A Deadly Serious Gardening Contest (A Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mystery Book 7)

by Cindy Bell

  “That's not true, Lauren,” Vaughn said calmly. “Just think of it this way, now you have less competition.”

  “That's terrible, Vaughn, you shouldn't say that,” Lauren chastised. “Roxanne was never competition for me in the first place, you know that.”

  “Either way, she's no longer an issue,” he said. “So, why not just look at it as a gift?”

  “A gift, you're sick, Vaughn,” Lauren sighed. “Not only is someone dead, but don't think for a second that they aren't going to look at me. I was in a fight with her, they're going to try to pin everything on me.”

  “Lauren, sweetheart, you're forgetting who you are,” Vaughn said arrogantly. “You're my wife. No one is going to pin anything on you. So, just try to relax and enjoy the contest. That's why we came here, right?”

  “Don't call me sweetheart,” Lauren shot back with annoyance.

  “Sorry,” Vaughn mumbled.

  Vicky could see Lauren pacing back and forth in front of the bed. She cringed when Lauren stopped right beside her and began to speak.

  “My only real competition is Margaret,” Lauren said. “Of course, she's not going anywhere,” she paused a moment. Vaughn was silent. “Don't think I don't see the way she looks at you,” she added darkly.

  “Can you blame her?” Vaughn asked with a soft chuckle. “I mean, I am handsome.”

  “You're an arrogant piece of work is what you are,” Lauren shot back. “If my parents hadn't pressured me into marrying you…”

  “Oh yes, you're really suffering,” Vaughn said gruffly. “Is it the luxury car or the mansion with a personal chef that's bothering you, Lauren?”

  “Maybe it's the fact that you are too busy patting yourself on the back to realize that a marriage is supposed to be about two people,” Lauren shot back.

  “Lauren, please,” Vaughn said impatiently. “Do we have to do this now? Here?”

  “Fine, I'll drop it,” Lauren sighed. “It's not like my opinion has ever mattered to you anyway. So, just enjoy your stay at the Heavenly Highland Inn,” she stomped towards the door.

  “What's that supposed to mean, Lauren?” he called after her. “Don't even think about embarrassing me by trying to get another room. If you can't be mature about this, then the reporters are going to be all over me like flies. I will not lose District Attorney because you wanted to throw a tantrum.”

  “Don't worry, Vaughn,” Lauren said from the doorway. “You'll get your precious District Attorney, but I can't stand to look at you for another second.” And with that she closed the door sharply behind her.

  Vicky bit her bottom lip. Not only was she afraid to get caught, but now she had learned a lot more about Vaughn and Lauren's relationship than she ever wanted to know. If a marriage could turn into this, it was definitely not for her. She waited patiently, hoping that Vaughn would leave soon. She heard him open a bottle of wine. Then she heard him pour a glass. She closed her eyes briefly, worried that he intended to settle for a while. She was regretting hiding under the bed when she could have just made an excuse for being there. Then she heard him pick up the phone.

  “I know, don't worry about that,” he said quickly. “Just meet me by the pool.”

  He paused. She heard him gulp down his wine. “Listen to me, I'm not going to argue with you right now, just meet me by the pool.”

  Vicky couldn't believe that he had called Lauren to continue the fight. She and Mitchell had their spats, but nothing like this couple. Vaughn hung up the phone. Then he walked towards the door. Vicky was getting ready to slide out from under the bed when her hand brushed across something smooth and square. Carefully and silently she picked up the square tag. She could barely make out the picture and the writing on it. What she saw made her blood run cold.

  The door being closed jolted her out of her shock. She held her breath a moment and listened closely. She didn't hear anyone else in the room. Slowly she exhaled and then slid out from under the bed. She kept the tag held tightly in her hand. When she stood up, she looked at it more closely. As she had suspected it was a tag from the hardware store, for a pitchfork. Her hand was shaking as she tucked it into her pocket. She didn't know how yet, but she was sure that it was connected to the crime.

