by Blythe Baker
It made perfect sense. Daniel Walker was out of town. He couldn’t be blamed for anything. Zane Jones had taken over for him until he returned. I’d bet with a short bit of internet research I’d find Zane had a police record for making threats or vandalism.
The big question was should I go over to the quarry and tell them I was on to them? Or should I just go right to the police? It wasn’t a tough decision. Part of me wanted to march right over there and tell Zane off.
“But you don’t run that fast, Maddie, so you’d never get back out of there.” I hated when my logical side pointed out painfully obvious and embarrassing truths about me.
I would call the police. This had nothing to do with the severed hand. This was real vandalism and someone needed to be charged. My only regret was that I wouldn’t be able to see Zane’s face when the cops showed up.
There was also a part of me that wanted to call Michael straight away. Instead, I called the number for the police department, like a regular person. I explained what happened to the dispatcher and within a few minutes two of the officers who were already on the grounds were at the pagoda.
“So, what do you think?” I asked, as they looked at the tiles and eaves and beams. “Looks like it was cut, right?”
“I can’t say for sure,” one officer said. “When was the last time you had the place inspected?”
I told him it was recently, right after I’d inherited the garden.
“Was it someone qualified to inspect this kind of structure? It’s an outdoor attraction and it isn’t your standard construction.”
“I can’t say for sure.” My heart sank. I guessed it was a good thing I hadn’t let my temper get the best of me. Still, my gut was telling me this and the broken window were too convenient to be a coincidence.
I mentioned Zane Jones coming to the garden and what he’d said to me.
“Daniel Walker has been after my property for a while now. He’s very angry that I won’t sell. I’m sure Zane Jones knows about our feud.”
I watched the policeman’s face as he wrote everything I said down in his notebook.
“We’ll go talk to him. But it would be in everyone’s best interests to take a deep breath and learn to get along.” The officer glanced at me sternly.
“You don’t think I’m provoking this, do you? I just moved here,” I protested. “I never even knew who Daniel Walker was until he came onto my property and suggested I sell it to him. When I refused, he didn’t take it very well.”
The officer said, “Nobody’s blaming you for anything, Miss Morgan. But I’d have this building inspected again by a proper inspector who specializes in more unusual structures. Meanwhile, we’ll speak with the folks at the quarry.”
“I appreciate it, officer. Thank you.” I tried to squelch my frustration.
“We’ve also finished our search of your premises,” he continued.
“And?”
“We didn’t find anything else.”
I sighed. “So, no body to go with that hand? That’s a relief. I think.”
I smiled at the police officer and got a small grin in return. He handed me a card with an emergency contact number and I stuffed it into my back pocket. Once we made it back to the gift shop, I asked the officer if he wanted a cup of tea or a bottle of water but he declined. His partner was waiting patiently, chatting with Kelly.
Once the police were gone, I exhaled.
“I don’t know if that did us any good,” I admitted to Kelly. “They’re going to go question the guys at the quarry. It could make things worse.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, you know. Sometimes when you poke a hornet’s nest it stirs up the hornets. There’s a good chance at least one stinger might find you. I’m afraid we might see more problems.”
“What about security cameras?”
“We don’t have any,” I said sadly, until I realized it wasn’t a question but a suggestion. “Oh, you mean maybe we should get some? That’s not a bad idea.” I quickly flipped through my mental files for the balance in my bank account. The well wasn’t completely dry. Cameras might be a smart investment.
With all the police searches ended and the pagoda off limits, we continued with business as usual over the next few days. I researched security outfits online and was becoming more and more convinced that a couple of cameras strategically placed might be a good idea.
There were no more vandalism incidents. To me, that proved Zane Jones was involved and that he might have been shaken up enough by a conversation with the police to stop his shenanigans.
Or, so I thought.
6
The landscapers had successfully cleared the wooded part of the garden, where I planned for my new pond to be dug. Excavating and leveling of the area was starting, and it took almost all my self-control to focus on the gift shop and the rest and not spend all my time watching the diggers and the men transforming the landscape.
“You guys are doing an amazing job,” I told the foreman.
He was a stereotypical lumberjack kind of fellow. A plaid shirt and faded blue jeans with steel-toed boots and a yellow hard hat was the uniform of all three of the guys working the sight.
“This is the messy part,” The foreman joked, as he wiped his forehead underneath his hardhat. “We’ll be digging a bit deeper at the southern end but right now things are moving along nicely.”
“Great.” I nodded. “I’ll leave you guys to it.”
“One question for you, Maddie,” he said. “Do you know an older woman in a leopard printed shirt who hangs around the garden a lot?”
“I might. Why?” I asked, feeling my gut tighten.
“Well, she’s been by a couple times and she yelled at Tom over there.” He pointed to a handsome fellow in a white T-shirt and jeans.
“What did she say?” I hated to ask.
“Well, she told him he wasn’t dressed properly to do this kind of work and that he wasn’t capable of digging a hole in the ground.”
I rubbed my forehead. “Yes. I know her and I’ll talk to her. She’s harmless. She didn’t get in the way, did she?”
