Cozy Mystery Bundle #1 (South Lane Detective Agency) Read online

  After a quick stop at the flower shop, where Maybell said she had gone the day before to pick out some fresh roses to be delivered to her gardener, they headed back to the mansion empty-handed.

  “Aside from all of that, we attended the Cahill Gala last evening,” Maybell offered as an afterthought. “It was a pleasant enough event, I suppose.”

  “And where was that held, exactly?” Casey asked.

  “At the home of Dalia and Cristoff Cahill, of course,” Maybell said as if Casey should have already known.

  “Sorry, I've not heard of them before.”

  “My word,” Maybell scoffed.

  “Don't you read the newspaper, girl?” Belgrave said, his forehead wrinkled in wonder.

  “Yeah, Casey,” Zane said. “Don't you read the newspaper?”

  Casey turned to look at Zane, putting her hands on her hips.

  “And I suppose you know who they are?”

  “Of course I do. My father plays golf with the Cahills.”

  “Well, I'll be,” Belgrave said appreciatively. “I thought you looked familiar. You're old Zeke Wolfe's boy, aren't you?”

  “In the flesh, sir.”

  “I should have seen it from the start.” Belgrave nodded and broke out in a huge grin. He even gave Zane a hearty slap on the shoulder. “You carry yourself like you're one of us.”

  “Thank you,” Zane said.

  “How'd you end up with this one?” Belgrave’s remark was once again followed by a thumb in Casey’s direction.

  “Excuse me?” she said, feeling most indignant.

  Zane shrugged his shoulders. “We dated in college.”

  “Experimentation is a good thing, they say,” Belgrave said carefully. “Not still, though...?”

  Zane laughed. “Oh, heavens no.”

  “Smart boy.”

  “Hey, I'm standing right here,” Casey said, looking back and forth between them in shock.

  “Pay no attention to them, dear,” Maybell said. “Why, if it weren't for my father's money, Belgrave would probably be selling shoes at the local shopping mall.”

  “That's not true at all,” Belgrave shot back. “My parents were both rather wealthy.”

  “They had, what, twenty million?” Maybell smiled innocently. “Cute.”

  “Damnable woman,” Belgrave said in disgust.

  “Anyway, so you were at a party last night?” Casey said, trying to get the conversation back on track.

  “It was a gala, but yes.”

  Casey had no idea what the difference was between a party and a gala.

  “Did anything strange happen at the party?”

  “It's a Cahill party, girl,” Belgrave interjected. “Nothing happens out of the ordinary at those things.”

  Maybell looked up to the ceiling, seemingly deep in thought.

  “Actually,” the elderly woman said after a moment, “now that you mention it, there was something.”

  “Go on,” Casey prompted.

  “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Hubonots were constantly commenting on my ring.” Maybell was sitting on the edge of the sofa now, excitement clearly evident on her features. “Yes! They must have commented on it half a dozen times, at least. They were staring at it all night.”

  Belgrave sighed and rolled his eyes. “That happens everywhere we go.”

  “True, but this was different,” she insisted. She gave her husband a hard stare, standing her ground.

  “How so?” Zane said, finally showing some interest in the case.

  “Mr. Hubonot took me aside at one point and made me an offer for it. I can’t believe I didn’t remember this before. It was after dinner, when you had gone to the restroom, I think, dear—you know, dear, because the lamb always upsets your stomach, and he made me an offer for my ring.”

  “I don’t think my bathroom schedule is relevant to your missing ring, dear,” Belgrave said as his face turned red. “Now, what are you talking about that he made you an offer? What do you mean?”

  “Well, just what I said. He made me an offer. He said he'd give me twenty million for it, which I thought was funny considering how much Belgrave's parents are worth. Imagine a mere ring matching their net worth!” She smiled at Belgrave, obviously enjoying his discomfort. “Makes me giggle even now.”

  “Damnable woman.”

  “That’s great information, Mrs. Thurston,” said Casey while pursing her lips, “but I'm not sure that's much to go on, unfortunately.”

