Memories Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 8)

by Cindy Bell

  “I think that you should be able to trust your friends enough to let us know what is going on with you, Jo. You don’t disappear like this unless you have a reason. No calls, no texts, nothing. Do you know how worried I was?”

  “Yes, friends should be able to trust each other, and you should be able to trust me enough, your friend, that if I have a reason to disappear, I don’t need to be questioned about it.”

  “What are you two fighting about?” Samantha walked up to them with wide eyes. “I could hear you all the way down the street.”

  “You could?” Walt’s cheeks reddened. “I didn’t realize I had raised my voice.” He shot a look at Jo. “Now, you’ve gotten me upset. Do you know what an elevated heartrate can do to a man my age? Not to mention what stress does to the internal organs.”

  “Walt, relax.” Jo rolled her eyes. “Samantha, we weren’t fighting. Walt just feels I need to run my every activity by him.”

  “Can you blame me with a killer on the loose?” Walt shook his head.

  “Well, where have you been, Jo?” Samantha looked into her eyes.

  “Are you serious?” Jo asked.

  “It seems like a fair question,” Eddy said.

  “You too?” Jo’s eyes widened. “Why do you care?”

  “Of course we care, Jo. You’re my friend. And I’m curious by nature. You, my friend, are hiding something.” Samantha smiled.

  “So, what if I am? Am I not allowed to have any secrets?”

  “You’re allowed, but you’re not likely to keep them secret with friends like us.” Samantha jostled her shoulder. “Why bother trying?”

  “She’s right.” Eddy looked over at her. “So, why don’t you just get it over with and tell all of us?”

  Jo sighed and looked between each face that stared at her. “All right, fine. But you need to understand that sometimes I need a little extra cash, and I certainly never expected anything like this to happen. Eddy, I would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself. I know you will have the urge to tell the officers investigating the case about it, but if you truly are my friend you will consider my past and not put me on their radar, okay?”

  “I can’t make any promises until you tell me what it is that we’re talking about. I’m sure you can understand that.”

  Samantha rubbed Jo’s shoulder. “We’re your friends, Jo we’re not going to do anything to put you in danger or get you in trouble.”

  “Ha.” Jo lifted an eyebrow. “May spoke to me about a concern she had. I don’t know why she came to me, but she said she felt she could trust me. She said that some of her mail and money had gone missing over the last few months and she suspected that someone was trying to access her financial information behind her back. She thought that I might be able to find out more than she could. So I agreed to look into it for her, in exchange for a small fee.”

  “So, you know something that might be important to the case?” Eddy interrupted in a brash tone. “That’s important to tell the police.”

  “Eddy, if I thought I knew something that could help find the killer I would agree with you, but I don’t. I had barely even started. Every lead I followed up led to a dead end. Some private eye, huh? I was going to talk to her today and ask her for more information about what she wanted me to find.”

  “Jo, you need to tell this to the police,” Eddy said.

  “But I have nothing to say to them. It will only make my life more difficult if I get questioned by the police. Can you understand that, Eddy?”

  “Yes, I can.” Eddy took a deep breath. “There’s no reason to bring you into it if you have nothing to add to the case. I’ll tell the detective that I’ve heard some rumors about some concerns that May had. That way you can be left out of it, but the lead can be followed up on.”

  “Thanks Eddy.” Jo smiled. Being a retired cat burglar she never thought that she would appreciate that Eddy was a retired detective, but at that moment she did.

  “Let’s just do our best to get to the bottom of this. May obviously needed help and suspected there was a problem in her life. And it looks like she might have been right and that problem caught up with her,” Eddy said.

  “But what if we tread into information that puts us at risk, too?” Walt shook his head. “This entire case feels like one big secret that once unraveled is going to lead to terrible things.”

  “It already has, Walt. Don’t you think?” Jo stared back towards the community center. “A woman is dead.”

