Free Community Gardens (Community Garden Series Book 1) by Karin Boutall Page A

from the kitchen. “Old friend, you
deserve an indulgence too,” she thought.
    Roz
bounded up the steps. “What's this? And so early.”
    “A
treat for you and me,” she said while stretching her legs.
    “They're
warm. How did you microwave the metal pan?”
    “I
never, ever microwave real food. It ruins great food. I baked these
fresh in an oven, you remember those things our moms used?”
    “Wow,”
Roz said as she tapped at a drip of icing on her tee shirt. “These
are amazing. I didn't even know you baked.”
    “It's
rare, but then so was yesterday.”
    “Tell
me about it. I suppose getting back to normal might seem boring.”
    “Maybe,
but I'll take it. Speaking of normal, after we finish, I'm going to
walk the gardens. You want to watch the store while I do?”
    “Love
too especially if you have more rolls.”
    After
brunch, Joan started the rounds at the herb beds. The culinary herbs;
basil, chive, and oregano, were just about ready for harvest. The
azaleas had lost most of their blooms, but the powerful scent of
magnolia masked any disappointment. In the citrus grove, the satsuma
and grapefruit trees looked like they would produce a sweet crop. The
blackberry vines and blueberry bushes still thrived after the
harvest.
    Her
heart jumped when she saw Potters' display. Chunks of broken pottery
lay scattered across the ground. The smaller, more salable pots had
been busted apart as if someone had swung a bat across the display. How could this happen? She picked at a few pieces and assessed
the damage. It would cost a lot to replace the broken pottery and
none of it could be repaired. The biggest loss, though, was all the
time that went into making the pieces.
    She
toed at a few pieces of the broken chips then stopped, deciding to
leave the damage alone until the Sheriff looked at it. Was it
vandals? It was scary to imagine a vandal jumping the privacy
fence. She looked around for evidence of a break-in. Nothing. If
not vandals then who? She recalled the prank mouse on the porch. Was someone harassing her? The first person that popped into
her head was Sara. At the thought, a twitch picked at her spine as if
being tapped by a needle. “Ridiculous,” she told herself.
“I must be getting paranoid.”
    She
grabbed the phone from her pocket and dialed the Sheriff's office.
While keeping her voice as nonchalant as possible, she asked the
woman who answered the phone to send Ed to check on a possible
break-in. If word got out that vandals broke into the store, her
business would be hurt. Customers might think twice before meandering
the gardens. This time, she was adamant the incident would remain a
secret, even from Blaine.
    Not
wanting to see anyone yet, she searched through the windows. The
store appeared empty. She went inside. Then she saw Roz.
    “What's
happened to you? You look like you saw a politician.”
    “I
had to call the Sheriff.”
    “Damn,
this is serious.”
    “Potters'
vases, the small ones, are broken. I can't believe anyone could do
this. Can you think of anyone?”
    “There's
no one I know that could get over the fence let alone break the pots.
I could understand stealing, but breaking? This doesn't make sense.”
    “I
know that was my first thought too, vandals. But why just break pots?
Know who I thought of?”
    “I
can't imagine.”
    “Sara.”
    Roz
fell quiet for a moment then stepped back. “I can see why you
might feel that way. But, let's think about this. If she really
wanted to cause you harm this business wouldn't exist. Am I right?”
    The
glimmer of common sense lit up Joan's eyes. “Exactly. You are
right. But who could do this?”
    “My
guess is that Benny's involved. He's so jealous of Zack. And if he
really tried he could climb the fence. Could it be paybacks?”
    “I
get that, especially since Benny admitted he threw that stupid
life-like rat on the porch. But before we blame him, I'm calling Cal.
Perhaps he can shed some light on this.” Joan dialed and left