Teaberry Total Eclipse Read online

  Teaberry Total Eclipse

  A Teaberry Farm Bed & Breakfast Cozy Mystery

  R. A. Wallace

  2019

  Author’s Note

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, dialogue, places, and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Material in this book is not intended as a substitute for legal or medical advice from qualified professionals. The author has no connection to any software or website mentioned.

  © 2019 R. A. Wallace. All rights reserved.

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter One

  The drive to Lilith Henderson’s estate gave her time to think. Jennifer Parker considered turning on the radio to drown out her own thoughts. It wasn’t that her mind was tormenting her with negative images or undesirable memories. The problem was quite the opposite. Her life since meeting Jim Baxter had been picture perfect. At least, it had been until he’d suddenly become secretive. She’d thought their life together up to that point had been what she’d been waiting for.

  The doubts that whispered to her now had begun slowly. She’d ignored them at first, telling herself that she was imagining things. They insinuated their way into her consciousness when she least expected it. She told herself that her fears were unfounded. She was a lawyer. She preferred to deal with tangible facts. She had no proof that her suspicions were supported.

  In fact, quite the opposite. Hadn’t Jim surprised her with a candlelit dinner just the other night? Of course, since she had very few of her own skills when it came to cooking, he handled the bulk of the meal preparation. Perhaps he was tired of doing so? Jennifer shook her head. She was forty two, not fourteen, and neither was Jim. If Jim didn’t like cooking their meals, he’d tell her.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled into the driveway of the estate. Focusing on the task at hand would mean her brain was too busy to think of Jim pulling away. If, in fact, that was what he was doing. Jennifer grabbed her briefcase and fastened her coat. The drive had been plowed and there were no issues making it to the front door of the large stone house.

  The woman who opened the door looked to be in her fifties. She was well dressed and wore her short hair fashionably styled. Jennifer assumed she was Portia Henderson Ingram, one of the siblings that had contacted her. Her mother had been the owner of the estate until her recent passing.

  “Jennifer?” Portia asked.

  “Yes, are you Portia?”

  “Yes, come in, please. Let me take your coat. There’s a place to hang it over here.” Portia’s heels clicked on the parquet floor as she crossed it to reach the closet.

  “My brother is in the sitting room. I know that’s not a common term anymore, but this house is very old,” Portia explained as she led Jennifer down the hall to another room. It was large and airy. Although not currently lit, the room had a large fireplace that promised a comfortable warmth on long winter days.

  A man that looked surprisingly like Portia stood when they entered the room. Portia introduced him as Henry Henderson, her brother.

  “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us here,” Henry said as he waved Jennifer to a seat.

  “The house is beautiful,” Jennifer said as she looked around. The furniture was old, beautifully maintained, and Jennifer assumed it was highly collectible.

  “But huge and totally beyond anything that either of us needs,” Portia said with a grimace. She looked over at Henry.

  “We’d love to keep it,” Henry agreed. “But neither one of us lives local. We both moved away after college and had families in other parts of the country.”

  “Aside from a few items we’d like to keep for personal reasons, we have no need for the rest of it,” Portia explained.

  “Your mother lived here alone?” Jennifer asked. She couldn’t imagine it. The house was large enough for multiple generations of family.

  “Yes, for decades. We both tried over the years to get her to move in with one of us.” Henry looked around the large room. “She wouldn’t agree.”

  “We think she was just stuck in her ways.” Portia gave a slight shrug. “Our mother was a lovely woman, but she wasn’t the type to want any sort of adventure.”

  Henry chuckled. “That’s for sure. She lived in this house ever since her marriage and never even traveled. Not even for short visits. Her life was pretty much contained inside these four walls for her entire adult life.”

  “Even getting her to visit us was impossible. We tried so many times over the years, but nothing would persuade her.” A look of sadness crossed Portia’s face.

  Henry reached over and patted his sister’s hand. “Mom wouldn’t come for the birth of our children or any of the other milestones in our lives. If we wanted to see her, we had to come here.”

  “We don’t want to give the impression that our mother was a boring person,” Portia said with a look at her brother.

  “But she was,” Henry finished. “As you may have noticed, our father was something of a collector before he died.” He waved vaguely around the room. It was filled with what Jennifer assumed was collectible art beyond anything her own budget would accommodate.

  “That was over a decade ago.” Portia stood. “If you don’t mind a short walk, we’ll show you around the house.”

  Jennifer stood. “You’re hoping to sell everything in one weekend?”

  Henry led the way out of the room. “Yes. Portia found an auctioneer who has assured us that everything will be sold.”

  “The auctioneer recommended that we have an open format for the sale the first two days. On the night of the second day, anything that remains will be auctioned off, including the house.” Portia turned to look back at Jennifer as she walked up the staircase to the second floor. “As you can see, pretty much every wall is covered with some sort of art.”

