by Tonya Kappes
Julia tried to grab end of the cord out of his hand, but he jerked his arm in the air. The cord dangled down. Julia rolled up on her tippy toes after realizing the detective had to be at least six-foot tall, a good four inches taller than her. “Give me that!”
“First off, Miss. . .”
“France. I am the owner. Didn’t the sheriff tell you that?”
“Miss France, I’m detective Max Winston. I do not take orders from the local sheriff and there is no way in hell you are going to dust around anything. This is a crime scene investigation and we will let you know when our guys are done doing our own dusting.”
About that time another officer had taken what looked to be a makeup brush and doused fistfuls of white powder all over the dark wood door frames, antique door handles, and along the windowsills.
“But he was doing a roof inspection,” Julia noted what should be obvious. “So why don’t you look for clues around the roof?”
Julia did note the mud caked on Mr. Segal’s shoes, but she was far from being a detective and didn’t want to tell Max how to do his job, just like she didn’t like him telling her she wasn’t going to be able to open the Inn until they were done.
“Howdy there!” The voice of a woman floated through the front of the inn.
Julia’s stomach turned in hopes that it wasn’t the Hendersons. It was almost time for their arrival and she had nothing prepared. The wooden floors creaked under her as she hurried to the foyer to greet whomever was there, but not without stopping to look at her reflection in the antique hall mirror.
Julia smiled at the person staring back at her. A friendly face. A young face with ice blue eyes. She ran her hair down her coal black hair, worn out yellow tee shirt, and light blue cropped jeans. It was not the cute polka dotted dress she had pictured herself in.
“Stay positive,” she whispered to her reflection and put on a smile that would tell the world she was ready for anything, only she was prepared for nothing.
The day couldn’t get any worse. The dusty old Inn was nothing compared to the poor dead body of Mr. Segal. She would have had on her dress and shoes by now, but it was going to have to wait.
“Hello?” the voice called again.
“I’m so sorry.” Julia apologized with a degree of warmth and comfort. “Are you Norma Henderson?” Julia asked with anticipation. It was a moment she didn’t want to forget.
“Oh no.” The woman with a friendly face had a bouquet of freshly cut flowers in her arms and held them out for Julia to take. “I’m Bebe Fontaine. I own Bebe’s on Main.”
“Thank you so much.” Julia smiled back at the woman.
Bebe Fontaine had long silvery hair, silver bangle bracelets that lined her forearm, and wore a long silk paisley kimono with jeweled flip flops on her feet.
“For goodness sakes, what is all of this going on out here?” Priscilla pushed her way through the police officers just taking up space. If they were doing a job, Julia knew they’d be done much faster and she could get on with her day. “Bebe Fontaine. It didn’t take you long, did it?”
“What?” Bebe reared back, her mouth pulled back in a sour grin. “I came here to drop off some flowers for the new owners. It’s about time they reopened this place.”
Bebe didn’t pay Julia any attention. Her eyes fluttered around the foyer and her head darted back and forth like an ostrich trying to see what all the commotion was about.
“You are a lyin’!” Priscilla’s voice escalated. “I know you better than that.” Priscilla scowled and nudged Julia, “Bebe can pack a tale like no one I’ve ever seen. And she must’ve heard about the dead guy.”
“Dead guy?” Bebe tried to make her voice sound shocked, but there was more than a question in her tone. “I can’t help but think someone killed him because of the money.” Bebe’s eyes clung to Priscilla’s, analyzing her reaction.
“Money?” Julia’s ears popped up. Not that she was greedy, but she did have to pay her parents back.
“Oh go on, Bebe,” Priscilla warned.
“Well. . .” Bebe shrugged. “You know and I know the rumor.”
“Rumor?” Julia begged to get in on their conversation.
“That is exactly what it is. A rumor.” Priscilla crossed her arms. She wasn’t about to let anyone ruin her chances at her running her own kitchen. Especially the likes of Bebe Fontaine.
“What rumor?” Julia’s voice escalated, encouraging Bebe to continue.
“There is a lot of money buried somewhere in this Inn. That is why so many people buy it and then go under.” Bebe eyed Julia suspiciously. “Are you telling me you had no idea?”
“Came to her in a dream,” Priscilla said. “She calls it fate.”
Julia wasn’t sure, but she felt like Priscilla had been making fun of her.
“A dream, huh?” Bebe didn’t buy it. “Fate?”
“She’s one of those.” Priscilla’s brows lifted. Bebe’s brows lifted.
“Yes. I had a dream as a child about this place and when I drove past it, it was like lightning had struck me.” Julia couldn’t contain her smile. Even though there was a dead body present, she still held the dream alive in her heart. “When I came up here to get a closer look, I saw it was for sale. It was a sign.”
“She believes in signs.” Priscilla’s brows cocked.
“And here you are.” Bebe’s smile widened in approval.
“Here I am.” Julia sucked in a deep breath. “With a corpse, an old dusty house and a mean detective.”
“These should brighten your day.” Bebe held the flowers out again. “I think they would be lovely on that table near the chaise.”
Bebe gestured toward the large window overlooking the bay, Julia’s favorite spot.
