The Secret of Chestnut Hall (A Blooms, Bones and Stones Cozy Mystery - Book One)

by Olivia Swift

  “If we fill in the tank with rocks and rubble, it will help to steady the decking and act as a base,” Rob added.

  “Sounds great,” Evan hesitated. “Is it expensive?” Rob slapped him on the back.

  “Get your hands dirty and give us a hand, and I’ll charge the basic wages I have to pay the drivers.” He turned to Jazz. “If you can spare Ben as well when we need the manpower, it would be a help.” She nodded.

  “Okay. Let’s get back to work today.” They climbed down the rocks, and the man who cut the grass came over to tell Evan that a wagon had arrived with pots.

  “Oh good,” Jazz said. “The urns.” Ben and Carly went back to work while Jazz, the grass cutter, Evan, and Rob all walked back to see the delivery. The urns were enormous and heavy, but with the delivery men, Rob and Evan they were installed at each side of the now clean stone steps.

  “Wow. What a difference,” Evan said. Jazz was pleased with the effect and thought she would ask her sister to plant them up. She took photos to let Kim see what was needed.

  “I’ll leave you two to catch up and get back to the garden,” she said and set off back across the grass; then she stopped and went back to the grass cutter.

  “I’m Jasmine Summer,” she told him, ”The one sorting out the garden. I was wondering if you would like a couple of extra days a week to help with the border plants. You probably know the place quite well.” The man’s face broke into a broad grin.

  “I would love it,” he answered. “I’m Dan Lestrade. I can start tomorrow if you like.”

  “How long have you been here?” she asked, and he told her that he had known the garden for years because his uncle had been the gardener here thirty years ago.

  “So, you would know about this mysterious reputation the place seems to have.” He held out a hand.

  “Thanks for the work. I’ll go and visit my uncle and see what he can remember.”

  “See you tomorrow then,”” Jazz said and started back to the garden.

  She sent the others away at the end of the day but decided to carry on with the garden. It was peaceful and quiet in the garden, and she reflected that this had been a beautiful garden in its heydey. She sat back on her heels and gazed around. Standing up to get an idea of how the garden would look, eventually she made a note to move some of the rocks.

  “Ben can use his muscle to help me,” she thought with a smile and moved to the side of the stones. To get a better view, she climbed onto the first large rock and balanced her foot against the soil. Her foot slipped, and she fell against the side of the hillside. Then she saw, from her viewpoint on the ground, that the wall was made of wood covered with a layer of soil. Jazz forgot the uncomfortable bumps and bruises and rubbed her hand over the wood to scrape away the earth. Getting a hold on the wood, she pulled, and the whole thing came away in her hands with a shower of dirt and rotten splinters. Jazz leaned forward cautiously and looked through what appeared to be an entrance. The light only reached so far inside, but there were some flickers of something that glistened. She wondered if the place was flooded but had no flashlight to look further.

  “I’d best go and see what Evan thinks,” she thought and walked up to the house. They had all appeared to use the back door of the property. It was a servant’s doorway from when the house was built but led into a huge kitchen. She knocked on the door and waited. There was no reply. His car was in the yard, so she knocked again and then turned the handle and shouted. Evan Sutherland came into the kitchen shrugging his arms into a shirt and stopped short when he saw Jazz.

  “I thought everyone had gone,” he said and then realized that sounded a bit unfriendly. In fact, it gave his inside a little twist to see the slim gardener standing in his kitchen.

  “I’m sorry. I seem to be shedding soil onto the floor,” she responded. “But I found something you should see. Have you got a flashlight?” He went to a cupboard and produced a large silver flashlight. Her eyes did appreciate the toned muscles she could see under the loose shirt. “No harm in enjoying the view,” she thought to herself.

  “Sounds intriguing,” He answered. “Have you found buried treasure?” Jazz shook her head.

  “Sorry. No treasure. Just an entrance under the garden.” His eyes widened slightly.

  “An entrance?” She nodded.

