Free Heavenly Highland Inn 05 - Suffocating the Sunflowers by Cindy Bell

he has started a war he won't win,” Ida wagged her finger with warning.
    “ Aunt Ida,” Vicky began to say as she placed her hands on her hips. “You know he was only doing his job…”
    “ Never mind that,” Ida said dismissively as she glanced around the lobby. “Where's Sarah? We need to talk,” she walked over to the front desk.
    “ She's in her office, I think,” Vicky said as she tucked her phone into her pocket. “What happened?” she asked curiously.
    “ Inside,” she pointed to the office door and Vicky followed her inside. Once they were inside, Ida closed the door behind them. Sarah looked up from the papers she was reading over with surprise.
    “ We need to talk,” Aunt Ida said sternly.
    “ Yes, we do,” Sarah admitted as she laid the papers back down on the desk. “I just had a very unpleasant call from the Lambard family lawyer. The medical examiner confirmed that it was an allergic reaction and the lab tests proved that the food in the room was laced with peanut oil. This is not going to go away easily,” she admitted.
    “ Well, I don't think it should,” Ida said stubbornly. “But I do think that there is more going on here than meets the eye.”
    “ What do you mean?” Vicky asked as she sat down across from Sarah's desk.
    “ While I was at the diner, I overheard Peter talking to one of the waitresses, Carolyn I think her name was,” she explained. “She's his sister. It sounded to me like she was very happy to hear about Sandy's death.”
    “ Wait, Carolyn? Are you sure?” Vicky asked as she studied her aunt closely.
    “ Yes, that's what he called her,” Ida insisted. “The way they were talking, it sounded like Peter was the one who put the peanut oil on the food and she asked Peter if he had seen Gerald.”
    “ When I was confirming some plans with Melissa about her bridal shower she said that Carolyn had thrown a fit over being invited to be a bridesmaid because she's involved with a married man,” Vicky said thoughtfully. “I had no idea that Peter is her brother,” she added. “Do you think they could have been talking about Gerald?”
    “ Slow down,” Sarah requested with a shake of her head. “What are you suggesting? That Peter was not only involved but planned all of this?”
    “ It wasn't Henry,” Vicky said passionately and stabbed her thumb against the surface of the desk in front of her. “Never in a million years will you get me to believe that Henry made a mistake like putting peanut oil into a bottle labeled sunflower oil and then put that oil on the food. So, it had to be someone else who had access to the kitchen.”
    “ It wasn't Peter who planned it out either,” Ida interjected. “From their conversation it seemed to me that it was Carolyn who had masterminded the whole thing.”
    “ But what about Gerald?” Vicky suggested, her eyes wide. “Maybe he was involved, he just didn't lace the food. He had his lover, Carolyn, do it!”
    “ Wait, wait, wait!” Sarah smacked her hands firmly on the desk. “We're getting way ahead of ourselves. First of all, we don't know if Gerald was involved at all. From what you overheard, Aunt Ida, I understand why you suspect Carolyn and Peter, but we don't really know what they were talking about, and even if we did, we don't have any proof. If we go to the police and tell them that we suspect Peter, he is still our employee, and the inn will still be held responsible. If Peter did this I doubt that he will confess. We need to be very careful about our next steps. Let's sleep on this, and in the morning, we'll figure out what to do.”
    “ Well, there's not much we can do tonight,” Vicky agreed. “Let's meet up first thing in the morning. I really think if we bring Mitchell into this, he will help.”
    “ Ha!” Ida snapped and rolled her eyes. “How? By giving us all tickets?”
    “ Aunt Ida, if you were speeding…” Sarah began.
    “ That's it, I'm out of here!” Aunt Ida declared and