Marigolds...Morning Glories...Murder: The Garden Club Murder Mystery Series

By McKenzy M. McBreey

Welcome to the Mountain Valley Garden Club! First line of business: find out why one of the garden clubs members is murdered at the first garden club meeting of the year.

Mountain Valley is a quiet, horse friendly community, with hitching posts throughout the town, and colorful flowers woven in the towns countryside surroundings. One can stop at The Big Bean for a steaming cup of coffee, and swap gardening tips with a neighbor. One may even be sipping a latte, unknowingly chatting with a murderer, or sharing a muffin with the woman who makes it a habit of having affairs with other womens husbands.

There is a good looking new police chief in town, and his first major case is to find a killer. Former police chief, Brice Johansson, has shared his suspicions with the new chief, which might be helpful in solving the homicide.

Supposedly, Candace Hatcher, the town divorcee, is looking for a new husband. Can she perchance be dating the murderer? Is it even conceivable the murderer is one of the towns prominent senior citizens? Who knows what dark secrets lurk in the small town of Mountain Valley?

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: May 30, 2012
• ISBN: 9781468576368

McKenzy M. McBreey

Writing is an adventure that gives me the opportunity to create. I wrote my first story in third grade, and the adventure continues. The love of horses and gardenings has inspired with the creation of Mountain Valley. I love to create fictional characters and allow my readers to get to know them. Escape into the world of fiction, with the people of Mountain Valley. Happy Reading! McKenzy M. McBreey

Book preview

Marigolds

Morning Glories

Murder

The Garden Club

Murder Mystery Series

by

McKenzy M. McBreey

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2012 McKenzy M. McBreey. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 5/24/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7636-8 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7637-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4685-7638-2 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012906213

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-Two

Chapter Thirty-Three

Epilogue

DEDICATED

TO

THE ONE WHO BELIEVED

IN ME

Welcome to Mountain Valley

The First Book of

The Garden Club Murder Mystery Series

My name is Laurel Peterson. My husband, Matt, is Mountain Valley’s new police chief. Six months ago, we moved from our one-bedroom apartment in New York City to a beautiful lake house. Matt has been busy with his new job, and I have recently joined the Mountain Valley Garden Club.

The dynamics of the people in Mountain Valley has given me a new perspective on small town living. Every town has their conundrum of people, so if you think you recognize anyone in this book, they are all fictional characters created by the human brain and fingers on the keyboard. I am alive because of MARIGOLDS...MORNING GLORIES...MURDER. So read on, get to know the people of Mountain Valley, and happy gardening.

McKenzy M. McBreey

Creator of

MARIGOLDS...MORNING GLORIES...MURDER

Some of the Town’s People

Kim Jacobs 49, married to Doug Jacobs 56, mayor

(children - Andrew 17 and Ashley 15)

Ellen Mills 68, widowed, veterinarian

Dick Sears 60, never married, funeral director

Yancy Martin 32, married to Sam Martin 36, minister

(children- Sarah 7 and Samantha 5)

Caroline Owens 28, owner of The Big Bean, married to Ron Owens 32, accountant

(children - 7 year-old triplets - Mike, Marshall and Mark)

Maggie Kline 38, florist shop owner, engaged to

Brice Johansson

Brice Johansson 58, former police chief, divorced from Marnie Shields, first wife, and Jinny Kohl, second wife

Mr. Witterbee 68, former mayor, divorced from Anita

Stallings 52

Big Bart Lowe 56, plumber, wife Annelee Lowe 66, married 30 years

(son - Kyle 26, police officer)

Jinny Kohl 47, owner of Morning Glory Inn, married to Jack Kohl 58, attorney

Carey Stone 72, recently widowed, Kim Jacobs’ mother and Maggie Kline’s aunt

MOUNTAIN VALLEY GARDEN CLUB

OFFICERS

General Membership: 86

Prologue

One Week Ago

O rder! Order! I would like to call the Mountain Valley Garden Club to order. Thank you, ladies. As most of you know, I am Sonja Trimmel, your newly elected president. I would like to welcome all our members to the first meeting of the year, especially our new members.

The main topic for the September meeting was the winter social. Marnie Shields volunteered to chair the event, as well as host it. Sonja exuberantly exclaimed, Nobody can do a party better than Marnie!

Apparently, the treasurer, Pippin Haas, thought otherwise. Excuse me, Sonja, I believe we were going to give the extra money we made from our home and garden sale to scholarships, and skip the social this year, Pippin stated.

No, you’re mistaken, Pippin. We worked hard last year and we deserve a party. I’m sure the others feel the same way, of course we can still give to the scholarship fund.

Well, since I am the treasurer, and the budget committee forgot to budget money for the social, I think we should skip it this year, Pippin spoke up loudly with a hint of anger in her voice. And besides, most of the money we make is because we sell our own junk to each other at our sales table.

Marnie stood up, with her hands on her hips, glaring at Pippin. Pippin, I’m chairing this event, and I don’t need you interfering with my party. Anyway, Pippin, it’s not like it’s your money, as I recall you weren’t even at the home and garden sale.

Pippin jumped out of her seat, shaking her fist toward Marnie, yelling, Marnie, you know I was out of town at my aunt’s funeral! I know why you want to have the party. You want to show off your mini-mansion, along with your bogus boobs. Yeah, that’s right ladies! Marnie likes to make sure all your husbands feast their eyes on her silicone silhouettes.

A hush of silence filled the room, only for a second.

That’s a lie, Pippin, you slut! You are just jealous because men find me attractive! And, I don’t have to sleaze around with the plumber, Big Bart, who has exposed his butt crack to at least half the garden club members. Really, Pippin, how many times do you have him service your plumbing? Marnie was yelling at Pippin.

"Marnie, you are one of the biggest fakes in this club! I have had it with this club! And you, Sonja, can wipe that smile off your face. Oh, that’s right, you can’t because of your eyelifts, cheek implants, and