Murder With Jammin’T

by R A Wallace

  Murder with Jammin’T

  A Teaberry Farm Bed & Breakfast Cozy Mystery

  R. A. Wallace

  2019

  Author’s Note

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, dialogue, places, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Material in this book is not intended as a substitute for legal or medical advice from qualified professionals. The author has no connection to any software or website mentioned.

  © 2019 R. A. Wallace. All rights reserved.

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter One

  The contents of the upended purse made a series of loud clattering noises as they hit the hard wood surface. It was a sign of her frustration that she would dump everything on her dining room table. At this point, she had no idea where else she should look. Gina picked through the items one by one. There were her car keys, of course. She picked up her small change bag and began adding the loose coins that had collected in the bottom of the purse. She found a tube of lipstick that she thought she’d thrown away several years ago.

  She pitched some of the items and returned the rest to her purse. The missing cell phone wasn’t there. Frustrated, Gina sank heavily onto one of the dining room chairs. It was no use. The thing was gone. She tried thinking back to the last time she had used it. She wasn’t sure, but she thought it had been the day before. It was, wasn’t it? No. That couldn’t be right. She worked in the office yesterday for part of the day. Then she’d gone out with the girls for dinner before the movie at the clubhouse.

  Gina shook her head in dismay. Phones were expensive. She hoped she didn’t have to buy a new one. She glanced over at the clock and realized that she was late. She needed to work in the office to cover for Leslie when the full-time receptionist left for lunch. She stood as quickly as possible and grabbed her purse. It was too cold to take her golf cart to the office this time of year. She used her car for the short drive instead.

  “I’m so sorry I’m late,” Gina said as she entered the office.

  “I was starting to get worried.” Leslie stood from her desk and went over to the door where they kept a coat rack. She pulled her short puffer jacket on over her slender form then returned to her desk to pick up her purse.

  “Well, I’m here now. You can take a few more minutes to make up for it.” Gina went over to the small desk in the corner of the large office. She didn’t typically sit at Leslie’s desk. There was a smaller one for her to use when she was there. She stowed her purse in the large bottom drawer and checked the desk for notes. She didn’t find any.

  “It’s been a quiet morning so far,” Leslie said to explain the lack of notes on Gina’s desk.

  “Let’s hope it stays that way,” Gina said. “Have a good lunch.”

  She watched through the window as Leslie walked away from the building toward the adjacent parking lot. It occurred to her again that she had been in the office yesterday for part of the day. Maybe she left her phone somewhere in the office? Gina began moving some of the things on her desk and opening drawers. She was looking in the last drawer when the front door opened. She looked up to find one of the other residents stepping into the office.

  Gina watched as Sam Whittaker stepped just inside the door then took multiple steps to turn around without losing his balance. He reached out and pushed the door closed behind him before turning to face Gina.

  “Sam! What brings you in?” Gina smiled a greeting. She knew it wasn’t the time of the month when any of the residents were expected to submit money. Sam typically paid on the very day his rent was due.

  “Hello, Gina.” Sam took a few steps into the office and sat down on a chair. “I was wondering if anyone reported finding an ebook reader?”

  Gina doubted it. There hadn’t been a note on her desk. Still, ebook readers, like cell phones, were expensive and many of their residents were on a budget. She pushed herself up from her desk and went over to Leslie’s desk. She didn’t find any notes about a missing ebook reader conspicuously located on the other woman’s desk either. There was a signup sheet for the upcoming cruise that some of the residents were planning to take together. Gina’s name was on it and she was happy to see that several others had added their name since the last time she checked.

  “It doesn’t look like it.” Gina could tell it wasn’t the answer he was hoping to hear.

  “I can ask Leslie when she gets back from lunch, just to make sure.” She returned to her desk.

  Sam rubbed his hands together in front of him. The fingers were gnarled with age and he had difficulty working with anything small at this point. The ebook reader that he lost was special to him. His granddaughter had it all configured to make it easier for him to use. He’d gotten used to reading with it.

  Gina watched the dismay cross Sam’s face. She understood his frustration. She shared it with the loss of her phone.

  “I know this is a stupid question, but where did you lose it?” Gina asked. Even as she said it, she knew how annoying it was.

  “That’s just the thing.” Sam unzipped his jacket. “I’m not really sure that I did lose it.”

  Gina didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m wondering if someone stole it?”

  “I’m sure that’s not it.” Even as she said it, she wondered about her phone.

  “I’ve looked everywhere.” Sam lifted his hands in frustration.

  Gina was about to respond when the door opened again. The woman that entered was a little older than Gina.

  “Hello, Joan. What brings you in?” Gina didn’t know Joan that well. Joan had only been living at the retirement community for the past year.

  Joan didn’t take a seat. She went over to Gina’s desk.

  “Someone stole my wedding ring!” Joan said.

