Forget Me Knot (Garden Girls Christian Cozy Mystery Series Book 13)

by Hope Callaghan

  Gloria had offered to drive Andrea to the airport so she wouldn’t have to pay to park her car but Andrea refused, telling Gloria it would be good for her to spend some time alone.

  Alice had finally gotten her driver’s license but refused to drive any further than around Belhaven. It was a huge step for Alice and allowed her a small amount of independence.

  Gloria took a few moments to check her email and there was a note from Mary Beth, telling her the car parts would arrive the following day and Gus would start working on Annabelle as soon as they arrived.

  The more Gloria drove the SUV, the more convinced she was that she had made the right decision to repair Annabelle instead of purchase the SUV, which had zero personality or little quirks that made Annabelle unique.

  With a quick check to make sure she’d turned the coffee pot off, Gloria slipped on a light jacket, grabbed the keys from the hook and her purse from the chair.

  She hurried to the SUV, unlocked the driver’s side door and slid behind the wheel. Her plan was to park at the far end of Main Street, in front of Nails and Knobs. Gloria’s first stop would be the local pharmacy.

  She easily found a parking spot in front of the dark, empty hardware store. Gloria wondered what would happen to the three stores if Brian’s memory never returned.

  Perhaps he would sell everything and move back to a place in his life he remembered. Gloria couldn’t imagine what that would be like…frustrating to say the very least.

  Gloria passed by the small barbershop. Next to the barbershop was Thelma’s Thrift Shop, which only opened one or two days a week. On the other side of the thrift store was the pharmacy.

  Gloria made her way up the small ramp to the entrance, pushed the door open and stepped inside. The pungent smell of mothballs caused her to wrinkle her nose. It had been several months since Gloria had been inside the pharmacy and there had been some changes.

  Off to the right was the front counter and behind the counter, Gladys McTavish. Gladys was somewhat new to Belhaven, having only lived in the area for a decade or so after marrying Stan McTavish, a retired used car salesman from Green Springs.

  Rumor had it Gladys and Stan had met via an online dating site, at least that’s what Ruth had told Gloria.

  Gloria had seen her around town now and then. Although Gladys worked at the pharmacy, she rarely patronized the area businesses including Dot’s Restaurant. Once in a blue moon, Gladys’ husband, Stan, would have coffee with some of the other retirees down at Dot’s Restaurant.

  Ruth didn’t care for Gladys and Gloria wondered if it was because she just didn’t know her that well since the woman kept to herself.

  To the left of the entrance were rows of sundries including a rack of magazines, snack foods and suntan lotion. In the back of the store was another counter, this one higher than the front checkout counter. Hidden behind the counter was the pharmacy.

  Spring meant bath time for Mally so Gloria grabbed a handbasket and headed for the small pet supply section. She picked up a bottle of pet shampoo and turned it over. “Hm. The prices are pretty reasonable.”

  She stopped one aisle over, grabbed a box of Band-Aids, some nail polish remover and headed to the front with her purchases.

  Gladys was a tall, thin woman, and as Gloria got closer, she noticed a large scar on her chin. She tried not to gawk but the scar was so prominent, it was hard for her eyes not to be drawn to it. She averted her gaze and stared at the items in her basket instead. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” Gladys replied pleasantly.

  “It’s going to be a beautiful day,” Gloria said.

  “Yes,” Gladys said.

  The conversation stalled and Gloria racked her brain in an attempt to keep the conversation going. “It’s a shame about your boss, Brian Sellers.”

  “For sure.” Gladys reached inside the basket and grabbed the dog shampoo.

  No wonder Ruth wasn’t a fan of Gladys! The woman hardly talked, unlike Ruth who loved to chat, to gossip…

  “He’s home now. Hopefully he’ll be back to work soon,” Gloria lifted the empty basket off the counter and placed it on top of the nearby stack.

  “That’s good.” Gladys watched Gloria set the basket down.

  Gloria’s eyes were drawn to the scar again, and before she could stop herself, she blurted out. “What a wicked scar.” She immediately wished she could take back the words but it was too late!