  “Come and see what you think.” They reached the spot where she had fallen, and Jazz stood back to let him shine the flashlight inside. He weaved the beam around inside what seemed to be some sort of cave, and then he gave it to Jazz to look as well.

  “It’s a grotto,” she breathed. “It’s a crystal grotto that was made as a fantasy folly in the garden. It must come out somewhere else.” The beam of light flashed across the tiny quartz crystals in the rock walls, and without thinking about safety, she stepped inside. Evan caught her arm.

  “Be careful. It might be dangerous.” He stepped inside as well, and the two of them tried to take in the shape of the discovery.

  “It leads off behind where the garden is,” Jazz said and pointed with the light. She took a step, but he caught and held her arm fast.

  “I don’t stay safe on mountains by stepping into the unknown. Back outside until we decide what to do.” Jazz realized he was right and followed him back into daylight.

  “If this is at one side of the garden, the other entrance should be on the other side,” she reasoned, and they walked past the enormous alpine garden to scrape away at soil where the stones ended and a grassy bank began. Jazz ran back and found her trowel and spade, and they dug away wildly at the turf and soil to discover another wooden panel. Evan gave the wood a bang with the spade. It splintered and started to crumble. The two of them pulled away at the rubble and cleared the space to find a similar entrance to the other side. The beam of the torch showed that the grotto probably went all the way behind the garden and was lined with quartz crystal.

  “This is a fabulous find,” Jazz said. “We can make it part of the remake. Steps from the viewing platform to the entrance and put in some lighting to show the way for visitors to explore. Just like it was intended to be in the first place.”

  Chapter Three

  “We need to block these entrances until someone inspects it properly,” Evan said. “There are two old doors in the garage. That should do it.”

  “If we lay lots of stones against them,” Jazz added, and they set off for the garage. The doors were old and heavy, but with a wheelbarrow and one holding the door to balance, they made it in two trips and stood the doors against the entrances. There were stones that had fallen loose from the garden, and they were used to hold it all in place. Evan dusted his hands.

  “Let’s have a coffee and decide what to do,” he suggested, and they left the newly found grotto and went inside.

  “Can I wash my hands?” she asked, and he showed her to a bathroom. It was outdated but clean and tidy, and she felt better for splashing water on her face. He was waiting in the enormous kitchen and asked if she would like a sandwich.

  “Yes, please. I am starving. Haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

  “Good heavens,” he said and flipped a frying pan out of the cupboard. With the ease of a practiced chef, he threw steaks into the pan, tossed together a salad, and popped a couple of jacket potatoes into the microwave. Jazz was impressed. In a matter of minutes, the man produced a meal as good as any in a restaurant and set the coffee to perk. Jasmine Summer was slender but had the appetite of a working laborer. She demolished the meal in seconds, to his utter amazement.

  “How do you stay slim with an appetite like that?” he asked with a smile, and she told him that hard physical work would do the trick.

  “More to the point, how did you learn to cook like a chef? It was fabulous.”

  “Keeping climbing fit is like any other athlete, and it was easier and cheaper to learn how to cook myself than pay somebody else. Then I found I enjoyed it.”

  “Well I certainly appreciated your skills; I’ll have to re
turn the favor.”

  “And cook me a meal?”

  “Good Lord no. I’ll buy you a pizza,” she answered and looked around. He saw the glance and remarked that this was the wing he was no longer going to pull down.

  “But I need a modern kitchen,” he told her. Jazz nodded.

  “If I could cook---which I can’t---I would have a professional stainless-steel cooking area and freestanding traditional cupboard units to soften the effect. Steel with granite worktops is easy to sterilize and keep clean,” she paused. “And a huge farmhouse table where I could sit with my friends.” She smiled. “Maybe a wood-burning stove and a couple of armchairs with a television on the wall.” Evan Sutherland found himself laughing out loud and easily for the first time in many months.

