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

by Cindy Bell

  “I do.” Owen nodded and continued to stand close to Eddy. Samantha sighed and shook her head shamefully.

  “You'll see,” Eddy barked out. “Walt has the best mind for money around. He'll find the truth, and then whoever did this to Joel and Anna is going to pay!”

  “Eddy, enough,” Owen said through gritted teeth. “Please, come with me.”

  Eddy staggered a bit as if he was about to lose his balance. He leaned heavily on Owen's arm. Owen guided him down the path towards Eddy's villa. Once they were a good distance from the memorial Eddy straightened up.

  “Eddy, what are you thinking? I've never known you to drink this much.” Owen frowned.

  “I'm not drunk, Owen.” Eddy shook his head.

  “There's no point in denying it, Eddy. If you have a problem, I can get you help.”

  “I'm not drunk, Owen!” Eddy repeated with exasperation. “I was faking it.”

  “Why would you do that?” Owen stared at him. He squinted his eyes as if he was trying to tell for sure whether Eddy was drunk or not.

  “Because I wanted someone to overhear something, and I didn't want to just blurt it out randomly. Drunk people say anything, so I had a good excuse for blathering on.” Eddy patted Owen lightly on the back. “But I appreciate you having my back, Owen. Don't think I didn't notice that.”

  “You almost got yourself arrested.” Owen shook his head with displeasure. “I'm sure there was another way you could have gotten your point across.”

  “Maybe.” Eddy flashed him a grin. “But it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun.”

  Owen looked at him with a stern expression. “Whatever you're doing, just be careful.”

  “I will,” Eddy assured him. Then he walked away. He sent a text to Jo to check on the progress with the cameras. She texted back right away.

  Everything is in place. See you at eight.

  Eddy smiled inwardly. He saw Samantha walking towards her villa. In the distance he caught sight of Walt nearing his villa. He was still scrubbing at his sweater. Everything was falling into place. Eddy could only hope that the evening would go as smoothly.

  Chapter 16

  At eight o'clock on the dot Samantha knocked on Walt's side door. They were doing their best to keep their arrival under wraps. Walt opened the door almost right away.

  “Hi Samantha,” he said with a smile. Samantha noticed he had on crisp pajamas and his hair was perfectly combed. He pushed his glasses up slightly on his nose. “Come in quickly before anyone sees.”

  Samantha wasn't sure if he was more worried about Abe spotting her or a nosy neighbor assuming they were engaging in a tryst. Either way Walt was clearly nervous.

  “Did you see anyone on your way over?” Walt asked. He closed the door firmly.

  “No one. Not a sign of Abe at all. I'm not sure where Eddy is hiding, but he should be in position by now.” Samantha looked towards the kitchen window. “I'm sure he and Jo aren't far.”

  “I hope not.” Walt grimaced. “I have to be honest I'm a little bit nervous about all of this.”

  “Of course you are, Walt. We all are.” She reached out and took his hand in hers to offer him some comfort. However, the moment she touched his hand he pulled his away, almost as if she had pinched him. “Sorry.” She grimaced as she realized that she had probably taken him by surprise.

  “Oh, it's okay, I'm the one that should be sorry. You were just being kind. I'm just a little jumpy, and it makes my anxious behavior go through the roof.” He shook his head. “I have to make sure when I get like this that I concentrate and try to stay calm so my mind stays clear.”

  Samantha couldn't imagine Walt's mind ever not being clear. She considered him one of the most intelligent people that she had ever met. But she understood his concern.

  “It's all going to be fine. Abe might not even show up,” she lowered her voice. “What we think happened is still just a hunch until we can prove it.”

  “I know you're right, but to be honest I'm not sure if I'm more scared of him showing up or not showing up.” Walt looked worried. “If he doesn't, then what will we do?”

  “Then we'll regroup. Let's just try to stay focused on tonight. I think I should get in the closet now and stay hidden. You just go through your normal bedtime routine, that way if Abe is spying from somewhere, he won't think anything is amiss.”

