A Bell in the Garden Read online

  “No, I just never had the time.”

  “Oh, I used to put out a lot of different things, but now I just plant a few flowers and grow some tomatoes. You know gardening is hard work on old knees,” Mavis said chuckling and taking her clipboard back while her eyes scanned the customers. “Thank you, boys. I think I’ve got a few more to catch.”

  As Mavis hurried off to approach the new customers, Conrad saw Cora working the crowd as if she were running for election again. She always talked to everyone and if there was someone there she didn’t know, she would know them before she left. He was content to stand off to the side and watch until Bryan Stotlar caught his eye. Bryan was trying to do the same thing, but Amanda was tugging him around to make him interact with his visitors. Bryan waved to Conrad when he saw him and sneaking away when Amanda was distracted, he headed over to the grill.

  “Chief, so glad you could come out,” Bryan said shaking his hand. “I really need to talk to you if you don’t mind.”

  “I don’t mind at all. What can I help you with?”

  Nodding at Sam, Bryan motioned for Conrad to follow him and they walked toward the greenhouse. Instead of going inside though, Bryan kept walking and went around the back corner of the building.

  “Sorry, Chief. I know you’re off duty and I’m out in the county outside your jurisdiction, but I need some advice.”

  Conrad frowned as Bryan looked over his shoulder. “What’s the trouble, son?”

  “I was digging earlier,” Bryan said pointing up the hill to the evergreen trees. “I was going to put out a few new trees because I couldn’t finish yesterday.”

  “Okay,” Conrad said nodding and glancing up the hill. “Something happen?”

  “Well, when I was digging, my shovel hit something, so I hit it a few times with my shovel hoping to break it up. I thought maybe it was rocks or roots,” Bryan said wringing his hands and searching for words. “I couldn’t break it up, so I reached down and tried to pull it up and it…. Can you come up here? Let me show you.”

  Bryan scrambled up the incline and waited for Conrad’s labored ascent. Trying to control his breathing, Conrad approached the hole that Bryan stood beside.

  “I covered it a little. Let me show you,” Bryan said as he picked up the shovel and gingerly worked it under the loose dirt. As he raised the shovel up, the dirt fell away, and he let it roll off to the ground.

  “Looks like a skull,” Conrad said calmly as his mind raced to explain it any other way besides human. “It’s missing a jaw.”

  “Yeah,” Bryan said heaving deeply and looking to Conrad for direction. “What should I do? I mean it’s got to be human, doesn’t it? What else could it be?”

  “Well, for starters, let me call the county. They’ll need to be the ones deciding what happens next.”

  “Okay,” Bryan said sighing again. Conrad pulled out his cell phone and started to hit the contact in his phone to reach the Sheriff’s Office. “Oh, they can’t come now, though.”

  “What?” Conrad looked up puzzled and saw Bryan’s eyes squinting.

  “Amanda will kill me if I mess up this opening. Poor choice of words. Sorry. I mean it will ruin everything she’s planned and….”

  “I know what you mean, but it wouldn’t be right for me to sit on this. You’ve told me now and I have an obligation to report it. Let me see what I can do. Put it back in the hole and let me make a call.”

  Conrad ambled down the steep incline, placing each foot carefully, and walked over to the side of the greenhouse to make his call. It was close to noon and he encouraged the county to delay their response a few hours. That was the best he could do. Finding Bryan in the greenhouse explaining the proper care and planting of lilacs to a customer, he waited for him to be free.

  “I asked that they wait a few hours before arriving, but I can’t promise anything. I’d recommend you warn Amanda, so she doesn’t panic when they arrive.”

  “Thanks, Chief. I know she won’t be happy with me, but I’m relieved to have it off my chest.” Conrad patted his shoulder and headed back toward the grill. He could smell the meat was cooking and his stomach was waking up. He would need to warn Cora of the development as well.

  CHAPTER 4

  Mavis Bell waved Conrad over when she saw him walk across the parking lot. “Chief. I’ve got you a sandwich right here. It’s got your name on it.” Mavis giggled and handed the tongs back to Sam.

