CHAPTER TWO
On Monday, Daisy stood at the sales counter studying customers who were coming and going. Slipping her hand into her yellow apron with the daisy logo, she smiled as the tips of her fingers touched the business cards she always carried. Daisy’s Tea Garden had been the brainchild belonging to her and her aunt Iris.
Daisy and her aunt had purchased the Victorian with the setup for a bakery that had once existed on the first floor. In the room where she was standing—the main tearoom—they’d painted the walls a calming pale green. The glass-topped wooden tables and mismatched, antique-style chairs invited customers to linger and chat. When Daisy and her aunt offered a reserved five-course afternoon tea service, they used the yellow spillover tearoom with its diamond cut–glass windows, bay window, window seats, and crown molding. The white tables and chairs in there were complemented by the seat cushions in blue, green, and yellow pinstripes.
Tessa was carrying a tray of rhubarb muffins to the sales counter when Daisy heard her name called. Amelia Wiseman had entered the tea garden and was waving to her. She pointed to the spillover tearoom that was partially filled. That meant the owner of the Covered Bridge Bed-and-Breakfast wanted to talk.
Daisy beckoned to April Jennings. In her early twenties, April was a fairly recent hire who was competent and seemed to guess what Daisy wanted before she had to express it. At present, April was living in the apartment over Daisy’s garage and had become part of the family.
Daisy said to April, “Amelia Wiseman just came in and went into the spillover tearoom. Can you bring us two cups of chocolate tea and a plate of snickerdoodles?”
“Sure thing,” April assured Daisy. Despite wearing a hairnet to keep her blond curls in place, they didn’t obey. One sneaked out and curled along her cheek as she bobbed her head.
Soon Daisy was sitting across a table from Amelia. “April’s going to bring us refreshments. Are you okay with that?”
“Sure. You know I love your tea and baked goods.”
Amelia was in her forties. Her dark brown hair layered around her face, and she had an attractive smile. She and her husband ran the Covered Bridge Bed-and-Breakfast, but Amelia also volunteered at the thrift store, A Penny Saved, and for other community endeavors. She was a woman of boundless energy.
“How are you?” Daisy asked, genuinely wanting to know.
“I’m busy like you are, but I’ve come hoping to make you even busier.”
Uh-oh. Amelia roped anyone she could into community projects. Daisy hoped to waylay her. “I heard the town council meeting was all about the one-hundred-year celebration for the covered bridge.”
Amelia nodded with enthusiasm. “It was. Of course, I’m going to take advantage of the celebration. We’ll have a stand in the field near the covered bridge along with other suppliers who will be selling wares there. I know there will be lots of mugs and buttons and shirts and caps to commemorate the bridge, but we’ll have someone there to explain all the best qualities of the bed-and-breakfast, too.”
In spite of herself, Daisy was thinking the celebration would be less of an historic event and more like a carnival.
“I’d like to arrange to have fireworks at the creek,” Amelia went on. “But that depends on how wet the ground is and what kind of dry spell we have. We’ll install solar lights for the entrance and the exit of the covered bridge as well as the long, narrow road leading to it. We’re going to have an all-day celebration into the evening.”
“I imagine you’re going all out on publicity.” If Daisy knew anything about Amelia, she knew that.
“Oh, yes, we are, and every business is going to take part. That’s why I’m here.”
“Uh-oh,” Daisy said aloud this time. “I can see it in your eyes. You’ve got something planned for Daisy’s Tea Garden.”
“No, I don’t have anything planned, but I want you to plan a special tea for that day.”
“Oh, Amelia. I’m planning a wedding! Jazzi’s getting ready to go to college. Jonas and I are figuring out plans for a workshop in the backyard. I don’t know if I have time for a special tea.”
Suddenly April hovered around the table. She set vintage Aynsley “Marine Rose” china teacups filled with chocolate tea in front of her and Amelia. The tea was a beautiful rich color and smelled wonderful. She also positioned a Stechcol Gracie teapot beside them with the extra tea. It was a beautiful little pot with a black background on the main portion of the pot decorated with colorful flowers in orange, red, yellow, and white. The lid had a white background with the same flowers, and the spout was a Harlequin black and white. April set the matching sugar bowl between Amelia and Daisy along with a ceramic honey pot.