  “All right, I made sure it was tidy for you, and there's a little dressing bench in there that you can sit on.” Walt led her towards his bedroom. Samantha smiled at his accommodating behavior. While Walt might be a little stunted when it came to social behavior he certainly did know how to be a good friend.

  Walt certainly had set up his closet nicely. But she didn't imagine it was too hard to do since everything was perfectly in place. His clothes were arranged according to color. His shoes were lined up very carefully, and although they all seemed to be the same color Walt appeared to have put them in a certain order. Even his ties were hung up by shape and color.

  “Are you sure that you're going to be okay in here?” Walt asked with some concern. “I just worry that you'll get bored, or stiff, or what if you fall asleep?”

  “I'll be fine.” Samantha smiled at him. “I just had a cup of coffee and I am ready to spend a few hours with my thoughts.”

  “Okay.” Walt nodded. He looked at her as if he might say more, then he turned away from the closet. “Just let me know if you need anything.”

  “Thank you, Walt. I think I have everything that I need.”

  Samantha reached out and closed the closet door. There were slats on it just wide enough that she could see movement through. She heard the sink in the bathroom as Walt brushed his teeth. Then she heard the creek of the bed as he sprawled out in it.

  Samantha felt strange hidden away in his closet, as if she was spying on him. She knew that he had been feeling just as strange. As she waited for the minutes to pass by she did sink into her thoughts. She had been wondering if there was ever going to be an opportunity for her to write again. Of course she still wrote whenever she could, but she hadn't had an article published in a very long time. As she sorted through her thoughts time slowly passed.

  * * *

  Jo shifted her foot slightly. It had fallen asleep and she was trying to get the feeling back into it. In the past she had done plenty of stakeouts of places she wanted to break into, but it had been a while since she had endured such a long wait.

  “Shh!” Eddy hissed at her. Her foot had rustled a few leaves.

  “You shh,” she shot back and glared at him.

  They were hunched down in a thicket of trees with some underbrush. It was beside the corner of Walt's villa. It was just large enough to be called a wooded area, though it really was just a patch of trees. It provided a good amount of cover, especially in the dark so that they could keep a close eye on what was happening. They could see most of the back of the villa and the side of the villa where the bedroom window was. If Abe attempted to come in the front door, they might not see him, but Samantha knew to alert them the moment that she thought someone was inside.

  “Listen, if you make too much noise you could scare him off,” Eddy cautioned her with a scowl.

  “If you keep talking about how much noise I'm making, you're definitely going to scare him off,” Jo admonished. It had been two hours since they got into position. Jo was starting to think that Abe was not coming at all. Eddy however was just as vigilant as he had been in the first few minutes.

  “You might think this is a joke, Jo, but I am responsible for the people inside that villa. If anyone gets hurt, it's going to be on me. So please, just stand still.”

  “I am standing still, Eddy. We all made the choice to be here, remember?” she softened her voice slightly. She knew that his nerves were likely on edge as he anticipated Abe's presence.

  “It doesn't matter who made what choice, if someone gets hurt, it will be on me.” Eddy stared at the villa. Jo could see the tension in his jaw. She coul
d almost see what it must have been like for him to be in uniform. Because of her past Jo had always had an aversion to police officers, but now that she had the opportunity to get to know Eddy well, she could admire the bravery and backbone it took to wear a uniform and wield a gun. He didn't do it for any of the reasons that she suspected cops did. To her he did it because he wanted to help and to protect. There was definitely something admirable about that.

  Jo was silent as she too watched the villa. The night had grown cold as the minutes ticked by. Although most of the residents were sound asleep there was still a lot of noise surrounding them. The water splashed with playful fish and insects. The leaves above them fluttered now and then in the subtle breeze. In the distance traffic on the highway could be heard. Jo was listening so closely that everything sounded much louder than she was used to.

  “Do you think he's coming?” she spoke in a whisper.

  “I hope so.” Eddy's jaw rippled. “If he doesn't then we'll have a whole new set of problems.”

