Boxed Set: Darling Valley Cozy Mystery Series featuring amateur female sleuth Olivia M. Granville

by Cassie Page

  Olivia was at a loss, so she gave in. “You must be right. I’m sorry I bothered you, Xavier. Take care.”

  “You, too, senora.”

  Olivia said a few bad words after she hung up and flung the phone across her desk.

  “Xavier,” she cried to the ceiling. “Why are you doing this to me? I heard you say the De Beers.”

  Couldn’t just one part of this mess turn out to have an easy answer?”

  She was greeted with dead silence. Apparently not.

  Chapter Seventeen: One Good Turn

  After an hour at the computer pondering the history of the world’s vast wealth, Olivia needed to stretch her back. Like her roses, she had been neglecting her beloved antiques in the showroom.

  Since Tuesday was still not returning her calls, she retrieved a feather duster out of the bottom drawer of a partners’ desk she’d recently acquired and began flicking it over the various upholstered chairs, lamps, tables, armoires and library steps displayed around the showroom. She was lost in thought about why Awful Arlo was targeting her when once again she heard the tinkle of her front door bell. She tucked the duster out of sight and greeted her customers, a couple she pegged as tourists.

  The woman was dressed in a suburban soccer mom uniform, unflattering jeans, running shoes and a sweatshirt hoodie emblazoned with a high school insignia. Olivia never hovered over customers so she just smiled and said, “Let me know if you have any questions.”

  The woman smiled back, the sun coming through the window lighting up her home dyed, maroon hair. “You’ve got the cutest things here.”

  Olivia doubted she could afford her prices, but she loved talking about her antiques whether or not someone was buying. “Thank you. Can I show you something in particular? I just received some new pieces from France. I’m trying to decide where to place them.”

  Something caught the woman’s eye. “Oh, honey,” she said to her husband who wandered behind her, “don’t you love that settee? Wouldn’t that look great in the den?”

  Boys, Olivia guessed, two of them still sharing bunk beds.

  The husband shook his head. “Maybe for about an hour until the twins come in from baseball practice and plop down without changing their clothes. You know how they do.”

  Olivia smiled. She had guessed right, that the woman was sacrificing some nice furnishings in the service of giving her boys all she could. She made another guess that the grandparents had the kids while the parents enjoyed a quick getaway. Perhaps with all the focus on raising twins, things had gone a little stale between them. A few days alone could put some spice back in their marriage. Especially if they were staying at one of the local B&B’s that featured mini-hot tubs in the room and turn-down service that included candles and fragrant body oil on the night table instead of the usual stale chocolates on the pillow.

  It was a life Olivia could not imagine living, at least now right now. But she felt a twinge of longing for the life she imagined the woman led, the companionship with her husband, the involvement with her boys, the satisfaction of family no matter how modest the home or how infrequent the romantic gesture.

  “Miss?”

  “Yes,” Olivia said coming out of her reverie.

  “I just love these candlesticks. Look, honey. Wouldn’t they be great on the mantel? If we paint this year I’d take a color from the lady’s dress. How much are they?”

  Olivia realized she was about to break the woman’s heart. She picked up one of the ornate nineteenth century candelabras and explained the provenance of the flowery, dancing pastel pair.

  “They come from Germany. Lovely example of Meissen porcelain. They are in the galant style, the gentleman accompanying the lady. They are so lifelike you almost expect them to start dancing the minuet. The swag on the pedestal is hand painted. The candelabra would have adorned the sideboard in a nobleman’s dining room I imagine. They each hold five candles, which of course was the way they lighted their castles in those days.”

  Olivia placed the piece back on the table. She let the woman check the price, suck in a breath and drop the tag as though it had teeth. She smiled at Olivia “We’re just looking today.”

  Honey came over, and she whispered in his ear.

  He blurted out, “You got to be kidding me. Six thousand bucks for candlesticks? I could wire the whole house for what these cost.”

  “But look how old they are, honey.” The woman smiled apologetically at Olivia.

