Death in the Garden

by Kathleen Suzette

  “I just found a whole bunch of cards and letters in a box up on my wife’s closet shelf. Most of them were signed anonymous, but some of the more recent ones were signed with Bert’s name.”

  “Bert sent Patty flowers?” Joanne asked innocently.

  He nodded. “Sometimes she got flowers delivered to her, and when I asked about them, she would say they were from a friend, or sometimes she said they were from one of her sisters or her mother. But now that I found those cards, I don’t think that’s true. I think they’ve all been from Bert Danvers.”

  Joanne gasped. “Why on earth would Bert send your wife flowers?”

  Amelia forced herself not to look at her friend.

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Why would Patty lie about that?” Amelia asked.

  “You’re darn right it doesn’t make sense. She was my wife!” He shoved his hands into his pockets and his face turned a deeper shade of red. “Apparently he was carrying on with her behind my back.”

  “Are you sure?” Amelia asked. “Patty didn’t seem like the sort of woman that would cheat.” And she thought that was true. She might have thought a lot of things of Patty Manning, but it had never occurred to her that she might cheat on her husband. She wondered if he was just jumping to conclusions because of the cards and letters he’d found.

  He stared at her a moment, thinking things over. “I guess I don’t know that for sure, but I intend to find out. I want to know if it really was him that sent those flowers, and then I’m going to confront him.”

  “How often was she getting flowers?” Joanne asked.

  “It’s only been three times in the past eight or nine months, but that’s three times too many when they didn’t come from me.” His chin jutted out, and he crossed his arms across his chest. “He’ll pay for it if he did send them.”

  “And she told you they were from her sister, or a friend?” Amelia asked to clarify. If Patty had lied about the flowers, then why? Why would she feel the need to lie to her husband? Why didn’t she just tell him that she had no idea who they were from?

  He nodded vehemently. “Yes, she lied to me. Can you believe it?” he asked, raising his voice.

  And then Amelia thought she knew why she lied about it. Clearly Gary was the jealous type, and she was afraid of him. If he had been violent with her in the past, then why wouldn’t she lie about it?

  “Maybe she was worried about making you jealous over something that didn’t mean anything,” Amelia said quietly. “Maybe she didn’t want to worry you and make you think there was something going on in your marriage that wasn’t.”

  Joanne nodded. “Yes, if only the recent cards and letters had Bert’s name signed on them, then clearly she didn’t know who they were from until recently.”

  Gary stared at them, taking this in, and the color began to leave his cheeks. He nodded slowly. “I suppose that’s possible. I suppose she really didn’t know who was sending them until a couple of months ago. That’s the first letter I saw where he signed his name to it.”

  “What did the letter say?” Amelia asked him.

  “Just that she had a secret admirer. He would say that she was pretty, or that he thought she was nice. It was silly things like that.”

  “So they weren’t suggestive in any way?” Amelia asked.

  He shook his head slowly. “No, not really. Even after he signed his name, he just said that he wanted to meet her for coffee.”

  “It doesn’t sound like there was any kind of physical relationship then,” Joanne pointed out.

  Gary nodded slowly with dawning realization. “Maybe not. But he had no business doing it, and I intend to have a word with him. A whole lot of words.”

  “I don’t blame you for being angry,” Amelia said. “Gary, do you have any idea who might have wanted to kill your wife?”

  He shrugged. “Bert Danvers. He’s the one that’s in my sites right now. I know I mentioned Susan Potts the last time we spoke, but I’ve completely changed my mind now. It’s Bert. I know it is.”

  “It might be good to let the police handle things,” Amelia suggested. “You don’t want to get yourself into trouble, especially if he is the killer.” Amelia didn’t think that Bert was the killer. She couldn’t say that for sure of course, but she suddenly felt sure it was Gary that had killed his wife. Patty had been too frightened to let him know that the flowers had come from a secret admirer because she knew what would happen if she did. Gary Manning had a nasty temper and a jealous streak. The fact that he was angry over a secret admirer when his wife had been murdered and the killer had yet to be found proved it.

  “Gary, I think you’re getting angry over nothing,” Joanne said.

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “That’s easy for you to say. It isn’t your husband that somebody was sending gifts to.”

  He had a point, but Joanne wasn’t to be deterred. “No, it wasn’t, but it seems like you’re getting awfully angry over something that you don’t even know was true or not. You should have turned everything over to the police and asked them for their opinion on it. They’re the ones handling the investigation, anyway.”

  “Maybe you should mind your own business,” Gary said tersely. “This doesn’t concern either of you.”

  “Gary, you’re blowing things out of proportion,” Amelia protested. She didn’t want him getting angry at either of them if he really was the killer.

  “Like I said, mind your own business.” He turned back around as the owner of the flower shop, Theresa Long, came out from the back room.

  Joanne and Amelia waited, listening in on the conversation. When Gary had explained what he wanted to know, Theresa looked at him and shook her head. “I’m sorry, I can’t give you that information. I won’t turn over my records to anyone.”

  “It was my late wife!” Gary gripped the front counter. “I demand to know who sent the flowers to my wife! There were three deliveries, one in December, one in February, and then three weeks ago. Who was it?”