  Zane turned to look at her. “It's a lead, right?”

  “It couldn't hurt to talk with them, I suppose.” Casey looked to Maybell. “You wouldn't happen to know where they live, would you?”

  “Oh sure, they're just across town,” she replied. “I'll get you their address.”

  Maybell got up and walked slowly out of the living room and into the kitchen.

  Casey responded to Zane’s questioning look with a shrug of her shoulders. She hated it when he was right, but it was a lead.

  THE HUBONOTS

  Earl and Liza Hubonot’s sprawling ranch home looked less like a mansion and more like a…ranch, Casey thought as they pulled up to the gate. There were a couple of horses grazing out in the side field, and a few pieces of large farming equipment scattered around the property. Casey had no idea what any of them were for.

  The Thurstons had told them the Hubonots had struck it rich in oil some years ago, so they were “new money.” Mr. Thurston had said it with a hint of derision.

  New money or not, Mr. Hubonot himself, complete with a ten-gallon hat, opened the front door for them and warmly invited them inside, where Mrs. Hubonot had a tray with glasses of ice cold, sickly sweet tea all set, as if she’d had it on hand in the event that guests ever arrived. Casey nearly gagged but did her best to at least get a couple of sips down before she filled them both in on the case so far. She also tried not to stare at Mrs. Hubonot’s pancake-batter-thick blue eyeshadow. It was piled on so thick, the woman appeared to have difficulty blinking.

  “And they think we stole it?” Earl said in his Texan accent, looking incredulous.

  “That's ridiculous,” Liza said, chiming in on the implied accusation.

  “Sorry, no,” Casey quickly corrected. “I don't want to give that impression, exactly.”

  “Well, you kind of did,” Zane said.

  “Aint' you Zeke Wolfe's boy?” Earl asked.

  Zane nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  “Thought so.” Mr. Hubonot scrunched his face and nodded toward Casey. “What in tarnation are you doing hanging out with riffraff like this?”

  “She's not all that bad,” Zane said with a shrug of his shoulders.

  “I was talking to her,” Earl said, pointing at Casey.

  “Oh,” Zane said, surprised.

  “We dated in college,” Casey explained, “and he kind of stuck around.”

  “Everyone needs to experiment, I suppose,” Earl said.

  “Plus, it's my money that got her business started,” Zane quickly added. “Let's not forget that part.”

  “Impossible to forget when you incessantly remind me.”

  “Good.”

  “Great.”

  Liza looked over at her Earl. “Yep, they dated all right.”

  “Uh huh,” Earl agreed.

  “Anyway, I don't want to take too much of your time, and you obviously don't have to answer my questions if you don't want to, but I’m just trying to get things resolved.”

  “We got nothing to hide,” Earl said with his head held high.

  “Good,” Casey said. “So, last night you were at the Cahill's for a party, correct?”

  Liza nodded. “It was something else. Those little cheeseballs were amazing.”

  “The Cahills?” asked Zane.

  “She means actual cheeseballs,” Casey said with a sigh. “The kind you eat.”

  “Oh, right.”

  “Prefer a good ol’ steak myself,” Earl added, “but the booze was decent.”

  “An
d you spoke with Mrs. Thurston about her ring?” Casey said it as innocently as she could, not wanting to incite the man further.

  Liza took the bait. “Oh, that ring was something. Looked like a fallen star had landed on someone's finger.”

  “Made her an offer on the damn thing,” Earl said with a hard nod and then steadied his hat, “but she wouldn't have nothing to do with it.”

  “Would love to have a ring like that,” Liza said wistfully, to no one in particular.

  There was a pregnant pause while Casey waited for them to continue. Liza appeared lost in thought, and Earl appeared somewhat annoyed—like he was upset that he hadn’t been able to give his wife what she so desperately wanted. Casey marveled once again at how sometimes you can learn much more about a case during moments of silence than even in interrogation.

  The moment was rudely interrupted by Zane’s voice.