  Honey rolled his eyes and sneered, “I’ve got some old candlesticks in the garage. Chianti wine bottles in baskets. They were my folks from when they were in college. You want a color? Pick out one from the melted wax.”

  Olivia smoothed things over. “I don’t blame you. There’s a lot of sticker shock in here. But that’s what the Darling Valley residents want.” She shrugged her shoulders as if to say, it’s out of my control.

  Because Olivia didn’t challenge him, the man could relax. “What can ya do?” he said agreeably.

  The woman warmed to Olivia after that. “We can’t stay long, but do you mind if we look around?”

  “Of course not. Make yourself at home. Browse all you want. I’m just puttering here.”

  She retrieved her duster and made herself scarce to give the couple some privacy, allow them to fantasize about furnishing the house of their dreams, if their dreams ever came true.

  In a few minutes they called goodbye and Olivia walked over to thank them for coming in.

  On the way out the door, the woman said, “Honey, look at this. Wouldn’t it look beautiful in the dining room on the hutch?” She had stopped at the round Italian table, but was pointing to Xavier’s plant.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  “It’s called a jade plant. Marlene has one, and I just die for it every time I see it.”

  Olivia picked up Xavier’s rejected plant and handed it to the woman. “Here, it’s yours. I was going to donate it to the local convalescent hospital, but I think you’ll give it a good home.”

  “You’re kidding?” the woman said, overcome at the gift.

  “No, really. You’d be doing me a favor. It’s a long story, but the owner was throwing it out. I said I’d dispose of it for her. Really. I’d like you to have it as a memento of your visit to Darling Valley. It will last forever you know.”

  The woman beamed. “Oh, but this must have cost a fortune. This pot alone. I just love it.” Honey looked suspicious, as if there might be a hook.

  Olivia smiled graciously. “Then you must have it. It would make me happy to know it will be appreciated. Where are you from?”

  After the nastiness she had been uncovering in Darling Valley the last twenty-four hours, Olivia was pleased to see the delight on the woman’s face.

  “San Bruno?” she said, stating it as a question. “On the Peninsula? We just came up here for the night while the grandparents take the boys.”

  Olivia smiled to herself again. Some people just seem to telegraph their lives.

  The woman stuck out her hand. “I’m Bonnie and this is Ron. He does electrical work, his own business. I’m just a stay at home mom, though.”

  Olivia returned the handshakes, giving them her name, always glad when people came into the shop and brought sunshine with them, even if they didn’t pull out a credit card.

  “Nothing ‘just’ about that. Most important job on the planet, Bonnie, being a mom.”

  Bonnie seemed to blush. “I think so, but you know, women have such great jobs these days.”

  “Yeah, and a lot of the ones I know would trade them to stay home with their kids.” She thought of Sonia, the banker.

  Bonnie tucked the plant in the crook of her arm and smiled up at her crew cut, apple-cheeked husband, probably her sweetheart since high school. “That was Ron’s priority when the boys came along. That I should be with them growing up. But I think when they go off to college it’s going to be my time. I was a dental hygienist before we got married. I miss the contact with the
public.”

  Olivia could imagine Bonnie’s sunny disposition easing the fears of patients with dental anxiety. “And I’m sure they miss you, Bonnie.”

  Olivia could tell Ron was getting antsy to leave. She shook his hand and held the door for them as they left. “The next time you’re in Darling Valley, please come in and tell me how the jade plant is doing.”

  “Oh, I’ll take good care of it, Olivia, you can bet on that.”

  After they left, she put the Closed sign on the front door to discourage any more drop-ins for now. She resumed her dusting, knowing she would never see Bonnie and Ron again, but so glad they came in to take her mind off murder and mayhem for a few minutes.

  Chapter Eighteen: Tour de Darling Valley

  After finishing her housekeeping chores, Olivia stuck her duster back into its drawer and returned to her computer. After a while, she heard a car in the driveway but couldn’t tell whose it was. Charles? Usually he called first.