  “Are you working the grill now too, Mavis? Maybe you need to get a bite to eat and take a break.” Conrad took the plate she offered him and sat in a lawn chair.

  “Oh, it’s not work for me. I enjoy helping the kids out. Mine have all moved out now and I miss all the drama,” she said with air quotes, “that young people bring.”

  “I’ve got enough of my own drama, Mavis.” Conrad smiled and took a bite of his burger.

  “Well, with Bryan losing his folks, I just kind of try to keep an eye on him. I want to be here for him if he needs anything.” Mavis pulled another lawn chair over and sat down beside Conrad with a plate on her lap.

  “So, where are your kids now?”

  “Oh, Daniel is living in Paxton. He has a job over there now, so it didn’t make sense for him to drive. He got his own place.”

  “You have a daughter, too. Don’t you?”

  “Yes, Leanne. She’s talking about moving back soon with the kids. She has two little girls. Oh, I would just love to have my grandkids here.”

  Conrad nodded as he saw Cora approaching.

  “Found the food, didn’t you?” Cora said as she smiled.

  “I’ve got one for you right here, Mayor,” Sam said holding up a plate.

  “Here, Cora Mae. You take my seat. I see some new people. I don’t want to miss anybody,” Mavis said grabbing her clipboard.

  “Amanda picked the right person to be her greeter. Mavis won’t miss a soul.”

  “Yes, she’s got quite a knack for that. She didn’t even ask me. She told me to put down my email address. I’m not interested in tree sales, but she doesn’t care. I did what I was told.”

  “Connie, it’s not trees. I keep telling you it’s a nursery now. Bryan has lots of different plants.”

  “Yeah, plants, trees, it’s all the same.”

  Cora blew out air and rolled her eyes as he shrugged. Glancing over at Sam, Conrad thought he was a safe distance away to speak quietly to Cora and he leaned towards her.

  “I will need to hang around here for a few hours I think.” Conrad peered at Cora and looked back over his shoulder to make sure Sam wasn’t listening.

  Cora leaned in and whispered, “What’s going on?”

  “I can call the office and get you a ride home if you want.”

  “What’s going on? Has something happened? Are we keeping an eye on someone?” Cora glanced around the crowd milling through the plants and didn’t see anyone she didn’t know.

  “I’ll tell you after we eat,” Conrad whispered as he saw Amanda approaching. She was relaxed and smiling so he knew Bryan hadn’t told her yet.

  “Are the burgers good?”

  “Excellent,” Conrad barked in relief at her cheery mood. “Sam is a chef.”

  Sam looked over and chuckled at the remark. “Can I get you one, Amanda?”

  “Maybe later, Sammy. Thank you so much for doing this. I would never have been able to juggle the grill and the customers.”

  “My pleasure,” Sam said saluting as he opened the grill top to turn the hamburgers over and add some hotdogs.

  “So, what can I show you, Chief? We have bushes and grass seed. Does your lawn need fertilizer?”

  “Lord, no. That would just make it grow more and I can’t keep it cut now.”

  Amanda laughed and shook her head. “Not a yard guy, huh?”

  “Not at all,” Conrad said and rose from his chair with his empty plate. “Here, have a seat. You’ve been running around all day. Take a rest.” Conrad slipped his phone from his pocket when he felt the vib
ration and excused himself from the ladies to walk toward the empty back side of the parking lot and take his call.

  “Chief Harris.”

  “Chief, this is Sergeant Cantrell. I’m calling to let you know the coroner is on the way and I’ll be there shortly to secure the scene.”

  “Sergeant, did they tell you there is an event going on here? I mean, there are folks around here at a grand opening for a business and they have no idea what’s behind the building. I know we all don’t need a lot of unnecessary chaos, but when you pull up, that could happen.”

  “Sorry, Chief. The coroner is already en route. I can try to call her but she’s probably almost there. I’m running late because of another call and just wanted to give you a heads up.”

  “Okay,” Conrad said with a sigh as he saw Alice Warner pull into the parking lot in her late model Buick. “I guess I’ll see you soon.”

  Conrad glanced around the crowd to see if Alice had drawn attention. She had been the county coroner for many years, but she didn’t live in Spicetown. Some might recognize her, but he hoped they would just think she was shopping. He knew her well enough to know he needed to intercept her before she asked a random customer where the bones were.