  “Just exactly how much would you love to have a ring like that, Mr. Hubonot?”

  It was said darkly.

  Earl perked up at the question. “Why, you got one?”

  “Uh, no... I was trying to be ominous.”

  “What the hay berries are you talking about, boy?”

  “What he's doing, Mr. Hubonot, is implying that you have something to do with the fact that Mrs. Thurston's ring has gone missing.”

  Earl looked at Zane in confusion, the annoyance once again playing over his features.

  “You calling me a thief, son?”

  “I never said that.”

  Liza stood up in front of her husband. “Earl'd do anything to make me happy, but he wouldn't break the law to do it.” She gave a quick glance back at him over her shoulder. “Would ya, Hound dog?”

  “Hound dog?” Zane mouthed to Casey, causing her to shake her head at him.

  “Depends on the importance, I suppose. But I ain't done that here.”

  “How can we be sure of that?” Zane said.

  “It's a question of honor, boy.”

  “I don't understand.”

  “Not surprised,” Earl responded. “Anyway, I wanted that ring for my Liza, sure, but there's many rings in the world.”

  “Not like that one,” Liza said, lost in her thoughts all over again.

  “Well, no.”

  Liza’s voice came out barely above a whisper.

  “Ain't never seen one prettier.”

  BACK AT THE OFFICE

  Back at the office, Casey sat at her desk and took a sip of bitter, strong coffee. She could barely get it down, but she needed something to help get rid of the taste of that awful tea from earlier. At least the coffee was hot, she thought, trying to focus on the positive.

  “So far everything is coming up cold on this,” Casey said to Zane as he sat on the edge of her desk.

  “My guess is she just dropped it somewhere.” He picked up her stapler and began shooting off staples randomly into the air. “I was kind of hoping that this would be more thrilling. Not likely to get a book out of this mystery.”

  “I'm not convinced that Mr. Hubonot didn't have something to do with it.”

  “I thought you were on his side.”

  “As it related to making fun of you, I was, but did you see the look in his eyes when Liza pointed out that she'd never seen a prettier ring?”

  “She did seem like she was floating on a cloud.”

  “Floating on a cloud?”

  “Hey, I'm an author.” Zane paused in his air-stapling to give Casey a disarming smile.

  “Right. Well, again, I'm not sure yet about them.”

  The sound of the door opening caused Casey and Zane to look up, noticing the approaching form of Mr. Thurston. Zane stood up and put the stapler down, nearly knocking over the cup of coffee.

  “This is your office?” Belgrave said with surprise as he looked around disgustedly.

  Casey couldn’t help feeling defensive. “If that being wealthy thing goes away at some point, Mr. Thurston, you might want to consider taking a shot at being a detective.”

  Belgrave gave her a hard look. “Pardon me?”

  “Don’t mind her,” Zane said with a shrug, trying to smooth the situation. “You know how the poor can be.”

  “Excuse me,” said Casey.

  “What can we help you with, Mr. Thurston?” Zane said quickly. “Did you find the ring?”

  “Not yet, but it'll turn up. That's what I've come down here to tell you. My wife has been misplacing things a lot lately. It's become commonplace. She swears she doesn't, but I find her things in all sorts of strange places these days.”

  Casey immediately regretted her earlier outburst. She stood up and came around her desk to stand with Zane, looking contrite.

  “I'm sorry to hear that. She seemed quite with it when we were talking earlier.”

  “She has her good moments and her bad. I didn’t want to embarrass her any further while you were at the house.” The response was directed at Zane, despite Casey having asked the question. “Anyway, I stopped by to pay you for your time. I assume ten thousand should cover your expenses?”

  Casey sputtered, the coffee close to squirting out of her nose. She coughed and then grabbed a tissue, trying to cover her shock.

  “For coming over to your house and—” Casey began.

  “Thanks, Mr. Thurston, we'll make do,” Zane said as plucked the check from the client’s hand while leading him to the front door. “I'm just sorry that we couldn't help solve this case.”

