Solve a Cozy Mystery: 35 Mini-Mysteries with Solutions

By Christine Collier

Are you into complicated police procedures or detailed forensic evidence? If so, my books NOT for you! However, if you enjoy solving simple, short and cozy-type mysteries, my book might be your cup of tea! Speaking of tea, read Clues in a Teacup.

Three of the thirty-five mysteries in this book happened to people in my family. I share which ones at the end of the book, plus the solution to each mystery.

Romance is clearly in the air in Goosebumps & A Gift Basket, Mystery Lane, Sleepwalking Intern, and Memories in a Guestroom. Do you enjoy easy recipes? Check out Undercover at Innisfree.

In Pink or Blue Secrets a mother-to-be plans on reading the results of her ultrasound test at her baby shower. In Till Theft Do Us Part a bride learns wedding boutiques will stop at nothing! Would you enjoy having your hair done at the new salon Curl Up and Dye? What happens when a lawyer visits the library and sees a ghost? Youll find the answer in Ghost in the Library.

A fun read for a cozy afternoon! How many can you solve?

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Nov 30, 2009
• ISBN: 9781440185915

Christine Collier

Christine E. Collier is married, the mother of three, soon to be a grandmother for the fifth time. She lives in Pine City, New York. Her other books include a mystery series, The Writer?s Club, Mystery is Our Shadow, Christmas at Cliffhanger Inn and Something Borrowed, Something Blue. Her children?s books are Adventure on Apple Orchard Road and Twelve Months of Mystery.

Book preview

A Butler in Brooklyn

Janet walked up the steps of the century old house and rang the doorbell. Her nanny job had recently ended. While she loved working for the White family, and was sad they moved; it was time for her to find employment. That morning she read an ad for a housekeeper wanted at this address.

What intrigued her so much about this job offer was the house itself. It was a three-story brownstone, a style of house clad in brown sandstone similar to a townhouse. Janet was a writer and the gothic romance she was working on took place in such a house. What could be better?

An elderly man answered the deafening loud doorbell. How may I help you Miss? he asked. I’m Wentford.

My name is Janet Cull. I’m applying for the position advertised in the morning newspaper.

Come in Miss, he said, as he opened the front door.

Janet stared in disbelief at the foyer. It looked like something out of an old Hollywood movie.

Please follow me into the library. Have a seat and Madam will speak with you shortly.

If the foyer impressed Janet the library made her head spin. Books were stacked on shelves that went to the ceiling. A rolling oak library ladder stood in the corner of the room. Antique furniture and a fireplace with a gentle crackling fire greeted guests.

An older woman with a walking cane came slowly into the library. Janet stood up immediately and stretched out her hand.

I’m Janet Cull and applying for the position advertised in today’s newspaper.

It’s a pleasure to meet you Janet. My name is Harriet Smithton, she said as she settled into a faded tapestry chair. Please take a seat and we’ll get to know each other. Did you bring your references?

Yes I did, Mrs. Smithton, Janet answered, as she handed papers to the woman.

Harriet began reading and softly tapped the jewel encrusted walking cane on the oak floor. The cane’s head was that of a Scotty dog with green eyes and a deep red tongue. I see you’ve recently worked as a nanny. What glowing remarks your employer has given you! Why have you decided to apply for work with no children? Please call me Harriet.

I take journalism courses in night school, Harriet. My greatest joy in life is writing, second only to reading. My instructors always teach to write what we know. To be perfectly honest, a cleaning job is something I could live without. However, to see the inner workings of a Brooklyn brownstone thrills me and hopefully will give me many ideas for my book.

Thank you for being so honest Janet. Your duties would be to assist Wentford, my butler and dear friend. He lives on the property and has his own quarters. He does most of the work around here and has for years. He takes me to the doctor and keeps track of all my medications. However, he’s slowing down and I’m getting very forgetful lately. Can you start tomorrow?

Janet jumped from her chair. You mean I’m hired?

If you want the job, it’s yours.

I do! Thank you so much. I can start tomorrow.

The next day, Wentford didn’t waste much time talking, but was patient with his instructions on completing chores around the house. He often checked on Mrs. Smithton and asked how she was feeling. He also looked for possible problems around the house several times a day.

Is Wentford your first name or last? I feel as though I should address you as Mr. Wentford, Janet said to the old man on the second day of her employment.

Wentford is fine Miss, he answered. So Janet never knew the answer to her question.

The brownstone was amazing. As Janet learned her way around the different rooms, she discovered many things from the original house were still intact, even though it was under continual renovation.

