Easter Buried Eggs (Black Cat Cafe Cozy Mystery Series Book 10)

by Lyndsey Cole

  Marvin, with Roxy, made his way to Annie’s side and whispered, “All set?”

  Annie nodded. “Help me get Thelma to my car. I have to get out of here.”

  Just as the trio reached the door, Dawn’s voice stopped Annie dead in her tracks. “Annie. Wait a minute.”

  “Get Thelma and Roxy in my car. I’ll take care of Dawn.” Marvin continued on like he did this every day.

  Annie walked back to meet Dawn who was rushing toward her. “Mrs. Dodd and I weren’t done with our chat,” she blurted out in a rush of words.

  “She isn’t feeling well and I need to get her to the doctor. Too much excitement I think.”

  “I hope she’s okay. Be sure to bring her back. I think she’ll love living here and I have an apartment opening up very soon. It won’t be empty for long.”

  I’m not so sure about that, Annie thought. It’s more likely that the whole place will be empty with all the possible scandals on the horizon. “Of course. I’ll have her back for another visit as soon as she’s up to it.”

  Annie turned away from Dawn, acting as casual as possible. When her hand touched the outside door, she couldn’t help but take a quick glance back at the scene. Dawn stood staring at her. She raised her hand. “I have another question.”

  Before Dawn could move closer to Annie, Gloria pulled on Dawn’s arm and pointed to Sylvia. With that distraction, Annie slipped out the door and hustled to her car. She sighed with relief to be safely away with the papers hidden in her pocket.

  Thelma was sipping on some bottled water she must have brought in her bag and Marvin sat comfortably in the back seat with one arm draped over Roxy. “The coast is clear, you can get out now, Marvin,” Annie said after she slid behind the wheel.

  “Do I have to? I’d rather stay with you two.”

  Annie didn’t expect that comment from grouchy Marvin. She turned around to look at him. “Listen. You need to stay here and keep Sylvia company. We can’t all abandon her after her fantastic diversion. I’ll tell Martha to bring you and Sylvia to the Black Cat Café for breakfast tomorrow. Okay?”

  Marvin let out a long sad sigh. “Okay. Maybe you could come back tonight instead?” The hopefulness was unmistakable.

  “Maybe. Let me get out of here before Dawn figures out something is missing from one of her folders. If you disappear, she might suspect you with all your snooping activities. You need to be our ears here.”

  Marvin looked a tiny bit satisfied with the compliment. He got out and headed back into Golden Living. “We need to get both Marvin and Sylvia out of this place before someone else is killed,” Annie said.

  Thelma’s eyes opened wide. “Do you think they’re in danger? They could stay with me for a few days. I have that whole big house all to myself. I know my son wouldn’t be happy, but too bad. And you live only a few houses away if we needed any help.”

  “That’s very generous.” Yes, it was generous, but Annie wasn’t sure it was a good idea. Especially since they would be her responsibility. Oh dear, what did she get herself in the middle of? A murder, stolen information, and now three elderly people looking to her for help. What was Jason going to say if she showed up for their romantic dinner with two old ladies and a grumpy old man with her?

  “Annie, did you hear me?” Thelma said.

  “Sorry, I guess I was daydreaming.”

  “I’ve made up my mind. I think you should go back to pick up Sylvia and Marvin. They can stay with me until all this drama settles down. I don’t want it on my conscience if something happens to one or both of them that I didn’t do everything I could to help.”

  “How about I call Martha? She’s there with Sylvia and she can bring them over. I’m sure they can cook up some excuse why they’re leaving if anyone asks.”

  “Perfect.” Thelma fidgeted in her seat. “I don’t have enough food to feed everyone.”

  And before Annie’s brain processed what her mouth was about to do, words fell right out. “You can all eat at my house tonight.”

  Thelma clapped her hands. “I knew you’d help. You’re always so generous.”

  If only Thelma knew what Annie was really thinking. She might not come to the conclusion that Annie was so generous after all. She just had a problem saying no.

  Once Annie arrived home, she made sure Thelma was settled comfortably on her porch before she called Martha and shared the latest plan. Martha said they would leave soon which left one more call for Annie to make.

