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

by Cindy Bell

  “That’s suspicious,” he muttered as he began to notice a pattern of Joel quietly closing or selling off businesses just before their value plummeted. He seemed to know exactly when to get out of a situation. Not only that, he had a flock of investors for each business. He rarely had to risk any of his own capital. His investors were the ones who lost their money.

  “Joel, Joel, Joel.” Walt shook his head slowly back and forth. “You were a naughty boy.”

  Walt frowned as he went over the public financial reports of Joel's most recent business once more. He had become so cocky in his ability to make money without investing money that he had begun working in larger amounts. The business he had recently shut down had several investors, each of whom had lost tens of thousands of dollars. That wasn't a small chunk of change to have ripped from your pocket. Joel was so charismatic that it appeared to Walt that his videos and seminars seemed to draw everyone in who saw them. Walt cringed as he realized that a couple of the investors were even residents of Sage Gardens. There was nothing to explain what Joel had done with the money, other than his attempt at fudging the numbers. Walt could see right through that. Joel hadn't deposited most of the investments into the business accounts. The money hadn't been lost to the cost of business as he claimed. Walt presumed that more than likely he had kept it for himself.

  “He was running a scheme,” Walt said to himself. “That means there is going to be a very long list of people who might be out for revenge.” Walt began to look at the complaints of the people who had invested in Joel's business. There were quite a few heartbreaking stories. Some people had lost their savings, while others had lost their homes and businesses. There wasn't a success story out of any of them, aside from Joel himself.

  Joel was clever enough to duck the authorities, but that luck would have run out eventually. Instead, Joel had paid the ultimate price. The question was, did he die because of the people he cheated or was the motive something else entirely? All Walt had to work with at the moment was a list of clients who had been wronged, as well as Joel's own incriminating financial history. He thought that would be enough to take to Eddy and Samantha. They might be able to figure out more with their own contacts.

  * * *

  After running her errands Samantha returned to her villa. Her mind had been on Anna while she was out. She purchased her a sympathy card and some flowers, but then she felt strange about giving them to her. Knowing how Joel died, could a card and flowers really do anything to ease the pain that Anna was experiencing? She didn't think so. It seemed more like an empty gesture to her.

  As Samantha unlocked the door to her villa she felt the same uneasy sensation that she had earlier in the day. She set her purse down on the counter. She looked towards her kitchen window. She was certain that she hadn't left it open, and yet it was open. She shivered a little as the cool evening air wafted into the room.

  It occurred to her that someone might be in the villa with her. It was possible that she had opened the window earlier and just forgotten about it. She had done silly things like that before. She knew that she was probably just being paranoid after learning about the murder, but she wasn't willing to risk it. She flipped the kitchen light on. She took a deep breath and did her best to be intimidating.

  “If there is someone in here, you better get out now!” Samantha growled. From the kitchen drawer she pulled out her largest knife. She wasn't about to be taken by surprise. Then she began to make her way through her villa. She checked the bathroom, and the closet. Then she walked into the bedroom. She looked in the closet. Then she jerked up the bed skirt and looked under the bed. When she was sure there was no one in the villa, she sighed with relief.

  “You're just being silly, Samantha.” She shook her head at her own paranoia. She returned to the kitchen to put the knife away and close the window. She slid the knife back into the drawer. Then she reached up to close the window. When she did she caught sight of a pair of eyes staring back at her. She yelped at the sight and jumped backwards across the kitchen floor.

  “Samantha! I'm sorry, are you okay?” Jo asked from outside the window.

  “Jo!” Samantha gasped out her friend's name. “What are you doing lurking outside the window?”

  “I knocked on the door just before and you weren't home, but I had noticed that your window was open so I was going to close it. It's not safe to have it open when you’re not home.”

  Samantha tried to catch her breath. Her heart was still pounding with fear.

  “I know it isn't. Come on in.” She reached out and pushed the window closed. Then she opened the side door for Jo. Jo stepped inside with a concerned frown.

  “I'm sorry for scaring you.”

  “It's not your fault. I scared myself.” Samantha pulled out one of the chairs at the table and sat down. Jo followed suit. “I swear I didn't leave that window open. I never leave my windows open when I leave the house.”

  “Well, maybe with all of the sirens and excitement you were just distracted?” Jo suggested.

  “Maybe,” Samantha said dubiously. “It just creeped me out, since Joel's window was left open.”

  “Did you check the house?” Jo asked.

  “Yes. That's what I was doing when you showed up. I just can't believe I freaked myself out so much. I guess the case got to me.” Samantha sighed. “Do you want anything to drink?”

  “I'll take some water, thank you. Actually, that was why I came by. I wanted to see if you had any update on the situation.”

  “Not really. Walt was looking into Joel's business and financial history, but I haven't heard from him yet. I can tell you though that Eddy is pretty upset by all of this.” Samantha poured Jo a glass of water and handed it to her.

  “Eddy? Upset?” Jo looked surprised. “That doesn't seem like him.”

  “It's not so much that he's upset, I think it's more that he doesn't know what to make of it. It seems to bother him when he can't figure things out.” Samantha laughed.

