Sunbaked Snowbird: Cozy Mystery (Poppy Pepper's Paradise Cove & Mini Golf Book 1)

by Molly Dox

  She blushed. “I shouldn’t admit this, but yes. He’d come visit me on his lunch break. We might be older, but we still loved each other and shared some loving if you know what I mean. That mean, old bat of his was cold as ice. She shut him down constantly. She didn’t know what she was missing. Bernie was a great lover. What about you? Is there any loving on your horizon?”

  “Me? No. I don’t have time. I work here all day and night. Free time would be a blessing, but for now it’s not a priority. Maybe one day I’ll meet the right one,” Poppy said.

  Cherry questioned Poppy on hearing her answer. “Have you ever been in love?”

  “Oh sure, but you know, things happen, things fall apart. I just never made it down the aisle,” she admitted.

  After they finished the wine, Poppy thanked Cherry for the company, but said she had to head back to the office. She got the exact information she was looking for. Cherry and Bernie were still an item behind Vera’s back. Did Vera know? And did Cherry want him for herself?

  Cherry thanked Poppy for the conversation. “It’s been fun.”

  Getting back to the office, she checked in on her father who was sleeping in the recliner in the back. They’d built their home right along with the office when they created the resort all those years ago. She loved her father. Seeing him there sleeping, she thought of everything he’d been through. Maybe she’d look at getting him a home healthcare aid, or at least get him check-up, some bloodwork, see if something else was going on. He just wasn’t quite himself these days.

  Chapter 9

  On waking, Poppy had a thought. What if…? No. Well, maybe….no. She dabbled in multiple possibilities, but still had one big question. Did Vera know that Bernie was fooling around with Cherry? She also wanted to give Panda a call and see if there was any kind of internal bleeding, after seeing the bouncer had kicked Bernie pretty hard. Was he already on his way to a bad internal bleed?

  The casino manager mentioned something about the man having trouble with the law and wanting to keep things quiet. Did his trouble with the law have anything to do with assault and battery, or maybe something even worse?

  Poppy went outside to put food down for Chopper and added fresh water to his bowl. Chopper heard the food being shaken into his bowl. It didn’t take him long to show up. He purred and wrapped around Poppy’s legs as she bent down to pet him.

  Heading over to Vera Godshaw’s unit, she noticed the woman’s car was missing. Poppy looked around, seeing who was nearby. Nobody. She had the master key to all of the campers. Her stomach flipped and turned. All it would take is slipping the key in the lock and going inside. If she was caught, she could say she was checking a maintenance issue. But it was wrong. She respected the privacy of her guests. Poppy groaned, turned around, and then walked away.

  She took about ten steps before she stopped. If she didn’t do it now, she’d never know. Poppy took a deep breath and turned back to the camper. Glancing over her shoulder, there was still nobody around. Her heart raced as she slid the key into the door and turned it. Letting herself inside, she quickly locked the door behind her. Her heart was lodged in her throat. She shouldn’t be in there.

  She checked the counters, the tiny bathroom area, and shelves. She wasn’t going into any bags. That was her point of no return. And then tucked back by the tiny kitchen sink, she saw what she was looking for. Careful not to touch it, she squatted down to read the print. The bottle was empty. She could see through the orange plastic container. The prescription was written out to Bernie, and was recently filled. All the pills were gone. The question was, did he swallow a big handful or were they given to him unknowingly?

  Panic washed through her veins, afraid of being caught snooping around. She let herself out and started to walk back to the office. She quietly gasped as she saw Vera Godshaw driving up the small path, heading back to her camper. Just a few minutes longer and Poppy would have been caught.

  It would be risky, but Poppy had a thought. She’d have to sit on it for a few hours and then make a decision. She was pretty sure Vera had something to do with this, at least more than she was admitting to, but why? Why would she kill her husband? Did she know about Cherry? Wait. Maybe Cherry robbed Bernie before dosing him with the pills. She did have the missing watch. She says he gave it to her, but what if she took it once he was knocked out? Was she bitter that she had to share her ex-husband? Or did he owe her a lot of money? If they were an item again, did she want him back? Did he refuse? Either one of the women could have been involved.

  Wait. If he was having money troubles, and was stuck between two women, could Bernie have offed himself? A handful of Xanax to take away the misery of the situation he’d gotten himself into? Suicide could make sense, and yet Poppy felt like something more was going on.

  No, if she didn’t go back and confront her now, she’d lose her gumption. She was sure Vera was the one…no, Cherry, no wait, it was a suicide. Poppy groaned. She had no idea, just thoughts, and none of them were solid enough. It wasn’t even her business, though it did happen at her resort.

  On getting back to the office, there was a police car pulling up.

  “Can I help you?” Poppy asked as the officer got out of the vehicle.

