Poison in the Pansies Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  About This Book

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  About Quarry in the Quince

  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 has calmed … At least while out on the lake … Until poison is found, blowing up the peace again …

  Enjoying a beautiful day on the lake, while Doreen tries her hand at paddleboarding, ends up on an odd note after finding poison in a bed of pansies. She garners a tidbit of information out of her BFF, Corporal Mack Moreau, about a man who’d recently walked into the emergency room, complaining he’d been poisoned.

  Only on a threat of good behavior (surely it doesn’t count if given under duress), Doreen agrees to stay out of his case. But, as it happens, the mention of poison to her beloved Nan brings up another recent death and an old woman who’d been saying someone was poisoning her for months. Only no one listened. Now she is dead.

  When Doreen’s case and Mack’s collide, she’s delighted, and so is he. NOT. But, when Nan decides to join in the sleuthing, with her pal, Richie, it’s Doreen’s turn to worry—and with good reason!

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  Prologue

  A Full Week Later, … Very Early August

  Seven days later Doreen tried once again—slowly—to stand up on the paddleboard and again promptly wiped out. As she splashed into the water, she heard Mack’s laughter ringing beside her. She stood in the shallow water and glared at him, then flipped her hair off her face. “I thought this was supposed to be fun.”

  “It is fun,” he said gently, “Just relax, you’re doing great. Besides we needed to get you out and away from all that chaos.”

  “You’ve got a point there,” she muttered, “but I don’t know about this kind of chaos.”

  He stood beside her on his board, with Mugs comfortably slouched on the front end of it. She, on the other hand, was spending more time in the water than atop it. Even Thaddeus was on Mack’s shoulder to avoid getting dunked.

  “This is unbelievable,” she muttered. Goliath had elected to stay on the beach. She felt bad about leaving him there, but, until she could control her board, no point in even thinking that he should come out in the water with her. He’d looked at her in horror when she’d invited him and had promptly stalked off to the side, where he’d sprawled in the sand and had remained, tail twitching the whole time.

  “Try again,” Mack said. “Now remember. It’s all about balance. You need to relax.”

  “Relax?” she murmured. “I’ll relax you.”

  He grinned. “Keep up that fighting spirit. It’s good to see.”

  She brushed her hair off her forehead and slowly clambered onto the paddleboard. The water was warm; the sky was blue. The sun was shining, and it was a gorgeous day. She managed to stand steady on the board and, with a triumphant turn, she spun to look at Mack. “I did it,” she crowed. And immediately wiped out again.

  When she came back up, sputtering this time, she just stood in the shallow water, her arms resting on the board. “I think it’s coffee time.”

  He grinned. “In your world it’s always coffee time.”

  “Always.”

  “That’s fine,” he said, “but you have to get back up on the board, so we can paddle you to the shore.”

  She turned to stare at the beach, her gaze easily picking up Goliath. He hadn’t moved. “Ugh, you know that’ll take an hour. So maybe only half that but still…”

  “Don’t be discouraged. Next time you’ll do that much better. I promise,” he said. “You will.”

  “I didn’t realize I was so uncoordinated,” she muttered.

  “I don’t even know that it’s about coordination,” he said. “Most of it’s balance.”

  “And yet you seem to be doing fine. And you said you’d never done this before.”

  “I hadn’t.”

  She glared. “You know that it’s really not fair that you should take to something like this so easily, while I’m an obvious failure.”

  “You’re hardly a failure,” he said. “And, speaking of which—”

  She glared at him. “There is no topic where that is a suitable intro. Nobody wants to think of being a failure.”

  “I was just wondering,” he said gently, “if you’d heard from my brother.”

  “Several times, but mostly because I’m the one hassling him.”

  He grinned. “I like the fact that you’re pushing to have that divorce taken care of.”

  “I don’t want anything to do with my ex, soon-to-be ex,” she said, “and the sooner this is done, the less stress for me.”

  “Oh, I agree,” he said. “I just wasn’t sure how you felt about it.”

  “You were just afraid that I would go back to him,” she teased as she attempted to get on her board. When there was a long silence, she glared up at him.

  He shrugged, but she could see the color mounting high in his cheekbones. She stopped and stared. “And I told you very clearly that I wouldn’t.”

  “I know you did.” His lips quirked. “But, in my job, I’ve heard a lot of women say otherwise.”

  “No, they say the same thing, but then they change their mind. I get it,” she said. “I’m not really into changing my mind right now.”

  “Good,” he said. “So can we get moving?”

  “I hope so.” She managed to get back up on the board, and, kneeling, she slowly paddled her way back to the shore. “I can kneel just fine.” She slid off on the other side at the beach.

  Mack slowly paddled toward her, standing calm and graceful on his board. She looked at him in admiration. “I should really hate you for this,” she said, “but you look just great up there. I mean it. It’s a totally natural thing for you.”

