Money Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 2) (12 page)

“All right, I see what you're saying.” Detective Brunner nodded solemnly. “I guess I still have some things to learn. Maybe you could mentor me a little?”

“Are you serious?” Eddy asked. He raised an eyebrow and scrutinized the detective. Samantha smiled to herself. Compliments always made Eddy suspicious.

“Yes, I am. I mean, I know it's a lot to ask. But I would love the chance to pick your brain. You're one of the most well-known detectives on the force. Don't you know that?” Detective Brunner smiled.

Eddy looked at him with disbelief. “No, I don't know that. I'm just an old retired cop.”

“You're more than that, Eddy. You're John ‘Eddy’ Edwards. You’re a legend. Why do you think everyone is always willing to help you out with whatever you ask?” He looked over at Samantha. “They still tell stories about this man as a rookie.”

“Really?” Samantha stepped closer to the two. “I'd love to hear some sometime.”

“No, none of that.” Eddy shook his head. “What I decide to tell you will have to do.”

Samantha held back a laugh at the look of panic in Eddy's eyes. That made her even more curious. However, her amusement faded when Eddy cleared his throat.

“I need to turn in some other evidence as well.”

“Oh? What?” Detective Brunner asked.

“Wait, Eddy.” Samantha grabbed his arm.

Detective Brunner looked from Eddy to Samantha. “I'll give you two a minute.” He turned and stepped out of the villa to interview Bill who had just arrived.

“What is it, Samantha?” Eddy asked. He studied her intently. “What is it that you're not telling me?”

“I just think maybe we should check in with Walt before we turn in the money,” Samantha tried to speak calmly as she knew that her response would only make Eddy more frustrated.

“What can't you tell me now that you can tell me in front of Walt?” he asked. “What's going on here?”

“Please, Eddy. Can we just wait until we have a chance to meet with Walt and get the money from him? I would just feel more comfortable if we did.” Samantha braced herself for Eddy's temper. She had noticed that when he felt like he was being lied to or conned he could get pretty angry pretty fast. Instead of shouting though, he only continued to stare at her with a hard expression.

“Fine.” He nodded. “I'll go to Walt's first. But that money is getting turned in as soon as possible.”

Samantha sighed with relief. She was glad that she had bought herself a few more minutes. She was afraid that if she told Eddy the truth while Detective Brunner was there, that Eddy would insist on having Jo arrested. Samantha definitely didn't want that to happen. However, she wasn't sure how she was going to keep it from happening.

“Let's go over to Walt’s and get the money now.” Eddy tilted his head towards the door. He offered Samantha his arm. Samantha hesitated. Eddy noticed the hesitation and shook his head. “I don't know what's going on, Samantha, but I would like to find out. Let's go.” He turned towards the door. Samantha followed after him.

They walked in silence towards Walt's villa. With every step Samantha wondered if she was doing the right thing. Would Jo ever be able to forgive her? Would she be able to convince Eddy not to turn Jo in? With so much going on in her mind, she barely noticed that Eddy's expression was stony. When they reached Walt's villa, Walt was waiting at the door.

“Come in.” He held the door for both of them.

Eddy remained close to Samantha as they stepped inside. Walt had placed the bags of money on a table which he had covered in plastic wrap in the middle of his kitchen. There were towels on the floor surrounding the table to keep the floor from getting dust on it. Samantha swallowed hard when she saw the bags. She knew that they were light by a few thousand. Would the police know? She guessed that each bag was divided to have an even amount of money, so she guessed that when the police counted it they would wonder where the missing money was. But maybe Jo would be able to get away with it. It's not like criminals kept good accounting records.

“How did it go?” Walt asked. He looked nervously from Eddy to Samantha. It was clear that there was tension between the two of them.

“It went better than expected,” Eddy said. He finally looked away from Samantha and towards Walt. “Jacob has agreed to testify about everything, the drugs, the dealers, the money.”

Samantha's breath caught in her chest. She realized that when Jacob told the truth about the drugs and the money he would likely share the amount of cash that was in the bags. He also knew that Samantha and Eddy had it in their possession for some time before turning it into the police. When the police went looking for the missing money, they would go right to Samantha and Eddy. Eddy would find out the truth, and Samantha was sure that he would suspect Jo right away. Either way he was going to find out what Jo had done, and that Samantha was hiding it.