  Gladys self-consciously touched the scar with her index finger. “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry…I mean I didn’t.” Gloria fumbled over her words. Not wanting to make an already uncomfortable exchange worse, she clamped her mouth shut and waited for Gladys to scan her debit card. Gladys scanned the card and handed the card, along with a store receipt, to Gloria.

  “Thank you. Have a nice day.” Gloria grabbed her purchases and headed for the door. She could feel Gladys’ eyes following her.

  When she reached the sidewalk in front of the drug store, she looked back. “Well, that went well.”

  On the other side of the drugstore was Kip’s Bar and Grill. Next to Kip’s was a vacant building and then Dot’s Restaurant. She started to head inside Dot’s when she changed her mind and continued walking toward the Quik Stop. First things first.

  The bell chimed merrily as Gloria pushed the door open and stepped inside. Brian had recently remodeled the interior of the grocery store and added onto the back. A deli counter filled the entire back wall, offering a variety of deli meats and cheeses as well as a mouthwatering selection of artisan breads.

  Large selections of gourmet spreads were on display next to the deli and on the other side, a pastry case filled with tempting sweet treats. Brian was giving Dot a run for her money.

  Gloria glanced at the checkout counter and Sally Keane, who was behind the counter and rummaging through the cash register. She glanced up when she heard the doorbell. “Oh hi Gloria!”

  She slammed the cash register shut and placed both hands on the counter, giving Gloria her full attention. “Sorry if I seem jumpy. Ever since Brian was robbed, I’m a nervous nelly. I keep thinking every person who walks through the door is going to rob me.”

  Sally was a talker, and a complainer, unlike Gladys McTavish who was a woman of few words.

  “Poor Brian.” Gloria shook her head. “He can’t remember anything that happened.”

  Sally snorted. “Or that he’s engaged to Andrea Malone. Speaking of engaged.” Sally’s hand shot out and she fluttered her fingers in front of Gloria. “Joe finally proposed.”

  Gloria took a step closer. “Well I’ll be,” she said. Officer Joe Nelson had officially gone off the deep end! “Congratulations.”

  Sally lifted her hand to inspect her sparkler. “Yeah. We’re going to have a summer wedding. It will be the biggest event in all of Montbay County now that Andrea and Brian’s wedding has been called off. Not that I blame him. I mean, who would want to marry a complete stranger?”

  The tips of Gloria’s ears began to burn as Sally hinted that perhaps Brian was faking his amnesia to get out of the engagement. The palm of Gloria’s hand began to itch and the urge to slap Sally grew.

  Instead, Gloria cut her off. “I think you’re jealous of Andrea,” she said bluntly.

  Chapter 23

  Sally’s jaw dropped. “Why I…” she sputtered.

  “That’s what I thought.” Gloria reached down and grabbed a basket from the rack next to her. “I have a few things to pick up and I’m hoping by the time I reach the counter, you’ll have something nice to say.” Without waiting for a reply, Gloria spun around and marched to the other side of the store.

  Gloria fumed as she walked up and down the aisles, blindly grabbing a box of pasta, a jar of spaghetti sauce and a loaf of garlic bread from the freezer. She strode over to the deli counter and thank goodness, Sally wasn’t manning the back, as well.

  An unfamiliar, smiling face peeked over the top of the counter and two warm gray eyes met hers. “C
an I help you?”

  Gloria shifted her basket. “Yes. I need six thin slices of Swiss cheese, six slices of smoked gouda and six slices of extra sharp cheddar.”

  “Coming right up.”

  Gloria shifted her basket and studied the offerings as she waited for the cheese. The Canadian style bacon looked tempting so she ordered a half a pound, along with a pound of low sodium roasted turkey breast.

  The employee, a person Gloria had never seen before, placed the packets on top of the counter. “Anything else?”

  “That’ll be it.” She thanked him and then wandered down the chip aisle, grabbing a bag of wavy potato chips, some tortilla chips and Paul’s favorite, spicy jalapeno snack crackers. He loved to eat them with Alice’s “special” salsa that Gloria had secretly nicknamed “firecracker.”

