Murder in the Rose Garden: A Scent with Love Cozy Mystery (Scent with Love Cozy Mysteries) (7 page)

“What were
you thinking, pretty lady. I thought I had lost you there for a second.”

Beth sat
in
interrogation room number one of the Bartholomew Bay Police Department, staring
at the cup of coffee in front of her. The room was sparsely furnished with a
single wooden table and two plastic chairs on either side of the table. Beth
was tired; she had been going over the events that had taken place at the
warehouse with Sheriff Hunter and Detective Brady for the past six hours. The
paramedics at the scene had examined the bump on her head and found no reason
for concern. Sheriff Hunter was furious and had been reading her the riot act
for hours. Beth was convinced that he was deliberately stretching things out to
punish her. Beth had been answering the same questions over and over again…

“I went to
the harbor to try and warn you and Officer Pots that you were in danger.”

“Yes…I know
that I nearly compromised your entire operation.”

“No I was
not a member of Big Al’s gang.”

“I went into
the warehouse because I needed to use the toilet.”

Beth answered
his questions for what seemed like the hundredth time before she snapped.
“Look, I am tired and I need to get some sleep, so either you arrest me or let
me go!”

Sheriff
Hunter looked over at her and placed his frameless glasses on the thick manila
folder in front of him. He was in his early sixties, with silver hair and a
rounded belly, kind blue eyes and bushy eyebrows. Beth thought that he reminded
her a little bit of her father.

“Now you
listen to me, what happened last night was an absolute fiasco. Never in my
forty years on the force have I encountered such a complete disregard for
police authority. Now I realize that you may have had good intentions, but if
you ever interfere in one of my investigations again, I will have you arrested
for obstruction of justice. Are we clear?” The sheriff’s lip was curled and his
bushy eyebrows were drawn in together, forming a “v” shape where the bridge of
his nose ended between his eyes.

Beth nodded
demurely before turning the tables on him. “Sheriff Hunter, now that we are
done with that bit of unpleasantness, I am hoping you can answer a few of my questions.”

A wry smile
crept across the sheriff’s tanned face. “What do you want to know, Ms.
Andrews?”

“Well I have
been looking into my mother’s death and I have come to the conclusion that it
was murder. Why did you not consider the findings of the county coroner when
you made the decision to rule the case a suicide?”

The sheriff
was in an accommodating mood. “I considered the findings of the coroner and
immediately became suspicious that her death was somehow connected to the
gang’s drug activities. I knew that we were planning a big bust and I couldn’t
let your mother’s murder spook Allison into fleeing so I ruled it as a suicide
with the intention of re-opening the case once we had the gang in custody.”

Beth was at
a loss for words; she had not expected that at all. “Do you think Allison
murdered my mother? Why?”

“Well I did
think so initially. I had pretty strong evidence that Allison had been
blackmailing Mary-Ellen in an attempt to get her to stop growing and supplying
medical marijuana in the community. Allison has been selling drugs from her
diner and your mother’s little operation was reducing her market share.”

“Selling
drugs directly from the diner? But how?” asked Beth.

“I
discovered her little operation quite by chance…I ate one of her chocolate
brownies late one afternoon, only to discover that it contained an interesting
ingredient…let’s just say it made for an interesting dinner conversation with
my wife,” replied the sheriff sheepishly.

Beth
immediately thought of the strange conversation between Bert and Allison at the
diner and suddenly it all made sense.

“Well, have
you questioned her yet? Did she murder my mother?” Beth asked excitedly.

“I have
questioned her, Beth. She admitted to selling drugs but she was adamant that
she had nothing to do with Mary-Ellen’s blackmail or death. Had an alibi too. She
was having surgery—had laser treatment for her varicose veins. I checked with
the clinic; they confirmed that she had the treatment on the afternoon your
mother died.”

Beth was not
convinced of Allison’s innocence. “Perhaps she paid someone else to commit the
murder.”

“Highly
unlikely; your mother knew her killer. She invited them in and drank a glass of
red wine with them—a stranger would never have been invited into the house,”
replied the sheriff. Beth had to admit, he made a very good point.

