She grabbed several bundles of lavender, held them up to her nose, and inhaled while closing her eyes. “Thank Zoe for these, will you? The elixir of lavender is magical.” Her voice drifted off.
Max and I continued our deliveries. Next up, Andrew. He and Patrick had their heads together, appearing deep in conversation.
“You’ll always be the bridesmaid,” Patrick said, “no matter what sneaky tricks you attempt.”
“Are you so sure of that?” Andrew retorted. His glance acknowledged me, and he took a step back from Patrick. “Let me help you.” He grabbed two bunches of lavender, placing one on his table and the other in a pot to the right of his display. “Thank you, Chloe.”
“I must say, you’ve actually pulled this off, Chloe. Looks like the festival is a hit,” Patrick said. “I was just saying to Andrew that there’s a lot of competition. With Caroline’s patent-pending products, it’s going to be tough to top that.” He gave a dismissive nod toward Andrew.
“Well, I better keep on my deliveries. See ya.” Max and I walked as fast as possible into the crowd to distance ourselves from those two. I got a bad feeling. I couldn’t put my finger on what was up. But despite the fragrant lavender, something stunk.
On the opposite side of the room was one of the busiest tables of all. Nothing much to do with lavender, but Mom had convinced me to allow her a space to sell her custom-made garden gnomes. She and Paul had teamed up to create two different prototypes. And, I had to admit, they were adorable.
“Hi Mom. How’s it going?”
She clapped her hands and handed a gnome to a customer. “Thank you for your business. I’ll have a bigger variety soon,” she said as the next person came forward to be helped.
She looked at me and back at her dwindling supply. “Chloe, they’re even more popular than I dreamed. Other people like to collect them as much as I do.” And collect she did. If she acquired any more she would have to build a new addition to her home. No doubt Paul would help with that too. He doted on her and she ate it up. Those two had become thick as thieves.
“That’s great!” I picked up one of the gnomes and studied the craftsmanship. They had done a nice job. One model was a classic treehouse. A balcony around the middle, a ladder from the ground, and even a flowerpot in the little window. The detail and likeness to the hotel was uncanny. Maybe there was a clever marketing strategy here somewhere. Stay at the hotel, get a collectible gnome. If she created a set, people could get a new one each time they came. Oh boy, now she had me hooked.
I walked around to the other side of the table to see the second model. It had several separate parts.
Mom leaned in and whispered, “How’s Zoe?” and looked around the lodge to spot her daughter.
“She’s obviously shaken. But she’ll be OK. Especially when we have some answers.”
“Thank you for your business,” Mom said to another customer, multitasking like a pro. “I never liked Oliver ever since he tried to badger Zoe into selling him the farm. Geez.”
Geez, indeed. “Mom, you and Paul did an incredible job with these.” The second model had a tree at the center and individual characters surrounding it. A rabbit, a mushroom, a chair, and even a dog that looked like Max. Speaking of which, I spotted my boy rummaging around the supply of gnomes on the floor. He seemed to have gotten to a place of tolerance where he no longer had the urge to pee on them whenever we saw one.
“I know. And he’s incredible too. If you know what I mean.” She grinned at me. That woman wouldn’t rest until we were married.
I ignored her pointed suggestion. “Well, I’m pleased with how this has turned out. The crowd was more than we hoped for. And I can’t wait to hear how everyone did.”
“Chloe, I think you got your business sense from me. Thank goodness,” Mom said and returned to helping customers.
Oh, that woman’s perspective always cracked me up. I panned the room. By the looks of it, we were successful indeed. Only tainted by an unsolved murder.
CHAPTER SIX
I was exhausted, but in a good way. Note to self: plan a day off after hosting big events at the hotel. Max and I were on our way to Caroline’s Confections and Coffee Shop to evaluate the success of the festival and focus on what we should do next year. It was all such a blur. I hoped Caroline had a better recollection than I did. I really enjoyed talking business strategy with her. She had been in business a lot longer than I had been running the hotel, and she had seen a lot of ups and downs. My gut told me the festival hadn’t been as big of an up for her as she expected.
