Gun in the Gardenias Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  About This Book

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Epilogue

  About Handcuffs in the Heather

  Get Your Free Book Now

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Copyright Page

  About This Book

  A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery—and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot—as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.

  Riches to rags. … Chaos to more chaos. … Fire destroys evidence. … Or at least most of it!

  Flush with success from solving a decade-old kidnapping case, Doreen can’t wait to find out what’s next in her one-woman crusade to clean up Kelowna’s cold crimes. But, before she can unearth another old case to sink her teeth into, she must tie up some loose ends from the last one.

  Steve Albright, fixer for the local biker gang, has made it clear that he blames Doreen for sending his friend Penny Jordan to prison. Steve even suggests that Doreen might have set up Penny Jordan. While Doreen wouldn’t do that, she’s afraid that other people might believe Steve. He’s a popular figure in town and has a lot of friends, many of whom Doreen doesn’t want to get any closer to than she must.

  At least Steve doesn’t have his gun anymore, having dropped that in Doreen’s neighbor’s gardenia bed while she chased him from her yard. Which makes Doreen think that maybe it’s safe to dig into Steve’s past. Until she uncovers a connection to three arson cases from years ago and is warned off by Corporal Mack Moreau.

  But Doreen’s never listened to Mack before, and it has all worked out thus far, so it’s not like she has to listen to him now. Right?

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  Chapter 1

  Wednesday Dinnertime, … Later the Same Day after Closing Her Last Case

  It was crazy to think how quickly this case had solved itself. And really, the recipe for success in this one was simply time.

  Time.

  Time for others to think about what they’d done. Time for eight-year-old Crystal to grow up to the age of majority and to choose her own future. Time for the brothers to continue their good work, as far as they were concerned. Time for others to act upon what they’d done and to continue with their evil processes, leaving more clues. And time for fear to grow within their hearts.

  Doreen stood on the front step, Mugs and Goliath at her side, Thaddeus on her shoulder, the cops still standing around, talking with Mary, Crystal’s stepmom, in the back seat of the cop car.

  She faced Mack. “I suppose Clara, Crystal’s mom, was at the station to give you a statement, wasn’t she?”

  “She arrived hours ago,” he admitted. He looked at Doreen and smiled. “Will you be okay?”

  “Well, this one has a happy ending, at least,” Doreen said hopefully. “You will investigate Crystal’s dad and the step-uncles, won’t you?”

  His face sobered. “We definitely will. And we will bring Crystal back home again.”

  Doreen smiled. “I can’t ask for anything better.”

  Just then several neighbors approached, while some news vans pulled into the cul-de-sac. Within moments, cameras were rolling.

  Doreen groaned. “I guess this will never stop, will it?”

  “Not as long as you keep sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong,” he said cheerfully.

  She glared at him. “If a child gets to come home, and several cases get closed, that’s good news.” Then she smiled up at him. “At least I didn’t get hurt this time.”

  “Good thing,” he growled. “You still have stitches in your head from Penny. Could you please try to stay out of trouble for a while? At least until you heal?”

  Just then one of the neighbors raced toward Mack, allowing Doreen to sidestep Mack’s question. “Hello, hello, police?”

  Mack turned to look at him. “Yes, I’m Corporal Mack Moreau. What can I do for you?”

  The man held out a paper bag. “You can take this away,” he said. “Just a few days ago, I was working in the garden, and I know it wasn’t there before then. But I did have somebody run through my yard last Friday night or Saturday morning, it was late, but super early, I don’t know … I was asleep and woke up to see him running,” he said, the words spilling out of him so fast he was hard to understand.

  Mack held up a hand. “Slow down.”

  “I didn’t know what to think of it. I was really nervous.” The neighbor appeared to be in his mid-seventies at least. The small man with a whisper of gray hair on his head scrunched up his face into worry lines. “Here, here, here,” he said, shoving the bag at Mack. “Take it.”

  Mack took the bag and looked inside. His eyebrows shot up toward his hairline, and he said, “Where did you find this gun?”

  “That’s what I mean. That’s what I mean. I was working in the gardenias, and I know it wasn’t there before then. But, after that man went through my backyard, I went outside to continue my work the next day, and I found it. I didn’t know what to do with it. I thought maybe he would come back and get it again,” the man cried out. “So I left it there. It’s just me at home, and I knew nobody else would come and take it, but then, when I went out this morning, it was still there. I don’t want it. I don’t want it,” he said, backing up. “You take it.”

  “Do you have a dark-brown fence?” Doreen asked. “That runs along the creek?”

  He turned and looked up. “Yes, yes, that’s my place. I see you sometimes walking there.”

  She nodded. “I love that space. It’s a really nice path along the creek.”

