Dead in the Daisies (A Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mystery) Read online

  Dead in the Daisies

  A Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mystery

  Cindy Bell

  Copyright © 2013 Cindy Bell

  All rights reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and locations portrayed in this book and the names herein are fictitious. Any similarity to or identification with the locations, names, characters or history of any person, product or entity is entirely coincidental and unintentional. All trademarks and brands referred to in this book are for illustrative purposes only, are the property of their respective owners and not affiliated with this publication in any way. Any trademarks are being used without permission, and the publication of the trademark is not authorized by, associated with or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter One

  Sarah had turned as white as a sheet. She could not believe this was happening. Her younger sister, Vicky, noticed Sarah’s shocked expression as she walked up to the front desk of the Heavenly Highland Inn.

  “Sarah? What's wrong?” Vicky asked as her features creased into a concerned frown.

  “You will not believe it,” Sarah said with absolute certainty, her lips tensing around each word to emphasize just how astounding her news would be. Vicky was drawn in by the dramatic dangling of information.

  “Well, I can't,” she laughed quietly as she leaned against the reception desk. “If you don't tell me what it is.”

  Sarah drew a deep breath and then glanced at the phone as if she was still trying to decide whether she had heard the news correctly. When she looked back at Vicky she blurted out her words. “Seth and Trinie want to get married here!” she squealed and clapped her hands as if she was a teenage girl again. Vicky might have laughed at this if she wasn't too busy squealing and clapping her hands in the same way. She immediately recognized the names of one of the most famous celebrity couples.

  Sarah was older than Vicky by five years but in many ways it seemed like a lifetime. Vicky was still at a stage in her life where she wanted to have fun and was a much more spontaneous and rebellious person by nature. Sarah was more serious and always wanted to be in control. That was why she was the manager and in charge of the day to day business of the grand, old Heavenly Highland Inn, while Vicky took charge of the party planning. This suited both sisters just fine, as Sarah enjoyed the managerial duties, while Vicky had a knack for creating the perfect event for their guests, no matter what the occasion

  “The Seth and Trinie?” a shrill voice inquired from behind them, announcing the presence of Aunt Ida. Vicky turned with shining eyes to see her Aunt Ida looking as if she might simply tip over from the news. Aunt Ida wrung her hands together in excited anticipation. “Is it true? Is it?” she asked eagerly as she joined her young nieces at the desk. She had taken a motherly role in their lives after Vicky and Sarah's parents had met an unexpected demise in a tragic car accident. Although she was not the most nurturing soul, she did love her nieces fiercely, and would do anything for either of them.

  She was one of the most eccentric women that Vicky had ever met and she showed it from the colorful scarf she had tied around her neck, to the blazing red high heels she had her feet tucked into. She was always wearing the latest, and loudest fashions. Today she was adorned in a silk suit that looked a bit like an impressionist painting with every bright color tossed onto one piece of material. The scarf tied around her neck matched the silk sash tied around her waist. She looked stunning, and there was really no way to tell from her features exactly what her age might be. She always had a youthful glow, and would challenge anyone to guess the year she was born. Sarah and Vicky were fairly certain they knew the actual answer, that Aunt Ida was in her sixties, but she could easily fool anyone into believing she had just graced the forties with her presence.

  Vicky grabbed her aunt gently by the elbow to help steady her before she nodded with a grin accompanying her words. “Yes, it's true. The Seth and Trinie, they're coming here to get married!”

  Aunt Ida did sway a little in Vicky's steady grasp but she managed to stay on her feet.

  “Well, that is just amazing!” she gushed, her cheeks filling with color. “I knew that the tennis season had just finished up and Seth had taken some time off, and that Trinie had just finished that movie, but I had no idea they were planning to get married!”

  “That's because no one is supposed to know,” Sarah said sternly as she looked at her aunt with a mixture of affection and warning. “We need to keep this to ourselves until we're given the green light to share the information with others.”

  “Well, how can we do that?” Aunt Ida whined quietly as she looked at the two girls. “Weddings take months to plan! Are we supposed to keep this secret for months? I don't know if I can do that,” she said with absolute honesty.

  “Not this one,” Sarah said with a grimace as she looked at Vicky with a sense of foreboding in her eyes. “That's the other part of the news,” she said hesitantly.

  “What?” Vicky asked with growing anxiety as she saw the tell tale crease in her sister's forehead that indicated she was trying really hard to stay calm.

  “It’s a last minute decision because the filming for Trinie’s new movie was brought forward and they are going to be away filming for months so they want to get married this weekend!” she announced all at once and then cringed, waiting for the onslaught of fury and panic.

  Vicky felt every breath leave her body at once. She had certainly planned plenty of weddings in a relatively short time frame, but never a celebrity wedding! The wealthy usually had so many demands and expectations about their big day that Vicky would spend hours a day for months leading up to the wedding making sure everything was perfect.

  “Oh, this is terrible,” Sarah groaned and rubbed her forehead as she expected Vicky's reaction to be one of panic.