  Theresa shook her head again. “I’m sorry, I can’t give out that information.”

  “Oh really? I bet you’d give it out if I brought a lawsuit against you.”

  Her eyes went wide. “On what basis? It’s none of your business who I do business with.”

  “It is if that person killed my wife,” he said. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyer!”

  Gary spun around, nearly running into Joanne and Amelia. “And I’d appreciate it if you two would keep your noses out of my business!” He roughly pushed his way between them and stormed out the front door.

  Joanne and Amelia looked at one another and then turned to Theresa. She shook her head and shrugged. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life.”

  “Me Either,” Amelia said. She turned to Joanne. If anyone was Patty’s killer, it had to be Gary. He was a controlling person and Patty had been cowed by him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Amelia was sure of one thing, and that was that Gary Manning had murdered his wife. The anger he had displayed at the flower shop proved to her that he had to be the killer. The problem was, how would she prove it to the police?

  “You know what I think?” Joanne asked, turning to her. They were sitting at a corner table at The Coffee Bean coffee shop, Joanne with a large iced mocha and Amelia with a medium vanilla latte.

  “What do you think?” Amelia asked her.

  “I think it’s time that we investigate this thing full-on. I mean, we really need to go after the killer. Obviously, Gary Manning killed his wife, but we have to be able to prove it to the police.”

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Amelia said, nodding. She picked up her cup and took a sip. “And that’s the problem. We need to figure out how to prove to the police that Gary killed his wife.”

  They stared at one another for a few moments, neither one speaking. Joanne took a sip of her coffee. “Okay, I have no idea how to do that. Doesn’t your husband have any ideas? What could we present to the po
lice that they would take seriously?”

  “He’s not crazy about me asking around about the murder. But I think if I ask right, he’ll tell me.”

  “Of course, a wife always knows how to get something from her husband, doesn’t she?” She looked at her knowingly.

  Amelia chuckled. “Well, I don’t know about that, but my freedom may be on the line. A couple of detectives came by the other day and questioned me.”

  Joanne looked at her wide-eyed. “What did they say?”

  She shrugged. “They just asked where I was the morning she died and about what kind of relationship we had. It made me nervous, if you want to know the truth.”

  “I don’t blame you.” She took another sip of her coffee. “All right then, now for sure, we need to prove that Gary is the killer. What did you do with the BMW key?”

  “I stuck it in the bedside table in my bedroom.”

  “You didn’t tell the detectives about it?” she asked.

  Amelia shook her head. “No. I don’t know if that was a good move or not. The thing is, I think my husband is a little worried that I might really be in trouble. And because he’s worried, I’m worried.”

  She nodded. “I don’t blame you. It’s just weird that your garden hoe was used to kill her, and then that key was hidden among your zucchini. Clearly Gary is trying to set you up.”

  That was exactly what Amelia thought. She needed to speak to Walter and let him know how Gary had behaved at the flower shop.

  ***

  Walter was home watching golf on television when Amelia and Joanne got to the house. He looked up when the ladies walked into the room. Amelia introduced him to Joanne and then looked at the television.

  “Really Walter? You go golfing every day, and then you come home to watch a golf game on TV?”

  Walter chuckled. “I’m picking up tips to improve my game.”

  Amelia shook her head. “If you say so. Listen, Walter. We saw Gary at the flower shop,” she said, taking a seat and offering Joanne one next to her. “He found out that Bert Danvers had been sending his wife cards and letters before she died, and he was irate. He was insisting that the owner of the flower shop tell him who sent the flowers. Honestly, I think it might be true that he abused her before she died. I think he lost his temper and went too far that morning.”

  “I think so, too,” Joanne added. “The only thing that we can’t figure out is why he would use Amelia’s garden hoe to kill her with and then put Patty’s BMW key into her zucchini plants.”

  “Have you considered that maybe that key doesn’t belong to Patty’s BMW?” Walter suggested.

  Amelia looked at him a moment. “No, I really hadn’t thought about that. I suppose we could try to sneak over to her house and see if the fob unlocks her car. It’s not like we have to stick the key into the car door to see if it’s hers. But I can’t imagine who it belongs to if it isn’t her key.”

  He shook his head. “If you get caught sneaking around Gary’s house, trying to unlock his deceased wife’s car remotely, you could get into big trouble. I don’t suggest doing that. I was just wondering if it might not be somebody else’s key.”

  “It’s possible, but if it isn’t hers, who does it belong to? And how did it end up in the middle of my zucchini plants?”

  “Here’s a crazy thought,” Joanne said. “What if that key was in the dirt when you planted the zucchini and as it grew, the plant took the key with it and pulled it out of the ground?”

  “I think it would have been dirtier than it was,” Amelia said, thinking about it. “I didn’t plant the seeds very deep in the soil, and I think I would have run across the key with my trowel.”

  Joanne nodded. “Yeah, probably not. But I sure would like to know if it does belong to Patty’s car.”

  Amelia glanced at her. “We’re going to have to try it out.”

  Joanne nodded. “I don’t think we have any other choice.”