“Cinnamon sugar and chocolate tea. What more could I want?” Amelia asked rhetorically.
The green Depression-glass dish of snickerdoodles had already captured Amelia’s attention. She took two from the plate and set them on her dessert dish.
She was nibbling on one when April leaned down to Daisy. “I overheard what Amelia would like you to do. Maybe I could help. I can put in extra hours. Living close to you, we can consult whenever you’d like.”
Daisy’s first inclination was to say no. However, April’s face was so animated, and her enthusiasm seemed genuine. Daisy knew April had experienced much tragedy in her life, and she needed excitement that was wholesome and could tire her at the end of the day so she could fall into a good night’s sleep.
Amelia arched one of her tattooed brows. “I heard that. I think April has a wonderful idea. Daisy, isn’t it about time you delegated some of your duties? I know you don’t want to overburden Iris or Tessa because they’re helping with your wedding. But if April could plan this and execute it, maybe you should give it a try.”
Suddenly April’s gaze rose to the entrance of the tea garden, and she grinned.
Daisy turned her head to see Trevor and Jonas coming her way. Seated at a table for four, she motioned to the other two chairs as they greeted Amelia.
April leaned toward Daisy again. “Should I fetch two more cups of chocolate tea and maybe some rhubarb muffins?”
“Good idea,” Daisy said with an answering smile. “Thank you.”
Her gaze was on Jonas, and she appreciated the thrill seeing him always gave her. Today, in jeans and a pale-blue polo shirt, he looked particularly handsome. Especially when the wave in his black hair wouldn’t stay in place.
“Just who I wanted to see,” Amelia said to Trevor.
“Well, that’s not a greeting I get often,” he joked.
They all laughed. As a journalist, sometimes he was more of a bother than a friend. Jonas, who had seated himself next to Daisy, bumped his shoulder against hers playfully. She bumped him back.
Amelia went on, “How many articles is the Willow Creek Messenger going to do about the covered bridge’s anniversary?”
“That’s a good question,” Trevor said. “I’m just preparing an in-depth one for the day before the anniversary. Do you have something else in mind?”
“Of course, I do. I’d like an article on the history of the covered bridge, but I’d also like a piece on the plans leading up to the anniversary and how we’re going to celebrate. We need to get the information out to the public so they know what to expect. If we make enough noise, maybe we can encourage some bloggers to pick it up for social media.”
Trevor snitched a snickerdoodle from the plate. “I can pitch it, but I don’t know if it will fly.”
“What other news is there in Willow Creek right now?” Amelia asked, raising her hands in frustration.
“Do you listen to my podcast?” Trevor asked her. “I posted a short one this morning about a tip that came in to my hotline.”
“I haven’t listened to your most recent one. What was the tip about?”
“I might be investigating a twenty-year-old murder. That could be big news. The paper could follow along with articles summing up what I find out.”
Jonas interjected, “I don’t think your editor will go for that. He usually follows directives coming out of the Willow Creek Police Department.”
With a scowl that Trevor directed at Jonas, he muttered, “Don’t be a spoilsport.”
“You know I’m right. Do you really think Morris Rappaport and Zeke Willet are going to go along with what you want to do?” Jonas questioned him.
The detectives were Jonas’s friends and had become Daisy’s friends, too. She tried not to get in their way and to respect their methods, but she wasn’t sure Trevor would do the same.
April came across the threshold into the spillover tearoom with a tray of goodies for Jonas and Trevor. She set them down and exited without interrupting their conversation.
“Tell me all about this,” Amelia said. “What’s going on? Is this gossip or rumor?”
“Not gossip or rumor.” Trevor stirred a bit of sugar into his tea. “After my podcast, a call came in to the hotline. Daisy and Tessa were both there. They heard it.” He motioned to Daisy. “Tell Amelia so she knows I’m not pulling her leg.”
“A call did come in to the hotline,” Daisy affirmed.
Amelia didn’t look impressed. “In the past, those tips weren’t consequential.”
“This time could be different,” Daisy said. “A man called in and told us there was a chest being auctioned off by a storage unit company, and it would have a secret to a twenty-year-old murder.”
Amelia’s eyes grew wider and then narrowed again. “And you believed this?”