  Sally had calmed down by the time Gloria reached the checkout counter. She pulled the items from the basket and placed them on the counter. “Congratulations on your engagement,” she said sincerely, a wave of guilt washing over her at how angry she had gotten over Sally’s snide comments.

  “Thanks,” Sally said. “I know a couple of guys here in town who applied for the job at the hardware store. They said they had lost their jobs at the big box home improvement store over in Rapid Creek.”

  Gloria fished inside her purse, pulled out her wallet and handed Sally two crisp twenty-dollar bills. “Oh really? Who was it?”

  “Mark Clawson for one. He was also working at Fred Baird’s sawmill before it closed down. There was another one, but I can’t remember his name.” Sally punched the buttons on the cash register and the drawer popped open. “There was also Kate Edelson. I was hoping Brian would hire her and get her out of my hair!”

  Kate Edelson was Bea McQueen’s daughter. Bea was the local hairdresser. Kate worked part-time at the Quik Stop and a few months back, Sally and Kate had gotten into a knockdown, drag out brawl on the grocery store floor.

  Gloria thanked her, reached for her bag of groceries and headed out the door. She wondered if Brian had interviewed Mark Clawson. She added both Mark and Kate to her list of suspects, although she doubted it was Kate.

  She made her way to the SUV to drop off her purchases and then headed to the post office. There was a long line at the counter and Gloria hovered near the bulletin board, studying the postings until the crowd cleared out.

  After the last person exited the building, Gloria approached the counter and leaned her elbows on top. “Sally told me a couple locals applied for the part-time position at the hardware store.”

  “Uh-huh,” Ruth nodded. “Did she tell you her younger brother, Dylan, applied for the job too?”

  Gloria lifted a brow. “No, she did not!”

  “Yeah. Sally’s brother, Dylan, has the hots for Kate and the feeling isn’t mutual. Kate is in here every day complaining about how Dylan hangs around the grocery store.”

  Ruth continued. “Have you talked to Gladys yet?”

  Gloria pushed her purse to the side of the counter. “Yeah. I stopped by the drugstore before the Quik Stop.” She shook her head. “Whew! She is a woman of few words.”

  Ruth drummed her fingernails on the countertop. “Gladys grandson, Chad, also applied for the job. I heard from Judith Arnett that Brian immediately dismissed him as a possible hire.”

  “Why?”

  “Because he has a troubled past and was released from prison a few months back. According to one of my sources, who stopped by this morning, Brian ran background checks on all the potential hires and immediately nixed Chad.”

  Gloria remembered the scar on Gladys’ face, how she was a relative unknown in Belhaven and now she had a grandson with a murky past. Still, it didn’t mean Gladys had anything to do with the robbery.

  There was also Dylan, Sally’s younger brother. Why hadn’t Sally mentioned her brother had applied? Next was Mark Clawson. Gloria had heard his name before but not in a good – or a bad – way.

  “Motive and opportunity,” Gloria said. “Motive – robbery. Opportunity – an empty hardware store, with just the owner, early in the morning.”

  She lifted her index finger. “So we’ve got the guy who broke out of prison, Walter something, who is on the loose and may have come after Brian. We’ve got Kate Edelson, although I’m putting her at the bottom of the list.”

  Ruth interrupted. “Let me grab a sheet of paper.” She pulled a small pad from the drawer in front of her and a pen sitting on the counter. “Walter something, Kate Edelson, Glady’s grandson, Chad, and Mark Clawson, a local.” She paused and looked at Gloria. “Who was the last one?”

  “Sally’s brother, Dylan,” Gloria said. “Five suspects. Could be more. We need to figure out who may have been in the vicinity the morning of the robbery and also if Brian had scheduled interviews that fateful morning.” She slammed her fist on the counter. “I wish I could get my hands on the black book – Brian’s appointment scheduler – to check it out!”

  “We can try the direct approach. March right over to his house and tell him to look for the black book,” Ruth said. “Or we can sit back and wait for Brian’s memory to return.”

  “He already told Andrea and all of us in a roundabout way, he wants some space.” Gloria said.

  Ruth tapped the end of the pen on top of the pad of paper. “I’ve been giving this some thought. Brian hasn’t seen me yet and probably doesn’t remember me, either,” Ruth replied. “I’ve never been inside Brian’s house. Can you draw a quick sketch of the floor plan?”

