Beware the Orchids (A Shady Acres Mystery Book 1) (9 page)

16

M
aybelle’s funeral was held in the garden. Alice had Heath string baby’s breath and flowers on the gazebo, making the area around the coffin look more like a macabre wedding than a memorial.

Birdie, as close to family as Maybelle had, sat alone on the front row of white folding chairs. I stood at the end of the aisle and, instead of having people sign a guestbook, I handed out memorial cards with the picture of a rose on the front and the twenty-third Psalm inside. As well-wishers traipsed past me, I couldn’t help but sniff the air for a whiff of Polo cologne. What would I do if I smelled it?

I’d heard that killers often attended the funeral of their victim. Officer Lawrence must have heard the same thing because he escorted Grandma to a seat then took a stance off to the side.

“Smell anything?” Cheryl stood next to me.

“No.” I secretly hoped I wouldn’t. I couldn’t abide Polo cologne. “If I do, I’ll alert the dear Teddy Lawrence and let him handle things.”

My attention was diverted to the front where Maybelle’s polished mahogany casket rested. Alice clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention. “There will be food served in the dining room directly after the service.”

Of course, there would. It would be lunch time.

A man I’d never met rolled a wooden podium in front of the casket and began a generic eulogy that almost left me in tears. I hadn’t known Maybelle, but everyone deserved something personal when folks gathered to say goodbye.

“I feel like I should say something.”

Cheryl tilted her head. “Say what?”

I shrugged. “I have no idea. I’d only met her that once and got more of a view of her backend then her face.” The dilemma was solved as Birdie took the stand when the officiate sat down.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Birdie began. “Maybelle was my friend. She might have been a kook—”

Cheryl snorted next to me, then clapped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry.”

“—but she didn’t deserve to die with someone else’s teeth in her mouth.” She set a jar containing false teeth on the podium. “Here are Maybelle’s teeth, may she rest in peace.” Birdie put a hand on each side of the podium as if she were gearing up for a fire and brimstone Sunday sermon. She narrowed her eyes and paused long enough to study the crowd.

“One of you…” she growled the word and pointed with a gnarled forefinger, “killed Maybelle. When I find out who did, you will rue the day. Rue the day, I say!” She pounded the podium, gave a definitive nod, then returned to her seat.

Those in attendance sat silent for a moment, then rose as one and formed a line to parade past the casket. Several glanced at Birdie as they did so, as if expecting her to pounce on them.

“Are you going up to pay your respects?” Cheryl asked.

“I’m not sure. I’d rather watch how the others act and see if I can spot our killer. Why don’t you go up and view them from there?”

She shuddered. “Dead bodies scare me. You go up and I’ll stay here.”

“Fine.” I handed her the cards. “We’ll compare notes at lunch.”

I headed to the front of the line, keeping my gaze averted from the casket. I wasn’t afraid of dead people, they couldn’t hurt you, but I wasn’t a fan of a lifeless wax figure that didn’t resemble the person it had once been.

Most of those who filed past Maybelle had impassive faces, but a few stared with a look that told me they hadn’t cared much for the woman. These were the people I had the most interest in. I stepped closer to the casket as Bob Satchett stepped forward.

“Keep the watch, you old bat.” He dropped a watch with a well-used leather band into the casket.

As he moved past me, I detected the not-so-subtle fragrance of Polo cologne. He wasn’t the only one who smelled or left gifts. Harry Weasly dropped a box of denture cleaner in and definitely wore Polo, as did two other men. One dropped in an empty pill bottle, the other a dried flower. Yep, the deceased was not a popular woman.

When the line dwindled and people headed for the dining room, Alice motioned her head in my direction and mouthed something I couldn’t understand. I frowned and she repeated the gesture to no avail.

“Go supervise the dining room!” She shook her head and marched to Heath’s side. She pulled his head down to whisper something in his ear.

He glanced at me and smiled. Over Alice’s shoulder, he pointed to the dining room then motioned that he would join me soon.

I nodded and left to do more of Alice’s job. Since when did someone need to supervise the dining room? It wasn’t a school cafeteria full of unruly students.

“Get any leads?”

I jumped when Officer Lawrence approached me from behind.

“Four men who wear Polo cologne.”

“And, that means…”

Ooops. I forgot Grandma said that was a secret. Too late now. “My grandmother told me last night that the man who abducted her wore Polo.”

