Death and Daisies

by Amanda Flower

  “Remy, please,” Claudia whimpered.

  Remy snapped his fingers. “I have had enough of this, Claudia. Let’s go.”

  “I can’t leave. I’m working.” She shifted a little further behind me, using my body as a shield.

  “You’re not working here anymore. Now get the boy and let’s go. We are leaving Bellewick for good. I have more opportunities for my business in Aberdeen.”

  “What business?” I asked.

  “My business is none of yours,” he snapped.

  “I—I don’t want to go with you, Remy.” Her voice shook. “I want to stay in Bellewick. I—I have friends here.”

  “Friends,” he scoffed. “What friends? Who would want to be friends with a pathetic person like you?”

  “I’m her friend,” I said. “And so are Presha and Raj.”

  He snorted and took a step toward me.

  As much as I wanted to step back, I held my ground. “She doesn’t want to go with you. I think you should leave.”

  “You have no place to stand between me and my wife.” He raised his hand as if he were about to hit me.

  “Do you want to go back to the police station in Aberdeen?” I asked, lifting my chin. “Because believe me when I say that if you hurt either of us, that’s where Chief Inspector Craig will send you, right to jail.”

  He took another step toward me, and I braced myself for the blow that was sure to come. The entire time, I stared Remy in the eye.

  To my surprise, he took a step back. “Is this what you really want, Claudia? To destroy our family by breaking it in two?”

  “I’m not going with you, Remy. I can’t put my son or myself through this any longer.” Her voice was stronger now, and she stepped out from behind me, if only by two inches or so. It was a start.

  “That is what you want?” he asked again.

  “Yes, it’s what I want,” she said, barely above a whisper.

  “Fine. You will be sorry someday.” He spun around and walked to the door, which slammed closed behind him. The door shook so hard, I thought for certain the glass would shatter.

  I helped Claudia and her son gather their things and lock up the building. I sent Raj a text telling him we were closing for the day due to Remy’s impromptu arrival. He suggested I take Claudia and her son to Presha.

  Claudia remained silent and looked over her shoulder every few feet on the short walk to Presha’s Teas, and I didn’t press her to speak. It seemed she was still in a bit of shock that she had stood up to her husband, but she was also terrified. Even though she had found the strength to stand up to him today, I knew it would take a long time for the poor woman to recover from the decades of abuse she’d suffered.

  I hoped she would find the strength to keep her promise to herself and stay away from Remy. It was a choice that Claudia had to make, and no one else could make it for her. Even so, I couldn’t help but think that Minister MacCullen would have been proud of her in the moment that she told Remy she wouldn’t go with him. Thinking that made me like the man just a little bit more.

  Presha was waiting for us outside her tea shop with a tartan shawl in her arms. As soon as Claudia came within range, Presha wrapped the shawl around the other woman and Byron. Byron giggled when the rough fabric grazed his round cheek. “Itchy,” he said.

  Presha laugh. “The Scots make tartan for warmth, not softness.” She squeezed Claudia’s hand. “I have tea and biscuits and scones and milk waiting for you all inside.’

  Byron clapped his hands at the mention of biscuits. I got that; it was the same reaction I had anytime biscuits were mentioned, especially Presha’s shortbread, which melted in your mouth.

  Presha guided Claudia into the tea shop and smiled at me as Claudia and Byron went inside. “Would you like to stay? It sounds to me that you have had quite an eventful few hours.”

  “You can say that,” I agreed. “But I think I will head back to the flower shop and then stop at the Twisted Fox and check on my sister before heading home. This is her first night waitressing for Raj. I just want to make sure she’s doing okay.”

  “I’m sure she will do fine. She is a bright and delightful girl who is good with people and friendly. That is half the battle when it comes to food service. You don’t need to mother-hen your sister, Fiona. She is an adult.”

  “I’m not mother-henning her,” I said.

  She raised a black eyebrow.

  “Much. I’m not mother-henning her much.”

