Murder at Home: The Ozarks Cozy Mystery Series

Book 2: The Ozarks Cozy Mystery Series

by Dianne Harman

Genres: Animal Cozy Mysteries; Clean & Wholesome Romance

Synopsis

An innocent garden fence construction spirals into a chilling mystery when Della discovers her friend Jim, cold and lifeless, amidst the incomplete project.

His death, determined to be from strychnine poisoning, thrusts Della into an emotional whirlwind of mourning and mystery, compelling her to sift through a perplexing web of potential culprits—from a disgruntled ex-wife and her lover to enigmatic strangers shadowed by sinister auras.

Della's knack for solving crimes clashes with her intimate grief and Sheriff Jared's protective and romantic endeavors. Amidst the gripping local murder investigation, the spectral tendrils of her late husband's unsolved hit-and-run case—now pricking the interest of the FBI—entwine around Della's world, adding a spectral layer to her investigations.

Embrace a journey through a garden of secrets and unearthed betrayals with Della, where every turned soil reveals new mysteries and emotional terrain, crafted with mastery by a USA Today Bestselling Author. An enchanting tapestry of intrigue, love, and loss.

Release date: May 30, 2023

Print pages: 180

Sample

CHAPTER ONE


It was already sweltering hot outside, and it wasn’t even noon. Summer in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri had definitely arrived. Flies were buzzing all around Della, causing her to swat at what looked like nothing. She mumbled under her breath as she smacked what felt like the hundredth mosquito that had landed on her body.

Della straightened her back and wiped her brow as she shut off the engine on the power lawn mower. She felt as though she was sweating buckets, and was sorely in need of some hydration. She left the mower where it was and walked over to the stainless steel water cup she’d put in the shade. Tipping it back, she took long, slow swallows of ice water, feeling the coolness as it went down her throat.

Her eyes drifted to the backyard above ground swimming pool she’d put up a week before. The clear water in the pool twinkled in the sunlight, beckoning her to take a dip. She sighed and turned to look over at the raised beds in her garden. There were still weeds that needed to be pulled and plants that needed to be checked on. She knew she should finish the yard work before she let herself relax. Otherwise, she might not do it at all.

Della promised herself she’d hop in the pool right after she was done, but she knew it was probably an idle thought. She knew when she was finished she’d be more interested in going inside the house where it was air conditioned, and she could relax with a large glass of ice water. She narrowed her eyes as she looked at the weeds, trying to steel herself for yanking them out of the dirt instead of getting in the pool or going inside.

Della groaned. She didn’t want to deal with it right now. Looking at the garden had become disappointing, rather than exciting and joyful. Ever since the weather had heated up and the grass had started to look somewhat brown, the rabbits had been terrorizing the plants in her garden.

She was going to talk to one of her late husband’s friends, Jim, about putting a fence around her garden and maybe even a platform for her pool, depending on the cost. She wanted to see what he would charge for the fence before she started making plans that might be out of her price range.

Della had saved up a little nest egg from selling the rare ring she’d found when she was cleaning up after an estate auction, but she didn’t want to spend it all on remodeling. A few changes to make her life easier would be great, but that was it. She wanted to make sure that money was there for a rainy day, even though she’d much prefer a solid set of stairs to having a ladder to climb when getting in her pool.

She sighed as she looked at her ravaged garden. Della glanced over at her pool once more, and with that quick look, all of her resolve vanished.

“You know what?” she said to herself as she started pushing the lawn mower toward the barn, her adopted fur baby, Moose, a Saint Bernard mix, trotting along behind her. “The garden can wait one more day. I think I’m going to take a dip in the pool and cool off instead. Why even have it if I’m not going to use it, right?” she asked him. After she pushed the lawn mower inside the barn, she headed back outside.

Now that the yard was cut, she could justify changing into her bathing suit and taking a short dip. The trees were shading most of the pool, so she could cool off and relax before she needed to shower. She still had a couple of hours before Jim would be coming to the house for their consultation regarding the garden fence project.

Maybe if the garden looked horrible, he’d feel like he needed to get to the job of building her fence a little quicker. She chuckled to herself. Hey, whatever helped her cause was a good thing, right?

As Della headed back to the house with the scent of freshly cut grass filling her nostrils, she thought about how far she’d come since that fateful morning when she’d become a widow. She’d managed to go from feeling as though there was no way she could manage, to not only managing, but thriving.

“If you could see me now, Seth, I’m not sure you’d recognize me,” she whispered aloud to her deceased husband. She smiled to herself, and to him, sure in her thought that he could see it. She’d always let him be the one who had managed their lives. Letting him take the lead so she could follow was one of the things she’d adored about him.

He’d always known exactly what needed to be done at any given time, and she knew that was part of the reason she’d felt so adrift after the hit and run accident that had taken him from her on that fateful morning. It was as if whoever had taken his life had taken her compass.

After she’d changed into her bathing suit, she poured herself a glass of lemonade and headed back outside. Moose moved over to the shade under his favorite tree when he saw that Della was heading over to the pool. He laid down to take a nap as she climbed into the warm water and set her lemonade on the top rung of the rickety ladder before dunking herself completely underwater.

Holding her breath, she stayed under for a moment with only the sound of water in her ears and her thoughts to keep her company. It was as if she was drowning out the entire world and everything that went with it for those few seconds that she stayed submerged. Just for a moment she let it all slip away, completely focused on easing the tightness in her chest that told her it was time to surface and take a breath. When she finally stood up out of the water, she felt slightly renewed. Not a lot, but a little.

“Man, I hate mowing the grass,” Della muttered as she pushed her wet hair back and brushed the water from her face. “But a dip in the pool afterward makes it a little more bearable.” She reached for her glass of lemonade and took a big drink before replacing it and then falling backward to float in the water.