“Not yet. But it’s best that she stay well away from the work area, where she could be injured.”
I started to back up and head in the direction of the entrance. “I promise she won’t bother you guys anymore.”
As I marched back along the path that headed toward the gift shop, I was fuming. The last thing I needed was Mamma Jackie harassing the hired help. But then, I took several deep breaths and let the calming effects of nature wash over me. I listened to the buzzing of the diggers behind me. The farther from the construction site I got, the more I could hear the birds and the rustling of the leaves. By the time I got to the huge wildflower patch and butterfly garden, I wasn’t feeling as enraged anymore.
“Mamma Jackie is harmless.” I shook my head. “But if she’s harassing people on the grounds, I’ve got to make sure she sticks to our yard and the veranda. No more visits to the garden for awhile. She’s not going to be happy.”
To my right, I noticed a couple with two small children having an early picnic on the hillside. They looked like they were having a lot of fun. I could hear the children giggling. It was a contagious sound.
My grandmother must have had small children in mind when she started this tea garden. There wasn’t a day that went by when I didn’t see families with kids coming to explore the grounds. It was a really beautiful place. If she were alive now, Grandmother would have been so proud of how many things bloomed and crawled and flew all around.
Off in the distance, there was a younger couple, who looked like they were enjoying the romantic setting beneath a shadowed row of trees.
And finally, I could see the gift shop up ahead. It was just beyond the stony bridge that crossed a small creek on my right. There were beautifully colored smooth stones that could be seen through the crystal clear water that made a calming gurgling sound as it rippled along, ending at a p
ool on the other side of the gift shop.
Mr. Seeton was standing in the middle of the bridge, staring up into the trees with his binoculars glued to his face. There must have been something mesmerizing on one of those high branches. I didn’t dare call his name for fear of scaring away whatever winged thing he was studying.
I was much calmer now. My peaceful surroundings had worked their magic. I decided that I would speak to Mamma Jackie about her critique of the hired landscapers with a lighthearted tone and simply tell her that she was not to talk to anyone I hired. Simple.
“Yeah, as simple as getting a cat out of a tree,” I admitted aloud. Mamma Jackie would have something to say and it probably wouldn’t be very nice. Moonshine would undoubtedly take her side.
Just as I rounded the part of the path that skirted the patch of birch trees and put me on a direct course to the souvenir shop, I heard a sound that made my heart lodge in my throat. A scream.
I heard a man cry out and then there was a splashing sound. I dashed back around the birch trees and saw Mr. Seeton in the water. Without hesitation, I ran to him.
“Mr. Seeton! Are you all right?” I yelled as I closed the distance between us. He was drenched, having slipped from the bridge and fallen into the creek. “Did you hit your head? Can you stand up? Wait! Maybe you better just keep still. I’ll call 9-1-1.”
“No, no.” He pushed himself up out of the water. “I don’t need a doctor. I’ll be fine.” He was obviously furious. I could only stand there as he shook the water off his arms and wrung out the bottom of his shirt.
“What happened?” I asked.
“It seems your bridge gave way,” he griped, pointing to the crumbled patch of bridge that was now part of the smooth rocks under the babbling brook.
I stared. It was true. A large section had cracked apart and fallen away.
I thought of those little children who were back on the hillside having their picnic. Little kids loved things like bridges and water. What if this had been one of them and not Mr. Seeton?
“Mr. Seeton, I am so sorry. Please let me call for help. You might have hit your head or hurt your back.”
“No. The only thing that was damaged is my deluxe BAK-4 binoculars. I paid over two-hundred dollars for these.” He shook them and I could hear the water inside.
“I’ll be happy to replace your binoculars, Mr. Seeton. Are you sure you don’t want to have a doctor check you out? It would really make me feel so much better.”
I watched Mr. Seeton and searched for any sign that he might be more hurt than he knew. His speech was fine, if angry. He wasn’t swaying or wobbly on his feet. There was no blood coming from his head and I didn’t see any lumps, bruises, tears or scrapes. I just saw a very upset older man.
“Thank you. I will take you up on that offer to replace the binoculars.” He looked through the lenses and barked in frustration, making me jump. “I’m going to go home now and dry off. I’ll bring you back the receipt for these. Cash please. No checks.”
I shrugged. I didn’t know what else to say. This was bad and could result in a lawsuit. Forget the expansion. Mr. Seeton could easily sue me for this. I didn’t walk him to the exit. To tell the truth I was afraid to do so.
Instead, I just stood by the water and stared at the bridge. Like the pagoda, the bridge had been inspected not long ago. I was told my property was in fine shape. This was not just some crazy coincidence. It couldn’t be.
“Zane Jones,” I hissed, as my eyes filled with tears. This was how Daniel Walker was going to get his hands on my property. He was going to have his unscrupulous employee sabotage my garden. If there were severed body parts and dangerous landscaping, plus a potential lawsuit, it would only be a matter of months and I’d be closing the place down for good.
