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

by Cindy Bell

  “Yes, when I walked in, I nodded to him. You know, just as a greeting. He was more concerned with drinking his coffee and he stared straight through me like I wasn’t even there. I thought that was a little rude. Also, I had never seen him in the bank before. I just assumed he was new and wasn’t taught to be courteous to the customers.” He shifted his hat on his head. “But maybe he looked right through me because he was nervous and he didn’t want to tip me off to anything.”

  “Maybe. You might be on to something. A new security guard who acted strangely and then complied with the robber’s request so he could escape.”

  “I’m sure I can get his name from Detective Brunner. Do you think you could work your investigative magic and see if you could get any information on him?” Eddy smiled at her.

  “Oh, how charming, Eddy.” Samantha winked. “Yes, if you get me a name I should be able to find some information about him.”

  “I’ll call him now.” He pulled out his cell phone. As he waited for Detective Brunner to answer he glanced over at Samantha. She was already scrolling through her contacts on her cell phone. He smiled despite his nature to resist joviality. He might not like the circumstances, but he did enjoy investigating a crime with Samantha. He thought this was going to be a very interesting case as well.

  “Hey Eddy, make it quick, I’m in the middle of something.”

  “Sorry, I just need to know the name of the security guard at the bank.”

  “What? Why?” He sounded frustrated.

  “Just curious about something.”

  “Eddy listen, I’m trying to get my superior to change his mind and put more manpower into the investigation, but I’m not getting much traction on it.”

  “Oh, I understand, the brass doesn’t want to put too much time into the investigation of the murder of a criminal. But do you know the name of the security guard?”

  “What I’m trying to say is you need to stay out of this. I can’t have you snooping around, and the aftermath fly back in my face.”

  “Detective, I’m just asking a simple question about a crime that I was a witness to, that’s all.” Eddy tried to restrain the annoyance in his voice. He knew that Detective Brunner had a job to do and he was just trying to do it. However, he also knew that a murder had been committed and he might be the only one that cared enough to solve it. Detective Brunner did not seem very interested in finding the truth. Eddy was worried that once someone was branded a criminal not a lot of effort was put into figuring out why they were murdered.

  “I can’t, Eddy.” Detective Brunner hung up the phone before Eddy could respond. Eddy was a bit surprised that he didn’t reveal the information as he had been more forthcoming with information in the past.

  “Well,” Samantha said eagerly.

  “He wouldn’t give it to me.” Eddy grimaced. “But let me try someone else,” Eddy said. Samantha nodded hopefully.

  Luckily Eddy had another chance at getting the information. That was through Chris. He dialed the number of his contact in the police department crime lab.

  “Eddy, it’s been a while.”

  “I know. I’m sorry, I’ve been a bit busy.”

  “That’s all right, just glad to hear from you. What can I help you with, since I know that you’re not calling me to talk sports?”

  “Ha, you know me far too well. Actually, I was wondering if you could help me out with a situation.”

  “A situation, or a case?” The tension in his voice made it clear that he believed it to be the latter.

  “Okay, it might be an active case, but I’m not asking for much.”

  “What is it, Eddy?”

  “I need the name of the security guard from the bank robbery yesterday,” he said casually.

  “Really. Why?” Chris sounded perplexed.

  “It’s just a hunch I have.”

  “I don’t know, Eddy.”

  “It’s just a name, Chris.”

  “Okay, let me see if I can get it,” Chris said. “Just hold on a minute.”

  “I appreciate it.” Eddy could hear Chris typing in the background.

  “It’s Karl Connell,” Chris said when he came back on the line.

  “Thanks.”

  “You know the drill. You didn’t get it from me.”

  “Of course,” Eddy said as he hung up the phone.

  He turned back to Samantha. She waited white-knuckled at the edge of the bench.

  “His name is Karl Connell. Let’s see how long he’s been at the bank, and what his life was like before that.”

  “I’m on it.” Samantha smiled and put her phone to her ear. “I’ll have to go in so I can have access to my computer as well.”

