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

by Cindy Bell

  “No, that’s all right, I can find my way.” He opened the door and stepped out. Just when he thought he was in the clear, Derek called out to him.

  “Eddy wait.”

  Eddy turned back slowly. He looked into the eyes of the man who he presumed was concealing a gun. “What?”

  “Don’t make me regret this. No more breaking into my house, understand?”

  “I understand.” Eddy nodded. His heart flipped. Derek nodded as well and started the engine of the car. As Eddy watched them drive away he pulled out his cell phone. He quickly called Samantha.

  “Eddy? Are you okay? I was afraid to call!” Samantha sounded like she was in a panic.

  “I’m fine, I promise. Are you out of the house?”

  “Yes, I’m by your car.”

  “Okay, if you look in the glove compartment you’ll find a spare key.” Eddy gave her instructions of where it was. “Drive over to the coffee shop where we watched Charlie and pick me up.”

  “Eddy, are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I promise, Samantha, but I’ll be a lot better when I put some distance between myself and this place. Okay?”

  “I’ll be there in five minutes.” Samantha hung up the phone. Eddy was so glad she was safe. Now, he had to figure out what kind of mess he had just gotten himself into. Sure, he and Samantha were safe, but he had two criminals who expected him to help them double-cross a ruthless criminal. He might have talked himself into a situation he couldn’t get out of. He dialed another number on his cell phone.

  “Walt! It’s Eddy. I think I’m going to need your help.”

  Samantha pulled up just as Eddy hung up the phone with Walt. Eddy opened the door to take over driving and Samantha practically flew out of the car at him.

  “What were you thinking? I heard what you said to those men. If you don’t do what you said you would, they are going to come after you, Eddy. How could you do that?” She glared at him.

  “Calm down, Sam, let’s just get out of here.” He slid in behind the steering wheel. “Hurry.”

  Samantha scowled, but ran around the car to the passenger side. She fumed as Eddy pulled out of the parking lot.

  “I didn’t know what else to do.” Eddy frowned. “It’s not like I had a lot of options.”

  “I know.” Samantha sighed. “I know that you did what you did to protect me, Eddy, I’m not stupid. I just wish you hadn’t promised to work with them.”

  “Well, that’s where we’re at.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t say it was my best moment, either.”

  “So, what are you going to do about it?” Samantha gripped the side of her seat. “What do you think they’re going to do when you don’t show up for the meeting tomorrow? Are you going to go to Detective Brunner now, Eddy? This has gone on long enough. We have the information we need to at least get Karl and Derek arrested.”

  “Right, but unless they provide credible enough proof of Charlie’s involvement, she’s going to get off scot-free. Then what? We failed completely at what we tried to do. We don’t even have proof of who murdered John. I don’t think it’s time to go to the police yet.” Eddy turned into Sage Gardens.

  “Are you kidding me?” Samantha glared at him. “We have to go to the police. Derek and Karl might come after you. Let’s not forget that Karl knows where you live, Eddy. You have to tell Detective Brunner today, or I will.”

  Eddy stopped the car in Walt’s driveway. He looked over at Samantha. “You’ll do no such thing.”

  “Eddy, I can do whatever I please. If I want to go to Detective Brunner with what I’ve found then that is what I will do.” She narrowed her eyes.

  “Great, then you might as well just put the handcuffs on me right now.” He held out his hands with his palms facing down. “Go ahead and lock me up because that’s what is going to happen when Detective Brunner goes to question two bank robbers and they tell him that I am involved in the crime as well.”

  “Eddy, you’re not really involved.” Samantha frowned. “Detective Brunner will know that.”

  “In case you don’t remember Brunner isn’t the one who is running the show over there. That honor goes to someone who is connected to Derek. Don’t you think that same someone could very easily decide to use me as a scapegoat instead?” Eddy opened his car door. “No, we’re just going to have to see this thing through. I’m trusting you, Samantha, not to go to Detective Brunner until I say it’s time. At this point, I’m not convinced he isn’t involved somehow. He might even be the person feeding information to Derek.”

