Murder at Blackwater Manor

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

CHAPTER ONE

A Box of Cookies and a Grand Opening

“I’m nervous, Sage,” Primrose said and it was the last thing her sister expected to hear.

The two sisters were standing in front of the brand new flower shop on Main Street, looking at the final effect. The shop opened today and it looked nothing short of perfect. Sage thought that her sister would be proud, eager, triumphant. Anything but nervous really. It simply wasn’t in Prim’s nature to doubt herself or her potential success, whether she was baking a cake, throwing a garden party or starting a business from scratch.

“Come on, Prim,” Sage said and stroked her sister’s arm soothingly, “What’s there to be nervous about? You’ve worked on this for ages. It’s your dream, remember?” She nudged her slightly in the ribs, then added grimly, “I wish I knew what my dream was or what I wanted to do with myself…”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ll figure it out. By the way, do you think these buckets are the wrong shade of green?”

“Glad you are listening,” Sage sighed, but she took a deep breath and decided not to bring up her problems again. At least not today. It was a big day and it belonged to Prim. She could start whining about her life having no purpose tomorrow.

“Good luck, Prim!” someone called from behind them, “The shop looks fantastic!”

It was Cathy, the town’s eccentric mortician. As sinister as her job was, the woman was always in a good mood and had a kind word for everyone. In fact, just looking at her could put a person in a good mood. The plump lady always wore the most flamboyant (and mismatched) colors, plastic jewel necklaces, feather hats and extravagant earrings. To top it off, she had the most spectacular bright red beehive hairstyle that Sage had ever seen.

“Thanks, Cathy,” Prim called back, smiling, “Be sure to stop by later for some cookies and tea. I’m having a little opening in an hour.”

“Will be there,” Cathy said with a wave and hurried off.

“So, back to the major issue of the day,” Sage said once the mortician had gone, “No, I don’t think the buckets are the wrong shade of green. Come on, Prim! Look at this place. If it was a painting, it would have been uglier. I’m telling you, give it a few days and you’ll be rolling in millions.”

“Stop it,” Prim said, but her face wasn’t anxious any more. She’d relaxed a bit. Of course nothing could go wrong. She’d made sure every little detail had been taken care of before the opening. “We’ve got an hour, let’s get the rest of it set up.”

Although the shop was tiny, Prim had made the most of the limited interior and curb space. The window frames were painted in bright blue, like most of the storefronts in the small coastal town of Rosecliff. The large window, which took up the entire front facade of the shop, was brimming with color. Metal buckets of white, yellow and red roses, small pots of violets, decorative tiny wheelbarrows and watering cans with explosions of bright orange and pink mums springing out of them created a brilliant canopy that immediately drew the eye. Prim had carefully wound dry twigs and twine around the flower arrangements and put pieces of moss, interesting rocks and pine cones here and there to make the window look like a little fairy garden.

A pink and white striped awning hung above the shop and buckets of fresh daisies and lilies were lined in front of it. Amid the buckets, Prim had put a small metal round table and a pair of French bistro metal chairs with flower-patterned cushions for her and her future customers to enjoy a cup of tea and the lovely weather. All these flowers had come directly from her own garden and greenhouse.

No, she really had nothing to worry about. The shop looked immaculate and she could finally see her long-time dream come true.

Not that she hadn’t enjoyed being Rosecliff’s most prominent housewife. At thirty-six, she was already the role-model for all homemakers in town. Now that it was fall and the school year had started again, she had found herself with less and less to do at home with her two boys away for most of the day. Maybe she wouldn’t have had the courage to pursue her dream if it hadn’t been for her sister Sage and her constant encouragement.

After a regretful incident left Sage with no career and no fiance, she had moved in with Prim. It had been a couple of months already and the two sisters had grown so used to living together again that any talk of Sage moving out and back to the city was put off and ignored.

“Good morning, ladies,” another voice coming from behind them startled them as they were bent over the
Welcome
doormat, brushing it and fixing it into place. Sage’s cheeks burned. She knew it was Dan and though Prim teased her constantly, she still didn’t want to admit that she might be attracted to him. He was nothing like Derek, her ex-fiance, or like any of her ex-boyfriends for that matter.

“Dan!” Prim greeted him with a smile, “Just in time. I hope I wasn’t a bother. There were so many last minute things to figure out about the opening that I completely ran out of time last night. Thanks a lot!”

“No problem,” Dan said, “You know baking cookies at four in the morning is my thing.”

“Listen to you two,” Sage muttered as she finally rose to her feet and hoped that the blush had subsided from her pale skin. In her thirty-two years, she’d never baked a thing
or
got up at four in the morning.