  “What if he didn't do it, Eddy?” Jo asked. “Everyone was so sure that Tommy did it, and it turned out not to be true. What if it wasn't Abe at all?” She studied him closely. Eddy did not look away from the villa and the grounds that surrounded it. He answered her under his breath.

  “Someone will show up tonight. If it's not Abe, then it will be someone. We might have pinned it on the wrong person at first, but we figured that out. Abe is clever. I should have suspected him from the start, but I made too many assumptions. When he came up to me shortly after Joel died and asked me for my help, he threw me off his trail completely. He's been too careful about this whole thing. I know he's not going to risk Walt finding something in Joel's accounts that will point at him. Abe has to know that we'll find out that the payments were from him to Joel, and that will only lead to suspicion. The police will figure it out eventually, we just got down to it a little faster than they could.”

  “Still, it all seems a little outlandish to me.” Jo crossed her arms as she stared at the back of the villa. “Why would someone go to such lengths? Just because Joel found out about Abe committing fraud? Sure, if Abe told the truth he would get in some trouble, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. It just doesn't seem like something that someone would kill for, you know?”

  “It depends on what matters to you I guess.” Eddy put a finger to his lips. He gestured to something beyond the villa on the walkway. As Jo looked she saw slow movement. At first it was just a shadow, then the figure moved under a streetlight. It was Abe in his wheelchair. As he rolled closer to the villa Jo could hear the grinding of his wheels against the pavement. It was the subtlest sound, but to her ears it was loud. Her heart began to pound. She realized for the first time that this was happening. There was no going back. Abe was going to break into Walt's house. Suddenly, Jo wondered if they had made a mistake.

  “Should we stop him before he goes in?” Jo asked.

  “Shh,” Eddy instructed.

  Jo glared at him. She was worried. Samantha and Walt were inside the villa like sitting ducks. What if Abe decided not to take any chances this time? What if he had gotten a gun? She felt very anxious as Abe left the walkway and started along the driveway that led up to Walt's villa. There was a pathway that sprouted off the driveway and around the side of the house. For a moment neither Jo nor Eddy could see Abe as he was in front of the house.

  Jo started to take a step forward to see where he was headed. She was worried that he would break in through the front. What if Samantha and Walt were sleeping? What if he was too quiet for them to hear him? She was almost out from the cover of the trees when Eddy grabbed her roughly around the waist. She gulped but did not cry out as he pulled her back. Her hands curled around his instinctively and tried to break his grasp. Eddy held her firmly with one arm and used his free hand to point to the corner of the house. Abe had just rounded the corner and was nearing the bedroom window.

  “Stay still, don't blow this,” Eddy hissed in Jo's ear. Jo felt terrible as he released her. If she had stepped out like she intended to Abe would have seen her in a second. Their whole plan would have been ruined. But there wasn't time to dwell on that. She had to be ready to go as soon as Samantha gave the signal. She was going to be Eddy's back-up.

  Eddy was so tense that she could see sweat building on his brow. His eyes were fixated on Abe. He watched as Abe wheeled the chair beneath the bedroom window. Still, there was a slight doubt within him that what he suspected could be true. However, in the next moment Abe looked all around to make sure no one was watching. Then he eased himself up into a standing position in the seat of the chair. Eddy was stunned by the sight. After seeing Abe for so long in his wheelchair, to see him standing was a lot to grasp. Abe peered through the bedroom window.

  Chapter 17

  Inside the bedroom Walt stared hard at the wall. He had been staring at the same chip in the paint for quite some time. He was racking his brain for the name of the color of the paint. He would have to go first thing in the morning and buy the paint so that he could fix the chip. He would never sleep again if he didn't. He just hoped that the paint would be the same shade. Sometimes people claimed it was, but then it turned out that it wasn't. That was so frustrating. Really there was no excuse for it. Suddenly Walt felt fear grip his spine. He wasn't sure why until he saw the shadow on the wall. It was the shadow of a head in the window. It moved back and forth slowly.

