The Secret of Chestnut Hall (A Blooms, Bones and Stones Cozy Mystery - Book One)

by Olivia Swift

  Evan gave chase, and Jazz kept on in pursuit. He was gaining on the intruder when he stumbled and faltered. The pause, although he did not actually fall to the ground, was enough for Jazz to reach him and the intruder to reach the metal gates and freedom. Evan raced to the gates and stopped as they both heard the sound of a car engine roar away into the distance.

  “Blast. Blast. Blast.” Evan stamped his feet as he said it, and Jazz put her arms around him. Their breathing came back to normal, and they held on to each other in the darkness. After they were calm, they made their way back to the grotto and shined the light around. The soil where the watch and knife had been found was disturbed but other than that, nothing was changed.

  “Why?” Jazz asked out loud.

  “And who?” Evan responded.

  With coffees in hand and settled on the sofa, the two of them went over trying to work out who would come and search the grotto. Jazz leaned her head on his shoulder and tried to stop the shakes that suddenly attacked her system. Evan wrapped his arms around her, and eventually, she stopped shaking and drifted off to sleep. He looked at her sleeping face and stroked it gently until sleep closed his eyes as well.

  The light was trickling through the window when Jazz woke to find herself still wrapped in his arms and the man was breathing quietly beside her. She kissed his face gently as he lay and wondered where this relationship would end. She had to admit that she was feeling for this man what she had never felt for anyone before. Then she remembered the intruder and shot to a sitting position. Evan woke at the movement and pulled her back beside him.

  “The garden and who was it?” she said, and he kissed her on the lips to stop the flow. Her body responded of its own accord and as the kiss deepened, the two of them forgot the house, the garden, and the intruder and seemed like the only two people in the universe. He pulled away at last and reluctantly swung his legs onto the floor.

  “What do we do about it?” Jazz asked as he made coffee.

  “If you mean the kiss part, we can try it again,” he answered with a laugh and she took the coffee mug from his hand.

  Chapter Six

  Back at the nursery, Kim gave her sister a very suspicious look with regard to staying away most of the night but sat up when she heard about the intruder. She listened to all the tales from the newspaper records, and they speculated about what had actually happened all those years ago.

  “Why would that bother somebody now?” Kim asked. “The old man and just about everybody concerned is either dead or has been away from here for thirty years.” Jazz nodded and made herself some breakfast.

  “Evan might be able to talk to the son today. Wonder why he never went into the house again…or why he kept it on but never sold it till now.”

  “I suppose once the garden is finished and the house updated, it will all just be in the past,” Kim suggested, and before Jazz replied her phone rang. She said, ‘good morning’ with a smile on her face that was not lost on her sister and answered whatever he was saying with the affirmative.

  “Well?” Kim asked, and Jazz said the son would see Evan at eleven o’clock.

  “I’ll shower and change and set the others to work.”

  Kim laughed out loud.

  “I have never known you to leave a job like you are with this one. Evan Sutherland is something special,” Kim teased her sister and Jazz had the grace to agree.

  “It is his job though, and the work is getting done. Carly can oversee everything.” She went off to shower and change singing part of a popular song. Kim smiled at her sister’s back and hoped that Evan felt the same.

  Evan twirled her around when she arrived at the house. She had worn slim trousers with a bright pink, flowered top and a pink, embroidered jacket. Heels that were not too high and a huge bag to match completed the outfit. Her dark blonde hair was brushed and swinging in a shining wave, and a frothy scarf was loosely tied around her neck.

  “You look wonderful,” he told her and kissed her forehead.

  “Thank you, kind sir,” she answered. “You are pretty smart yourself.” Evan had favored a suit for this visit with an open neck shirt in crisp white.

  “Might as well make a good impression and hope he has lots of information.”

  Jazz slipped into flat shoes and ran down to tell Carly where she was going and ask her to keep an eye on Dan and Ben. Rob Manners would know what he was doing on his own, and the rill was almost finished.

