Today is the Summer Garden Festival’s garden competition and tour, an event I look forward to all year. My tour group arrived at Matthew O’Neill’s house at approximately 12:45 p.m., only to discover Matthew lying dead in his garden. What a shock! He held a peach-colored rose in his hand, and his broken watch had stopped at 11:30. Mort arrived, and together we surveyed the area. Matthew was wearing loafers, but I observed a muddy footprint that appeared to have been made by a work boot. (Whose?) There were cat toys scattered about the garden, along with the pieces of a torn-up bill from “Jack of All Trades” landscaping. I also took note of a second place garden competition ribbon, a bottle of pesticide, a coffee mug, and a pair of garden shears with the initials “E.W.” etched in the handle. I have a hunch that the shears belong to Matthew’s next-door neighbor, Emily Wiseborough. Perhaps she saw or heard something?