We entered her store and Max sped behind the counter, searching for the source of his treats. Caroline was nowhere in sight, but she had left a small plate on the floor with two gingersnaps. Dang, she was good. Max gobbled them up and looked at me for more. “Later, buddy.”
“Hi, Chloe.” Caroline’s niece Haley was now a permanent fixture at her store. Haley was her understudy, learning everything she could about the confection business. She had done well in her own right too, developing her own recipes for truffles that melted in your mouth. “Caroline’s in the back, ready for you.” Haley stepped closer, leaning toward me and putting her hand to the side of her mouth. “She’s a little down about sales at the festival. But I think we did great for our first time there.”
I nodded. “OK, thanks for the heads-up. C’mon Max.” I patted my leg and headed into the room reserved for garden club meetings and other events. Caroline was seated with her head in her hands and papers strewn across the large round table.
“Caroline?”
She slowly turned toward us. Pointing at the paper mess, she said, “The numbers just aren’t adding up, Chloe.”
I approached the table and sat. Max circled to Caroline and whimpered. Her mouth shaped into the slightest smile.
“We’ll figure it out, Caroline.” I put my notebook on the table and got a pen from my purse. “So start from the beginning. Tell me where you’re at.”
Caroline reached out and pulled all of the papers toward her into a neat stack. She thumbed through and pulled out a sheet and placed it on top of the pile. “OK. To begin, I projected revenue from the festival of ten thousand dollars. I got half of that.” She tossed the paper aside. She sighed, her lips fluttering like a horse’s whinny.
I picked up the paper and scanned it. “Keep going. I don’t want to interrupt with brainstorming until you’re done.”
She bit her lip and shook her head. “I just can’t compete with Andrew’s products. Even if they are inferior, people are buying them instead of mine.” She tossed her pen onto the table. “Maybe I should have gone into business with Oliver after all. It’s obvious I can’t keep the place afloat by myself.”
I sat back in my chair. This was the first I had heard about Caroline and Oliver joining forces. In a way, it made sense. She had a coffee shop and sweets. He had a lunch deli. Together, their products complemented each other. “I didn’t know you had considered that.”
Caroline shoved the paper pile away from the edge of the table like she was pushing away her worries. “At first I didn’t. With my new lavender product line, things were looking extremely good. I have a patent pending for my recipes. I had won those awards at the trade show competitions. And Luxuries, Inc. was dangling a huge contract in front of me that would set me up for life. I didn’t need to go into business with Oliver.”
I placed a hand on her arm, trying to be encouraging. “Caroline, that’s an amazing accomplishment. So what’s wrong? It doesn’t seem like a down day at the festival would ruin all of that.”
She quickly stood, her chair wobbling. She touched it to stop the movement and began pacing. “I put all my eggs in one basket. I leveraged the heck out of my business to invest in research and experimentation of those recipes.” Her voice quavered. She continued pacing.
I wasn’t following her logic, so I stayed quiet, hoping more explanation was on its way.
She stopped and looked at me. “It was proba
bly a blessing I didn’t partner with Oliver anyway. He was such a smooth talker, but I just never felt right about it. On paper it made sense. But I suspected he had some shady dealings.”
I stood and met Caroline, mid-pace. I grabbed her shoulders. “Caroline, please sit. We’ll come up with something.”
She bowed her head. “Chloe, you just don’t understand. I think my business is finished.”
I clasped her hand and led her back to the table, pulling her chair out for her to sit. She plopped down, completely dejected. There was something she wasn’t saying, and I couldn’t pull it out of her.
Caroline sniffled. “And it breaks my heart, but I will have to let Haley go. She was really starting to come into her own as a baker. Eventually, she’ll be fine, but this will be a huge setback for her career.” She shoved the remaining pile of papers which flew all over the table. “And the worst part . . .”
Finally, she was going to reveal what had been bothering her the most.