“I think you are right.” Julia took the flowers and didn’t bother wiping off the top of the antique table next to the chaise before putting the vase on it. She stepped back and looked. Bebe was right. It brightened the spot up rather nicely.
“Um. . .Julia,” Priscilla called, her tone had drastically changed to pleasant. “There is a car pulling up.”
“A car?” Julia lunged forward looking out the dingy window and saw an older couple getting out. “The Hendersons.”
“Since you are here to snoop, you can help in the kitchen.” Priscilla pulled Bebe out of the foyer, getting them out of Julia’s hair.
“Hello?” The Hendersons walked up onto the front porch of the old Victorian bed and breakfast. “Is this the new Blossom Bay Inn?” The elderly lady asked, confused, she looked at her husband.
“Now Norma.” He patted her lightly on the back. “I’m Gene and this is my wife Norma. We are celebrating fifty years of marriage this week and we loved the pictures on your website and were thrilled to be passing through. But it sure doesn’t look like the pictures. Did you have a catastrophe?”
“Outta the way!” A gurney came plowing through the foyer. The dirty shoes of Mr. Segal were sticking out of the sheet that covered the rest of his dead body.
“Oh my.” Norma Henderson shielded her eyes and grabbed Gene. “We have to get out of here.”
“Please stay.” Julia begged. Her dream was disappearing before her very eyes. She wasn’t below begging. “It’s fifty percent off in honor of your fiftieth wedding anniversary.”
“Well,” Gene pulled Norma back and looked at her.
“We have collected all of the evidence. The coroner said he’s been murdered a week or so and your story checks out about you not being in town due to the way the sale of this junker happened. I’ll be in touch.” Max was a straight shooter and just because Julia France was pretty damn good looking and single, from what he could gather by her finger not graced by a wedding ring, he still had to do his job. “You can have your Inn back.” Still, he wanted her to be safe. “Be sure you keep your doors locked at all times.”
“Murder?” Norma Henderson didn’t need to hear any more. She was halfway down the steps until Julia called out to her.
“Stay for free tonight!” Julia couldn’t believe she blurted it out.
“Did you say free?” Norma Henderson liked the idea of free. “Do your locks work?”
“All new.” Julia lied and Max was about to protest but Julia nervously moistened her lips and it made him smile.
He wasn’t used to smiling. The job had made him a little hard hearted. When he first became a detective he didn’t realize all the bad in the world.
Priscilla cleared her throat out of hearing of the inn guests, getting Julia’s attention. She stood by the chaise lounge and set the antique tray of goodies on the table next to the flowers.
“The room is ready,” Priscilla mouthed and pointed up to the ceiling.
“That settles it. You will be our guests and now you can follow me up to your guest suite to get settled in.” Julia nodded toward Max. “Thank you for your assistance. I’m confident you will take care of your matters outside of my Inn.”
“You’ll be hearing from me.” Really there wasn’t anything she could help him with but maybe he wanted to see her again. There was something to this Julia France that had him intrigued.
Julia wasted no time going to get the tray and leading the Hendersons up to the room. It was one of the nicest rooms in the Inn. The Queen Anne Victorian bed was one antique Julia was thrilled that was left.
“Here are some refreshments to hold you over until dinner.” Julia proudly left the antique tray on the dresser and quickly bowed out. She would let them get settled before slipping the agenda she had printed up under their door. The Hendersons could participate or not. Either way, Julia had Mr. Segal’s body behind her, the mess with the dust was in front of her.
She did a quick surface clean and would stay up all night digging down deep in all the creases and crevices. She had been cleaning for a while, interrupted only once when the detective had called with an update, when Priscilla found her.
“This is looking nice.” Priscilla walked in with some food stains on her white apron. Julia was happy to see Priscilla had started cooking the meal for the night, though it was not going to be a profit. Priscilla held a small bottle of champagne in her hands. “I couldn’t afford much but I gave nosy Bebe what I had and sent her to the liquor store so you could give it to the Hendersons. But I just can’t shake off the whole murdered guy thing.”
“According to Detective Winston they think it might have been someone who was passing through or maybe a bum who was squatting in the house since it had been vacant for sometimes.” Julia gratefully took the bottle from Priscilla and the two flutes. “He also said during the interviews of local people and neighbors, they had seen somebody walking around up here and even have a description, though not very good.”
“At least it’s a lead and you can put this behind you.” Priscilla was a bit more relieved with the news. There wasn’t much crime in Blossom Bay and she didn’t want it to start now. “I’ve got to get back to work.”
Julia was happy she walked into Chef LeBlanc that night or she wouldn’t have met Priscilla. She didn’t have time to reminisce. She darted up the steps of theInn. She would give the Hendersons their champagne, go and get a shower. She might even put on that party dress. After all, it was still her first day.
“Mr. and Mrs. Henderson, I have a little treat for you,” Julia spoke in the crease of the door that was ajar. She lightly knocked on the door and it opened. The Hendersons were not in the room and Julia wasn’t sure how they got past her without her seeing them.
