Beware the Orchids (A Shady Acres Mystery Book 1) Read Free Page A

the room. What if Maybelle had been murdered? I didn’t know enough about her to have a motive of any kind. Had her search for her teeth taken her somewhere she shouldn’t have gone? Maybe she’d seen something she shouldn’t have. Would people in a retirement community have something to hide that would warrant murder?
    I shook my head. My over-active imagination was working overtime. A new job should take care of that. I didn’t need to stick my nose where it didn’t belong.
    After supper, the four of us traipsed out to Grandma’s van. She handed out orders like a drill sergeant then went to sign up for her cottage. While I was in number 7, she was in number 13. A number she swears is good luck. The best luck I had was that she wouldn’t be living right next door to me.
    By the time Mom had the van driven to Grandma’s cottage, Grandma had re-joined us. “Wait until I go in first,” Grandma said. “I have to get a feel for the place in order to know where to put things.”
    I peeked into the building after her. It looked almost identical to mine.
    “Too much white.” Grandma shook her head. “I need color. Good thing I have several doo dads to brighten the place up.”
    I knew that by morning, the cottage would resemble a rainbow inside. It wouldn’t be Grandma’s place if it didn’t. There would be reds, blues, purples, and animal print everywhere.
    “Where do you want all these boxes?” Heath squeezed past me, a large box balanced on his shoulder.
    “In the kitchen nook. Bring the one that says fridge to me right away.” Grandma took a deep breath. “I need my wine before we meet with Pink Hair.”
    “Her name is Birdie.” I took a box from Mom and set it on the table, then headed to the van to help unload.
    At five minutes to eight, I hugged Mom goodbye, thanked Heath for his help, and headed down a path illuminated with cheery lanterns to a gazebo strung with white lights. Birdie sat on a bench and leaped to her feet when we arrived.
    “Thank you for coming. Maybelle was my friend.”
    “I’m sorry for your loss.” I motioned for her to sit and took a seat next to her. “What did you want to meet about?”
    She glanced around as if someone might be listening, then leaned close. “Now, she was my friend, but she was also a little…” she twirled her finger around her head. “Still, if she repeated something more than once it would behoove a person to listen. Now, just the other day, Maybelle told me someone here wasn’t who they claimed to be.”
    “How would she know?”
    “That woman got around, I tell you. Always looking for her teeth, even when they were in her mouth. But sometimes…she left them places. Places people could get to them. I heard she was poisoned. What if someone put that poison on her dentures? Huh?”
    “Who told you she was poisoned?” I glanced at Grandma, who shook her head.
    “I might have spoken of it to your mother in the ladies room,” Grandma said. “No one was in there. I promise. I always look under the stalls before I gossip.”
    Merciful God in heaven give me strength. “You can’t be talking about a live police investigation. Do you want to get me arrested?”
    “Oh, you’re already the number one suspect. You found the body.” Grandma grinned. “Remember, I’m full of knowledge from television.”
    Maybelle was no longer the craziest person in the community. Grandma was.
    A twig snapped in the trees behind us.
    “Duck!” Grandma dropped to the wood-slated floor.
    Birdie followed.
    I turned and listened. A squirrel scampered from the trees. “You’re safe, unless it was a squirrel that killed Maybelle. It’s been a long day. We should go to bed.” I helped the other women to their feet.
    “You found her.” Birdie crossed her arms. “You’re the event coordinator and gardener. You can go places I can’t. I want you to find out who killed her.”
    “We don’t know there was foul play.”
    “I know it in my gut.”
    “Fine.