale shoved up the sleeves of his shirt and began pushing the mop across the floor once more. Eddy sneered a little as he noticed the snake tattoo that wrapped around the man's forearm.

  “Appropriate,” he muttered under his breath before he turned and walked out of the hall. As Eddy was storming down the path towards his own villa, he noticed that Samantha was near the mailboxes, talking to one of the women from the party committee. He frowned as he knew he hadn't gotten much information. He hoped that Walt and Samantha would have better luck.

  * * *

  Walt sat back in his chair and stared at his computer screen. He was more than a little surprised by what he had found. He picked up his phone and dialed Eddy's number.

  “Hello?” Eddy asked.

  “Can you and Samantha meet me at my place?” Walt asked and tapped a few keys on the keyboard.

  “Sure,” Eddy replied. “Did you find something?”

  “I think it's better to talk about it in person,” Walt explained.

  “All right, I'll get a hold of Samantha and we'll be over in a few minutes,” he said before hanging up the phone. Walt hung up his phone and began paging down through the document in front of him. By the time there was a knock on the door he was lost in the numbers he was calculating. It took a second set of knocks to get him to react.

  “Come in,” he called out. “It's open!”

  The door to his villa swung open. Eddy and Samantha walked in. Samantha walked over to the desk where Walt was seated. Eddy walked up to him on the other side.

  “I have some information about James' finances,” Walt said and swiveled in his computer chair to face them. He lifted his glasses from his nose and wiped the tender area just beneath each eye. “Computers,” he said with a short laugh.

  “What did you find?” Samantha asked.

  “It turns out James was loaded,” Walt said with a shake of his head. “Which makes me wonder how he ended up here. But that doesn't matter now I guess. What matters is that he had plenty of money. Which in my opinion gives people motive to kill.”

  “Love or money,” Eddy nodded in agreement.

  “The question is who stood to gain the most from James' death,” Samantha said.

  “Well, it would be safe to assume that James would leave his fortune to his son. Don't you think?” Eddy asked.

  “It's possible, but not definite. Remember they were just recently reunited,” Samantha said.

  “And it's easy to reconnect when you know that your estranged loved one has plenty of cash to leave behind,” Eddy said. His brow creased with disgust.

  “Just because Mike reconnected with his father doesn't mean that he was after the money. I know the lawyer that James was meeting with,” Samantha said. “I think if we pay him a visit we might be able to find out some more information about his will.”

  “Lawyers aren't supposed to disclose that kind of information,” Eddy narrowed his eyes.

  “He's a good friend,” Samantha smiled. “I might be able to get something out of him. Do you want to come with me?”

  “Yes,” Eddy nodded and snatched up his suit jacket. “Let's see if we can meet him now.”

  “I'll just give him a call.”

  Samantha walked into the kitchen to call Nicholas. She had noticed him visiting James' villa only the week before.

  “Hello Samantha,” Nicholas answered.

  “Hi Nicholas. How are you?”

  “Glad you called. It's been so long. Are you finally going to take me up on that lunch date?”

 
; “Possibly,” she replied. “But I was hoping to get an appointment with you. I have something I'd like to discuss.”

  “Sure no problem. I don't have anything scheduled for the morning so you could come in at any time.”

  “Thanks. I'll see you soon,” she hung up the phone and walked back into the living room where Eddy was waiting.

  “So?” he asked.

  “We can go see him now,” Samantha picked up her purse and headed for the door. “Let us know if you find out anything interesting, Walt.”

  “I will,” Walt muttered. He was already engrossed in his computer screen again.

  Eddy followed after Samantha as she stepped out the door. “I'll drive,” he said.

  “I don't think so,” Samantha laughed and shook her head. “I'm driving.”

  “Fine.”

  The drive to Nicholas' office was a fairly long one which was why he mostly met with his Sage Gardens clients at their villas. Thanks to Samantha's recommendation he had quite a few clients in Sage Gardens.

  “So, how do you know this guy?” Eddy asked.