  “It's not terrible,” Vicky insisted surprisingly, her words spoken along with a bright smile. “We can make it happen,” she snapped her fingers together and nodded with confidence.

  “But, what if we can't?” Sarah asked and looked from her aunt to her sister. “What if it's a disaster and then the entire world hears what a terrible inn we run? We'll be finished,” her shoulders slumped at the idea. “Having Seth and Trinie get married here could be like winning the lottery, or getting hit with a curse,” she frowned.

  Vicky rolled her eyes at her sister's anticipation of the negative. “Don't worry about it, I can handle it,” Vicky assured her cheerfully. “This is an amazing opportunity,” she said with a smile. “I'm going to take care of everything.”

  This was an opportunity they could not pass up because not only was it a high profile wedding but the wedding season had been a bit dismal. This was very unusual for one of the most popular and sought after wedding destinations. Unfortunately, bad weather and a troubled economy had caused business to be much slower than usual. Sarah had been on edge, waiting for some of the advertising she had done to pay off. They did have plenty of vacation stays booked, but the real money maker for the inn was the wedding season. With the season quickly passing, and some
weekends being completely free this would be very welcome business.

  “Did you see the magazine spread of Seth at the beach, and those abs,” Aunt Ida gasped, her eyes gleaming dreamily.

  “His abs, really?” Vicky settled her gaze on her aunt and tried not to laugh. Aunt Ida's undying passion for handsome men was something that never failed to amuse her.

  “Darling, just because a woman gets old she does not forget what a nice set of abs looks like,” Ida winked heavily at her niece. “I can still spot 'em a mile away.”

  Vicky and Sarah shared a giggle as they watched their aunt prance away from the reception desk. Briefly they felt like the two sisters they had once been, carefree and best friends. But, things had changed when their parents died. They inherited the inn which they ran with Aunt Ida’s help. They were still very close if not even closer than before even though they had very different lifestyles. Sarah was married with two sons while Vicky was still only dating.

  “Do you think we can handle it?” Sarah asked as she glanced up at Vicky. “I mean, I don't want this to be too much pressure for us.”

  “I know we can handle it,” Vicky replied with a smile.

  “Okay, okay,” Sarah nodded and then glanced at her watch. “Listen, I'm making dinner for Phil and the boys tonight. Why don't you and Aunt Ida join us?” Sarah asked hopefully. Sarah lived in a separate home off the inn property, while Vicky had an apartment in the inn and Aunt Ida lived in one of the guest rooms. Sometimes Sarah felt disconnected from them and wished they were all under one roof. But only sometimes.

  “Sure,” Vicky nodded with a slight smile. They hadn’t had dinner together in ages and she was excited at the idea of seeing her brother-in-law and her nephews.

  “Great,” Sarah nodded and started to pick up the phone, before hanging it quickly back up. “Oh you know what!” Sarah suddenly said as if she had just had a wonderful idea. “Why don't you invite Mitchell as well?” she tried to hide her sneaky smile.

  Vicky shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other at the mention of Mitchell. He was a deputy for the local Sheriff's office, and they had been dating on and off. Officially, it was on at the moment. She considered him to be her boyfriend, but they hadn't taken it much further than awkwardly agreeing to the labels. She still felt a little uneasy about their relationship, and wondered how a dinner with the family would go over. She knew that Mitchell would be just fine, it was herself she was worried about.

  “If I can get a hold of him,” Vicky nodded vaguely without wholly committing. “You know how busy he can be,” she added to soften her words.

  “Sure, best deputy in town,” Sarah's smile brightened even further. She was very impressed with his polite demeanor and the way he insisted on her sister being safe. She had begun teasing Vicky about the man who was so obviously smitten with her. It was hard not to find him endearing with the combination of his southern accent and those amazing blue eyes. Sarah was married to the love of her life and wished that Vicky could find happiness like hers.

  “Better than Sheriff McDonnell,” Vicky agreed dismissively and attempted to ignore her sister's knowing smile.

  “Well, Sheriff McDonnell is getting older,” Sarah shrugged mildly as she tried to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, including her younger sister who had the opposite personality to her. Vicky had a rather fiery nature that often led her into the middle of trouble. “But try and get Mitchell to come tonight, okay?” Sarah pleaded. “I know that Ethan and Rory would love to meet a real-life deputy sheriff,” she dangled the nephew card without hesitation.

  “All right,” Vicky relented reluctantly with a bit of a scowl. “Anything for the boys!”

  Sarah smiled triumphantly, and Vicky tapped the counter. “Let me know the details for this wedding so I can start organizing it,” she requested in a professional tone. “If it is really going to be this weekend there is a ton of stuff to do!”

  “Sure will, right after we have dinner,” Sarah said with a quirk of her brow, she knew how to blackmail her sister into making sure she came to dinner.

  Vicky laughed at her sister's words but she nodded. “I'll be there, sheesh,” she giggled again and waved to her sister as she headed off in the direction of her apartment.