  “Detective Brunner?” Samantha shook her head. “Eddy, that’s crazy. And I thought you said we were a team.” Samantha got out of the car as well and blocked his way towards Walt’s front door. “You said we were all in this together, so all of our opinions should matter. This idea that you have that you can just do whatever you please, put yourself at whatever risk you choose, that’s the problem that we’re having. Because you can’t just throw yourself to the wolves, Eddy.”

  “I’m trying not to.” Eddy winced. “I know what I did was reckless. I couldn’t think of anything better to do at the time. Now, the only way I’m going to get out of it is if we can actually find that money. If we find the money then we will be ready to go to Brunner. He will have enough proof that no matter what anyone tries to do on the inside, the proof will speak for itself. Really, it’s the only way to make sure that we’re all safe.”

  “I don’t know, Eddy. You know I’m not the first one to run to the police, but this is getting a little out of control.” Samantha frowned. “You know it’s not because I don’t trust you. It’s because I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

  “I know and I am the one that brought us all into this.” Eddy sighed. “Don’t think that I don’t regret it. Some birthday gift.”

  “It’s a great gift. I just don’t want to see anyone else get hurt because of it.” The front door of Walt’s villa opened and Walt stepped out onto the porch.

  “Eddy? Samantha? Are you coming in?”

  “We’ll be right there.” Samantha nodded. “Eddy, just remember that you’re not the only one who wants to solve this, and you shouldn’t be the only one that is taking the risk.”

  “I hear you, Samantha.” Eddy nodded. He looked up at Walt. “Ready to do some real digging?”

  “I’m ready.” Walt nodded.

  “Anything I can do to help?” Jo stepped out of the house behind Walt.

  “Well, I guess the crew is all here.” Eddy offered a nervous laugh. “Let’s get inside and discuss this.”

  They all gathered around Walt’s desk.

  “So, what I need you to do is figure out where the money is!” Eddy explained.

  “Oh, that’s all?” Walt peered up at him. “You want me to figure out where a criminal has hidden thousands of dollars. From what?”

  “I don’t know, just see what you can find, previous crimes, places she frequents.”

  “I’ll do my best.” Walt frowned. “I’m not sure that I will be able to find anything though.”

  “Just see what you can find.”

  “I can’t believe you got yourself involved in a bank robbery.” Jo shook her head and smiled with admiration. “I think that you are better at being a criminal than you would like to admit.”

  “Maybe I am. All I know is I don’t want this woman getting away with the robbery or the murder.”

  “Here, I just found a picture of Charlie from a few years ago.” Samantha showed Eddy the picture on her phone. “She looks like she’s living the good life.”

  “Wait, is that Charlie?” Jo stared at the screen of Samantha’s phone.

  “Yes.” Samantha looked up at Jo. “Why? Do you recognize her?”

  “Uh yeah, I do.” Jo glanced up at Eddy for a moment and then back down at the phone. “She must have changed her name, but she’s pretty well-known in the robbery circles. She’s pulled off quite a few large heists.”

  “So, this isn’t her fir
st time.” Eddy smirked. “That’s why she was able to come up with something so complicated to cover her tracks.”

  “Yes, and she was also known for her ruthlessness, she has no problem getting blood on her hands. She would leave guards, witnesses, sometimes just bystanders in her wake, either dead or close enough.” Jo shook her head. “It’s disgusting. There’s never a reason that murder has to be involved with theft.”

  “That pretty much confirms it. She has mixed the two again. I’m almost sure that she pulled the trigger and murdered her ex,” Eddy said. “Now I need the proof.”

  “This woman is dangerous. I’m not so sure it’s wise to keep getting involved in all of this with her. I think maybe it’s time to turn things over to the police,” Jo said.

  “We can’t do that.” Eddy shook his head firmly. “I’m not throwing away the entire investigation over one woman.”

