Murder in the Rose Garden: A Scent with Love Cozy Mystery (Scent with Love Cozy Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF Page B

went out. He was thin and his face looked tired. He was angry about
a plate of food that was about to go out and started shouting frantically at a well-built
man with dark oily hair and olive skin who appeared to be the grill operator.
    “We can’t
send plates out like this,” yelled Johnny Landon.
    Allison followed
Beth’s gaze. “That’s my Johnny, always in the kitchen. Loves to cook; he used
to be the head chef at La Petit Paris in New York but he had to leave all of
that after his diagnosis. Leukemia.”
    Suddenly
Allison’s comment after her mother’s memorial made sense; her mother was
probably supplying Johnny Landon with medical marijuana. That would explain why
Allison had said she had been such a great help. Beth felt proud of her mom;
her heart really was in the right place.
    “What can I
get you, honey?” asked Allison just as one of the waitresses walked by with a
plate of shrimp and scallops cooked in a creamy garlic sauce, served on a bed
of linguine with a sprinkling of parmesan and black pepper.
    “Could I
have one of those please?” said Beth and pointed at the pasta.
    “Sure thing,
and what can I get you to drink?”
    “I’ll have a
glass of water with a slice of lemon please.”
    A middle-aged
man in light blue cotton shorts and a white golf shirt was at the counter
paying his bill. He looked over at Beth, gave her a cheeky grin, winked and
said, “Don’t forget to take a brownie. Allison makes the best brownies in
town.”
    A look of
anger darted across Allison’s face; she quickly tried to hide it with a smile.
“Bert! Leave the woman be. Johnny hasn’t finished today’s batch yet.” She
pointed to the brownies in a large glass cake tray with a glass cover and said,
“Those are two days old. I was planning on giving them to the staff.”
    Bert laughed,
stuck his hand in under the glass cover and grabbed a brownie. “If these are
old, then I’m sure you won’t mind me taking one.”
    Allison
rolled her eyes at Bert and called Beth’s order in to the kitchen.
     

Chapter 5
     
    Beth drove up to her
mother’s cottage and parked her car under the wooden pergola in front of the
garage.  The pergola was covered in pink flowering roses which provided a
welcome bit of shade. She remembered her mother mentioning that she had taken
on the pergola project shortly after purchasing the cottage; she called it her
rambling rose garden.
    The cottage
was perched on a large cliff overlooking the ocean. The exterior walls were
painted blue with white window frames, white railings around the porch and a
bright red front door.
    Beth smiled
to herself at the sight of the front door. Just like Mom , she thought, not satisfied with a boring wooden door like everyone else, so she painted hers
bright red.
    The cottage
was nestled on half an acre of land with a lovely green lawn and flower beds
laid out to resemble those of an English country garden. Her mother’s roses
were in full bloom—it almost felt to Beth as if they had all decided to flower
at exactly the same time as a final tribute to the woman who had so lovingly
tended to them. Beth remembered how run down the cottage had been and how terrible
the garden had looked when her mother bought the place. Years of neglect had put
other buyers off but her mother had seen it as a challenge. She had spent most
of her spare time bringing her dream of an English cottage and country garden
to life and by the looks of things she had done a fantastic job.
    Beth walked
the stone path to the front door, passing a round three-tiered water feature on
the front lawn. She heard the sound of running water and chattering birds as
they fought for a spot in the top bowl of the water feature which appeared to
be a good spot to take a bath. She stopped to admire the red antique ladies’
Schwinn bicycle parked against the railing of the front porch before knocking
on the door. There was no answer. Beth knocked again. She was certain that
Bernard was at home—she