7
“It’s got to be them, Drake. I know my tea garden is safe. Two near misses in a couple of days and I’m supposed to think it’s because my place is suddenly falling apart?” I sighed into the phone. “The inspector said everything was up to code when he was here. There’s something else going on.”
“Even if you’re right, Maddie, you have no proof,” Drake said. “The only thing you have is a guy who hurt himself on your property. I hate to tell you how many people, through their own clumsiness, get injured at a store or a restaurant, sue the owner, and win in court. It isn’t fair but people see those dollar signs.”
“So, what am I going to do?”
“Before Mr. Seeton recruits a lawyer, I would suggest you shut down the garden. Have all the structures and paths thoroughly inspected,” Drake said. “One thing that’s working in your favor is that he declined an ambulance. You offered to get one and he not only declined but walked off on his own, got in his car, and drove away. Anything could have happened between then and when he got home.”
“Yeah. That’s all true.”
“The fact that you practiced your due diligence and tended to the structures in the garden to make sure everything was sound and sturdy will look good to a jury,” Drake added. “But that’s about all I can promise you, Maddie. I wish I could give you better news. I really do.”
“No. I appreciate this, Drake. I’ll do what you say. Even though I know my structures are sound and my property is safe. I know it is, Drake. I may not have proof but my gut says someone is messing with my estate.”
“Maybe, Maddie. But the law deals with facts. Not gut feelings.”
I thanked Drake for the free legal advice and quickly went to the work shed that was just off the gift shop and grabbed the “CLOSED FOR REPAIRS” sign to attach to the chain that crossed the tea garden entrance.
The next step was to put it in the papers and add it to the budding website I was working on in my spare time. Well, there would be a lot of spare time to get it up and running properly now. The website would exist for a garden that may never open again.
“Don’t be such a pessimist, Maddie,” I scolded myself. “You can beat this, even if Mr. Seeton decides to sue.”
Businesses got sued all the time. That doesn’t necessarily mean they went belly up. Mr. Seeton didn’t say he was going to sue me, either. Maybe he wasn’t one of those kinds of people just hoping for a big injury in order to collect money. He was a nice man. But I couldn’t help but agree with Drake. Everyone is nice until they see that pot of gold.
“It isn’t like I have a pot of gold, either. I’m stretched pretty thin here. And if Daniel Walker finds out I’m being sued, he’ll offer to buy my land for next to nothing. That would be like icing on the cake for him.”
I looked out at the road, as I finished hanging the sign. It was a cloudy day and it seemed like a rare storm might be coming. That matched my mood perfectly. I wouldn’t have had a lot of visitors today anyway, except for the landscapers who were already working. I wasn’t going to stop them. They were already bought and paid for. An extra pond on the property would increase its value, if nothing else.
“No, I’m not going to give up easily,” I reassured myself, as I looked out at the road that brought more and more people to my garden every day. “Those structures were sound. I know they were. Someone messed with them and completely disregarded the fact that people could be injured. I’ll prove it.”
As much as I hated to spend the money, I invested in a pair of surveillance cameras, just three days after Mr. Seeton’s accident. I placed one at the souvenir shop and I put the other near the pagoda. I couldn’t afford to pepper the entire property with them but I thought this was a good start.
“Sometimes people put dummy cameras in trees and things,” Kelly said. “They don’t have to work. Most people would say better safe than sorry and walk away from their vandalizing ways on the off chance the cameras did work.”
“Well, when I get a few more dollars I might do that.” I sighed. “For right now, I’ve got ours positioned at the places where I think it would be easiest to see someone slinking around. The camera near the pagoda has a wide lens so it covers a bigger scop
e than the one over the shop.”
“Okay. Well, I think I’ve done this right.” Kelly tilted her head to the right and then the left, as she worked. “This should feed right into my laptop and yours. So any time we want to check on things we should be able to click this and this.”
An image of the back of the garden where the pagoda stood suddenly popped into view on my laptop.
“Well, that’s not bad.” I gave Kelly a playful jab with my elbow.
“You know, Maddie, this will help at quitting time too. I’ll be able to see if there is anyone all the way at the back of the garden.”
This wasn’t the greatest security system but I couldn’t help but feel it was better than nothing. Drake also thought it was a good idea when I had told him about it over the phone. For some reason that made me feel better.
For the next several days, I sat at my cluttered dining room table and watched the views from the two cameras on my laptop, after the sun had gone down. Although the cameras were nothing fancy, they were equipped for night vision.
I saw dozens of white eyes blinking from the shadows of the trees. Raccoons and opossums strolled at a leisurely pace and completely at ease, since there were no humans around. The trees, bushes, and flowers took on an eerie minty green color, as the varying degrees of light and shadow played over them. It was spooky. But I was enjoying the spying.
“What’s got you glued to that computer every night?” Mamma Jackie asked one evening, making me jump.
Moonshine sat contentedly on her shoulder.
“It’s work, Mamma. And what did I tell you about letting Moonshine out for long periods of time. If I find one dropping of his anywhere other than the newspaper in his cage I’ll have him stuffed and mounted.”
“You’re probably on one of those dating sites,” Mamma Jackie suggested.