Drowning the Daffodils (A Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mystery) (8 page)

“
I'm sorry, I thought I had it with me,” she shook her head and looked up at Lawrence who sighed heavily.

“
Just go and get it, make it quick,” he insisted. “I have an important call to make at three.”

Vicky glanced up at the alarm
clock to see what time it was. She was startled by what she saw on the clock. She glanced at her watch and then back at the clock.

“
Oh, it looks like your clock is off,” Vicky said with a frown as she walked over to it.

“
Oh, uh, yeah looks like it is,” he said with a mild shrug. “I don't pay attention to those things. I prefer to use my watch,” he explained.

“
Oh, I see,” Vicky said as she adjusted the time so that it was correct. Then she noticed something on the floor. It was a tiny piece of gold. She stared at it for a long moment. Then she turned and pretended that her purse had slid off her shoulder. As it fell to the floor a few of its contents scattered across the floor. She reached down and picked them up quickly.

“
So sorry,” she mumbled as she cleaned up.

“
It's fine, like I said, I just can't miss this call,” he said impatiently. Vicky made sure she picked up the tiny bit of gold as well.

“
Don't worry about the form,” she said quickly. “We can take care of that when you check out. I'll make sure everyone knows that you're not to be disturbed, okay?”

“
Perfect,” he smiled with relief and then walked her to the door. As Vicky stepped out into the hall again she didn't bother to look over her shoulder at Lawrence, in fact she did her best not to look at him at all. Instead she headed straight for the elevator.

Vicky rode the elevator down to the lobby, her mind spinning with what she suspected. As she walked over to the front desk she found Aunt Ida
and Wilbur waiting for her.

“
How are you doing, sweetie?” Aunt Ida asked as she noticed the concern reflected in Vicky's features.

“
Honestly,” Vicky shook her head as she set her purse down on the counter. “Not so great.”

“
What's wrong?” Wilbur asked as he leaned closer to her.

“
I just have this crazy suspicion,” Vicky shook her head slightly. “But it just couldn't be true.”

“
Hmm,” Aunt Ida met Vicky's eyes intently. “Never doubt your instincts, Vicky, you get them from me after all,” she winked lightly at Vicky.

“
Maybe you're right, Aunt Ida,” Vicky smiled a little as she began fishing through her purse for the bit of broken gold she had found. When she pulled it out of her purse Wilbur took off his glasses.

“
What's that you've got there?” he asked curiously.

“
I'm not sure,” Vicky admitted. “Do either of you know what it is?”

Wilbur leaned very close to the
gold and narrowed his eyes so that he could see it clearly. “Oh sure, it looks like a piece of a watch winding stem.”

“
What's a winding stem?” Vicky asked with some confusion.

“
It's the part of the watch that lets you set the time. You need it to wind it manually on mechanical watches.  If you pull it out to wind the watch or set the time and leave it out, your watch stops,” he explained. “Most people have those newfangled digital watches. I'd venture to say this came from a more expensive watch, from someone who appreciates a classic.”

“
Like Jane's watch,” Vicky murmured under her breath as she recalled how Jane had said her watch stopped and it looked as if it was damaged.

“
Are you on to something?” Aunt Ida asked curiously as she studied Vicky.

“
I'm not sure yet,” Vicky admitted as she pulled out her cell phone. “The two of you just stick together, okay?”

“
Absolutely,” Aunt Ida nodded as she looped her arm through Wilbur's. “We're going to have tea and cookies in the garden.”

“
Tea and cookies?” Vicky asked with mirth in her eyes.

“
What?” Aunt Ida asked with a huff. “I can be fancy.”

“
If you say so,” Vicky found herself grinning as the two walked away. As she stood beside the front desk she texted Mitchell explaining what she had found. She was beginning to suspect that Jane and Lawrence's alibi might have been less solid than they first assumed. After sending the text she tucked the piece of watch into her pocket and left her purse and cell phone behind the desk. She wanted to take another look at the pool area now that the crime scene tape had been removed.

As
Vicky stepped out onto the pool deck she could hear Aunt Ida and Wilbur talking softly as they walked to the small patio area set up in the center of the garden to enjoy their afternoon snack.

Vicky noticed right away that
a bench was still out of place. She walked over to it and tested the weight of it. It was a metal bench, not a plastic one, so it was rather hard to slide. She guessed that it had been pushed in the middle of a struggle or maybe even by the crime scene techs. Vicky crouched down low and saw where the bench had been slid back across the pool deck. She was certain she had straightened everything up before the Carters had lunch out on the pool deck, so it must have been moved after that. As she slid it back into place she caught a glimmer in between the wooden decking out of the corner of her eye.

She crouched down again
and carefully removed the item that was wedged between the boards.  It was golden chain along with a pendant. She recognized the pendant immediately because it was circular with a raised golden C. It was the pendant that Lawrence Carter had been wearing the day he checked into the inn. If the bench had been disturbed during a confrontation with Simon, then surely the pendant had been pulled off during that same confrontation. Which meant that Lawrence was most likely the other person who had been on the camera. The police must have missed the pendant because it was lodged quite far down and only visible from a particular angle.

A chill ran down Vicky's spine as she remembered
Lawrence’s comment about Simon being pushed into the pool. No one had stated that Simon was pushed, but that was a reasonable assumption to make. What wasn't reasonable was Lawrence's necklace being lost and he never mentioning that it was missing. The evidence was beginning to pile up, and it was all pointing in the direction of Lawrence. That realization sunk in slowly as Vicky stared at the pendant. Could she really accuse a father of killing his own child? There had to be some other explanation, she tried to tell herself. But she knew that there wasn't.

