Digging for Dirt (Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mystery Book 9) (7 page)

A
s Vicky walked
through the banquet hall into the kitchen, the door to the courtyard opened at the same time. Ida stepped in and met Vicky’s eyes.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I’m guessing the same thing that you are.” Vicky smiled a little. “I was going to go through the events of last night to see who could have put the berries in the basket after it was delivered.”

“Yes, we are definitely here for the same reason.”

Vicky was often surprised at how similar she and her aunt thought. It made her proud to think that she took after her aunt in many ways.

“What if whoever broke the sprinkler is also the killer?” Vicky walked around behind the kitchen island. “It might have even been the same person that closed the windows I know I left open. Maybe they’re trying to frame us.”

“Do you really think the two are connected?” Ida asked dubiously. “If so, that means that someone has been planning this for some time.”

“I know, we need to try and piece the events together,” Vicky said.

“We know that the basket was delivered by Monica to room 310,” Ida said.

“Yes?” Vicky looked towards the voice to see Monica standing in the doorway of the kitchen. “Did you need something, Vicky?”

“Why are you still here?” Vicky asked. Her voice was a little harder than usual.

Monica blushed and looked down at her hands. “I fell asleep. I was changing the linen on a bed in one of the guest rooms. I was so tired. I just wanted to lay down, just for a moment. I know my shift ended hours ago, but I just woke up.”

“Monica, I don’t care if you took a nap.” Vicky felt sympathy for Monica as she could see how tired she was.

“Vicky, you seem upset with me.” Monica frowned. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” Vicky shook her head. “But I have a question for you. When you took the fruit basket to Freida’s room did you notice if there were berries in it?” Vicky looked at her intently.

“I can’t remember,” she admitted. Then she got a bit irate which Vicky presumed was from exhaustion. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m just so tired. It was such a shock to find her that way. I just can’t remember. I thought she had died from natural causes.”

“Vicky’s not accusing you, Monica,” Ida spoke up softly from behind Vicky. “We’re just trying to get to the bottom of it all.”

“When you left the room did she say anything to you?” Vicky asked.

“No. She didn’t even look at me. She was on the phone. So, I just left the fruit.” Monica reached up and wiped at her eyes. “Maybe if I had paid more attention somehow this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Monica, it sounds like you did everything you could.” Ida smiled soothingly at the woman. “Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”

“If only I could.” She sniffled as she left the banquet hall.

Ida turned to face Vicky. “She is so upset.”

“I would be, too,” Vicky said. “I don’t know what would be the best thing to do next.”

“Well, we still need to figure out where the berries came from. Maybe if we do some research into where they are sold, or where they can be harvested, we might be able to get a better idea of who had them. We need to find out who had access to the berries and whether they knew they were poisonous and why someone pretended that management delivered the basket,” Ida said.

“What about the sprinkler?” Vicky reminded her. “Maybe it has something to do with it as well.”

“It could still be a coincidence,” Ida suggested.

“No matter what it takes we need to figure this out. Until we know who and why, everyone at the inn might be at risk.” Ida nodded with a worried expression. “I’m going to see if Sarah has any new information about the fruit basket,” Vicky said.

“Okay, I’ll meet up with you later.” Ida nodded.

Vicky knew that Sarah had not yet left for the day. She found her near the front desk gathering her purse and jacket.

“I’m going home,” she announced her intentions before Vicky could even speak. “The kids are wild, and I’m tired, I need my husband and my kids, and a soft bed.”

“I understand,” Vicky said sympathetically. “But I need to talk to you about something first.”

Sarah looked at her with dread. “What is it? I’m sure that things can’t get any worse.”

“Not here.” Vicky pulled Sarah into the small office behind the front desk. Once inside the office Sarah turned to face her.

“What is it? Did you find out something about Freida’s death?” Sarah looked at her sister anxiously.

“It’s more than that, Sarah. I think we need to consider that Monica might be involved in this. She did deliver the fruit basket.” She knew that she should also tell Sarah about the conversation she had with Heather, and the information she had found out about Roman, but she didn’t think that Sarah needed to know all of that just yet.

“Monica wouldn’t be involved in something like this.”

“But Monica has also been exhausted, Sarah. Maybe she made a mistake. Or maybe someone offered her enough money to take a long vacation.” Vicky crossed her arms.

“Vicky, that’s terrible!” Sarah shook her head.

“It might be, but let’s be honest here, enough money can make people do terrible things. I’m not saying that it wouldn’t surprise me if it turns out to be Monica, I never would expect her to do something like that, but still, as of now she was the one with the murder weapon so to speak.”