  “And it will become that way for you as well.”

  She didn’t want to say that she doubted it, but, well, she doubted it.

  He shook his head. “Nope, none of that,” he said. “Give it time.”

  “Time is something I do happen to have.”

  “Yeah, until you get a job anyway.”

  She winced. “Did you really have to go there?”

  He chuckled. “Hey, you’ve had a couple callbacks at least.”

  “Yeah, but all they wanted to do was ask me questions,” she wailed, “about all the different cases I’ve been involved in.”

  “Of course,” he said, “that does make sense.”

  “Yet there are more cold cases. They matter too. How come there isn’t more curiosity about those?”

  “They do matter, but everyone wants juicy details,” he said. “Remember, you’re the one who went down this pathway even though I warned you. You wanted a quiet life out of the public eye. How did that work out for you?” At least his tone
was cheeky, not arrogant.

  Still she glared at him. “Of course I went down this pathway,” she muttered. “Besides, I’m doing a lot of good.”

  “You are,” he said, “and, even though I wasn’t terribly happy to find out about Gloria’s past, I still think we’re all better off having it out in open.”

  “What about Elle?”

  “That’s a different story,” he said. “The lawyers are still fussing over that one.”

  “Can we prove that she killed Gloria?”

  “No, I don’t think so. They’ll probably end up with some plea deal.”

  “Whatever works,” she said. “And is it true that she’s not getting anything from Gloria’s estate?”

  “That is true,” he said. “It’ll all go to charity. Which means, sadly the place will get sold.”

  “Yes, and what about dingbat?” she asked, his name escaping her mind for a moment.

  He looked at her. “You mean, Stranden?”

  “Yes,” she said, “Stranden.”

  “That’s another problem. He was cleared over the car accident many years ago. But for aiding and abetting a murder? Well, that’s another thing for the DA to sort out.”

  “It’s been a lot of years.”

  “It has, indeed, but again it’s a murder case.”

  “Right,” she muttered. “No statute of limitations. No closing those.”

  “We want to close them,” he corrected her. “They just stay open until they’re solved.”

  “Right.” She pushed the paddleboard to the sand, and at that point, watched as Goliath sauntered toward her. “Do you think he’d ever get used to being on a board?”

  “I won’t say never.” Mack hopped down lightly beside the cat, with Thaddeus still sitting nicely on his shoulder, and Mugs now happily paddling around on the shoreline. “Goliath has done more than I would have ever thought possible for a cat.”

  “He has been pretty amenable to many things.” She pulled the paddleboard up on the sand. “Now what?”

  “We have a picnic. Remember?”

  “Oh yes,” she said. “Did you bring a thermos of coffee?”

  “I did.” He looked around the beach. “There’s a spot over by the gardens.” Mugs raced up, shaking water everywhere.

  “That sounds perfect.”

  She lifted her inflatable paddleboard, carried it off to the side, and put it down on the grass. Then she pulled out her towel from the bags that they had brought and Mack had kept on his board, spread it out, and threw herself down. As soon as she was stretched out, she gave a big happy sigh.

  “You doing okay?” he asked.

  “I am,” she said. “It’s a beautiful day. Thank you for this.”

  “Hey, I borrowed the equipment, so all I really put together was the picnic,” he said. “We both needed to get out for a bit.”

  “Absolutely,” she said. “And this is lovely.” As she relaxed, she added, “How come I’m the only one who’s wet?”

  “That’s because you spent more time in the water than out.” And so much laughter was in his voice that she rolled over and grinned at him.

  “It was fun though.”

  “Good,” he said, with a big smile. “I’m glad to hear that. We’ll do it again.”

  “Maybe I should try your board next time.”

  “You think my board is the magical answer?” he teased.

  “Maybe,” she said. “Mine certainly didn’t work worth a darn.”

  “I don’t think the board had anything to do with it.”

  She glared at him but no real heat was in her gaze. She rolled over and took a look around. “Didn’t you say there was coffee?”

  “There is.” He pulled out the thermos from the other bag and handed it to her. She sat up and filled the cap, looking around. “I wasn’t really expecting so many beaches here.”

  “There are a lot of them,” he said. “This is Sarsons Beach. It’s got a nice little lawn. The beach itself is rocky though. Several of the others are sandy. But not this one.”

  She studied the footwear that he had told her to get for this venture. “And I guess it’s a good thing I wore these. Otherwise it might be hard to walk.”

  “It can be, here.”

  “Still, it’s good,” she said, “and it’s a perfect day.” She pulled her legs up and sat cross-legged, sipping her coffee, as she stared out around her. It was one of the few times she had put on a bathing suit all year. As it was, she felt good. She’d gained a little bit more weight, so she didn’t look quite so gaunt, and, although she was skinnier than she was used to, she still felt healthy and vibrant. And that was worth a lot.

