Seeds of Suspicion (Lack of Luxury Cozy Mystery #1)

Chapter 1

“This can’t be the place.” Liz Applegate-Rasmussen shaded her eyes, a sick feeling settling in the pit of her stomach as she stared at the rusted gates and wrought iron fence being swallowed up by weeds.

“It sure is, sugar lips, and this is only the beginning.” Floyd shifted the truck into park and sprang from the vehicle. She watched as he hurried to the gate and dragged it across the crumbling concrete far enough for their truck to pass through.

He climbed back in, and they jostled along over the uneven driveway, past the towering oak trees lining both sides.

A small seed of hope sprang up inside Liz as she gazed at the lush rolling hills and bright blue skies. Perhaps she was overreacting and erroneously jumping to conclusions about her future home.

They cleared the trees and her bubble burst as a rambling three-story home appeared. Antebellum was the first word that popped into Liz’s head, but only because her pre-conceived visions were of a charming home perched atop a sprawling parcel of property where she planned to host lavish parties to impress West Michigan’s who’s who of local celebrities.

But it wasn’t the “Gone with the Wind” antebellum. No…it was something entirely different .

“What is this?”

“It’s designed after a French chateau, at least the front half. I can’t quite figure out what they were trying to create in the back.” Floyd’s voice grew louder. “I figured with your love for travel and exotic locales, this would be right up your alley.”

“It would be, except someone busted out the window and the front steps are in even worse shape than the driveway. Is that a hole in the roof?” Liz’s skin crawled, and she instinctively started scratching.

“I thought you would be more excited.”

“Excited?” Liz struggled to maintain a level of optimism and quickly gave up. “This place is a dump.”

“A dump?” Floyd’s smile vanished. “It will be our labor of love. I’m giving you carte blanche to fix it up any way you wish. I have to admit, I thought it might be a tad overwhelming, so I have a surprise. ”

“Another one?” The snarky reply slipped past Liz’s lips before she could catch herself. She quickly apologized, noting the hurt expression on her husband’s face. “I’m sorry. I’ll try to go into this with an open mind.” She squared her shoulders and followed Floyd to the front entrance, past a semi-circular tower and up the double-sided staircase.

Floyd paused when they reached the landing. “Those are called pepper shakers because that’s what they kinda look like. The architecture and attention to detail in this place is stunning.”

“It appears this was a grand estate at one time.” Liz considered the possibility she might be the only owner of a French chateau in Montbay County. “Unfortunately, this place is going to need more than a deep cleaning for it to be ready to move into.”

Liz had been harping on her husband to loosen up the purse strings, move out of the family compound and buy something for just the two of them. But she was thinking more along the lines of an oceanfront contemporary in Palm Beach, or a ski chalet in Aspen, or even a quaint seaside villa off the Amalfi Coast. Not a hundred-year-old ramshackle eyesore which hadn’t been inhabited by a human in at least a decade. Probably longer.

The couple lingered while Floyd pointed out the various structures dotting the expansive landscape. He droned on about the land, the buildings and potential. All Liz could see were more projects in a similar state of disrepair surrounded by those rolling farm fields she’d admired on their way in. “I wanted something for the two of us, but this wasn’t what I envisioned. Not even close.”

Recognizing she’d regressed to her high-pitched whiny “I’m-not-getting-my-way” voice, something she was working hard to ditch to become a kinder, gentler and less self-centered Liz, she softened her tone. “I know you’re trying to make me happy, but I was hoping when you agreed we could move forward with buying a new home that you would’ve consulted me first. ”

“I had to snatch this place up quick. And…” Floyd began hem-hawing. “I had a feeling it might not have been your top pick.”

“It wouldn’t have been my bottom pick.” Liz dusted her hands and turned back toward the truck. “We’ll stay at the house until we find something more suitable.”

Floyd reached out to stop her. “We can’t.”

“Can’t what?”

“I’m sorry, Liz. I told Treece he could move into our place. He didn’t renew the lease on his apartment and has nowhere to go.”

“Treece is moving in with us?” Liz had nothing against Floyd’s grown son. In fact, although she didn’t know him that well, he seemed like a nice enough guy and had enthusiastically welcomed her into the family.

“No. He’s moving into our old place while we move here,” Floyd said. “I figured we could get it somewhat shipshape and be in here within a month.”

“Move in here within a month?” Liz squeaked. “This place needs a wrecking ball, a demolition crew, a blowtorch, quite possibly all of those things.”

“You’re not giving it a chance.”

Liz sucked in a breath and silently counted to ten. Floyd was trying to make her happy and had made a point of bending over backwards to make her feel comfortable at the family’s farm. And she appreciated it. Truly, she did. But Floyd had money… plenty of money from the recently acquired natural gas rights.

