The Plot Thickets

Book 5: Garden Squad Mystery

by Julia Henry

Genres: Amateur Sleuth; Cozy Mystery

Synopsis

"With spring’s arrival in Goosebush, Lilly and the Beautification Committee turn their eyes to new projects. A cleanup of the historic Goosebush Cemetery may be in order after Lilly and Delia find the plots there sorely neglected and inexplicably rearranged. Lilly soon discovers that Whitney Dunne-Bradford snapped up custodianship of the graveyard once she inherited Bradford Funeral Homes. But before Lilly can get to the bottom of the tombstone tampering, she stumbles upon Whitney’s body at the Jayne family mausoleum. Although it at first appears Whitney died by suicide, Lilly has doubts, and apparently, so does Chief of Police Bash Haywood, who quickly opens a murder investigation. Plenty of folks in town had bones to pick with Whitney, including her stepdaughter, Sasha, and funeral-home employee Dewey Marsh—all three recently charged with illegal business practices. But when the homicide inquiry suddenly targets an old friend, Lilly and the Garden Squad must rally to exhume the truth before the real killer buries it forever."

Release date: October 25, 2022

Publisher: Kensington Books

Print pages: 304

Sample

If she was being honest with herself, which she usually was, Lilly Jayne had to admit that her days of slinking around outside peoples’ houses should be well behind her. Standing beneath the window, she eyed the work she’d done and sighed. She rolled her hips, hoping that her back wasn’t going to seize up on her way home. She resisted the urge to trim the bushes any more and sidled her way out of the leggy branches. She’d need to leave shaping them for another day. The important work was done. Helen Garrett could see out her front window again.

Lawns were overrated as far as Lilly was concerned, looking at the patchy green that marred the front yard. She’d used the push mower to do what she could, but that wasn’t much. The grass was too tall, with dead patches that were beyond hope. After she’d run over a couple of sticks, she gave up. It didn’t matter. Today, a perfect green lawn wasn’t the point. Lilly’s expertise was needed for the flower bed, currently a muddy patch, in Helen’s front yard, by the sidewalk. Lilly used the side of the hoe to create rows of loose soil. Normally she’d kneel on the ground with a trowel precisely digging down, but a long-handled tool kept her upright. She looked over at the flat of wilting flowers, and tilled another row.

Using a combination of her experience, knowledge, and love of plants, Lilly laid out the pots, arranging the flowers in what she hoped would be an interesting pattern. She took a deep breath and squatted down so that she could get the plants in the ground, whispering to them each.

“You’re here to give Helen a view. Now, I know you’ve been neglected a bit, but those days are over. You’ll get plenty of water and this is a lovely, sunny spot. I’d really appreciate it if you perked up a bit. There you go, my darlings.”

She stood up slowly, putting her hands on her thighs and gently straightening herself to standing. Her back spasmed, but then it stopped. She moved her hips around and walked to the right-hand side of the house. Was the gardening hose still there? Yes, it was. Guilt tugged at Lilly. The hose had probably been out there all winter. The beautification committee should have checked in last fall to make sure it had been drained, and the water had been shut off. The committee was an informal group who took on gardening projects around town. Helen had been a member, but now, close to her hundredth birthday, she was a candidate for their spring project list.

Nothing appeared to leak or burst when she turned on the hose, so Lilly gently watered the flower beds and bushes. She rotated the sprayer for a powerful stream, and rinsed off the front walk. The water removed some of the debris, but the encroaching moss could use a scrubbing. Still, it all looked better. She went back and turned the hose reel a few times, but it got stuck and she didn’t have the patience to fix it. She coiled the rest of the hose on the ground and walked out toward the front, looking at the new flower beds.

“That looks wonderful!”

Lilly started and jumped back. She hadn’t noticed anyone at the front door when she came around the side of the house, but then again, she hadn’t been looking. She was in her gardening zone.

“I’m sorry,” the younger woman said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s all right, I’m fine,” Lilly said. “I was fighting the hose winder.”

“Don’t worry about that. My son will be by to pick me up at four, and I’ll have him take care of it. I’ll also get him to clear those branches,” the woman said.

What was her name? Jessica? Janice? Lilly couldn’t remember, and stopped trying to. Names weren’t her forte these days. “I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten your name.”

“No worries, it’s Kathy. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate you doing this work. Helen is going to be delighted. She was getting frustrated by that bush out front blocking her view.”