“I checked into the auction,” Trevor said. “Two storage compartments are being auctioned off. One has three chests, and the other has two. One out of five chances we’ll find something. That’s if we buy the contents of both storage units.”
Amelia was quiet long enough for Daisy to ask, “What are you thinking?”
Amelia picked up one of the rhubarb muffins and examined it, but Daisy didn’t think she was really seeing it. “Horace and I will be redecorating a few of the rooms at the B and B. I could use a chest or two and any antiques. I imagine those storage units might hold other items, too.”
“Assorted furniture and I don’t know what else,” Trevor said.
“What if I go along?” Amelia offered. “I might be interested in bidding. I’d be bidding on the whole unit, right?”
“That’s right,” Jonas agreed.
“I’m prepared to bid on one of the units, too,” Daisy added. “I could find a chest for Jazzi to take to college. I think she’d like that. If we win the bids, we could examine the chests to our hearts’ content.”
“We’ll examine those chests until we find the secret,” Trevor resolved.
Jonas picked up his rhubarb muffin and held it like a crystal ball. “We’ll find the secret, as long as this isn’t a hoax.”
Trevor scowled at him, but the expression didn’t faze Jonas. As a former detective, he was used to scowls, mumbles against him, and even more.
Amelia raised her cup of tea. “I say, be hopeful. We could find a treasure as well as a secret.”
More than anything, Daisy hoped they’d find the treasure and not evidence of a murder.
* * *
The June evening, bringing scents of honeysuckle and roses to the patio, was absolutely balmy as Daisy, Jonas, and Jazzi finished supper. Jonas had grilled steaks. Daisy had brought home cabbage apple salad from the tea garden to accompany them.
As Jazzi cleared the picnic table and carried remnants of their dinner inside, Jonas covered Daisy’s hand with his. “So we’re actually going to bid on the contents of the storage compartment next Saturday?”
“We’ll see. If the auction price flies too high, I’ll forget about it.”
“Do you think Trevor will?”
“Not a chance,” Daisy said, already worried about Trevor’s involvement in the cold case.
The sliding-glass doors to the patio reopened. Jazzi hurried outside followed by Vi, Daisy’s older daughter, and her son, Sammy. Sammy was a year and a half and one of the joys in Daisy’s life. Vi and Foster had unexpectedly become pregnant when they were in college. Vi had quit school, had Sammy, and suffered with postpartum depression. Now they were getting their lives back on track. They’d moved out from the garage apartment and into a rental house near friends of Daisy’s.
As Sammy toddled over to her, Daisy extricated herself from the picnic bench and scooped him up. “How are you, big boy?” She tickled his tummy as she asked.
He placed his little hands on either side of her face and giggled, babbling as he did. He was voicing several words now, but most were only recognizable to him . . . and sometimes Vi. His mom had dressed him in red shorts with a red-and-white-striped shirt. A dog face grinned at them from the shirt.
As soon as Felix had seen Vi and Sammy crossing the patio, he’d left his spot by Jonas’s leg to greet the little boy who often played “roll the ball” with him.
“It’s good to see you,” Jonas said to Vi. “We were about to have dessert. Do you think Sammy would like a lemon tea cake?”
“I think he’d love one,” Vi said. “And so would I, but I’m watching my calories, especially carbs.”
As far as Daisy was concerned, her daughter was a perfect weight. But as she did in many instances, she held her tongue.
Vi sat on the bench beside Daisy, who had lowered herself with Sammy. Sammy was trying to pet Felix, and she let him down so the dog and little boy could have an adventure.
Jonas said, “I’ll watch them,” as Sammy ran after Felix to the tomato garden near the patio.
Jazzi offered, “I’ll get the tea cakes and a cup of milk for Sammy.”
Vi had clipped her honey-blond hair back at the temples. It was getting longer again and waving on her shoulders. She brushed it away from the bateau neckline of her pink blouse. She was wearing mauve-colored shorts tonight, and she crossed her legs, one of her flip-flops bobbing up and down. “Jazzi tells me she’s enjoying her job at the Rainbow Flamingo.”
“She wanted a job somewhere other than with me, and I can understand that. She’s earning money for college expenses.”
