"Well," Glenn said, thinking. "I have five caterers with me. Four are reliable, and one is Hilary. Then there's the band. The guard outside. The photographer. And the Greyanders."
“And these people were all here before the wedding started?”
“That’s right,” said Glenn. “But how does this help the bride?”
“Just trust us,” Heather said. “It’s going to be very helpful.”
Before he could ask any more questions, Amy distracted him by complimenting his food and asking for seconds. Heather was grateful for the distraction but thought that Amy might also be doing it just for the food.
Sisters
“What do you think?” Amy asked.
“The other caterers seem to back up what Glenn Ventura told us,” Heather said. "It's possible that they're covering for their boss or that they didn't notice him slipping out of the kitchen for a little while, but at face value, it seems like he didn't do it."
“The only person on the catering team that anyone noticed was missing during the ceremony was Hilary,” Amy agreed. “But it wasn’t for very long.”
“Right now it seems like Hilary didn’t know Talia,” Heather said. “And if that’s the case, what reason could she have to kill her?”
“Do you think it could have been any of the other people working here that Glenn mentioned?”
Heather thought about it. "The band was playing the music as we all walked down the aisle and at the end of the ceremony. And I think they were doing a sound check before that. I don't think any of the musicians could have snuck away without being noticed.”
“The photographer?”
“She was with the wedding party taking pictures between when we last saw Talia and the ceremony starting,” Heather reminded her.
“Then that only leaves the Greyanders,” Amy said. “Unless it was a wedding guest. Like Conner Kent.”
“Phil and Susan Greyander did seem to have troubles with Talia,” said Heather. “They weren’t in agreement with how the house should be shown. But is that enough of a reason to kill?”
“Maybe Talia found out the mystery of the house,” Amy suggested. “Maybe she discovered a family secret from touring the house, and the Greyanders didn’t want anybody else to know.”
“That would be a reason for silencing her,” Heather said. “But what could the secret have been?”
“I think we should ask them about it,” Amy said. “We should definitely talk to Susan.”
“Good idea,” Heather agreed. “We’ll question her and then see how Ryan and Jamie are doing in their search for the hidden vase.”
They started walking towards the stairs again, but then Amy pulled her back.
"Uh-oh. We might have trouble."
“What is it?” Heather asked, peering around the corner.
Monica and Meredith were hurrying towards them. They were looking flustered. When they saw Heather and Amy, they practically sprinted towards them.
“There you are,” Meredith said.
“We were looking for you everywhere,” Monica agreed.
“What’s wrong?” Heather asked.
“Another vase crisis?” Amy asked.
"No," Meredith said. “Mona seems calm about that. This is something else.”
“Something very serious,” Monica said.
Heather held her breath, hoping that the sisters hadn't discovered the crime that had taken place. They were looking at one another very seriously. Then they turned to the co-Maids of Honor.
“We have to know what your plans are,” Meredith said.
“Our plans?” asked Heather.
"More so Amy's," said Meredith.
“About the bouquet toss,” said Monica.
“Are you going to be passive and just catch it if it comes to you?” Meredith suggested. “Or are we going to go all out and fight for it?”
“Should we be demure or comically over-the-top?”
“Because we’re not there yet,” Amy said, rolling her eyes.
“What do you think is best?” Heather asked the sisters.
After wasting what she considered too much time deciding the severity of their grabbing for the wedding bouquet with the excited bridesmaids, Heather and Amy were able to search for Susan Greyander.
They wanted to talk to her in connection to the crime badly, but when they finally found her, they felt bad about intruding. She was in an upstairs sitting room, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
“Are you all right?” Heather asked.
“I’m fine,” Susan said, standing up and attempting to hide her tears. She soon gave up and crumpled back into her seat. “Oh, what does it matter? You’ve seen me crying. I suppose you can know how miserable I am.”
“Is there anything we can do?” asked Heather.
"Hillside Hovel hasn't had events here in decades, and the first one they have is a wedding. It's just not fair," Susan said. "It should have been me. It's my family's house. It should have been my wedding that was special. But I don't have any prospects. I don't have anything."
“Is that why you were so rude to the bride yesterday?” Amy asked bluntly. “You were jealous?”
“Yes,” Susan said, sniffling. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be. I just have been very emotional about all the changes.”
“Opening up Hillside Hovel for public viewing?” Heather asked.
"We needed to," Susan said. "We can't afford the upkeep on the house. We need the money from tours and events in order to be able to keep the house in the family."
“If that’s the case, why were you and your brother being so difficult about the tours?” asked Amy.
“Phil is having an even harder time adjusting to this than I am. We grew up thinking how wonderful it was to be a Greyander, but by the time it came for us to receive our inheritance we learned how poor the family really was,” Susan said.
“But this house is so grand,” Amy said.
“And the house is all we have left,” Susan said. “That’s all there is to the story. Everyone talks about the mystery surrounding Hillside Hovel. Our ancestor built this great place because he loved his wife. Then every subsequent generation spent his money. They stopped inviting people over and closed it off from guests because they didn’t want people to know how poor they were becoming. Some story, huh?”