He sighed heavily. “I’ve resigned myself to the fact that you ladies are going to snoop. In fact, you’re right that the residents may talk to you better than to me. But, I do ask…no, I’m telling you, that I expect to be told anything you find out. This could be a break in the case and not telling me is withholding information. I’ll go speak to Ida.”

I wanted to wish him luck, but after being reprimanded and left to feel like a child, I decided not to. Instead, I joined Cheryl at our usual table. “Four residents at the service wore Polo cologne. Two of them are men I haven’t met.” I pointed them out to her.

“Leave that to me.” She tugged the neckline of her blouse down a bit to show just enough cleavage to make a man around the age of eighty realize he wasn’t dead yet and sashayed over to where the two men were in line to fill their plates.

When she got close, she pretended to trip, causing both men to reach forward and catch her. She faked a limp as they escorted her to a table. Soon, they were both plying her with food and drink and sitting on each side of her.

How did she do that? Maybe I needed to learn the art of flirtation. Were there books written on the subject?

“Next time Alice comes up to me, save me.” Heath’s breath tickled the hairs on the back of my neck. “This time, she wanted me to remove the items from Maybelle’s casket because it was too gross for her to handle. I told her to leave the items. As ill intended as they were, they were gifts.”

It was none of my business what she wanted, but it made me feel better for him to tell me. I smiled and told him of the cologne discovery and Cheryl’s brilliant plan to find out information from the two men I didn’t know.

“I could have told you. The big guy is Marvin Hall. He’s an ex-con. Did time for assault. The tall skinny man is William Jamison. He’s a retired pharmacist. I’ve never had a problem with either one of them.”

Hmm. Well, they did wear Polo and that made them suspects in my book.

“Do you want something to eat? You got me a plate often enough.”

I nodded. “Thank you. Something light.” Funerals always affected my appetite. When my father passed away, there’d been enough food to feed an army, beers passed around in his honor, and jokes to make people cry with laughter. I’d never really understood the partying that went on when someone died. Mom said it was a celebration of the person’s life. All I knew was that I missed my father and poor Maybelle had no one except Birdie. Not a lot of reason to party.

Heath brought me a turkey sandwich and fruit at the same time Cheryl collapsed with laughter into the chair next to me. “Oh, those two men are the sweetest things. One of them has been to prison for beating up a man who was hitting his wife, and the other said he could get me free narcotics any time I wanted them. I don’t think either one of them killed Maybelle,” she said. “But, they definitely didn’t like her.”

“Explain.” I bit into a strawberry.

“Well,” she propped her legs on the chair next to her and crossed her ankles. “Marvin said she spread rumors that he was the one hitting his wife, and William, or Billy as he told me to call him, said she threatened to spill the beans about his giving away prescriptions if he didn’t write her one for painkillers. Dear Maybelle was not only a thief, but a drug addict.”

“Just because Marvin says he wasn’t the one beating the woman doesn’t mean he wasn’t.”

“True, but he was very much a gentleman to me.” She grabbed a piece of melon off my plate.

“If Miss Ida’s abductor wore Polo,” Heath added, “then Bob, Harry, Marvin, and William are the primary suspects. We need to find a way to make one of them trip themselves up. What made the killer target Maybelle?”

That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? I had no idea. I glanced at Heath, a wheat-colored curl falling forward over his forehead, then across the room to where Grandma giggled at something Officer Lawrence said. These two people were the reason I wanted to catch Maybelle’s killer. Sure, Birdie had asked, and I’d half-heartedly agreed to help her. But, clearing Heath’s name and catching the person who took Grandma were top priority. Heath’s name was cleared on Alice’s say-so, but Grandma’s abductor was in this room, more than likely, unless he was Shady Acres’s very own vampire, and I intended to make sure he was locked up for a long time.

“I’m going to my cottage.” Alice had given the staff the day off, except for the kitchen crew, and I planned on spending some time relaxing. I stood. “I’ll hide the key in the gnome,” I told Cheryl. “I hope to take a nap.”

“All right. I won’t be long. A nap sounds like a wonderful idea.”

At home, I stashed the key where I’d said, dismissing the idea that it was a common place to hide such a thing and any killer worth his or her salt would know that, and went inside. I kicked off my shoes and removed my earrings, more than ready to put on a pair of baggy shorts and an over-sized tee shirt.

