Beware the Orchids (A Shady Acres Mystery Book 1)

by Cynthia Hickey

  I gave my friend a hug. “I’ll never let that happen. I’ll keep everything in my garage.”

  “You don’t have a garage.” Cheryl gave a hiccupping laugh.

  “Incoming.” Heath poked his head through the doorway, then withdrew.

  Cheryl and I stepped to the side out of direct sight of the door and peered through the crack between the door and the frame. Alice stopped next to where Heath painted planks of wood.

  “With Maybelle now in the ground, we need to dispose of her things. I’d like you to cart them to the parking lot this weekend for a yard sale. The proceeds will be donated to charity. I’ll make an announcement for other residents to donate items, too.”

  “Did Maybelle have a locked box somewhere?” Heath asked.

  I smiled. He must have listened to Cheryl and my conversation. Good boy.

  “We have safes for our resident’s use, Heath. I’m surprised you don’t know that.” Alice crossed her arms and cocked her head. “Why do so many of my employees know so little about the services we offer? Does nobody read their employee packet?”

  “It is rather large.” He plopped his paint brush into a quart size paint can. “I don’t have anything of value, so a safe wouldn’t be a priority for me. I’d like access to Maybelle’s if you don't mind.”

  “I have no idea what the combination is. You’ll probably have to cut the lock off.”

  “I’ll be by in a bit. Where are the safes?”

  “The utility room between my office and the kitchen.” Her eyes narrowed. “I’ll have to be with you, you know? That’s one of the safeguards.”

  “Okay, thanks.” He flashed that grin that set my stomach into flips. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

  “See you then.” She studied his face for a moment, then left.

  Forget the dirty boxes. Heath had scored.

  “You won’t be able to take anything with her looking over your shoulder,” I said, stepping from the shed, but make sure you take note of every single thing in there. We need to know why she wrote down the names of these four men.” I handed him the combination.

  “I’ll manage.” He tapped my nose. “I’ll catch up to the two of you later.”

  “Let’s soak up some sun,” Cheryl offered. “A dip in the pool will wash this dust off us.”

  By the time we’d changed into our suits and taken a couple of laps in the pool, I’d expected to see Heath. I kept glancing at the pool clock. He’d been gone almost an hour. What if Alice caught him taking something and had Lawrence arrest him?

  “I see your mind digging up every bad scenario possible.” Cheryl pulled herself to sit on the side of the pool, her feet in the water, then grabbed my hand to hoist me up. “Stop.”

  “I can’t help it. You know how my mind works.” I kicked my feet slowly through the water. “One of those four men killed Maybelle, and most likely Dave, I know it in my gut. The trick is proving it. Maybelle knew something that got her killed.”

  “Yeah, but finding out what that is will drive us crazy. It’s Wednesday already and I have to be back at work on Monday.”

  I gave her hand a squeeze. “Then, we need to solve this by the weekend.”

  “Sorry I’m late.” Heath barged through the pool gate, letting it slam shut behind him. “Follow me to the greenhouse.”

  Cheryl and I glanced at each other and darted after him, wrapping pool towels around us as we went.

  By the time we reached the greenhouse, I was gasping for breath. The second we entered, Heath slammed the door.

  “This is the only place I could think of with a bit of privacy,” he said.

  “What about my cottage?”

  He shook his head. “Maybelle thought her cottage might be bugged. That’s next on my list to check. Also, the combination didn’t work. Maybe it isn’t a combination at all.” He handed the slip of paper back to me and pulled some folded pages from his pocket. “You were right about her suspecting these four men of something.” He spread them on my workbench.

  “No matter what Marvin says, he spent seven years in prison for almost beating a woman to death. According to Maybelle’s notes, he’d threatened her a few times if she didn’t stop nosing around his place. Yet, she never filed charges against him. Bob and the others also threatened her several times. Why wouldn’t she report them?”

  “Is being nosy enough of a motive for murder?” I glanced at the pages of handwritten notes. “She sure was careful to jot down the dates the threats were made.”