  “He's an old friend. We worked together on a few things.”

  “That's an evasive answer.”

  “Am I under oath?” She laughed and glanced over at him. “You have to work on your social skills.”

  “All I'm saying is that if someone is evasive with an answer there's usually a reason.”

  Samantha sighed and rolled her eyes. “Okay. We dated briefly about fifteen years ago. Then he got married. Now he's divorced.”

  “And he's wondering if he missed a golden opportunity?”

  “I think he's just hoping for some company. You know, normal human interaction,” she glanced over at him with a slight smile.

  “Humans are too complicated,” Eddy said as he gazed out the passenger window.

  The two fell into silence for the last part of the drive. Samantha parked in front of Nicholas' office. As they walked up to the door together she glanced at Eddy. “Be nice. Remember he's not a suspect.”

  “Well, we don't know that for sure. He was James' lawyer and recently visited with him.”

  “I do know that for sure, Eddy. Nicholas is a friend of mine and he would never hurt anyone,” Samantha shot him a look of warning and then opened the door. The office was small with only two chairs in the waiting area. The receptionist's desk was empty.

  “Nicholas?” Samantha called out.

  “Come on back!” A voice called out from the end of the small hallway. Samantha led the way to the office. Inside a thin man sat behind a small wooden desk.

  “Samantha!” He stood up from his chair to greet her. His gaze passed curiously over Eddy. “You brought a friend?”

  “A detective,” Eddy interjected.

  “A retired detective,” Samantha said.

  “Ah I see. This is a business visit,” Nicholas sat back down behind the desk.

  “Honestly, it's not quite business either. I was hoping for a favor,” Samantha said. She sat down across from him. “It's about James.”

  “What about him?” Nicholas asked with a perplexed look.

  “I'm here because we're beginning to think that James' death was not of natural causes.”

  “What do you mean?” Nicholas asked.

  “It's possible that he was poisoned,” Samantha did her best not to look in Eddy's direction. She knew that he would not approve of her sharing so much information.

  “What?” Nicholas stood half way up out of his chair and then sank back down. “That makes sense I guess.”

  Eddy's eyes widened. It was not the reaction he had expected.

  “It makes sense?” Samantha asked.

  “I just couldn't believe that he died that way. The last time I saw James he was encouraging me to start a jogging regiment. He was a strong and healthy man. For him to just pass so suddenly and so soon after the change to his will seemed odd to me.”

  “Change to his will?” Samantha pressed.

  “Oh uh, you know that information is privileged, Samantha.”

  “It's okay, Nicholas. It will stay just between us. We're just trying to help.”

  Nicholas glanced warily at Eddy and then looked back at Samantha. “Look, after James made his fortune I encouraged him to create a will just in case. He was estranged from his son. So, we set up his will so his inheritance would go to his best friend and business partner. They've lost touch over the years, but James didn't want to change it. Then all of a sudden last week he wants everything switched around.”

  “Let me guess, he wanted to leave it to his son?” Eddy asked.

  “Well, I'm not technically allowed to say but I won't say that you're wrong. Listen, James was a good guy. He felt terrible about the bad blood between himself and his son, so I was happy that he had made up with his son, but it all seemed so sudden. Then when he wanted to leave everything to him, I just felt uneasy. I tried to talk him out of it, I suggested a trust, but he didn't want anything to do with it.”

  “So, Mike stood to inherit all of the money?” Eddy asked.

  “He did.”

  “Then maybe he decided to speed up the timeline of his inheritance,” Samantha said sadly.

  “I hate to say it, but it could be possible,” Nicholas agreed.

  “Thank you for your help, Nicholas,” Samantha smiled.

  “Just remember you didn't hear any of it from me,” Nicholas said firmly. He shook Eddy's hand as they stood to leave. “And don't forget about that lunch, Samantha.”

  “I won't,” she promised.

  Chapter 9

  As Eddie and Samantha left Nicholas’ office to head back to Sage Gardens Eddy's phone rang.