  Gina glanced over at Sam. Joan turned to look at him also.

  Sam gave a helpless shrug.

  “Maybe it was the same person who took my ebook reader,” he said.

  Gina wanted to argue, but she was also missing her phone.

  “I want you to call the police,” Joan turned back to Gina.

  “If someone has stolen something, you should call the police,” Gina pointed out. “You’re the victim.”

  Joan pointed at Sam. “There must be a thief here. They’re stealing from all of us.”

  Gina reached for the phone on the desk, grumbling to herself as she did so. If someone hadn’t stolen her cell phone, she would have been able to use it to call the police.

  ***

  Erica stepped into the office at the retirement community and nodded to the young blonde sitting behind the desk. She recognized her from the times she had been at the retirement community before, but she didn’t remember the woman’s name.

  “I’m Officer Henley. This is Officer Stevens. We got a call about some stolen items?”

>   “Thank you both for coming. I’m Leslie, but I wasn’t here when you were called. The part-time receptionist…” Leslie looked over Jerry’s shoulder. “Oh, there she is.”

  Jerry moved to open the door for the woman following them inside. She smiled her thanks as she stepped into the office.

  “Oh, I remember you.” Gina pointed at Erica. “You must have had your baby.”

  Erica smiled. “Yes, ma’am. Twins, actually.”

  “Oh, my. That is a handful.” Gina moved over to her desk.

  “You called us about some thefts here?” Jerry moved farther into the office.

  “Yes.” Gina glanced over at Leslie. The younger woman was frowning.

  “Do you want to give us their villa numbers so we can go speak with them?” Jerry suggested.

  Gina nodded her agreement and turned back to Leslie. “Can you get those for me?”

  “Can you tell me what kind of thefts we’re talking about?” Erica asked.

  Gina and Leslie watched as the officers walked away from the building toward the parking lot after giving them the villa numbers and explaining the loss of the ring and ebook reader.

  “I’m glad you found my phone. I would have felt like an idiot.” She had explained the situation to the younger woman when Leslie had returned from lunch. Leslie had immediately opened her desk drawer and pulled out Gina’s phone. Gina had accidentally left it on Leslie’s desk the previous day.

  “If I had known it was yours, I would have told you before I left for lunch, sorry.”

  Gina looked out the window again to see where the officers were. She saw the officers wave to some of the residents as the group power walked past them. As the officers reached the car, they stopped and turned.

  Erica stared at the office for a moment before she climbed into the driver’s side of the patrol car.

  “I guess I shouldn’t complain.” Erica reached for her seatbelt.

  “Not as exciting as searching for a murderer.” Jerry agreed as he fastened his seat belt. “But part of the job.”

  “Yeah, but finding something as small as a wedding ring might be tough.”

  ***

  “Come again?” Rhys asked.

  He stood to the right of Holly at the Jammin’T in the kitchen where she was working at the grill. No one from the restaurant side could see him. Tyler sent Rhys and Ian to the kitchen when they arrived for lunch. They were off duty, but the three men had become friends and Tyler asked them to speak with Holly as a favor. Tyler was hoping they’d be able to put his sister’s mind at ease.

  “I said, Buttercup is missing,” Holly repeated.

  “You named one of the cows?” Ian managed to stop himself from smiling. He knew that she was very sensitive, especially when it came to animals. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

  “Don’t be silly.” Holly flipped the grilled cheese sandwich with her spatula. “I named all of the cows. You can’t just name one. The other cows would feel left out.”

  This time, Ian couldn’t stop the smile. Fortunately, Holly turned away to plate some food.

  “You’re sure one of them is missing?” Rhys wondered how you could tell them apart.

  “Of course, I’m sure. And it’s Buttercup.” Holly paused to look at them. She wasn’t sure they were understanding the problem. “What if she’s hurt, or lost, somewhere?”

  “How long has she been missing?” Rhys reached for his front pocket from habit but pulled his hand away empty. He wasn’t in his uniform yet and he didn’t keep the small notepad when wearing street clothes. He and Ian were working the afternoon turn.

  “She was there the day before when I went out to check on them all. Last night when I went out to check on them and take care of the horses, she was missing.” Holly turned to pull out a basket of fries.

  Ian and Rhys shared a look.

  “Livestock can be expensive,” Ian said. “We’ll need to get a statement from you, but you might want to wait until after you get home tonight to check again.”

  Holly nodded at both of them. “Okay, thanks. But she really is missing. Will you come out to the farm tonight?”

  They both assured her that they would before going back out to the restaurant and taking a seat. Tyler stopped and flipped their cups over.

  “Do you think you guys can help?” Tyler filled both cups.

  “We promised to stop tonight.” Rhys looked over at the board to see the specials. They both told Tyler they’d take the special of the day.