In the bright morning light coming from behind him, Dan looked as hunky and delicious as ever in his white T-shirt, stretched across his wide chest, and flannel shirt that only accentuated the earthy feel of everything about him. His signature, slightly smug smile stretched across his lips and revealed the deep grooves of his dimples under the few days’ stubble. Sage suddenly felt like an awkward school girl facing him, as not long ago the only feeling the man inspired in her was irritation.

“I hope brewing a pot of coffee at seven in the morning is also your thing,” she said.

“You know it is,” he said, holding out a thermos flask that was still hot to the touch when Sage took it.

“You are spoiling us,” Prim said and took the box with the cookies, disappearing inside the shop to set them on the plates she’d brought for the occasion.

“So,” Dan said, “Are you going to be helping out in the shop?”

“I don’t know yet,” Sage said and sat on one of the metal chairs. Dan took the other. “We’ll see how it goes and if there’s even need for help.”

“Well, maybe you can go back to being a super detective then. Don’t tell me our little town’s overwhelming crime rate hasn’t inspired you.”

Sage laughed. Apart from an unfortunate incident in the summer, when she had helped solve a murder mystery, Rosecliff seemed like the most peaceful place on earth. Perched right on the ocean’s coast, it had a population of less than a thousand people who pretty much knew each other. It was safe to say that nothing ever happened here. Nothing bad at least. Even the summers didn’t bring a lot of tourists since the town was never developed as a tourist hotspot, but now that it was fall, it was even quieter.

“Maybe you can hire me as a waitress,” Sage teased. Dan owned the only cafe on Main Street, The Cheshire Cat.

“You mean trust you to bring coffee to my customers?” he said with a smirk, “No way. I’ve seen you down pot after pot. I know you’ll be sneaking out and drinking the orders. You have no limits, I’ll be bankrupt within a week.”

“Fine, I’ll have to think of something else then. Worse comes to worst, I’ll intern at Cathy’s place, dressing up corpses.”

“Maybe you can pick up a fashion tip or two from her while you are at it,” Dan said and they both laughed.

The truth was, Sage really had no idea what to do with herself. Staying with Prim had been so therapeutic that in the last couple of months she had completely recovered from the depression that had brought her to Rosecliff in the first place. She knew she didn’t want to go back to the city just yet, not without a clue what turn to take in her non-existent career of a biology professor, but on the other hand, she didn’t want to be a burden for too long. If she could only find a job here, she’d love to stay.

But what could she do? Her skill set was only applicable in the academic environment. In a small town where everyone was good at something and contributed uniquely to the tight community, she was nearly useless. Well, apart from her crime-solving skills that is… Only, what could she possibly do when there was not even a Tootsie Roll stolen from the candy shop?

CHAPTER TWO

White Roses and an Invitation

“You’ve outdone yourself, Prim!” people were exclaiming everywhere.

“Just look at these ladybug pins on the orchid leaves! Aren’t they the cutest?”

“I could just stand here and sniff the air all day!”

“It’s just what the town needed!”

“I’m putting a Valentine’s day standing order right now. And a birthday one. And a dozen white roses for my cousin Valerie’s baby christening.”

Primrose had ceremoniously flipped the front door sign of her flower shop from ‘Closed’ to ‘Open’ at exactly nine o’clock. Despite the morning chill and the crispy wind that carried a flurry of yellow and red leaves down the pavement, people had gathered to celebrate the occasion with her. It wasn’t every day that Rosecliff saw the opening of a new business and its residents were excited to have a brand new shiny shop on Main Street.

Their cheeks and noses flushed, people clutched their mugs of coffee and tea and nibbled the fast disappearing cookies, while turning to look at everything and pointing here and there like little kids in an amusement park. Prim stood beaming in the middle of all the commotion, refilling cups and explaining the names of flowers, giving out gardening tips and accepting the shower of compliments that rained on her.

It was impossible not to catch the festive mood of the morning. Sage smiled every time she caught a glimpse of her sister in the overcrowded little shop and kept sneaking behind the guests, fixing the pots they’d moved or the ribbons they’d pulled. The small bell above the front door kept ringing with yet another visitor coming to share the happy occasion until the shop was so full that Sage was forced to invite the guests to step outside and gather around the small table there.

It was definitely a success and by the time people started leaving to attend to their own offices, shops and small practices, Prim’s ledger had a page full of orders.

“Feeling silly now?” Sage said when they plopped exhausted in the chairs outside after the last guest had left. The inside of the shop had got so heated and humid with the crowd, it was nice to catch a fresh breath of air.

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