Murder in the Rose Garden: A Scent with Love Cozy Mystery (Scent with Love Cozy Mysteries) by Tabitha Tate Page A

today.” Jack walked in though a large modern glass door,
obviously upset, and called for Olivia, who came running in from the copy room.
    “Yes, Mr.
Reynolds.”
    “Why is
there no one at the front desk? We can’t have clients walking around all over
the place. Please get Ms. Andrews some tea.”
    Olivia
hurried off to the kitchen and Beth sat down on Jack’s chesterfield sofa. “I
didn’t mean to get Olivia into trouble. I just wanted to knock on your door and
see if you were in,” said Beth.
    “I am just
having a rough day, that’s all. You are my second unannounced visitor and I
have a lot of work to get through. Mrs. Blackwood barged in here a little
earlier and now I am running late for some important meetings. Olivia will need
to get her act together or I may have to look for someone else,” huffed Jack,
clearly feeling a little hot under the collar.
    Beth was
startled by the mention of the name Blackwood; it seemed familiar but she
couldn’t place it.
    “Mrs.
Blackwood?” she replied, raising her eyebrow questioningly.
    “Yes, she
stays out on Lavender Hill, one of my biggest clients…old money,” he replied
and scowled at Olivia who had just entered the room with a tray of tea.
    “Aah, that’s
why the name sounds so familiar—Hannah, my assistant, has done two large flower
deliveries there in the last few days.”
    Jack looked
at her impatiently, obviously not in the mood for small talk. “How can I help
you, Beth?”
    “Oh, yes,
the reason I came by was I have been wondering about my mother’s will. You
mentioned that she updated it a month before her death, is that correct?”
    Jack tapped
his fingers impatiently on the table. “Yes, that is correct.”
    “Did you
draft the updated document or did she have an updated document delivered to
your office?”
    “What is
this about, Ms. Andrews?” asked Jack. His face was starting to turn a violent
shade of purple.
    “I just find
it odd, that’s all—she updates her will and not even a month later she turns up
dead. That just seems a little strange to me. I also do not understand why she
would have left the cottage to Bernard, who had been cheating on her. There are
also a number of conflicting bits of information regarding the financial affairs
at Scent with Love. I know that these are all tough questions but do you know
anything about this?”
    Jack nearly gagged
on his tea. “Ms. Andrews, I am not quite sure what you are trying to imply but
I will have you know that I conduct my business with the utmost
professionalism. Your mother came in here a month ago and dictated a new will.
I followed the same procedure I use for all my clients. I recorded the session
and got Olivia to draft the updated document afterwards and sent it to
Mary-Ellen for approval. I filed the signed copy with your mother’s signature
in her file. With regard to the finances at Scent with Love, your mother is
probably the only one who knew anything about that. The business started going
south after she took over the bookkeeping.”
    Beth looked
at Jack excitedly. “Do you have a copy of the recording you made when Mom
dictated her new will?”
    “Unfortunately
not,” replied Jack. “It was stolen in a robbery two weeks ago.”
    Well this is
most interesting, thought Beth . It appears as if Olivia had
ample opportunity to forge Mom’s will. She could easily have changed it so that
Bernard, her lover, got the cottage after Mom’s death. She must have convinced
Bernard to coerce Mom into signing without properly checking it or knowing what
it was she was signing. I’ll bet that’s exactly what happened and then she
stole the original recording to cover her tracks. The cottage is worth a fair
sum of money…I am sure people have murdered for a lot less.
              Beth sipped
her tea and smiled at Jack politely. “With regard to that financial ledger you
gave me, where did you get it? I have heard from a number of reliable sources
that my mother was