  “Jason? You know that nice dinner you planned for the two of us tonight?”

  “I’ll be home shortly. Can’t wait.” His cheerful voice made her feel good but she knew her next words would disappoint him.

  “Can you bring enough for at least four more people? Well, better make it six more.” Annie decided to let her mother and Leona know what was going on and get their help, too.

  Jason didn’t respond.

  “Are you still there?” Annie asked.

  “Uh, I am. Do I even want to know what’s going on?”

  “Probably not.” She laughed. “But I’ll tell you anyway. I brought Thelma Dodd to visit some friends at Golden Living today and they’re all coming to our house tonight. Is that okay?”

  “Are they sleeping at our house, too?”

  “No. They’ll stay with Thelma, but she didn’t have enough food for them.”

  “I’m confused, but you can fill me in when I get home. I’ll pick up pizza. How does that sound?”

  “I have no idea, but it will have to do for a last minute plan, right? I’ll let them know that no complaints are allowed.”

  Jason laughed. “Good luck with that, and I don’t even know who’s coming besides Thelma.”

  Right. Marvin would most likely complain about something but she was used to him now. “Don’t worry. You’ll like everyone. And, Jason?”

  “There’s more?”

  “I have some papers I need you to help me go over to see if there’s something unusual happening at Golden Living.”

  “Don’t tell me any more details. I’d rather not know how you got the papers. Listen, I just pulled into the pizza place so try not to round up any more people before I’m home in, let’s see, forty-seven-and-a-half minutes. Bye.”

  At least he still had his sense of humor. “Bye.” Annie hoped no one else showed up too, because the only people she could think of that might drop in were the exact people she did not want to see—Detective Crank, Police Chief Johnson, or anyone from Golden Living.

  She figured she had some time before Martha arrived with their guests. She called her mother and Leona and without giving any details invited them over for pizza. Leona sounded like she was completely over the fact that Annie left work early and thought it was a great idea. She even offered to bring dessert. Annie could tell that her mother sensed something was up but she didn’t ask for any details and offered to bring some wine. Wine wasn’t the perfect match with pizza but it certainly would help mellow her nerves.

  Annie fixed a tray with crackers, cheese, veggies, and dip and brought it to the porch. She smiled at the sight of Thelma with two cats curled up on her lap and Roxy at her side like always. “You’re the animal whisperer, Thelma.”

  “This is the best day I’ve had in so long. I’m not complaining about my life, mind you, and I love my porch and my routine, but today sure did shake up my adrenaline. In a good way.”

  Annie held the tray so Thelma could help herself to a few snacks. “You were amazing today. If those papers reveal a scam, it’s all thanks to your acting.” And if they didn’t, Annie didn’t even want to consider where they would search next or what it might mean for Sylvia.

  “I can’t stop thinking about Seany. I know life handed him a basket of trouble, but that’s no excuse if he’s involved with scamming those seniors out of their money. Have you looked at any of those papers yet?”

  Annie sat on a wicker rocking chair. “Not yet. I’m going to have Jason help me after dinner.” Annie helped he
rself to a slice of cheese and a cracker and enjoyed the view of the lake. “We’re pretty lucky to have a spot on the edge of Heron Lake.”

  Thelma nodded in agreement. “Seany got pretty excited when I told him where I lived. I swear I saw dollar signs pop up in his eyeballs along with a ka-ching. How will he be stopped? People like Sylvia shouldn’t be cheated and thrown out on the street. How do you think he does it?”

  “Hold on a minute. We don’t know what, if anything, Sean is actually doing. And even if he has some incriminating information on people who live at Golden Living, it doesn’t mean he has stolen from anyone. Right now, the most important thing is to find out how Forrest was connected to any of this to get himself murdered.”

  “I forgot about that,” Thelma said. “Maybe he discovered what was going on and threatened to go to the police.”

  “Or maybe he was part of the scam and wanted a bigger cut.”

  “Oh dear. I’m not very good at seeing all the possibilities.”

