Dead in the Daisies (A Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mystery) (3 page)

“
Well, my hairstyle will hardly do for the guests we will have this weekend,” Ida declared dramatically. “So, I really must be going.”

She winked
at Mitchell and leaned down to give him a peck on the cheek.

“
When you see me again, I'll be twenty years younger,” Aunt Ida said jokingly and kissed Phil on the cheek as well. Phil grinned at her with clear amusement as she spun on her heel.

“
I don't see how you could get any more beautiful Aunt Ida, but if you insist,” he said with the boyish charm that Sarah loved so much.

“
Aw,” Vicky giggled a little and Mitchell reached under the table to grab her hand, his gesture hidden by the tablecloth.

“
Easy to see that such beauty runs in the family,” he said mildly. His words were a bit of a surprise to Vicky as he could be a bit shy and wasn't usually one to attempt to be so charming.  But, from the flushed cheeks of all three women, it seemed he had succeeded. “So tell me more about these special guests?” he asked hopefully.

“
Yes, let’s hear it,” Phil said as he dropped down into a chair beside Sarah and reached across the table to ruffle Ethan's hair. Phil peeked under the table, “Rory, get out here,” he said with a grin. Rory climbed back up into his chair but only sat in it for a second before he bolted over to his father for a big hug.

“
Well, it's all very hush, hush,” Sarah warned as she looked from Phil to Mitchell. Then she lowered her voice and grinned wildly. “But Seth and Trinie have decided to get married at the inn! Our inn!”

“
Wow!” Phil said with surprise and sat back in his chair. “The actress Trinie?” he smiled with amazement. “We've seen plenty of wealthy people at the inn, but this is our first real super star. Just think of the publicity from that!”

“
Not to mention Seth,” Mitchell piped up and shook his head. “If only I could play tennis like that guy I might actually be able to beat the sheriff in one of our matches,” he chuckled as he lowered his eyes with defeat. “That man has a mean swing.” 

“
Oh well, Vicky is very good at tennis,” Sarah said quickly as she added another piece of bread to Ethan's plate. He was not interested in the ravioli but he was enjoying the bread. “You should let her teach you sometime on the court at the inn,” Sarah added as she met Vicky's eyes across the table. Vicky locked eyes with her sister and tried not to glare.

“
I didn't know you could play tennis,” Mitchell said with surprise as he looked at her. “I'd like that, if you would teach me sometime,” he looked at her eagerly.

“
I'm not that great,” Vicky said humbly and shot a scowl at her sister before she looked at Mitchell. “But if it means taking down the sheriff, I'm all for it.”

Mitchell laughed and took a sip of his wine.
“All right then,” he agreed. “Maybe after the big wedding is over.”

“
Vicky is in charge of the whole thing,” Sarah bragged openly. “From the cake, to the music, the dresses, everything!” Vicky felt a bit like she was being marketed, and though she knew her sister was doing it out of love it was beginning to annoy her.

“
Do you think she can...” Phil started to ask, and Sarah swatted his shoulder to quiet him down. He cleared his throat as he realized his mistake. Vicky frowned as she looked down at her plate.

“
She'll do fantastic,” Mitchell said with confidence and gave her hand another squeeze under the table. “But if you need me for any reason, guests gone wild, or homicidal doves, feel free to call me, okay?” he met her eyes to make sure she understood he meant it.

“
Yes,” she nodded slightly, and grinned at the idea of doves attacking. “I'll keep you on speed dial,” she assured him.

“
I still can't believe it's really happening,” Sarah admitted. “I remember watching Trinie when I was a kid on that Complete Teen show.”

“
Me too,” Vicky grinned and the two sisters spoke at the same time. “Don't look in a magazine, get up to date with Complete Teen!”

Phil
and Mitchell exchanged slightly horrified glances as the two women dissolved into giggles.

“
I remember Trinie from when she was a little bit older,” Phil said casually. “That movie, about the fountain.”

“
Oh really,” Sarah cleared her throat and smiled at him. “What part do you remember?”

“
Well uh, the fountain,” he replied with a light smile.

“
Mmhm, what was the movie about Phil?” she asked, teasing him.

“
Something about a fountain, all I know is she ended up splashing in it!”

“
Oh, that was her?” Mitchell said with surprise. “I didn't realize that!”

“
You two are terrible,” Vicky laughed. “Don't forget about Seth. I've never seen a man look so good in tennis whites,” she winked at Sarah.

“
Oh, but we haven't played tennis yet,” Mitchell pointed out with a sly smile.

“
Good point,” Vicky laughed and finally began to relax as they shared their meal.

“
So, what am I in for?” she asked Sarah. “Swans? Tigers? A parade?”

“
No nothing like that,” Sarah shook her head. “She did ask for pink roses, and she likes the idea of silver and white for the color scheme. Oh and musicians, she wants live music.”

“
Well, that's not too bad,” Vicky said with surprise. “It sounds pretty simple.”

“The place is going to be crawling with security,” Sarah sighed. “It's almost impossible to keep something like this secret, so we're going to have to plan for lots of press showing up and trying to disrupt the ceremony.”

“
Well, if you'd like I can check with Sheriff McDonnell and see if we can spare a few officers to help with security,” Mitchell suggested, gaining him a smile of relief from Sarah.

“
That would be great. It would be wonderful if we had a few local officers to rely on.”

“
Absolutely,” Mitchell nodded and finished off his wine. “I'll ask him first thing in the morning,” he paused a moment before continuing. “Speaking of which, I should probably get going. I have the early shift tomorrow.”

“
I'll walk you out,” Vicky offered and stood up from the table with him. “I better get going, too.”  She hugged Ethan and Rory and gave Phil and Sarah a kiss on the cheek goodbye. “Thanks for dinner.”