  “She’s not just one woman.” Jo’s eyes flashed as she argued. “She’s a horrible person that will stop at nothing to make sure that anyone who crosses her suffers. Eddy, you don’t know what you’re dealing with.”

  “So, tell me. If you know her so well, then tell me.” He looked at Jo. “What can I expect?”

  “That’s just the thing, she is unpredictable. The only thing you can know for sure is that she will do anything to get what she wants.” Jo frowned.

  “What about her previous heists?” Eddy’s eyes widened. “Did you ever hear of where she would store her cash?”

  “Hm.” Jo closed her eyes for a moment. “I never heard of any specific place, but I can tell you that anyone who pulls off that large of a heist is going to put the money in a safe place, but a close place. She will want to be close enough to it to go check on it, to keep an eye on it.”

  “That doesn’t seem like a smart move,” Eddy said.

  “It doesn’t, but if you’ve worked that hard to steal a fortune, you’re going to want to keep it close to you,” Jo said. “It’s common not to spend it or move it much in the days after it’s stolen as that will alert the police. But keeping it close is the traditional thing to do.”

  “You said she would keep it close, like in her house?” Walt asked without looking away from the computer screen.

  “No, not in her house. She would never risk that. Plus, she wouldn’t want her accomplices to know where the money was. Just in case they tried to double-cross her. So, it wouldn’t be in the house, but it would be somewhere nearby.”

  “What kind of distance are we talking?” Walt started typing on the keyboard.

  “I don’t know, probably no more than ten or fifteen miles away. Sometimes they use storage facilities, or even an underground bunker, things like that.”

  “Okay. That helps.” Walt continued typing on the computer.

  “I just think this is asking for trouble. What are we going to do if we find the money? You’re not really going to tell them where it is, are you, Eddy?” Samantha questioned.

  “Well, it would be a good way to get all three of them.” Eddy nodded his head towards the computer screen. “I can tell Karl and Derek to go there and tip off Charlie that they’re going. If they all end up at the same place where the money is then the police can arrest all of them. I don’t know how I’m going to prove Charlie’s responsible for the murder without a confession, though.”

  “If Charlie thinks they’re going to get her money she will do whatever it takes to stop them.” Jo nodded.

  “Wait, I think I might have it.” Walt sounded as surprised as Eddy felt. “I think I found the money.”

  “Really? Where is it?” Eddy leaned over him to have a closer look.

  “When Jo said that Charlie would keep the money somewhere nearby, somewhere familiar, I started by looking into the coffee shop which she regularly frequents. There wasn’t anything there to find. I then looked at a five mile radius from Charlie’s home and I found a new storage facility. The storage facility is right behind the coffee shop.”

  “So, you think that Charlie hid the money there?” Eddy nodded.

  “I think it’s the best place to start looking,” Walt replied. “It fits all the criteria.”

  “That makes sense. She’s close enough to keep an eye on it,” Eddy agreed.

  “Well, it’s worth looking into. I’ll call the facility and see if they can give me any information,” Samantha offered.

  The three friends waited in silence as Samantha made the phone call.

  “Bingo!” Samantha announced when she got off the phone. “She rented a locker in her name.”

  “That must be the place. But why would she rent it under her name? That’s a little sloppy don’t you think?” Eddy said.

  “I do.” Walt looked troubled. “But people do make mistakes. I guess this was hers.”

  “Maybe you have to show identification to rent the locker,” Samantha suggested.

  “Or she might have felt so confident that she wouldn’t get caught that she didn’t feel the need to be cautious.” Jo shrugged. “It happens to the most seasoned thieves.”

  Eddy arched an eyebrow, but he kept his mouth shut. His mind churned with the next steps in his plan.

  “And get this, the guard also said that she had a safe delivered to the storage locker,” Samantha said.

  “How did you get the information?” Eddy asked with admiration.

  “I bent the truth a bit to get the information on the locker and he just told me about the safe,” she shrugged. “He said he thought it was strange.”

  “Good work, Samantha.” Jo smiled.