  She laughed and patted my arm. “And don’t worry about Claudia. I’ll take good care of her and Byron. That was a brave thing you did, standing up to Remy Kenner like that. Raj told me what happened at the laundromat. When things calm down a bit, you will have to tell me the rest of it in detail, but first go check on your store and your sister. You will feel better when you see how well Isla is doing.”

  I chuckled. “You understand me so well, Presha.”

  She winked and went inside.

  I stepped onto the sidewalk and blinked when I looked down the street just in time to see Seth MacGregor strolling down the cobblestone street like he didn’t have a care in the world. I might finally have my chance to find out why he was in Bellewick.

  I followed him at a light jog, but when I was within ten yards, I slowed my pace so that I remained the same distance behind him. I matched him stride for stride.

  Seth increased his pace as we made our way down Prince Street, the narrow lane where the Twisted Fox and my flower shop stood. I wasn’t surprised when he made a beeline for the Twisted Fox.

  Just before the pub, Seth ducked into the alley. Thankfully, there was no one on the street to see me run after him. I jogged into the space between the buildings, but slowed my pace in the darkened alley, and came out the other side of it. I held on to the side of the stone and peeked around the corner of the building to see Seth.

  Seth was waiting out the back of the Twisted Fox near the dumpster. There was a large tear in the right pant leg of his jeans. I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of scrape he must’ve gotten into to tear the denim so badly.

  I was about to confront him when the back door of the Twisted Fox opened and my sister came out of the building.

  She was wearing a black Twisted Fox T-shirt with the fox-head logo on it and skinny jeans that hugged all her curves. A white apron was tied around her waist. She’d piled her blonde hair on the top of her head with a bright red ribbon, and pretty tendrils of it fell and framed her round face.

  When she saw Seth there, she squealed and ran toward him. To my astonishment, Seth caught her, picked her up, and twirled her through the air before setting her down. My mouth fell open as she kissed him on the mouth.

  When I gathered my courage to look back at them again, my sister had let go of Seth and was glaring at me. “Fiona! What are you doing?”

  Busted.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  “What am I doing? What are you doing?” I pointed at Seth, whose ears were the brightest shade of red I had ever seen. Brighter even than the ribbon in my sister’s hair.

  My sister grabbed Seth’s hand. “We’re together.”

  “Together? How? What on earth is going on? How did you even meet?” I knew I was yelling. I knew I was overreacting, but it had been a very long day. I had found a crime scene, fallen into a pit, been threatened, and oh yeah, there was still a murderer loose in the village. Maybe I wasn’t in a good place to be rational about my little sister having a new boyfriend who was also a murder suspect.

  She tightened her grip on Seth’s hand. “We met in Aberdeen a few days after I arrived when I went into the city for shopping. I was at the mall, and there he was! It was kismet, Fi. There was instant chemistry between us, and then I learned his connection to Duncreigan. How can I deny fate?”

  “It’s not fate, Isla. You don’t even know him. You don’t know his past.” I stepped all the way out from behind the building. As I did, the smell from the dumpster became more potent.

 
“If you are talking about his gambling problem, Seth already told me about that.” She looked up at him in admiration. “He told me the very first time we met. It’s hard to find an honest man.” She turned back to me. “You should know that.”

  I winced. I knew that was a pointed remark referring to my ex-fiancé. “That’s a little harsh, Isla.”

  Her cheek pinked just a little, but she didn’t take the comment back.

  “Seth,” I said. “This is what you are doing in the village? You’re here to see my sister?”

  He nodded.

  “Then why on earth did you run from me?”

  “I panicked. I knew you would ask me what I was doing here, and we weren’t ready to make our relationship public just yet.”

  I rubbed my forehead. “Have you seen Hamish since you’ve been in the village? He still believes you are in medical school in Aberdeen.”

  He lowered his head. “I know. I’ve been working up the nerve to visit him and tell him that I don’t want to be a doctor anymore. I’m going to tell him soon, I promise. I think I am more of a free spirit. I can’t be chained to a schedule.”