“Oh, that's good. That's good. Well then, I guess we better get this money to them.” Walt passed a glance over to Samantha. From the look in his eyes Samantha suspected that he knew something as well.

“Not just yet,” Samantha said quietly. She refused to look directly at Eddy.

“Samantha, that's it. I want to know what's going on here. Why don't you want to turn in the money?” Eddy's tone was demanding as he stepped closer to her.

“Eddy, I just need a few minutes.” Samantha frowned as she pulled out her phone. She was going to see if she could get Jo to bring the money back. That wouldn't exactly solve everything, but it would make things easier.

“A few minutes for what?” Eddy asked. His voice was slightly raised. He was getting more frustrated by the moment. Samantha knew that if she didn't tell him what he wanted to know soon he might just turn in the money without waiting for her. She frowned when she got no answer on Jo's cell phone. She tucked her phone back into her purse.

“Eddy, hear me out before you react,” Samantha pleaded.

“Just tell me.” Eddy scowled impatiently. Samantha nodded. She prepared herself for his temper.

Eddy looked up swiftly as the door to the villa swung open. Samantha could see the tension in his face as he looked towards the door. Jo stepped inside. She looked at the three with a faint frown.

“Hello.”

“Hello yourself.” Eddy looked at her with disbelief. “What's going on?”

“Look, I know that all of this was done to solve a murder. I don't know what's happening to me as the years go by, but I just can't seem to justify profiting from someone's death.” She looked crestfallen as she dropped a stack of money in the middle of the table between them. “It's all there.”

“What's that?” Eddy asked.

“You're doing the right thing, Jo.” Samantha smiled proudly at her.

“You knew about this?” Eddy glanced over at her.

Samantha raised an eyebrow. She looked back at Jo. “I can't say I didn't think about doing the same thing. I mean, who is it really going to hurt to take a little cash?”

“It's a crime for one,” Eddy growled.

“It's a financial crime, too,” Walt added with a slight shake of his head.

“Which is why I'm giving it back. I don't want anything to do with that life anymore. Taking the money was something I would have done in the past. I don't need it.” She eyed the stack with some regret, then turned towards the door. Eddy watched as she walked away. He studied her with a deeper sense of respect. It was one thing to claim that you had changed your life, it was quite another to actually do it.

“Wait! Jo!” Samantha chased after her before she could get out the door. “We're having a drink to celebrate after everything is settled. Would you like to join us?”

Jo glanced over at the two men and shook her head slightly. “I don't think I should.”

“Oh, don't worry about them.” Samantha waved her hand dismissively. “They're just too old to have any fun.”

“Hey!” Eddy scowled at Samantha. “That's not true at all. I can be fun.”

“And really, we're probably some of the youngest residents here, Samantha,” Walt frowned.

Samantha grinned at their reactions. “See? They need us to loosen them up a bit.”

Jo looked over at the two men again. Her gaze lingered on Eddy. There was still quite a bit of friction between them, since her past was in conflict with his.

“If you really want to let go of the past, Jo, then why not start living in the present? With friends?” Samantha offered a hopeful smile.

“Maybe.” Jo nodded. With that she turned and walked out of the villa. When the door closed behind her, Walt exhaled.

“She's a tough one, isn't she?” Walt asked. He carefully placed the stack of cash into one of the bags of money.

“She's not so tough. I think she just needs to know what it's like to have friends to rely on.” Samantha looked wistfully out the window as she recalled what she knew about Jo's past. The woman had been a loner all her life.

“She has helped us out an awful lot.” Eddy rubbed the back of his neck. “And we haven't exactly shown our gratitude.”

“No, we haven't,” Walt agreed. “We've behaved rather shamefully.”

Samantha was surprised that they seemed to be softening towards Jo.

“I think if we take the time to get to know her, that you will both end up admiring her for who she is. We've all done things in the past that we regret. So, why don't we just give her a real chance?” Samantha remarked.

“Sounds good.” Eddy nodded.

“I suppose it's worth a shot.” Walt shrugged. “But I'm not letting her near my wallet.”

Eddy laughed at that. “Trust me Walt, she does not have any interest in your wallet.”

“What? Why not?” Walt frowned. “Is there something wrong with it?”

As the two men debated the value of Walt's wallet, Samantha smiled to herself. Maybe they hadn't been able to prevent a murder, but they had solved it.