  “I’m looking for a Mrs. Vera Godshaw. Do you know which unit she’s staying in?”

  “Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do. Is she in trouble?” Her guard went up.

  “Actually no, she’s been cleared to leave the area. I wanted to tell her the news,” the officer answered.

  “Oh.” There went the wind out of Poppy’s sails. If she’d been cleared, it meant suicide or Cherry could have been the killer. Poppy’s stomach clenched up, realizing she was about to confront the wrong woman. She needed to stay out of things. That would have been ugly.

  “They ruled it a suicide,” he said. “There’s nothing to lead us to believe anything different. No struggle, no problems.”

  “Oh.” Why was her gut still chewing at her? Her brain screamed that it wasn’t a suicide. She had no idea why, but she thought they were wrong. “She’s over that way, third to the left.”

  The officer headed toward the woman’s unit.

  Poppy called her brother in a panic. “Panda, I need a favor. I know you hate when I ask you these things, but I need to know. I’ll explain later. The Xanax in Bernie Godshaw’s system, did you find the tablets in his stomach, maybe some that weren’t digested?”

  “Actually, it was more of a powder. He must have crushed them up to make them easier to swallow so many. And that’s all I can say. Stop asking me for stuff. You’re going to get me in trouble,” Panda answered.

  “Thanks, that’s all I needed to know.” Bingo. If Bernie wanted to kill himself, wouldn’t he just take a handful of pills? Why would he crush them up to a powder form? Who was the other person that had access to his medication…Vera.

  Cherry walked over to the office to thank Poppy for the conversation and wine the previous night. “I’m heading to the drugstore, do you need anything?”

  “I’m good, thanks.” She sifted through some papers, looking to see who would be checking in and out later that day.

  “My stomach got a little quivery after all the wine. I’m not much of a drinker. Anyway, I need to fill my Xanax prescription. I ran out. It’s one of the only things that will settle my belly and anxiety. I’m sure it’s just nerves more than anything.” She chattered on and then headed out after saying good-bye.

  Poppy watched her leave. Cherry had Xanax and the gold watch. Was Cherry the actual killer? It was quite a coincidence she was completely out of her meds. What if they were working together? Poppy got a chill. Could the two women have planned this entire thing out, knowing he was with both? Was there a deal going on between them? They seemed to have a fond dislike for one another, so she doubted that.

  Chapter 10

  Reggie was off for the weekend. It took a lot of years to finally get a Monday through Friday schedule. He’d been with the sheriff�
��s department for a long time. In his fifties, he had years of seniority above the newer hires. When he’d first started, he got all the bad shifts and off hours possible, working most weekends. It paid off to stay with the job, and soon his shifts got better.

  Reggie sat out on one of the lawn chairs in front of his camper unit with one hand in his bag of jelly beans and the other holding a cold drink.

  Martin Pepper walked over and sat beside him. “Can’t a man just be a man anymore?”

  “Hey Marty, how’s it going?”

  “Eh, my kids are bugging me. They think there’s something wrong. I’m an old man. There’s nothing wrong, they just don’t know old age yet.” He shook his head.

  Reggie asked, “Have you been feeling okay?”

  “Sure, sure, the weather has been grand. Maybe a little rain this afternoon,” he answered before standing back up.

  “Marty, from one man to another, it probably wouldn’t hurt you to get your hearing checked.” Reggie stood and put his hand on Martin’s shoulder. “I could take you around.”

  “You’d do that?” Martin seemed almost relieved. “I don’t want my kids tagging along.”

  “Why don’t we see if we can set you up an appointment for next week? Nobody needs to know if you have a hearing aid. They’re tiny these days, you’ll hardly notice it.”

  “Yeah, fine.” He shook his head. “It’s no party getting older.”

  “That’s for sure; I have aches and pains every day I roll out of bed these days. I’m not as spry as I used to be.” Reggie made small talk with Martin.

  “Hey, thanks. I realize I’m having some problems, but I don’t need my kids pointing them out to me.” His guard was up.

  “You come by anytime. I don’t mind running you around for a few appointments. They mean well, they just like having you around. Why don’t we look into a check-up while we’re at it?” Reggie knew he might be pushing.

  Martin nodded. “It’s been a few years. I avoid doctors like the plague.”

  “They aren’t so bad if they can help.”

  “I suppose. They all look like kids to me these days, so young.” He grumbled something else and then walked away.

  Reggie jotted a note down for Poppy about her father and headed out. He was good and ready to spend the day fishing. Maybe he’d catch something good for dinner. Maybe not, either way, he loved the stillness of sitting by the lake with a fishing pole. He did his best thinking at a watering hole.