Vicky
stood up and held tightly to the pendant. She would talk to Mitchell about it first. Maybe he could offer her some kind of alternative theory. She reached into her pocket for her phone, and then recalled leaving it behind the front desk. As she walked back towards the lobby of the inn she heard footsteps walking up behind her. Vicky smiled and tucked the necklace into her pocket as she turned, expecting it to be Wilbur or Aunt Ida.

“
Vicky!” Lawrence called out as he came to a halt right behind her. “I'm glad I caught you.”

Vicky's heart began to race, her eyes widened slightly. She tried to arrange her features in a friendly expression, but it was hard not to immediately judge the man she now believed had killed his son.

“How can I help you, Mr. Carter?” she asked with a smile.

“
I was looking for Alina,” Lawrence explained as he studied her intently. “We had a bit of a spat and she took off. I haven't seen her since.”

“
Maybe she's getting a massage,” Vicky replied calmly, trying to keep her nerves from showing. “She did enquire about the masseuse we have available on Sundays.”

“
Oh, I see,” Lawrence smiled along with a chuckle that made Vicky twitch. “That would be where she is then. She never passes up a massage.”

“
Right,” Vicky nodded curtly, eager to get away from him, at least until she could plan out a way to confront him. “I can arrange one for you as well if you would like.”

“
No, that's fine,” Lawrence glanced at the hand she had covering her right pocket. A small amount of the chain of the necklace had slid through two of her fingers.

“
What do you have there?” he asked curiously. Instinctively he reached up to his neck. When he discovered that there was no chain or pendant there his expression tensed. “What is that?” he asked again in a more strained voice.

“
It's a necklace,” she replied hesitantly. She pulled it from her pocket and intended to pretend that she didn't know it was his. “I just found it, and was going to take it to lost and found,” she explained as the pendant with the golden C broke free of her pocket. She heard a slight clatter as the broken watch winding stem fell out with it.

“
That's mine,” he said quietly and then crouched down to pick up the stem. As soon as he realized what was in his hand he grimaced. He scowled as he studied her.

“
And what's this?” he asked.

She hadn't planned to confront him just yet but he was forcing her to.
“Oh, I just found it on the floor,” Vicky began to explain casually. Her heart was really pounding and she regretted leaving her cell phone behind the desk.

“
In my room?” he asked, his tone taking on an eerie calm.

“
I think so,” Vicky replied as she opened her hand and let the necklace drop into his open palm. “Here, have your necklace back.” 

“
Where did you find it?” Lawrence asked gruffly, his eyes boring into hers as he stood to his full height. 

“
By the pool,” she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. She did her best to avoid looking directly at him.

“
By the pool,” he repeated in that eerie tone, and took a step closer to her. “I suppose that makes you think some crazy things.”

“
No, of course not,” Vicky said quickly. “I'm sure you just lost it during lunch. Or maybe after,” she added and started to move past him towards the lobby. Lawrence caught her by the arm, his grip much firmer than she expected it to be.

“
Tell me what you suspect, Vicky,” Lawrence commanded and she was abruptly aware of the power he must wield in the corporation he ran. He expected her to comply without resistance.

“
I'm just going to let the police sort all of this out,” she said casually and started to pull away. When she felt his firm hand curling around her shoulder her heart sunk. She knew that this was not a confrontation that she was going to be able to avoid. He was not going to believe that she didn't suspect him.

“
You're not going to tell the police about the necklace or the watch piece, Vicky,” he hissed and tried to spin her around to face him. Vicky lunged hard and managed to tear away from him. When she felt her freedom she took off at a sprint down the narrow path that led to the garden. She knew that Aunt Ida had said she was going to spend an hour or so with Will in the garden and she would have her phone with her. If she could get to her, she could call for help, and hopefully Lawrence would think twice about hurting her with two witnesses present.

“
Get back here!” Lawrence growled while trying not to shout from anger. He chased after her. Despite his age he was very fit, and Vicky could hear him closing in on her.

“
Do you think you're going to get away from me?” Lawrence barked after her as she reached the edge of the garden. She couldn't run any farther without jumping over tall bushes that surrounded the garden.

“
There are people in the garden!” she said very loudly hoping Aunt Ida would hear her. “I know you don't want to hurt me, Lawrence,” she said again, louder than she needed to.

“
Are you talking about dear Aunt Ida and old Wilbur?” Lawrence chuckled as he stepped closer to her, his eyes gleaming with danger. “I sent them inside before I stopped to talk to you. I told them that you were looking for them, had some information about the case.”

Vicky's heart sunk as she realized that he had planned the entire confrontation. He must
have suspected something when she spotted the alarm clock being the wrong time. Now she truly was alone, and far enough from the inn that no one would hear her if she screamed.

“
Lawrence, let's just go back to the inn and talk about this,” she said as calmly as she could. She hoped he couldn't tell that she was trembling.

“
We're not going back to the inn, Vicky,” he said in that low growl that left her so unsettled. “As far as anyone knows, I'm with Jane, and that's how it will stay. No one will come looking for you,” he added.

“
You do know how to set up an alibi, don't you?” Vicky asked, her voice becoming less panicked and more determined. “Isn't that what you did with Jane before? Jane didn't even know about it, did she?”