  “Not anymore,” he said. “Not anymore.” He kept backing away. “Not when people throw guns into my backyard,” he said. “This used to be a nice neighborhood.” Out came his finger, and he poked it in her direction. “You’re the one who keeps bringing all these nasty people here.”

  She stared at him in surprise. “How is that possible?” she asked. “I’m the one finding and shining the light on all these nasty people who have been living here long before I arrived.”

  He said, “Well then, you need to find one more. You need to find whoever put that gun in my gardenia patch. It’s really not good for the soil.” He shot her a hard look, and then he turned and left.

  Doreen looked at Mack and said in a conversational tone, “I know who dropped it.”

  He spun ever-so-slowly, looked at her, and said, “What?”

  She beamed up at him. “Maybe we’ll have a cup of tea and talk about it on another day. I think I’ve given you enough work for right now.” She motioned toward the chaos. “Definitely another day.” And she turned, called the animals to her, and said, “Don’t forget. We have a cooking lesson coming up in two da
ys. Mind you get all your paperwork done before then so you can enjoy dinner.” With a big smile, she walked inside and closed the door hard.

  She leaned against the inside of the door and couldn’t stop smiling. Mugs jumped up on his back legs, his front paws hitting her midthigh, and he woofed at her. She reached down and petted him. Goliath, not to be outdone, stretched into the exact same position. She slid down the back of the door until both animals could get at her. Thaddeus hopped up her arm to tuck into the crook of her neck. She cuddled them all and said, “Thank you so very much for saving me again today. And for caring about Mack.”

  She knew the absolute joy of having all these tomorrows coming to her, even more so now that the animals had saved her life once more. “Treat time,” she said.

  The animals went crazy. She jumped to her feet, laughing, and said, “You deserve it today, guys. You definitely deserve it today.”

  As she handed out treats, she couldn’t help but think about the gun in the gardenias and the suspicions she had in the back of her mind. “But that’s tomorrow’s case,” she said, chuckling. “Definitely tomorrow’s case.”

  Chapter 2

  Thursday Early Morning …

  Early Thursday morning, Doreen sat outside on the steps of her rear deck with a fresh cup of coffee. She looked across the huge expanse of her garden, loving it, yet, at the same time, hating parts of it. She had a lot of work to be done here, and she never quite seemed to get there. Since she’d arrived in Kelowna, after being replaced with younger arm-candy, her world was not the same. She chuckled. It was, in fact, much, much better. She couldn’t believe how much more real it was, and how much more validated and useful she felt. She was doing something with her life now.

  Maybe not everybody was happy with what she now did. Lovely Corporal Mack Moreau, the detective she loved to spend time with, made her feel like she was more than a pain in his arse. At the same time though, he liked her enough to give her cooking lessons. She smiled at the thought of their last discussion. She’d basically told him that she had some information about a gun somebody had handed over, then had made it clear she wouldn’t even talk to Mack for the rest the day. The last few weeks had been brutal.

  She needed a day off for herself. Even a partial day off would do.

  Today she didn’t plan to do much besides have tea, rest, and get another ten hours of sleep like she did last night. She felt completely renewed and reinvigorated after her wonderful night. She’d settled into the house finally. It still needed a lot of attention, but the antiques—the furniture, the books, and the paintings—were gone. Now she really wanted to empty out the rest of the house. Put everything in the garage or in the basement or somewhere that would allow her to give the house a spotless cleaning from top to bottom.

  She wanted to make sure she got all the corners, nooks, and crannies. She wanted everything found, sorted, tossed, or wiped down. She harked back to the concept of a garage sale. It was either that or maybe several dump runs. Not a whole lot remained in her house though, so maybe it would all go in one trip to the dump. But first she needed food, and she needed more coffee.

  She yawned loudly. Mugs, who was lying by her feet on the deck, rolled over and stretched his belly to the sky as she reached out and gave him an extralong scratch. “You were hugely instrumental in saving my life yesterday,” she said. “I can’t believe how this garden is so lovely, and yet, apparently so lethal.”

  How many times had she been attacked in her own backyard now? She couldn’t even remember. Should she count the newspaper reporter who had accosted her too? As far as Doreen was concerned, that was certainly one negative to her backyard. But Penny? … Well, that went beyond the other assaults. But then again, Penny had attacked Doreen in her own garage. Although Penny may have been momentarily confused because it did look like her old garage. Doreen had moved all of Penny’s husband’s tools and benches over and had set it up in exactly the same layout.

  Wasn’t that just so funny? And perfect for Doreen as she now had a great workshop.

  Though she wasn’t feeling like laughing about Penny now. Not when she was spreading lies about Doreen making up the whole attack story. Penny was causing trouble even from jail. If she was in jail. Maybe she had made bail. Although Doreen hadn’t seen any sign of Penny around town. And didn’t want to if she was lying about things.