“I’ll come over with some other tools to do a better job of shaping it,” Lilly said. “I wanted to clear her view for now.”

“And give her a better one to look at. You know, it was awfully nice of her cousin to buy those plants, and a real shame she didn’t get them in the ground. I’m glad you noticed them on your way in today.”

“I tend to notice plants in distress,” Lilly said.

“When she wakes up, she’s sure going to enjoy seeing that burst of color. Anything we need to do to make sure they don’t die?”

“They’ll need to be watered. I’ll get some mulch over here, and that will help when it gets warm, but I think they’ll be fine once they settle in. I hope that they give her some joy.” Lilly’s voice broke at the end of the sentence, and Kathy reached over and put her hand on Lilly’s arm.

“Ms. Jayne—”

“Lilly.”

“Lilly, Helen’s lived a good life. Her cousin wants to keep her home and comfortable, so she’s got a few of us taking shifts, tending to her.”

“I’m glad that she’s able to do that,” Lilly said. “I hadn’t realized Helen was failing so badly, but I haven’t been able to get over here for a few weeks.”

“She took a turn right after the first of the year. Her cousin thinks it was her choice. She’s tired. A hundred years is a long time.”

“It certainly is,” Lilly said. “I’ve lived sixty-five years—make that sixty-six—and feel every one of them these days.”

“I noticed you favoring your back a bit. You okay?”

“I took a fall on some black ice in January. Wrenched my back, sprained my arm. I’m just starting to feel like myself again. It’s been a long three months.”

“I can imagine.”

“I’m glad that I came today. I hope she knew that I was here.”

“Her pulse went up when you spoke with her,” Kathy said. “I know she appreciated the visit.”

“You’re very kind.” Lilly looked around at the yard, and back at Kathy. “I’ll make sure people come by to help clean up from the winter. Helen was always fastidious about her yard.”

“Honestly, I’m not sure there’s a budget for that—”

“I work with a group of volunteer gardeners. Helen’s given a lot to Goosebush; folks will be happy to do for her. Please let the other nurses know that I live close by, and if anything is needed, to let me know.”

“I’ll make sure your name and number are on the instruction list. Thanks again for the gardening. You’ve got the magic touch. Look how the flowers are starting to perk up already.”

“Lilly! Where have you been? What happened to you? You’re all dirty. Did you fall? Are you hurt—”

“Delia, stop,” Lilly said. She’d let herself in the front door, hoping to be able to sneak upstairs for a shower, but alas. Ernie Johnson, in one of his many attempts of thanking Lilly for letting him stay with her, had installed a new security system: A doorbell with a camera that sent an alert whenever someone was approaching the front door. “I thought you had a date this afternoon with Stan.”

“Date is such a weird word, Lilly,” Delia Greenway said, reminding Lilly of their forty-year age gap by rolling her eyes and shrugging her shoulders. “We were going to get together, but he canceled.”

“Again?” Lilly asked gently. Stan and Delia had been dating, seeing each other, involved, whatever the term was these days, for a year. Lately they’d been spending more time scheduling and cancelling dates than actually seeing one another. Not that it was any of Lilly’s business, except that she cared about Delia, and knew that she wasn’t happy.

“At least this time I hadn’t gotten in my car yet,” Delia said. She walked over to Lilly and took her coat from her, walking over to the closet to hang it up. “Enough about me. Where were you?”

“I went over to visit Helen Garrett. I told you that I was going to do that.”

“But you’ve been gone for hours.” Delia stood in the front hall with her arms folded and stared up at Lilly. Lilly was never sure how Delia didn’t blink for so long, but it was disconcerting. And effective.

Lilly looked down at her watch, feeling like a teenager who’d broken curfew. She loved that her housemate took such good care of her. But she hated that Delia had developed the ability to intimidate her, despite being decades younger and six inches shorter.

“There was some gardening help required at Helen’s house, so I did it. Thank you for your concern. Really, Delia, it means the world. But stop worrying about me. I’m fine.”

“You shouldn’t push yourself,” Delia said.

Lilly took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. “Again, I’m fine.”

“Why don’t you come back to the kitchen. I’ll make us some tea.”

“Thank you, no. I’m going to head upstairs to take a shower. Perhaps a nap.”

“You may have time for a quick one. Roddy will be over here in about an hour.”

“Roddy? Why?” Not that Lilly didn’t look forward to seeing her favorite neighbor. But she really needed a nap.