  She let out a heavy sigh, and he looked at her quizzically. She shrugged. “Just, uh, …decompressing.”

  He nodded. “Glad to hear that. You’ve been through a lot lately.”

  She nodded. “You don’t even realize how much it all adds up, until it all adds up.” Then she let out another heavy sigh, and they just kept coming after that. As if she really needed this. After her coffee was gone, when she laid down and nodded off, he let her.

  When she rolled over not long afterward, she lifted her head to see Mugs stretched beside her, Goliath stretched along her side, and Thaddeus was at her throat muttering softly. “Wow, I think I was out there for a bit.”

  He smiled. “You were tired.”

  “Yeah, I sure was.” She blinked several times then yawned. A moment later, she said, “But I’m feeling better now.”

  “Good,” he said. “Ready for some food?”

  She laughed. “Have you ever known me not to be ready for food?” She slowly sat up. “I’ll use the washroom first though.” She hopped up, walked over to the public bathroom, and, when she was done, she returned, this time walking through the gardens. “They’re really pretty. Too bad I didn’t put more effort into getting a city contract for the gardens.”

  Mack watched her as she strolled looking at the flowers. “Something will break for you soon,” he said confidently. “With them moving the Welcome to Kelowna sign to a new spot, they will probably open a new bid.”

  “Yeah.” Maybe, but she wasn’t holding out hope. “How about the will? Any update on that?”

  “For your lawyer?”

  “Yes, Robin.”

  “Well, you know that it’s good to go. But all that lawyerly stuff has to happen.”

  Meaning I don’t get anything until after probate?”

  “Yes,” he said, “so it’ll be a few months yet. Well a lot of months. I think it’s nine months.”

  She snorted. “You’d think they could give me something.”

  “Have you asked the estate lawyer?”

  She frowned. “No, I didn’t want to let him know how broke I really was.”

  He chuckled. “In that case you might want to reconsider. Maybe he can give you an advance for expenses or something. I’m not sure how that works.”

  “He said it was all about the probate and due process and that he would let me know as soon as he could. Also he hasn’t given me any figures, as the property needs to be sold, and there are outstanding bills to be paid by her estate first.”

  “It’s still worth checking to see if he might give you something up front to help out.”

  She shrugged. “I mean, if I have to keep going without,” she said, “it will be fine for a few more months, I guess.”

  “What about Wendy?”

  “I have to wait another week, I think, to get the next consignment check,” she said, “They are coming, although not as big as the first one. Still, hopefully they’ll be enough to keep me going for a few more months.” She shook her head. “After that, well, I don’t know.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he said, “because a lot can happen in those weeks.”

  “I know,” she said. “It’s just become more of a habit to worry than not.”

  “And I get it,” he said, “but you’re doing okay, honestly?”

  “I guess s
o.” She looked at the huge bunches of yellow and purple pansies nearby and walked closer. “These are really pretty.” A big pile of dead ones was in the center though. She frowned. “Except for these guys. They need some care. Is this a city park?”

  “Yes, so the city gardeners look after it. When they can…”

  She nodded, then walked closer to where the dead plants were and noted powdery stuff all around the base of it. “It looks like something was dumped here, something toxic—to the plants anyway.”

  “Don’t touch the stuff then.”

  She stepped back, looked down at her feet, then winced. “I better go rinse off.” She headed to the water, swooshed her feet around a little to clean them off, and then she came back out. “You know, Mack. If families come here, you might want to get that cleaned up.”

  He looked at the flowers. “Do you think it’s bad news?”

  She shrugged. “It killed the pansies. I know we haven’t had any rain lately, but the rest of the flowers look okay. It’s just that one spot. And it’s not doing much for the plants. I’d hate to see a kid or some pets get into it. It gave me a tingly feeling on my toes.”

  At that, he frowned, then hopped up and walked over to take a closer look. “A partially buried box is in the sand here.” He took a closer look at it and frowned. “Rat poison.”

  She looked up at him. “Why would somebody put that here?”

  He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter why they put it here. They shouldn’t have. This is a public site.” He made a quick phone call. “We should get this cleaned up in no time.”

  She nodded. “So please tell me there haven’t been any current deaths by poisoning.” He stared at her, so she shrugged. “I mean, if you ran here, and you had a murder weapon in your hand,” she said, “what better place than to toss it into a garden, where nobody will see it?”

  He looked at her, then at the flower bed. “Crap.”

  She stared at him. “What?”

  “We’ve been keeping it under wraps,” he said, “but two days ago we had a man walk into the hospital, saying he’d been poisoned. He was admitted immediately, but he didn’t make it.”

  She stared at Mack. “Poisoned … in the pansies?”

  He squeezed his eyes shut, then glared at her. “No! And again it’s not a cold case, so you stay out of it.”