Lemonade & Loathing

by Beth Byers

  “Rose?” Zee asked.

  “He’s dead,” I said simply, letting it sink in.

  “Dead?” Zee asked, and I could hear Carver curse in the background. The curse told me that Carver was thinking the same thing as Simon. Something along the lines of let’s keep these two out of our cases for once. Or perhaps, not another murder! If he was feeling a little glum, perhaps it was, here we go again.

  “Drowned,” I said. The more humane part of me was horrified. There was this piece of me inside that was screaming and crying. Unfortunately, the rest of me had become almost inured to dead bodies. I wasn’t sure what number this one was, but I didn’t want to know. It was one of those moments where you deliberately didn’t count something up.

  I didn’t want to know how many bodies I’d come across any more than I wanted to see poor dead Danny’s face after he’d been killed. I had fled back enough that I couldn’t see when Simon pulled him out and even further when the other police officers arrived. The officer, Bobby, who’s wife I had given a baby shower for shot me something of a resigned looked while Jonas, his partner, looked far more irritated. It wasn’t my fault! I had just toured the resort for a wedding location.

  “Miss Baldwin?” Someone said from behind me. I turned to see a well-suited woman and poor Harvey standing nearby.

  “Is it true?” Harvey demanded, looking past me.

  “Don’t look!” I said.

  The dawning horror in Harvey’s gaze told me that it really was his nephew. Maybe he recognized the boots? Or perhaps the clothes. I hadn’t looked that closely, and I really, really didn’t want to. The sight of a dead body didn’t leave you. You could imagine it up anytime thereafter. It would haunt your dreams. A lesson I had learned far too well for comfort.

  “Don’t look? It is my nephew isn’t it?” Harvey asked. He seemed pale and shaky, the poor man.

  “Yes,” I said gently, “I think so. Simon will take care of him.”

  “Simon?” Harvey demanded. He looked at the woman with him and then me before he said, “I’m going over there.”

  “Don’t!”

  “That’s my nephew,” he shot at me. “How can I face my sister if I don’t?”

  “You don’t need that in your head,” I said as kindly as I could. Oh, how I wished I could erase some of the bodies I’d seen from my head.

  “Better me than my sister,” Harvey said with the sort of determined attitude that told me he wouldn’t be dissuaded. I would let Simon try since I could tell that Harvey wasn’t going to listen to me.

  “Who are you?” The woman asked. Her hair was smoothed back into a chignon, she had pearl studs in her ears, and despite the warmish day and gardens she was wearing heels and hose.

  “Rosemary Baldwin,” I said. “I was with my fiancé touring the resort when we found the body.”

  “And why are you still here?” Now that sounded like an accusation. I frowned at her and she raised a frigid brow at me.

  I cocked my head at her and finally noticed that official attitude. “Do you work here?”

  “General manager,” she said and sniffed once, wrinkling her nose at me as if I were somehow not good enough. “You should go.”

  What a jerk, I thought. I narrowed my gaze at her and she narrowed her gaze back at me.

  “I’d love to,” I said, “but my fiancé is still here.”

  “He should go too,” she snapped.

  I smirked at her because I couldn’t help myself before I said, “I’m sure he will when he’s done doing his job.”

  “And he works here?” Her smooth, nasty tone told me that she didn’t believe it for one second and she was going to catch me in my lies. Or maybe if my fiancé worked here, she’d just fire him.

  “He does now,” I said. “Given that he’s in charge of this investigation. You should probably introduce yourself since he’ll be around a lot.”

  I watched her pale and then fervently enjoyed myself as I said, “I wonder what your members will think of cops running around, interviewing them. Don’t people pay thousands to be members here?”

  She eyed me as though I weren’t good enough and then said, “It doesn’t really matter for you, does it?”

  I could actually afford a membership here, not that this woman knew that. I bet if she realized, she wouldn’t have been so rude which just irritated me more even though I didn’t know if it was true. I could tell, though, that she had examined me and found me wanting. She’d assumed because I was wearing a sweater, a Columbia jacket, converse and jeans that I wasn’t worth her time.

