Blooms Bones and Stones Box Set

by Olivia Swift

  “Evan and Jazz are making all the arrangements for the wedding, and apparently Rob Manners is to be the second usher. There is so much going on that my head is spinning,” she told him. “You will have to work like crazy on the house to get it ready.”

  “That is fine by me,” he answered. “My new life will be in full gear, and I can throw myself into it.”

  “I’ll see you early in the morning,” she happily said. He responded in the same tone.

  “Missing you,” he said before they rang off, and she felt that pull inside herself that made her heart beat just that little bit faster. She was sitting holding the phone in a sort of dream when Katarina called to ask about a reading and came back to business with a smile on her face.

  The rest of the day was uneventful. She talked to Martin about the design on the sign, and as she closed the door, she said goodbye to Emily and told her that Dex would be on his way back. She stopped to buy some groceries and let herself into the apartment. When the house was tidy, Carly settled down with a sandwich and a coffee to look up Charley Rose. She found the family on the census that they had seen before and then looked at a map.

  “Where did you go, Charley?” she asked out loud and made a note of the places within a reasonable traveling distance from his parents. Then she started on them one by one and looked for the next census results in each of those places. Three showed no results, but the fourth one gave her Charley Rose at an address in a little township called Mapplin. The address was a large property, and she thought he must have found a job. Carly sighed and sat back to find that time had sped by and it was quite late. She was saving the sheets that she had found when there was a slight noise at the door. She sat very still and felt her heart beat fast as she waited to see if the sound came again. There was nothing, and after a few minutes she relaxed a little and made her way quietly to listen in the hallway. Nothing. Carly tiptoed across a darkened room to a window that looked out at the front. and without moving the blind, managed to look out. She managed to not make any noise as there was the movement of a shadow beyond the shrubs in the garden.

  “It could just be the wind moving the trees,” she thought, but kept her eyes glued to the spot and stayed still as a stone herself. She was about to believe it was her imagination when a darker shadow moved and it was not leaf movement. There was a solid shape out there. Carly went to the back of the apartment and checked the door to the courtyard was securely locked. She knew her locks were on the front door, and she had covered all the windows when she came home. She could feel her heart thumping in her chest.

  Her first instinct was to call Dex, but there was nothing he could do except worry and maybe have an accident. She dialed the number for Jazz and waited with bated breath to see if there would be an answer.

  “Maybe she’s asleep and won’t hear.” Carly was starting to panic when a sleepy voice answered the call.

  “Jazz. It’s Carly,” she said very quietly. “There’s someone lurking in the shrubs outside the house.” The sudden awareness took all the sleep out of Jazz’s voice, and she shook Evan at the same time as she answered her friend.

  “Stay put. We’ll come and get you,” Jazz rang off and started to grab clothes as Evan followed suit when he took in what she was shouting about. They jumped into a car and set off as fast as the dark and country roads would allow. When Evan reached the street where the apartment was located, he slowed down and turned the corner gently. As far as they could see there was no movement anywhere. There were parked cars along the sides of the road and others on driveways but no people. He turned into the drive, and they both looked all around from inside the car.

  “All quiet at the moment,” he said, and they both opened doors. They heard a rustle and footsteps running away. Evan gave chase, and Jazz started to follow but opted to knock on the door instead.

  “It’s me, Jazz” she called, and Carly opened the door with relief. “Evan is chasing somebody. I hope he’s okay.” At that moment Evan returned panting a little and said whoever was there had vanished.

  “Never heard an engine start,” he said as he came in and sat down. Carly closed the door.

  “Shall I call the police?” She asked the other two. There was a pause as they all thought about it.

  “Let’s leave it till morning,” Jazz suggested. “Get your things and come and stay in the Hall.” Carly thanked her and went to collect some clothes, as well as her laptop and tablet. They checked everything was secure, and Carly took her own car to follow her friends. The two vehicles stayed very close, but there was no sign of anything to worry about, and they turned into Chestnut Hall with relief.

  “Thank you so much,” Carly said as she sank into a chair. “I had better tell Dex.” She knew he had hands free in the car and would take her call if he was driving. His anxious voice came over the line.

  “Why are you ringing in the middle of the night?” was his reaction and she told him not to panic.

  “I am at the Hall with Evan and Jazz, but someone was lurking outside my apartment.” Dex swore very loudly, but she told him it was okay and to drive carefully.

  “Should be there in another three hours,” he said, and they finished the call.

  “So, do we assume it was Duval?” Evan asked and looked at the two girls. There was silence as they all thought about it.

  “And should we tell that suspicion to the police?” Carly queried. “Should we tell the police?”

  “Let’s get a couple of hours’ sleep and have a talk when Dex gets here,” Jazz suggested and went to sort the spare room. Carly collected things and followed.

  “Thanks very much you two. I was pretty scared.” Jazz gave her a hug and told her she was safe and get some sleep. She closed the door and looked at Evan with a question in her eyes.

  “Let’s decide what to do when my brother arrives,” he said and took her hand.

