Epilogue

End of December …

“I t wasn’t my fault,” Doreen stated, as she glared at Mack. “You said we would wait until the new year, and I agreed to wait until the new year. It’s not my fault that somebody just called and asked me to come over and look at his garden bed.”

“What garden bed?” he asked in frustration. “And why do you want to go look at it?”

“Because he thinks a murder was committed on it.”

He closed his eyes and whispered, “Dear Lord.”

“I know. I know, but I didn’t call him, Mack. I didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“You don’t have to anymore,” he noted, with a sigh. “They just seem to come out of the woodwork now.”

“I know,” she exclaimed, beaming so brightly. “Isn’t it great?”

“And what do you mean, somebody was murdered in the greenhouse?” he asked. “Shouldn’t he be calling the police?”

“Apparently it was a while ago, like a long while ago,” she noted, nudging him, “so that should make it a cold case.”

“Not if it’s still on the books, it’s not,” he countered.

“I was hoping you could be more… considerate about that. I did call you, thinking you might want to come along.”

“Yes, I definitely want to come,” he replied, glaring at her. “I don’t know why people always think they can go straight to you instead of the police.” She didn’t say anything to that, and he sighed. “You definitely get better publicity than we do.”

She burst out laughing. “I do, and I’m sorry about that because I’m really not trying to make you guys look as if you don’t do anything.”

“That’s exactly what it looks like,” he declared. “Anyway, who on earth does he think was killed in his greenhouse?”

“He doesn’t know. Supposedly—back then, a long time ago, when the murder supposedly happened—he found an awful lot of blood on this one garden bed. He says he took a lot of pictures, and he phoned the police right then. However, he hasn’t been able to use his zucchini patch ever since then because he’s been afraid it would destroy evidence. And well, I guess it just felt wrong.”

“But he did contact the police?”

“He said he did, but it was a long time ago though.”

“So, we don’t know if a human body was there. We don’t know who was killed there. We don’t know who he contacted at the department. Meaning, we don’t really know anything. Great . Another case bound to damage our reputation.”

“But those were the old days,” she noted, with a bright smile. “Not the new ones. Are you ready?”

“Ready for what?” he asked.

She smiled. “To start the new year, and to start a new year with… are you ready?” He nodded, yet with a sad smile. “ Zonked in the Zucchinis ,” she declared and burst out laughing.

After a few moments, it tugged a grin from him too.

She added, “Come on. Let’s go. I can’t wait to start a new year with you… and another round of cold cases.” And, with their arms linked, they headed out to check out this case.