“He wanted to come over early to talk, and then he’s going to take you to the Star. Remember? The Garden Squad is having dinner out.”

“Is that tonight?” Lilly sighed. “Why can’t we have dinner here?”

“Because you’re going to celebrate the work on Alden Park beginning,” Delia said.

“What kind of celebration will it be without you? We should reschedule.”

“Absolutely not. There will be other dinners. I wish I could be there, but I have to go to the university to do a run-through of my presentation with the tech team. The dean just wrote to me and told me that there will be a few high-profile alumni there tomorrow for the event, so I’m glad I’ll be setting it all up tonight.”

“They shouldn’t have moved your lecture to Sunday afternoon and made it a high-profile event without your knowledge. What would have happened if you weren’t available, or ready?”

“That’s academia,” Delia said. “I’m sort of flattered. There’s a lot of interest in the talk.” She’d been working on her lecture about the excavation of Alden Park for weeks, and had several items to display as well. Lilly had wanted to attend, but Delia had told her that she’d make her too nervous. Besides, Lilly had heard the script dozens of times.

“You’ll be wonderful. Now, I’m going up to my room,” Lilly said. “I can still fit in a nap and shower. For the sake of everyone, I think that’s a good idea. A chance to get up on the other side of the bed, as it were. I’ll text Roddy and let him know.”

“Are you sure you’re okay, Lilly?” Delia asked quietly.

“Seeing Helen was harder than I expected,” Lilly said. “I could use an attitude refresher. Stop fussing. Go get ready for your rehearsal.”

Lilly walked over to the side table to look at the mail. She shuffled envelopes until Delia went all the way to the end of the hall and took a left into the old breakfast room, her current office. As soon as Delia went in, Lilly dropped the mail and walked to the staircase. The walk home had helped, but her back still wasn’t happy. She took one step at a time, resting on each riser. The only thing that kept her going was the promise of a restorative shower, nap, and heating pad.

“Sorry if I’m late,” Lilly said as she entered the back room a while later. She felt much better after her nap, and had taken some extra care in getting ready for the evening out. Her friends were worried about her, and a little mascara, some blush, and red lipstick helped her look healthier.

“No, no. You’re fine,” Roddy Lyden said, standing up from the couch as Lilly came in the room. Tall, handsome, with wavy silver hair, deep dimples, and an easy smile—Lilly sometimes forgot how good looking he was, especially if she hadn’t seen him for a few days. Which she hadn’t.

“Do we have time to sit, or do we need to leave for dinner?” Lilly asked. She sat down gently and smiled at Roddy, who sat beside her.

“We have a few minutes,” Roddy said. “Are you well, Lilly?”

“I’m fine. I did a little yard work for a friend, and I’m feeling stiff. I’m out of gardening shape. I hate to admit it, but I should probably get a stool if I’m going to weed this weekend.”

“Lilly, there’s no shame in a gardening stool. I’ve been considering getting one myself. Staying ahead of the weeds is going to be a full-time job.”

“Mulch helps—”

“I have a delivery slated for next week. I ordered the amount you suggested, though it seems like a lot.”

“It won’t be, trust me. Is your composting bin in place?” Lilly looked at Roddy and did her best to look severe. He’d been resistant to the idea, but she’d prevailed. Partly because it was a good way to reuse waste. But also because she knew he’d enjoy the process once it got going, and the compost would be good for his gardens.

“It is, but nothing seems to be happening.”

“Roddy, it takes a while. A layer of newspaper can help, but be sure—”

“Patience has never been one of my virtues,” Roddy said. “You can’t blame a man for envying your compost, Lilly.”

Lilly laughed and Roddy joined her. “I’m delighted I have something worth envying.”

“You have much to envy. Good friends. A wonderful house. Stunning gardens—”

“A charming next-door neighbor,” Lilly said.

“I wouldn’t describe Mrs. Cotton as charming, but to each their own.”

“You’re terrible,” Lilly said, laughing again.

“I am that,” Roddy said, quietly. His phone buzzed and he shrugged apologetically at Lilly and took it out of his jacket pocket. He looked down at the screen, read something, and frowned.

“Everything all right?” she asked.

“My ex-wife wants to come and pay me a visit.”

“Which one?” Lilly asked. She knew he’d had three wives, but didn’t know much about any of them. He’d married the first young, had a daughter with the second. He never talked about the third, only that there’d been one. When she thought about it, she didn’t know too much about Roddy’s pre-Goosebush life. Of course, she hadn’t asked. At this point in both of their lives, past history, and mistakes, seemed less important to dwell on, especially at the beginning of a friendship. Though they’d known each other for almost a year now.