  Surprisingly, Carly slept for three hours before she heard the noises of people moving around. She pulled on a robe and looked out. Dex had dumped his bag and saw her open the door.

  “Oh Lordy,” he said and gathered her in his arms. She laughed at his concern.

  “I’m fine, Mother Hen,” she told him with a smile. “Evan and Jazz rode to the rescue.” Evan was producing a breakfast that smelled delicious, and they all migrated to the kitchen table. They recounted the story and there was that question about whether or not it was Jed Duval or just a coincidence, and they were jumping to conclusions. Dex wanted to know about what had happened at the shop but, again, there was nothing concrete and it could all have just been by chance. “I don’t think I will tell the police. It might have been nothing.” Evan said that he had definitely chased someone but had no idea of size, shape, or sex of the person.

  “You cannot stay there by yourself,” Dex told her. “Move in here until it is all solved.” He looked at his brother and Jazz who nodded agreement.

  “That’s a good idea,” Jazz answered. “We’ll all feel happier and we can work together better.”

  “So, I get to help with the house renovation?” Carly asked with a smile, and they all accepted the offer.

  10

  Dex gave in to the insistence that he get some sleep.

  “I’m wide awake now,” Carly said. “I am going to pursue Charley Rose before I go to the shop.”

  “I’ll grab a couple of hours and then come down with you,” Dex said.

  “You know one of the things that really bugs me?” Carly asked the others, and they waited. “That revolting Duval is related to my lovely Emily. It just doesn’t seem right.” The others agreed but said that maybe they could leave him out of it from now on.

  “If it was him outside last night,” Carly went on, “he’s a step up from the sort of stalking he did at school.” She paused. “But I have no proof that it is him, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.”

  “I won’t,” Jazz said. “It is too much of a coincidence. I’ll grab another hour’s sleep and then try
and get this garden finished today.”

  Carly settled down to search online as the others went back to bed for a short while. The house was quiet and peaceful, and she thought how lucky she was to have friends that came and saved the day. She scrolled through census lines that seemed to go on forever but finally found Charley Rose at the address in Mapplin, and he was listed as a gardener. He was single.

  “I wonder if he was the gardener at that house and how we can find out?” She sighed and put the address into the search engine. The house was still there and still a house. It was beautiful and looked like a private residence. She heard the door open and smiled. Dex came and laid his hands on her shoulders.

  “Couldn’t sleep,” he said and looked at the screen.

  “That,” Carly told him, “is where Charley Rose was a gardener before he disappeared.”

  “It looks wonderful,” he said and wrote down the name and address on his phone. “We’ll go and look at it in person.” He pulled her to her feet. “Tell me all about what happened at the shop.” He sat on the sofa and pulled her down beside him. She leaned into his arm and closed her eyes.

  “I am so glad you’re back.”

  “Me too and you will not be alone anywhere till we have this sorted,” he answered. She recounted the events with Katarina and her dad and tried to remember every detail. Her voice trailed away, and he smiled as she fell asleep almost in mid-sentence. Jazz found them both sleeping peacefully when she came in to start the day properly. She smiled to see that her predictions seemed to be correct, and when they didn’t stir as she made coffee, she coughed very loudly behind the sofa and handed them a hot drink to start the day.

  The little shop smelled beautifully of lavender as Carly opened the door. She set the place up for the day, watered the plants, and took out the things she needed to make more stock. Dex opened the tablet and went on with the search in Mapplin. Katarina was not due in until eleven and Dex served a couple of customers before then. When the new assistant arrived, they were introduced, and a little later a lady arrived for her reading.

  “If you see to customers,” Dex said to Katarina, “I will keep on searching through the records.” She was happy to do that and took a feather duster over the shelves while she waited. One or two people came in and browsed but bought nothing, and the lady who had the reading dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

  “You have made me feel so much better,” she said, and Carly smiled.

  “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” she answered, but the woman shook her head.

  “It is such a relief to hear things said that I know need to be sorted. It puts things into perspective. Thank you,” she replied as she stood to go and then bought some snowflake obsidian on the way out. The other two came into the back room, and Dex started to make coffee.

  “I went back and looked at the Charley Rose address, and I also found the descendants of the first Jedediah Duval.” The scent of lavender seeped around them, and Katarina smiled.

  “Hi Emily,” she said and picked up a paper rose.

  “You don’t need to move them. We know he was Charley Rose and a gardener in Mapplin,” Carly continued.” The scent intensified and the air almost seemed to tremble. “What about the descendants?” Dex looked at the notes he had made.

  “The son of the first Jed had a sister and they both married. He had two boys. The first one would be Duval’s grandfather. He did well for himself and married Anna Curtis, and they had a son who would be Jed Duval’s father.” There was a slight movement on the table and the coffee mugs did a little dance.