  ***

  Ruth turned into Brian Sellers’ driveway and parked the U.S. Postal Service vehicle in front of the garage door. It had taken some wheedling on her part to convince Kenny Webber, Belhaven’s rural route carrier, to allow her to use his beloved route vehicle. It was his baby and no one drove it but Kenny, until now.

  She grabbed the stack of envelopes addressed to Nails and Knobs from the passenger seat and climbed out the driver’s side door. “Here goes nothing,” Ruth muttered under her breath as she rounded the front of the vehicle and climbed the porch steps.

  According to Gloria’s crude sketch, Brian’s office – and his appointment scheduler – were down a long hall, near the back of the house.

  Ruth tossed around the idea of needing to use the restroom, but quickly rejected the idea. Brian was sharp…too sharp to fall for that. She needed something more believable, something that would compel him to hunt down the scheduler, crack it open and take a look.

  It had taken Gloria and her some serious brainstorming to come up with a plan – she only hoped it would work. It was all on Ruth now and she was determined to execute the plan flawlessly…now if only Brian would cooperate.

  Ruth grasped the stack of envelopes in one hand and pressed the doorbell with the other. “Da-da-da-dum.” The faint strains of Beethoven’s 5th symphony echoed through the door and Ruth smiled.

  The door abruptly opened and Ruth took a step backward, almost falling off the porch. She grabbed the handrail to steady herself.

  “Can I help you?” Brian peered at Ruth through the screen door.

  “Yes. Uh. I’m not sure if you remember me. I’m Ruth Carpenter, head postmaster at the Belhaven Post Office.” She waved the stack of mail in her hand. “The mail for the hardware store is piling up. I thought I would bring it by, just in case you wanted to look at it.”

  Brian unlocked the screen door and held it open. “Thanks.” He waved her in.

  Ruth stepped into the light and bright, modern living room. It was stunning with its vaulted ceilings and dark wood beams, decorated in a style she loved. This house would be right up her alley. “What a beautiful home. Did you design this yourself?”

  Brian shifted his focus and studied the room. “I can’t remember. I would like to think I did.” He shrugged. “Either way, I like it.”

  “Oh. Before I forget.” Ruth held out the stack of envelopes.

  “Thank you.” Brian took the mail and gazed at the envelope on top. He rifl
ed through the pile. “These look like job applications.”

  “That’s what I thought,” Ruth agreed. “Would you like Kenny, our rural route carrier, to deliver your mail until you return to work?”

  “I…” Brian rubbed his brow. “No. I’ll start picking it up at the post office, if that’s what I used to do.”

  “You did. You have one PO Box, and use it for the drug store, the Quik Stop and the hardware store.”

  A flicker of something crossed his face. “I wish I could remember what happened. This is so frustrating.” He ran a hand through his hair.

  “May I make a suggestion?” Ruth asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Well, rumor has it you have a black appointment scheduler in your home office. You keep all of your appointments and such on your iPad.”

  “If I had an iPad, it’s missing now and probably stolen during the robbery.” Brian said. “I found a laptop here at the house. I’ve tried unlocking it to search for clues but for the life of me, I can’t remember the password!”

  The pieces were beginning to fall into place. Brian had already tried to figure out what happened, but he couldn’t because all of the information was either in his missing iPad or in his laptop, which he had no idea how to get into.

  Ruth’s pulse quickened. “Brian! If you kept the black scheduler book as a backup, you may have the information right under your nose!”

  Chapter 24

  Ruth knew exactly where the black scheduler book was – in Brian’s home office, but she couldn’t tell him that! She glanced at her watch. “I have to get back to work soon, but I have a few extra minutes if you’d like me to help you search for it.”

  Brian frowned. “You don’t have to do that.”

  Ruth leaned casually against the wall, feigning nonchalance, but she could see her opportunity slipping away. “Sure. But even if you find the book and it lists your schedule for the day of the robbery.” She pointed to the stack of envelopes. “If you were interviewing for a position that morning, it’s possible you won’t have any idea who those people are.”