  ***

  Vicky’s apartment was on the main floor of the inn. It had a large living room, a spacious kitchen, a small office, and a good sized master bedroom. She liked living right in the middle of the action. Not only that, she had access to a pool, the beautiful gardens that surrounded the inn, and room service! Not to mention the spectacular views of the beautiful mountains.

  As Vicky stepped inside she was already dialling Mitchell's number. They tended to play phone tag throughout the week and most of the time managed to get together on the weekends. He really did have a lot to handle as Sheriff McDonnell considered him his right hand man, while also watching him like a hawk. Mitchell had confided in her that he often felt as if the sheriff was just waiting for him to make a mistake so that he could pounce on him, and make him feel like a rookie officer again. Vicky was glad she didn't have to deal with that on a daily basis, and wondered how Mitchell tolerated it.

  Mitchell had grown up in the deep south, and had moved to the area only a couple of years ago. They got along very well, but Vicky still held him at arm's length. She didn't want to be pressured into an official commitment. Mitchell on the other hand was not to be deterred. He was honest to a fault and had made no bones about telling Vicky that he wanted the opportunity to get to know her much better.

  “Hello?” Mitchell's harried voice answered the phone on the second ring.

  “Hi there, I thought I'd get your voicemail,” she admitted with an awkward laugh.

  “Oh, well, did you want me to take a message?” he suggested in a playful tone.

  “Ha, ha,” Vicky replied dryly and tried to hide a giggle. His jokes were often cheesy but she still liked them. There was something about his voice that made her feel cheerful. “I was wondering if you might be available this evening to come to dinner...” she started to say.

  “Absolutely,” he said abruptly, interrupting her.

  “At my sister's,” Vicky finished, and was greeted with silence on the other end of the phone. She waited a moment and then checked to make sure the call was still connected. “Mitchell, are you there?”

  “Is this it then?” he asked when he finally began to speak again.

  “Is this what?” Vicky asked with confusion. She wondered if she had upset him somehow.

  “Is this the official introduction to the family?” he inquired rather gleefully. She could hear the anticipation in his voice, and realized he was reading a lot more into this than she had expected.

  “Uh,” Vicky hesitated, wondering if there was a way to soften the blow that she didn't consider the dinner to be a gateway into the next stage of their relationship.

  “This is great,” he said eagerly before she had the chance to correct him. “Of course I'll be there, what time?”

  Vicky was silent as she tried to process what had just happened. She hadn't intended for it to be an official introduction, and what exactly did that mean?

  “Six,” she managed to say as her mind still spun around the implications of a family dinner.

  “I'll be there,” he said happily. “Can't wait to see you, Vicky,” he added, before hanging up the phone.

  Vicky stared at the phone for some time after he hung up. Had she just unintentionally sped up the development of their relationship?

  Chapter Two

  Oddly, as Vicky prepared herself for dinner that evening, she felt nervous. She wasn't sure what to wear. It was just dinner at her sister's, and yet it felt as if she was about to walk the runway for some reason. This was exactly why she tried to avoid serious relationships. Finally, she settled on some jeans and a button-down blouse. When she looked in the mirror she wasn't very satisfied, but she knew it would have to do for the night. The contents of her closet we
re spread all over her bed and bedroom and she would have to settle on something.

  Vicky was still feeling a little anxious when she arrived at Sarah's house. When she opened the door and let herself in, Vicky found herself immediately assaulted by the surprisingly strong and unyielding grasp of her nephew, Ethan. He was only five, but the child seemed to know all there was about take downs. Vicky suspected Aunt Ida had been teaching him some Jujitsu behind Sarah's back. Aunt Ida had experience in a little bit of everything, from the martial arts, to pottery, to parachuting.

  “Hey there,” Vicky choked out and patted Ethan’s blonde hair gently. “Good to see you champ,” she said with a smile as he released her and she was able to breathe again. Just as she took a breath, her three year old nephew, Rory came ploughing towards her. She braced herself, and let out a quiet grunt when he slammed into her stomach.

  “Ethan, don't hurt Aunt Vicky,” Sarah called from the kitchen with laughter in her voice.

  “It wasn't me, it was Rory!” Ethan shouted back with a pout.

  “It's okay,” Vicky called back. “I survived.”

  Rory grinned up at her devilishly. “Hello to you, too,” she smiled at him.

  As the boys ran off to finish their current favorite television show, Vicky was drawn to the lovely scents that were drifting from the kitchen.

  “Oh Sarah, everything looks great,” Vicky said as she stepped inside and offered her the loaf of French bread she had picked up at the store. “I hope this will go well.”

  “It's perfect,” Sarah agreed and gave her a younger sister a quick hug before tending to the boiling pasta on the stove.

  “You look nice this evening,” she cooed. “I guess that means that Mitchell said yes? Hmm?” she winked at her sister.

  “Yes, he said yes,” Vicky sighed as she picked at a bit of cheese. “He's acting so strange though.”

  “Strange how?” Sarah asked and smacked her sister's hand away from the cheese. “That's for everyone,” she said sternly.