Roses and Daisies and Death Oh My!

by Petersen, Penny Clover

  Daisy said, “Sláinte. I’ve been thinking. I know the police will talk to everyone, but maybe we should, too. People are much more likely to gossip with us than the police. And you never know, someone may have seen or heard something that didn’t register, but if we can put all the facts together maybe we can solve this.”

  “Daisy, we’re talking about someone who stabbed that poor man in the back and moved his body. I’m not sure we should be snooping around like that.”

  “Well, I don’t like what’s going on around here and if we can figure it out, I think we should. How about this? We’ll just be friendly and talk and, more importantly, listen. If we come up with anything concrete, we’ll tell Bill. What could that hurt?”

  “There goes ‘I’m not spying’. I’ll go along for now, but we’re not keeping secrets. I know you Daisy. You’ll play detective like it’s some game and that could get you murdered.”

  “That’s an unpleasant thought.”

  “Yes, it is. And it’s ruining my dinner.”

  Later, as they were getting ready for bed, Rose said, “I’ve been thinking. Thanksgiving is next week.”

  “Holy cats, it was just Halloween. You know what? I’m going to call Marc tomorrow and ask him to Thanksgiving dinner. He can meet Mother and we’ll see what she thinks.”

  “Okay, but I wasn’t thinking about dinner. I was thinking we’d better get a move on if we’re going to hire someone to help for the holidays.”

  Daisy said, “You’re right. But I think it’s time to look for someone permanent, not just for the holidays.”

  The next morning they lucked into the perfect part time help. Tonya Albert, a junior at the University of Maryland studying merchandising, actually came to them looking for a job.

  Daisy and Rose had known Tonya for years and were thrilled that she was available.

  “I’d think you’d be working for your parents,” Rose said.

  The Albert’s owned Back In Time, a beautiful shop that dealt in vintage clothing and art deco, and served an actual English tea in their 1930’s tearoom.

  “Well, antiques is a world of its own. I want to work with regular retail merchandise. See how you run the shop. I might be presumptuous here, but I was hoping you’d kind of teach me the ins and outs.”

  Rose answered happily, “We’d love to. We’re expecting a busy Christmas season and with only the two of us, it’s tough. When can you start?”

  “Right away, really. I only have classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If possible I’d like to study in the mornings and come in whatever afternoons and evenings you need me.”

  “That would be perfect. How about starting on Monday?”

  “Great. Monday it is.”

  The Tuesday before Thanksgiving Angela Forrest called sounding a little breathless when Daisy answered. “Daisy, love, I’m so sorry to throw this at you at the last minute, but could we possibly switch dinner and have it there at The Elms?”

  “I don’t see why not,” said Daisy. “But are you sure? You always like having it at your house.”

  “Well, I’m having the house redecorated. Lolita says that my colors are wrong. She says that I need more soothing hues so that I can easily center myself and keep in touch with Mother Earth.”

  “Do I know Lolita?”

  “I thought I mentioned her. She does my manicures and reads my palm. She’s tremendously insightful. I’m sorry that I’m springing this on you so late, but Lolita says I mustn’t wait. The holiday season is stressful and I need a calm environment.”

  “That sounds a little goofy.”

  “Oh Daisy, you’re silly. I’ll still do the cooking. I’ll just come early and you two don’t have to do a thing.”

  Daisy said, “Actually, that would work out really well for us. This week is already a bear. We’re trying to decorate and finish the Christmas displays and we’re already getting really busy.” She laughed. “Maybe we need a calm environment, too.”

  “Oh, darling, I’m sure you do. I’ll speak to Lolita and see what she recommends. Are we still four for dinner?”

  “Actually five. Tonya’s family is away, so I asked her to eat with us. And Marc says he’s looking forward to a real old-fashioned dinner.”

  “Wonderful. I can’t wait to meet him. I must run now. The decorator is bringing paint chips. Love you, sweetie.”

  “Love you too, Mom,” said Daisy as she hung up shaking her head.

  The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was crazy. The phone never stopped ringing, FedEx delivered a shipment they hadn’t ordered, and, to top it off, they caught a shop lifter and had to call the police.