  Relieved to see her eyes met his with recognition, he smiled and extended his hand as he approached. “Alice, it’s good to see you.”

  “Chief, I hear you’ve been digging around today, huh?”

  “Well, not me, but I took a look and I do think you’ll want to see it. We have a complication though.”

  “Yeah, Cantrell called me and said there was something going on here.” Alice’s eyes roamed from left to right at all the visitor’s strolling by with sandwiches and plants. “I guess he didn’t think I could figure that out myself.”

  Conrad smiled at her sarcasm. “I was trying to delay it, at least delay the squad car because, well,” Conrad shrugged.

  “I know. They can’t get any deader,” Alice said with a smirk. “We’ve got about half an hour. Can you take me there without anyone noticing?”

  “I think so. Let’s head to the greenhouse. It’s back behind there and up an incline.” Conrad glanced at Alice’s feet and saw she had on jeans and sturdy boots. Motioning with a nod of his head, they walked through the crowd.

  §

  Cora met Conrad’s gaze as he led the coroner to the greenhouse and then glanced over at Amanda. “I see Alice Warner is here.” Searching Amanda’s face for a reaction, she saw only a quick glance.

  “Oh, yes I see her. I just saw Rodney Maddox and his wife, too. Did I tell you Rodney made the new sign?”

  “Yes, you did and it’s lovely. I never knew he had such talent.” This news gave Cora another reason to look around. Rodney was a valuable city employee, but Cora preferred not to see Carmen Maddox. “I think your event has been a great success, dear.”

  Amanda smiled shyly. “I’m happy with the turnout. It makes all the work seem worthwhile and I think it gives Bryan a good solid start.”

  “Well, I knew you could do it,” Cora said smiling and patting Amanda on the back. Wandering away as Amanda answered a customer’s question, Cora headed for the greenhouse. It concerned her that Amanda did not seem to know what was going on, but she wasn’t going to wait any longer to find out.

  CHAPTER 5

  “Cora be careful,” Conrad said as he saw Cora starting up the incline.

  “How did you get up there?” Cora frowned as Alice peered down at her.

  “Ah, come on, Mayor,” Alice said smiling down at Cora. “Dig your spurs in and lean into it.”

  “Here,” Conrad said stepping down part of the way and offering his hand to help pull Cora up the steep hill.

  “There you go,” Alice said patting Cora on the back with a half hug. “How have you been? Haven’t seen you in months.”

  “Couldn’t be better,” Cora said with heaving breaths between each word. Looking around and fluffing her hair she saw lots of evergreen trees and a hole in the ground. “So, where’s the body?”

  Conrad pointed at the hole as Alice squatted back down beside it and opened a bag she had hidden away under her jacket.

  “Bryan found bones this morning when he was planting a tree,” Conrad said as he watched Alice intently.

  “Human bones? He must not have told Amanda because she didn’t even react when I mentioned seeing Alice arrive.”

  “They look like human bones to me, but that’s why the expert is here,” Conrad said pointing at Alice’s back.

  “And Amanda knows about the bones.” Conrad raised his eyebrow as he leaned toward Cora, “But he probably didn’t tell her he talked to me about it.”

  “Well, no one will even notice we’re back here. I’m sure it will be fine.” Cora waved her hand glibly as she cocked her head sideways to see around Alice’s shoulder.

  “Once the Sheriff’s Office pulls up, that might change.” Conrad looked out over the greenhouse to the parking lot of the nursery. “Alice says we have about half an hour.”

  “I told them to go have dinner and relax. Bones aren’t an active crime scene and the Chief is here. There isn’t any hurry and we don’t need a big scene,” Alice said as she shifted from a squatting position to her knees. “Cantrell is a rational guy. He doesn’t want any hoop-la either. We should be fine as long as the Sheriff doesn’t get wind of it.”

  Cora hadn’t thought of that, but Sheriff Bobby Bell did like to put on a show. He would love the idea of a crowd to speak to, but maybe he was out of the office on the weekends.