Once the money had been turned in and statements had been taken, Samantha, Eddy, Walt, and Jo met up at a local bar. The hole in the wall bar was not too crowded as the first wave of drinkers had already left. Samantha settled herself at the end of the bar. Jo sat down beside her. Eddy beat Walt to the stool next to Jo. Walt whipped out a wipe from his pocket and polished the seat of the bar stool as well as the bar in front of it before he sat down as well.

“A beer a piece.” Eddy nodded to the bartender. Samantha hadn't had a beer in a while, she was looking forward to the frothy taste.

“Could this place be any more seedy?” Jo asked as she glanced around.

“I think that it's quaint.” Samantha smiled. “At least we don't have to worry about being bothered by too many people.”

“I hope that's the case.” Jo smiled as she accepted her beer from the bartender. The door to the bar opened and Detective Brunner walked in. Samantha recognized him right away. Her stomach knotted. She hadn't expected him. She glanced over at Jo. Would Jo decide to leave if he was there? Or had he come to ask them about why there was a delay in turning in the money?

“Detective!” Eddy waved to the man as he walked towards them.

“Detective?” Jo nearly choked on her beer. Walt reached across Eddy to offer her a napkin. Jo took the napkin and then shot Samantha a look. “Why is there a detective here?”

“I honestly don't know,” Samantha kept her voice low as she spoke to Jo. She was just as curious. “I'm sure it's nothing. He probably just wants to speak to Eddy.”

“I thought you might like an update.” Detective Brunner paused in front of Eddy. Samantha noticed the respectful way he nodded his head to Eddy. Eddy did too. Samantha tried not to chuckle at the proud way he lifted his chin and the smug smile that rose to his lips.

“I'd like that.”

“Well, Simon has been released. Jacob admitted that he killed Vince because he had stolen some of the drug money. Vince tried to save himself by throwing the drugs into the water. Jacob followed Samantha and took the backpack back after Samantha found it.” Detective Brunner frowned. “A sad story really. But at least it's solved. In fact we will likely get most of the drug ring as a result of Jacob's testimony.”

“But what about the screwdriver?” Samantha asked. She still couldn't understand how Simon had the murder weapon when he wasn't the least bit involved.

“Oh, it turns out that Jacob didn't even mean to frame Simon. He panicked and he just hid it the first place he could.” He sighed. “When I think of what might have happened to Simon if we hadn't found out the truth about Jacob, it honestly makes me question whether I should be wearing a badge.” He lowered his eyes shamefully. “I just can't believe that I made such a mistake.”

“Hey, go easy on yourself,” Eddy advised. “We all have cases that are close calls. The important thing is that you learn to pay attention and put the work in even when it seems like a slam dunk case. In fact it's usually the ones that seem so simple that end up being something else entirely.”

“I know that now, thanks to you,” Detective Brunner gratefully acknowledged. “I'm sure I'm going to pick your brain more often when I run into these cases. It's always good to have an experienced set of eyes. I'm sorry for the way that I treated you throughout the case. I'm embarrassed to say that I didn't think you could help in any way. I was a little too caught up in my own ego to recognize that some help could be useful.”

“Don't worry about that. I was a cop once. I know what it feels like to be annoyed when someone is interfering with a case. I'm just glad that we were able to help. I'm here to help any time you need it.” Eddy smiled and glanced over at his friends. Then he looked back at Detective Brunner. “Join us for a beer?” Eddy offered. He gestured to the bartender to bring another bottle. The bartender walked over and set the bottle down in front of the detective.

“Sure. I'm off duty.” Detective Brunner smiled. He seemed relieved that Eddy was so welcoming. It occurred to Samantha that being a detective had to be a rather lonely job. Eddy stood up from his seat and allowed the detective to take it, in a demonstration of respect. Samantha gulped when she saw the detective moving in right beside Jo. She could feel Jo squirming beside her. The detective sat down right next to Jo. Eddy moved over next to Walt. Samantha held her breath for a moment, but she was relieved to see that nothing terrible happened. The bar did not implode. Detective Brunner cast a brief look in Jo's direction, then took a sip of his beer. Jo even smiled as she glanced over at Samantha. Perhaps they were an unlikely group of friends, but Samantha wouldn't change a thing.  With them around, Sage Gardens was a safe place to live once again.

The End

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