  “All right,” Eddy complied. “I’ll meet you there in a few minutes.” He slid his phone back into his pocket and looked out over the water once more as Samantha walked towards her villa. His mind kept returning to the robbery. Had he missed something else? Was there something that could have tipped him off before he noticed the glimmer of the gun? He remembered the teller at the front desk. He also remembered the same teller running after the security guard. An uneasy thought struck him. Could the teller have been involved as well? He hated to even consider it since he had always been rather fond of Terry, but he couldn’t rule it out.

  As Eddy turned and walked to Samantha’s villa he ran through the robbery in his mind again. What about that man who had ignored his attempts to communicate that there was a robbery in progress? Eddy had brushed off his behavior as generational indifference, but now he wondered. When he opened the door to Samantha’s villa he overheard her conversation.

  “Really? So, no problems at all? Okay, well thank you for your help. If you think of anything, please do let me know.” She hung up the phone. Eddy paused just inside the door and looked at her apologetically.

  “I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he murmured.

  “You didn’t,” Samantha said. “But I’m afraid I’m not getting anywhere with Karl, the security guard.”

  “Oh?” Eddy sat down on the couch. Samantha sat down across from him.

  “He has only been employed at the bank for about a month. However, the person I spoke to at the bank only had glowing things to say about him.”

  “Hm.” Eddy frowned.

  “Before the bank he worked as a guard at the jail,” Samantha explained. “For him to have such a good work history, I wonder if he’d really be willing to break the law.”

  “Well, money can be a strong influence,” Eddy said. “But it does sound unlikely.”

  “I still have a few rocks I can turn over.” Samantha smiled with confidence.

  “It’s a bit of a dead end, don’t you think?” Eddy asked.

  “Why?” Samantha looked at him with surprise. “I’ve never known you to give up on something so quickly.”

  “I’m not giving up, I just have nowhere to go. If he has such a spotless record at the bank, and in the prison system, I find it hard to believe that he would be involved in the crime.”

  “Well, we don’t know about his record in the prison system yet.” Samantha cleared her throat.

  “It’s not so easy to get information on a prison employee. That’s the problem.”

  “Well, it’s not a problem for me.” Samantha smiled as she began sliding through her contacts on her phone. “I have plenty of contacts in the prison system from the investigations I’ve done in the past.”

  “You would.” Eddy did his best not to roll his eyes. He and Samantha didn’t always see eye to eye on her past investigations, especially the ones that involved prisoners who claimed to be innocent.

  “Do you want me to call or not?” The phone was already at Samantha’s ear.

  Eddy smiled apologetically. Sometimes his words got ahead of his good sense. Samantha walked away as she chatted on the phone. She was overly protective of her connections and sources. Eddy could respect that to a degree. He’d been stymied more than once in a police investigation because of
a journalist refusing to reveal their source. A few minutes later Samantha returned with her phone in her hand and a frown on her face.

  “I found out some information, but I’m afraid it might not be very helpful.”

  “Why not?” Eddy felt disappointed already.

  “If we’re looking for dirt there isn’t any. According to my source at the prison he was a model employee. In fact they were unhappy to lose him when he went into private security,” Samantha said. “It looks like we might be barking up the wrong tree here.”

  “Maybe,” Eddy said. “I just can’t stop thinking about how he so casually unlocked the door for the robber. Between the two of us we could have stopped him, instead he just let the robber escape.”

  “Eddy, not everyone is as brave as you.” Samantha offered a light smile. “Perhaps he was taking the value of his life into consideration. It wouldn’t be unusual for someone to be faced with danger and decide to make the safer choice.”

  “I guess. I’m still not sure though. He didn’t seem frightened to me.”

  “Some people hide it better than others. He may have been in shock.”

  “Hm. But he had worked in a prison. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been around criminals before. I don’t know, I’m just not buying it.”

  “Well, what we have now is proof that he was a stellar employee while working at the prison. I guess we can keep digging.”