“Fair question. The last one.”

“From the look on your face, seeing her isn’t something you’re looking forward to.”

“Adrienne is one of my great mistakes. We weren’t married long. I should have known better. I haven’t seen her in seven years. Seven wonderful years.”

“She sounds delightful,” Lilly said, smiling. Now she knew a bit more about wife number three.

“Ah, Lilly. Adrienne’s a long story, and it will take much longer than we’ve got this evening to tell it.”

“It’s none of my business.”

“I’d like it to be,” he said quietly, locking eyes with her.

Lilly’s breath caught, then she realized she wanted to know more, and wasn’t sure what that meant. “You’ve got a rain check to tell me about your ex-wife, then.”

Roddy nodded. “I won’t say I’m looking forward to that, but the conversation is long past due.” He looked at Lilly with such intensity she felt herself blush, and looked away.

“Tonight, I do have a favor to ask,” he said, in a different tone.

“Ask away.”

“Would you mind going to Alden Park and doing a walk-through with me before we have dinner? They’ve started to prep for the cement pour, and I’m having some concerns.”

“Concerns? About your design? Or the work being done?”

“Both? Mostly my design. The cement is permanent, or close to. I want to make sure it’s right, and that I’ve thought everything through. We have a few minutes before dinner. But I completely understand if—”

“I’d love to see it,” Lilly said quickly. Roddy’s design for Alden Park had won a contest last winter, and he’d spent the past few months with the project manager working out the details. “I may need some help getting in and out of the car, though. My back is a little stiff. Moving around helps.”

“Would you prefer to walk? We can get a ride back with Warwick or Ernie.”

“I wouldn’t mind walking. But if you tell anyone I mentioned needing help, especially Delia, I’ll kill you.”

“Noted.” Roddy stood up, put his hand under her elbow, helping her off the couch. He held on while she took a deep breath and steadied herself.

“Walking really does help my back,” Lilly said. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Roddy said. They were walking down Washington Street toward the Wheel, the main rotary in Goosebush. Like many New England towns, rotaries took the place of intersections and lights. They weren’t for the faint of heart; rotaries required a mixture of patience and daring. It was only May, early in the season, so traffic was fairly light. Still, Roddy and Lilly had a job navigating the four crosswalks as they moved toward Alden Park. There would have been fewer crossroads if they’d taken a left instead of a right, but then they would have been walking along a stretch with some of the busiest businesses in town, including the Star, where they were having dinner. The chance that they’d see someone and be distracted from the task at hand was too great.

They stepped into a crosswalk, and Roddy pulled Lilly back as a large sedan turned the corner quickly.

“Whoa, slow down!” Lilly called after the car, which had sped up.

“Are you all right?” Roddy asked.

“I’m fine. Did you see who that was?”

“No idea who the driver was,” Roddy said. “But Bradford Funeral Home was painted on the side.”

“Are you sure?”

“Their logo is hard to forget. A sailboat sliding toward the sunset with angel wings floating around the sun. The halo above the ‘o’ in Bradford.”

“Angel wings? I don’t remember angel wings.”

“Perhaps you’re so used to seeing things around here you don’t notice them. I found it, the logo, extraordinarily distasteful the first time I saw it. I can’t help but notice it now, with a bit more humor.”

“When you’re the only funeral parlor in Goosebush, you don’t worry as much about being tasteful,” Lilly said. “Though I swear I don’t remember seeing the halo or the wings, and I like to think of myself as fairly observant. They must be new additions to the sunset and sailboat. Likely Whitney’s doing.”

“Remind me which one Whitney is? The daughter?”

“No, no. That’s Sasha. Whitney Dunne-Bradford is the second wife, and widow of Sam Bradford. The business was his parents’. And grandparents’, I think. Theoretically it should be passed down to Sasha, Sam’s daughter from his first wife. It will be interesting to see if that happens, now that Whitney’s in the picture.”

They slowed down and waited for a pause in traffic before they stepped into the crosswalk. “I think I met Sasha at a town meeting recently,” Roddy said.

“I’d imagine you did. That meeting was the one I missed, about using more town property for a new cemetery. They were smart to have Sasha do the presentation. Whitney isn’t terribly popular. I’m glad they put that idea on hold for a while. I have a few thoughts I look forward to sharing. Not about the cemetery per se, but about the use of town land.”