  At six o’clock Daisy turned the door sign to closed.

  “Thank God this day is over.” She grabbed her coat and car keys and said, “I’m running out to pick up the rolls. Do you need anything?”

  “No, thanks. I’m just going to finish up the decorating before I leave. Don’t bother locking up. I’ll get it when I’m through.”

  “Okay. Be careful. Don’t fall off the ladder.”

  A few minutes later, Rose was teetering on the top step of the ladder trying to string fairy lights from the chandelier to the crown moldings around the room when Marc Proctor stuck his head in to say “hi”.

  He grabbed the ladder and said, “Rose, why don’t you let me do that for you? I’m afraid you’re going to fall.”

  “You know what, I’d really appreciate that. I’m just trying to get the ends of the lights around the hooks we put in last year, but I’m about two inches too short.”

  Rose got down and Marc climbed up. In practically no time at all the room was sparkling like so many little stars.

  Rose stood back to look at their handiwork. “Isn’t that pretty! Thank you so much. It would have taken me forever assuming I didn’t break my neck in the process. I’m going to have a bit of seasonal cheer. Can I interest you in a Bloody Mary or eggnog?”

  “A Bloody Mary sounds good,” he called as Rose went into her office where she had set up a small bar. “Where do you want this ladder?”

  “In the closet under the steps, for now. We’ll probably need it again.” She came back in a couple of minutes with three drinks on a tray. “Daisy will be back soon and I know she’ll want one.”

  “What time is dinner tomorrow? I’d like to bring the wine, if that’s all right.”

  “Three o’clock and wine would be lovely. My mother’s looking forward to meeting you, but I really should warn you about her.”

  “Warn him about what?” asked Daisy coming in with a bag of groceries in each arm.

  “Mother.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t. We’ll just let Marc find out for himself. The lights look beautiful. How did you manage without me?”

  “A tall, dark stranger lent me a hand,” nodding at Marc. “They do look nice, don’t they? Bottoms up everyone,” said Rose, and then drained her glass.

  At 5:23 the next morning Rose was snug under her down comforter deep in a peaceful, dreamless sleep while Malcolm snored gently at her feet. Next door, Daisy was dreaming that she was drifting in a sailboat in the middle of the Bay cradled in Marc’s arms and sipping Long Island Iced Tea from a Star Wars tumbler.

  At 5:24 they were jumping out of their beds as the alarm screamed its maddening beep, beep, beep. Malcolm started howling.

  “Oh, my God, what do we do now?” whispered Daisy frantically to Rose as they met in the hallway.

  “I don’t know. Lock ourselves in and wait for the police,” answered Rose.

  A voice from the second floor called out, “Girls, it’s only me. I. Well, the whole gang of us.” The telephone started to ring. “I’ll get it. Not to worry, I know the safe word. I can’t imagine why the alarm went off. Go on back to bed.”

  Daisy and Rose put on their robes and padded downstairs to the kitchen with Malcolm behind them. Angela Forrest was standing there in a pilgrim’s outfit complete with buckled shoes, telephone in hand saying, “Oh yes, Champagne Taste. Everythin
g is hunky-dory.” Before she could hang up Malcolm raced into the kitchen and threw himself into her arms. “Malcolm, darling. What a sweet hello. Well, Happy Thanksgiving to you all!” she said as she hung up the phone.

  “Mother? It’s 5:30 in the morning. What in God’s name are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to get the turkey ready for the oven and then surprise you with breakfast. I think your alarm system must be faulty. I put the code in like you showed me and the next thing I heard was that awful beeping!”

  “What code did you put in?” asked Rose.

  “Why, my birthday, 0315, just like you said.”

  Daisy and Rose looked at each other wondering if their Mother had gone completely around the bend.

  Daisy spoke calmly, “Mother, you’re birthday is March seventeenth. Not the fifteenth.”

  “I must have forgotten to tell you. It was March seventeenth, but it seemed so very ethnic. While I love the Irish part of my ancestry, I really felt that I needed to pay homage to my Roman side. So I changed it to the ides of March. I’ve always liked that phrase and feel deeply connected to all things Roman.”