“
Thanks for joining us Mitchell,” Phil called out and reached out to shake his hand. Mitchell gave it a quick shake and then nodded at Sarah.

“
Thanks so much for dinner and the company ma'am, everything was delicious.”

“
Ma'am,” Sarah giggled and waved her hand at him. “Any time, any friend of Vicky's is a friend of ours,” she added with a small smile.

“
True,” Phil nodded.

“
Are you sure you're not the last man on earth?” Ethan asked and reached for another slice of French bread.

“
Ethan,” Sarah hissed.

Vicky wa
s laughing as she walked out onto the driveway with her arm locked in Mitchell's. As soon as they were outside he pulled her closer against him. Tentatively he touched his lips to hers, requesting a kiss, which she willingly offered. The caress was sweet and subtle. The time between their encounters seemed to make these expressions of their affection that much more passionate, and Vicky found herself wondering how serious he was about going home.

“
Want to stop by my apartment?” she suggested hopefully. “I have a new action flick.”

“
No,” he said, though the word seemed to strangle him as he spoke it. “I would love to, but I know that you have a lot to get ready for. This is important to you Vicky, and I want you to know that I support you.”

Vicky smiled a little.
He always said the sweetest things, but sometimes she wished he'd be willing to be a little less cautious and kind, and a little more wild and free. Maybe that was what was holding her back from him.

“
All right then, good night,” she said quietly. He brushed her dark brown hair back lightly from her cheek and leaned in to kiss her again. This time the kiss lingered, and his arms wound fully around her waist as he drew her against him.

“
Good thing the wedding is this weekend,” he sighed as he released her and waved as he strode over to his car.

Vicky smiled to herself as she watched the car back out of the driveway. Then his words sunk in. The wedding was this weekend. The most famous
wedding ever to be held at the inn, and it was mostly on her shoulders! Her eyes widened and she hurried to her car, mentally adding a hundred things to the to-do-list in her mind.

***

Vicky stayed up most of the night putting together different packages to suggest to the bride and groom. She had an idea of the simplistic wedding they wanted, but there were a few special details, such as the flowers and the catering that were a little more involved. When the sun rose she woke feeling drowsy, but very excited. She felt as if everything was coming together just fine. She decided to meet Sarah for a cup of coffee in the restaurant attached to the inn. As she was walking across the lobby to meet her, she encountered a woman with her head hidden in the bulky hood of a man's coat.

“
May I help you?” Vicky asked with surprise when she saw the woman. It was very early for a guest to be walking in.

“
No one can help me my dear,” the woman replied with such hopelessness in her voice that it still took Vicky a few moments to recognize who it was.

“
Aunt Ida?” she asked hesitantly.

“
Formerly known as,” Ida nodded sadly.

“
What do you mean?” Vicky asked with a laugh. “What are you doing with that ridiculous jacket?”

“
Let me explain,” Ida said with that same devastated tone. “Never in my life have I experienced such a terrible hairdo,” she sighed and then shook her head. “All I asked for were a few blonde highlights, just to give me a splash of youth, and what a mistake that was.”

“
Why?” Vicky asked suspiciously and reached up in an attempt to pull the hood back from her head.

“
No!” Ida gasped and clung to the hood, holding it down as if her life depended on it. “No, don't let anyone see,” she insisted desperately. “If it were not for the fact that she promised me that the color would fade, I would have had her shave it all off!”

“
It can't be that bad,” Vicky laughed and reached again for the hood.

“
No!” she gasped and Vicky saw real tears rise in her aunt's eyes. “It's, it's,” she sniffled a little and finally released the hood. “Purple,” she whispered as the hood fell away revealing the bright purple tresses beneath.

“
Oh my,” Vicky covered her mouth to try to suppress a laugh, but she couldn't hold back. Aunt Ida looked a bit like a troll with the shock of purple hair, and she just couldn't get that image out of her mind. “It's not that bad,” Vicky squeaked out. “It's a lovely shade, really.” Aunt Ida yanked the hood back up over her hair and glowered at Vicky.

“
It's not that bad?” she hissed in return. “I look like a grape, seriously Vicky, don't lie to me! If you want to laugh, laugh,” she huffed and blinked to hide the tears that were forming in her eyes.

Vicky did want to laugh, very badly, but sh
e resisted for the sake of her aunt's feelings. She didn't want to make her feel worse than she already did.

“
What's going on ladies?” Sarah asked as she stepped out of her office and joined them in the lobby. She looked perky enough, but Vicky could detect the worry lines at the corners of her eyes. She was already anticipating the worst with the upcoming wedding.

“
Aunt Ida got a new 'do,” Vicky declared, knowing that she needed a little cheering up. She reached up and tugged the hood back from Aunt Ida's head.

“
Vicky!” she shrieked and tried to cover her hair with her long thin fingers. Sarah's eyes grew as large as saucers as she looked at the brightly colored hair.

“
Aunt Ida, what were you thinking?” she groaned and shook her head. “Purple is not the new blonde, no matter what anyone tells you!” she paused a moment and then looked at the woman suspiciously. “You didn't get anything pierced, did you?”

“
No,” Aunt Ida groaned with embarrassment. “It wasn't supposed to be purple,” she growled with annoyance. “All I wanted were a few little highlights and look at what it has turned into. Sandra’s new assistant used the wrong liquid and if they dye over it, it will dry it out too much and it will break and probably fall out.”

“
Oh well,” Sarah hesitated a moment and reached out to lightly touch her aunt's fried hair. “It's not so bad really,” she attempted to sound positive. “At least you won't be easy to overlook,” Sarah pointed out, hoping to brighten her aunt's mood.