  “She suspected something, was looking for it, and I suspect she found it.” He folded the papers. “I’m keeping these. I do not want them in your possession. It’s too dangerous.”

  Cheryl dropped to a sitting position on the bench. “What else do we know about these men? We know that Harry lied about working for Cooper Elementary and that Marvin is a woman abuser. Just because Bob has a temper doesn’t mean he’s capable of murder. And what about William?”

  “Bob dated Maybelle,” I said. “Myrna mentioned that. For a short while, I thought maybe Maybelle had been killed out of jealousy.”

  “There has to be a way of finding out more about these men.” Cheryl glanced between me and Heath. “Are either of you against something a bit…unethical?”

  “Describe unethical.” I wasn’t crazy about anything illegal, immoral, or dangerous to another person. I knew my friend well, and we didn’t always share the same views.

  “Two of those men are attracted to me.” She gave a coy smile. “It wouldn’t take much to give them a little something in their drink so they answer any question I ask. I can easily find out whether they killed Maybelle.”

  “Absolutely not.” I set my jaw. “You’ll go to jail if you’re caught.”

  “It won’t be any different than a man slipping a roofie to a girl at a bar.”

  “I agree with Shelby.” Heath shook his head. “We’ll find another way.”

  She shrugged. “Fine. I’ll go research what I can on the internet, but it won’t be nearly as effective.”

  “While you do that, I’ll find a way to get into Alice’s office without her knowing. She had to have done a background check on these guys,” Heath said.

  That left me to distract Alice. “I’ll take Alice…somewhere, and keep her occupied for as long as I can. How much time do you think you’ll need?”

  “Thirty minutes, max,” Heath said.

  Great. Now to find a way to get Alice to come with me.

  I hopped off the bench. “Give me fifteen minutes to change, then head over. That will give me time to figure out a way to distract her.”

  Cheryl walked back to the cottage with me and booted up her laptop. “Is there a printer I can use?”

  “In my room.” I grabbed the capris I’d worn earlier and a floral blouse on my way to the bathroom. A quick shower, and I was ready, but still none the wiser on how I could keep Alice away from her office for thirty minutes.

  I’d have to figure it out when I found her.

  18

  “Get rid of her,” Heath hissed, his hand on the doorknob of the room next door to Alice’s office.

  I held out my hands. I was trying! There. I reached over and yanked the fire alarm. Shrill blasts rang through the building.

  Heath gave me an exasperated look and ducked into the room next door.

  “Fire.” I pushed open Alice’s door. “I don’t smell smoke, but it’s best you come check.”

  “Where’s Heath? That’s his job.”

  I did my best to play dumb, which lately, wasn’t too hard of a task. “He took off…that way.” I pointed in the opposite direction. “He said something about sending you to cottage number…thirty when I saw you.” I thought that might be the farthest from where we were.

  She gave a heavy sigh. “So far. Maybe I will buy him that Gator thing. I’ll buy two. One for me.” She shooed me from her office and pulled the door closed, locking it behind us. “Come with me.”

  “Shouldn�
��t I make sure the residents get out safely?”

  “Really?” She rolled her eyes. “None of them are infirm or in wheelchairs. I think they know what a fire alarm means by now. Oh, that infernal racket!”

  We headed outside amidst the residents flocking to the parking lot. I prayed I wouldn’t get arrested for falsely pulling the alarm, but I’d reacted in the spur of the moment. Obviously, I couldn’t be trusted to make snap decisions in a moment of crisis.

  I practically had to jog to keep up with Alice, which meant her fast pace might prevent me from keeping her occupied for the required thirty minutes. Think, Shelby! “Do you smell smoke?”

  Alice stopped and sniffed the air. “No.”

  “I think it’s coming from the pool area.”

  “Use your cell phone and call Heath. Get him here now. I’m not equipped to deal with this.”

  “Should I call the fire department?”

  “Not until we verify we have a fire.” She unlocked the gate to the pool. “Go check the changing rooms. I’ll check the pump. And, hurry up.” She glanced at the sky. “Not a speck of smoke. Call Heath.”