  “We should get Walt to look into his finances.” He snapped his fingers. “If there’s something to be found he will find it.”

  “That’s a good idea. But Eddy, we need to be careful.” Samantha looked at him with some concern.

  “Careful, why?”

  “Because if your hunch is wrong and we’re not careful, then word could get around about this man’s reputation being questioned.”

  “It’s just an investigation.”

  “Into someone who we don’t know did anything criminal. Into someone who relies on his reputation to gain employment,” Samantha said sternly. “Even if you suspect someone you still have a responsibility to show courtesy.”

  “I will don’t worry, I won’t let anyone know that we are looking into his history. But, he was involved in this, I don’t doubt it for a second.” Eddy stood up from the couch. “No one is that squeaky clean.”

  “If your instincts are telling you that then you should follow them. It’s not often that I’ve known you to be wrong, Eddy.”

  Eddy was a little surprised by her comment. “Thanks Sam.”

  Chapter 6

  On his way to Walt’s Eddy noticed Owen stepping into the main office of Sage Gardens. Eddy raised his hand to wave to him, but Owen was already inside. Eddy felt a hint of relief that he didn’t have to avoid another attempt from Owen at taking his blood pressure. He was almost at Walt’s when he heard someone running up behind him. He stopped and turned to see who it was.

  “Owen.” Eddy smiled.

  “Hey, I thought I spotted you. I just wanted to check in and see how you were doing.” He looked at Eddy intently. “You know sometimes reactions to trauma can happen much later than when the actual event took place.”

  “Owen, I appreciate your concern, but I’m not traumatized.”

  “I appreciate your opinion, but not many traumatized people know that they’re traumatized. It can show up in subtle ways.”

  “I think that you’re overthinking this, Owen. If I felt I was anything but normal, you would be the first one to know. Don’t you know that, Owen?” Eddy said. “I’m fine, really.”

  “Look Eddy, I know that it’s hard to be off the police force. I can’t even imagine what it will be like when I retire.”

  “I can tell you this.” Eddy looked into his eyes. “When you see someone in need of medical attention, you won’t be retired anymore. Just like when I see that justice needs to be done, I’m not going to sit back and do nothing. Either you’re going to have to accept that about me or you are going to constantly be worried about me. Trust me, Owen, there are much better ways that you could be spending your time.”

  “I hear you, I hear you.” Owen nodded, but his eyes were still wrinkled with concern. “I just worry about you, Eddy.”

  “I’m fine.” Eddy smiled.

  “Good.” Owen nodded. “Then I guess I will have to let you get back to work, Detective. You just let me know if there is any way I can help.”

  “Actually, there might be.” Eddy ran a thumb down the curve of his chin as he considered how much to tell Owen.

  “Anything.” Owen smiled.

  “I just need your opinion on something. If someone was to be in a stressful situation, a life or death type of situation…”

  “Like the one you were in yesterday?” Owen prompted.

  “Yes, just like that one. Do you think that person would be able to remain calm?” he asked with interest.

  “Eddy, even if you felt calm, you probably weren’t.”

  “See, that’s the problem, Owen, you’re thinking like my nurse again. I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about someone else that was there. He was calm, didn’t even blink an eye. No sweat, no flushed cheeks, no nothing. Is that even possible?” Eddy narrowed his eyes.

  “Well, it’s hard to tell what’s going on underneath when you’re looking at someone. Sometimes they will appear perfectly calm, but that could only be on the surface. However, there’s usually some sign, the tremble of a hand, sweat, widened eyes, something that indicates they are alarmed by the situation.”

  “This guy wasn’t showing any of that,” Eddy explained. “When he unlocked the door, he didn’t even hesitate.”

  “I wouldn’t say that sounds like someone who was frightened.”

  “What about in shock? Could someone be that calm if he was in shock?”

  “Well, if he was in shock, he wouldn’t likely react to direction, or at the very least there would be a delay.” Owen looked thoughtful. “But people do react differently to situations. I can tell you what the average person would do, but that doesn’t mean that everyone will fall into those parameters. I’m sorry, I wish that I could help you more.”