  Giving her mother a look Daisy shrugged her shoulders. “What can anyone possibly say to that? I think I’ll just go back to bed.” Before she got to the top of the stairs someone started to thump on the front door.

  “Ms. Forrest, Ms. Greene can you hear me? Are you all right?” shouted a man’s voice. He thumped some more then yelled, “I’ll get the truncheon from my car and be right there to help you.”

  Rose had never moved so fast in her life. Followed closely by Daisy, Malcolm, and a very perplexed Angela, Rose pulled the door open just as Officer Tom Willis was getting ready to break it down with a large wooden club.

  “What the hell are you doing?” shouted Rose. “It’s 5:30 in the morning. Why are you trying to break down my door?”

  “I’m sorry ladies, but the alarm went off at the station and we weren’t sure if you needed us or not. Some lady gave the dispatcher the safe phrase, but then used the panic word as she was hanging up. I was in the office when the call came in and said I’d check it out since I kind of know you. Is everything okay?”

  Angela stepped up. She was holding Malcolm who had been barking ferociously, but now recognized a friend. He leaped down and after sniffing his shoes proceeded to mount Officer Willis’s leg.

  Scooping up Malcolm again Angela said, “Malcolm, no, no. That’s not appropriate. This is a nice police officer.

  “I’m Angela Forrest and I am so sorry, it was my mistake. Please come in. I’ve got coffee on and was just getting ready to make bacon and rosemary biscuits.”

  Tom Willis looked a little stunned by this vision of the Perfect Pilgrim holding a crazy mutt, but said, “Thanks. I could use some coffee. I’ve been on duty since three.”

  Settled in the kitchen with coffee and biscuits, Angela told Tom Willis what had happened. “I had forgotten to tell the girls about changing my birthday, so I put in the wrong code. Isn’t that a hoot? What are you doing for dinner?”

  Poor Officer Willis looked totally bewildered. “Nothing particular. I volunteered to work today because my family’s out of town for the weekend. They put me on the early shift. But the captain orders turkey dinner for the guys on call, so I’ll just have that.”

  “Well, that’s silly. You must come here. We’ve got a huge turkey and would love to have more company. I won’t take no for an answer.”

  Daisy looked at him and said, “Might as well give in to the inevitable. She will track you down if you say no.”

  “Okay then, I’d really like that. I wasn’t looking forward to eating at my desk. What time should I be here? Can I bring anything?”

  “Three o’clock for dinner at four. Just bring your appetite. This will be so much fun,” said Angela as she got up to make more coffee.

  Officer Willis said that he needed to get going. “I’m looking forward to this afternoon. Ms. Greene, could I speak to you a minute?”

  “Sure, I’ll walk you down to the door.”

  “Ms. Greene…”

  “You’re having dinner in my home. Call me Daisy. You’re wondering about my mother, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I am. Is she all right?”

  “Officer Willis, may I call you Tom? Tom, my mother is fine. She’s a little doolally some of the time, but she always has been. Growing up Rose and I walked a fine line between having a hell of a lot of fun and being totally embarrassed by her nuttiness. Yes, the birthday thing is a little over the top, but her reasoning was sound, don’t you think?”

  “Not really, but what do I know? I’m looking forward to dinner. Thanks for asking me.”

  Daisy and Rose were setting the table and admiring the beautiful Royal Albert china they had belonged to their great-aunt. “I love this china,” said Daisy. “Lucy knew how to set a table. Old Country Roses, Waterford crystal, sterling silver, it’s all so beautiful.” She sighed. “I miss her. And Mari and Matt.”

  “Me, too, and I know she misses us. They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in England, do they? Well, we’ll make a toast to them all and have a lovely dinner. The guest list is a little odd, but, then, so is Mother. It’ll be amusing.”

  Daisy was putting place cards around the table. “I guess we don’t really need place cards, but they’re fun. I’m putting Tom Willis next to me. I want to grill him about this murder. He must have some inside information.

  “I haven’t told you what I’ve learned this week, have I? Well, I managed to talk to almost all the owners about the break-ins and the murder. Everyone seemed genuinely shocked. But, of course, I suppose the killer would.