  Annie stood. “That’s why we all need to talk about what’s happening and see what we can put together. You know Sean the best; Sylvia was friendly with Forrest; and Marvin probably has the most information about Golden Living from all his snooping. We’ll have to convince him to share what he knows. But if I ply him with sweets and Roxy gives him her best sad eyes, he’ll be like bread dough in my hands.”

  “Ah,” Thelma said knowingly. “The way to Marvin’s heart—food and a dog!”

  16

  Leona was the first to barge through the door into Annie’s house, carrying a big box from the Black Cat Cafe. “Mia gave me a quick summary of what I missed. How do you manage to get pulled into so much drama in the blink of an eye?”

  “I also managed to pull off the best dinner that the residents at Golden Living ever had,” Annie said with her eyebrows raised. “You are welcome for that, Leona.”

  “Oh, right, thanks. But a murder? Right under your nose? Why can’t you walk away and let the police deal with everything instead of trying to save everyone?”

  “Shhh!” Annie put her finger to her lips and nodded toward the porch. “I have guests for dinner, did you forget?”

  Leona poked her head through the door to see who was on the porch. “Oh, hello Thelma.”

  “Let me tell you something, Leona Robinson. You could take some lessons from Annie about what’s important. She knows the value of her family and friends. Instead of saying ‘no, I can’t,’ she always says ‘yes.’ Even if it’s inconvenient.” Thelma raised one eyebrow like she was scolding a little girl in one of her classrooms from long ago. As a matter of fact, maybe Leona had been the recipient of exactly one of those scoldings. “Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Dodd.”

  Annie snickered behind her hand at Leona’s chastised expression. When Thelma put it like that, she felt guilty for her earlier thoughts about resenting this invasion on her romantic dinner. She and Jason could postpone their dinner for two, but time wasn’t making a detour with Sylvia’s future on the line.

  Martha opened the door and ushered Sylvia and Marvin inside.

  “Wow. Can I move in here?” Marvin asked as he looked around the spacious and cozy downstairs of Annie and Jason’s house. “I’d even be willing to pay for a room.”

  “Be quiet, Marvin,” Sylvia scolded. “Annie isn’t running a retirement home. Just be thankful for a night out.”

  Annie rolled her eyes. “Thelma’s on the porch. Make yourselves comfortable while we wait for dinner to arrive.”

  “What are you feeding us?” Marvin asked. “I can’t eat seafood, just so you know. And too much of those black bean dishes and no one’s gonna want to be in the same room with me.”

  “Marvin!” Sylvia hissed. “I told you to turn on your best behavior. No one wants to hear about your digestive issues. Now go sit down and try to find something nice to say.”

  Leona and Annie exchanged a glance. “Interesting dinner guests,” Leona said. The corners of her lips twitched with amusement. “I can’t wait until Jason arrives to your dinner party.”

  Annie was thinking along those same lines. But Jason would rally and he might even take a liking to Marvin’s brand of say-it-like-it-is. “Leona, how was your vacation?”

  Leona closed her eyes and sighed a deep moan of satisfaction. “Better than I imagined. Danny booked us a suite in an elegant bed and breakfast with a view of the ocean. With the windows cracked, the sound of waves crashing on the beach, and the ocean breeze blowing the gauzy curtains, I felt like a princess in a fairytale.”

  Maybe a couple of peas to annoy her sleep? Annie was happy for Leona but at the same time, she felt a pinch of jealousy at the thought of Leona lounging while Annie ran around like a rabbit trying to avoid becoming a fox’s dinner. An uncomfortable mattress would be a small consolation prize. “Did you find any peas under the mattress?”

  “Nope. The mattress was the comfiest I’ve ever slept in. The food wasn’t great, though. But I washed dinner down with plenty of wine so it didn’t matter in the end. Speaking of wine, Mia said she was bringing some. Where is she? This crowd might be even more interesting after a couple of glasses of vino.” She grinned.

  The outside door opened, filling the kitchen with a delicious, stomach-growling aroma of pizza crust, hot cheese, and zesty spices. Mia held the door for Jason and his armful of pizza boxes.

  Leona relieved Mia of her wine bag. “Finally. You two are in for a treat. I’ll get glasses for the wine; we’ll all need it.”