  The first room they stopped in was the master bedroom. It was a very large suite with a private sitting room and bath. The bathroom was completely updated with modern amenities.

  Jennifer looked around. “I can’t imagine having any problems selling anything. The house, and everything in it, is absolutely beautiful.”

  “But larger than what most families want or need.” Portia shared a worried look with her brother.

  “Her safe is over here.” Henry stepped to a wall with a large oil painting. He grabbed one side of the painting and pulled it towards him. The painting swung over like a door opening. Henry entered a combination into the safe and swung that door open. He took out a case, carried it over to a writing desk, and opened it. The inside was lined with velvet.

  Jennifer was amazed at the quality of the pieces contained inside. Like the artwork, the jewelry was also well outside of her budget. “Wow. Did your mom pick all of this out?”

  Portia shook her head. “I think a few of the pieces were handed down on our father’s side. I think he may have collected the rest over the years.” Por
tia looked at Henry for confirmation.

  “I have no idea, to be honest. It was just always kept here in the safe for as long as I can remember. Our mother certainly never wore any of it. In fact, it rarely ever left the safe.” Henry returned the jewelry to the case and carefully closed it before returning the case to the safe. “Now that I think of it, it wasn’t something they mentioned.”

  Portia led the way down the hall to another room.

  Jennifer looked inside the next bedroom. Like the first one, the furniture was amazing.

  “Will potential buyers have the option of buying the house with the furniture?”

  Henry nodded agreement as he reversed direction and went back toward the stairs.

  “The auctioneer and his people will be on-site during both days. We didn’t place any restrictions. Anyone who wants to buy the whole lot of it could negotiate that at any time during the sale.”

  Jennifer followed them into a study on the first floor. Two of the walls were lined with wall-to-floor bookcases. They were all full of books, several of them looked antique, not that she was much of a judge. She turned and saw the most ornate chess set she had ever seen.

  “Wow. That’s beautiful.”

  Henry reached out and picked up one of the pieces. “I agree but I was never a fan of the game.”

  Portia frowned at it. “My grandchildren don’t want to play with anything that isn’t electronic.”

  “Have you considered any type of security for the sale?” Jennifer knew from Lilith Henderson’s will that the value of her estate would be substantial. She hadn’t realized just how extensive the contents of the house would be, however.

  “Yes, Henry arranged it.” Portia led the way to the kitchen.

  Jennifer shook her head when she stepped inside. It was the largest kitchen she had ever seen. The appliances were all modern, but the style matched the house perfectly. Jim would be in heaven.

  “The man I hired is an older gentleman, but he seems competent. What was his name?” Henry glanced at Portia. She shook her head. Henry snapped his fingers as he remembered. “Garcia, that’s it. Jimmy Garcia. He’ll be here both days and he’ll actually be staying here the first night to ensure that everything remains secured after everyone has been through the house.”

  “I was really worried about that,” Portia confessed to Jennifer. “There are going to be so many different people coming and going throughout the course of both days.”

  “We were lucky to find someone who was willing to work with us that way,” Henry agreed.

  Portia nodded agreement. “He’ll be here before anyone arrives that first day and will stay until the very end of the sale on that second night. It really gives me a peace of mind knowing that the house and everything in it will be protected for the entire weekend.”

  Chapter Two

  He dressed with care. He preferred to wear a uniform when working. It supported the impression of authority he believed was crucial to establishing and maintaining security. He was also particular about the quality and care of the uniform. His pant legs had creases in the front and his shirts were pressed. After a final inspection in the mirror, he carefully positioned his hat on his head then bent down and grabbed the handle of his suitcase.

  The estate sale was scheduled for ten AM. Jimmy had promised he would be there by nine but he’d been eager to get started. Glancing at the clock in his truck, he smiled when he pulled into the long driveway. He was thirty minutes early. It felt good to be on a job. His services used to be more in demand but that had changed over time. Jimmy figured the economy had something to do with it.

  As he examined the large house in front of him, he realized that there weren’t many old places like this left around this area. That probably had something to do with it too. No one had large properties like this anymore that needed secured. And, nowadays, everything seemed to be designed to be thrown away. No one expected to keep a television or a phone for long. Once the next version came out, everyone wanted the new next big thing.

  He parked his truck behind an outbuilding. Leaving his suitcase in the truck, he decided to walk the perimeter of the property first. It was always best to know the layout of the land. Although there were woods and fields beyond the fenced-in area surrounding the house and outbuildings, Jimmy kept to the manicured lawn just around the main buildings. He wondered how much the upkeep was for something like this.

  There was the large outbuilding where he had parked his truck. A smaller building that looked like it may have once been a carriage house had apparently been converted to a detached garage at one time. He wondered if there were any antique vehicles inside. The attached garage must have been added to the house at a later date. Jimmy approached the front door of the house to check in. He stopped when he reached it because he heard more vehicles approaching.