“If Allison
didn’t do it, the only other suspects are Bernard and Jack Reynolds. Bernard
told me he saw you arguing with Mom in the garden the day before her death. I
have my suspicions that he was trying to make me think you were a suspect so
that I wouldn’t investigate him. I am almost certain that he forged my mother’s
will.”

Walt Hunter
looked visibly upset. “Bernard is a cunning man and I wouldn’t put it past him
to have forged your mother’s will but he is no killer. I was arguing with your
mother in the garden the day before she died. I was trying to get her to stop
growing and selling marijuana because I felt that her life was in danger. She
wouldn’t listen, told me that the elderly could not afford to get it elsewhere.
I threatened to arrest her if she carried on. I only wish I had arrested her
that day—she might still be alive.”

The
conversation with Sheriff Hunter left Beth disappointed; she had been hoping to
get answers that would unveil her mother’s murderer. She got answers alright
but they all led to a dead end. She was no closer to solving her mother’s
murder than she had been at the start of all of this. The only positive thing
to come out of the discussion was the sheriff’s concession that her mother had
not committed suicide.

Something
still didn’t add up though.

“Allison
told me that Mom had been a great help to her husband Johnny. After learning about
Mom’s little pot operation I assumed that she meant Mom was supplying her
husband with medical marijuana. Why would Allison be getting pot from Mom if
she was the mastermind behind a large drug cartel operating out of the Bay?”

The sheriff
looked over at Detective Brady and said, “Are you taking notes?” The sheriff
then turned to Beth.

“Allison is
a cunning woman and a very good crook. Once she learned about your mother
supplying pot to the elderly in the area she decided to do a little
investigating. It was quite fortunate for her that Johnny did indeed have
leukemia—she used his illness as a means to sample what your mother was
growing. It was good stuff, a lot better than anything she could get her hands
on. At first she tried to get a seedling from your mother under the premise of
growing it for Johnny but your mother would not give in to her request. This
provided us with the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the gang. I had Piper
come to town; she went undercover as a biochemistry graduate who specializes in
genetically modified plants. It wasn’t long before Allison approached her with
a sample of your mother’s pot and asked if she would be able to grow a similar
strain.”

Beth had to admit, it
all made sense. There were no loose ends that didn’t add up.

“Well, that
seems to answer all my questions. Thank you, Sheriff Hunter.”

Beth took
her handbag and walked out of the interrogation room where she met Chase who
was waiting outside. He was still wearing the blue golf shirt and faded jeans
he had been wearing the night before and he looked exhausted. Lola lay sleeping
at his feet.

Chase’s eyes
lit up when he saw her. “Are you alright, Beth?”

“I’m fine,”
groaned Beth. “Please can you take me home? I need to get some sleep.”

~

Beth woke up
in the late afternoon. The ocean was full of tiny waves and the late afternoon
sun peered out lazily from beyond the horizon, casting longs rays of golden light
onto the wooden floor. The window was cracked open and the sheer white curtains
in the main bedroom were billowing in the gentle ocean breeze. The salty smell
of the sea was invigorating. Beth lay on the bed breathing in deep gulps of
crisp sea air. The intense taste of salt lay on her lips and she could almost
taste the lingering scent of water and leafy green seaweed. Beth looked down at
her naked legs and wished she had the time to catch some sun on the beach. It
would have been nice to return to Boston with a nice brown tan. Beth heard the
sound of paws clicking on the wooden floor followed by the rattling of pots and
pans in the kitchen. She got out of bed and wandered down the hall to see what
was going on.

Chase
Crawford was leaning over the stove top with a spoon full of saucy ground meat pressed
to his lips. He had changed into a white tee-shirt and light blue jeans. His
strong muscular arms bulged in the sleeves. The stubble on his face had been
shaved off—Beth loved the sight of a clean-shaven man.

“Well, hello
there, pretty lady. I hope you don’t mind, I asked Millie to let me in. I
thought I would stop by to check up on you this afternoon. You were exhausted
when I left you this morning and I didn’t think you would have the energy to
cook dinner so I stopped to get a few things on the way here. I hope you like
spaghetti bolognese.”

