Lavender and Larceny (Treehouse Hotel Mysteries Book 6)

by Sue Hollowell

  Caroline took two gingersnaps, handing one to Max and popping one in her mouth. “It seems like the garden store would be a better fit. But I’m willing to do her a favor.” Caroline’s brows furrowed. “Is that what you came to talk to me about?”

  I saw movement from my peripheral vision, and Caroline’s front door opened, jingling the little bell. She looked at her watch and whipped her head around to see who had arrived. “We’re not op . . .” she started to say when she spotted Patrick, right on time. Caroline looked back at me and returned her gaze to Patrick. “What are you doing here?”

  I waved Patrick to our table.

  “I would think you’d be more appreciative. Chloe invited me to talk about another business venture.” He pulled out a chair next to me, sitting with his right ankle perched on his left knee, lounging in an arrogant posture. He reached up and grabbed two gingersnaps. Max followed his hand from the plate to his mouth. I was sure it took every ounce of restraint not to maul Patrick for snatching those.

  Max looked at me, brows furrowed too. I slightly nodded to him that I had a plan. It was pretty farfetched, and I had to execute it flawlessly for it to work. He tilted his head, appearing skeptical of my idea.

  “I asked him to come talk about a proposal I have,” I said. I looked at Caroline, trying to sell this line with every bit of influence I had.

  Caroline rolled her eyes. She pulled the plate of gingersnaps to her place setting on the table and handed one to Max. She was going to be a tough nut. I only had to string it out for a little while until phase two of my plan kicked in.

  “Well, I don’t know what idea you had, Chloe, but I’ve got one of my own, an even better one.” He reached for another cookie and Max growled. Patrick quickly withdrew his hand. “I don’t think that mutt should be out in public. He’s dangerous.”

  Not taking her eyes off Patrick, Caroline got another cookie and handed it to Max. He took it so gently he didn’t even touch her hand.

  “Anyway, since you don’t have your recipes anymore for the lavender stuff, I was thinking that you could franchise your store. You were doing OK before the lavender stuff. And with my guidance and expertise we could put a store like this in every town.” Patrick started to reach his hand across for a cookie but withdrew it and put it in his lap. “Can a guy get a cup of coffee around here? It is pretty early, you know.” Patrick looked around like he expected a waitress to appear and serve his every need.

  “Not interested,” Caroline blurted.

  Patrick held out his hand. “Hold on. Listen to the whole plan. I’m sure you’ll change your mind.” He looked around. “Should I get my own coffee?”

  Caroline sighed and gave me the evil eye. I was certain to get an earful after Patrick left. “Haley,” Caroline hollered to her niece. “Can you bring him a cup of coffee?” Caroline flicked her hand in Patrick’s direction.

  “I take it with cre—” Patrick started.

  “He’ll take it black,” Caroline said through gritted teeth.

  I needed to accelerate the process here if I wanted to accomplish my goal. “Caroline, I was thinking the hotel could also have a stand in our lodge, selling your baked goods for breakfast.”

  She looked at me as if I startled her out of a trance. “I like that idea.”

  Haley approached our table with Patrick’s coffee in a cup and with a saucer. She set it in front of him. “Is there anything else?” she asked.

  “Can you get him coffee in a to-go cup? He’s leaving.” Caroline’s lips pursed. Her look willed Patrick to disappear.

  “Of course. I’m sorry, I’ll be right back,” Haley said and turned to retrieve the travel coffee. About ten feet from the table, she turned and said, “Oh, Aunt Caroline, I’ve got two batches of those lavender cupcakes with lemon frosting going. They were such a huge hit at the festival.”

  Caroline shook her head. “Wait. What?”

  Haley looked at me, then at Patrick and back at Caroline. “Lavender cupcakes w—”

  “I heard that part,” Caroline interrupted. “But how are you making those without the recipe?”

  Haley took a step closer to the table. “But I have the recipes.” This wasn’t part of my plan. But it was the most pleasant surprise I could have ever asked for. Not long now until the final piece of the puzzle was in place.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Haley quickly turned and left the lobby. That poor girl must have been embarrassed.

  Patrick said to Caroline, “Well, that changes everything. We now have a lot more to talk about.”

  “Oh no we don’t. If you were the last person on earth, I would never do business with you. I don’t know why Chloe even bothered with this little sham. It’s not happening. And you’ve upset Haley. That’s the last straw.”

  Haley returned to the lobby with a jog and a piece of paper in her hands. She waved it for all to see. “They’re right here,” she confirmed the evidence.

  Caroline stood. She reached over and gave Haley a hug. “Where were they? I looked everywhere and thought they were gone.”

  Haley’s eyes widened. “No. I saw the paper on your desk and put it away for safekeeping.” Tears appeared. She grabbed a napkin from the table. “Did I do something wrong?”

  Patrick stood and took a step toward Haley. “Why don’t you give the recipes to me? They need to be somewhere safe.”

  Max jumped between Haley and Patrick, grabbed Patrick’s pant leg, and ripped a hole. “What the . . .” Patrick started. He bent over, looked at the huge tear near his knee, and said to me, “You’re going to pay for this.”