I dropped one of the earrings. Of course it couldn’t just fall, it had to roll under the sofa. On my knees, I stretched my arm to reach for it and came in contact with not only the earring, but a piece of paper. I withdrew both and stared at a list of men’s names. The very names I had on my own suspect list. Only, this list wasn’t in my handwriting.

Had it come from Maybelle’s garbage? Why these four men? Was I that close to finding her killer?

I sat back on my knees, certain I was holding the killer’s name in my hand. Under their names were a set of numbers that looked suspiciously like a lock combination. Where in Shady Acres would a person need a lock with a combination?

17

“W
hat are you doing on the floor?” Grandma entered and held the door open for Heath and Cheryl.

I held up my hand for someone to help me to my feet. “I found this under the sofa. It must have fallen there when we were going through Maybelle’s garbage.” My legs tingled as the blood flow was restored. “Is there any place at Shady Acres where a combination lock is needed?”

“Maybelle’s things are stored in a storage room off the main building,” Heath said, helping me onto the sofa. “We could look through her boxes.”

“Let me change.” I dashed to my room and donned the comfy clothes I had intended to put on anyway. No sense in dressing nice to rummage through dusty old boxes.

When I rejoined the others I could tell from Grandma’s face that she didn’t think the same way in regards to my attire. I ignored her unspoken condemnation, retrieved the key from Cheryl, and moved outside. Hopefully, we could do some snooping without getting caught. I didn’t have a good explanation for why we’d be going through a dead woman’s things on the day of her funeral.

“While the three of you do that,” Grandma said. “I’ll keep Teddy busy. I’m only supposed to be gone long enough to check on you.”

“Thanks.” I kissed her powdered cheek. “I’ll tell you what we find at supper.”

“Darn toot’n.” She grinned, wiggled her fingers in a wave, and sauntered back in the direction of the main building.

I watched until she entered the double doors, not wanting her to go anywhere alone again. “Let’s do this.” I met Heath’s amused glance. “What?”

“You’re adorable in those clothes.”

Heat traveled from my toes upward and settled in my cheeks. I glared at Cheryl, who snorted behind her hand.

“She looks like a little kid,” she said. “There’s even a hole in the back of those shorts letting everyone know that she’s wearing purple panties.”

“Ugh.” I raced back inside and changed the shorts to denim capris. So much for comfort. I’d keep the holey shorts for bedtime. Back outside, I lifted my chin. “Now, can we go?”

“Sure thing.” Heath jangled a ring of keys. “Follow me.”

On the edge of the grounds stood a cement block building almost completely covered by bushes. I really needed to investigate every inch of Shady Acres. I’d had no idea this building was even here.

“This is a long way for you to go when you need to retrieve something.” I tried to peer through a crack in the boarded up window.

“I’m trying to get Alice to purchase me a Gator. Then, I’d get more done in less time.” He unlocked the door and pulled it open. “After you, ladies. There’s a light right inside the door.”

“Aren’t you coming in?” I paused in the doorway.

“Someone needs to be the lookout. I’ll fiddle around with some tools out here. That way, no one will take a second look at us.”

“Good idea.” I flashed him a grin and flipped the light switch.

The shed was total chaos. Boxes were piled helter skelter, some covered with canvas, others left open to the dust. Furniture was shoved into every available space. This would take days, weeks, maybe longer.

“Which ones are Maybelle’s?” I called.

“They’re marked with a red MS,” Heath yelled back. “They’re recent so should be toward the front.”

“You need to organize this place.” I yanked off a canvas tarp and sneezed as dust tickled my nose. We’d found the boxes we needed. I carted one over to the nearest flat service, another pile of boxes, and started digging through what remained of a woman’s life. Knick knacks, clothes, everything shoved together.

“What if we’re looking for the wrong thing?” Cheryl glanced up from a box of books. “Maybe that combination is to a locker at the bus station or a gym.”

“If she had one of those, would there be documentation somewhere?”

She shrugged. “Maybelle didn’t make a whole lot of sense.”

True. I moved to another box. “We looked through her garbage, and I’m not seeing any important papers. Would those have been taken somewhere else? The manager’s office, perhaps, until a next of kin was found?”

“I thought she didn’t have any relatives.”

“Everyone has someone, right?”

“I don’t.” Cheryl paused in her work. “Other than your family, I’ve got no one. My adoptive parents died years ago, and I have no idea who my birth parents are. When I die, that’s it. My belongings will be auctioned off to pay taxes.”

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.