  “Amanda will be devastated if a squad car pulls up and turns this into a circus. Somebody needs to warn her.” Cora looked across the plant covered lot but didn’t see Amanda. From the high angle though, she couldn’t see the area directly in front of the nursery or the food table.

  “I know.” Conrad shook his head. “I told Bryan what would transpire, and I explained that I had to report it. I suggested he inform Amanda as well, but maybe he hasn’t had a chance to get her ear today.”

  “Nonsense,” Cora said with an eye roll. “I’m sure she told him to keep his trap shut until the event was over when he first told her about the bones. Now he spilled it all to you and he’s afraid to tell her.”

  Cora looked over and saw Conrad nod his head. She hadn’t told him anything he didn’t already know, but he was too guarded to say it. His restraint always made her boldness more obvious.

  “So, what do you think, Alice? We got human bones or not?”

  “Yes indeed,” Alice said standing and brushing dirt from the wet stains on her knees. “You have human bones.”

  “So, what happens now? What else can you tell?” Cora looked down at the skull peeking up from the hole and scrunched up her nose. The human aspect seemed pretty obvious.

  “I can’t say anything conclusively, but I think it’s an adult male. Once they get the rest of him out of there, they will be able to tell for sure, assuming he’s all in there.” Alice shrugged and put her tools back in her bag.

  “Who are they? You’re the coroner. Don’t you do all that stuff?” Cora felt Conrad’s glare and shrugged. Maybe it was a stupid question, but somebody needed to ask it.

  “I’ll coordinate it, but the State has to be called in. They have the forensic people that can gather all the details. I should be able to get them down here tomorrow to excavate the area. Hopefully, he’s all right here.”

  “It’s not a whole body?” Cora peered again in the hole and thought she saw another bone protruding beside the skull.

  “Can’t say for sure without digging and it has to be removed carefully.” Alice looked down the slope and decided a quick jog down might be easier than easing into it. Turning to look up at Conrad, she watched him slowly help Cora down the hill.

  “Going down is worse than going up,” Cora huffed as soon as she landed next to Alice.

  “Let’s go find this young man that dug him up. I’ve got a few questions I need to ask him,” Alice said as she turned to
ward the greenhouse. Cora was still breathing heavily but scurried to keep up. She knew Alice Warner was at least as old as she was, but she certainly got around better. She was a squared off sturdy looking woman with a gruff straight-to-the-point attitude, but Cora had always enjoyed her candor. Every year when the County Commission held budget talk meetings she had to attend in Paxton, she sought out Alice to sit beside and they would have dinner after the meetings. Despite their different work focus, they had much in common.

  “I should go find Amanda,” Cora said to Conrad. “She needs to be told and you go find Bryan.”

  “I’ll just browse around in the greenhouse,” Alice said, turning around the corner of the building.

  At Conrad’s nod, Cora turned towards the area under the cloth awning. Amanda had been there most of the day because it was attracting the first walk-up traffic and there were tables with decorated small plant arrangements for sale. Many of the pots had been hand-painted by Amanda and she had seen them in photos Amanda brought to work. With Amanda’s decorating skill and Bryan’s whimsical plant arrangements, they had been a big hit with the shoppers all day. Cora stood aside waiting for Amanda to finish a sale and then moved up beside her.

  “Do you have a minute that I could speak with you?” Cora said in a low voice.

  “Sure,” Amanda said turning to her.

  “Privately?” Cora whispered.

  Frowning with concern, Amanda touched her arm as she looked over the room. “Let me tell Laura I’m stepping away and then we can go in the kitchen.” Cora waited as Amanda talked to Laura, another of her city clerks who was helping Amanda out for the day, and then they turned to walk to Bryan’s house, pausing twice to greet people they each knew. Cora thought about all the many familiar faces she had seen today and marveled at how well Amanda had drawn half the town out to see a plant nursery. It was spring and that did inspire people to plant and work in their yards, feeling the relief of a hard winter passing. But Amanda had still managed to reach all the town’s people with news of this new business and get them all in their cars to drive out. She was really a marvel at marketing. Perhaps her talents were wasted working for the mayor’s office, but Cora was going to take full advantage of her talents for as long as she could.