  Max reached in and ripped the other pant leg in the same spot. If this wasn’t so serious a situation, I would be on the floor laughing. No matter what debacle Max and I found ourselves in, he knew exactly what to do.

  I held a hand up. “I will. Let me write a check for you.” I had to stall just a bit longer. I opened my purse, and as slow as I could, retrieved my checkbook and a pen. I lifted my head, biting my tongue to avoid smiling. I swallowed. “How much?”

  “Never mind. I need to get out of this loony bin and away from that rabid dog.” Patrick glared at Max. That was the last straw. Max jumped on Patrick, knocking him into the table. Coffee sloshed onto the tablecloth, creating a slow moving little brown river. Gingersnaps flew from the table to a pile on the floor. Patrick tried to right himself and pushed off the table. He smoothed down his suit jacket and looked around. “Well, good luck without my backing. Your business is doomed, even with those recipes.” He took two steps toward the door, stepping on and smashing the gingersnaps.

  Max lunged toward Patrick and tackled his legs out from under him. Nobody got between that boy and his gingersnaps. I started laughing.

  “Laugh all you want now. There’s a lawsuit in your future.” Patrick raised up on his hands and knees and pushed himself to a standing position. He sidestepped Max, inching his way to the door.

  The bell jingled in the nick of time, and detective Jansen from the Emerald Hills Police Department stepped inside. Patrick continued his attempt to exit and was almost to the door. The detective stepped in front of him and said, “Not so fast there, buddy.”

  Patrick turned and looked at us and back at the detective. “You should be arresting her. That dog attacked me.” He pointed to the holes in the knees of his pants.

  I looked at Max by my side, who had a huge grin on his face. If I didn’t know better I would swear I heard a snicker from him. He always got the crook. I shouldn’t have been worried a bit.

  Detective Jansen pulled his handcuffs from his belt and stepped closer to Patrick. “Nope, it’s you I’m after for the murder of Oliver Stantson.”

  Patrick ducked under the detective’s arm and scrambled to the door.

  About two leaps from where he sat, Max pounced on Patrick, further ripping his suit. I would gladly pay the price to replace it for how my boy was saving the day.

  Laying on his stomach, Patrick said, “See what I mean?”
>
  Detective Jansen gave me a stern look, for what I assumed was more out of obligation than out of any concern about Max’s behavior. I smiled and shrugged. “I think you will have to deputize him at some point, for all of the help he’s provided the department.”

  The detective snapped on the cuffs and hoisted Patrick to his feet.

  “You’ll regret this, Caroline. Your business is nothing without me,” Patrick said over his shoulder. Detective Jansen looked at us and shook his head, turning and shoving Patrick out the door and on the way to jail.

  I looked at Caroline. “Chloe, how did you know?” She grabbed my hand and led me to a clean table.

  “I started to get suspicious when Andrew confessed to trying to get the recipes. He said he paid for them but never got them. I don’t know why, but despite all of his poor decisions, he just didn’t seem like the kind of person to kill someone over it.”

  Caroline took a deep breath. “I’m in shock.” She laughed a nervous chuckle. “Over everything.” She looked at Haley. “You did the right thing. I just wish I would have known about it. But you probably saved the business. If you hadn’t put the recipes away and they had gotten stolen, our patent would be null and void.” Caroline reached across the table and grabbed my hand.

  “When Max and I were recapping the clues and suspects the other night, I listed everyone I could think of that would have any interest in lavender. Actually, it scared me to put some of the names of my friends and family on the list.”

  Caroline tilted her head. “Oh, Chloe. Zoe is going to be so happy to hear that Miles is off the hook. She was so good to him, and it would have crushed her if he had anything to do with his brother’s death.”

  “I know. I can’t wait to give her the news.” I stood. “Max and I better head out. I’m sorry I had to drag you into this last part of the sting without telling you.”

  “Chloe,” Caroline said. She bent down and gave Max a bear hug. He looked up at me and closed his eyes. She stepped toward me and squeezed me tight. “Thank you, again.”

  Max didn’t budge. “C’mon, Max.” He looked at me and back at Caroline. “Oh, geez. He’s really milking this.”

  “As he should.” Caroline headed behind the customer counter. She lifted an entire tray of gingersnaps and slid them into a box. She folded it and handed it to me. “This should hold him over for a while.”

  I grabbed the box. “I doubt it. But we know where to come for more.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  A weekly dinner at Mom’s had become a lovely routine. Even though we saw each other most days at the hotel while we were working, it was nice to relax outside of that setting and discuss other topics. I had gotten used to her quizzing me about Paul, and soon I might even have the answer to her marriage question that she’d been pursuing for quite some time. I obviously wasn’t going to force things with Paul. He was a bit further ahead of me down the relationship road, but I was catching up.

  Every time Max and I visited, he got to romp around with Trixie and her puppies. Those little cuties were growing like weeds and becoming very rambunctious. I let them all outside to sprint around the garden while Mom and I enjoyed our meal. I would have to make a note to myself to investigate the yard after playtime was over to see if I needed to return any of the gnomes to their place. I didn’t doubt that Max made an extra effort to tip over a few.

