Forget Me Knot (Garden Girls Christian Cozy Mystery Series Book 13) Read online

  Forget Me Knot

  Garden Girls

  Cozy Mystery Series Book 13

  Hope Callaghan

  http://hopecallaghan.com

  Copyright © 2016

  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 fictitious. 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.

  ______________________________

  Visit my website for new releases and special offers: hopecallaghan.com

  Thank you, Peggy Hyndman, Cindi Graham and Wanda Downs for taking the time to preview Forget Me Knot, for the extra sets of eyes and for catching all my mistakes.

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Free Cozy Mysteries Newsletter

  Meet The Author

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

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  Recipe: Chicken Tortilla Casserole

  Meet The Author

  Hope Callaghan is an author who loves to write Christian books, especially Christian Mystery and Cozy Mystery books. She has written more than 40 mystery books (and counting) in four series.

  Born and raised in a small town in West Michigan, she now lives in Florida with her husband.

  She is the proud mother of one daughter and a stepdaughter and stepson. When she's not doing the thing she loves best - writing books - she enjoys cooking, traveling and reading books.

  Click Here For A Complete List Of Books By Hope Callaghan

  Hope loves to connect with her readers! Connect with her today!

  Visit hopecallaghan.com for special offers, free books, and soon-to-be-released books!

  Email: [email protected]

  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopecallaghanauthor/

  Foreword

  Dear Reader,

  I would like to personally thank you for purchasing this book and also to let you know that a portion of all my book sales go to support missions which proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

  My prayer is that you will be blessed by reading my stories and knowing that you are helping to spread the Gospel of the Lord.

  With more than thirty mystery books (and counting) in four series published, I hope you will have as much fun reading them as I have writing them!

  May God Bless You!

  Sincerely,

  Author Hope Callaghan

  “Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 NIV

  Chapter 1

  Gloria Rutherford-Kennedy rested her forehead against the steering wheel of her car and adjusted her cell phone so it was closer to her ear. “Annabelle is dead!”

  “What do you mean she’s dead?” Gloria’s husband, Paul, asked.

  “Well, I’m sitting in my car and just tried to start it. All it does is make a grinding noise like…err, err, err,” she explained. “It’s not the battery. That seems to be fine.”

  “Better call Gus to tow it to his shop.” Gus Smith and his wife, Mary Beth, owned Smith Auto Repair, the auto repair shop in the small town of Belhaven where Gloria and her husband, Paul, lived.

  Paul paused, certain his new bride wouldn’t like what he was about to say next. “Perhaps it’s time to put Annabelle to rest. She’s been a great car but she’s getting up there in miles and is going to start nickel and diming us to death.”

  Gloria refused to consider getting rid of her beloved Annabelle and quickly dismissed his suggestion. “I’ll give Gus a call.” Gloria said good-bye, disconnected the line and dialed Gus’s number.

  “Smith Auto Repair. Gus speaking.”

  “Hi Gus. It’s Gloria. Annabelle is being finicky this morning and won’t start.” She briefly repeated what she had just told Paul.

  Gus told her he would be there shortly. After telling him she’d be waiting, Gloria pressed the end call button to disconnect the line before climbing out of the car and heading to the back porch to wait for Gus and his tow truck to arrive.

  Memorial Day, along with Andrea’s engagement celebration, was right around the corner. Gloria didn’t have time for car trouble. Paul and she had also planned a family get-together, a combination clean-out-the-barns and house party for their children and grandchildren to come over and sort through the stacks of stuff Paul and Gloria no longer needed since they’d recently married and combined households.

  Many of the things Gloria had set aside were family heirlooms and items with sentimental value from not only her first husband, James’s, side of the family, but hers, too.

  There were also cherished toys and clothes she’d saved from when her children were young and she wanted to make sure the treasures were not accidentally mixed in with Paul’s things that he planned to pass onto his own children.

  Also in the works was a party the Garden Girls were planning, a combination Memorial Day cookout and engagement celebration for Brian and Andrea’s recent engagement, which had been put on the backburner while the girls had taken a recent cruise.

  Andrea had insisted they hold the festive party at her place, her mini-mansion they had dubbed Magnolia Mansion. It would be Andrea’s chance to show off her beautiful home. She had plenty of room and, for once, Gloria was happy to pass the baton and let someone else host a get-together.

  Gus and his wrecker turned into the drive. He pulled past the car, backed up so he was directly behind Annabelle, and then climbed out of the driver’s seat.

  Gloria hopped off the porch and met him near the back. “I hope it’s not too serious,” she fretted as she watched Gus place two hooks under the bumper of the car.

  “Annabelle is getting up there,” Gus commented. “What year is she?”