Vicky unfolded her arms and tucked her hands into her pockets. She could tell that Sarah was upset by the very idea of her questioning Monica’s involvement, but Vicky also knew that Sarah was extra sympathetic to Monica. Sarah had been where Monica was, exhausted and struggling to stay awake because of a teething baby. Sarah could understand where Monica was coming from. Vicky on the other hand, saw the potential for that exhaustion and desperation to be exploited by someone who wanted to get rid of Freida. Vicky was fairly certain that the woman had no shortage of enemies after all of the scathing articles she had written.

“It would have been a big coincidence that she got to deliver the fruit basket in the first place,” Sarah said as her cell phone began to ring. She looked at the screen. “It’s Phil,” she explained to Vicky as she answered. While Sarah spoke to her husband, Vicky glanced around the office. She was starting to feel paranoid about who might have damaged the sprinkler and why. The question in her mind was did Freida die because of something she had done or written, or had she died in an attempt to ruin the reputation of the inn. Her stomach churned with disgust.

As Vicky thought about all the possible scenarios, the same scenario played over in her head as Sarah walked towards her. “Do you think it’s possible that Roman ordered the fruit basket?” Vicky asked thoughtfully as soon as Sarah had ended her call.

“But why would he do that?” Sarah met Vicky’s eyes.

“Because Freida wouldn’t leave him alone.” Vicky swallowed thickly as she realized she was going to have to tell Sarah the truth about everything she had witnessed and overheard. “Freida felt threatened by Roman and visa versa. He didn’t want her writing articles about him. Maybe he decided that the best way to control her was to silence her once and for all. There was a lot of bad blood between them.” Vicky shuddered at the thought. “Maybe he even hired someone to poison her.”

“Vicky, that is a huge accusation to make,” Sarah whispered as if she was worried that someone might hear her. “We don’t have any proof. How do you know Freida was threatened by him?”

“I overheard her telling her editor on the phone yesterday. Then she tried to catch Aunt Ida and Roman together. And tonight I spoke with her editor, who warned me not to make an enemy out of Roman.” Vicky lowered her eyes.

“Vicky, you knew all of this and didn’t tell me?” Sarah tightened her lips with impatience. “We’re supposed to be a team.”

“I know that. I was going to tell you, Sarah.” Vicky looked at her sister pleadingly. “I just didn’t want to upset you more than you already were.”

“Look, Vicky, I might be stressed or upset, but that doesn’t mean I can’t handle the truth, or whatever you find out. I need to know that we’re working together, okay?” Sarah looked at her sister sternly. Vicky recalled that look from many years of Sarah being the older and wiser sibling.

“Yes, I’m sorry.” Vicky frowned.

“Good. Now, what are we going to do about this?”

“We need to see if it’s possible that Roman ordered the fruit basket.”

“But if he did wouldn’t he have it delivered to his room not Freida’s so he could put the berries in first?” Sarah asked. Her suggestion made Vicky recall the slip that was on the fruit basket. Her eyes widened at the sudden realization. She was sure it said room 301 not 310. But could she be mistaken? She was so tired that night.

Vicky quickly went to the computer and looked up the name of the guest staying in room 301. When she saw the name her heart stopped for a moment. Was this really possible?

“Vicky, what is it?” Sarah asked. She could tell that her sister had stumbled across something unpleasant.

“I think that the fruit basket was meant to be delivered to a different room.”

“What?”

“I think that the slip indicating the room number said room 301, Roman’s room.”

“So where’s the slip?” Sarah asked.

“It’s been thrown away like we always do.”

Vicky’s mind quickly ran through the possible repercussions of this discovery. Had Monica delivered the fruit basket to the wrong room by mistake? Had someone paid Monica to deliver it to the wrong room? She knew that the numbers could have easily been mixed up, but was her mind just playing tricks on her?

“I think there’s a crucial question we need to ask, Sarah.” Vicky’s eyes widened slightly.

“What’s that?” Sarah asked.

“If the basket really was delivered to the wrong room, is it possible that Freida wasn’t the target at all.” Vicky tightened her lips. When she spoke again, her voice was filled with a sense of desolation. “I think we may be looking at a murder, where we don’t even know who was the real intended victim.”

“You think that someone was trying to kill Roman?” Sarah gasped.

“It sure looks like a possibility.”

“Unbelievable. It’s horrifying to think that someone used our inn to try and kill someone and potentially killed the wrong person.”

“It is, but we have to face it. What happened here happened and there’s no getting around it. We have to pin down who was involved in all of this, even if that means stepping on some toes.”

“You’re right.” Sarah yawned. “We’ll deal with this in the morning with a clear head. Vicky, be careful, and get some rest okay?”

“I will.” Vicky smiled warmly at her sister.

A
fter Sarah left
, Vicky decided to take a walk. She needed to clear her head and calm down after such a tumultuous day. She always did her best thinking in the open air and especially under the stars. She walked away from the inn, towards the plot of land where she and Mitchell were building their house. Of course that would only happen if they didn’t lose everything in a lawsuit over Freida’s death. She paused at the edge of the foundation that had already been laid. She sat down on it and closed her eyes. When she did she could imagine the house she would share with Mitchell. Not too big, not too small. Just enough room for them, some pets, maybe even some kids. Just enough space to fill with their love.

