Snow Can Be Deadly (Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery Book 10) Read online

  Snow Can Be Deadly

  A Sage Gardens Cozy Mystery

  Cindy Bell

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Also by Cindy Bell

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2017 Cindy Bell

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and locations portrayed in this book and the names herein are fictitious. Any similarity to or identification with the locations, names, characters or history of any person, product or entity is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

  All trademarks and brands referred to in this book are for illustrative purposes only, are the property of their respective owners and not affiliated with this publication in any way. Any trademarks are being used without permission, and the publication of the trademark is not authorized by, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  Created with Vellum

  1

  “Watch it, Charlie, I almost dropped my tray.”

  “Sorry June, I’m so clumsy.” Charlie made his way to a table not far from Walt’s. He settled into the bench seat and heaved a deep sigh. Walt couldn’t look away. Charlie also lived in the retirement community, Sage Gardens, and Walt knew that he was only a few years older than him, yet he seemed to have every health issue under the sun, including sight and balance problems. Charlie was a bit of a pet project for Walt, who liked things to be in balance. He’d been doing research into Charlie’s multiple conditions in an attempt to find a root cause. He shook his head as he finally looked back across the table at Jo and Eddy.

  “Any idea why Samantha wanted us to meet here?” He stirred his tea, then touched the side of his mug. “Tepid. Who wants tepid tea? How can the tea even properly brew?”

  “Excuse me?” Jo raised her hand into the air to signal a waitress. “Can we get some boiling water over here please.”

  “Oh no, it’s too late for that. I can’t add boiling water to tepid water, it will ruin the tea, which is already half-brewed,” Walt said.

  Jo shook her head as the waitress walked away. “I guess you have tepid tea then. I’m not sure why she wanted to meet, but she sounded pretty excited.”

  “I bet it has something to do with that social committee she is on.” Eddy took a sip of his coffee. “She’s been talking about the trip they’re planning all week.”

  “Oh yes, she asked me to go a few times, but I’m not interested in holing up in some resort with the perky residents of Sage Gardens.” Jo laughed. “I’m sure there’s a better way I can spend my time.”

  “I agree.” Eddy set his mug down and tilted his head towards the door. “Here she comes.”

  Samantha pushed through the door and waved to her friends at their usual booth. She adjusted the sleeves of her snowflake-covered sweater, then fluffed the scarf that wrapped around her neck. As she sat down with them, she smiled.

  “Samantha, aren’t you hot?” Jo tilted her head to the side. “It’s at least sixty degrees outside.”

  “Here, it is.” She nodded. “But in Valentine, it’s barely over thirty.”

  “Sounds miserable.” Eddy growled. “Better you than me.”

  “Better all of us.” Samantha signaled to the waitress. “Hot chocolate, please.” When she looked back at her friends, she couldn’t stop smiling. “I made sure there was space on the bus for three more people, even though the three of you neglected to sign up.”

  “We didn’t neglect to sign up, Samantha, we’re not going.” Jo quirked an eyebrow. “Are you sure all of that warmth isn’t making you forgetful.”

  “I’m not forgetful, you just haven’t heard the best part of this retreat.”

  “What’s that?” Walt pushed his tea aside with a sigh.

  “It’s going to be a murder mystery weekend.”

  “Great.” Eddy laughed. “I’ve heard of those. Someone pretends to commit a murder, and it’s supposed to be fun.”

  “It isn’t the murder part that’s fun, Eddy.” Samantha rolled her eyes. “It’s the solving part!”

  “That sounds interesting, Sam, but I’m still not going. I have things to do this weekend,” Jo said.

  “Like?” Samantha studied her.

  “A book to finish, a nap to take, and a bus not to be on.”

  “Aw, Jo! You’re no fun. But I still didn’t tell you the best part.” She rubbed her hands together.

  “Get to it then, I can’t stand the anticipation.” Walt gazed at her.

  “The guests are going to be split up into investigative groups, and there’s a prize for the group that solves the murder. A cruise!” She clapped her hands. “I can’t wait, I just know we’re going to win.”

  “We?” Eddy shook his head.

  “A cruise ship is just a floating petri dish, Samantha. You’ll come back with all kinds of intestinal parasites,” Walt said.

  “Ugh.” Samantha took her hot chocolate from the waitress and blew across its surface. “Wow, this is hot.”

  “Unfair.” Walt stared at her mug.

  “Anyway, of course if you don’t want to go on the cruise you can just sell your ticket. But I do, I’ve been dreaming about going on a cruise. I just know that we can win. Who could be better at solving crime than us?”

  “I don’t know,” Eddy said.

  “Do you know what they have at those resorts?” Walt met her eyes. “Bedbugs. That’s what. Bugs that will literally eat you in your sleep.”

  “Now Walt, they don’t eat you,” Samantha said.

  “In microscopic bites, yes, yes they do.” Walt pushed his glasses up and shuddered.

