Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 03 - Smoky Mountain Mystery

Smoky Mountain Mystery
Garden Girls Series Book 3

Hope Callaghan

FIRST EDITION
PUBLISHED BY:
Orlando Home Solutions, LLC
Copyright © 2015
All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction.  Although places mentioned may be real, the characters, names and incidents and all other details are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.  Any resemblance to actual events or actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.  The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
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Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Pumpkin Dog Biscuit Recipe

The first thing Gloria noticed when she walked into her kitchen was the message light on her phone was blinking.  She pressed the button and shook her head when she heard her sister’s voice.  Gloria closed her eyes. 
Uh-oh, now what?
She wondered.

“Hey, Gloria.  It’s me, Liz.  I just wanted to let you know if anything happens to me.  You know, like I come up missing or something like that, I need you to come by my apartment.  There’ll be an envelope waiting for you on the kitchen counter.” 

Typical Liz.  Weird, mysterious message and absolutely no useful information.  Gloria shook her head.  “How am I supposed to get into your place?” she muttered to the answering machine.

She jabbed the erase button.  The light was still blinking.  She pressed the button a second time.  It was Liz again. 

“Yeah, you’re probably wondering how you’re going to get in.”  She paused before taking a dramatic breath and continuing.  “I’m mailing you a key.” 

Liz lowered her voice, as if someone might be listening in.  “It would probably be best if you not mention this to anyone.  I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”

The message abruptly ended.  No “good-bye.” No “talk to you later.”  Nada.  Zip.  Gloria shook her head grimly.  Liz was such a drama queen.  With her, everything was life and death.  In her mind, running out of potato chips was a crisis.

Gloria sighed in aggravation before she picked up the phone and dialed her sister’s number.  She wasn’t the least bit surprised when Liz didn’t pick up.  The queen probably hoped she would mess up Gloria’s day by making her drive all the way over to her apartment to check on her. 

Well, doggonit, she wasn’t going to fall into that trap.
  Maybe she’d get lucky and her sister
would
disappear.  She immediately felt guilty at the thought.  She’d never forgive herself if something bad actually happened to Liz.

Gloria glanced at the kitchen clock.  It was almost lunchtime.  She looked down at her dog, Mally, sitting patiently at her feet.  She looked hungry, too.  “I’m starving.  How ‘bout you?”  Mally thumped her tail on the kitchen floor in agreement.

She filled Mally’s food dish before she pulled some leftover pizza from the fridge and popped it into the microwave.  As she munched on her pizza, a wave of aggravation washed over her again. 

Liz was certainly one of a kind.  The sibling rivalry – at least on her sister’s end – teetered on the edge of borderline obsessive.  If Gloria got a new purse, Liz immediately ran out and got one, too.  But hers always had to be nicer and more expensive. 

When Gloria’s friends surprised her with a small, intimate birthday celebration last year, Liz had a party, too.  Except for
Liz’s
birthday, they rented out Dreamwood Retirement’s community building and hundreds of people showed up.

By the time she popped the last piece of pizza in her mouth, Gloria had almost talked herself out of driving all the way over to her sister’s place. 

She and Mally wandered out to the mailbox and retrieved the small pile of envelopes inside.  She glanced through the thin stack as she made her way back to the house.  There, in the middle of the pile, was a plain, brown envelope.  Gloria recognized the large, familiar scrawl.  It was her sister’s handwriting.  She ripped it open and reached inside.  There was no note.  Just a key.

Gloria stomped into the house, grabbed her set of keys and purse. Mally, her Springer Spaniel, perked up when she heard the jingle of the car keys.  She raced to her box of stuffed toys, shoved her head deep inside the box and pulled out a puffy giraffe.  By the time Gloria made it to the kitchen door, Mally was standing guard, gazing up at Gloria with those warm, chocolate eyes, begging to go for a ride. 

“Oh, I suppose you can go.” She grabbed the door handle and slowly pulled it open.  Mally squeezed in between her and the screen door.  “The folks at Dreamwood will love to see you, I’m sure.” 

Mally and Gloria visited Liz at the retirement home every couple of weeks and it was no wonder Mally loved to go.  She got special treats from the staff and everyone that got close to her fawned all over her like she was some kind of celebrity dog. 