  “Tomorrow,” she said. “I’ll get the digger to take out the pond. When you and Ben finish the rill, help Dan with the garden, and that should get that job done.” She told them about the night visitor, and both were suitably alarmed. Ben said he would take a proper look inside and see if he could figure out why anyone would be in there.

  “Thanks, guys,” she said. “We’ll let you know what we find out.” She jogged back up the lawn and replaced the flats with heels. Evan had brought out a smart car, and she slipped into the passenger seat.

  “How far and what is he called?”

  “Jean and Carlton Wendell,” he replied, “and it should take about an hour.” She settled down in the seat and wondered what questions they would ask the couple. By the time they drove into the leafy road where the people had their house, they had worked it out.

  Jean and Carlton Wendell turned out to be a couple in their fifties who made them very welcome and offered coffee and cake. Jazz and Evan explained between them how they came to be asking about the house. Carlton Wendell had eyes of pale blue, and his hair was grey. He was a relaxed man in jeans and a soft plaid shirt. His wife was dressed much the same, and as they sat together, he held her hand in a gesture that seemed like something he did all the time.

  “I restore gardens and discovered the grotto. It must have been boarded up for a long time because the wood was rotten, but inside it was dry and sandy. We managed to get some lights working and found the place completely empty apart from a very old rusty watch and an old and rusty knife.”

  “I bought the place to find peace and quiet but found out that there were stories about the place that made me curious,” Evan added. “We were hoping you could fill in some history about the place.”

  “We met the gardener you paid to cut the grass, and he said his uncle worked there thirty years ago.” Jazz followed on. “Did you remember who worked there?”

  Carlton Wendell thought for a moment and held his wife’s hand.

  “Jeannie here never met my father or visited the house. By the time we met, I had not returned there and never wanted to.” he paused and continued. “My father was a bully. He had made a lot of money, and I saw him hit my mother when I was still very young. I know he was quite liable to hit out if he was annoyed. I caught the anger every now and again. My poor mother died when I was only ten.” Jeannie patted his arm.

  “I know it still hurts Carlton to think about it. He went away to university and never returned.”

  “Did you keep in touch with your father?” Evan asked, and Carlton told him that there had been occasional phone calls when necessary.

  “Then he remarried, and I never met her. She was called Maddie Delonga and was quite a lot younger than him. He said she had left and taken all of her very expensive jewelry and quite a lot of cash.”

  “The newspapers at the time suggested she might have been murdered,” Jazz said gently. Carlton nodded.

  “Yes, but I think it was just gossip. Nothing ever came of it.” Carlton answered. “He had Molly and her husband to keep the place going and never went anywhere, as far as I know.”

  “Why did you keep the house on but never use it?” Evan queried, and Carlton smiled for the first time.

  “I don’t know. Just put off doing anything I suppose. I never wanted the house or anything else from him, but now our children are starting a business, and I thought the money would be really useful.”

  “Our daughter and son both make wonderful furniture,” Jeannie told them, and when Jazz asked about it, she pro
duced some photos.

  “It really is beautiful,” Jazz told her and asked if Carlton remembered the grotto.

  “Yes. It was still open when I went away to university. That would be over thirty years ago because I am fifty-five. It was just a weird garden feature that had always been there. My father never used the garden. It was just there around the house, and the gardeners kept it tidy.”

  “We knew that after some time, Molly’s husband left and went to live in Canada,” Jeannie added. “And apparently Molly was left money to have a nest egg for all her hard work.”

  “She was very welcome to it. I’ve no doubt she earned every penny. She had her house for her lifetime, but it changed hands and has a different landlord.” Carlton finished the tale. “I’m afraid we are not very helpful. I was glad to sell the house. It has no pleasant memories for me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jazz told him. “I hope the furniture business is hugely successful and there are lots of new memories.” Jeannie thanked her for that.

  “Thanks for seeing us and trying to help,” Evan said standing up. “I don’t suppose you can think why anyone would be in the garden in the dark and in the grotto?”