  She stretched out the knots in her back before heading into the backyard. She found Tuesday, in cycling shorts and jersey, unloading a bike from a van with the help of a thirty-something man Olivia didn’t know. Except for Olivia’s friends, Tuesday didn’t know anyone in Darling Valley. Judging from the guy’s arm around her shoulder and the tight squeeze he gave her as Olivia greeted them, they seemed to have bonded rather quickly.

  Tuesday leaned her bike against the side of the house, her helmet and biking gloves under her arm. “Ollie,” she said with a glowing smile, “may I present Tobey Carverman.

  Olivia smiled back. From the exaggerated smile Tuesday flashed at her, she knew she was supposed to make some connection with the name.

  Pulling out all the dramatic stops, Tuesday held her heart and gushed, “He totally saved my life.” Tuesday held up her knee to show Olivia a bandage that did not quite cover a large scrape.

  Suddenly a light bulb went off. Tobey Carverman. Jocelyn’s first husband. They’d been talking about him that morning. But what he doing here and how did Tuesday know him?

  Tuesday chattered on. “I’d be dead by now if it weren’t for Tobey.”

  She leaned her head on Tobey’s shoulder to emphasize her gratitude, her green hair clashing with his orange cycling jersey.

  To find out what this was all about, Olivia invited them upstairs.

  Laughing like old friends, Tuesday and Tobey headed for the living room couch. Olivia made a beeline for the kitchen to pour three glasses of ice tea and pass them around on a tray with apologies.

  “We’re at that awkward time. Between breakfast and lunch. If I’d known you were coming I’d have picked up something yummy from The Salted Caramel.”

  Tobey brushed away her concerns. “A cold drink hits the spot.”

  Oddly, Olivia felt a bit uneasy in her own living room. While she was used to her mega wealthy clients visiting her showroom downstairs, where the focus was on selling and buying her very expensive antiques, she never entertained them upstairs. Suddenly her loft seemed a bit rough around the edges. While the loft was stylish, more shabby chic than Architectural Digest, though, she didn’t use her inventory to decorate her own home. She couldn’t afford her treasures. Plus, she needed them on display downstairs to recoup her investment in them. Her conversation with Matt came back to her, about people paying a high price for their wealth. She wondered if Tobey Carverman fell into that category. She was annoyed with herself for caring what he thought of her home.

  She settled in her favorite club chair and observed Tuesday and her guest on the couch. They made a chummy pair, she thought, with his arm draped casually over her shoulder.

  “So,” she said. “Cody brought over his bike?”

  When Tuesday nodded she asked, “How do you two know each other?”

  Tobey volunteered the answer. “She just saved my life.”

  “Oh, Tobey,” Tuesday said, a flirty lilt in her voice. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “No, no,” Carverman said. “A real hero, this one.”

  Olivia pointed to Tuesday’s knee. “But I thought it was the other way around? Her wound and all. What did our girl do?”

  There was something of Brooks Baker in Tobey’s confident air, as though he owned the room, not Olivia. Though he didn’t have Brooks’s arrogance. She tried to put Brooks out of her mind as she listened to his story.

  “I was biking down the back road that connects to Mt. Tam.” Mt. Tamalpais. The highest mountain in Marin County.

  Tuesday gave the color commentary. “He does a century at the drop of a hat, if you can believe that. Talk about Superman.”

  He tugged on Tuesday’s hair. “Listen, kiddo, you’ll get there. Your training’s coming along.”

  Olivia smiled, but inwardly she thought he was patronizing Tuesday. She felt a growing dislike of Toby Carverman. She tried to imagine him as Jocelyn Payne’s murderer.

  “Anyway,” he said, grinning as though he believed Olivia was charmed with his performance, “I hear Tuesday coming around the curve behind me and she skids to avoid my bike. A total wipeout. I helped her up, of course. When I saw her knee I felt sick. Fortunately, I had a bandage in my pack and we got her fixed up.”

  Tuesday pointed to her knee again for emphasis while Tobey continued. “But when I hopped back on my bike, I had a flat tire. She insisted on changing it for me to say thanks. And it was a good thing, too, because it was a huge puncture and I was fresh out of patches that size.”