  “I could agree with that.” Jo sipped her water. As Samantha finished putting her groceries away her phone began to ring.

  “Could you see who that is, Jo?” Samantha called out from inside the freezer door.

  “Sure.” Jo picked up Samantha's phone and checked the caller ID. “It's Eddy.”

  “Answer it, please!” Samantha gasped as she dropped a box of frozen peas on her foot. Jo frowned. She didn't really want to answer the phone, but she didn't want to ignore Samantha's request either.

  “Hello?” she said.

  “Who is this?” Eddy asked. “This isn't Samantha.”

  “No, it isn't.” Jo smiled. “It's Jo. Samantha is putting her groceries away.”

  “Oh,” Eddy sounded as if he had no idea how to respond to the unexpected conversation with Jo.

  “Did you want me to take a message?” Jo offered.

  “Actually, I'd like Samantha and you, if you want, to meet me at Walt's. He's got some information he wants to share about the murder.”

  “All right, we'll be there in a few.” Jo hung up the phone.

  “What did he want?” Samantha asked.

  “He wants us all to meet at Walt's,” Jo replied. She finished her water and then set her glass in the sink.

  “Oh good, Walt must have found something.” Samantha stowed the last of her groceries. “Shall we head over?”

  “Sure.” Jo nodded. “Just make sure all your windows are closed.”

  As Samantha did one more walk through the villa she noticed something odd. On her dresser she kept an assortment of coins and stones she collected from around the lake, as well as other little things. Usually they were in a fairly messy pile. But now they were all swept to one side, as if someone had moved them. Her heart skipped a beat. Was this another sign that someone had been in her villa, or was she just getting forgetful?

  “Samantha, you all right?” Jo called from the living room.

  “I'll be right there,” Samantha called back. She though
t about showing Jo what she had found, but she didn't feel confident enough in her own recollection to point a finger at someone breaking in. She shook her head and checked the lock on her bedroom window. It was locked up tight. She turned and walked out of the bedroom, but her stomach was in knots.

  “Everything okay?” Jo asked.

  Samantha walked past her to the door. “Yes, just overthinking everything.” She frowned.

  “Soon enough we'll get to the bottom of this and then you won't have to overthink anything anymore.”

  “I hope so.” Samantha took one last glance over her shoulder before closing the door.

  * * *

  When Samantha and Jo arrived at Walt's house, Eddy was standing at the end of the driveway.

  “Samantha, are you feeling okay?” Eddy tilted his head to the side. “You're looking a little pale.”

  “I'm fine,” Samantha mumbled. “Is Walt inside?”

  “Yes, I figured I'd wait for you. I just got here a moment ago. Hello, Jo.” He nodded to Jo.

  “Eddy.” She nodded in return. Samantha was pleased by how they could almost civilly greet each other.

  “Let's see what Walt found out.” Samantha walked up to the door and knocked firmly.

  Walt opened the door almost as soon as Samantha knocked.

  “Oh good, you're here.” He waved the three of them inside. “I've found out some intriguing information about Joel.”

  “What is it?” Eddy asked. Walt walked over to his computer desk. He sat down in the rolling chair and gestured for everyone to come closer.

  “He might have been a successful businessman, but it wasn’t from being an honest one.” Walt gestured to the screen on his computer. “There was a lawsuit pending, brought against him by several of his investors. Apparently, Joel was great at generating funding for starting a business, but not so great at actually creating returns for his investors.”

  “He wasn't as great a businessman as he seemed?” Samantha frowned as she peered at the legal jargon on the screen. “Was he having financial trouble?”

  “Actually, no he wasn't. He was living just fine. But he was running some sort of scheme and his investors lost quite a bit of money. Enough to cause some of them to lose their own businesses, homes, everything.” He sighed. “It's heartbreaking to see that kind of financial loss. People work so hard to get what they have, and then it is just gone.”

  Samantha was a little surprised when she noticed a hint of tears in Walt's eyes. She knew that he took his work seriously as an accountant, but she didn't quite comprehend his relationship with finances.

  “So, he was a con artist?” Jo asked from behind Walt. “Sounds like he got what was coming to him.”

  “Jo!” Walt looked at her reproachfully.

  “What?” Jo asked sternly. “It's not like I did the deed myself, but he set himself up to be attacked. You can't get away with fleecing people of all their money forever. He had to have known that eventually he was going to face some consequences.”

  “Maybe he thought about jail time, or even getting beat up. I doubt that he expected to be murdered in his living room.” Eddy clenched his teeth for a moment, and then he sighed. “It looks like there is a lot more to this than any of us realized. It's not going to be so simple with such a large suspect pool.”

  “I'm sure I can narrow it down some,” Samantha offered. “Most people will have an alibi for the time of the murder, and those that don't might have other ways to prove that they weren't involved. Let's sit down and get a list together. You can do a criminal check on them, Eddy, and I'll go through their past.”

  “I've already looked through the financials to figure out who were the hardest hit.” Walt selected the print option. “A couple on the list actually live in Sage Gardens. He must have drummed up some investors here. One in particular I believe you may find interesting.”