“Chloe, I can’t even say it. I feel so irresponsible. A dumb move is going to do me in.” She put her elbows on the table and buried her head in her hands.
I put my hand on her back and felt her pulse racing. “Caroline, whatever it is, we can work it out together. I’m here with you.”
She turned her head slightly in my direction, peeking through her fingers. “Chloe, my recipes are gone. My secret blend for the products is gone. I’ve torn apart my office. I don’t know if I put it in the shredding or recycle pile by accident, or what. My contract is null and void with Luxuries, Inc. if I don’t get the patent.”
I scooted my chair closer and hugged her. How in the world could I help with that? “Do you have any prior versions? Maybe you could start there and work forward?”
She slumped in her chair, her chin on her chest. “It’s over Chloe. I’ve thought through every scenario, and there’s not one that will be acceptable for the contract. I’m done.”
I couldn’t believe it. There was always a way. Maybe giving Caroline some time and space would allow her to think more clearly about options. “Caroline, I have a sensitive question for you.”
She turned her chair toward me and reached out a hand. “Chloe, you’re such a good friend. Thank you.” She seemed in a daze. She looked over my shoulder as if acknowledging a guest.
I turned and didn’t see anyone else in the room. I looked her straight in the eyes and said, “Is it possible someone stole them?”
She blinked several times. “Why do you ask that?”
“Well, when lots of money is involved, people will do anything. Did someone visit you in your office? Or could someone have been there without your knowing it?”
She shook her head. “No. And even if they were, having the recipes out was careless, totally my fault.”
“I’m not giving up on you, Caroline. This isn’t over.” I stood and Max joined me. Something was fishy about this whole thing. Caroline might have been lackadaisical with the recipes, but I doubted it. There had to be a rational explanation. We just didn’t know what it was yet.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Caroline’s woes weighed heavily on my mind as Max and I headed to Mom’s house. Maybe letting that percolate in the back of my brain while I focused on something completely different would yield fruitful answers. Mom had been giddy for me to see what she and Paul had created. I was a bit nervous as to what I would discover.
We parked in the driveway, and even before we got to the front door, I could hear her dog and puppies with their sweet little yips. Her cavalier King Charles spaniel Trixie had surprised us all with a litter of four puppies at the hotel grand reopening. Mom had given a couple away to her friends but kept two for herself. Why? I couldn’t tell you. But the company of those little ones had done wonders for her.
In the beginning, she was adamant that she didn’t want a dog. But when her friend Edna died, Mom volunteered to adopt Trixie. It turned out they were made for each other. Now, she had two more to add to the circus.
I knocked on the screen door and we entered. The two little critters wobbled to the door for a greeting. Max looked at me. He had all he could handle with Trixie acting like a pesky little sister, poking his bottom, gently tugging on his long ears, nibbling his tail—all in the name of getting a rise from him. He tried his best to ignore her, but she would not be denied. I suspected her two little minions would now gang up on my boy. Max sniffed them, held his head high, and strutted inside.
There was no sign of Mom or Paul inside the house, but I heard their voices. I followed the sound and found them in the garage-turned-garden-gnome workshop. They had created quite the production line. A large kiln filled the corner. Alongside one wall of the garage was clay, paint, brushes, and piles of twigs and branches. Mom’s original plan was to create just a few of these to see if they would sell. From what I was witnessing, they were in full-blown operation-garden-gnome mode.
“Chloe, just in time.” Mom stepped away from the worktable and greeted me with a kiss on the cheek. Behind her, Paul had his hands deep in clay, shaping up those little creations. His smile spanned from ear to ear.
Mom returned to the workbench, where she resumed painting the little figurines. “Here, pick up a brush. I need help painting. I can’t keep up with Paul.” She handed me a brush and shoved a few paint containers in my direction.
Paul stopped what he was doing and wiped his hands on a towel. “What do think?” He swept his arm around the garage. “Pretty cool, huh?”
Mom looked at Paul with such adoration. “Chloe, this might just be the best idea I ever had. And thanks to this wonderful, eligible bachelor, my dream is coming true.”