  “You have helped.” Eddy held out his hand for a handshake. “Thank you, Owen.”

  Owen gave his hand a firm shake. “Anytime, Eddy. You know where I am if you need me.”

  Owen turned and walked back towards the main office. Eddy turned back to Walt’s villa. He was more determined than ever to find out the truth about Karl Connell.

  * * *

  Eddy knocked on the door of Walt’s villa. Walt opened it after Eddy’s knuckles hit the wood a third time.

  “Eddy.” Walt smiled. “How did I know that I’d be seeing you?”

  “I don’t know.” Eddy lifted an eyebrow. “How did you know?”

  “Maybe a little bird called me?” Walt opened the door further for Eddy.

  “A little bird named Samantha?” Eddy stepped inside.

  “Maybe so.”

  “Well, I am here for some help, Walt.”

  “Sure. Do you need a muffin recipe? Stuck on a crossword?” Walt folded his arms over his chest. “I’ll be glad to help.”

  “Not that kind of help.” Eddy laughed. “I need you to see if you can find out about someone’s finances for me.”

  “Ah, there’s the truth I’ve been waiting for,” Walt said. “I’m not going to do it.”

  “Walt. Think of the community. I need you to look into a potentially dangerous man, for the sake of our community.” He met Walt’s eyes. “Someone has to do it. You don’t have to dig too deep just see what you can find out.”

  “So, it’s the bank robber then?” Walt frowned.

  “No. I suspect he is an accomplice. So far Samantha and I haven’t been able to turn up anything criminal in his past.”

  “What’s the name?”

  Walt walked over to his computer.

  “Karl Connell. He’s the security guard at the bank,” Eddy said. Walt’s eyes widened.

 
“What makes you think he’s involved?” Walt typed away on his keyboard.

  “Just a hunch of mine.” Eddy leaned over the back of Walt’s chair and peered at the computer screen. Walt stopped typing. He spun his chair around, which nearly knocked Eddy off balance.

  “I’m sorry, Eddy, I don’t know if you think I have a magic wand or something. What do you expect me to find?”

  “I don’t know, but you’ve managed to find things before.” Eddy stared hard at him.

  “For murder suspects, Eddy, for people we were certain were bad guys. This man is a bank security guard. I have done it before, but now you’re asking me to do something just because of a hunch. I do trust your instincts, Eddy, but you were there at the time of the crime. Your adrenaline was pumping, too.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “I’m trying to say that maybe you’re remembering things a little differently because there was so much going on. You had your mind focused on the robber, not on the security guard. So, you say that he was too casual about letting the robber out, but that could have been how it looked through the chaos in your mind.”

  “There was no chaos in my mind.” Eddy turned away from Walt for a moment. He took a breath deep enough to make his shoulders rise and fall. When he turned back Walt eyed him warily.

  “I’m not accusing you of anything, Eddy. I’m just saying that we need to be cautious.”

  “Of course.” Eddy nodded. “Just see what you can find.”

  “Okay,” Walt agreed.

  “I was also thinking that if I can get you copies of his telephone records would you see if you can work out if he has made contact with anyone suss recently.”

  “Oh.” A grimace flickered across Walt’s features. He thought about it for a moment. Then he nodded. “I guess I could do that. But how would you get the information?”

  “You just let me worry about that.”

  Eddy walked out of Walt’s villa with blood pounding through his veins. He felt like he was getting questioned and blocked at every turn. He knew without question that Karl was involved somehow, but getting anyone else to agree with him was like pulling teeth. He couldn’t blame Samantha or Walt, the man had an impeccable record. It didn’t make sense that he would throw all of that away to be involved in a bank robbery. Eddy knew there was only one way that he was going to get the information that he needed. He needed to call Chris again. He walked back towards his villa. He was just about to step inside when his cell phone began ringing. He pulled it out to see that it was Samantha.