  “1989,” Gloria said. “It was a good year.” She remembered the first time she’d first laid eyes on Annabelle, how James had surprised her when he brought the brand spanking new car home. It had been love at first sight.

  A lump formed in Gloria’s throat and she swallowed hard. She knew it was silly to get emotional over a car, but Annabelle was a part of her life and she had many fond memories.

  Gus flipped a switch on the back of the wrecker, and Annabelle creaked and groaned as the hooks lifted her back end off the ground. “Got a loaner I can let you borrow fo
r a few days. I bought a be-yoot down at the auto auction in Grand Rapids a few days ago. Nice ride. 2015 Ford SUV with low miles. The owner got into a little fender bender, and then the finance company took it back after he stopped making payments.”

  Gus leaned against the side of his wrecker and studied Annabelle thoughtfully. “I got it all fixed up, ready to sell. Why don’t you drive it for a couple days while I look at Annabelle? You might be surprised at how much you’ll like driving something newer.”

  Gloria doubted it. She loved Annabelle, but she wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. “That would be perfect. Of course, I’ll pay you a rental fee.”

  “Nah!” Gus waved his hand. “You’re like family Gloria. I can’t charge you for the loan. Hop in and I’ll take you down to the shop where you can pick up the vehicle.”

  “Thanks, Gus. You’re a doll. Let me grab my purse off the porch.” After grabbing her purse, Gloria headed to the wrecker’s passenger side door and started to climb in when she noticed a huge dark splotch on the seat. It looked like a grease stain.

  Gus noticed her look, reached behind the driver’s seat and pulled out a piece of cardboard. He set the cardboard on the seat. “Sorry about the seat. I don’t think it’ll get on your clothes, but just to be safe you can sit on this.”

  Gloria grinned as she stared at the cardboard. At least it looked clean. She settled onto the piece of cardboard and reached for her seatbelt.

  The interior of the wrecker reeked of motor oil and gasoline. Gloria’s eyes began to burn. She gulped a big breath of air and began gagging at the overpowering smell.

  Gus flipped a switch to open the windows. “Sorry about the smell. Wes, the young kid I hired to help me out after school, accidentally tipped over a gas can and it spilled on the floor.” He shook his head. “Kids.”

  Once the wrecker was on the road and they started driving, fresh air filled the cab and the smell vanished. They had rounded the curves near the edge of the lake leading into town when Gloria heard the sound of sirens. She glanced in the rearview mirror and spotted a police car bearing down on them.

  Gus noticed, too, and quickly pulled onto the side of the road as the car whizzed by. “Uh-oh. That can’t be good.”

  They had just pulled back onto the road when they heard another siren. It was an ambulance. Again, Gus pulled off and let the ambulance by. “I wonder what is going on.”

  When they reached the repair shop, Gus pulled in front of the service bay door and climbed out of the tow truck. Gloria trailed behind, noticing a newer, silver SUV parked in the lot. She correctly guessed it was the loaner vehicle.

  Mary Beth, Gus’s wife, was behind the counter. She looked up as they stepped inside. “Hi Gloria. I’d like to say it’s nice to see you, but I’m sure you’re not thrilled to see me.”

  Gloria placed her purse on the counter and sighed heavily. “I hate car problems.” She glanced at Gus, who was fumbling with the keys on the rack behind the counter. “Gus is an angel for dropping everything to help me out. He’s even going to loan me the new SUV you picked up.”

  “It’s an awesome ride,” Mary Beth said. “You’re gonna fall in love with it once you drive it. If I didn’t have my nearly-new sedan, I would keep it for myself.”

  Gus handed Gloria a set of keys. “If you want, I’ll show you a few things before you take off.”

  Gloria waved good-bye to Mary Beth and then followed Gus to the SUV. He opened the door. “Hop in.”

  The first thing Gloria noticed was how roomy it seemed. The second thing she noticed was the smell…new and leather. Gus was right. The SUV was like new.

  She took the keys from Gus and began searching for the ignition.

  “Nope. Don’t need those. This is one of those fancy push button vehicles.” Gus showed her how to start the car and Gloria shook her head. “This is too luxurious for me, not that Annabelle isn’t luxury, she’s vintage luxury.”

  After showing Gloria a few more of the vehicle’s bells and whistles, he sent her on her way. She began to back out of the parking spot and then tapped the horn.

  Gus, who was halfway to the door, made his way back over.

  “What if I get into an accident and total this thing?” she asked.

  Gus shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned. “You break it, you buy it,” he joked, and then waved a hand dismissively. “Nah! It’s already insured.”

  She nodded. “Now that you mention it, I think my auto insurance would cover damages, too.” Gloria waved to Gus and headed toward town, anxious to find out where the police car and ambulance had gone.

  Chapter 2

  It took Gloria a few minutes to get used to the steering and the brakes on the SUV. Everything was so precise, so exact and the complete opposite of Annabelle, who kind of floated back and forth across the road.