  “I need to go lay down.” Walt pressed his fingertips against his wrist. “My pulse is racing. I need to rest for a bit.”

  “I’ll walk you.” Jo offered him her arm.

  “Thank you.” Walt grasped the crook of her elbow. As the two walked away Eddy looked over at Samantha.

  “Odd pair, hm?”

  “Sweet.” Samantha smiled to herself and watched as they disappeared down the path that led to Walt’s villa.

  “Let’s get you home.” Eddy began to walk towards Samantha’s villa again. Samantha’s mind churned over the past few days. She hadn’t shared what she knew with everyone just yet, because she needed to figure it out for herself. Once they were in her villa, Eddy grabbed a few muffins from a cabinet and set them on plates.

  “I know you haven’t had breakfast, neither have I.” He poured them both some juice and sat down across from her. Samantha watched how he moved with ease through her villa. She appreciated that she had a friend that was close enough to simply take over when he needed to.

  “Thanks Eddy. I’m still having a hard time wrapping my head around this.”

  “Is there anything that you know about May that might have put her in a position that might have led to her being attacked?” Eddy pushed the plate across the table towards her. “You have to eat, Sam.”

  She broke off a portion from the top of the muffin and popped it into her mouth. As she chewed it she thought about the question that Eddy had asked her. “She did approach me about something. Now that I think about it, it might relate to that article that I found in the fire. She wanted to know how to find an old article. I suggested the microfilm at the library. I thought she was just doing some historical research, or maybe some genealogy since they just had that seminar about it.”

  “So, she might have been the one to bring the article into the community room. And to throw it in the fire?”

  “I’m not so sure. Why would she go to all the trouble to print it if she just intended to burn it? It seems to me that she more likely brought it with her as proof of something, or to show someone else.” She pulled her phone out of the pocket of her robe and scrolled to the picture she’d taken of the remains of the article. It was hard to make anything out on it. “I’ve got the date, and the name of the newspaper. There’s enough of the title to compare it to the articles in the newspaper to tell which article it was, too.”

  “Do you think she brought it there to show Reynold?”

  “I suppose. That was who she expected to meet. But someone else showed up before he could get there. Maybe she burned the paper to hide the information.”

  “Or the killer burned it to stop her from revealing whatever she found,” Eddy suggested.

  “I wish she had told me more about what she was up to. Maybe I could have helped her with it.”

  “We all have thoughts about what we could have done to prevent such a tragedy, but that won’t do anything to help. All we can do now, is figure out the why and the how. I’m sure that there’s a reason behind everything.”

  “I’m ready to find out what that reason is,” Samantha said.

  “I think we all are. But first you have to eat.” He pushed the plate towards her again. “I’ll give Walt and Jo a call to see if they want to meet later to discuss it.”

  “Thanks Eddy.” She took another bite of her muffin.

  Chapter 4

  When Walt arrived at Samantha’s villa, he noticed the bushes in front needed a good trim. As soon as she opened the door he
pursed his lips.

  “Samantha, haven’t you had the gardener out here lately?”

  “That’s not really my main concern today, Walt.” She gestured for him to step inside. Jo perched on the edge of the counter beside the toaster in the kitchen. She eyed Walt the moment he walked in. Walt nodded to her, then turned his attention to Eddy at the kitchen table.

  “So, where do we begin?”

  “The only solid lead we have so far is this.” Samantha held out a tablet that had a magnified version of the picture she had snapped. “I pulled this out of the fire and took this picture so that we could look into it. Recently, May asked me about looking up old articles, so my best guess is that she found what she was looking for and printed it out.”

  Walt scrutinized the image and then cleared his throat. “Not much to go on here, but it should be enough to find the article.”

  “I’m planning to go to the library when we’re done here to see if I can track down the article. But before I do that, it might be a good idea if we all considered the past few times we’ve interacted with May, and whether or not there was anything that might have been overlooked at the time, but now may be a bit suspicious,” Samantha said.