  “Whoa,” Walter said, holding up a hand. “Like I said, you’re going to get into big trouble if the police find you sneaking around Gary’s house with a key to Patty’s car. How will you explain that to the police, let alone Gary, if he catches you? I don’t think that’s something you should try.”

  “It might not be a great idea,” Amelia admitted. “But I think it’s our only option.”

  Walter shook his head. “I really don’t want you doing something like that.”

  Amelia was quiet a moment. “Did Leah call? Is she still coming for the weekend?” she asked, changing the subject. She knew Walter wouldn’t be happy with her if she went and tried that key in Patty’s car door, but she couldn’t see any other way around it.

  “Yes, she called and said they couldn’t make it. Apparently, she and Jonathan decided to stay a few extra days in Cabo.”

  The disappointment hit her in the chest. It had been over a year since she had gotten to see her daughter, and she had been so looking forward to the weekend visit. But every time Leah and Jonathan made plans to come to see them, they would change their minds at the last minute.

  “That’s too bad,” Amelia said carefully. “I was hoping to see them.”

  “We need to make plans to go see them,” Walter said. “They’re busy all the time.”

  She nodded. “Of course.”

  “Tell me, Walter,” Joanne said. “Amelia tells me that you’re a retired police officer. What is the first thing you would do if you were investigating this case?”

  He looked at her evenly. “I’d ask her closest family members about their relationships. I’d ask where they were at the time of the murder, and I’d keep an eye on them. It’s always a possibility it was someone else, maybe even a stranger, but usually it’s the closest relatives.”

  “That’s exactly what we were saying,” Amelia said. “It’s Gary. I just know it is.”

  He nodded. “Wouldn’t surprise me.” He glanced at the television screen as the golf game resumed after a commercial break.

  “I suppose we should let you get back to your golf game,” Amelia said.

  He shrugged. “I really don’t want to miss picking up some new skills,” he said with a smirk.

  Amelia walked Joanne out to her car, and they stopped a moment before she got inside. “We’re going to have to try out that key on Patty’s car to see if it’s hers.”

  Amelia nodded. “There’s no getting around it. That key has to belong to that car.”

  Amelia didn’t know what they would do with the key once they found out whether it belonged to Patty’s car or not. If it wasn’t hers, she could breathe a sigh of relief because somebody wasn’t trying to set her up. Her garden hoe had probably been the easiest weapon to get a hold of at the time and the key might be just some random key that somehow made its way into her garden bed. She sighed. It was a longshot, but it was what she was hoping for.

  Chapter Fourteen

  It was three days later when Amelia spotted Patty’s car parked in the grocery store parking lot. The flashy red Beamer was hard to miss. She stopped and looked again at the personalized license plate. PTYRDE. She glanced around but didn’t see Gary anywhere in sight. She took a step back, keeping her eyes on the grocery store doors for a minute, and then glanced at the car again. Did she dare?

  She slipped a hand into the inside pocket of her purse and withdrew the key, holding it tightly in her closed hand. If Walter knew what she was about to do, he would have a fit. But this was the only way she was going to be able to figure out if this key belonged to Patty’s car, or if it was just some random key tossed into the middle of her zucchini. She thought she knew the answer to that, but she had to be sure. She swallowed and glanced around her again. Holding the key fob in her hand, she depressed the unlock button. Nothing. She tried again and again but got the same result. She realized the key could have been out in her zucchini plants for days, and the elements had killed the battery. She bit her lower lip. There was only one thing to do.

  Taking two steps closer to the ca
r, she moved the key toward the lock and suddenly she wondered if the car had an alarm. Would it go off if she turned the key in the lock? Or did putting the key into the lock disable the alarm? She’d never owned a car with an alarm and didn’t know how they worked.

  She glanced right and left and then at the grocery store again. If the alarm went off, she would just walk away from the car as fast as she could. If she was caught, there was no explanation she could give for having a murdered woman’s car key in her hand. She inhaled and slipped the key into the lock and swallowed. It was a perfect fit. She carefully turned the key to the left, but nothing happened. She let out her breath and turned it to the right, and to her dismay, it unlocked the door. She withdrew the key quickly and stepped back. She glanced around again and then stared at the car door. Should she toss the key inside the car? If there was no proof it had been in her garden bed, could she be held accountable for anything? But of course, it had her fingerprints on it now. If she rubbed it on her shirt, would it remove them? She didn’t know and she didn’t want to take that risk.

  “Hi Amelia!” Someone behind her nearly shouted six inches from her ear.

  Amelia jumped, suppressing a scream. She turned around to face Nora Diaz, her heart pounding in her chest.

  “Hey Amelia, are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost,” Nora said, laughing. “I didn’t startle you, did I? My husband is always on to me for doing things like that to him.”

  Amelia forced herself to smile and shook her head. “No. Yes, I—I guess you scared me a bit.”

  She glanced at the car. “Isn’t that Patty’s car?”

  She glanced at it, “yes, I guess it is.” She was still trying to get her thoughts together. She hated it when somebody surprised her, and Nora had just done a great job of nearly making her jump out of her skin.

  Nora stepped closer. “How are you doing finding Patty’s killer?” she whispered too loudly.