Donors, Deception & Death (Dogwood Springs Cozy Mystery, #4)

by Sally Bayless

“Don’t you remember? Her father said that when he found her body, he called his brother-in-law, who ran the funeral home. They didn’t call the sheriff until after the brother-in-law had supposedly taken away Ivy’s body. But think about it. If someone you loved had been killed, the first thing you’d do would be to call the sheriff so the killer could be caught.”

Oh? I forgot aboit that

“Yep. And now we know why she was painted out of the portrait,” Sam said. “Her stepmother hated her.”

Cunttttt

My honesty paid off, though, because the woman burst into laughter. “Bully for you!” she cried. And just like that, I had a new friend, Ida Anderson. At dinner that evening, Ida’s husband asked about my education. Their town’s teacher had recently eloped, and he was president of the school board. By the time we went to sleep that night, I had a job, and I knew exactly where I was headed.

Why do i recognie that name

I am happy here, Emmy, but I miss you. I so desperately wish I could talk with you. I hope you still collect your family’s mail. In case you don’t, I won’t write often. I do not know how you could explain these letters to your parents.

Wahh this is precious

but his mother, the rest of the family here, and my close friends know I ran away to avoid marrying someone I didn’t love. I assumed they would all disapprove, but they didn’t. Thomas says a lot of people are running from something or searching for something. I am no longer running. I have found all I could ever seek. Please write back soon. Your friend,

Oh wow

He’d checked online to see if Brad’s jewelry manufacturing company used any processes that required cyanide. It did.

Hmmm

“There are wonderful doctors in Columbia,” I said. “Hopefully, Cordell will be fine.” Enough wimpy small talk. Time to get some answers. “But I wonder if you really want Cordell to recover. After all, I saw you near the top of the stairs right after he fell.” Leah’s eyes grew hard, and her backbone straightened.

Oh damn

I inhaled sharply. “How—how can you know that unless you’re the killer?” Leah rolled her eyes. “I am not the killer. I’m observant.”

Bold thing to admit

Leah glanced at the floor. “Because, well, because I thought there was a chance—a tiny, tiny, tiny chance—that one of my boys might have killed Brittany.” She covered her mouth with one hand for a second and looked away again. “I mean, I can’t believe I’m even saying this, but Brad’s business has been struggling lately, and Brittany was scheming to have Cordell change his will so that she would get all his money. Neither of my boys would have gotten a cent.”

admitting this to a stranger is crazy

I pointed the light into the hair receiver. Inside sat a small glass vial containing a bit of white powder, powder that was probably cyanide.

Hmmm

Bella nudged her ball of paper back to me, and I gave it a gentle kick, sending it back into the corner for her to chase.

Why she wpuldnt check the paper ball before giving it to bell is beyond me

Nick turned off the light on his phone, slid it into the pocket of his jeans, and ripped the paper away from me. “I’ll take that,” he said with a sneer. “I knew when I saw your car in the parking lot that you were sticking your nose in where it didn’t belong. And don’t bother screaming. Thanks to that HVAC unit, no one can hear you.”

OH BROTHER

The knot in my stomach grew even tighter. It had been five years since Cleo lived in New York. Were her skills sharp enough to disable Nick

You know what at least she wasnt alone

My chest grew hot. How dare he call Rodney an “old fart” or the Dogwood Springs History Museum “dinky”? Forget about trying to escape in the dark. I had a better idea. I drew in a deep breath, gathered my strength, and shoved one of the big rolling trash cans at Nick. He stumbled backward and fell to the ground with an oomph. Adrenaline poured into my veins, and I opened the gate wide. “Run,” I yelled to Cleo and Bella. I pushed Cleo out ahead of me, and the three of us raced toward the back door of the B & B.

Helppppppp

“You know,” Alice said. “It could also be that in some weird way, he wanted to blame Cordell for letting Brittany end up with the poisoned drink. If Nick could somehow convince himself that Brittany’s death was partly Cordell’s fault, it might make his own guilt easier to live with.”

Alice is so smart

sat back and thought for a moment. “You know, if Alice is right, and Nick was struggling with his guilt, after he bought the gun, he might not have thought he could go through with shooting his dad. If he pushed his dad down the stairs, maybe in his mind, it could sort of be an accident.”

Ooooof is his dad to be fair

I tipped my head in acknowledgement. “From what Rodney told me today at work, Cordell isn’t pressing charges against Nick for the incident on the stairs, but he’s writing him out of his will, and he told Nick that he’s on his own for hiring a lawyer for Brittany’s murder. Plus, Cordell plans to add something to his will so that if he dies in suspicious circumstances, none of his heirs gets a penny.” Doug rested both hands on the table. “Sounds smart to me. It would be hard to trust your family after a week like he’s had.”