  “Of course it doesn’t,” I said. “When I pay absurd membership fees for a golf club and spa, it’ll be for a place where I don’t find bodies in the fountain. If you know what I mean. I’m sure most of your members will agree. I wonder how many will be demanding refunds when they realize you’re a hotbed of murder.”

  I shot her a nasty look because she had been so very rude and then crossed to a different stone bench and plopped myself down.

  “If you aren’t a member,” she said, following me, “And aren’t a policeman, you need to leave.”

  My eyes narrowed at her, and I slowly rose. I wasn’t actually going to leave. That would be stupid. There were so many people in there who had worked with Danny Bennett. Surely one of them knew something.

  “What’s your name?”

  She smiled smoothly. “Monica Giles. General manager.”

  Mmm. Ok. I cocked my head at her and said with sarcasm, “It’s been lovely.”

  I sniffed, shot Monica an infuriated look as though she had won and then left. The wedding bazaar was still running when I entered the hall, and it didn’t look like anyone had realized someone had died.

  I made my way over to Flora’s Flowers, starting with a tittering woman whose white hair formed a helmet of curls around her head. She grinned at me, barely hiding the avaricious light in her eyes as she said, “Weren’t you here earlier with that nice man, Simon?”

  “Mmmm,” I replied, “I’m Rose.”

  “Hello dear. Did you find Danny?”

  Oh. How to answer? I just nodded and then asked, “Do you work with Danny a lot? I’ve…heard things…” I deliberately let my voice trail off and shot her a look.

  Something skittered across her face, and I immediately knew that Flora knew his reputation. She nodded.

  “Yes, I do,” Flora said carefully.

  “May I be frank with you?”

  Her entire face smoothed into a blank canvas before she nodded.

  “My wedding. Well. I’ve heard things while planning my day, and…I don’t…well…you know.” I deliberately hedged to see what she would do, and her face confirmed everything I needed to know.

  She nodded carefully.

  “Harvey suggested that my fiancé keep Danny away from me. Really?”

  Flora nervously licked her lips and then carefully coughed before she glanced away. She didn’t answer at all, just stuttered, and that was answer enough. Danny had definitely been a lothario. He had definitely played on the stressed-out brides. Maybe especially the ones who had cold feet. Flora spread a fake smile over her face and tried for a better version of a blank look, but no. I wasn’t going to have it.

  “I can see you know what I am talking about,” I told her.

  Flora shook her head, but I waited. I had learned getting involved with too many investigations that sometimes people would hang themselves simply to avoid the pressure of silence.

  “Danny is an attractive man,” she said.

  Was an attractive man, I thought, but I said nothing.

  “He is, perhaps,” Flora glanced around and then said, “A little too free with his affections. Some brides. They’re…hesitant. Not you, of course, dear. Perhaps some of the younger ones. Who aren’t sure of their minds.”

  Young brides, cold feet, worried hearts. Easy prey for a clever and charming man. I took in a breath and held it and then I asked, “Like Lila Cage?”

  Flora nodd
ed. I waited as though I had the right to know. She said nothing, so I waved my hand for her to fill in names. I could see she was a tittering little thing, and it wasn’t that hard to get what I wanted from her.

  “And Lettie Parker. And Justine Harper. And Violet Harvey.”

  I raised my brows shocked that so many names came to Flora’s mind so quickly. She cleared her throat again and paled as she started over my shoulder. I spun slowly to see the general manager standing behind me. Instead I was kicking the wall. On my face, however, I smiled blithely.

  “I thought I told you to leave,” Monica said.

  “I paid for a ticket for this event.”

  Monica’s gaze narrowed on me.

  “If you attempt to throw me out, I will throw such a scene,” I lied.

  Monica stared at me and then I offered, “No one has to know what’s happening outside yet.”

  Flora’s gaze darted between me and Monica and then asked, “What’s happening outside?”

