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

Chapter 6

A familiar hot pink seventies-era Volkswagen van with neon green peace symbols, bold blue flowers and bright red hearts painted on the sides pulled into the driveway.

“Paige Livingston.” Liz limped across the yard and hugged the woman who climbed out. “What are you doing here?”

“Floyd said you needed some help.”

“Did you just leave work? I thought I saw your van out by the farm’s office when we left this morning.”

“I did. I finished my shift and drove straight here.” Paige shaded her eyes and gazed at the chateau. “So what’s the scoop? This doesn’t look like your kind of house. ”

“It’s a dump,” Liz said bluntly.

A young woman, petite and with short dark hair, joined them.

“This is my friend, Echo Quigley. She’s been helping at the farm, is looking for another part-time gig and a place to live.”

Liz greeted her.

“I asked Paige and Echo to come by to see if they can help get this place shipshape and move-in ready,” Floyd said.

“Which reminds me. The lights are flickering in the front foyer,” Liz said.

Floyd pulled a notepad from his pocket and began scribbling. “I’m starting a list. So far, we’ll need an electrician, a plumber, a handyman, a heating and air conditioning company.” He finished writing and tucked his pen and notepad back into his pocket. “Now that you’re here, Echo, I have something to show you.” He ran inside and returned with the bag of bones. “I found these out back and was hoping you might know what they are.”

Echo eagerly reached for the bag.

“You love looking at bones?” Liz asked.

“I used to be an evidence technician, collecting and processing evidence. It was an awesome job. Unfortunately, I had to quit when I moved back to West Michigan.”

“Evidence technician?” Liz arched a brow.

“In Detroit, and believe me, I had plenty of work to keep me busy.” Echo removed a bone and began studying it. “Based on the size and shape, I would say they came from a doe.” She began removing the bones, giving them a lengthy analysis of each. “You’re pretty far out here in the country.”

“You can say that again,” Liz said.

“This place is probably full of them.” Echo finished examining the bones and handed the bag back to Floyd. “What’s the cleanup entail? ”

“The entire place. Anywhere and everywhere you look,” Liz said. “It needs to be razed. Unfortunately, my husband has become attached to it and believes we can salvage it.”

“Because it has good bones.” Floyd playfully elbowed his wife. “Get it? Good bones.”

“I’m sure it was a swanky place back in the day,” Paige said. “Mind if we take a look around inside?”

“Of course not,” Liz said. “You need to know what you’re getting yourself into. Don’t use the rear stairs leading to the upper level. They’re not safe.”

“We’ll be back in a few.”

Liz watched as Paige and Echo disappeared inside. “Echo is an interesting woman.”

“She’s had a hard-knock life. Her parents died when she was a teenager. From what little I’ve overheard, her aunt and uncle raised her. She moved out when she turned eighteen and has been on her own ever since. ”

“Poor thing,” Liz said. “Paige mentioned she was looking for a place to live.”

“She is.” Floyd shoved his hands in his pockets. “I was thinking since you don’t want to move into the mobile home that we might let her rent it from us. It already has water and power. She could move right in.”

“And she can keep an eye on the place,” Liz pointed out. “I can’t wait to introduce her to Gloria. She’ll be fascinated by Echo’s previous job as a crime scene evidence technician. Why don’t we see how Paige and she do today and go from there?”

“You read my mind.”

Paige and Echo were already hard at work, scrubbing the kitchen sink using the cleaning supplies Liz had brought with her when the couple caught up with them.

“We figured we might as well get started,” Paige said. “We hope you don’t mind. ”

“Mind? I’m thrilled. You give me hope this place could eventually be livable.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Echo said. “There’s nothing a little elbow grease can’t fix. This sink is in pristine condition.”

While Paige and Echo continued cleaning, Liz and Floyd wandered through the dining room and onto the front porch.

A flash of movement across the street caught Floyd’s eye. “I see the neighbor outside. Do you think I should run over there and introduce myself?”

“Are you ready for fifty questions, courtesy of Christi Kravitz?”

Floyd chuckled. “We’re not getting off to a good start, are we?”

“In the past twenty-four hours, we’ve found a dead raccoon, and your friend Deanna, is dead. How much worse can it get? I’m heading back inside to help. I can’t expect Paige and Echo to do all the work.” Liz crossed the front foyer, heading toward the kitchen, when she tripped on a loose floorboard. Arms flailing wildly, she started to go down.

A quick-thinking Floyd moved at lightning speed, catching her before she hit the floor. “I forgot to mention there are also some loose boards.”

Liz stared at her husband. “This place is a deathtrap.”

“It looks like one of the medallion’s patterned pieces came loose. I’ll fix it before someone gets hurt.” He hurriedly headed toward the door. “Let me go grab my toolbox.”

He returned moments later with Paige and Echo in tow. “I figured I better show them what to watch out for.” Floyd knelt next to the warped board. “It’s not even nailed down.”

Echo squeezed in next to him. She grabbed hold of the edge and lifted it.

Creak. The board popped out, revealing a hidden space beneath it. “There’s something down there.”