“How many people know this?” asked Heather.
“It’s not something I’d advertise,” Susan said. “But everyone will figure it out sooner or later.”
“But what about all the antiques here?” Heather asked.
“They’ve been sold off through the years and replaced with replicas,” Susan said. “Like replacing your jewelry with paste jewels so people wouldn’t know you’d lost your fortune. That’s something I know well. Even the supposedly important Greyander pieces have been replaced now. That vase that matches the painting is a replica.”
“Is that why it has that black line on the bottom?” Heather asked.
“What do you mean?” asked Susan. “What black line?”
“There’s a line on the bottom of the vase,” Heather said. “You’ve never seen it before?”
“It never was there before,” Susan said. “I’ve seen the bottom.”
Heather thought about this. "The vase was moved, and there's a black line on it. This means something."
“But what?” asked Amy.
“I have an idea,” Heather said. “But we need to look at the other vases.”
Vases
Heather hurried back to the reception with Amy on her heels. Ryan and Jamie saw them and joined them.
“We didn’t find the murder weapon,” Ryan said. “But did you find out any new information?”
“Let’s sit down at our table for a minute,” Heather said.
"I'm tired of running around myself," Amy said. "But the way we were racing, I thought you figured something out."
“I might have,” said Heather. “Let’s look at our centerpiece.”
They followed her to their table and stared at the centerpiece.
“What are we looking for?” Jamie asked.
“Check the bottom,” Heather said.
Ryan and Jamie lifted the centerpiece, balancing the flowers so they wouldn’t spill. Heather and Amy lowered themselves and looked up at the bottom.
“Fifteen,” Amy said.
"I knew it,” said Heather.
“What’s going on?” asked Jamie as they returned the centerpiece to the table.
“The centerpieces are labeled?” Ryan asked.
"Yes," Heather said. "We're at Table Fifteen, and so this vase is labeled number fifteen. I'll bet all the other vases are too. That way Mona could keep track of how many centerpieces she needed and to make sure they ended up in the right spot."
“But what does this have to do with the murder?” asked Jamie.
“She’s coming to that,” Amy assured him. “I’d sure like to know myself.”
“The vase we found upstairs by the painting had a black line on it," Heather explained. "But it wasn't a black line. It was the number one. That's the vase that belonged on Table One."
“Then how did it end up upstairs?” Jamie asked. “I’m so confused.”
"Someone put the Table One vase upstairs," Heather said. "And took the vase that was up there. They thought it was a priceless antique from Hillside Hovel."
“So, somebody replaced the antique vase with a replica and stole the real one,” Ryan said.
"The thief thought it was more important that it didn't look like the Hillside Hovel vase was missing from upstairs than for a centerpiece to be missing from a table," Heather continued. "So, he used a glass vase that he found for table one."
“And the thief killed Talia because she found out about it?” Amy asked.
“Possibly,” said Heather.
“But who did it?” asked Jamie.
“Who was the one person we know was missing during the ceremony?” Heather asked.
“Hilary!” said Amy. “And as a caterer, she would have known that the centerpieces would look like the upstairs vase. She also would know where to find the glass vase that she replaced it with.”
“We better get Detective Pearson and Hoskins,” Ryan said.
They found the detectives and explained what they had discovered. Then, they all went in search of Hilary.
Glenn was yelling at her in the kitchen. “I said no excuses.”
“Fine,” Hilary said. “I don’t need this. I quit.”
“Quit?” Detective Pearson asked. “Is this because you think you’ve found a new source of income?”
“No,” Hilary said, but she started to look nervous. “I just don’t want to deal with this jerk of a boss anymore.”
"No employees can call me a jerk,” Glenn said.
“Good thing I’m not your employee anymore,” Hilary retorted.
“Did you bring a bag in today?” Heather asked her.
“What if I did? Why does it matter?”
“She did bring in a bag,” Glenn said. “It was a big purse. Different from the one she normally brings in. Why? What did she do?”
“She robbed the Hillside Hovel of a vase,” Ryan said. “And it’s possible she committed murder.”
“Murder?” Hilary asked. “Who was killed? I didn’t have anything to do with any murder.”
“But you did steal the vase?” Heather said.
“I didn’t say that,” Hilary said. “How can you think that?”
"Because you had the opportunity to take it during the ceremony," said Heather. "You replaced it with a replica vase from Table One and put a glass vase there."
“This is crazy,” Hilary said.
“Not so crazy,” Glenn said, grabbing her bag from the area where employees’ coats and bags were kept. “It feels like a vase is in here.”
Hoskins took the bag from him and opened it. There was indeed a vase there, and it didn’t have a number on the bottom.
"I didn't take it out of the building, so it doesn't count, right?" Hilary asked.
“Nice try,” said Detective Pearson.
“The sad thing is that the vase you stole was a replica too,” Amy said. “The real one was sold a long time again. You killed somebody over a fake antique.”
