A Flower Girl Murder Page 7

  “Prim,” Sage finally whispered gently.

  “What?” Prim jumped right up, her head still muddled from the nap, “What’s going on? What time is it?”

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Sage tried to soothe her. She pushed the cup of tea into her sister’s hands. In the end she’d decided to brew a concoction of a little bit of everything. Even if Prim thought it was horrid, she didn’t say anything. She simply made a purring sound of appreciation and sipped on.

  “I’ve never passed out like this,” she said, “What did you do while I was sleeping? Did Trevor come? Did we get more orders?”

  “Yes, he was here, and no, no more orders, so you can relax. But Prim?”

  “Yes?”

  “I think I know what really happened to Natalie,” Sage said, hardly hiding the excitement in her voice, “I think I know who killed her.”

  Sage brought out her notebook and started from the very beginning. She guided her sister through all they knew so far, straightening out all inconsistencies, giving plausible explanations to all the question marks, explaining all the motives and means. Prim listened fascinated. It was becoming quite clear to her now that Sage was right. She had taken the whole ‘case’ with a grain of salt so far, mainly because she didn’t want to discourage her sister from getting out of the house, but now that she saw the facts laid out like this, there was little doubt that they were faced with a real murder.

  “Should we tell Ben?” she asked once Sage was done.

  “I think we should, but there’s one more thing we need to confirm before we go to him. I don’t want all this to look like just a bunch of convenient coincidences.”

  “You are right, plus he won’t be home before eight. What do you have in mind?”

  “We need to see the body,” Sage said calmly.

  “Sage!”

  “That’s the only way to know for sure. I know it’s not pleasant, but you don’t have to do it. I’ll examine her myself.”

  “Do you know what you should be looking for?”

  “I’m a biologist, I know enough. It’s not that difficult to spot it if it’s there. Only, do we know where the body is right now?”

  “It’s with Cathy. She’s getting her ready for the funeral tomorrow.”

  “Hm, that would be tough then.”

  “Not really,” Prim said with a conspiratorial smile, “I was headed there anyway. I need to deliver those carnations, remember?”

  “But you have no carnations.”

  “I’ll take tulips. Everyone deserves a bit of beauty at their funeral and tulips are humble, yet beautiful.”

  “Great then! I’m coming with you.”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  White Tulips and a Body

  The sun was nowhere near setting at seven o’clock, but the air was already cooler and easier to breathe. People were slowly crawling out of their dark, air-conditioned holes and returning to life. Main Street was bustling with traffic. Housewives were sorting through the wrinkled produce put out for display outside the grocer’s, trying to fish out a cucumber that hadn’t gone bad in the sun. Groups of kids were storming in and out of the candy store, clutching plastic bags of assorted bonbons and gummy snakes and bears. Older ladies were taking a stroll or waiting their turn at the hair salon, chatting at the bench in front of its windows.

  It was odd that the two sisters were on such a dark mission, while the world around them seemed so positive and serene.

  Prim was nodding and greeting everyone, while Sage took in the whole scene as if she’d stepped through the looking glass. This idyllic little town really looked like Wonderland with its quaint storefronts and smiling residents. She’d always thought that small town life would be incredibly boring and wondered why Prim had chosen this lifestyle without even tasting the different flavors of the world.

  Now that she herself had traveled so extensively, Sage realized that it wasn’t the thrill of the new that made this place so attractive. On the contrary, it was the feeling of security and familiarity, the tight sense of belonging and the history of many generations back that made people in Rosecliff so devoted to their town.

  Could she imagine a life for herself here? She wasn’t sure yet.

  The two sisters turned onto a residential lane with big, clapboard houses, and judging by the signboards in almost every front yard, most of these homes also housed various businesses. There was the seamstress and the chiropractor, the therapist and the real estate agent. Finally Prim and Sage reached Cathy’s home, which also had a tasteful sign board announcing her services and decorated with painted cherubs and white lilies.