  “You have a gift there, Jazz. It sounds great,” he stood up. “Come and see the rest. I might as well use your expertise.” He opened the door to a dining room and then a living room. The kitchen and the dining room had views of the garden. There were two other living rooms. One was another much larger living room and a smaller room she thought you would describe as a den. The whole lot was clean and tidy but still looked as if it was living about forty years ago.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “Formal dining room in the den. Comfortable lounge for friends, present dining room as your study and you could write with views of the garden.” He handed her a coffee, and they sat back at the table.

  “I haven’t written a word in months, or done any climbing,” he confessed and thought back over the life he was running away from. Jazz caught the flash of sadness in his face and touched his arm.

  “They say that moving is almost as stressful as bereavement. The new garden and updating the house will give you time to get over it.” She paused and smiled. “Hands and knees and getting my hands in the soil is therapy for me. I can put you to use on the garden.” He laughed and asked if it would reduce the bill. She said she would calculate his wages and deduct it from the total.

  “What do we do about the grotto?” she asked, and he sat back in his chair.

  “My brother is a building engineer, and he was going to visit anyway. I’ll twist his arm to come tomorrow, and he can use his professional judgement.”

  “There are two of you?” she smiled, and he told her they were as different as chalk and cheese.

  “Dexter would rather read a book than do any exercise outdoors but our parents are passed away, and it is good to have someone close.” He hesitated. “Someone on your side when things are bad.” He almost started to tell her how bad things had been but stopped himself.

  “Our parents are passed as well. You will meet Kim as she is going to plant up those enormous urns on the steps,” Jazz replied. “Dad started the nursery, and we both keep it going.”

  “Until the grotto gets the all clear we will have to make sure nobody is curious and goes inside,” Evan added.

  Jazz agreed and looked at her watch.

  “Heavens. Look at the time. Thanks for dinner. I really enjoyed it.”

  “Me too,” he answered and at the door realized that he was very close to running a hand through her hair. “See you tomorrow.”

  “Night,” she said, and he walked her to the monster off-roader. Evan Sutherland stood for several minutes staring into space where the car had stood and then he went back inside the kitchen.

  “Wonder what color she would paint the walls?” he mused and went to phone Dex.”

  Jazz hurried into the house to tell her sister about the grotto. Kim listened to the tale but put her hands on her hips.

  “It doesn’t take this long to look at a cave in the garden.” She waited, and Jazz had the grace to grin.

  “Okay. Okay. We got to talking, and he cooked me a steak.” Kim was staggered.

  “He cooked for you. Good heavens, Jazz. Where are you heading with this?” Kim asked and sat down on a kitchen chair. Jazz made herself a coffee and told her sister that there was nothing to say; it was nothing more than a friendly gesture.

  “He came and helped me dig out the entrances, and then we blocked them to stop anyone from getting hurt,” Jazz told her. “We have to talk about what he wants in the garden.”

  “Mmmm,” was Kim’s response.

  “I told him you were coming to plant the urns.” Jazz paused and then told her sister that the older gardener had an uncle that used to work in the garden. “I am hoping to find out if he knew about the grotto.”

  “Rob Manners dropped by to find out when you wanted him to start. He says the rumors were about the wife who disappeared along with a lot of cash.”

  “I suppose you made him a coffee and gave him cake?” Jazz got in a shot of her own, and her sister grinned.

  “He does love cake,” she replied. “But what about him being an army pal of Evan Sutherland?”

  “Small world,” Jazz replied. “And his brother is coming to check out if the cave is safe. He’s a building engineer apparently.”

  “There are two of them---you’ll be spoiled for choice,” her sister joked and had a cushion thrown at her head as a response.

  I am betting your curiosity gets those urns planted tomorrow,” Jazz responded, and as that was exactly what Kim had in mind, she just caught the cushion and threw it back.

  The day started early as Kim had to sort out the greenhouses before setting off with the big van filled with an assortment of plants. She had struggled to load a huge bag of compost for each urn and was hoping there would be someone to help her unload at the other end. Jazz had gone on ahead and found Evan waiting outside of the kitchen door.

