The Garden Tour Affair: A Gardening Mystery Read Free Page A

and his partner’s wife, Frank and Fiona Storm. So they’re a foursome” She slanted a look at her young companion. “My guess is that they’ve come to ask me for a new infusion of money to run their schools.”
    Now Teddy stood quite still, all seriousness. “Those schools, huh? Not to be the least bit disrespectful, ma’am, but I—I bet you’ve given Jim Cooley a ton of support already—”
    Barbara pressed the knuckles of one hand against her chin. “I
shouldn’t
begrudge them the money—they do so much good. Why, they’ve even been written up in the papers;
The New York Times
did an enormous story. Neil and Frank run three schools now in the New York area, you know.”
    “’Higher Directions.’”
    “Yes. And they do such a wonderful job with those young people, who otherwise might land in jail. I understand Fiona Storm is in on the business, too. It has been a very positive thing for the schools, to have the Storms in on them—to have minority leadership alongside my nephew’s.” A little frown creased her face. “I admit Jim’s philosophy is a bit hard for me to take. It’s that tough-love business …”
    His eyes began to twinkle. “Isn’t that where you just”— he made a slashing gesture across his throat—“get rid of your kid if he misbehaves?”
    “Higher Directions demands a lot.” She inclined her head. “Maybe that’s why the schools work.”
    “Miss Seymour, you are a very generous person.” He gave her a look that warmed her heart. The young man truly cared about her, and that’s why she intended to care for him, too, in her will.
    “Thank you, Teddy.” She looked back at her list. “Grace, as you know, might need special attention. Though I will say she was a bit happier when they visited in April. She’ll have her usual supply of pills, vitamins and herbs and such, but stand by with the smelling salts: Jim says that she’s been suffering from faintness. The garden tour in town and the summer tea at Wild Flower Farm should certainly please her—that young woman is crazy about gardening.”
    “I remember.”
    She looked at Teddy, wondering if he knew Jim’s delicate wife better than she thought.
    But he explained before her thoughts could wander too far. “I helped her do some planting in the kitchen garden last time she was here. She and I put in all those baby herb plants for you.”
    “Bless her—and you—I’d forgotten. Now maybe we can fatten her up a bit—she’s frightfully thin.” Her finger traced a downward path on the paper. “Now the others, whom I am disinclined, of course, to call ‘outsiders,’ just because the others are ‘insiders.’ There’s a rather odd couple driving up from Pennsylvania—the Gasparras.”
    Teddy looked over her shoulder. “I suppose they’re coming for the garden tour.”
    “I’m not at all sure about
that
. I had the sense they had some other agenda. They’re growers—big producers of perennials.” She laughed. “Maybe they’re going over to Wild Flower Farm to steal plants.”
    She made two more checks on the list. “Then we’ll have some newlyweds, the Posts. Apparently
she’s
quite a sportswoman. And they already have a house in Darien.” Not sure if he understood the implication, she added, “Darien property is extremely pricey. Oh, and they
had
to have a garage for their car. Guess what kind of car they drive?”
    Teddy scratched his cowlick. “A Porsche, maybe?”
    Barbara smiled. “Better than that, a car fancier might think: a
Bentley
. My father once had a Bentley, but he got rid of it because no mechanic in Litchfield at that time was able to fix it when things went wrong—which they did frequently.”
    “Did you tell them they’ll have to leave it out in the weather?”
    “Elizabeth informed them they could drive it into the old horse barn down in the hollow, but that there were certain drawbacks …”
    He grinned. “Barn swallow doo-doo …”
    “And a brisk walk back up the