In fact, their bank account balances had so many zeroes behind them, Liz had trouble keeping track. The bottom line was they could afford a much more lavish lifestyle. Floyd’s biggest flaw, at least in Liz’s eyes, was that he didn’t have a materialistic bone in his body. He was content with his life. She was the one who was pushing for more .

Liz reached for his hand. “I love you, Floyd, and I don’t mean to come across as ungrateful. I’ll give it a chance.”

“That’s the spirit.” His eyes lit as he leaned over and gently kissed her lips. “I knew you would come around. It’s not as bad as it seems.” Before Liz could change her mind, he placed a light hand on her back and propelled her toward the front door. “As I said, we can fix this place any way you want. The value is in the land.”

Liz perked up. “Value? Do you think there’s potential for more gas exploration?”

“Of course, which is why I needed to jump on this place. You never know what could be right under our feet. I’ve already had some preliminary groundwork done.”

She half-listened as Floyd led her from room to room, her shrewd mind calculating how long it would take to figure out if they were sitting on a goldmine .

The couple toured the lower level and circled around. Liz paused, taking note of the faded clapboard siding and sagging rear porch. “What is this?”

“I believe it’s part of the original structure, a farmhouse. The front chateau was an addition.”

“This is a Jekyll and Hyde house. Jekyll in the front and Hyde in the back. What were they thinking?” Liz turned up her nose.

“Could be the owners were trying to add some French ambience,” Floyd said.

“And failed miserably. This place is a hot mess.”

“You need to see the original structure.” Floyd coaxed his wife into the kitchen. An overpowering stench of something rotting assaulted her nostrils, and she clamped a hand over her mouth. “What is that awful smell?”

“Probably a dead possum or raccoon. We’ll have the place fumigated. ”

“Or demolished. We need to leave that option on the table.”

Floyd ignored her comment as they made their way to the back staircase. He grasped the handrail and took a step up.

Crack.

Liz clutched her chest. “What was that?”

Floyd pried his foot from the hole he’d created. “It looks like we’re going to have to shore up these back stairs before we use them.”

“Shore up, sledgehammer out.” Liz felt lightheaded from holding her breath. “I’m feeling dizzy.”

Her husband placed an arm around her waist and led her to the back steps. He waved his hand in a grandiose gesture. “This is all ours, sugar lips, for as far as the eye can see. ”

“At least we’ll have privacy.” Liz’s eyes squinted as she studied a trailer near the edge of the field. “Is…the trailer ours too?”

“Mobile home,” he corrected. “We have milking barns, silos and a hog parlor all right over that hill.”

“Goody,” Liz muttered. “French chateau meets Green Acres.”

“I’m glad to see you’re coming around.” Floyd squeezed her arm.

“How long ago did you purchase this…place?”

“A few days before we eloped. I didn’t want to overwhelm you. I figured now was a good time to do something with it since we’re finally settling into married life and seeing how Treece is moving in.” Floyd followed his wife back inside, through a spacious breezeway and into the massive kitchen.

Liz lingered near the doorway, determined to focus on the chateau’s positive aspects. There was more than enough room to hire a full-time cook, perhaps even two. With a total gut job, they could add stylish cabinets, cupboards with high-end quartz counters, possibly even a double prep counter for the cook. “This kitchen is enormous.”

“You should see the rest of the place. The spiral grand staircase in the front foy-yay leads to several en suite bedrooms. You could host a hundred people in this place and not feel crammed in like sardines.”

“I’m starting to see the potential.” Liz began a mental to-do list while Floyd outlined his vision. “This kitchen is large enough for us to hire someone to cook full time,” she hinted.

“If you want to hire a cook, I don’t see why not. I was thinking we should seal off this stairwell leading down to the basement and add an access door on the other side of the breezeway.” Floyd stopped in front of an arched wooden door. He slid the bolt, grasped the handle and pulled.

Nothing happened .

“Maybe it’s locked on the other side,” Liz suggested.

“No. This is the only lock.” Floyd pulled again, this time harder.

Pop. He stumbled back.

Liz stared at the knob in his hand. “You can add this to the growing list of repairs,” she joked.

“It’s a minor fix.” Floyd slid the knob back into the slot. Using a gentler approach he wiggled back and forth until the door opened.

The putrid stench intensified, quickly filling the kitchen.

“What in the world?” Liz frantically waved her hand in front of her face, desperate to clear her nostrils of the foul odor.

“I think I found the source of the smell. Don’t look.” Floyd flung his arm out to stop his wife from getting too close .

It was too late. Liz gazed at the source of the stench. Her knees buckled, she let out a faint whimper and slumped to the floor.