“I look forward to hearing those thoughts, as do others, I’m sure.”

“You’re very kind, Roddy. I suspect more than a few people would rather I kept my thoughts to myself, but it’s my duty to Goosebush to speak up about these things.”

“I’m used to living in cities, and being a bit less directly involved with the complexity of local issues. Goosebush has helped me focus on civic responsibility. Ah, here we are,” Roddy said.

One of the Alden Park improvements was designated entrances and exits, defined by gates in the new wrought iron fence. The fence was put in early, and the view was blocked from the outside by panels that included the history of the park. The idea was to have a grand reveal for the town when all of the work was completed.

“Who’s going to use this entrance?” Lilly asked while Roddy unlocked the gate and slid it open. She walked in and he closed it behind them, making sure it was locked.

“This won’t be a public entrance. When you slide both sides open, it’s wide enough for trucks, and can be used for maintenance and deliveries. Generally, it won’t be open during the day. The other three gates will be.”

“I’m still not sure that the park needs to be locked at night,” Lilly said.

“That’s to be determined,” Roddy said. The access to the park was a hot topic of discussion in Goosebush, one which Roddy was fairly agnostic about. “While construction is going on, the gates are locked, mostly for safety. And security of the materials. I wanted you to see the park from this perspective, since it’s the best way to get an overall impression of what’s going on.”

“What’s this? I thought that the paths were going to be cement?” Lilly pointed to an area of the path that was packed down and had an Astroturf-looking covering.

“That’s the sample of the running track that will go around the park. There are loops built in at each end so that people can get more distance in. It was decided that this surface would be better for runners, and the look would differentiate their path. We’ve decided on a brick color, which I think will go nicely with the gray of the other paths.”

“I like that idea,” Lilly said. “What’s it made of?”

“A rubberized track material. Better for people’s knees and legs. The other paths and the maintenance track will be concrete. Pressed and stained, so that it looks more like stone. I know that people wanted cobblestone and gravel—”

“No, your plan is better,” Lilly said.

“Certainly easier for people with baby carriages, wheelchairs—”

“And bad backs,” Lilly said. “I’ve come to appreciate steady paths. Walk me through the plan.”

For the next half hour Roddy walked Lilly around the park, showing her the edging that was in place and describing the altered plan, which included more infrastructure than Roddy’s original design.

“What are all those pipes?” Lilly said, pointing to the piles of pipes in the construction area.

“The plan is to lay them down under the walkways, and run water pipes and electricity through them,” Roddy said. “They will also have space for anything else in the future that needs to be run through the park, which will hopefully prevent major work being done as the use of the park changes. After the success of the garden sculpture event, the Board of Selectmen agreed that anticipating future events made sense. The engineer included some locations where lights and sound can be easily set up, in case we want to have another public festival, or a small concert here.”

“That’s smart,” Lilly said, looking around and noticing one of places that equipment could be set up. “The tendency would have been to pretend there’d never be another event, and then people would be forced to deal with generators and cords and all sorts of nonsense.”

“You’re the one who suggested the changes,” Roddy said.

“After participating in that ridiculous garden sculpture event in December, and seeing how successful it was, I knew that people would start coming up with ideas,” Lilly said. Lilly had only participated in the event because her friends had cajoled her into it, though she had to admit that putting together their large ivy-covered heart had been fun. And all of the sculptures had made Alden Park magical through the holiday season, no small feat since it was a mud pit covered with hay at that point. “I merely pointed out how much easier it would be to build in the infrastructure. And that you’d done some of the work when you figured out the grid for the displays in December.”

“Is there any particular reason you dislike taking credit for wonderful ideas?” Roddy said.

“I only say aloud what others are thinking,” Lilly said, giving him a sidelong glance. “I do see that the gardening areas have changed. I’m confused. What’s that ring between the running track and the garden paths? A bike lane?”

“No, no bikes in the park. It’s been pointed out that people will use the park to walk their dogs, so not having grass didn’t make sense. The ring around the edges will be a grassy area specifically for dogs. But generally, the entire center will be gardens, with benches and other seating areas.”

“When is the planting starting?”

“Very soon. I’m concerned it’s being rushed. Does the park look ready to you?”

“The topsoil looks a little—”

“Anemic?” Roddy said.

“It looks sandy,” Lilly said, kicking at the soil with her foot. “Roddy, if I bend down to look at it, I won’t get back up.”

“He. . .