  “No way, the committee investigated thoroughly and the resort is guaranteed to be pest free.” She patted the back of his hand. “You’ll be perfectly safe. I’ll make sure of it.”

  “But that isn’t the only concern, Sam. You might get along with the committee crowd, but those women drive me nuts.” Eddy narrowed his eyes.

  “That’s only because you’re so handsome. It’s not their fault that you’re one of the most eligible bachelors. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.” Samantha smiled.

  “Great.” Eddy chuckled.

  “All right I guess it wouldn’t kill us to go,” Jo said.

  “Nope, the only person getting murdered is the actor playing the victim.” Samantha winked. “So, you’re all up for it, right? Because I already bought us matching sweaters to wear.”

  “Matching sweaters?” Jo gasped.

  “Relax, I’m joking.” Samantha laughed.

  “All right, yes, I’ll go.” Eddy cleared his throat. “Only because I want to exercise my detective skills.”

  “And I’ll go because I’m going to prove that their guarantee is hogwash. Too many people really believe these guarantees that are given to them, and then the bedbugs just keep spreading and spreading. You know there have been a few cases in Sage Gardens. I’m just
so relieved that our villas are not connected.”

  “I didn’t know that.” Samantha frowned. “What a hassle for whoever dealt with it.”

  “It is.” Walt sighed. “Which is why the truth must be told.”

  “Great, so everyone’s in?” Samantha looked between her three friends, who all nodded in return. “Then we leave tomorrow morning. It’s a three-hour bus trip.”

  “Can’t we just drive?” Eddy frowned. “I’m not sure that I want to be on the bus for that long.”

  “Don’t fuss, Eddy, it’ll be fun. I already picked out some songs that we can all sing,” Samantha said.

  “Sure.” Eddy smiled. “I know you better than that, Sam. Singing is not your thing.”

  “Okay, no songs.” She shrugged. “But we’ll still have fun. I’m sure of it.”

  “Listen gentleman, if I’m riding the bus, you are, too.” Jo tapped her hand on the table. “We’re all in, right?”

  “All in.” Eddy nodded.

  “A bus?” Walt cringed. “Only for Samantha.”

  “Gee, thanks Walt.” She smiled and blew him a kiss.

  2

  The next morning Samantha woke with a start. Her heart skipped a beat. Had she missed her alarm? One glance at the clock on her bedside table revealed that she was awake twenty minutes early. She was nervous about the trip. Really, she was nervous about the other women on the committee. She had only recently been accepted on to the committee and they were so quick to pick apart her ideas. She knew if things didn’t go smoothly they would be ready to pounce. She took a shower to get her head on straight, then grabbed her things and headed to the parking lot.

  As Samantha slung her bag over her shoulder, she noticed her friends gathered near the bus. Walt had three bags, one for his laptop, one for his clothes, and one for his cleaning supplies. She could tell because of the bottle of glass cleaning liquid that stuck out of one of the pockets. Jo had a single backpack. She always packed light. Eddy was the only one with a suitcase, old, beat-up, and held together with a bungee cord. It was a small suitcase, but he’d stuffed it pretty full.

  “Eddy, what in the world do you have in there?” Samantha smiled as she walked up to the group.

  “Books. Lots of books.”

  “Books? When are you going to have time to read?”

  “We’ll have the murder mystery solved in twenty minutes. So I’ll have the rest of the weekend to avoid interaction with anyone.”

  “Oh Eddy, where’s that good attitude I thought you were going to have?”

  “They’re all true crime.” He shrugged. “Does that help?”

  “Yes.” She laughed and walked with them over to the bus. Once all of their luggage was stowed, they boarded the bus. It was spacious, but because of the contest incentive, it was packed. They managed to find two benches near the back. Eddy settled beside the window with Samantha on the outside, and Walt took the window seat in front of them, with Jo on the outside.

  Although Samantha was excited for the weekend, and especially for the prize she was certain they would win, when the bus lurched forward, she felt a little uneasy. What if the weekend was horrible? She’d convinced her friends to join her, but she hated to think about them resenting her for it. She decided she would do her best to make it fun, even if they did solve the murder mystery in twenty minutes. About an hour into the bus ride, several of the other people on the bus had begun their third round of traditional bar songs. Eddy thumped his head against the back of the seat, and groaned.

  “How did I let you talk me into this?”

  “You could always sing along, Eddy.” Jo turned around and grinned at him. “Don’t act like you don’t know the words.”

  “Maybe I did, at one time, but that was a different time in my life.”

  “You mean, it was after half a dozen beers.” Samantha smiled.

  “That too.” Eddy chuckled. “It’s much easier to sing nonsense lyrics when you know you won’t remember it the next day.”

  “Don’t worry, we have a stop coming up and we’ll all get a break.” Samantha gritted her teeth. The singing was even getting on her nerves, which took a lot to accomplish. Luckily it began to fade, and gave way to the hum of chatter. She gazed out the window at the scenery that passed. It always made her curious to pass through little towns she’d never been to before. She knew that each was filled with people she would likely never meet. In some ways it made her sad, and in others it gave her inspiration that there might still be adventures left in life.