  “But I did get some information about the estate auction. I thought that would be harder to bring up, but people do love to talk about themselves. Throw in a murder and it’s hard to shut them up!

  “As we know, all of the dealers who have had break-ins were at that auction and they all bought something. Even Hazel bought a couple of boxes of books. Marc was there, as Bill said, and bought that gorgeous desk he was showing me. His is the only shop that hasn’t been burgled.”

  “His is the only shop that already had a really good alarm system. But, none of this makes sense. Tons of people were at that auction. If there is a diamond hidden in something from the Worthington estate, it could be anywhere. I think something else is going on here.”

  “I wonder if Marc knows that Worthington had the gem,” said Daisy doubtfully.

  “I can’t see Marc breaking into random shops on the off chance that one of the owners bought a Faberge egg knockoff hiding a priceless piece of jewelry and didn’t notice it. Maybe Ted Williamson’s death has nothing to do with these break-ins. Maybe the break-ins really are just some kids being horrible. And Ted’s death was a fight with another drunk like we first thought.”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Kids, drunks, whoever. I don’t like living with a killer among us. Maybe we should visit Mother’s manicurist and see what the stars say.”

  “Who needs a manicure?” asked Angela coming out of the kitchen with a pie in each hand and Malcolm under her feet.

  “No one, Mom. Let me take those. They smell heavenly. Malcolm, sit.”

  Angela slipped off her apron and said, “Doesn’t the table look wonderful! Well, I’m going to lie down for an hour before the guests get here. Everything is on schedule. The turkey is finished and I have it resting under foil. The casseroles are ready for the oven. Just be sure to wake me if I really fall asleep.”

  Angela went up to the guest bedroom and the sisters put the finishing touches on the table.

  Rose said, “Would you like a little pre-prandial cocktail? We have a little time to put our feet up before the guests get here.”

  “I would, indeed. What do you think? Cosmos? I’ll get them,” said Daisy. At that moment they heard the sound of aluminum foil rustling. They looked at each other and made a beeline for the kitchen.

  Malcolm
was on the table doing unspeakable things to the turkey.

  “Great flying figs, Malcolm, get down from there. Now!” shouted Rose.

  At the same time Daisy shouted, “Bad dog! Bad, bad dog! Get off that turkey or we’ll be having you for dinner.”

  Malcolm hopped down onto a chair, then the floor and made it under the couch in record time.

  “Oh, my sainted aunt. What’s he done? Well, actually he doesn’t seem to have eaten any of it. I think he was just doing his usual humping thing. You know, his “gift” you were telling me about. I’m surprised he didn’t bring old Tom here back to life,” said Rose.

  “Not helpful, Rose. What are we going to do? We don’t have anything else to serve.”

  She looked the turkey over and said, “We’ll just have to clean it off. He really didn’t do any damage. We’ll wipe it down with wine. That has alcohol in it. It will get rid of any germs. And if we don’t let Mother know, then you and I just have to behave as if nothing has happened. And make sure that dumb mutt stays under the couch.”

  They took the turkey off the platter and wiped it down with white wine. Then Daisy said maybe they should use the 120 proof vodka they had for very special, drunken occasions.

  “Yes, the stronger the better,” agreed Rose. “I’ll wash the platter while you clean old Thomas here. Thank God Mother hasn’t made the gravy yet. We still have plenty of drippings in the pan to re-grease him.”

  By the time Angela came downstairs, the turkey was washed and re-greased sitting under a new aluminum foil tent.

  “In go the casseroles and I think I’ll carve at the table. It’s a little more difficult, but it makes such a lovely visual.” She took the foil off the turkey and was putting garnish around it. She stopped to pick up several pieces of something short and dark.

  “What’s this? It looks like dog hair. Not very appetizing. I had better be careful. I must be picking them up from Malcolm.”

  Rose looked at Daisy who was looking at the couch. “Care for a Cosmo, Mother? We were just going to have one.”

  “To the chef!” Marc stood and toasted Angela. “Thank you, Angela, for this great dinner. And thanks to all of you for asking me to share it with you. It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a pleasure.”