  “I appreciate it, guys. She’s driving herself crazy with worry over that cow. I’d like to know for sure if it’s really missing before I have to tell Cy about it.” Tyler nodded and moved away from their table toward the kitchen.

  “I’ve got that.” Tyler took the large plastic bin of dirty plates that one of the other servers had just filled. “I’m going that way.”

  Lynn flashed a grateful smile to the young man as she wiped down the table. “Thanks.”

  Chapter Two

  The early morning chill was on the threshold of tolerance. Tyler knew that he’d be warm once he began carting the delivery items to their proper location in the diner, but it was still too cold to walk outside with just a shirt on. Wishing for warmer weather wasn’t going to make it so. He pulled on a thin jacket. Taking the gloves from the pockets, he pulled those on also as he went outside to speak to the truck driver of the food service company. He needed to get some of the delivery into the freezer right away and get the rest of it to Holly.

  “I’ll take the frozen stuff first, if you don’t mind.” Tyler stopped at the rear of the truck. He didn’t recognize the driver. He hadn’t made any of their deliveries before, but the man did have a name stitched on the front of his jacket. It said Aaron.

  The driver peered into the back of his truck.

  “Not much of that for you today.” Aaron pulled out an electronic tablet and thrust it toward Tyler. “You need to sign with your finger.”

  Tyler began pulling off his gloves. “What do you mean there isn’t a lot of frozen food?”

  Aaron pointed to the rear of his truck. “Just what I said. Not much of that for you today.”

  Tyler stopped and stared down at the hand truck now loaded up with boxes. Based on the printed information on the boxes, the contents weren’t going to help them with what they normally listed for the special for the day.

  “Maybe it’s still in the back of your truck.” He tried to move around the driver to look inside the truck, but the driver didn’t move.

  Tyler pointed to the rear of the truck. “What else do you have in there for us?”

  Aaron shrugged. “Not much more than this. There are some paper products in there with your name on them.” He pushed the tablet toward Tyler again with the screen loaded for Tyler to sign.

  Tyler took the tablet. He cancelled out of the signature window and scrolled through the list of supplies in the order.

  “This list is correct. You should have a ton more stuff. I especially need the frozen goods right now.” He wasn’t going to sign the delivery order as being accepted until he saw every box on the list with his own eyes.

  “Buddy, that ain’t going to happen.” Aaron put his hand on the folded part of the knit cap he wore on his head and pushed it up and down to scratch his forehead with it.

  “Then I’m not signing this.” Tyler shoved the tablet back toward Aaron. He pointed at the hand truck. “Bring that in and I’ll unload it. I want to see what’s there.” Tyler turned to walk into the diner.

  “I need your signature before I’ll bring the food into the diner.”

  Tyler turned back to the driver. “Buddy, that ain’t going to happen. I’m not paying for a bunch of stuff I’m not getting. I want to know exactly what’s on your truck.” He motioned toward the hand truck and the back door of the diner.

  The driver hesitated, swiveling his head between the hand truck and the diner. Finally, he set the tablet on the top box on the hand truck. He tilted th
e hand truck and looked at Tyler.

  “I’ll prop the door open for you.” Tyler pulled the door open then used his foot to kick the doorstop in place. He walked quickly through the kitchen and stopped at the grill.

  Holly glanced up from what she was doing, a question in her eyes.

  “He doesn’t have what we need for today’s lunch special. You’re going to need to think of something else.” Tyler watched his sister’s eyes widen. He knew it wasn’t in fear. She was thrilled with the challenge.

  “What are you going to do about the missing part of the order?” Holly plated the breakfast order she was working on and placed it on the shelf in front of her. She saw Lynn glance toward the window. On Lynn’s side of the wall, she could see everything that Holly placed on the shelf. Holly plated the second part of the order and set it on the shelf next to the first.

  “I’ll have to call them and find out where it is. I’m not paying them for something we didn’t receive.” Tyler watched as Lynn finished topping off some coffee cups. She then moved over to the window and took the two plates. She was keeping up with the orders for now, but Tyler needed to get things straightened out and get back on the floor to help Lynn.

  Tyler pulled out his phone and scrolled through the list of contacts. When he found the right number, he pressed dial. Nothing happened. Just what he needed. His phone wasn’t working. Again. Tyler looked at the rear door of the restaurant and watched the driver push the hand truck in before offloading the boxes. The driver then went back outside.

  “What did they say?” Holly called to him.

  “What? Oh, nothing. My phone won’t work.”

  “Use mine,” she suggested as she plated another order.

  Lynn opened the door to the kitchen. “Tyler, I need some help out here.”

  “Buddy, I need a signature.” The driver was standing at the rear entrance with an empty hand truck. There were two stacks of boxes.

  Tyler pointed his phone at the driver. “I told you, I’m not signing for anything I didn’t get!”

  Lynn shared a look with Holly, then went back out on the floor.

  “I can’t leave without a signature,” Aaron insisted.