Read Online Heavenly Highland Inn 05 - Suffocating the Sunflowers by Cindy Bell - Free Book Online Page A

abruptly decided that she didn't like this man at all. She made a note to speak to Sarah about him when she returned to the inn. As she continued to listen in, she heard him speak in a quieter tone to his sister.
    “ Carolyn,” he murmured as he pulled her aside.
    “ How did it go?” Carolyn asked eagerly. “Did you do everything as I asked?”
    “ Shh,” Peter hissed and tugged Carolyn further away from the others in the diner.
    They ended up standing right on the other side of Ida's booth which looked empty while she was ducked down.
    “It's done,” he said in a whisper to Carolyn as she stood close to him.
    “ Yes!” Carolyn said gleefully. “I'm so excited,” Carolyn squealed and clapped her hands. “It's only a matter of time now. I can't wait to see him! Did you see him?” she asked, her voice shrill as she spoke.
    “ I didn't, but there's a bit of a problem,” Peter said in an even lower voice. “There's going to be an investigation.”
    “ Of course there will be,” Carolyn cleared her throat. “That snooty woman will be a thorn in my side, even after she's dead!”
    “ Just be careful, Carolyn,” Peter warned sharply. “I put a lot on the line to make this happen for you.”
    “ I will be,” Carolyn replied happily. “Don't worry so much, once everything settles we'll never see this town again.”  As she and Peter walked away their voices faded.
     
    ***
     
    Ida could barely believe what she had just heard. Unfortunately, she was sure that the police wouldn't believe it either. She needed to get proof that Peter and Carolyn had been involved in Sandy's death. She left money on her table for her malt and then rushed out of the diner. She quickly called Rex on the way to the parking lot and left a message to meet her at the inn instead of the diner.
    Once in the parking lot Aunt Ida hopped onto her motorcycle. As she was speeding down the road towards the inn, her mind was going a million miles a minute. It made sense that Peter would have been able to add the peanut oil to the food. But even knowing this, she couldn't think of a way to pin it directly on him. As her mind spun through different ideas, her motorcycle was trying to keep up. She didn't realize how fast she was going, nor was she paying very close attention to the road. She didn't see the turtle making its slow pilgrimage across the road until she was nearly on top of it. She swerved hard to avoid striking it, and swayed on the motorcycle for a moment before regaining control of it.
    What Aunt Ida also didn't see was Mitchell's patrol car nestled in some trees on the side of the road. Mitchell turned on his sirens and lights as Ida buzzed right by him on her motorcycle. She looked in the rear view mirror and groaned as she saw him speeding up to follow after her. At first Ida considered just going faster, but she knew that would not end well. When Mitchell flashed his headlights at her she finally pulled over to the side of the road. She watched through the mirror as Mitchell stepped out of the car and adjusted the hat on top of his head. He walked deliberately towards her.
    “ Do you know how fast you were going, Ida?” he asked as he tipped his hat back to meet her eyes. It was hard to do because Ida had dark sunglasses that were blocking her eyes. She regarded him with tightened lips and an air of annoyance.
    “ It's important, Mitchell, I need to get back to the inn as fast as possible,” she began to say more, then she remembered Sarah's warning to be careful what she said. She couldn't risk putting the inn in a position where it might be held responsible for Sandy's death. If Mitchell knew anything about the crime he would have to tell his boss all about it.
    “ Nothing is as important as your life, Ida,” he said firmly as he pulled out his ticket book.
    “ Aw, that's so sweet,” Ida replied and pulled off her sunglasses so she could bat her long, dark lashes at him. “I've learned my lesson, Mitchell,