  I pretended to check the changing room, taking my time, horrified that we’d managed to waste less than ten minutes. While out of Alice’s sight, I called Heath. “I can’t keep her occupied for thirty minutes. She’s starting to figure out there isn’t a fire.”

  “That was a dumb idea.”

  “She told me to call you and have you meet us.”

  “I have what we need. I’ll call Alice and tell her it’s a false alarm. Bye.” Click.

  I breathed a sigh of relief and rejoined Alice outside. She answered her phone, her lips stretching into a thin line. “Antiquated alarm system. Not a nice thing to deal with on the day of a resident’s funeral.” She marched away, leaving me to my own devices.

  Consumed with guilt over pulling the alarm, I headed back to my cottage. I opened the door and froze. On my sofa, sagged Marvin and William, both clearly under the effects of a drug. I glared at Cheryl. “What did you do?”

  “What I said I was going to do. I couldn’t find anything incriminating on the internet. Nothing that we didn’t already know, anyway.”

  Mercy, we were both going to jail. Me for the false alarm, her for drugging two men. “Please tell me they aren’t going to die.”

  “Of course, they aren’t. But, I’m pretty sure neither of them killed Maybelle.”

  “How do you know?” I peeled one of Marvin’s eyes open.

  “Because I asked them. Why would they lie under the influence?”

  “Because they might be a murderer.”

  “That’s why I don’t feel any remorse about my method of questioning them. All we have to do now, is put them somewhere until they wake up.”

  “How do you propose to do that?” Both men most likely weighed over two hundred pounds each.

  “I’ll take a head, you take the feet. We’ll put them by the pool with a beer in their hands. They were drinking when I invited them. They’ll think they drank too much.”

  I didn’t like it a bit. Still, what choice did we have? “You know, God must really be shaking His head right about now.” I grabbed William’s ankles.

  “He’s too heavy to lift and talk. Thank goodness you live close to the pool.” Cheryl opened the front door, then hooked her hands under the man’s arms.

  With her walking backward and me forward, we managed to get him poolside with me only dropping his feet once. With him safely spread out on a lounge chair, we headed back for Marvin and ran into Heath.

  He stood in the open doorway and, without turning around, said, “You didn’t.”

  “She did.” I squeezed past him. “Help us get the bigger man to the pool.”

  “You aren’t drowning them are you?” Heath cast me a shocked look.

  “Don’t be silly.” I grabbed Marvin’s ankles. “Well, come on.”

  “Heath and I will carry him.” Cheryl shouldered me out of the way. “You get the beer. It’s in the fridge.”

  Why in the world did she need a case of the vile stuff? I grabbed it and hurried after them. “I’m so sorry to involve you, Heath.” I thrust the beer at Cheryl. “My friend is insane and a criminal.”

  Cheryl grinned. “You’re an accomplice.”

  My blood drained to my feet. “Don’t remind me. Finish your diabolical plan so we can go back to the safety of my cottage.”

  “Please.” Heath added.

  “What is going on?” Alice entered the gate, her eyes widening. “Are these men drunk?” She glanced at the three of us. “Drinking is not allowed poolside. Especially with glass bottles.”

  “Um, these are aluminum cans.” Cheryl handed them to her. “We, uh, found them like this. Yeah.”

  Alice stared at her as if she’d sprouted tentacles from her head. “I’ll let them slide this time, seeing as how they’re most likely mourning Maybelle, but if it happens again...” She made a slashing motion across her throat. “Heath, help get them home.”

  He groaned.

  Poor man.

  I felt a measure of relief in knowing that no permanent harm had been done. “I’ll get my car. We’ll drive them home.”

  Alice nodded. “I’m heading to my room. This has been the strangest day.” She shook her head and left us with the chore of getting two very heavy, very drugged men into my Volkswagon.

  “If you do anything like this again, I’ll kill you myself.” I glared at Cheryl and headed for the employee parking area behind the main building.