  Great. Just what every big sister wants her baby sister to be with, a free spirit. If I let this relationship go on, I knew my parents would kill me. And I would be the one who would be blamed for it.

  “I want to follow other pursuits,” Seth said.

  “What other pursuits?” I asked.

  “I’m still dabbling, trying to find my way.”

  It took everything in me not to roll my eyes. “Are you going to return all the money you borrowed from Hamish to pay for school, then?”

  His face turned bright red to match his ears.

  “Never mind.” I waved my hand. “That’s none of my business. That’s between you and him.”

  “Thank you, Fiona,” he murmured. “I will tell Hamish soon.”

  I wasn’t sure I believed him. “You should do it quickly. He knows that you’re in the village.”

  “How?” Seth yelped.

  “After you ran away from me, I spoke to him to ask if he knew you were here. I also told him that you might be tangled up in Minister MacCullen’s murder. He’s very worried about you.”

  “What? Why would you tell him that? I didn’t kill anyone!”

  I raised my eyebrows. “Then what were you doing at the docks the evening before the minister died, while the minister was there arguing with Remy Kenner?”

  “I—I wasn’t there with the minister or Remy.”

  “The old men there saw you. They have no reason to lie about it.”

  He lowered his head. “I wasn’t there to meet the minister.” He glanced at my sister. “Isla and I had planned to meet up, but when the weather started to turn bad, I texted her that I thought it was a better idea if she went home. I didn’t want her to be caught in the storm.” He wrapped his arm around my sister’s shoulder. “I don’t know what I would do if something happened to her.”

  Because you’ve known her for all of two weeks, I thought. I bit the inside of my lip to hold my sarcasm back. My smart mouth wasn’t going to help anyone.

  “Fi, it’s true,” Isla implored me with her large, dark-blue eyes. “I have the text to prove it if you don’t believe us.” She looked up at Seth. “He was going to take me for a romantic walk on the beach.”

  I thought of the pebble-covered beach. It was much more likely that one of them would have turned an ankle on that uneven surface than that they would have had a romantic interlude. Again, I kept those thoughts to myself.

  “Since you were at the docks, you are a suspect,” I said.

  “But why? I don’t have any reason to kill the minister.”

  “Hamish told me about the acceptance letter to St. Andrews …” I trailed off.

  He blinked at me. “That was over ten years ago. Why would I care about that now?” He held on to my sister’s hand. “Isla is all I care about.”

  He had a point, and my list of suspects was rapidly dwindling. I still didn’t know why Craig had released Remy. Did he have an alibi?

  Still, I wasn’t giving up that easily that Seth could be guilty. “What about your gambling?”

  His ears turned just a tad redder. It was quite impressive, really. I just hoped they didn’t catch on fire. “What about it? I’m in recovery. I go to meetings.”

  “Maybe the minister confronted you about your addiction,” I said. “And you didn’t like it.”

  “And I killed him over it? Why? Everyone knows about my issues with gambling. It’s not a secret. Who could he tell? Isla already knew.”

  “Fi, you are being very judgmental,” my sister said. “Why can’t you just be happy for me that I found someone to spend the rest of my life with?”

  “Wait.” I held up my hand. “The rest of your life? What do you mean?”

  “Fiona,” my sister said. “Now that you know about Seth and me, we have more news.” She looked up at Seth, and he gave her a slight nod.

  I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to like what she was about to say.

  “Seth and I are going to get married!” she exclaimed with bright eyes.

  I drew in a sharp breath, and my gaze fell to her ring finger on her left hand. There was nothing there.

  Isla noticed my line of sight, because she said, “He will get me a ring just as soon as he has the money saved up. Right, honey?”

  Seth’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Right, my love.”

  I waved my hands back and forth in a universal stop sign. “Isla, you can’t marry a man you have only known for two weeks.”

  “He’s the one, Fi. It was love at first sight.”