  “Okay, Emily,” Carly said. “We will follow it all through. You have grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even great-great-grandchildren.” She looked at the other two. “I still don’t like it, that the present Jed Duval is related to Emily here. It sort of spoils the story for me.” She paused. “I know that seems a bit silly, but it just feels that way.” Her coffee mug bounced on the table and rolled onto the floor where it smashed into pieces. Carly looked around. “I wonder if that was you being annoyed or agreeing with me.” She swept up the pieces and asked how they would go and visit the house in Mapplin. After they had talked it over, Katarina agreed to look after the shop for a day, but Dex insisted that Evan come down and check she was okay even if her dad was just next door.

  “I know it’s over the top, but I just feel that Duval might turn up and cause trouble.”

  “He doesn’t have an argument with me though,” Katarina answered but agreed to the checks anyway.

  “If it was him outside my house,” Carly argued, “there is something seriously wrong with him.” It was at that point that the door jingled and the man they were talking about stepped inside. He was all smiles and in a good humor and asked how everyone was.

  “I just brought the bill for the board but no hurry to pay it,” he told Carly. She took the paper and looked at the price which seemed to be about what she had thought it would be. Dex took it out of her hand and glanced at it, then took out his wallet and paid the man the price on the spot.

  “That gets it all sorted,” he said. Duval was determined to be pleasant and thanked him profusely.

  “This place is lovely,” he looked at Carly. “How is the historical research into my ancestors coming along?” Before she could find a reply, there was a crash from the rear room, and another coffee mug hit the ground with a clatter. The man’s face changed. “Who have you got hiding in there?” He almost snarled and pushed her aside to see around the archway. Dex caught his arm.

  “Excuse me,” He said mildly and quietly but gripped the man’s arm with a firm pressure. “That is our resident ghost expressing annoyance, so I think you had best leave.” Duval shook at his arm and scowled.

  “Let me go,” he answered, and the smiling man had disappeared.

  “Are you leaving?” Dex asked quietly, and Duval shook him off.

  “Know where I am not welcome,” he said and stamped to the door.

  “Jed,” Carly called as he reached for the handle, and he looked at her and smiled again. The smile made her shiver inside. “If you are outside of my house ever again, I will call the police. I didn’t this time but be warned.” The man did not deny that he had ever been outside of the apartment. He opened the door and stepped outside. Carly sat down on her stool as her legs turned to jelly. Katarina brought her a drink of water.

  “He is seriously disturbed,” Dex said. “I wonder if we can talk Ben into being here tomorrow.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Carly said and called Jazz. She told her what had just happened and asked about borrowing Ben. As it turned out the garden job was over, and she was free to ask Ben if he would be a security guard for the day. Ben agreed instantly and said he would come over and find out what there was to do.

  “Jazz also said that your furniture all arrived and she had them put everything in the living room.”

  “Good Lord,” Dex said. “I had completely forgotten about it.”

  “We can sort it later,” Carly said and then remarked that Duval had shown his true colors that afternoon. She sent Katarina next door to tell her dad what was happening. Dex gave Carly a hug.

  “We’ll get to the bottom of the story, tell Duval’s mother, and have some sort of security in place until it all calms down.” She nodded.

  “Thanks.”

  Katarina returned and asked if Carly would like to see the sign. Her dad would fix it up the next day if it was what she wanted.

  “That is extra security,” Dex remarked as Carly went to see what Martin had painted. She came back all smiles and told Dex to go and see it.

  “It is just so right,” she said to Katarina. “He has taken the jewel colors and put them into the letters with roses to decorate and make a border. I love it.” Dex came back in grinning and picked her up to twirl around.

  “I never knew you took the name I suggested,” he said. “It looks fantastic.” Ben arrived and filled the small shop to bursting. The man was buil
t like a small truck but had the sweetest nature in the world. He took all the jokes about his size with great goodwill and had been Carly’s work colleague for three years. They introduced Katarina and between them, told him about the visit of Duval.

  “He will think twice if he sees me here,” Ben said. “I always had the better of him at school. He didn’t like it then and he wouldn’t like it now.”

  “But you never looked for trouble,” Carly added, and Ben nodded.

  “But Duval seems to have a huge chip on his shoulder.” He looked at Katarina. “I will arrive about nine in the morning.” She told him that would be wonderful.

  “Ben is a whizz with plants. He will sort out all of the watering for you,” Carly added. “Katarina’s dad will fix up the sign out front.”

  “I can lend a hand there as well,” Ben said. “It will be such a change. Good for me.”

  Carly showed Ben where everything was and how the security blinds worked. Katarina said she would explain as the day went by how to manage all of the other things.

  “I have noticed,” Carly added, that these ladies who shop for jewelry actually like being served by a man.” She laughed. “We might put ourselves out of a job, Katarina.” She asked if they had all the cell numbers and as it was the end of the afternoon, they locked up, and she gave the keys to Katarina. “Thanks, guys,” she said.

  11

  “I guess it’s no use just walking around the cemeteries,” Carly pondered out loud. “We should get in touch with the authorities and find out about locating a grave.” They stopped at an Italian restaurant and enjoyed a quiet meal as they sat outside under a pretty umbrella.

  “This is the date part,” he grinned at her.

  “I probably won’t get another day off for a very long time. I had better make the most of it,” Carly answered.