She walked into the room and put the flutes and small bottle next to the tray of goodies they had not touched. She ducked her head in the en suite bathroom to see if they were in there. It was also empty except for two open and empty suitcases on the floor next to the claw-foot tub.
For one night, Julia felt it was strange they would unpack their suitcases. The Victorian armoire was open and the wooden hangers Julia had provided were taken out and placed on the floor. The closer Julia got, she could see there was a sliding door in the back of the armoire. She slid it open to reveal a secret passageway.
“What in the world?” She was curious about what her old inn had in store for her. “An adventure,” she couldn’t contain her giggles as she stepped through the entryway where there was a set of rickety old steps that seemed to go deep within the earth.
One by one, and slowly, Julia took each step, taking out her iPhone and using the flashlight to guide her way. About fifty yards into the tunnel, Julia could see light, making her pick up the pace.
Excitement propelled her to go faster and faster until she heard voices. It was Norma and Gene, only Gene didn’t call his wife Norma. He called her Barb and she called him Joe.
“Barb and Joe as in the defaulted owners?” Julia stood behind them in the tunnel opening. “What is this?” Julia looked around at the little glass barn-like structure.
“Get her, Joe!” Barb seethed through gritted teeth. “I told you this plan was too good to be true. Now we have to kill her!”
“Whoa!” Julia’s heart sank into her toes. “No one is killing anyone here.”
“It’s a shame. You were a nice girl too.” Joe held a shovel in his hands. “I was hoping you’d make a good go of the old place.”
“Go on, hit her over the head! Just like you did that nosy roof guy!” Barb encouraged Joe.
“Wait!” Julia didn’t know how she was going to get out of this. She only wanted to own the house in her dreams. Not die over it. “Why? Why did you kill him and why do you want to kill me?”
“The money, idiot!” Barb was obviously the mastermind behind the duo. “Don’t tell me you don’t know about the money.”
“Take the money.” Bebe was right. “I don’t want the money.”
“We can’t do that now that you know the roof inspector got in our way. He came back here to inspect the roof of this greenhouse and found us digging. He knew about the money and thought it was an urban legend, but we kept digging and found this.” There was a small box next to her feet. “It holds documents and a key to a P.O Box. I’m sure it’s the money. Now kill her!”
The only thing Julia could do was duck when she saw the shovel blade barreling toward her out of the corner of her eye. Then her ears rang like an explosion had just gone off. As if in slow motion, Joe went down with a thud, dropping the shovel clear down on Barb’s head, knocking her out.
“Are you alright?” Max stood at the door with his gun still pointed at Joe.
“Oh my God! You just saved my life!” Julia rushed over to him, shaking like a leaf. “Is he dead?”
“Nah. I got his shoulder. He’s just passed out.” He gave Julia the once over. “Rough first day.”
“You could say that.” Julia’s eyes filled with tears of relief. “So they killed Mr. Segal over some sort of money?”
“When you said something about his shoes being dirty, I had forgotten about this old greenhouse. The rumors about the money had been circulating for years but we all thought it was a myth. I figured Mr. Segal ran upon some squatters living in the greenhouse hoping to find some clues out here, but then I saw you and them.” He kept his gun on them. They were moving, coming too. He reached down and picked up the box Barb had been talking about and handed it to Julia.
She read the papers as he cuffed Barb and Joe and called for backup.
“It says there is over two million dollars in this P.O Box for the owners of the bed and breakfast who find the box. The money is only to go toward keeping up the Inn.” Julia couldn’t believe what she was reading, it had been notarized and signed. Everything seemed to be legit, but she would have a lawyer look at it.
“Miss France, I think you not only solved a murder on your first day in Blossom Bay, but you just struck it rich.” Max had a feeling money wasn’t going to change her. “I think you are going to fit in just fine around here.”
Julia stood just outside of the greenhouse and watched the local sheriff take Barb and Joe into custody. The Blossom Bay Inn stood u
p on a hill in front of her. It was exactly how her dream showed her it would look. Her dream had come true and it filled her with happiness to know that she was going to be able to pay her parents back and live the life she truly wanted to live. . .only she knew deep down the Inn held more secrets that she just couldn’t shove in the back of her head.
But tonight she would.
She would go and get the small bottle of champagne and enjoy it with Priscilla on the front porch of the Inn and enjoy Priscilla’s deliciously prepared meal, and then they would finish cleaning.
Priscilla Daily’s Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
( Submitted by Kappes Krew Recipe member Susan Parham)
INGREDIENTS:
3 large bananas , well mashed
1 egg
1 stick of butter, melted
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 cup nuts, optional
1 cup mini chocolate chips
PREPARATION:
Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl; put into a well greased loaf pan. Bake at 350° for about 60 minutes, or until a knife inserted in middle comes out clean.
About the Author
For years, USA Today bestselling author Tonya Kappes has been self-publishing her numerous mystery and romance titles with unprecedented success. She is famous not only for her hilarious plotlines and quirky characters, but her tremendous marketing efforts that have earned her thousands of followers and a devoted street team of fans. Be sure to check out Tonya’s website for upcoming events and news and to sign up for her newsletter! Tonyakappes.com
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