  “Penny for your thoughts?” Eddy patted her knee.

  “Oh sorry, just daydreaming.” She smiled.

  “About?” He met her eyes.

  “All the paths not taken I suppose. The ones I’ve missed, and the ones that are yet to come.”

  “Interesting perspective. I think about that sometimes, too. It’s funny how the plans we make when we are young don’t ever seem to lead to the result we expect.”

  “Ah, but never forget my dear, Eddy, we are still far from the final result. Aren’t we?”

  “You might be.” He grunted. “But I’m getting old.”

  “I doubt that. One good mystery and you’re alive and spunky.”

  “Spunky?” He chuckled. “I don’t think there has ever been a time in my life that I could be described as spunky.”

  “Trust me, I’ve seen you get spunky. It’s very endearing.”

  “You’re lucky we’re friends.” He winked at her.

  “Yes, yes I am.” She smiled and settled back into her daydream. When the bus finally pulled into its first stop, her peaceful state was replaced with horror. The gas station was not what she expected. When planning out the route for the bus trip she’d selected a few places to stop, with the anticipation that everyone on board would want to roam, and have a place to sit and chat before they got back on the bus. Her resource of the gas station must have been out of date, because the multiple picnic tables she expected to find had transformed into one rickety bench, chained to a tree. Though the gas station was still there, when she got off the bus and looked through the window it looked like the store inside was barren of anything that might have been made in the recent years. She was so stunned by the situation that she didn’t notice Jo waltz right past her, until she already had the door open.

  “Jo, wait. We might just go somewhere else.”

  “You can go wherever you want, but I have to go right now, I can’t wait. I tried the bathroom, but it’s locked. The cashier must have a key.”

  Reluctantly Samantha followed after her. The man behind the counter appeared more faded than the magazine he flipped through. His skin was dry, his lips cracked, and his clothes were smudged with dust and dirt. Samantha couldn’t imagine what he did to get into such a state. Did he roll around in the dirt between customers? She reminded herself it was not right to judge, and requested the bathroom key.

  “Nah, it’s not locked, you just have to kick it, then slam your hip into it, it’ll open.” He smiled, a nearly toothless smile. Samantha smiled back at him, then steered Jo out of the store.

  “Can you believe this?”

  “It’s not too unusual for an out of the way place. You can’t expect five stars on a road trip.” Jo did as the cashier instructed and kicked the door, then slammed it with her hip. The door popped open, and a horrid odor seeped out. “Wow, I stand corrected, this place is what I call roughing it.” Jo scrunched up her nose at the smell of the bathroom. “And I’ve been in some pretty rough situations.”

  “I know, it’s already a disaster, isn’t it? How am I going to explain any of this to the rest of the group? I promised a fun weekend, and so far all I’ve delivered is a rundown gas station with a bathroom that should be quarantined.”

  “Relax. Just take a breath. On second thought, don’t.” Jo pinched her nose and stepped into the bathroom. “What I’m trying to say is that the weekend has just begun. So there’s a bump in the road, that’s bound to happen. Everything will be fine on
ce we get to the resort. All of this will just be a memory.”

  “I hope so. I’m never going to live it down with the committee.”

  “Don’t worry about those gals, if they want to torment you over something as petty as this, then they’re not exactly the type of people you want around you anyway. Are they?”

  “No, I guess not.” Samantha shrugged. “Thanks Jo.”

  “You’re welcome. Now, let’s get out of here, I think I’d rather go in the woods.”

  “Jo!”

  “I’m just kidding. But you might want to warn Walt to hold it in until the next stop.”

  “Yes, you’re right. I should.” Samantha shuddered at the idea of Walt walking into such a filthy bathroom. When she stepped outside she noticed three of the committee members huddled near the bus. She knew that couldn’t mean anything good. As she rounded the corner she walked right into Eddy.

  “Oops, excuse me, Sam.”

  “No, it’s okay, I’m the one that wasn’t looking. Have you seen Walt?”

  “He refuses to leave the bus. He’s certain there’s tetanus in the dirt that can be kicked up into the air and breathed in.”

  “Is that even possible?” Samantha lifted an eyebrow.

  “I doubt it, but he’s in panic mode, so it’s best not to argue.”

  “I bet you’re already wishing you’d stayed home, instead of agreeing to this trip.”

  “Sure I am.” He smiled.

  “Ugh, thanks a lot, Eddy.”

  “Look, I make no secret of the fact that I’d rather be at home in my comfortable chair, but that’s not because of anything you did. That’s just what I would prefer. You have my support, as always.”

  “I’m glad, because I have a feeling I’m going to need it.”

  As she walked towards the bus, the three women set their sights on her. She could sense their disapproval in their seething expressions.

  “Samantha, we need to talk.” Amber fluffed her hair, then looked into her eyes. “This, is a disaster.”