“I wish our jobs didn’t have to take up our whole lives,” Vi said with a frustrated sigh.
“Does yours?” Daisy asked, surprised. Vi worked part-time at Pirated Treasures, an antiques shop on Sage Street.
“No, of course it doesn’t. The problem is, there are complications. Foster’s working so many hours. Sammy is more mobile and getting into more things. I can’t take him along to Pirated Treasures like I used to. I’m afraid he’ll damage something or get hurt. I can’t constantly burden my family with daycare. Brielle’s been babysitting him a few hours at a time, but she’s getting ready for college just like Jazzi is. She’s doing administrative work for her mom at home.”
Brielle Horn’s mom was a lawyer, and Daisy could see how Brielle could help with some of the filing and paperwork. Brielle, who was Jazzi’s age, had needed a port in a storm, and Daisy’s home had been that for a while. But now she was happily living with her grandmother and her mom again. Her grandmother’s former home was the one Vi and Foster were renting.
“Is Foster enjoying his new job?” Foster had graduated from college in May and secured a job with a software company. With his degree in business management and his tech skills, he could go far.
“I think he likes his new job, but he’s under pressure to perform. He wants to succeed, and I understand that. But he’s also taken on other projects. You know that.”
Daisy did. Foster, once her employee, still managed her website and social media accounts. “I can find someone else to take over my website,” she pointed out.
“Your website is the least of his responsibilities. He’s doing the PR campaign for the homeless shelter and spending many evenings on that. Once it gets up and running, he wants to help them succeed, too. He’s even helping to sort through applications for counselors and volunteers.”
The homeless shelter had been a controversial project the town had undertaken. But plans for it were progressing nicely. “How many websites is he handling now?” Daisy asked.
“About fifteen. It doesn’t seem like a lot, but he updates them once a month and that type of thing. And he takes on new ones. He’s spending a lot of time right now on Amelia Wiseman’s because of the bridge and the celebration for it.”
“Have you spoken to Foster about all this?” Daisy asked.
“I have, but it doesn’t do any good. I don’t want to nag him. I don’t want to be that kind of wife. But I also want to enjoy our new place and do the landscaping for it. I want him to spend more time with Sammy. At night he’s so tired that Sammy’s in bed and asleep before Foster even gets to him.”
“Are you having meals together?” Daisy asked like the mom that she was.
“Many nights, but you know what a meal is. Sammy has it all over his face and on his high-chair tray, and supper lasts about ten minutes. I love Sammy. I love Foster. I love our new home. I’d like to enjoy all of it.”
Just then, Jazzi returned outside with a dish of lemon tea cakes and a pitcher of iced tea. Vi took a plastic cup from the stack on the table and poured herself tea while Jazzi went back inside for Sammy’s sippy cup.
Daisy studied her older daughter, circling her mind with anything she should say, could say, or wanted to say. Finally she decided on, “Foster’s only been at his job a few weeks. Give him a chance to figure out his routine. In the meantime, maybe your gram, Aunt Iris, and I can help you with childcare in the evenings. Then you can spend time at Pirated Treasures if you want. With daylight and Otis’s security system and the tourists walking by, you should be safe there.”
“I don’t only want to work in the evenings when family is free,” Vi complained. “And it seems wasteful to pay for daycare so I can work during the day and make less money than daycare costs.” Vi took a few swallows of tea. “I didn’t mean to dump all this on you. I just came for a visit, and to watch Sammy play with Felix and have fun.”
Daisy motioned Jonas to come back over to the table. “Then let’s turn on the hose, wash those little hands, and have some lemon tea cakes.”
Vi gave Daisy a smile, and Daisy knew at least for now her daughter’s concerns were pushed into the background.
* * *
Surprised at the setup at the storage compartment center on Saturday, Daisy found the man in charge while Jonas, Felix, Amelia, and Trevor looked around.
The storage facility in a rural area of Willow Creek consisted of a two-floored building mostly composed of concrete blocks. To her amazement, the auction wasn’t going to be held at individual units inside the edifice. Rather, all the former renter’s belongings had been separated into two areas in the gravel parking lot.
And . . . the name of the storage unit’s welcome sign had been changed. Instead of BONNER’S STORAGE CENTER, it now read SMALL TOWN STORAGE.