  Eddy snatched the paper out of the printer. He skimmed over the list, then saw a name that made him freeze.

  “Who is it?” Samantha asked.

  “Tommy Radner,” Eddy read from the printed sheet of paper.

  “Tommy Radner was one of the investors in Joel's bad business?” Samantha asked with wide eyes.

  “Yes, but not for much. Really, the amount he invested didn't cause him much financial damage. However, since he is our main suspect, I thought it best to include him.” Walt frowned. “I'm not sure a few hundred dollars would be enough reason for him to murder Joel.”

  “Maybe not, but it could be a culmination of things,” Jo pointed out.

  “She's right.” Samantha nodded. “Tommy himself told us that he didn't like Joel much. Then he had problems with them as neighbors, and on top of it all Joel lost the money he invested. Even though it wasn't much, it might have been the tipping point for Tommy. Maybe he'd had enough, and his anger caused him to act out.”

  “It's very possible,” Eddy agreed. “Someone with that kind of rage can easily fly off the handle and do things that they would regret.”

  “When I spoke to Ruby in the office today, Tommy was demanding another villa,” Samantha recalled with narrowed eyes. “I bet he is trying to distance himself just in case he left any evidence of the crime behind.”

  “That would be clever of him,” Eddy remarked. “If he gets moved to another villa then any evidence found in his villa, if he's investigated, will be considered at risk of being tampered with because he no longer has possession of the villa. Tommy seems to be pretty determined to cover up his tracks.”

  “I think it's time we find out if he really went to the movies,” Samantha said with a slight smile. “What do you think, Walt, would you like to join me?”

  “I'd love to.” Walt nodded. Eddy looked between the two warily.

  “Are you sure that anyone will even remember him?” Jo inquired with some scepticism.

  “If he acted anything like himself, then he would have made quite an impression.” Samantha was hopeful that Tommy would have had a run-in with someone at the movies.

  “Don't you think the police would have already looked into his alibi?” Walt asked. “I mean, they have to have some of the same information that we do. Wouldn't they have followed up already?”

  “Maybe, but that doesn't mean that the information they received is valid. I'd like to hear it with my own ears.” Samantha crossed her arms. “Walt and I will head over to the theater for the last show, that was the time when Tommy claims to have been seeing a movie.”

  “He also insisted that I did not see him there,” Walt recalled. “He was so certain of it. To me that means that either he wasn't there, or he was doing his best to conceal his presence.”

  “I would guess it was the first option,” Samantha suggested.

  “I’ll just go get ready and I’ll meet you back here in about half an hour so we can make the last showing,” Samantha suggested.

  “Okay,” Walt said as he glanced at his watch.

  “Are you sure you don't want me to come along?” Eddy offered.

  Jo patted him on the shoulder. “Trust me they're better off without you, Eddy. You still look like a cop. People don't like to talk to cops.”

  “I don't think I really look like a cop,” Eddy muttered as Jo led him out the door and Samantha followed.

  “I think you could be wearing leather pants and a blue wig and you would still look like a cop.” Jo laughed.

  Chapter 6

  After the three friends left Walt’s villa Samantha headed in one direction towards her villa while Eddy and Jo walked in the other direction. As soon as Jo's feet hit the walkway she sped her pace up a bit. She didn't want Eddy to feel obligated to walk beside her. As she expected, Eddy made no attempt to match her pace. She headed in the direction of her villa. She always felt strange when she was alone with Eddy. She was trying to get more comfortable with him, but it was difficult when their backgrounds clashed so much, with Eddy having been a cop and Jo having been a cat burglar. She was about to turn down the path that
led to her villa when she felt a hand lightly grasp her elbow. She fought her instinct to turn and punch. Instead she looked over her shoulder.

  “I thought you might like to brainstorm at my place,” Eddy suggested. “I can use my connections at the department to do some investigating into Tommy's past. I could use a sounding board. What do you say?” He met her eyes with a hint of hope in his.

  “Are you sure?” She frowned. “I'm certain that you could handle that by yourself.”

  “Maybe. But it's always good to have a different perspective on things. You can help look up some stuff on the internet.” He gestured down the path towards his villa. “I have burgers.”

  “Burgers you say?” Jo raised an eyebrow. “Now that might be a good enough reason.”

  “Great.” He smiled. “I can have them ready in one minute and thirty seconds.”

  Jo resisted the urge to groan. She hadn't realized that he was referring to microwavable hamburgers. Still, she was touched that he had made the offer. She nodded. “All right. Let's see what Tommy has to hide.”

  They fell easily into step together. Eddy's villa was not far, it was still fairly light outside when they reached it. He opened the door for Jo. Jo stepped inside and picked her way past Eddy's favorite chair. She was tempted to sit in it just to ruffle his feathers, but she decided to play nice. She sat down instead at his cluttered dining room table. She noticed there were all kinds of folders stacked in messy piles.

  “What are these?” She began to pick up one of the folders.

  “Drop it!” Eddy spoke gruffly. Jo immediately dropped the folder and looked over at him with concern. “What's the problem?”