  “Can't win them all, I suppose,” Belgrave said, and then looked over his shoulder at Casey. “It was a interesting, if nothing else. Best of luck with this...place.”

  “Guess that's that,” Zane said after the door shut on Mr. Thurston.

  “He's lying.”

  “That was my first thought, too,” Zane said as his eyes darted about.

  “No, it wasn't.”

  “No, it wasn’t,” he said, mocking her voice. “Sorry. Why do we think he's lying, again?”

  “Because, numbskull, he's done a few things that no wealthy person—aside from you—would ever do.”

  “Like what?”

  “First off, he came down here on his own. Why would he do that?”

  “Maybe he was in the neighborhood.”

  “This neighborhood?” she scoffed. “I don't think so. Secondly, he just dropped ten thousand on my desk.”

  “So?” Zane said, looking perplexed.

  “So that may be chump change to you, but to someone like me that's a windfall.”

  “And?”

  “And he knows that. This isn't payment for spending an afternoon hunting for a diamond. This is shut-up money.”

  “That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?”

  “And, lastly,” she continued, ignoring his question, “we spent the better part of the day with Mrs. Thurston. She was more with it than you. Not that that's difficult.”

  “Very funny.”

  “The point is that this guy is up to something.”

  “You think everyone is up to something, Casey.”

  “They usually are.”

  “So now you've got Mr. Thurston under your scrutiny along with Mr. Hubonot.”

  “Yep.”

  “Anyone else?” he asked bringing his hand to his chin thoughtfully. “The butler is always a solid option in these things. A bit cliché, to be sure, but we can chalk that up to my being new at this writing thing.” He paused and then added, “There's also the cook, not to mention the driver, and let's not forget the Cahills.”

  “I haven't.”

  “Oh, you can't be serious.”

  AT THE CAHILLS

  Unlike the Thurstons and the Hubonots, the Cahills’ home was ultra modern and located downtown. It was in a gated community by the city center; private, and yet near all the action. All you could see from the outside was glass and concrete. Casey thought it resembled a museum more than a home.

  “And you are detectives?”

  The door was barely cracked open an
d all Casey could see was one of Dalia Cahill’s green eyes peering at her in suspicion. Casey also noticed the older woman had a deep blue silk scarf wrapped around her white hair.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Casey said. “We’re investigating the disappearance of Mrs. Thurston’s diamond ring.”

  “The blue one?” The door opened a little bit farther, but they still hadn’t been ushered inside.

  “Correct… Um, may we come in?”

  Mrs. Cahill begrudgingly opened the heavy oak door, obviously still leery of their presence on her front stoop, and motioned for them to enter the house. After she shut the door, she led them through a grand, open marble foyer into a library just off the entrance. She leaned against the edge of an executive desk and invited them to sit on the brown leather sofa that lined the wall. One other wall was floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and the wall behind the desk was a solid sheet of glass. There were priceless antiques scattered about, leading Casey to assume either the Cahills had no grandchildren, or the library was off-limits to them.

  “May I offer you something to drink?” Mrs. Cahill said, raising a small china cup to her lips. “Tea? Coffee?”

  “No, thank you,” Casey said, answering for them both. Zane raised an eyebrow at her, but Casey ignored him.

  “What a treasure that ring is,” Mrs. Cahill said, picking up where she had left off. “Not a lady I know that wouldn’t pay a pretty price for that gem.”

  “Is that so?” Zane said, with a hint of suspicion lacing his voice.

  “Of course.” Mrs. Cahill shrugged her small shoulders. “It’s a one-of-a-kind. Beautiful cut, perfect gleam, and its setting is flawlessly placed. I would probably have gone with less flash around the main stone, but to each his own.”

  “Did you notice anything strange at the party last night, ma’am?” Casey asked.

  “We make it a point to disallow strange happening at our parties, dear.”

  “Sorry, I mean did you notice anything out of the ordinary, specifically as it relates to Mrs. Thurston and her ring?”