  As Vicky slipped out of the door, she remembered the candy wrapper beside the bed. It had been so familiar to her because Margaret had been eating that same kind of candy bar earlier in the day. Had Margaret been inside the room, too? Was she trying to scope out Lauren's plans as well? Vicky was feeling very confused as she rode the elevator down to the lobby. When she stepped off the elevator, she noticed Ray Baxter talking heatedly to Baron. Vicky did her best to be invisible as she stepped closer to them.

  “This is ridiculous. I just heard that Roxanne is dead. How can you continue the contest?” Baron demanded.

  “The contest must go on. Roxanne would want it to,” Ray pointed out.

  “Roxanne would want to be alive,” Baron snapped back. “How do I know someone isn't targeting contestants? You saw how crazy Lauren got yesterday. I'm not going to put my life at risk over a contest.”

  “Calm down, Baron,” Ray insisted. “There's no evidence to show that contestants are being targeted. I'll tell you what, we'll take a break. We'll move the last part of the contest to this afternoon and evening, so that the police have the chance to investigate. Will that work for you?”

  “I guess,” Baron sighed. “I still think it's ridiculous.”

  “We're just trying hard to deal with an unexpected situation,” Ray frowned.

  Vicky was relieved to hear that Ray was going to move the last part of the contest to the evening. She knew that once the contest was over several of the guests and all of the contestants would be leaving. That meant witnesses and suspects would vanish before the case was solved.

  “I'll gather the other contestants,” Baron said. “So that we can all be informed of the change.”

  “Good,” Ray nodded. “I'll make the announcements out by the gardens.”

  “I'm going to find Sarah,” Vicky said quickly. “She'll make an announcement to the guests who are here for the contest.”

  “Great,” Ray nodded. “Hopefully all of this will be settled soon.”

  As Vicky was walking towards the patio door Aunt Ida and Rex stepped into the lobby.

  “Vicky, what's happened?” Aunt Ida asked with concern.

  “There's been a murder,” Vicky replied as she paused beside the door. “One of the contestants.”

  “What?” Aunt Ida gasped. “Are you okay, is Sarah?”

  “We're okay,” Vicky nodded. “We're just trying to figure out who is responsible for it. Mitchell might want to talk to you and Rex since you were out by the shed this morning.”

  “Well, we went on our jog,” Ida nodded her head. “I don't know what we could tell him.”

  “Did you see any of the contestants outside or inside the inn this morning?” Vicky asked.

  “I did, but not here,” Ida snapped her fingers. “We ran around the main strip in town. We saw Lauren Thomson coming out of the hardware store with a pitchfork. I thought it was a little strange, because we have pitchforks here that she could borrow if she didn’t have one, but I figured as picky as Lauren seems to be maybe she wanted a certain kind.”

  Vicky nodded as her mind made the connection between the tag she had found on the floor under the bed in the Thomsons' room.

  “I'll let Mitchell know. If you think of anything else, just tell me,” she requested.

  “We will,” Rex nodded. He was drenched in sweat and looked very uncomfortable in his tight clothes.

  “Be careful,” Ida warned as she looked straight into Vicky's eyes. “Don't you get into the middle of all of this, not unless I'm with you.”

  Vicky smiled and hoped her aunt couldn't tell that she had already gotten right into the middle of things. Vicky started thinking about why Lauren would buy a pitchfork. Was she overthinking things and she just wanted a new pitchfork, she
was a gardener after all? Unless she was intending to replace the one she had used to kill Roxanne. Maybe it was just a coincidence but it seemed like a very strange coincidence.

  Chapter Seven

  Vicky decided to check out her hunch and check the garden shed to see if she could find if a pitchfork had been replaced. Along the way she stopped at the kitchen to see if Sarah was there. She wanted to keep her informed of what was happening. Sarah was perched on a stool sitting not far from Chef Henry in the kitchen. Chef Henry was bent over a soup he was preparing for the meal that evening.

  “Are you hiding out?” Vicky asked as she walked up to her sister with a slight frown.

  “Maybe,” Sarah replied. “Is that wrong?”