  Walt didn't dare to move a muscle. He was sure that it had to be Abe. If Abe saw him move then he might decide to call the whole thing off. It was hard not to move though, as Walt wanted to go running and screaming out of the villa. The very thought of someone watching him while he slept, even though he was just pretending, was beyond unsettling. He wondered if Samantha was okay in the closet. Was she still awake? Did she see the shadow on the wall? He didn't think that she could from her vantage point. He did his best not to squirm or scream as he watched the shadow on the wall. He held his breath for as long as he could.

  Inside the closet Samantha was plotting a novel. She was fairly certain that she could pull it off in just a few weeks. She had already mentally created a colorful cast of characters, all of which had some kind of personal flaw that she found downright amusing. She was already writing the first chapter in her mind when she noticed that Walt's steady, regular breathing had stopped. In fact it didn't seem like he was breathing at all.

  Samantha thought she might be mistaken and leaned closer to the closet door. She listened intently and waited for the sound to begin again. After a few moments she still didn't hear any type of breathing. Her mind began to spin with all of the explanations for this. Had Walt stopped breathing in his sleep? Had Abe already broken in and gotten to Walt without her realizing it? If only she had paid closer attention she might have known. She was nearly in a panic as she reached for the doorknob. If Walt needed help she had to get out there and help him, it didn't matter what risk she might be taking. Just when she was about to turn the knob on the closet door she heard Walt sigh. It was a soft, slow sound, but it was a sound of life that she needed to hear. She lowered her hand from the doorknob. She was relieved that she hadn't rushed out and made a fool of herself. She was sure that Walt would not have appreciated that.

  Samantha checked the time on her phone. It was well after midnight. She wondered just how long they were going to wait for Abe to show up. She yawned and leaned her head against the back of the closet. She needed to be able to stay awake, so her thoughts returned to the first chapter of her novel. As she considered it, she decided the whole thing was garbage, tossed out the idea, and started all over again.

  * * *

  “What is he doing?” Jo whispered to Eddy. Eddy had expected Abe to open the bedroom window and climb in. Instead he sat back down in his wheelchair.

  “He was checking to see that Walt was inside. He wanted to make sure that he was asleep. He's not going in that way.” Eddy narrowed his eyes as Abe began to roll along the back of the
house.

  The living room window was fully accessible with no brush or bushes to get in his way. He rolled right up to it. Eddy reached out and held Jo's elbow. It was partially to restrain her, and partially to comfort her. Watching a murderer break into their friend's home was not exactly the best feeling in the world.

  As Abe got to his feet in the seat of the wheelchair again it was clear that this time he was going to make his entrance. He slowly raised the window. Eddy had to bite into his bottom lip to stop himself from bolting after him. He knew that Abe had to get inside. They had to trap him, or all of this would prove nothing. Jo looked over at him anxiously. Eddy held up his free hand to warn her not to move just yet. Eddy's stomach twisted with repulsion as he watched Abe's lithe frame disappear through the living room window. Abe was now inside Walt's villa. His empty wheelchair was waiting for his return.

  “Now?” Jo pleaded.

  “Not just yet.” Eddy looked into her eyes. “Trust me.”

  Jo scowled at him. She didn't feel the need to trust him, when he obviously didn't offer her the same. Still, she waited as he requested. Her heart was pounding. She wondered if Walt and Samantha were aware that Abe was inside.

  * * *

  Walt thought he heard something, but he told himself it was nothing. He had to, or he might scream. Samantha was in the closet, she would witness everything if he were to freak out. He had often been told by women that he was not manly enough. He had taken that to heart. He knew that his cleanliness and obsession with detail was hard enough to deal with. Samantha was his friend, but even she would likely laugh at him if he panicked and ran for the door.

  So, he remained still and pretended that he had not heard what he thought was the living room window opening. He could only hope that Eddy had seen the figure in the window. Eddy had promised he would keep an eye on the situation and intervene when the time was right. But what if he had fallen asleep? What if he had given up and already gone home? What if he was distracted by Jo? Walt squeezed his eyes shut. Just be calm, he pleaded with himself.