  The question was almost breathy, and it was apparent that Flora wanted nothing more than to know and then to spread it around. I grinned, knowing I had Monica right where I wanted her.

  “See to it that you’re planning your wedding.”

  I smiled and didn’t answer. Of course I wasn’t going to be planning my wedding. I wanted someone else to do that for me, and there was a murderer afoot. I wanted to know what they were up to and why they had killed Danny Harvey, wedding lothario.

  “Do you have a reservation for your wedding at the resort?”

  I blinked, but she seemed serious. I laughed in her face and turned away. As if I’d be having my wedding here after the way she’d treated me. I didn’t think so. I might have ignored that someone died at the resort. After all, someone had been murdered more than once in my beloved, 2nd Chance Diner, but there was simply no way I’d be treated like crap and then throw thousands at this woman.

  Monica grabbed my arm and said, “You do have a date, don’t you?”

  “Don’t be stupid, Monica. Any chance you had of my dropping thirty grand at your resort burned up the second you attempted to kick me out. Believe me, you have nothing to offer that I can’t get somewhere else and without the stuck-up attitude.”

  “Excuse me?” Monica hissed. I could see she was reconsidering throwing me out, but I wasn’t going to have it. If she tried it, I wouldn’t give Flora the chance to spread the rumors of murder. I really would shout it out myself.

  I raised a single brow at her, letting that conviction cross my face, and then twisted my arm out of her grip.

  “She probably can’t afford to plan a wedding here,” Monica told Flora.

  “That’s Rosemary Baldwin,” Flora laughed. “Haven’t you eaten at The 2nd Chance Diner? I’ve heard she can probably afford to buy this place.”

  I have to admit the sound of Monica’s curse brightened my day.

  Chapter 4

  “He’s dead? Really?” Zee sounded almost put out, and I wasn’t sure I blamed her. I felt the same. I’d wanted to gossip about the wedding floozy over coffee and cookies.

  “You should have gone to the event,” I told Zee. “This is what comes from being married by Elvis instead of slaving for some epic event. Maybe you’d have seen it all too.”

  The look she shot me was disbelieving. Fair enough. She knew me too well. I’d have crawled through the maze holes, getting scratched up to pieces to avoid looking at another dead body.

  “Don’t start with that,” Carver snapped. “We’re eloping.” He rubbed his hands together as Zee placed a plate of chicken fried steak in front of him. “Don’t try to talk to her out of it.”

  “I’d rather spend thousands on a honeymoon,” Zee said, “Than having people watch me say vows that aren’t really any of their business. We don’t want the crap people buy when they come to your reception. And we don’t want to buy them food. Reception food is like $30 a plate. That’s crazy. Second Chance’s waffles are amazing and they’re only $12.50. If we were gonna do something, we’d just do waffles here.”

  “This is why I love this woman,” Carver said as she handed him a bottle of hot sauce.

  “The hot sauce or the not wanting to celebrate your love with others?”

  “Both,” Carver grinned and shot Zee a look so lascivious I muttered to keep it out of my diner.

  “Last I checked I was the manager here,” Zee shot back.

  “Then you should know this is a family establishment,” I countered.

  “Hey now,” Carver said idly. “Get back to work woman even though I love you.”

  “Remember that,” she shot back as though he’d insulted her, “When I shoot your dogs. One of them chewed up my pillow.”

  “My boys wouldn’t do that,” Carver said idly, but the glint in his eye said he not only knew it was true, he knew which one had done it.

  I grinned at him, and he smirked my way before taking a large bite of his eggs and ignoring Zee’s mean snort.

  “You two,” I told him, “Are an example to us all of true love.”

  His laugh was echoed by hers, and I left them both to seat some tourists who’d come into the diner.

  “Rose? You got a few minutes?”

  I glanced over to see Paige from the boutique next door. She was staring at me while she stood by the door holding her carryout bag. I’d have thought she was clearly ready to leave, but she jerked her head over almost anxiously.