  Cathy appeared at the door only seconds after they rang the doorbell. She’d been expecting them.

  She looked even more spectacular than last time Sage had seen her at the cafe. With her bright purple satin blouse and a frilly emerald skirt, she looked like a proud peacock. Not to mention she actually had peacock feather earrings on. Her outfit only brought out the fire in her massive red hairdo and crimson lipstick. Sage wondered if the woman spent that much time on her looks every day or this was a special occasion look just because they were visiting.

  “If that isn’t the lovely sister I’ve heard so much about!” Cathy squealed and lunged forward to take Sage in a tight embrace. Sage felt squashed in the woman’s ample bosom, but it felt nice to be greeted so warmly.

  “Nice to meet you, Cathy,” she managed to breathe out.

  “Let me look at you, honey,” Cathy said, finally drawing back and examining Sage from head to toe. “So, you say you two have the same father, huh? Gorgeous! I mean gorgeous!”

  Sage smiled. Cathy was definitely not someone who kept their thoughts to themselves.

  “Please, please, come in,” Cathy ushered them in, “I can’t breathe in this heat another minute!”

  The two sisters followed her inside and Sage had the immediate sensation that she’d stepped back in time. Cathy’s home was like a time capsule and artifacts from long past times were staring back at Sage from every corner. Oil paintings, a collection of paper fans, a smaller, but impressive collection of china dolls, a huge standing cuckoo clock, and a myriad of vintage photographs in sepia were just some of the curiosities they encountered as Cathy led them towards the back of the house, where she’d already served tea and cake.

  The kitchen table was overflowing with cans full of brushes, make-up cases and catalogs. It was a bit unnerving for Sage, knowing what all these were used for, but she wasn’t squeamish by nature, so it didn’t spoil her butterscotch cake. It seemed everyone was feeding her cake today, but how could she mind?

  “How are the preparations going?” Prim asked and shot Sage a meaningful look.

  Sage caught on and downed her tea at once.

  As Cathy was starting to describe the stages she’d already completed, Sage suddenly clutched her stomach.

  “Sorry to interrupt, but I think I drank this a bit too fast. Can I use the bathroom?”

  “Oh, sure, honey! Down the hall and to your left.”

  Cathy seemed oblivious to their little scheme. She continued going into detail about her work on Natalie’s body and the last Sage could see before she left the room was a calm-looking Prim, who looked completely engrossed in the odd subject, nodding along.

  Prim had described Cathy’s floor setup in a lot of detail before they arrived, so Sage was confident she was going the right way, when she opened a door right off a storage room and went down a flight of stairs to the basement. It’s where Cathy did most of her work and where she kept the bodies. Her studio was in sharp contrast with the chaos upstairs. It was clinically clean and the metal surfaces and sets of tools shone with a subdued gleam.

  Sage knew she needed to hurry before her absence got suspicious.

  “So?” Prim asked impatiently as soon as Cathy’s door shut behind their backs. “How did it go?

  “We were right, Prim,” Sage said, but for some reason she wasn’t as triumphant as she’d been on the way her
e. Maybe there had been a small part of her that still hoped that Natalie had not been in fact murdered. “We need to speak to Ben as soon as possible.”

  When they returned home, Ben was already in. He was rummaging through the fridge, taking out plastic containers and piling them on the kitchen counter. When he heard the two sisters come in, he turned around and his face was miserable.

  Prim hurried to hug and kiss her husband. She knew what that face was all about. There was no dinner and little was left over from last night and lunch. Ben wrapped his hands around his beautiful wife and didn’t say a thing. If his wife hadn’t had the time to make dinner or set the table, it must have been a real hectic day for her.

  “Where have the two of you been?” he asked, “Have you been up to trouble?” He smiled playfully.

  The two sisters looked at each other guiltily and there was no need to confirm his guess. They’d been in more trouble than he suspected and, most of all, they had ignored his plea not to meddle. Sage realized she was to blame for everything, since she’d started the whole thing, so it was only fair that she would be the one to tell him.