  Seth’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down double-time.

  I took a deep breath. “Isla, why don’t we go home and talk about this? I’m sure Raj would let you out of your shift under the circumstances. It’s been a crazy few days. You just graduated from college. You need to find out what you want from your life. It’s not the time to become trapped.”

  “Trapped? Getting married is not becoming trapped. Just because it didn’t work out for you.”

  I closed my eyes for a long moment. “Please, Isla.”

  She grabbed Seth’s hand. “I’m not a child, Fi. You have treated me like a child my entire life. Seth and I are getting married. There is nothing that you can do about it.”

  “I just think you need to be practical.” It came out as a whimper. “No offense to Seth, but he doesn’t even have a job. He doesn’t have a plan or—”

  “What? Like Ethan had a job?” she asked. “You really aren’t in a place to question my choices in men, are you?”

  I felt like I might be sick.

  “Let’s go, Seth.” She pulled on his arm and pushed her fiancé through the back door of the pub, and then turning back to me, said, “I’m going to stay with Seth tonight, so don’t wait up.”

  My heart fell to the bottom of my shoes. “Isla, I—”

  She slammed the heavy metal door before I could finish my sentence.

  My arms dropped uselessly to my sides. All I could hope for was the world’s longest engagement.

  Chapter Thirty

  Part of me wanted to follow Isla into the Twisted Fox, but I knew we were not in a good place to discuss this latest development in her life, and I certainly didn’t want to make a scene in Raj’s pub.

  Instead, I removed my shop keys from my pocket and walked next door to the Climbing Rose. I let myself into the shop through the back door. Ivanhoe meowed at me, and his gray-striped tail slid back and forth on the weathered hardwood floor, making his annoyance clear. I had left him for too long alone in the shop.

  I scooped up the cat. “Sorry, Buddy.” I rubbed my cheek in his velvety fur.

  Carrying Ivanhoe as I went, I swept through the store and was relieved to find nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Even better, there wasn’t a mysterious note lying in wait for me. I was really tired of those notes.

  I texted my sister and told
her I was sorry and only surprised by the news of her engagement. My sister was engaged. It was hard for me wrap my mind around that. One of the best things about my sister was her willingness to take risks and jump into whatever she felt passionate about, but it was one of the worst things about her too. I knew that if she would take the time to think about it, she would see what a bad idea it was to be engaged to a man she had just met in a foreign country. Knowing Isla, she would move ahead full throttle until something really awful happened, and when it did, I’d have to pick up the pieces.

  I rubbed my forehead, feeling a headache forming right between my eyes. Ivanhoe leaned against my shoulder and meowed.

  “I think it’s time to go back to Duncreigan too,” I told the cat.

  I gathered up his bed and half the toys I had brought to the shop for him that morning. The other half could be his shop toys, I thought. I slung Ivanhoe’s bag of goodies and my tote bag over my shoulder, tucked the cat bed under my arm, and picked up his carrier, where he was impatiently waiting for transport by giving off a howl-like wail every two seconds.

  “I know, I know,” I said. “You are going to be just fine. Don’t worry.” When I managed to get through the front door, I had to set the carrier and cat bed down so I could lock up the shop. As I did, I heard a scraping sound to my left in the direction of the alley.

  I froze with my key in the lock. “Isla?” I asked. “Seth?”

  No one answered.

  I must have imagined the noise. My nerves were all but completely frayed. I shook my head as I locked the door and said to Ivanhoe, “I think I might be losing my mind.”

  “That may be,” an elderly woman said to me as she made her way down the street carrying two full shop bags. “You’re talking to yourself,” she added as she passed.

  “The cat,” I called after her. “I was talking to the cat.”

  She didn’t so much as look over her shoulder when I said that. I picked up the cat carrier and the cat bed again and made my way to the public lot near the troll bridge. I walked by the open door of the Twisted Fox and heard Celtic music playing and laughter. I peeked inside but didn’t see my sister or Seth in the dimness.