At a corner office in the building, she found a rotund man in a yellow baseball cap, the bill pulled down over his eyes. His orange T-shirt had sweat stains under his arms and on his back. He’d obviously been engaged in physical labor. Moving the contents of the units to the parking lot?
“Hello,” she said through the Plexiglas window with its reception-style opening. “Can I ask you a few questions?”
The man looked up at her. “Sure. About the auction today? We want to get this completed as soon as possible.”
“I noticed the name on the storage unit sign has changed. What’s going on?”
“I’m Bill Horton. I was the manager of Bonner’s Storage Center, and Small Town Storage kept me on.”
“The ownership has changed?” she asked.
“Sure has. We’re part of a chain now.”
“Is that why the auction happened so quickly? Usually aren’t auctions advertised online to pull in a bunch of people to bid on the merchandise?”
“The new owner didn’t want any backlog. He wants all the old business taken care of. Understand?”
“Is that why the auction is in the parking lot?” she probed.
“It is. I have new renters coming on board, and I wanted them to fill up the storage units. If you’re interested in renting, I can sign you up.”
“Not right now. I’m here for the auction.”
“I didn’t even hire an auctioneer for this. Not enough merchandise to warrant his commission. All I want to do is empty the parking lot. I’ll be out shortly, and we’ll get started.”
Taking the hint that the man had business to conduct, Daisy returned outside and met Jonas and Felix, who were looking over the merchandise in the two piles.
“The storage facility has been taken over by a new owner,” Daisy explained.
Amelia and Trevor came over to join them.
“What do you think?” Jonas motioned to the contents of the storage unit to his left.
Felix was nosing around the furniture, sniffing old scents and new.
Jonas said, “I’m particularly interested in that pile. Two chests are there and old tables and chairs. I think I can refurbish them and sell them at Woods.”
“That’s fine with me,” Daisy confirmed. “That green chest could work for Jazzi.”
Amelia nodded as if she was pleased with that decision. “Good. I like the contents of the other unit. There are three chests and a few stained-glass panels. Those panels would be gorgeous in the windows of the bed-and-breakfast.”
From what Daisy could see, the stained glass was designed in a flower motif, one with an iris and one with a rose. “My mom would probably love them,” Daisy said.
“But I have a place to put them.” Amelia’s smile was sly. “I can name one of the rooms the Iris Room and the other the Rose Room. What do you think?”
There was an older woman wandering around, as well as a man in khakis and a polo shirt.
“That will be great if you can win the bid,” Trevor reminded her. “These are being sold as lots, not as individual pieces. That doesn’t make sense to me because they’d get a lot more the other way. But if the center was sold and the manager wants to just rid himself of the old contents, that’s why he’s doing it this way.”
“The man who called you knew about this auction before it was even posted in the Willow Creek Messenger,” Jonas said.
Trevor nodded. “Someone had an inside track.”
Bill Horton was crossing the parking lot. Daisy glimpsed someone else near the corner of the storage unit building. Although it was early morning, the temperature was already in the low seventies. The fellow at the storage unit corner caught Daisy’s attention because he was wearing gray. She’d almost missed him because his hoodie was the same color as the concrete building. She couldn’t see his face because as soon as she glanced toward him, he turned away and ducked behind the building.
Could that have been Trevor’s caller? Could he have been watching to see if Trevor had taken the bait?
Before she could alert Trevor, the office manager began with the first section of merchandise that Jonas was interested in. Jonas and the man in the khakis bid on the lot, and Jonas won the bid. Trevor was elated.
In an aside, Amelia said to Daisy, “You bid, too, if we have to knock someone out. I’ll pay you if you win it.”
As soon as the manager started the bidding on the second collection of merchandise, the woman who had been milling about bid also. So, Daisy got into the action. Since Daisy and Amelia were determined to win the bid from the older woman, she dropped out. Daisy ended up winning the bid.
Jonas elbowed her. “You might have bid more than what all of it is worth.”
“I know Amelia is pleased with the panels. She nudged me to keep bidding.”
Jonas gave her a knowing look. “The bottom line is, you can’t resist a twenty-year-old mystery, can you?”
She didn’t have to answer him because no, she couldn’t resist.