  Good thing Doreen had a recording of the event. But who knew she would need something like that? That she would need to legally defend herself after she already had to physically defend herself? She was still thinking about that case. And that hadn’t been the last case she’d worked on either.

  Doreen still gave Mugs some attention when Goliath, her adopted Maine coon cat, walked across the deck and jumped on her shoulders. He meowed in her ear, his head rubbing along her hair. She put down her coffee cup and reached up so she could scratch his ears and rub Mugs’s belly at the same time.

  “You were just as helpful too,” she said. “I owe you guys big-time.”

  Just then a squawk came right beside her. “Thaddeus is here. Thaddeus is here.”

  She chuckled and twisted her head ever-so-slightly so she could see the big African grey parrot she’d inherited from her grandmother, along with the house and Goliath.

  “Thaddeus,” she said, “you’ll have to wait a minute. These guys need some attention too.”

  The bird turned his head and gave her a glaring look. “Thaddeus is here. Thaddeus is here.”

  Doreen sighed and had to stop rubbing Mugs’s belly in order to gently stroke Thaddeus’s chest feathers.

  “And you’re awesome, Thaddeus,” she said with a smile. Then she laughed. How many times had they saved her life already? And who knew, with the trouble she kept getting into, how many more times they would be required to do so? She couldn’t imagine life without them anymore. It reminded her of how empty and lonely her previous existence had been. Although married to a megawealthy businessman and hosting a lot of dinner parties and traveling with other social elites, she had been so empty inside. She hadn’t even realized it until she had come here.

  When her phone rang, she looked at the screen and smiled as she answered. “Good morning, Mack.”

  “I didn’t wake you, did I?” he asked.

  She heard the worry in his voice. That added a ray of sunshine to her day. “No, I’m sitting outside on the deck with a cup of coffee,” she said. “I think I slept ten hours last night.”

  “Well, thank heavens for that,” he said. “Now, if you would just give yourself a few more days to rest, relax, and unwind, that would be even better. You’ve had one of the most incredibly chaotic weeks I’ve ever seen.”

  “Considering all the antiques moved out of my house and Crystal’s case,” she said, “I agree. And I have to admit to still being tired. I’m sitting here, feeling mighty peaceful, but, at the same time, I don’t really have the energy to get up and grab that second cup of coffee waiting for me.”

  “So, if I come over right now, I could snag it?”

  “I’m pretty sure that, just as you’re driving up my driveway, I’ll get the energy to steal it in time.”

  “Wow, that’s mean.”

  “You should probably be making me a cup of coffee. How many more cases have we closed?”

  “The final details aren’t in yet,” he said blandly. “A couple cases in Vernon and Kamloops might connect to Crystal’s case Mary’s brothers traveled all around, building up their collections of sellable items.” His tone was wry.

  She remembered those sellable collectibles were also likely stolen in many cases. “Then your B&E division should be all over this too,” she said.

  “I think the entire department is. If you’re angling for a medal, don’t, because that’s not something we do.”

  “No, I can see that. But I just might have a little pull, if I ever need something.”

  “I hope it never comes to that,” he said, “because that’s not something we would par
ticularly like to acknowledge. Obviously, if you get into a spot of trouble, and it’s innocent and easy-to-fix trouble, the guys can come and help you out. But, if you’re expecting to do a crime and go unpunished, no.”

  She frowned. “You know what? I don’t think that’s very generous. I mean, look at how many crimes I’ve stopped. Surely I should be allowed to commit one or two.”

  “Doreen,” he said in warning. “Don’t you start …”

  She laughed. “See? I caught you.”

  Mack groaned into the phone. “I’m glad you’re in such a great mood this morning,” he said. “You know that I’ll have to come and take your statement today? And I have to talk to you about something else too.”

  “The gun,” she said. And then she realized she wasn’t ready yet. She wanted to sit in the sun, relax, and forget about outstanding cases and getting attacked by people she liked or didn’t like, who may or may not have committed crimes. “You’re the one who just told me that I needed a week or two to rest.”

  “No, I said a day or two.”

  “Then you can come back in a day or two.”

  “Well, that’ll hardly work,” he said, “when the gun is sitting here at the station and when I have to put it in evidence and when some of the guys overheard you say that you knew something about it.”

  She frowned at that. “Did I really open my mouth that loud?”

  “Oh, you sure did. The guys have been chuckling since it happened because, in almost every instance, I’m having to talk to you. May have to haul you into the station this time.”

  “Why?” she asked in outrage. “I only said I knew something about it. I didn’t tell you that it was mine.”

  “No, but considering that we are trying to match the gun with other cases, you can bet, as soon as the results come back, there’ll be all kinds of chaos.”

  “Maybe not,” she said. “Who knows just where that gun has been?”

  “Exactly. Now, do you want to tell me over the phone, or am I coming over and stealing that coffee?”

  “You could try to steal that coffee,” she said cheerfully, “but it won’t work.”