  “Good Lord, no,” Carlton responded. “Maybe just someone trying to make up ghost stories or something. When the place is refurbished, it should be beautiful. These old tales will just be forgotten.” Evan shook his hand. They left the couple standing on the doorstep.

  “What did you think?” Evan asked in the car.

  “He had an unpleasant childhood. I always feel sorry for people who grew up like that. Kim and I were so lucky.” He reached across and touched her arm.

  “Just to be devil’s advocate, he could resent it so much that he went back and caused trouble.” Jazz shook her head.

  “I never felt that he was a violent or vengeful man. He has made a good life for his wife and his family and left the bad times behind.” Evan had to agree with her and pulled up at a restaurant with tables outside under canopies.

  “This place looks good. Let’s have lunch.”

  “Then back to work for me,” Jazz added. “I need to book the digger for tomorrow for the pond.”

  They sat under the pretty parasols and talked about what to do next.

  “We found out the name of his second wife. We can trace that online,” Evan pointed out, and Jazz wondered if they weren’t actually married if she kept her own name.

  “Thirty years ago, that was not as common as it is today,” She added. “I still get the feeling that we are missing something. It just niggles at me.” He nodded and asked if she would like another evening doing some research. She agreed but wondered if they could set up a camera of some sort down at the metal gates and at the grotto entrance.

  “Now that is a good idea. You are smart as well as beautiful, Jasmine Summer,”

  “But I have no idea how to set up cameras.”

  “Strangely enough, because I took photographs and movies while climbing, I did pick up quite a lot of know-how.” He slapped a hand to his forehead. “And I have a whole lot of equipment in a box in one of the spare rooms.” He paid the bill and took her hand. “Let’s go and find the cameras.”

  Jazz had not been upstairs in this rambling and large house. It could have been called a mansion. She wondered if he knew how much value would be added when it was all modernized.

  “Will you sell it again when the place is all refurbished?” she asked. He shook his head.

  “No. I wanted a retreat and plan to spend time doing some of the jobs myself. Therapy I thought I needed, and I would enjoy the work. This garden seems to be starting to work because I pulled out the notes of my last trip to the Andes and started to half plan another book.” He laughed. “I’m not up to the kitchen though. What color would you think for the walls in there?”

  “The tiles on the walls in shades of grey, white, and black would blend with the stainless steel, but you need a splash of something softer as well.” She thought for a second. “Splashes of red could be picked up in equipment, blinds, and seating if you kept the walls to a soothing grey.”

  “That sounds great. Thanks. This is the box with the cameras.” They pulled out the other boxes and took the one they needed downstairs.

  “I have no idea at all about this,” Jazz confessed. “If it helps the therapy, I’m all for it.” He pulled out the two he needed and found his laptop.

  “These two are operated by movement, and if I link them to the laptop, I can see what they pick up.”

  “Clever stuff,” she said and took the one he handed over. “Now what?”

  “We put them in place,” he said and set off down to the garden. One went on the metal gates and the other at the entrance to the grotto.

  Chapter Seven

  Work stopped when Ben and Carly appeared. They filled them in on what the plan was for the cameras.

  “That’s a smart idea,” Carly said. “We can finish this work, and you can see if it works”.

  Back in the kitchen they gazed at the screen and could see Carly working on the garden. Jazz noted that it was looking really good, and then Ben came onscreen as he made his way to the pond area and the gates.

  “That will work,” Evan said and dusted his hands in the gesture of a job well done. “What about research on the second wife later on?” he asked, and Jazz agreed.

  “Remind me about her name,” said Jazz, and he told her Maddie Delonga. “I’ll go and book the digger for tomorrow and help Carly finish the garden. She sent Dan to start the long border. We can all join him on that tomorrow.”