My cheeks warmed—and not from the heat of the kiln. I kept my head down and picked up a figure and a brush. I dipped into the bright red color and began painting the hat of a little gnome.
“I can’t believe how popular these were at the festival. We almost can’t keep up with the orders.” Mom quickly grabbed another little figure and painted it up.
“At this rate, you’re going to have to hire more help,” I said. “Maybe you could think about giving Haley a part-time job for now. Until things get sorted at Caroline’s.” I looked at Mom to see her reaction.
She briefly picked her head up and pointed at the figure in my hands. “Keep painting. What do you mean?”
I needed some perspective on the issue. Frankly, I portrayed myself more optimistic with Caroline than I had felt. But realistically, without those recipes, she was probably right. There would be no recovery for her business. I didn’t want to air all of the dirty laundry just yet. “Caroline didn’t do well at the festival. With Andrew rivaling her products, he’s undercutting prices and siphoning off her business.”
Paul brought another dried and cooled batch of figures to our worktable, ready for painting. “Paul, why don’t you take a break and help us here,” Mom said.
He stepped up and picked up a paint brush. “Of course, Mabel. Whatever you need.”
Mom grinned. She had Paul wrapped around her little finger. And he seemed to be completely enjoying the relationship they were building. She handed him a figure, and he complied with her orders and began painting.
“Well, I don’t have any faith in Andrew’s business skills. I think he was in some sort of business with Oliver. I saw the two of them together in a car a few days ago. And they both looked suspicious,” Mom said. She had certainly honed her facial-expression interpretation skills with four kids in the house. We didn’t get away with much at all.
I looked at Paul. He shrugged. A car ride together didn’t portend guilt. But Andrew meeting with Oliver so close to his death did raise questions.
“Plus, Caroline will be fine. But I don’t know about Zoe. Have you talked to her?” Mom asked.
Zoe was still very upset at finding a dead body on her farm. Who wouldn’t be? She kept asking herself if she was outside earlier, could she have prevented it? The guilt was getting to her. And the fact that Miles was
also a suspect ate her up.
“She’s still upset, of course. But also very worried about Miles. There’s a lot of uncertainty about his innocence. I’m going to see her tomorrow to check in.”
“Well, that’s good. Give her a hug from me,” Mom said. “So I heard you two have dinner plans tonight.” Mom kept her head down after that abrupt change of topic. Just like when we were kids, she let Paul and me squirm in the prolonged silence. She must have wormed out of him before I arrived that we were planning to go to the Smokehouse Restaurant tonight. Yes, on a date.
“Yes, we are,” Paul finally answered. He looked at me, tilted his head, and mouthed, What could I say? I knew firsthand there was no getting around it.
“So is that three or four dates? I’ve lost track,” Mom said. She had painted about ten figures since I arrived. Talking and painting—a great productivity hack for her.
I jumped in. No need for Paul to take the brunt. “Mom, nobody else is counting. We’re taking it one step at a time and just enjoying each other’s company.” I hoped that would end this line of inquiry.
“Well, can you tell me where this is going? I think you two are perfect for each other. You just need to wake up and smell the coffee.” She set down one painted figurine and picked up another, ready for its coloring.
I stepped back from the table. “Mom!” I’m sure my cheeks were now as red as the gnome’s hat. I looked at Paul and his face matched mine.
“Just sayin’ the obvious, Chloe. You guys will eventually catch up to what I already know.”
I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction yet. But I knew I was falling for Paul. He was kind, hardworking, easy on the eyes. And the kicker was he got along very well with my mom. This was certain to be a main topic of conversation later at dinner. Maybe it was time to delve into exactly where this was going with Paul. If my instincts were even closely on point, all signs pointed to yes. Who spent this much time with their prospective mother-in-law without some intention that it would prove fruitful? I intended to find out, if not just for myself, also for Mom. If this didn’t work out with Paul, she might just be more disappointed than me.
Lavender and Larceny (Treehouse Hotel Mysteries Book 6) Page 3