Beth’s heart
somersaulted in her chest and she found it difficult to concentrate on anything
other than his dimpled, smiling face.

“I like
spaghetti,” she replied meekly from the kitchen doorway. Beth had not been
expecting any company and she was dressed in nothing but her white night shirt,
which covered everything that needed to be covered but was a little on the
short side.

Beth tugged
nervously at a stray strand of hair and smiled back at him.

“I’m just
going to take a shower,” she said and walked back down the hall to her room,
slammed the door closed and leaned back against the door to catch her breath.
Beth wasn’t sure if she was ready to have a man in her life. It had been almost
four years since she’d had a man cook dinner for her and up until now she
hadn’t missed it but the sight of Chase in her kitchen had stirred up a
whirlwind of repressed emotions.

Beth
undressed and got into the shower. She stood under the warm water, taking in
the glorious ocean smells and the wonderful sensation of water pounding on her tired
skin. After twenty minutes she got out of the shower and pulled on a loose
flowing white shirt with lace detail and roll-up sleeves which she paired with
three-quarter-length dark blue jeans and white beaded thong sandals. She dried
her hair and put on some tinted moisturizer, black mascara and a sliver of pink
lipstick before heading to the kitchen.

The kitchen
was swirling with the scent of delicious Italian cooking. A pot of meat sauce
simmered in a large saucepan, a pot of spaghetti was boiling, a crisp ciabatta
loaf was baking in the oven and Chase was busy preparing a green salad.

“Hmmm…smells
good,” said Beth.

“Sure does.
I hope you are hungry because I have prepared enough food to feed an army,”
laughed Chase.

“Oh, I’m
hungry all right. I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday,” replied Beth.

Lola’s ears
sprang to attention and she opened one sleepy eye to see who had joined them in
the kitchen. At the sight of Beth she jumped up, ran over to greet her and
curled up at her feet under the table.

Chase seemed
pleased by that. “Lola doesn’t normally take to people that quickly but you
sure seem to have her golden seal of approval.”

Beth looked
down at Lola and smiled. “I like dogs and as I remember it this one saved my
life last night.”

 Chase took
out a bottle of red wine and two large wine glasses. “Wine?”

Beth felt
like she needed a big glass of wine after all the excitement of the past week.

“That would
be lovely,” she replied.

Chase poured
them each a glass of wine and placed the spaghetti bolognese and green salad on
the table before turning to get the warm bread from the oven.  Beth was
starving and the sight of the food coupled with the smell of fresh basil made
her mouth water. They talked and sipped on wine over dinner. They both ate two
servings and finished the entire bottle of wine. Beth sat back and patted her
stomach.

Beth placed
her fork on her plate and said, “That was delicious, thank you.”

Chase gave
her a sneaky grin and said, “I have one more surprise in store.” Chase walked
over to the fridge and pulled out a tub of vanilla ice cream, walked over to
the stove and broke a bar of dark chocolate into tiny pieces and placed it in a
saucepan on medium heat. Once the chocolate had melted, he added some cream to
create a decadently rich chocolate sauce.

Beth took a
bite of dessert and closed her eyes, savoring the wonderful taste.

“Yum, ice cream
and chocolate sauce, it’s always a winner.”

Chase was
enjoying it too. “It’s my favorite. Can’t go wrong with ice cream and chocolate
sauce.”

After dinner
Beth helped him to pack the dishwasher before going outside to enjoy the warm
summer evening on the front porch. The ocean was calm and it was quiet except
for the soothing sound of waves rolling onto the beach. Millie’s lodge was a
little way out of town and the owners had made sure to only allow for the bare
minimum in terms of outside lighting which provided a perfect black backdrop in
which to enjoy the brightness of the stars in the night sky. Beth had never
seen so many stars in her life. The night sky in Boston was filled with the
artificial glow of street lights and dirty air clung like a heavy blanket, smothering
the night sky—not the ideal conditions for star gazing.