  Jason looked around the kitchen-dining-living space. “Where did you hide your guests, Annie?” A burst of laughter erupted from the porch. “Ahhh. A quick summary of what’s going on?”

  Leona handed full wine glasses around.

  “You all know Thelma Dodd who lives a few houses away?”

  Leona, Jason, and Mia nodded.

  “She came with me and Roxy to Golden Living for a visit. Coincidentally, she has a couple of acquaintances who live there—Sylvia and a guy named Sean, who might be involved with a scam that’s draining people like Sylvia of their money and forcing them to move.”

  “That’s terrible. Did you uncover more details?” Mia asked. “Wasn’t Sylvia the one in the closet when Forrest was murdered?”

  “Yes. And I suspect this whole money-murder thing is connected.”

  “To this Sean guy?” Jason wondered.

  “Well, he could be involved, but there’s also the manager, Dawn, and her secretary, Gloria, who are in some kind of power struggle. The bottom line is that someone murdered Forrest Spring while he was in Dawn’s office and the safe was open and all the money disappeared. I find it hard to believe that the open safe, the missing money, and the murder were only coincidences.”

  Leona tilted her head toward the porch. “So why the meeting of the seniors?”

  “A complication, sort of.”

  Jason relaxed in his recliner. “I’m guessing you’re finally getting to the part of the story that has something to do with how you ended up with the papers you mentioned to me on the phone?”

  Annie put plates and napkins on the table. “Thelma, along with Sylvia and Roxy, created a diversion when Dawn’s safe was open and somehow a few of the papers on Dawn’s desk ended up in my pocket. Thelma didn’t want to abandon Sylvia when Dawn made the discovery and Marvin kind of added himself to the mix.”

  “Ended up in your pocket? I wonder how that happened. Did they grow legs?” Leona snorted. “You do have a knack for jumping from one little pile of rotten eggs into a whole basket of them.”

  “Are you waiting for that food to get cold before you invite us in?” Marvin’s silent entry and interruption made Annie jump. “You know, we aren’t getting any younger out here. Me and Sylvia are accustomed to eating at exactly four-thirty. And it’s well past six.” Marvin stood in the doorway with his hands on his hips. “Well?”

  “It’s Sylvia and I,” Thelma corrected as she pushed her walker past Marvin. “And y
ou can get at the end of the line.”

  Marvin’s mouth flopped open. He obviously wasn’t used to anyone bossing him around but he did let Thelma, Sylvia, and Martha get their pizza before he dared take a plate.

  With his pizza on his plate and a drink in his hand, Marvin started to follow Martha to the porch but stopped. “Could I sit in here at the table instead?”

  “You’d rather take your chances with the younger crowd?” Leona teased.

  “Those three keep ganging up on me.”

  Jason slapped Marvin on the back. “You and I need to stick together against all these females. Have a seat and I’ll be right over to join you after I help myself to some of the pizza.”

  Annie shoved a bottle of wine in Leona’s hand. “How about you and Mia entertain the ladies on the porch?” She tilted her head slightly toward Marvin and raised her eyebrows.

  Mia, always quicker on the uptake than her sister, grabbed Leona’s arm. “Come on. It’s a beautiful evening to sit outside with our dinner.”

  Perfect, Annie thought. Now, with Jason as her helper, maybe together they’d be able to pull information out of Marvin. Annie sat across from him. “I see you took the meat lovers pizza.”

  Marvin was already half done with one piece. “None of that girly, no meat stuff for me. All those vegetables—”

  “How long have you lived at Golden Living?” Annie interrupted before Marvin went into a description of his intestinal issues. She had already heard more than enough of that sort of information from him.

  “Too long is how long.”

  Annie felt Jason kick her under the table as he took over the conversation. “Tell me, Marvin, do you have any kids?”

  “Two no-good sons who sold my house so I’m stuck living where I am. I worked for forty years and now I’ve got nothing to show for it.” He started on his second piece of pizza.

  “What kind of work did you do?”

  Marvin stopped chewing and turned his head toward Jason. “Why? What difference does it make?”