She thought about the way he had looked at her earlier and had promised to always be in her corner. That meant so much to her, and she reminded herself to thank him for it. They didn’t always agree on things, but Mitchell’s love for her never seemed to waver.

As her mind shifted back to the murder, she mulled over the possibility that Roman was the target all along. Could Roman have been the intended victim? Could the aim of the poisoning have been to ruin the reputation of the inn and it was done by the same people that sabotaged the banquet hall? She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard footsteps not far from her. Her eyes flew open with fear. She found Mitchell walking towards her.

“Vicky, what are you doing out here?” Mitchell walked across the moon-dappled grass towards her. “I’ve been trying to reach you.” Vicky frowned and pulled out her phone. She saw that she had left it on silent. She had forgotten to turn it back on after creeping after Benny through the banquet hall. She stood up and turned to look at Mitchell. She knew that her face probably told the story of her day.

“I’m sorry. It was on silent.” She stared at him for a moment. “I just needed to get away for a few minutes.”

Mitchell met her eyes. He stepped closer to her, still holding her gaze with his fierce blue eyes. “Are you all right?” His voice was even as he questioned her, and just a little stern. Vicky knew that he was concerned.

“It’s been a long day.” She raised her hand to her eyes and covered them as she felt tears well up.

“Oh, sweetheart, none of this is your fault, don’t you know that?” Mitchell wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close against him. “It’s a terrible thing that happened, but there was nothing that you could have done to stop it.”

“Maybe there was,” Vicky mumbled into the curve of his shoulder and neck. “I knew that Freida had been threatened by Roman.”

“What?” Mitchell suddenly drew back from her. “Vicky, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying, I heard her telling someone on the phone that she was not afraid of Roman. But I knew she was lying. She was just trying to sound brave.” Vicky shook her head. “Maybe if I had insisted that one of them leave, maybe if I had just warned Sarah about it. I don’t know, maybe something could have been done.”

“Are you truly thinking that Roman Blade is responsible for the murder?” Mitchell’s voice wavered with disbelief. “Vicky, do you know the consequences of what you’re saying?”

“Not you too.” Vicky untangled herself from his arms and refused to look at him. “I know who he is. I know how powerful he is. That doesn’t change the fact that he had motive, and opportunity. Does it, Detective?” She turned back to look at Mitchell, her gaze powerful.

“Well, no,” Mitchell sputtered as he spoke. “But you can’t just go around making accusations with nothing to back them up, no solid proof.” He shook his head. Then suddenly he froze. “Did you find some proof?”

“Just that it’s possible that the fruit basket was meant for room 301 and it was delivered to room 310 in error.” Vicky sighed. “Which is even more confusing, because that may mean that Roman was the target all along.”

“Have you told him this?” Mitchell demanded. Vicky looked at him strangely. She wasn’t sure why he was staring at her with such urgency.

“No, of course not. We were first going to try and get more information tomorrow. Why?”

“Why?” Mitchell’s voice rose. “Vicky, he’s running for governor. If there is any chance that there was a threat on his life then you have to tell him. It could be considered an attempted assassination. How could you not tell me this?”

“Mitchell, I didn’t think of it that way.” Now that she had, Vicky’s heart began racing. If Roman had been the target, and Freida only the accidental victim, then would the murderer try again?

“I have to call this in.” Mitchell pulled out his cell phone.

“Mitchell wait … I could be wrong.” Vicky looked at him grimly. “We don’t know anything for sure yet.”

“Even just a suspicion is reason to call it in, Vicky. You know I don’t want to put you in a difficult position, but you can’t expect me not to follow protocol when it comes to a threat like this.”

She knew that Mitchell was right. She couldn’t imagine how she would feel, or how Mitchell would feel, if something happened to Roman.

“I know you need to call, Mitchell. You do what you have to do. I’m going to do what I have to do.” With that Vicky kissed him quickly and walked off across the grass.

“Vicky, wait!” Mitchell called after her. He already had his phone to his ear. “Where are you going?”

“Don’t worry!” Vicky called back. “I’ll let you know what I find out.”

Vicky was more determined than ever to get to the bottom of things. Within a few minutes she found herself standing outside Ida’s door. If anyone could help her uncover the truth, she knew that it would be her Aunt Ida. She knocked lightly on the door. Ida opened it a moment later.

“Vicky, come in.” She smiled at her niece. Vicky stepped inside Ida’s room. It was the same size as all of the other guest rooms, but it looked a bit smaller because of all the unique souvenirs that Ida had collected from foreign countries over the years. Sometimes the masks could be a little creepy. But the silks, the bright colors draped across the ceiling, were all very soothing to Vicky at that moment.