Damn

“Except for Paula,” I said. “Apparently, Cordell still trusts her. She’s going to Nashville with him to supervise the nursing staff that will take care of him during his recovery. Rodney says with the way they’re getting along now, he wouldn’t be shocked if the two of them ended up getting remarried. As long as Paula doesn’t have to go to big events with Cordell, Rodney thinks they would be happy.”

They were married for so long. i believe it

“They do have a lot of history,” Alice said. “And they were together before Cordell made his money, which probably makes it easier for him to trust that she’s not after his fortune.” She looked over at me. “Don’t forget to tell them what Cordell said about the museum.”

“Oh, I haven’t forgotten, not for a moment.” I sat up taller. “Cordell is making all the donations to organizations in town that he originally planned, so the museum will be able to get the elevator. Plus, as a thank you to us and especially to Bella, since attendance at the museum dropped after the murder, he’s going to task some of his company’s marketing team with helping the museum get back on track.”

Thats so kind wahhhh

“It’s going to be amazing,” I said. “When the elevator is in, we’ll have that additional exhibit space in the big room on the second floor, and once everyone knows that the murderer has been caught and we get the marketing help, we should have lots more visitors. It’s been a tricky couple of weeks, but the museum is going to end up fine.”

Slayersssss

“Thank you.” Emotion welled in my throat, and I had to stop for a moment. “I never could have figured out that Nick was the killer without you. The six of us”—I glanced at Bella—“oops, the seven of us are an amazing team.”

Real bella the true slayer

“I wonder if there will be any more murders in Dogwood Springs.” Zeke slid his plate over to Alice, who served him a second slice of cake. “I wouldn’t think so. These past few months must have been a fluke.” I folded my napkin and set it on the table. “But if there is more trouble in town, and if Detective Harper doesn’t find the culprit right away, I bet we can figure it out.” Alice raised her mug again, and together we toasted our success.

Yall areso

Nope. No messages. I sent a text asking if everything was okay.

I thiught he was going to be killed for a second

After a moment, Sam stood up, took my coat, and wrapped my hands in his. “I’m glad to see you as well.” His dark eyes shone, and he gently squeezed my fingers. “I really hope you enjoy the meal I’ve made. I think I finally mastered making béchamel sauce.”

Babygirl boyfriend

swirl of happiness wrapped around my heart. Sam made me feel treasured. With every kindness and every special moment of attention from him, the pain of my divorce grew dimmer.

Cant believe you still think of it

homemade shortbread cookies.” “Oh, wow! My mouth is already watering.” “I know your favorite is Mexican, but we just had that. Then I remembered how much you enjoyed the food at La Villetta, so I figured Italian would be a good choice.”

He knows her so well wahhh

Soon I was seated near one end of the long table in his dining room, a table that could easily seat twelve. But Sam had sectioned off our end of the table with a trio of vases of tulips, a thick, cream-colored candle burned between us, and instrumental jazz played softly on some hidden stereo system. The room, which might have seemed large and impersonal, felt intimate and romantic.

Hes so cute wtffff

Sam beamed. “Quite a couple of weeks we’ve had, figuring out who killed Brittany and learning that Ivy didn’t die in a bank robbery in 1905.”

“We haven’t completely figured out Ivy’s mystery though. I really want to know where she ended up after she left Dogwood Springs.”

Im sat for the next book

know. But someone might recognize her from an old photograph that was taken wherever she moved to.” “Possibly. If anyone is going to figure it out, Libby, you’re definitely the person to do so. You’re really good at connecting clues.”

Real

“Did I ever tell you how my company made most of its money? The app I created?” “It was an app? I assumed it was something technical that I wouldn’t understand.” He pulled out his phone from his back pocket and pointed to an icon on the screen. I stared at him. “Dinner Zapp? You made Dinner Zapp, one of those apps that lets you order takeout from any restaurant in town?”

LMAOOOOOO

know. But I think I realized what I want out of life, and it doesn’t involve eating dinner at my desk. It’s a lot more fun solving the mystery of what happened with Ivy and spending time with you.” He gave me a long, lingering look. My cheeks grew warm, and tingles shot through me. How did I ever get so lucky as to be dating this man? A man who appreciated both history and a good mystery? A man who cooked me a fabulous dinner and even made my favorite dessert,

He wants you so bad

“I’m so glad we both moved to Dogwood Springs.”

Yupppp

And, although I wasn’t yet ready to say it out loud, one day, I’d tell Sam what I’d finally admitted to myself. That somehow, despite being a bit gun-shy after my divorce, I’d completely fallen in love with him.

Omg

And, although I wasn’t yet ready to say it out loud, one day, I’d tell Sam what I’d finally admitted to myself. That somehow, despite being a bit gun-shy after my divorce, I’d completely fallen in love with him.

wAHHHHHHH