  By the time we had the two men safely in their own homes, I was disgruntled, starving, and still had no idea what Heath had found in Alice’s office. I parked my car back in its spot as the supper bell rang. I caught up with my conspirators in crime. “Grab a plate to take back to my place. If I have to wait one more—”

  “Wait up, Shelby.” Alice called to me the moment I stepped into the dining room.

  “Fix me a plate, Cheryl.” I waited for Alice.

  “What are the social plans for Saturday?”

  Ooops. I hadn’t given them a thought.

  “It’s Wednesday. If people need to prepare, then they need time.” She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

  “I’ll let you know by morning.”

  “Now. Surely you have something rattling around in that head of yours.”

  “A pool party. Hawaiian theme.” Great. Now, I’d have to purchase decorations and show up in a bathing suit in public.

  “How fun.” She clapped her hands. “I’ll make the announcement while everyone is gathered for dinner.” She moved away from me and to the front of the room.

  As she made her announcement, Cheryl, Heath, and I, plates full, snuck out and headed for my cottage. We’d no sooner got inside and set our plates on the table, before I turned to Heath. “Well? The suspense is killing me.”

  “The news is there is no news.” Heath leaned his chair back on two legs. “There are no files in Alice’s office on those four men.”

  “That’s impossible.” What was going on here?

  “Impossible or not, it’s the truth.”

  I dropped my fork with a clatter. “We’re missing something. Could Maybelle have already taken them? She did have a master key.”

  “Either she took them or the killer did.” Heath let his chair fall forward with a thud. “Where would she have hid them?”

  “Her cottage,” Cheryl suggested.

  “No.” Heath shook his head. “That’s been cleared out and cleaned. It’s ready for a new tenant.”

  “The last place Maybelle was seen was the greenhouse.” I jumped to my feet. “I bet she was there to retrieve the files.” I raced outside and down the path, Heath and Cheryl thudding behind me.

  “The police checked it out.” Heath’s key ring provided the music for our mad dash.

  “They missed something.” I didn’t stop until I reached our destination. “I didn’t bring my keys.”

  Heath unclippe
d a ring from his belt loop and unlocked the door. “Let’s split up. What was here then and is still here?”

  “That bag of fertilizer, the counters,” I put a finger to my lips and studied the place. “There are some other bags of seed missing, but most of it has been left. The police focused on the spot where Maybelle was found.” I headed in that direction and got on my knees.

  I looked first at the bottom of the counter, knowing the police would have found anything taped there. We should have asked Grandma to quiz Lawrence on anything they might have taken from the building. Next, I crawled under the bench, covering the full length, looking inside every box and crate I came across, being careful not to upset any of the tender plants I wanted to transplant. Not finding anything along the bench, I returned to Maybelle’s death spot.

  As unpleasant as the moment had been, I forced myself back to when I’d found her. She’d been digging!

  “Cheryl, hand me a hand shovel.”

  “Which one?”

  “I don’t care. Just pick one!”

  She slapped a rusty wooden handled one in my palm and squatted next to me. “What are you doing?”

  “Maybelle had been digging for something when she died.”

  Heath joined us. “Wouldn’t the police have noticed that?”

  “Maybe or maybe they didn’t dig deep enough.” If I was going to hide something, I’d make it difficult for others to get to. When you add in Maybelle’s eccentricity, well…

  There! My shovel scraped against something almost a foot deep in the dirt.

  “Let me.” Heath took the shovel and finished uncovering a wooden box warped from water running off the above counter. “I hope the files aren’t ruined.”

  We got to our feet, and he set the box on the counter. “Here goes nothing.” He opened the box revealing a soggy mess.

  While the manila file folders were intact, they were limp from water. When I opened one, the pages underneath stuck to the folder, part of one ripping. Blue and black ink ran in rivulets.

  I wanted to cry. “What do we do now?”

  “We take these back to your cottage, dry them out, and see if we can make anything out.” Heath carefully closed the box. “It’s worth a try and we’re getting closer to solving this mystery.”