  “If I let Derek and Karl know that I know about the locker, they’re going to go there together to try to get the money. Then we’ll have them, and the money, in the same place.” Eddy frowned. “Then I’ll find a way to get Charlie there.”

  “So, you’re going to meet them tomorrow morning and tell them about this?” Samantha asked.

  “Yes, I think that’s the best way to do it.” Eddy looked over at Samantha. “I want to make sure that we can all feel safe when all of this is over.”

  “Well, I’m afraid I don’t agree with that.” Walt pushed back from his desk. “I think it’s a terrible idea.”

  “Why?” Eddy was surprised. “It’s the best way to make sure that the money is recovered and they are arrested and then maybe the police will investigate them for the murder and find out exactly who is responsible.”

  “You’re talking about tipping off two criminals that you know where the money from a bank robbery is being held. But you’re not thinking about what they are going to do to you if they think that you are a threat to their cash and their freedom. So, what happens once you tell Derek and Karl you know where the money is? Then you tip off Charlie? Then they all decide to take you out, since you’re on to them.” Walt looked at Eddy. “You know as well as I do that they will come prepared to do whatever it takes. How do you plan on not getting caught in the crossfire?”

  “Walt, I know how to protect myself. I’ll be prepared.”

  “Or we could just go to Detective Brunner with what we have.” Samantha crossed her arms. “I’m sure that he will help us if we explain the entire situation to him.”

  Eddy sighed and ran his hands across his cheeks. “Look, if we go to Brunner it’s going to be a bad situation. If he is involved with all of this, if they’ve paid him off, then he will either have me arrested or let them kill me.”

  “Eddy, you don’t know that Detective Brunner is part of this. He’s never given you reason to doubt him before. Maybe he just doesn’t think it’s worth looking so closely at the case. None of us are police officers and we need the police involved.”

  Walt stood up and crossed his arms. “You’re not alone in this situation. If we all think that it would be best to call the police, then that is what we should do. Am I right? Jo? Samantha?” He looked between the two women.

  “I think so.” Samantha nodded. She couldn’t look directly at Eddy.

  “I agree.” Jo lifted her c
hin. “Even if you don’t get Charlie, we’ll get ourselves out of this situation.”

  “I can’t just leave this alone. I can’t risk Charlie getting away with it,” Eddy said with determination.

  “All right, that’s up to you. You guys figure out what to do. Just leave my name out of it,” Jo said.

  “We will,” Eddy assured Jo before she turned and walked out of the villa.

  “Okay, let’s sort this out and get in contact with Detective Brunner.” Walt picked up his phone.

  “Wait, wait! Let’s just think this through. Why don’t we table it for today? In the morning I’ll go down to the police station and speak to Brunner myself. That’s the best way to make sure that the information gets into the right hands.” Eddy started to walk towards the door. “So, that’s what we’ll do, all right?”

  “That sounds fair.” Walt nodded. “I’m glad we’ll at least be able to tell them where the money is.”

  Eddy nodded and managed a smile. He still wasn’t convinced that Brunner wasn’t Derek’s contact. He decided not to mention that the police wouldn’t be able to search for the money without a warrant, and wouldn’t be able to get a warrant without some solid evidence that it was at the storage facility. Eddy walked out of the villa with his frustration building. He knew that everything he had tried to do was going to go to waste the moment that he spoke to Detective Brunner. That was why he couldn’t speak to him. Eddy was almost to his car when Samantha caught up to him.

  “Eddy wait.”

  “What is it, Samantha?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” he replied. “I just really want to get home and rest a little.”

  “I know you’re disappointed with how this is ending, Eddy. I just want you to know that you can talk to me if you want to.” She reached out and took his hand in hers. “We’re friends, Eddy, you can tell me what you’re feeling.”

  “I know that, Sam. I really appreciate it, but I’m fine. You are all right. It was too much of a risk to take, and it needs to be settled. I just want to make sure I can’t think of another way before I talk to Brunner. All right?” He managed a smile. Samantha stared at him as if she was searching for something.