“I didn’t kill anybody,” Hilary said. “Yes. I was planning on taking the vase. I thought I had the perfect opportunity to take it. And I thought it would be worth some real money. I didn’t know it was a copy. I just wanted to quit my terrible job.”
“People are lucky to work for me,” Glenn said.
“But I didn’t kill anyone,” Hilary said. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
"You can tell us all about it at the station,” Detective Pearson said, arresting Hilary.
“I’m not a murderer,” Hilary said as they led her away.
“Something’s not right,” Heather said.
“What?” Amy said. “We just caught the bad guy.”
“We caught a thief,” Heather said. “But I’m not sure we caught the killer.”
“What are we missing?” Ryan asked.
Then, it dawned on Heather. “The murder weapon.”
The Murder Weapon
Heather returned to the dining room and looked at all the vases on the table. She turned to Ryan, Amy, and Jamie.
“It doesn’t make sense for Hilary to be the killer,” Heather said, finally.
“Just because she didn’t confess doesn’t mean that she didn’t do it,” Ryan said.
"No. But think about it," Heather said. "The vase with the number one on the bottom wasn't the murder weapon. And Hilary wouldn't have used the vase that she thought was a priceless antique for the murder either."
"Pearson didn't find any blood traces on either of them," Ryan agreed.
"So, she used a different vase to kill?" Amy asked. "A third vase?"
“I don’t think Hilary would have had time to steal the vase from the table, replace the supposedly antique one upstairs, place a glass one on the table and then get to the wine cellar and kill Talia Pinster before opening the doors. The caterers said she wasn't gone long," Heather said. "And why would she have placed a glass one on the table if a vase was the murder weapon? It ended up being a clue for us."
"That's right," Amy said. "We didn't think of vases as weapons until we thought it was odd that one vase in the dining room was different."
"After everything, there was only one stone vase missing," said Ryan. "And it ended up in Hilary's bag. Not being hidden or destroyed because it was used to kill."
Heather continued, "Right. She was more concerned about somebody discovering that the upstairs vase was missing than about someone finding a murder weapon."
“But what does this all mean?” Jamie asked.
“It means that while Hilary was stealing one vase, somebody else was using a different one to commit murder,” said Heather.
"And what did they do with it afterward?" asked Jamie.
"The killer put it back on the table as a centerpiece. He was hiding it in plain sight," said Heather. "It wasn't until we saw the glass vase on the table that we considered the heavier vases as potential murder weapons. Hilary's theft messed up the killer's cover-up of the murder."
“He didn’t expect anyone to find body until later,” Amy agreed. “The wine cellar was cordoned off with that velvet rope.”
“Which of the vases is the deadly one?” Ryan asked.
“How can we determine it without Mona finding out?” asked Amy.
“And just who is the killer?” Jamie asked.
“Well,” Heather said. “I have a few ideas.”
Heather's first plan had worked, and she hoped that the second would as well. Heather had started a round of tapping champagne flutes with her fork. While the rest of the guests were watching the bride and groom kiss, as was the tradition when they noise sounded, Detective Pearson shined her light on the centerpieces.
H
eather and Ryan suggested that the detective examine the centerpiece with the bent flowers that Heather noticed earlier in the day first. Detective Pearson’s light had revealed blood traces.
They had a little bit of trouble removing the centerpiece from the table because Monica and Meredith thought it would ruin the design scheme of the room. However, when Heather pointed out how bent the flowers were, they allowed the imperfect plants to be escorted out of the room.
Then, Heather and her friends spread out around Hillside Hovel. They made sure that the attendees that they suspected overheard them say how Detective Pearson had found a vase with blood on it. Her partner was going to keep guard on it while she waited outside for someone from the forensics team to arrive and analyze it.
Detective Hoskins was now dutifully guarding the vase, but would soon leave the room in search of donuts. However, this was all part of the plan. The plan that Heather was severely hoping would work.
“Are there any more donuts?” Hoskins called out. Receiving no response, he said to himself, “I’m sure the evidence will be fine on its own for just a minute.”
He lumbered down the hall, making sure that anyone who might have been listening to what he was doing knew he was leaving. Heather was afraid he might be hamming it up too much. However, it ended up doing the trick.
Soon after Hoskins left the room, Phil Greyander tiptoed into the room. He was picking up the vase when Heather, Amy, and Ryan emerged from their hiding places. Jamie was in place to alert Detective Pearson that she could return from her false patrol outside.
“What are you all doing here?” Phil asked.
“We could ask you the same question,” Amy said. “Though in the singular.”
“I was just looking for my family’s vase,” Phil said, covering. “And I thought I found it here. It’s important that I keep an eye on all my family’s heirlooms to make sure that none of them disappear during events like this.”
“Your sister already told us about your family’s financial troubles,” Heather said.
"What troubles?" Phil asked. "Why are people saying things like that? Why are they always prying? There are so many prying people these days."
Mimosa Cream & Murder: An Oceanside Cozy Mystery - Book 16 Page 6