She spent quite a bit of time just floating and enjoying her lemonade. Any time her mind started to wander to bills, responsibilities, and work, she’d force those thoughts away and simply float. It was as if all her worries were taken away when she was floating.

Eventually, it was time for her to get out of the pool so she could get ready for her appointment with Jim. Almost on autopilot from her blissful floating, she went through the motions of showering to wash the pool water off and getting dressed. When she was finished, she grabbed a snack and headed out to the porch with a book while she waited for Jim.

She was a couple of chapters into it when she heard the rumbling of a truck coming down the road. When it pulled in her driveway and came to a stop, a familiar face climbed out of it.

“The yard looks great,” Jim said as he headed for the porch. “How have you been, Della?” His brown hair looked damp, as if he’d recently had a shower.

“Good, Jim. Learning to do things on my own again. How about you?” she asked as she stood up, leaving her book on her chair.

“My business is starting to take off,” he said with a smile. “But I always have time to help out an old friend.”

“You’re too kind,” she said with a grin. Moose appeared from around the corner of the house and rushed over to greet their guest. Della did her best to keep him back, but Jim’s laughter and eagerness to pet the dog made Moose even more excited.

“When you called, you said you wanted to hire me to build a fence around your garden, right?” he asked as he scratched Moose and got him to calm down.

“Yeah, let me show you what I had in mind,” Della said as she led him to the backyard of the house.

They walked over to the garden where she showed him what the rabbits had done to her plants and the area she wanted to fence in. Della had plans to expand the garden next year or even in the fall, so she wanted to make sure she had the entire garden area, both current and future, fenced in.

Jim listened and nodded attentively as he wrote measurements down in his notebook. Occasionally he’d ask her to hold one end of his tape measure so he could get a more accurate number. He asked plenty of questions and even wanted to know what kind of gate latch she was thinking about, which was something she hadn’t considered. When he was finished with his calculations and told her the estimate, Della was pleasantly surprised.

“Are you sure that’s how much it would cost for the materials and your time?” Della asked. The number seemed pretty low, and she knew he couldn’t be making much of a profit at that price. Either that, or he got his lumber a lot cheaper than what she’d priced it at, and she doubted he was able to get that much of a deal.
He nodded. “That’s my price, Della. Take it or leave it. It really won’t take me that long to put in a nice sturdy fence. Setting the posts will take the most time, but with the right tools I can get it done before you know it.”

“The price seems low, Jim,” she said.

“I have a good design that won’t take too much lumber. It won’t cost a lot and it will look amazing, plus it will keep all the local wild animal populations out,” he said.

Della nodded. “Okay, then. That’s great. I trust you with that. When you’re done, I might have a few other things I need help with, too.”

He gave her a grin that was wide and happy. “Not a problem. We can go inside, and I can draw up a diagram to show you what I’m thinking.”

“Sure, let’s go,” Della said, eager to get out of the sun. “What made you decide to start your own business?” she asked as they headed back to the house.

“I was tired of working for other people,” he replied. “It felt like it was time to do my own thing.”

Della smiled. “That’s pretty brave.”

“I don’t see it as brave. I’m just doing what makes me feel satisfied,” he said.

When they were finished with the plans, Della asked Jim if he’d like a glass of lemonade. It had grown hotter, and they’d both stayed out of the direct sun as much as possible, but they were still red in the face and sweating, even though they were inside.

Although it was warm on the porch, they decided to have their lemonade there. Jim waited for her on the porch with Moose as she grabbed them each a glass. When she came out and joined him, she sat down in her chair and relaxed.

“You and Seth were really lucky to be able to get this piece of property,” Jim said absently as he looked out over the yard. “It’s a beautiful place.”

“Thanks,” Della said with a wistful smile. “It took a lot of work to modernize it after we moved in, but I think it’s come along nicely.” She loved what they’d been able to do to the place while also respecting its history.

“It really has.” Jim was quiet for a moment and when he spoke again, his voice broke. “Sometimes I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

He didn’t need to elaborate. She knew exactly who he meant. “I know. It seems like only yesterday we were carrying our first boxes of household things in through the front door.”

“I remember that dinner party you guys had. I thought you were going to strangle Seth for bringing that garter snake in the house like that.” He laughed, but she was sure some of the tears he wiped away weren’t all from laughter.

“I know! I swore I would never trust him again,” she said with a laugh and then realized the depth of what she said. She had, of course, but it still stung to think of the hurtful things she’d said to her husband.

“He loved you so much. It was as plain as the nose on his face that he was so smitten with you.” Jim seemed wistful as he recalled.

Della didn’t quite know what to say, so she remained quiet. Moose moved over next to her chair and put his head on her lap so she could pet him.

“I want to thank you, Jim. You stuck around after Seth passed and were a true friend. I understand why some others didn’t, but you helped make sure I didn’t give up when I wanted to.”

“I could tell it was bad,” he admitted. “But I knew Seth would want me to keep an eye out for you. I know you’re a capable woman, but we all need a little help sometimes. We just never know when the time might come that we need someone to be there for us. I know my separation isn’t the same as you losing Seth, but…”

“No, a loss is still a loss,” Della said firmly. “You lost your wife, although maybe it was in a different way and a little less shocking. But it’s still a loss.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Jim remarked, his eyes growing distant. “I hadn’t looked at it that way.”

Della considered that. “You had an idea in your head what the rest of your life would be like, and now that’s gone and never coming back. Same as me. We had an end goal we thought we were working toward, and then that was pulled from our hands without a second thought. The only thing is, sometimes you might have to see yours.”

“I’m glad she’s not in town anymore. Does that make me a bad person?” Jim asked.

“No,” Della replied. “That just makes you human.”