Jerry Mason, foreman of a small crew of carpenters, seemed to linger in the rooms. He was always looking at household objects as if evaluating them. Most of the workers were friendly, but Janet felt uneasy around Jerry. She never saw him doing any actual work, yet he was a taskmaster with his workers.

Oscar Reynolds, a journeyman plumber, made constant visits to the house, repairing and updating the ancient plumbing. He was usually in a grumpy mood because he felt plumbers were underpaid.

Janet filled notebooks with info about the house. She found old magazines in the butler’s pantry that proved to be a treasure trove. An old laundry shoot from a bygone era, leading to nowhere, added intrigue. One of the workers found a bottle of red wine hidden in the shoot. Even more unusual, was a working dumbwaiter that went from the bottom floor to the top. The contractors used it often, as it saved time hauling equipment and material up and down the stairs.

A box formerly used for milk delivery sat by the back door. It seemed to be waiting for glass bottles of fresh milk with thick cream floating on top. Sealed with a cardboard cap that told the dairy where it was produced. Janet was thrilled whenever she stumbled on ideas from the past that she could use in her story. Recently she’d decided the love interest in her book would be a burly, Irish milkman named Patrick. He delivered milk daily from the fictional Donnybrook Farms. The pretty scullery maid, Elizabeth, always made sure she was working in the kitchen whenever red-haired Patrick delivered dairy products.

One day Janet saw Jerry Mason sliding a door inside the wall of the dumbwaiter. It resembled a wall safe, but unless you knew about it would never suspect it was there.

Hello Mr. Mason, Janet called out as she hurried by with a stack of clean towels. Jerry jumped back from the sliding door as though being caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He shut it tightly. Janet made a mental note to use a hidden wall safe inside a dumbwaiter in her book.

Hello Janet, he replied. I’m just trying to figure out this dumbwaiter. I’m an avid antique collector and this house amazes me. Wentford peered inside the dumbwaiter and scowled at Mason as he walked by. He was obviously upset about something.

Have you seen Madam’s vase from the upstairs hallway, Miss? The one with hand painted yellow roses? Wentford asked.

Can’t say that I have. Is it missing? Janet asked.

It’s not on the table and I always dust upstairs every Thursday. I know it was there last week but other than that I’m not sure.

I’ll keep an eye out for it, Wentford, Janet called as she went downstairs.

An old intercom system out of commission for years still hung on the wall. Oscar Reynolds yelled from the top floor, Not another leak in this tub! His voice echoed through the intermittent speaker system, making Janet jump. He quickly added, I didn’t realize this intercom sometimes worked, wish the rusted plumbing in this house did.

How are you doing today Harriet? Janet asked her employer, who was reading by the fireside.

Harriet looked up from her book but barely responded and had a far away look in her eyes.

Harriet often asked Janet about her book. I sure hope I get to read it when it’s finished. Tell me one thing Janet. Did the butler do it? She started laughing. It was always the same comment followed by laughter, but each time it was as if she had said it for the first time.

One morning Janet found Harriet sitting in a chair crying. Someone has stolen my walking cane Janet. I desperately want it back, even though I have several others I could use. The dog’s eyes are real emeralds and his tongue is made out of rubies. It’s been in my family a hundred years! It’s priceless to me.

Who stole Harriet’s walking cane?

An Eerie Glow on the First Floor

Hayley’s shop, Behind the Times, was filled with antiques and quaint items she treasured. She rented the ancient building from a miserly man named Sam Baxter. Whenever Hayley asked for repairs to the building or the testy furnace, Sam would mutter that if everything got fixed the rent would certainly go up.

A beautiful antique sat in the middle of Hayley’s shop. Every person that walked through the front door noticed the charming dollhouse. It was actually an architect’s model but had every feature of a traditional dollhouse, including size.

Over a hundred years ago, a wealthy man commissioned it to be built for his daughter. He was having the identical house built for his family. Sadly, their house burned to the ground a month after they moved in. As the house burned, the tiny replica remained at the architect’s office and later was given to his daughter.

The architect’s model had an open first floor but oddly enough an oak second floor. It sat on a glass tabletop with an elasticized velvet skirt around its edge that draped onto the floor.

After years of wear and tear, the plank floors in the shop had separated and cracks allowed chilly drafts up from the basement.

A part time employee, Tessa Murphy, stopped by one evening. She organized inventory in the basement and had a key to the shop. You’re looking especially pretty tonight Tessa, Hayley said.

Thanks. I have a dinner date later with a hotty, she said grinning. He likes old things but I don’t want to be included in that description. She turned quickly toward the antique in the center of the room. "I never knew that old dollhouse was electrified! Look at