“C’mon.  Let’s go.”  Gloria opened the driver’s side door.  Mally jumped in and skittered over took her usual spot on the passenger side.  After Gloria slid into the driver’s seat, she reached over and buckled Mally in her seat.  Mally gave Gloria a look that was almost a frown, as if to say, “Did you really have to do that?”

She shook her head as she tugged on the latch to make sure it was secure.  “You know the rules.  Around town you can leave it off but since we’re going into Green Springs, you have to have it on.”

The dog was still giving her that look.  “Unless, of course, you don’t want to go,” Gloria added.

Mally slumped down in the seat.  She thumped her tail and let out a pathetic whine as she gazed sheepishly at Gloria. 

“That’s what I thought!”

Gloria started the car, pulled out of the driveway and onto the main road. “Let’s get this over with,” she muttered under her breath, still not believing her sister was really in trouble.  In trouble?  Doubtful.  No, Liz
was
trouble.

Gloria pulled into Dreamwood Retirement parking complex a short time later.  It wasn’t hard to find Liz’s empty parking space.  Her sister made darned sure she had the best spot in the place.  Front and center.  Anabelle easily slid into the open spot.  At least here, the parking spots were large enough for full-size vehicles. 

Gloria glanced around the lot.  90% of the cars were at least a decade old and most were as large, if not larger, than her own.  Actually, the majority were either Lincoln’s or Caddy’s. 

Mally shifted around in her seat impatiently.  She pawed at the buckle and let out a small whimper. 

Gloria reached over to unfasten the belt.  “I know. I know.  You’re ready to get out of that contraption.”  She released Mally from the belt and swung the door open.

Mally scrambled down onto the pavement and patiently sat waiting while Gloria attached her leash.  A wave of guilt washed over Gloria.  She was taking some of her frustration out on her poor dog.

Gloria bent down and wrapped her arms around Mally’s neck as she patted her lovingly.  “You’re such a good girl.”  Mally licked the side of her face and thumped her tail on the pavement.   Sometimes Gloria felt she didn’t deserve such a loyal companion.

She straightened up and faced Liz’s apartment building.  “C’mon, let’s go!” The two of them marched up the sidewalk.  By the time she and Mally made their way to Liz’s front door, she was all riled up again.  This was nothing but a wild good chase. 

When she got her hands on her pain-in-the-rear sister, she was going to give her a piece of her mind, she vowed.  She jabbed the doorbell several times before rapping on the kitchen window sharply. And then she waited.  The longer she waited, the more aggravated she got.  With half a mind to forget checking on her sister, she turned on her heel.  She tugged on Mally’s leash. “C’mon.  Let’s get out of here.”

At the end of the sidewalk, she came to an abrupt halt.  Her conscience pricked her. 
What if Liz was hurt?  What if she accidentally slipped and fell in her tub?  Or was stabbed by an intruder? 
Gloria shook her head to clear it. 

There was no way she could just drive off without taking a look inside.  She slowly whirled back around and tiptoed through the meticulously manicured lawn until she reached the living room slider. The blinds were open. It was dark inside.

She shaded her eyes with her hand and leaned her forehead against the glass.  Slightly out of breath, she quickly fogged the window.  She grabbed her sleeve and swirled it around to get rid of the damp spot.  When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, the first thing she noticed was the place was clean and tidy.  Too clean.  Cleanliness wasn’t one of Liz’s finer traits.

She fumbled around in her purse for the key as she made her way to the front door.  The key fit the lock perfectly and the door easily swung open.  “Anybody home?” She stood just inside the door.  “Liz?”  Nothing but silence greeted her. 

Gloria unhooked Mally’s leash.  “Where’s Liz, Mally?”  The dog darted down the small hall towards the rear of the apartment.  Gloria watched her disappear into Liz’s bedroom.  Maybe she would find something. 

She followed Mally to the back of the apartment, checking hallway closets, behind bathroom shower curtains, even under the bed.  Nothing.  Nothing looked out of place.  She worked her way back to the front.  When she got to the kitchen, the first thing she did was check the counter.  It was clean and bare.  There was no envelope. 

