A Drink of Death (Japanese Tea Garden Mysteries Book 2) by Blythe Baker

Author:Blythe Baker [Baker, Blythe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-07-08T04:00:00+00:00

11

When I walked into my home, I knew the carpenters were gone already. Their truck wasn’t in the driveway. But I never expected to find what I did.

“Oh my!” I gasped.

My fake marble kitchen countertop had been installed. I ran my hand along the smooth cool surface and nearly cried. With giddy delight, I set Moonshine down and picked up my coffeepot from the floor. I placed it near an open outlet and squealed.

“It looks beautiful,” I gushed, although there was no one around to hear. “Doesn’t it look beautiful, Moonshine?”

“Breakfast, Lazy!”

I finally got Moonshine’s cage back on its stand in the front room and gave him some fresh water and food. Then I flopped down on the couch and tried to refocus.

“Maybe I’m going about this all wrong.” I pulled my hair back from my face. “Someone had to see Mamma Jackie. The woman is impossible to miss.”

If I could find the people or person who saw her last, maybe that would point me in the right direction. The only people who I knew had seen her were the folks at the community garden.

“Drake already went to see them and said nothing about it,” I reminded myself.

But then I thought again. If I knew Drake, and I did, he had probably stormed over there like a twister through a cornfield. Those folks probably took one look at him and shrugged him off. I didn’t think his hands ever touched dirt and the idea of cutting the grass or pulling a weed was something he’d pay someone else to do.

Without another thought, I grabbed my car keys and headed over to the community garden at Peet and Central to see if there was anyone around who might have seen Mamma Jackie before she disappeared.

It never ceased to amaze me how much the community garden had flourished. In my mind’s eye, I could still see the cinder blocks and old tires and broken glass that had covered this little piece of property just a short while ago. Now it really was a beautiful green oasis. I parked my car and slowly walked toward the garden, trying to see who was tending at the moment.

There was Mrs. Lustyk, who was almost a permanent fixture at the garden. She lived just a few houses down Peet Street. There was Mrs. Lopez and her husband. They also were there a couple times a week and were neighbors to the Lustyks.

The three of them waved, stopped what they were doing and came up to me.

“So sorry to hear about Mamma Jackie,” Mrs. Lustyk said. “Let us know if there’s anything we can do. She’s just such a joy.”

I cleared my throat at the unlikely description and smiled.

“I was wondering when the last time was that anyone saw her. Did you guys see her the day before yesterday?”

Mrs. Lustyk answered, “A big man in a suit was by today, asking the same question. He said Jackie was his mother.”

“Yes, that was my ex-husband,” I admitted.

“He’s a bit of a gruff fellow,” Mr.

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