  “I told you about my conversation with her.” Jo pulled one foot up onto the counter.

  “Jo, shoes don’t belong on kitchen counters.” Walt steadied himself on the back of Eddy’s chair. Jo raised an eyebrow and smiled at Walt. She pulled her other foot up onto the counter as well.

  “I wish I could still bend like that.” Samantha sighed.

  “Come to Pilates with me, we’ll get you limber.” Jo winked at her.

  “Or, I could just sit in a chair and skip all of that sweat-inducing stuff.” Samantha plopped down in the chair beside Eddy. “Ah, yes, this works just fine.”

  Jo laughed and gazed at Samantha fondly. She was the closest thing to a sister she’d ever experienced. Suddenly, her eyes widened. “Her brother visited her recently. It was only a few days ago. Remember?”

  “Oh yes. What an oaf he is.” Samantha’s lip curled and she shook her head. “I know I shouldn’t talk that way about him now that he’s lost his sister, but he was so unkind to her.”

  “Unkind how?” Eddy leaned closer.

  “We were having our book club coffee morning a few days ago when he arrived. The entire time he criticized her, told her that she was forgetful, that she was stupid. It was really uncomfortable to be around them. He kept making comments about how she forgets to pay her bills, or left the tap running when she went out to get the mail. Just embarrassing little things that shouldn’t be aired in public.”

  “Well, some siblings are like that.” Eddy shrugged. “That doesn’t mean that there was anything more to it.”

  “I think in this case it might.” Jo eased down from the counter and walked over to the table. “When she came to me she mentioned that she was worried about someone getting into her finances and so forth. She couldn’t give me a good explanation as to why, or wouldn’t. She seemed very confused and anxious. She mentioned that I should look into her brother as part of my inquiries. I think she suspected that her brother was up to no good.”

  “Forgetful, confused, anxious.” Walt pulled the chair out that he leaned against and sat down. “Those could all be signs of old age taking its toll. We should consider that maybe her brother wasn’t just being mean, but noticed a change in his sister’s cognitive health.”

  “I hadn’t noticed any real decline.” Samantha glanced at Jo. “You?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Sometimes it’s hard to notice it when you see the person often. It can be a distant relative or friend that sees the decline more because they are not there for the gradual change. All I’m suggesting is that we consider it,” Walt said.

  “Okay.” Eddy nodded. “Good observation, Walt.”

  “Even if he did notice a change in her, that still is not an excuse for the harsh way he treated her. There was some obvious bad blood between them. Samantha saw it, too, right Samantha?” Jo said.

  “Yes, and I may have an idea of what was part of the problem. Before he left I overheard them arguing about some antique jewelry and land they own together. I think it had something to do with one of them wanting to sell and the other not wanting to. But to be honest I don’t know which. I kept moving because I didn’t want to have to talk to him again,” Samantha said.

  “So, the brother is more than a little troublesome.” Eddy frowned. “Is he local? Could he still be in town?”

  “Yes, he lives about twenty minutes away, but I’m not sure if he’s currently in town or on vacation,” Jo said. “It’s obvious that May suspected her brother of ill intentions while she was still alive. It might be a good place for us to start to suspect him of her murder.”

  “It’s the only place we really can start,” Samantha said. “Otherwise, who else could it be?”

  “I don’t think that someone just wandered into May and decided to kill her, and it wasn’t a robbery. It seems to me that someone might have had a score to settle. Don’t you think, Eddy?” Walt glanced over at him.

  “That would be my best guess. However, there’s also Reynold.”

  “Her friend?” Jo tilted her head to the side. “Why do you think that?”

  “I think it because he was there, at the scene of the crime,” Eddy said. “First rule when investigating a homicide, look at the nearest person. It’s not innocent until proven guilty, but a process of elimination. Until we can eliminate Reynold as a suspect, he should be on the list.”

  “Only because he tried to help May.” Samantha tapped her fingers on the table. “When I saw him he was so shaken I thought perhaps he would pass out. I don’t think he had anything to do with it.”