  “Ben, we need to talk to you. Something’s happened,” she said, taking a seat at the kitchen island.

  Prim tore herself from Ben’s embrace and went to stand by her sister’s side.

  “What’s wrong?” Ben said, closing the fridge door, “It’s not the boys, is it Prim?”

  “No, no,” Prim was quick to assure him, “The boys are fine. They are probably still out on the beach with their buddies.”

  “It’s about Natalie,” Sage said.

  “Not that again,” Ben said, exasperated. “Why wouldn’t you just let it go? I told you my hands are tied there.”

  “Yes,” Sage went on, “And we are sorry we went against your word, but you said you couldn’t investigate a murder based only on what I heard that morning at the beach.”

  “Right, I can’t,” Ben agreed, “Then why are we still talking about it? I’m starving. Maybe I can take you two out for a nice dinner.”

  “Not before you hear this, honey,” Prim jumped in. “The thing is, we know it was murder and we know who did it and how. We’ll need your help, though. We can’t just storm in people’s houses and arrest them.”

  “Alright,” Ben said, “let’s hear what you’ve got, though I doubt it can make a difference. The funeral is tomorrow and I think people already want to put the whole thing behind.”

  “Not if they knew there was a cold-blooded killer among them,” Sage said.

  “Fine,” Ben finally said, “Let’s hear it, but you two will promise that if I’m not convinced, there will be no more talk of Natalie’s death and that we’ll go out to dinner as soon as possible, no changing or fixing hair or make-up.”

  Sage and Prim looked at each other for reassurance and turned to Ben again. They nodded in unison.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  A Funeral and a Culprit

  Three figures filed out of the front door at dawn. Stars were still blinking in the thinning blue of the sky and the horizon was already painted tangerine with the approaching sunrise. Birds were twittering in the branches of the giant oak in front of the house and gave the start of the day a festive note, though the mood of the three people clutching their travel mugs of steaming coffee and tea was anything but festive.

  Sage climbed in the back of Ben’s sheriff car, while Prim and her husband got in the front. They drove in silence, partly because they were still sleepy at this hour and partly because they were nervous in anticipation of what would transpire at the Pendergrasses’ house in just a few short minutes. A quick call to Cathy last night had revealed that the funeral would be held exceptionally early the next day, mainly to discourage other townspeople from attending.

  Ben parked the car a block away from their destination and turned to the sisters.

  “I think it’s best if you two stay here,” he suggested, “Let me handle the whole thing.”

  “No, Ben,” Prim said firmly, “I think at least Sage deserves to be there. She worked out this whole case. Actually, I wouldn’t mind sitting in too. It’s all I’ve been thinking about the past couple of days and I really want to see the guilty be put in their spot.”

  “Alright,” Ben sighed, “But let me do all the talking. I’ll ask you if I get stuck on some of the details.”

  “Sure,” Prim smiled, “You are the authority around here. It’s only right.”

  The three of them took a last sip of their hot drinks and walked to the Pendergrasses’ front door. Jasmine came to the door after the second ring and opened with a confused look on her beautiful face.

  “Sheriff Greene? Mrs. Greene?” she said, “Good morning, but… We didn’t expect any more guests. As my father must have told you, we are keeping the event within a very close circle.”

  “Yes, Jasmine,” Ben said mildly, “We know and we are not staying. We’ll only be a minute. We need to talk to you all about something.”

  The confusion grew even more pronounced on the girl’s face.

  “Sure,” she said, “Please, come in! Though I’m afraid we were just on our way to the chapel.”

  “Don’t worry, sweetheart,” Prim said, “As Ben, Sheriff Greene, said, we won’t be long.”

  The three of them followed Jasmine inside the house and into the living room. Everyone was already there, gathered around a low coffee table. There were plates of fresh pastry and cups of coffee and Sage recognized the napkins and paper cups from The Cheshire Cat. The cafe must open really early then, she thought.