  “Mornin’, interior designer,” he started, and she grinned.

  “Maybe you should become a chef, and I should do interiors.” He stepped towards her and pointed to where Ben and Carly were taking equipment down to where they were working.

  “We should get to everyone and warn them before someone stumbles on the cave and pokes around inside,” he said, and she nodded.

  “Come on.” She set off towards her workers and then heard the sound of Rob’s truck arrive as well. Hard on his heels was Kim in the nursery van. “You go and talk to Ben and Carly, and I’ll bring Kim and Rob down as well,” she added. “And Dan Lestrade.” The new recruit had just arrived.

  The group assembled.

  “You tell them,” Jazz said to Evan who told what had happened the evening before. There was excitement in the group.

  “The mystery deepens,” Rob said. “Maybe the wife hid the cash in the cave.”

  “Treasure trove,” Carly added.

  “Rob says that the story goes that the younger wife left the owner and took a lot of cash with her,” Kim explained to the others who looked puzzled.

  Dan added that he had heard that story, but there were rumors about strange lights in the garden when no one was around.

  “We have to unravel this mystery,” Evan said. “But promise me, all of you, that you will not go inside until we know it is safe.” They all muttered but agreed, and he pulled the rocks away from the doors so that they could shine flashlights inside.

  “Wow. I love it,” Carly said, and her necklaces seemed to take on a life of their own. The hair was still electric blue, but the blue was echoed in her combat trousers and topped by a violently green tee shirt that said, ‘words are wonderful’.

  “My brother has promised to come this afternoon and test it. He’s an engineer. In the meantime, Rob, I think you had better keep the machinery away from above the garden.” Rob agreed and said he would be cutting trees at the far side anyway. Ben and Carly went back to rill clearing; Rob went to start cutting trees, Kim to unloading, Dan to lend a hand, and Evan asked Jazz if he could talk to her. She waited to see why.

  “I’m going to ask Dan if I can visit his uncle. What do you think? And would you like to go along?” Jazz had thought he wanted to ask about the garden, but it only took a second for her to understand the question and her eyes sparkled at the thought.

 
“I would love to,” she replied. “You don’t suppose it has anything to do with the grotto being closed up?” That thought had not occurred to him, but he shook his head.

  “That is probably a safety thing. We’ll see what Dex says this afternoon.” Jazz set off to tackle the garden and hummed a little tune as she went. She had made quite an impact on the feature, and it was starting to look like a decent alpine garden again. Ben and Carly stopped and came to join her for a lunch break, and the work started again, but not before Carly had snuck another look inside the cave. She jumped away in guilt as Evan and the man who was his brother arrived down the slope.

  “You haven’t been in there, have you?” Evan asked, and she shook her head.

  “Just cannot resist trying to see inside,” she confessed.

  Dexter Sutherland looked like his brother in build and coloring, but there the likeness ended. He looked like a college professor with dark-rimmed spectacles and a slight stubble, and he actually wore a corduroy jacket with leather patches on the elbows.

  “If it’s safe,” Dex told her, “we can all go in. I’ve brought a whole lot of hard hats.” And he dumped a big case on the ground. “Right. Everyone stay outside.” He donned a hard hat and took an electronic device and a flashlight, then he disappeared into the grotto. They all held their collective breath until a voice from inside the cave reassured them that all seemed well. He emerged and said that, despite the quartz crystals and fairy-tale look of the place, it was constructed like a house and heavy beams held up the roof.

  “It will not collapse on you, and I guess it will hold the deck above as well.” Carly almost skipped with excitement, and he smiled and handed her a helmet.

  Chapter Four

  Dan Lestrade said that his uncle was in a retirement home, but he still remembered the old days. “He’ll love the company and the chance to reminisce, but I’d better ring and check with the home if it’s okay for three of us to arrive.” Evan thanked him, and the man stepped away to use his cell phone.