  Heading out, he loaded the fishing gear into his truck and climbed in. Maybe he’d stop at the house and have a look around first. He needed to tackle the project eventually. It was time to sell his house and move on. He’d always have wonderful memories of Gracie Jane, but there was no way he could live in that house anymore. It was time to say good-bye. Reggie turned his truck out of the resort and headed home before hitting the lake for some lazy fishing.

  Chapter 11

  Vera’s face was soft and relaxed. She was a woman that had dropped a ton of stress recently. She usually looked more rigid and uptight. “I’m here to check-out. I finally get to head home.”

  “That’s good news. I’m sure you’ve got things to attend to,” Poppy said.

  “Like a funeral,” she sighed. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

  “I’m sorry it happened on vacation. I wish we left you with better memories here at the resort.”

  Vera cleared her throat. “It would have been more pleasant without his ex-wife here; and of course if Bernie didn’t up and die on me. I guess things happen for a reason. I’ll be honest; I thought he was going to lead us to the poorhouse. I’m in my sixties and retired. I had no interest in going back to work again, and there he was spending all of our savings. Not that I don’t miss him, but I am relieved there’s still some money left in the account.”

  “And he probably had life insurance.”

  She gave a small chuckle. “Financially, I’m better off with him dead. Oh, that was tacky, I’m sorry.”

  “Shame how it all happened. And what, with all that medication in his system.” Poppy said, feeling out the woman.

  “Yeah, he had his morning coffee, went outside and that was it. He didn’t even say good-bye.” She shook her head.

  “Yeah, in his coffee, go figure. I’ll bet those pills all crushed up in his coffee made it go down easier, over a handful of regular pills.”

  Her face froze. “Crushed?”

  “Mmhmm, that’s what the report said. Just odd how he would go through the trouble of crushing his own pills…they really aren’t that big. Unless of course, if somebody didn’t want him to know, they could always crush it up and pour it in his coffee looking like sugar.”

  She got still. “What are you saying, exactly?”

  “Nothing, nothing, I didn’t mean for it to sound that way. I’m just thinking aloud. I just don’t know if I’d stop and crush up a bunch of pills if my purpose was to simply swallow them and be done with it.”

  “I need to go. I don’t appreciate what you’re insinuating.” Her tone got cold, and her lips tightened into a straight line. Clenching her teeth, she continued. “What can I say, it was the perfect crime. I’d watch your back Poppy Pepper and close your mouth. Since it’s your word against mine, and I’ve been cleared, it looks like we’re finished here.”

  Martin stood in the doorway. “You threaten my daughter again and I’ll take you out myself. Call the cops, Poppy.”

  Vera spun around. “When did you get here?”

  “You didn’t hear my old bones creaking as I walked up? Go figure.” He blocked the entrance as Poppy made the call. “I guess it’s a good thing your bags are packed. Where you’re going, you’ll need a few things to last you a while. I’m guessing they don’t let murderers loose too often these days. It’s up the creek with you, lady.”

  Poppy put the phone down. “They’re on the way.”

  “You can’t prove a thing,” she choked out.

  “Can I just ask you why you did it?” Poppy wrapped her arms around her chest.

  Unexpectedly, Vera broke down crying. “You can’t turn me in. Please, I’ll be out of here and nobody needs to know. Once I’m gone…please let me live the rest of my life. That cheating fool not only spent all our money, but he was playing around with his ex-wife. Do you know how much that crushed me? He always talked about how awful she was, and then he’s talking in his sleep and it comes out he’s been seeing her on the side. I was crushed, just crushed I tell you. I gave that man so many years of my life… For what, to be cheated on, them both robbing me blind for their gambling habit? A woman can only take so much.”

  “Then you divorce the man. You don’t kill him,” Poppy said quietly. “Look, I’m sorry things have been tough on you, but you took another person’s life, your husband, for goodness sake.”

  When the police car pulled up, the officer read Vera Godshaw her rights and then cuffed her. Leading her to the car, she looked over as Cherry Jones was getting back from her errands. Cherry’s mouth dropped open wide. “You?”

  Vera said nothing as she got in the back of the car.

  Poppy turned to her father. “I’m so glad you were there. Thanks for defending me.”

  “I’d do anything for you,” Martin said.

  “Like go to the doctor?” She hadn’t read Reggie’s note yet.

  “Don’t push your luck.” Martin turned around and smiled, his daughter not catching him. He’d already made the appointment after talking to Reggie.

  THE END

  Thank you for choosing “Sunbaked Snowbird,” the first book in the Poppy Pepper’s Paradise Cove and Mini Golf series. If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review so others can decide if this is a book they would like. Thank you for your time.

  If you’d like to learn about new releases, please join my mailing list at MollyDox.com today.

  Be sure to keep an eye out for book two – “Something Fishy” at your favorite ebook retailer.
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