  “Maybe not, but we can’t know for sure until we investigate,” Eddy said. “Maybe I’m being paranoid, but there’s something about him that just sits wrong with me.”

  “We should be delicate with him, though. He seemed very upset by the murder. We don’t want to make things worse for him,” Samantha said.

  “I can be delicate.” Eddy tightened his lips.

  “I know you can, Eddy.” Samantha smiled sweetly at him. “But I think talking to him about the murder would be better left to me.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Samantha. You already have too much sympathy for him. You witnessed his reaction and have a bias. I think it would be better for someone else to talk to him about it. Maybe Jo?” Eddy said.

  “Sure.” Jo shrugged. “Me and perhaps Walt? What do you say, Walt?” Jo looked over at him.

  “Me? Why?” Walt’s eyes widened.

  “Because, you’re very good at spotting a liar.” She laughed. “Or, so you tell me.”

  “Fine, I’ll do it.” He looked into her eyes for a long moment, then broke into a smile.

  “Okay, it’s settled then,” Eddy said. “I’ll find out what I can from the detectives. Samantha will hunt down a copy of the article and May’s brother’s whereabouts, and you and Jo will question Reynold to see if he knows anything else about the murder.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Samantha stood up from her chair. “I’ll head to the library now. Jo, do you know which is Reynold’s villa?”

  “Yes, I remember. Ready Walt?”

  “Shouldn’t we prepare a list of questions? I could look up the best ways to interrogate…”

  “Let’s go, Walt.” She grabbed his hand and he instantly silenced. “I’m sure we can figure it out.”

  “Right, we can. Whatever you say.” He smiled. As the two left Samantha and Eddy exchanged a look of disbelief.

  “Stranger and stranger.” Samantha shook her head.

  “Remember, we have a murder to investigate, that trumps odd behavior.”

  “Okay, okay. Let me know what you find out at the police station.”

  “I will.” He paused just outside the door. “I hope you didn’t take what I said about you and Reynold pers
onally.”

  “I didn’t. You tend to have a clearer head in these situations, Eddy, and you’re right. When I look at Reynold all I will remember is the fear in his eyes. I’ve already made my judgment about him so it would be hard to question him.”

  “I’m glad you understand that.” Eddy tipped his hat to her. “I’ll call in a little while.”

  Samantha nodded as she walked towards her car. Her mind already spun through the different ways she could hunt down information.

  Chapter 5

  The library was fairly empty when Samantha arrived. She noticed the librarian behind the desk, and smiled at her, then continued on to the microfilm reader. She pulled out her tablet and scrolled to the picture of the burnt article. She then searched the microfilm for the newspaper the article was written in. Then she checked the date. When she came to the right newspaper, she began the task of sorting through articles that were available. By the time she got to one that matched the few pieces of text that survived the fire, her eyes were a little sore from the search. However, one word in the full title of the article stood out to her the most. Death.

  Mariner Man’s Drowning Death Ruled Accidental

  Samantha skimmed through the information in the article. It recounted the story of Jacob, a young man who was out fishing and fell out of his boat and never resurfaced. It was reported that his brother, John, who was on the boat with him thought he was joking around and would emerge from the water at any moment. By the time he realized that was not the case it was too late. There was no mention of May in the article. There was no indication of why May would have been interested in the article. The dead man’s name was Jacob Smith, a fairly common name.

  Samantha printed the article, grabbed it from the printer, then settled down at one of the computers. She began to conduct a search on both May, and Jacob’s history. However, it was much more difficult to follow Jacob’s history. He was twenty-six when he died, and because it had been so long since his death and there was very limited information from that time available on the internet she couldn’t find any history to dig up. This made it difficult to find a connection between him and May. The more she searched the more discouraged she became. As much as she was certain that there had to be some connection between the two people she found that it was nearly impossible to get any information and identify that connection.