  “It's Walt,” he said as he answered the phone. “Walt, did you find something?”

  “I sure did. Mike is in debt, a lot of debt. His mortgage is behind, his car is on the verge of being repossessed and he has quite a few outstanding loans. I don't even want to tell you about the credit cards or the collection agencies.”

  “That doesn't sound good,” Eddy said grimly. “We just found out that only last week James changed his will to leave everything to Mike.”

  “Oh wow, that certainly pins the spotlight right on Mike as our potential killer.”

  “Yes, it does,” Eddy said. He hung up the phone and looked over at Samantha.

  “Looks like Mike was in a ton of financial trouble.”

  After they returned to Sage Gardens they met with Walt at his house. As the three gathered around Walt's kitchen table they discussed the case. “So, sonny boy drops back into his life out of the blue,” Eddy pointed out. “Convinces his Daddy Dearest to leave the money to him, and then suddenly James is in the ground. Dale the janitor I talked to said that he heard James and Mike fighting about money a few weeks ago. Maybe Mike got James to change the will, and then felt pressured to strike before James had the chance to change it again.”

  “That does make sense,” Walt nodded. Then he grimaced. “I don't mean that it makes sense that he killed his father, but that he had motive to.”

  “Yes, and motive is what counts,” Eddy said thoughtfully. “But what motive would he have to steal his own father's watch? Unless he wanted to sell it and claim it on insurance.”

  “I have someone looking into the watch situation,” Samantha blurted out.

  “You do?” Eddy arched an eyebrow. “Who?”

  “I can't really say,” Samantha said uncomfortably.

  “What do you mean you can't say?” Eddy asked again. His investigative nature caused him to grow more interested.

  “I mean, I promised her it would be our secret. She might be able to find out who stole the watch,” Samantha explained nervously. She was beginning to regret saying anything about it. She knew just how skilled Eddy was at getting information out of people.

  “Secrets?” Walt frowned. “I don't like secrets. Secrets lead to messes, and messes are not pleasant,” he settled his gaze on Samantha as well. Samantha took a sligh
t step back as both of the men focused in on her.

  “If she finds anything, I'll let you know,” she attempted to assure them both.

  “You'll let us know,” Eddy countered, his voice growing a little rougher.

  “Excuse me?” Samantha shot back with annoyance. Before she could tell Eddy exactly how she felt about his comment, her cell phone began to ring. She glowered at him and fished her phone out of her purse. She didn't recognize the number, but was happy for the distraction. “Hello?” she asked hesitantly.

  “Sam, it's Jo,” Jo said swiftly.

  Samantha looked from Eddy to Walt, and then lowered her eyes. She turned away from the two men.

  “Did you find something?” she asked hopefully.

  “I have a lead,” Jo replied suspiciously. “Why are you talking so softly?”

  “I'm with my friends,” Samantha explained quietly. “You can tell me if you found something.”

  “This is supposed to be our secret, remember?” Jo said sharply. “You didn't tell anyone did you?”

  “No,” Samantha cleared her throat. “But I might need to.”

  “Why would you need to?” Jo asked incredulously. “I don't want you telling anyone.”

  “Because we're acting as a team,” Samantha frowned.

  “This is ridiculous,” Jo muttered. “I just need a description of the watch so that I can make sure I have the right fence.”

  “Oh, a description of the watch?” Samantha repeated.

  “Who is that?” Eddy asked.

  “Is that your secret friend?” Walt questioned and stood up from the computer chair.

  “Who is that in the background?” Jo demanded.

  “Jo, are you going to see the fence today?” Samantha asked quickly.

  “No, I can't go until tomorrow,” Jo replied shortly.

  “Let's meet tomorrow then. I'll give you the description of the watch tomorrow,” Samantha rushed to say.

  “What? Why?” Jo asked, just as Samantha was hanging up the phone.

  She tucked her phone back into her purse and looked up at the two men who were still staring at her curiously. All three were silent for a few moments.