  In a sigh worthy of a soap opera death scene, Tuesday said, “But I had one in my kit,” then pasted the back of her hand to her forehead, “and though near death from loss of blood, I fixed his tire.”

  Tobey howled. “But no kidding, she was limping around after that. We were near my house and I insisted on getting my van and driving her home. So here we are, bursting in on you unannounced. But I won’t hold you up, Olivia. I’m sure you’re busy.”

  Tuesday gave Olivia the evil eye and she got the message. “Oh, you’re not bothering me. I was just taking a break from my desk, as a matter of fact. Please. Relax, another ice tea? You cyclists need to stay hydrated.”

  Tuesday mouthed thank you as Tobey said, “If you’re sure.”

  He crossed his foot over his knee and leaned back to burrow into the down sofa. “You know, your name rings a bell, Olivia. Have we met? I haven’t lived in Darling Valley long, but it’s a small town and I wonder if our paths have crossed.”

  “Oh, I don’t think we’ve met, Tobey, but unfortunately you might have heard my name in the past few days. I’ve been in the local news.”

  Tuesday jumped in. “There was a terrible murder at Xavier’s Gems. He’s a client of Olivia’s and some jerk is trying to pin the caper on her.”

  Tobey snapped his fingers. “That’s it.”

  Tuesday asked innocently, “Are you familiar with the case?”

  Tobey became thoughtful. “Actually, I am.”

  Olivia and Tuesday sat forward expecting him to reveal something that would tie him to Jocelyn’s death.

  “Art Payne and I hit a few golf balls now and then. Plus, I’ve invested in one of his companies. Nothing big, but enough for us to become somewhere between mere acquaintances and actual friends.”

  Tuesday disguised her disappointment and gushed, “Olivia, can you believe that coincidence? What are the chances of me running into a friend of the deceased’s husband when I don’t even live here?”

  The subterfuge was making Olivia uneasy. She couldn’t figure out why Tuesday brought him home. Maybe she needed a ride, but why were they so chummy? Did she think he would confess to the murder in her living room?

  She stopped ruminating. “It’s actually very upsetting for me as you can imagine. I mean, I had nothing to do with that incident and somehow I’ve been drawn into it.”

  Tobey took a swig of his tea and considered his shoe for a moment. “It’s bizarre, isn’t it? That she died in a jewelry store. I’d think the police would be looking at the owner of the sh
op. How did she get in there?”

  Tuesday slapped his knee for emphasis. “They would be looking at a lot of people if that creep, Awful Arlo, didn’t write terrible stories about Olivia and post phony pictures and texts.”

  Tobey cocked an ear. “Awful Arlo? I don’t believe I know that name.”

  “Dan Arlo,” Olivia corrected. “Awful is my name for him.”

  Tobey nodded, understanding.

  “So,” Tuesday asked innocently, “are you close to Mr. Payne?”

  Tobey considered her question. “I wouldn’t say close. We know each other. We return one another’s calls and show up at some of the same parties. But we don’t do dinner or anything like that.”

  He set his glass on the coffee table, then he and Tuesday spoke at the same time. She asked,“So did you know his wife,” just as he was saying, “I’ve got to go. Really nice meeting you Olivia. Tuesday, keep me posted on that knee. I gave you my card, right? Call if you need anything.”

  He stood up, ignoring Tuesday’s question and shook Olivia’s hand. He gave Tuesday a hug and was down the stairs and out the back door before Tuesday could say, “Call me.”

  Olivia picked up his glass and headed for the kitchen. “Are you going to tell me what that was all about or do I have to beat it out of you with a tire pump?”

  Tuesday followed behind her. “You said you wanted to talk to him.”

  “I’m not sure that’s exactly what I said, but how did you find him?”

  “Wikipedia.”

  “What? What do you mean, Wikipedia?”

  “Cody found the page for us this morning, remember? Didn’t you see the part where he was a sportsman?”

  Olivia stuck their glasses in the dishwasher and put the remainder of the ice tea back in the refrigerator. “I don’t remember. His hobbies didn’t interest me.” She pointed to Tuesday’s shoes.