  “Not unless you're hiding from me,” Vicky nudged her lightly. “I just wanted to let you know that the contest is being delayed for a few hours so that the police have time to conduct their investigation. I told Ray you would announce it to the guests, but if you'd like I'll do it,” she offered.

  “No, it's fine, I can do a mass call to all of the rooms,” Sarah nodded. When she left the kitchen Chef Henry turned towards Vicky.

  “This is a little crazy that he still wants to host the contest,” he frowned. “Roxanne was a very nice lady.”

  “Well, she was also trying to break into rooms,” Vicky sighed. “I think that there is a lot more to this story than we may ever know.”

  “That may very well be the case,” Chef Henry nodded. “I think it's best if you stay out of the middle of all of this, Vicky.”

  “Isn't that Mitchell's line?” Vicky grinned, forgetting for a moment all of the turmoil that was occurring.

  “I beat him to it,” Chef Henry said and pointed his wire whisk at her. “You keep yourself safe.”

  “I will do my best,” Vicky promised. She didn't mention sneaking into two rooms and almost being caught in one of them. By the time she went back outside, Ray was making the announcement to the contestants, who were expecting to begin work on their gardens.

  “Unfortunately, because of the circumstances we are faced with today, we are going to need to delay the continuation of the contest for a few hours. We will keep you up to date as to when you can expect to start on your gardens again.”

  When Vicky looked at the contestants to see their reaction, she was surprised to see that only Baron and Lauren were there. Lauren did not look pleased at all.

  “We want to know what's going on here,” Lauren explained with impatience. “One minute we have a contest, the next no one even seems to be running it.”

  “What do you mean?” Vicky asked with concern.

  “Well, Margaret hasn't even bothered to show up,” Lauren explained with annoyance. “Who am I supposed to compete with? Baron?” she shook her head and pointed her thumb over her shoulder at his garden. “It's a green and white garden. Who would want a green and white garden? Gardens are supposed to be about color.”

  “Excuse me, it's called having a different view of life, it's called artistry. It's called being unique, none of which you would know anything about with your glittery hair. Glitter, in your hair, really?” Baron scowled.

  “Oh hush, Baron, I'm not worried about your opinion. What we should both be worried about is whether we are going to see this contest finished or if we've wasted all of our time here,” Lauren said impatiently.

  “Well, considering that there is a lot happening here right now, I think you might understand why things are a little bumpy,” Vicky stammered out. She couldn't forget being trapped under the bed earlier in the day, and listening to Lauren and Vaughn have it out.

  “A little bumpy?” Lauren shook her head again. “I don't think this is even a real contest anymore.”

  “It is a real contest,” Ray insisted as he stood in front of them. “It has to be. The magazine has invested too much time and money for it to be canceled.”

  Just then the door leading from the restaurant into the gardens burst open. Sarah came running across the path.

  “Good, I sent your sister to see if she could find Margaret,” Ray explained.

  Sarah stopped breathlessly in front the group. “We have a problem,” she said with fear in her eyes.

  “Great, not another problem,” Lauren rolled her eyes.

  “I can’t find Margaret. I think she is missing,” Sarah said with alarm in her voice.

  “Oh no,” Ray frowned.

  “I better call, Mitchell,” Vicky said and pulled out her phone.

  “Wait,” Ray said quickly. “How do you know she's missing?”

  “I just checked in her room. Her purse was there, along with her house keys and wallet. All her clothing is there. But there's no sign of her,” Sarah frowned.

  “Did you check my husband's bed?” Lauren snorted under her breath. Only Vicky caught what she said.

  “Excuse me?” Sarah asked as she looked at her.

  “Nothing,” Lauren said quickly. “I know she isn't missing. I saw her in the garden before lunch,” she shook her head. “She disappeared after we got the news that the contest was going to be delayed.”

  “When you saw her, did she say anything?” Vicky pressed. She texted Mitchell the information so that she wouldn't have to interrupt the conversation. She was sure that Lauren might be the key, considering that first Roxanne was dead, and now Margaret was missing. Lauren had motive in both crimes. Roxanne was her only real competition, and Margaret was no competition in the garden, but she might certainly be in the bedroom.