  “Chloe, I can’t thank you enough for helping Zoe out.” Along with assuming the responsibility of the primary sibling to oversee Mom’s welfare, somehow she hoisted me into a position to look out for my sisters as well.

  “She is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. All I did was move things along. But I’m glad it worked out too.”

  Mom shook her head. “No, you made it happen.”

  I took a bite of the lasagna Mom had prepared for dinner. Thankfully, this was just a once-a-week get together. Every meal she made, while delicious, was doing a number on my waistline. I glanced through the sliding glass door to see the dogs sprinting around like they were running a race. Just in my field of vision, three gnomes lay on their side. I was sure more had assumed the same position throughout the yard.

  “What is she going to do about Miles stealing?” Mom asked.

  “Well, she couldn’t let it slide. Her empathic heart wanted to, but we discussed a repayment plan that she felt really good about. And Miles thought it was fair too.”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw another gnome go tumbling down like a bowling pin. “He’s been providing her some great ideas for expanding the business as well. If things keep going well, I think she’s going to promote him and hire some more employees. That way he can afford to live on his own.”

  “I just can’t believe how devious people can be over something like lavender recipes. I mean it’s just flowers, people,” Mom said.

  “It’s a lot more than flowers. Caroline developed this formula for that cream I brought you. It feels amazing on your face.”

  Mom lifted her hand to her cheek. “Yeah, I guess you never know what people will pay for.”

  “And pursuit of the fountain of youth will bring you a pretty penny. I’m just glad it worked out for Caroline. She deserves all of that success for working so hard and investing all of that money.” Another gnome took a nosedive. I went to the door and hollered for the pups to simmer down. They halted in their tracks at the sound of my voice, looking at me like I had just ruined their day. For all the good that did—they resumed their romping as soon as the door closed.

  “I’m surprised she has been so forgiving to Andrew. He could have really done some damage to her business. But she generously agreed to take him on as an apprentice. I guess maybe she felt sorry for him for getting taken advantage of by Oliver.”

  Mom pushed her plate back and took a sip of her coffee. She shook her head. “I don’t understand. I would have guessed Oliver’s killer was Andrew. He seemed to have all the reasons. Are you sure you got that right?”

  I pushed my plate back too, with my lasagna half-eaten. Mom had never adjusted her cooking down from serving herself and four kids. There was a doggy bag or two in my future.

  “That’s what I thought, at first. But then I saw how Patrick so confidently strutted around and behaved like he ruled the roost. There was something underlying that bravado. Once I played out the scenario that Andrew had gotten double-crossed, I asked who had the most to gain? And who would do that? Oliver and Patrick popped up to the top of the list. The only way Oliver could have gotten out to Zoe’s was if someone else had driven him because Miles had Oliver’s car. Once I ruled Miles out, I had to find someone else to fit the bill.”

  “I don’t know how you do it, Chloe. That logical mind of yours is put to pretty good use.” She gathered the plates and took them to the kitchen counter.

  I grabbed our cups and followed her. I set them near the sink as she scraped the remainder of my lasagna into a bowl for taking home. Leaning against the counter, I said, “I couldn’t have done it without Max. When he found that cuff link and we figured out it didn’t belong to Oliver, I knew we were looking for someone else who wore suits. Not many people do that in this town.”

  Mom placed two more slices of lasagna in the bowl and snapped the lid on. “You’ve got that right.” She handed me the bowl, and I placed it next to my purse. We returned to the dining room table for some final conversation.

  “But what I really want to know . . .” She left the sentence unfinished and looked at me, assuming I was tracking her thoughts. There were only a few things it could be. She was persistent when she thought she was right. I figured the topic was Paul. “Well?”

  “Well, what?” I stood to look outside at the magnitude of mess I needed to clean up before I left. It was par for the course.

  “When are we opening that restaurant?” She grinned from ear to ear. There was something she wasn’t saying.

  “What am I missing?” I returned to my seat at the table. She wouldn’t be bringing thi
s up unless the key to the whole plan had been resolved.

  “I just talked with Harrison before you arrived.” She continued smiling, apparently enjoying the torture of slow-walking me to the conclusion.

  “Why didn’t you say something when I first got here?” I jumped up. “Really?!”

  She stood and held her arms out to her sides. “Really. He’s moving back. We can now finally start planning the opening of our family restaurant.”

  I gave her a huge hug, held her at arm’s length, and squeezed her again, closing my eyes. Never in my wildest dreams had I envisioned Harrison moving his family back to Cedarbrook, let alone us opening a restaurant as a family. I almost didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. This might just be the biggest adventure yet.

  THE END

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  Also by Sue Hollowell

  The Treehouse Hotel Mysteries Series

  Peonies and Peril (Book 1)

  Violets and Vengeance (Book 2)

  Buttercups and Betrayal (Book 3)

  Mistletoe and Misfortune (Book 4)

  Crocuses and Corpses (Book 5)

  All available in Kindle Unlimited