  I told my waitress, Carmen, I’d be back in a few and followed Paige to the little shop next door. The new display showed a pretty red sweater which I immediately wanted. Paige followed me to the dressing room as I tried it on, sitting in the chair on the other side of the curtain.

  I was waiting for Paige to get to the point. So far she’d commented on the weather and the unusually busy weekend for the fall. Finally she said, “You were at the resort when that kid, Danny Harvey, died?”

  I stepped out from behind the curtain, examining the sweater and Paige at the same time. They were both reflected in the mirror at the end of the little alcove where the dressing rooms were.

  “Yeah,” I said, and watched Paige nod, “Simon and I found him when we were touring the facility.”

  “I knew him,” Paige said, meeting my gaze in the mirror. “He dated my niece, Melody. I—” I turned her way as she trailed off and her eyes were wide and worried as she said, “I’m concerned they’ll think that Melody did it. Since they were dating. It’s usually the partner, right? They’ll just look right to Mel and not bother to look into his shady business connections or—”

  “Or his many other love interests?”

  Paige flushed and then said, “Well. Yes. That’s the rumor anyway. I never believed it of him. Melody was a catch and Danny was smart enough to know it.”

  Oh, I believed the rumors about Danny. But I didn’t tell Paige that. Instead I asked, “Why do you think that Melody is the official girlfriend instead of one of a string?”

  “Danny asked her to marry him.”

  My mouth almost dropped and my eyes certainly widened to the point that I looked like someone stabbed me in the back. I jerked a breath in and then tried for a calm voice.

  “And she said yes?” My doubt carried. As far as I had been able to tell, everyone knew that Danny was a cheater. He was a straight out floozy. The Wedding Lothario. It was practically a super villain name.

  “Mel is a bit of a romantic,” Paige said with enough disgust that I was sure that Paige, at least, didn’t approve of Danny. She was pretending she did, but…nope. I was almost positive she was lying about not believing the rumors. I suspected the person who didn’t believe them was her niece. “Melody is in love with the idea of being in love. And maybe with the idea of a wedding. And Danny is—was—a good boy.”

  Now that I didn’t get. I was actively planning my own wedding, and it was torture. I wasn’t doing it because I wanted a day as a princess. I wanted to make Simon officially mine, and I wanted to celebrate our connecti
on with our friends. I’d vastly prefer a very small, intimate wedding. Simon, however, was traditional. He wanted his cake chocolate, his pie apple, his bread wheat—no nuts, and his wedding flooded with all of our friends and connections.

  “Any why are you telling me this?” I asked, though I knew the answer. I’d been involved in too many of Silver Falls investigations to not know what she wanted.

  “I want you to find the real killer.”

  And there it was. I hid a sigh and went back into the booth to put my own clothes on. We crossed to the register and she checked me out as I said, “You know that Simon and Carver are professionals. They know what they’re doing.”

  Paige scoffed a little bit and then flushed when she realized that she’d just insulted my fiancé and my best friend’s fiancé. She mumbled an apology and then said, “It’s not that I don’t think they’re good cops. They are, I’m sure. It’s just I don’t want to take any chances. Mel is my only sister’s only child. I’m sure you understand.”

  I did. Not that I didn’t have faith in Simon, but if it were my precious someone, I would want everyone looking into it.

  “Mel met Danny, you know, when he was helping with her best friend’s wedding. Lettie is such a good girl, and she and James are so happy. But Lettie was a little nervous before the big day. Danny was such a good friend to her, to both Lettie and Melody. That was when they fell in love. His kindness just melted Mel’s heart.”

  Lettie? I frowned. Why did I know that name? “Lettie is Melody’s best friend?”

  Paige nodded. “Best friends since grace school.”

  “What’s her last name?” Lettie! Why was it so familiar?

  “Delancey. Well, it was Parker before the wedding.”

  Lettie Parker. Lettie, Lettie, Lettie— A flash of memory hit me, and I remembered Flora’s high-pitched, tremulous voice listing Lettie Parker with several others who had succumbed to Danny’s charms. Oh goodness. Suddenly my interest in Paige’s niece drastically rose.