Free Beware the Orchids (A Shady Acres Mystery Book 1) by Cynthia Hickey Page B

two people to find Dave Mason. I had a strong urge to bop him upside the head once I did. First, I wanted to check on Cheryl.
    She laid on my sofa and held an ice pack to the back of her head. “I guess you heard,” she said, keeping her eyes closed.
    “Officer Lawrence told me. Why don’t you tell me what happened?” I sat on the coffee table while Grandma handed me a glass of tea.
    “I dropped our breakfast.” She opened one eye. “I had my hands full and was headed out to find you when I rounded the corner of the building and found myself face down in the petunias.”
    “Better than face up under the daisies,” Grandma cackled.
    “I am not in a humorous mood.” Cheryl closed her eye again. “When Shelby finds out who hit me, I’m going to clobber them.”
    “Aren’t you still going to help me solve this mystery?” I glanced between the two of them. “I also have a job to do.”
    “I thought it would be a lark,” Cheryl said. “A misunderstanding. I didn’t expect to get hurt.”
    I wisely left out the thought that snooping might very well get us killed. “Fine. You can ramble around here bored for the rest of your vacation.” I got to my feet. “There’s ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet in the master bath.”
    “I didn’t say I wasn’t going to help.” She opened an eye again. “I just didn’t expect to get whacked.”
    “Don’t be such a big cry baby.” I took a sip of my tea, grimaced at the over amount of sugar, and headed for the door. “I’m glad you’re okay. I’ve been ordered to find Dave Mason.”
    “Be careful,” Cheryl called. “Grandma, maybe you should go with her.”
    “Good idea. We’ll lock the door behind us.” Grandma grabbed the large sparkly bag she called a purse and followed me. “Don’t be cross with her. I gave her a pain pill. They affect her in a weird way. She’ll be excited to be singled out by morning.”
    “I should never have told Birdie I’d look into things. I’m getting nowhere, anyway.” I led Grandma to Heath’s cottage. We might as well look in the obvious place first.
    We knocked and got no answer. Either he and Heath were off working, my guess was only Heath was working, or Dave was wandering the grounds in an attempt not to be found. “Let’s walk the perimeter, then check the hiking path. I’d finally finished going through all the papers Alice had given me and studied the map included there. We had a fishing lake on the premises, a bike and hiking trail, you name it, Shady Acres had it, and the residents paid the high price of living there.
    “I don’t think he wants to be found.” Grandma pulled out a few pieces of hard butterscotch candy from her purse and offered me one.
    I shook my head. “He’s a lazy one, for sure. Heath!” I spotted him limping toward the pool area.
    He stopped and waited for us. “What’s up?”
    “I’m looking for Dave.”
    “Aren’t we all?” He scowled. “I asked him to clean the pool filter. He carried the tools here, but there’s no sign of him and the filter is still clogged. What’s weird is his hat is here. He never goes anywhere without that ratty thing.”
    True. I scrunched up my mouth and did my best to figure out where he could have gotten off to. “He was at breakfast, right?”
    “No, he was gone when I woke up this morning.”
    “That’s a couple of hours ago,” Grandma said. “Someone is bound to have seen him unless there is a part of this community closed off to the residents.”
    I glanced at Heath. “Is there?”
    “A couple of private storage sheds, an old koi pond in need of repair, and the dock which is sagging. All on my to-do list.”
    “Let’s check the dock. Maybe he took the day off to go fishing.” I waved Heath ahead of us. “How’s the knee?”
    “Better. It’ll be sore by night, but improving each day. That’s a good thing. There’s a lot to do around here. Alice might like to shuffle her work off on others, but she’s doing a good job