  “Sure, I was working on my garden. She showed up there, and I thought she was trying to keep up with me. But she just hung out there near the pool,” Lauren shrugged. “I asked her if she had heard about the delay. She said she had and told me that she was just trying to have some alone time.”

  “So, maybe she just wandered off?” Ray suggested. “Maybe she was trying to kill some time…” he cringed. “Sorry, wrong words to use. But if she wanted some alone time, that might be why we can't find her.”

  “It doesn't really matter why she's missing, does it?” Lauren snapped. “All that matters is what is going to happen with the contest?”

  “Let's just give it an hour or two and we'll see if we can locate Margaret,” Ray suggested.

  “I'll let the staff know,” Vicky said. Just as she was about to head back into the inn she saw Mitchell striding up to the group. Lauren started to walk off back towards her garden.

  Vicky opened her mouth to speak to Mitchell, but he brushed right past her and caught up with Lauren. “You need to stay right here with me,” Mitchell said sternly. Lauren stared at him with disbelief.

  “I can go wherever I please,” she said flatly.

  “Ma'am, you were seen fighting with the murder victim, and now we believe that you might have been the last person to see the missing person alive. I need to question you,” Mitchell said flatly. Vicky stared at him as he locked eyes with Lauren. When he exercised his authority, she couldn't help but watch. The glint of his eye, the clench of his jaw, and the broadness of his straightened shoulders was enough to intimidate anyone.

  “But you don't understand…” Lauren began to say.

  “What is going on here?” Vaughn demanded as he walked up to the group. “Lauren? What's wrong?” he asked. “Why hasn't the contest started?”

  “Sir, you'll have to step away. This is a murder investigation, and I'm questioning your wife about her involvement,” Mitchell turned to face Vaughn without the slightest hesitation.

  “Excuse me?” Vaughn said, clearly offended. “Do you have any idea who I am, Officer?”

  “It's detective,” Mitchell replied smoothly. “Yes Sir, I know exactly who you are, Mr. Vaughn Thomson. That does not change anything. I need to question your wife about a murder and a missing person.”

  “That's ridiculous,” Vaughn said dismissively. “You're going to find yourself in a world of trouble if you keep up these false accusations,” he warned Mitchell.

  “I am not accusin
g anyone. I just need to find out what she knows,” Mitchell said through clenched teeth and smiling lips. “Certainly, it isn't the goal of the Highland Police Department to make a future District Attorney uncomfortable. But seeing as you are hoping to be elected into such a powerful position where honesty is of the utmost importance, I would assume that you wouldn't want me to demonstrate any kind of favoritism, would you?”

  Vaughn glared openly at Mitchell. Vicky had to bite the tip of her tongue to keep from smirking. She could clearly tell from Mitchell's body language that he was holding in the desire to slap a pair of handcuffs on Vaughn.

  “Wait please,” Lauren said with a sniffle. “I had nothing to do with any of this. I did see Margaret near the pool today, but she was still there when I left. She was going on about how she wanted to be alone, so I decided to give her some privacy. I went to get something to eat in the restaurant.”

  “Well, that's easy enough to check,” Sarah volunteered. “I can ask the staff members that are working today if they served Lauren.”

  “I was there for a while,” Lauren said tearfully. “I didn't want to go back upstairs,” she glanced furtively at Vaughn. Vaughn narrowed his eyes sharply at her.

  “We had a bit of a spat earlier today,” he confided to Mitchell. “But I'm sure Lauren had nothing to do with any of this. While you are wasting precious time investigating her, the real murderer is getting away. Don't forget that. You will have that on your shoulders.”

  Mitchell looked directly into Vaughn's eyes. “Don't worry, Sir, one thing I don't ever forget is a murderer. Your wife is staying right here, until she answers all of my questions. You are welcome to stay with her, if you would like,” he smiled again.

  Vicky was rather impressed with Mitchell's restraint. She knew from his tensed jaw and the twitch at the corner of his eye that he was quite upset.

  “I think I will,” Vaughn said grimly. “In fact I'm going to get Sheriff McDonnell over here so that he can witness this as well.”