“Aunt Ida, I want to figure this out tonight. I don’t want to wait until tomorrow.” Vicky sat down on the edge of her aunt’s bed.

“Okay, let’s do it.” Ida began to pace back and forth in front of the bed. “We know that Freida died because of poisoned berries which did not come from the kitchen, and they were not arranged by the inn even though it was made to look that way. We know that Freida and Roman had a hate-hate relationship. We also know that Freida had created many enemies over the years.” She paused and looked over at Vicky. Vicky picked up where she left off.

“We also know that someone went to the trouble of damaging the sprinkler, possibly to damage the reputation of the inn. But, if the two are related that means that someone probably planned this for quite some time.” Vicky frowned. “Either with the intent to kill Freida, or the intent to kill Roman.”

“How can we solve a murder when we don’t even know who the intended victim was?” Ida sighed with exasperation.

“Well, we do know that Freida had some information that was very damaging to Roman’s reputation,” Vicky reminded her aunt as she stood up. “That makes her the more likely intended victim. Someone would be taking a huge risk if they targeted Roman.”

“But if we think that Freida was targeted because of the information she had on Roman, then we have to believe he might have been involved in her murder.”

“Aunt Ida, I know that you are fond of him, but a kind man doesn’t falsify a war wound, or threaten a reporter,” Vicky spoke with determination.

“We don’t know for sure that he did any of that. Even if he did, that doesn’t make him a murderer. I can’t believe that he would do something like this.” Ida shook her head and looked at Vicky with displeasure. “You’re just buying into the rumors that woman was trying to spread.”

“Aunt Ida, that woman was the one who ended up dead.” Vicky scowled. “I know it’s a terrible thing to think of anyone, but really everything points to him. He had motive, and plenty of opportunity. Maybe he just damaged the sprinkler to throw us off the trail, or the sprinkler had nothing to do with the murder.”

“But don’t you see? That is why I don’t think he had anything to do with it.” Ida pursed her lips. “Roman is a very intelligent man, Vicky. He had his mind on an illustrious career, why would he throw all of that away by being so reckless?”

“Are you saying that he is too smart to murder so recklessly?” Vicky asked. She was getting frustrated that her aunt was coming to the defense of a murder suspect.

“I’m saying that if he was trying to protect his political career why would he risk everything by being involved in a scandal like this?” Ida put her hands on her hips. “It just doesn’t add up, Vicky. You can’t force it to just because you want an easy solution.”

Vicky wanted to point out the flaw in her aunt’s logic, but the argument she made was a good one. “I guess you’re right. He could just as easily have hired someone to take care of the problem. Why would he risk the possibility of casting suspicion on himself by murdering her at the place where he was staying? Why would he get his own hands dirty?” Vicky looked perplexed. “It would be a huge risk to do that. Even if he was trying to satisfy a personal vendetta, I don’t think he would choose poison to kill her.”

“Exactly!” Ida sighed. “This was not a crime of rage, or passion, this was a premeditated murder. I’m not going to lie, Roman despised Freida, and was even convinced that she was stalking him, but I don’t think that would lead him to give her poisonous food and kill her.” Ida looked at Vicky. “He isn’t flawless, no one is, but I don’t think he’s that stupid either.”

“But that leaves us nowhere!” Vicky’s frustration was building more and more by the moment. “If it wasn’t Roman that killed Freida, if it was Freida who was the target, then who did it?”

“Maybe another person that Freida wrote a damning article about?” Ida said thoughtfully. “The fruit basket was left at the front desk so anyone could have put the berries in the basket.”

“I know, but if we don’t figure it out and soon, we might be blamed for this.” Vicky could barely keep her mind from spinning. Her thoughts kept returning to the first moment she had laid eyes on Freida’s lifeless body. She felt so guilty that the fruit basket that had been delivered to her room, had been what killed her. “You know what, maybe it’s time we had a conversation with Roman. Let’s see if he knows anything about what happened. It’s the best place to start.”

“Do you really think that’s a good idea?” Ida asked. She looked at Vicky sternly. “He is a powerful man, he won’t take it kindly that you are talking to him about the murder and he might not reveal anything, anyway.”

“But you’ve become friends with him.”

Ida looked at her with a hint of excitement. “You’re right about that. Maybe he would be willing to talk to me.”

“So, let’s go talk to him now.”

“Not us. I will go talk to him. You stay here. I’ll let you know how it turns out.” She smiled at Vicky. Vicky raised an eyebrow.

“Just how do you intend to get the information out of him, Aunt Ida?” She looked at her aunt nervously.

“Don’t you worry about that, Vicky, I will take care of it.” Ida picked up one of the orange silks and wrapped it around her from her shoulders to her waist. The silk transformed the simple dress that Ida was wearing into something much more sensual. Vicky watched her aunt leave the room.