She yanked the nearest drawer open and peered inside.  It was crammed full of mismatched dish towels.  The one next to it had a small silverware tray with only a handful of eating utensils.  She carefully searched every cabinet, every drawer.  Nowhere in the kitchen was there an envelope with her name on it.   

Mally finished investigating the back of the small apartment and followed Gloria into the kitchen.  She sniffed the bottom of the kitchen cupboards before stopping in front of the stove where she began pawing underneath.  Mally let out a low whine.

Gloria stopped what she was doing.  “What’d you find, girl?”  She bent down and peered into the dark crevice.  No way was she going to stick her hand in there.  Heaven only knew what kind of critter might be lurking underneath.  Instead, she pulled out the bottom storage drawer for a closer inspection. 

She set the drawer off to the side and peered in. There was nothing but a small village of dust bunnies and a petrified bug or two.  That and a well-preserved tater tot.  Mally squeezed her head between the cabinet and the bottom of the oven.  She bit down on the bite-size snack.  In one swallow, it was gone. 

Gloria’s stomach turned.  “That’s just gross.  You don’t know how long that thing’s been down there.”  She shook her head in disgust. 

Mally leaned over and licked Gloria’s arm.  “Woof!” 

Gloria shoved the drawer back in place, grabbed the edge of the stove and pulled herself to her feet. Her brows sunk into a deep V-shape.  Now she was starting to get concerned!

She headed outside with Mally right on her heels.  Gloria slowly locked the door and dropped the key back into her purse.  Maybe something really had happened to Liz.  Maybe it happened so unexpectedly Liz didn’t have
time
to leave an envelope for her. 

She glanced down at her watch.  It was half past noon.  Dreamwood’s cafeteria was still open for lunch.  She made a beeline in that direction.  Maybe someone there could shed some light on Liz’s mysterious disappearance.

The double glass doors leading into the cafeteria were plastered with posters.  Gloria started to push the door open when one of them caught her eye:

“Saturday Night Square Dance.”

“Bring your Boots, Bring your Babe, Bring Your Best Promen-ade.”

Gloria shook her head. 
This is
exactly
why I refuse to move here.

Feeling vindicated for all the times she told her daughter Jill.  No. No. No - She would not be moving to Dreamwood, she made a mental note to use this as a perfect example as to why not!

At least that’s what she tried to tell herself.  But if she were being completely honest, maybe it did sound like a
little
fun…

Gloria stepped inside the large, open dining room.  The tables were half full of residents still enjoying a leisurely lunch.  Her eyes scanned the room.  There in the center of the room, seated at one of the tables was Liz’s closest friend, Frances. 

Gloria and Mally sauntered over to the table and silently sidled up next to her.  Frances didn’t see her coming or probably even care.  She was too busy talking to one of only a handful of eligible bachelors that lived at Dreamwood.   Gloria vaguely recognized the man.  His name was on the tip of her tongue.  Darold, Harold.  Something like that… 

Frances lightly touched the man’s arm, then began rubbing it gently.  “I was wondering, Milt, if you could take a minute and stop by my place.”

She batted her eyes so fast, Gloria was certain one of her thick, false eyelashes would come flying off and hit poor “Milt” in the face.  “The headboard on my bed is loose and I’m worried it’s going to fall over and hit me in the head.” 

Gloria didn’t give Milt time to answer as she leaned forward, her face only inches from Frances’s.  “If ole Milt here doesn’t have time, I’d be happy to take a look at it for you, Frances.”

Frances jerked back, her hand quickly dropping into her lap. Her head snapped up as she caught a glimpse of Gloria.  “Gloria, I didn’t see you come up.”

“Yeah, for a minute I thought I was invisible,” she commented dryly.  She got right to the point.  “Have you seen Liz lately?”

Frances stopped making googly eyes at Milt long enough to focus on what Gloria was saying.  She shook her head slowly.  “No.  As a matter of fact, I haven’t seen her in a couple days now.”  Finally, Frances noticed Mally.  “Oh, you brought Sally with you.” She reached down and patted the dog’s head. 

Milt saw his golden opportunity to escape.  He jumped out of his seat and offered his chair to Gloria.  “I was just leaving if you’d like to sit down.”  Milt didn’t wait for an answer as he quickly scurried across the room in an effort to make a clean getaway.