Tanglewood's Grave Garden: Black Horse Inn Mystery Series, #3

By Lucinda D. Davis

Sam Waters, a 'slightly' dishonest businessman, hired a man who was dying to get his hands dirty in the pretty town of Hampton.

Months later the man disappeared. Without a word. Without a trace.

Two years later, wealthy estate owner Harry Hewson discovered a man pushing up daisies near his fountain.

Who was this garden variety victim?

Who had smashed in his skull?

Why was he fertilizing Harry's Hewson's lawn?

Village oddity, Mad Polly, midnight rambler and some say witch – now sporting pink hair –  has a clue to the man's identity.  Now it's up to Black Horse Inn owner, Mo Murray, and the delicious looking Sheriff Luther King, with the odd hint from Alice, the inn's ghost to find out who planted the victim and why somebody wanted him dead: Sam Waters is nervous and edgy, a red haired beauty with attitude and her much maligned shop assistant are evasive about their whereabouts when death came calling, and Mo digs up some disturbing dirt on a doting father.

Does a missing postcard hold the key?

Was sibling rivalry at the root of the crime?

Will the community killer strike again sending somebody else to dance with death?

Mo Murray, former police woman and her husband Alex are escaping a past tragedy, and life in the small town of Hampton seems almost perfect. But as she and Luther dig into this case and the others before it, she begins to wonder why so many people die in the picture perfect town of Hampton, Vermont's Best Kept Secret?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lucinda D. Davis
• Release date: Jan 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781386618515

Lucinda D. Davis

About the Author Lucinda D. Davis has been reading and loving mystery stories since she was old enough to haunt the narrow rows of books at the small Quebec, Canada village library where she spent her summers. After decades of penning ad copy, marketing, and writing for horse sport magazines, she decided to do what people had been telling her to do for years: write some books! She presently lives in a small hamlet on the beautiful Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. Her living room view looks out over the locks and waterways. This idyllic setting replete with friends, and more than a few interesting characters inspired her Boddington Bay series of short 'coffee break' cozy mysteries. Her longer Coppin's Lock series brings England to the Canadian countryside! The stories introduce readers to a trendy town in Ontario, Canada that could have been plucked from the English landscape, quirky characters included! Take the essential and quintessential British tea shop, pub and antique shop, throw in two female sleuths, add a Police Chief left shaking his head and you've got the ideal cozy mystery. While the girls may roam from home from time to time, their hearts are firmly set in Coppin's Locks! Visit her website at http://www.lucindadavisauthor.com and Like her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Lucinda-D-Davis-637648859641784/

Book preview

Chapter 1

Harry Hewson was up with the birds before dawn. He had a new project on the go and didn’t want to miss a minute. As the owner of Tanglewood, a beautiful estate in the out of the way but up and coming village of Hampton, Vermont, he was always looking for new ways to attract people to his ten-acre garden and palatial house. This latest venture had literally fallen into his lap. He recalled the day his aged garden guide George walked up to him, breathless with excitement. Mr. Hewson, you will not believe what the boys found at the end of the Long Walk by the koi pond. We thought it was just a massive overgrown bush on the edge of the property, but when they began to trim it, there was a huge old fountain hidden underneath!

Sure enough, Harry’s gardeners had found a real treasure: a round cement fountain about eight feet tall, topped with cherubs and angels positioned on a central cylindrical top. There were a few cracks in the cement, but they were repairable. Harry clasped his hands. It will certainly be incorporated into the garden, he said to Raymond, his head gardener. Perhaps at the entrance to the climbing rose pergolas or half way down the laneway with the lilac bushes. Let’s call the excavating company. We’ll need the big guns for this job!

The big guns were arriving that day, and Harry could hear the roar of the trucks and the flatbed carrying the backhoe before it even got to Tanglewood’s impressive iron entrance gates. Minutes later, with Harry at the helm, the entourage of gardeners and labourers with the massive shovel at the rear moved down the Long Walk.

Raymond, how did we ever miss this treasure? asked Harry.

No idea. I’ve worked here for years and I always thought it was just a huge bush. Maybe ask Michael, he suggested, referring to Michael Smythe-Browne, whose wealthy mother Clarissa had owned the vast estate before her death at the Black Horse Inn in the town. Harry had subsequently hired Michael to work for him. Michael had proved to be competent and was quite happy to put a failed marriage and his mother’s frequent reminders of his botched business ventures behind him.

Michael, called Harry over the din of men and machinery, have you ever seen this fountain before? Do you know where it came from?

Michael thought for a moment. I seem to recall that a few years back Mother bought this section of land from Sam Waters, who owns the landscaping company next door. I guess he wasn’t using this piece of land and my mother wanted it for some gardening project. We used to deal with them, but no more. I think there was a falling out.

I wonder why he left the fountain on the piece of land he sold? asked Harry.

No idea. We’ll have to ask him, but I..... Michael didn’t finish his sentence. They heard frantic shouts of Stop! Stop! from one of the workmen and saw lots of arm-waving at the excavation area. Harry, Michael and Raymond hurried forward to look into the pit beside the base of the fountain. One of the workmen was already there, staring into the hole. Seconds later he stepped backwards, gasping and gagging.

What’s the matter? asked Harry.

I’ll go down and see, said Raymond, stepping forward towards the edge of the hole. His feet slipped in the soft earth and he fell, bumping into a workman and falling into the hole made by the shovel. Oh, heavens, get me outta here, he yelled, scrambling out. Harry made his way carefully down the side of the pit and stared. A yellowed skull with three teeth and some matted hair stared back at him. There was a gaping hole on one side of the skull.

Michael, said Harry weakly, please call Sheriff Luther King, and Mo Murray, too. Tanglewood is now a crime scene.

As Harry was grappling with his newfound discovery, Mo Murray, the slim and energetic thirty-five-year old owner of Hampton’s Black Horse Inn, was processing what her divine looking chef, Antoine, had just told her.

My grandfather is gravely ill. He is in hospital in Montreal and they don’t expect him to live much longer. I know this isn’t great timing, but I will need to take next weekend off to go and see him. He and I had a special friendship.

Oh, dear, bad timing indeed, Antoine, but I understand completely. I am just wondering ... how am I going to cope? Who is going to cook here?

Antoine pursed his lips. What about Antonio, Clarissa’s former chef?

Mo burst out laughing. "Him? I’d have to be desperate. I am desperate! He has quite a reputation for drinking on the job. That’s why he was fired from his Five Star Michelin restaurant in France. Clarissa obviously didn’t know or care about his reputation when she hired him."

"Is he