  There were several larger trucks and a couple of cars pulling into the driveway at the same time. It reminded him of a convoy of sorts. He assumed the group must all be from the auctioneer outfit. He understood from the man who had hired him that the auctioneer sellers would be on site all day spread all over the property to handle all of the sales.

  The front door opened and Jimmy recognized the man that stepped out as Henry Henderson. He pegged the man for mid-fifties. Jimmy had been impressed with the man based on his interactions with him so far but he figured anyone as rich as Henry Henderson could afford to be nice to other people.

  “Oh, good. You’re here.” Henry smiled as he stretched out his hand.

  Jimmy nodded briefly as he shook hands with the other man. “Looks like the auctioneers are here also.”

  “My sister, Portia, is inside. She can give you a proper tour of the place to familiarize you with everything inside. Once you’re done in there, I can show you everything outside.”

  Jimmy nodded his understanding. The other man needed to touch base with the auctioneers first before he’d be free to speak with him again. He opened the front door of the house and stepped inside. What he saw was beyond anything he had imagined. He knew, in theory, that people lived like this. He just couldn’t believe the reality in front of him.

  The woman he met inside gave him a quick tour of the house. He assumed she was a few years younger than Henry, but she was every bit as polite as her brother.

  “And this is the room I thought you might be most comfortable in tonight,” Portia said as she stopped at a room at the end of the hall.

  Jimmy assumed it was originally the room added on for the modern-day housekeeper. It was located off the kitchen and had a separate bathroom.

  “Thanks, Mrs. Ingram. It looks perfect. I should get outside and touch base with your brother. The property will be overrun with people pretty soon and I want to stay on top of things.” Jimmy turned to leave.

  “There will be hot coffee available for you all day here in the kitchen and I have some food for you in the fridge. It’s nothing special, just some sandwiches, some soup. That sort of thing.” Portia looked apologetic that it wasn’t more.

  It was more than he had expected given that he was just the hired help. He tipped his hat. “Thank you, ma’am. That’s very thoughtful of you.”

  Jimmy spent the day in constant motion. There were people everywhere and he wanted to make sure that no one left with something they hadn’t paid for. He made it a point to meet everyone involved with the auctioneer outfit. He wished he’d had some intel prior to the event on those employees but that hadn’t been an option.

  He should have realized that many of the people who had come to check out the sale would be from Teaberry. He knew some of the older ones by name, of course, but he wasn’t always near enough to speak with them and he didn’t really want to anyway. He was on duty. He didn’t have time to stand around and chat.

  As the day went on, he often found himself adding additional roles to his security duty. He helped someone he hadn’t seen in years put a telescope in the back of a car. The thing was larger than Jimmy was but it cam
e apart in pieces so it could be moved. Once back inside the house he continued making his presence known to the countless shoppers and those who came only to see how the other half lived.

  “How much do you want for the chess set?” Jimmy turned toward the voice. He’d noticed the chess set in the study earlier. It was the kind Jimmy wouldn’t mind owning, if he’d had anyone worthy enough to spar against. Not that he had the time for that sort of thing anyway. He certainly didn’t have the money it would take to buy it. The man asking was his height, around five nine. He had dark hair that was thinning on top and showed quite a bit of gray.

  Jimmy kept walking through the house. Most of the activity was inside the house but he knew that there were others interested in the contents of the outbuildings. Periodically, he would go out there and check on things. For now, he left the study and worked his way through the massive house, weaving around the throngs of people whose faces shifted constantly throughout the course of the day.

  He found the skilled estate shoppers on the third floor of the house. The attic was a separate living space, probably from the early twentieth century, when a large staff would have been needed to run a house of this size. Some of the walls were still covered with remnants of wallpaper, now faded and torn, and there were relics of past lives scattered around and tucked into corners and crevices.

  There was old luggage, including steamer trunks from an era when people traveled in large ships across the oceans, smaller valises, and boxes upon boxes of old items no longer needed. Again, Jimmy was pressed into service to help a determined woman and her husband move some of the boxes around to make them more accessible. He could tell they knew what they were doing, however. They had a practiced eye and could quickly separate the collectible from the day-to-day detritus of mundane living. They spoke to each other in terms of resale value. He assumed they weren’t so much collectors as business people who planned to sell whatever they found for a profit.

  Jimmy snatched a few bites here and there of a sandwich while trying to stay in motion throughout the house and the other buildings. It was only later in the day when Portia Ingram found him again and insisted that he sit for a bit in the room she had chosen for him that he actually sat down for a few minutes. She heated some soup for him and told him to take a rest. He appreciated the gesture but gulped down the soup and got back out to work as quickly as possible.