  There were only six people in the room, so Father Pendergrass must have been very strict about inviting only Natalie’s closest friends and family. There was him, sitting at the far end of the table in a wingback chair, his eyebrows furrowed as he took a cup of tea to his lips. Emily, Josh and Trevor sat on the sofa, each of them cradling a napkin with a piece of pastry, looking as if they were attending an awkward birthday party. Kevin was standing by the empty fireplace, leaning over the mantelpiece, and as soon as the newcomers entered, Jasmine joined her fiance, taking his arm.

  Everyone was wearing black and out of courtesy and respect, Prim, Ben and Sage had also donned dark outfits.

  “Good morning, everyone,” Ben started and before Father Pendergrass could interrupt, he went on, “We are sorry to be intruding at such a sensitive moment, but I’m glad you are all here for what I have to say.”

  “What’s this about?” The Father was furious, judging by his glinting eyes, though his face remained calm. “I’m sure it can wait as this is not the best time.”

  “I’m afraid, Father,” Ben continued, “That this is the only time.”

  “How very disrespectful,” the Fathered murmured.

  “Not if you knew why we found it necessary to bother you at this hour.”

  “Okay, what is it? Can we get this over with? If you don’t mind, I have a daughter to bury.”

  “A daughter you can’t wait to bury, because of all the shame she has brought on to your family,” Ben said.

  “How dare you!” The Father grew red in the cheeks and made a start to get up, but Ben stopped him with a raised hand.

  “And also a daughter, who you have no idea has been brutally murdered,” Ben hurried to say.

  The Father froze in his seat, his face immediately changing color to almost white.

  “What?!” Kevin, Emily and Josh shrieked in unison.

  “It’s interesting that it’s the three of you who are really surprised at the news, since you are the only ones who have no idea about anything I’m going to say now.”

  Ben waited to check the effect of his words and just as he’d expected, he was greeted with dead silence, all eyes fixed on him with varying degrees of shock or resentment.

  “Father,” he continued calmly, “You have raised your daughters within a very strict set of beliefs. You even started a purity circle to make sure they were well aware of the implications of premarital relations. You
’ve kept them within such tight constraints that it’s no wonder they wanted to rebel so badly. When you found out that Natalie had a positive pregnancy test, you saw all the years of education and strict rules go out the door. Naturally, you wanted to keep your daughter’s shame out of the public eye and so you hurried with the funeral and warded off my intention to perform an autopsy, so the pregnancy doesn’t become public knowledge.”

  Everyone’s eyes had grown wide and no one even dared move in fear that Ben might address them next.

  “In fact, the only people who were really interested in the purity circle were Kevin and Emily,” Ben continued and Sage was glad to see that the exchanged furtive glances between two of the people in the room only confirmed her theory. “And maybe even Natalie, because she wasn’t the one who was pregnant.”

  A shared gasp traveled through the room.

  “What do you mean it wasn’t her?” Father Pendergrass asked in horror.

  “It was you, Jasmine, wasn’t it?” Ben directed his eyes towards the girl and the entire room followed his gaze. Jasmine stood there petrified, unable to utter a sound.

  “You knew Trevor had always liked you and even though you were about to get married to Kevin and Trevor was your sister’s ex-boyfriend, you wanted to fool around a bit before the wedding. Only, you didn’t expect you’d end up pregnant.”

  “It was fine at first,” he went on, “Because it was very early on and you were getting married soon, so as long as you kept your secret, you could always claim it was Kevin’s. You even managed to convince Trevor not to say anything on the morning of the wedding as the two of you were fighting over at the stone terrace. He wanted to marry you and be his baby’s father, but you wouldn’t have it. You were too afraid of what your father would say or do. Not to mention that he would have certainly cut you off from his will.”

  Sage noticed that the two fiancees were no longer holding hands. Jasmine was looking at the floor, while Kevin’s eyes were on his future bride, narrowed in disgust.