  Evan held her arm before she left the kitchen and swung her around to claim a lingering kiss. The little ripples of electricity that ran through her veins at his touch sizzled, and she let herself respond with feeling. She twined her hands around his neck, and he pulled her close. For some minutes, the world around them disappeared, and then Jazz pulled away

  “This is not the way to get this garden finished,” she laughed.

  “I’ll do some research myself this afternoon and see you later,” he responded, and she found her phone to ring the man with the digger. He had always worked for her before, and she knew he would fit it in if he could.

  She joined Carly and Ben, and between them they finished the garden and added gravel where it was needed. They stood back and surveyed the finished work.

  “Looks good,” Ben stated, and she decided to ask Karl with the digging equipment to bring gravel to line the grotto floor.

  “We can move the gravel in the morning and then start on the border.

  A voice above their heads shouted, and Rob waved from the top of the garden. “Come around and see the walkway.” he called, and they climbed the garden instead of going all the way around the trees. They walked down the winding pathway through the small forest. It was delightful. “I’ve ordered the hardfill to fill the tank tomorrow and then we can build the deck.”

  “It’s absolutely wonderful,” Jazz told him. “I’ll order bark chips and line the floor of the path.” They brought Rob up to date on the cameras, and she told them what the Wendells had been able to remember. Then they walked to where Dan was toiling away in the long border.

  “We’ll all come and join you tomorrow,” she told him. “And with four of us, it should be easier and finished quite soon.” She looked around. “No point in starting any more jobs today. Let’s have an early finish and tackle it in the morning.”

  “Good idea,” Rob Manners answered. They dispersed, and Jazz looked around the kitchen door to tell him that they were all finished for the day. To her surprise, she found Dex in the kitchen with Evan and Evan waved her in.

  “Just told him about the intruder and the cameras as well as the visit to the Wendells,” he said.

  “I’ve linked an alarm to the laptop so that it alerts you when any movement is recorded,” Dex added.

  “I bet nobody appears,” Jazz laughed. “Now that we’ve made all this effort.”

  “Come b
ack for something to eat and do more searching,” Evan said. “Dex can help with the searches as well.” He paused. “And the lookouts.”

  “Okay. I’ll go and check the nursery. I’ve ordered the digger for tomorrow, bark chips for the woodland walk, and gravel for the grotto. So, lots to do in the morning.” She opened the door to leave and saw Dex hand over to Evan a lavender-colored envelope. Evan’s face showed actual pain for a moment, and she almost stepped back inside.

  “Was pushed through my door. Sorry.” Dexter told him. Jazz quietly closed the door and wondered what it was that had caused him to find a retreat and look for therapy to ease whatever the hurt had been.

  When she returned for the meal, Evan was back to normal, and there was no sign of the envelope. The two men kept looking at the laptop screen, but only wildlife was on the screen. After they ate a delicious meal, the two brothers walked the woodland pathway to see how it was looking.

  “It’s great,” Dexter said.

  “Rob has hardfill coming tomorrow to fill the tank and then he will do the deck. He thinks a ready-made set of stairs will be easy and cost less. It’s obviously a machinery day to look forward to.”

  “I’m interested to see the deck take shape,” Dex told Jazz and added that he had taken a few days off and was free to help if needed. They settled down with laptops and tablets and searched for Maddie Delonga and thirty years ago in the area.

  “There she is,” Evan said. “There is a picture. I wonder where they got that one. The other two looked over his shoulder and saw a very pretty woman in the fashion of the day. There were one or two mentions of her in the papers but no more pictures and no news about the owner of Chestnut Hall. After some time, the only articles were about her disappearance and the claims that she had taken money and jewels. The police did follow up on his claims that she had stolen money but found no trace and the stories about her murder could not be substantiated. Molly and her husband were chased for interviews but did not say very much, and the stories gradually were of no further interest. Sometime later, there was a report of old Mr Wendell’s death and private funeral. He was a good age at that time, and it was to be expected. In fact, the house situation appeared to stay the same because it was never put up for sale and Molly, who was alone by that time, kept the place tidy and a gardener was hired to tidy the grounds.