  Gloria quickly discovered if she jerked the SUV’s steering wheel, even a little, it overcorrected and headed for the ditch. “This is going to take some getting used to,” she mumbled as she hit the brakes a little too hard and her forehead bumped the visor.

  She turned onto Main Street and passed by Dot’s Restaurant to the right and Belhaven’s post office on the left. Gloria let out a sigh of relief when all looked normal and there were no cop cars or ambulances parked out front.

  Gloria pressed lightly on the gas pedal…her plan was to circle around the block to head back to Dot’s when she spotted the flashing lights straight ahead. Not only an ambulance, but also several of the Montbay County Sheriff’s vehicles blocked the street in front of Nails and Knobs, Belhaven’s hardware store.

  Brian Sellers, Gloria’s friend, owned Nails and Knobs Hardware store. A crowd of people milled about in front of the store and Gloria spotted her friend, Dot Jenkins. Dot and her husband, Ray, owned Dot’s Restaurant.

  Gloria veered around the police cruisers, maneuvered between a stop sign and a car parked off on the side of the street before driving into a drainage ditch and then pulling back onto the street.

  The SUV easily navigated the deep ditch and narrow opening before pulling back onto the street on the other side. Gloria leaned forward and patted the dash. “Good girl. I hate to admit, but I think Annabelle would’ve bottomed out back there.”

  She quickly sped around the block and pulled into an empty spot in front of Dot’s Restaurant. Gloria climbed out of the SUV and glanced in the window of the restaurant where she caught a glimpse of Rose Morris, Dot’s new business partner, as she chatted with a local who was seated at a table near the front.

  Gloria waved and kept going, determined to figure out what was happening down at the hardware store.

  By the time Gloria arrived, the crowd outside the hardware store had grown. She eased her way past several bystanders as she searched for her friend, Dot.

  Gloria’s blood ran cold when she heard whispers of the words robbery and attack. She prayed a silent prayer for Brian as she continued to snake her way past the onlookers.

  Finally, she spotted the top of Dot’s head near the front and made her way over. “What happened?” she asked in a low voice.

  Dot spun around, her eyes filled with concern. “They’re saying someone robbed the hardware store and attacked Brian,” she whispered. “Lucy ran over to Andrea’s house to get her.” Lucy was also one of Gloria’s close friends.

  Gloria sucked in a breath and closed her eyes, her head spinning. Who would rob a small town hardware store? It was unheard of! She hated to ask the words, but needed to know. “Is…Brian okay?”

  Dot shook her head. “I have no idea. The ambulance arrived a few minutes ago. The paramedics carried a stretcher inside but so far no one has come out.”

  Gloria shifted her gaze and stared through the store’s large picture window. She caught a glimpse of uniformed officers moving about but saw nothing else.

  Suddenly, the crowd began to shuffle back as the front door opened and the paramedics, carrying a stretcher and a person, eased down the steps and to the r
ear of the ambulance.

  “Brian!” A shrill female voice rang out. Andrea Malone pushed her way through the gawkers and darted over to the stretcher the paramedics were loading into the back of the ambulance.

  Gloria sprang into action as she ran to her friend’s side and addressed the paramedics. “This is the victim’s fiancée. Can she ride with him to the hospital?”

  One of the paramedics turned his head and glanced at Andrea. “I’m sorry ma’am. We don’t allow family or…fiancée’s in the back.”

  He finished pushing the stretcher in the narrow opening and closed the door. “We’re on our way to the Green Springs Memorial Hospital if you want to meet us there.”

  “Of course.” Gloria touched Andrea’s arm. “I’ll drive.”

  Dot and Lucy stood behind Gloria. “I’ll let the others know what’s going on,” Dot said.

  “I’ll hang around here to see if I can find out what happened and also make sure police lock the place up when they’re finished,” Lucy offered.

  “Sounds good. We’ll follow the ambulance to the hospital since they won’t allow Andrea to ride with Brian,” Gloria explained.

  Dot, Andrea and Gloria headed toward the restaurant while Lucy circled the edge of the crowd in an attempt to get closer to the hardware store’s front entrance.

  When the trio reached the restaurant, Gloria stopped in front of the SUV. “I’m driving this today.”

  Andrea nodded, climbed into the passenger seat and pulled the door shut behind her. “Where’s Annabelle?”

  “She wouldn’t start this morning,” Gloria explained. “Gus loaned me this vehicle while he looks at my car.”

  The brief conversation ended and Andrea stared out the passenger window. Gloria had no idea what to say so she kept quiet and prayed the entire time. She prayed for both Brian and Andrea, that they were only taking Brian to the hospital as a precautionary measure and that his injuries were minimal.