Something Buried, Something Blue: A Lily Dale Mystery by Staub Wendy Corsi

Author:Staub, Wendy Corsi [Staub, Wendy Corsi]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC022070 Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Cozy, Paranormal, Mystery, Contemporary
ISBN: 9781629538020
Goodreads: 34550886
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Published: 2016-10-11T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

When the phone rings an hour later, Bella is in the kitchen slicing still-warm baguettes, thinking about spiders and rainbows and guns.

“Good morning, Valley View Guesthouse,” she answers as always, though she’s certain it’s Odelia at last. She’s pretty much the only one who calls the house phone postseason.

“Good morning, Isabella,” says the one other person who regularly dials this number.

For a change, Grant Everard’s deep, familiar voice doesn’t sound as if it’s coming from a remote part of the planet. He’s called her from mountaintops and deserts and the sea. Today, however, he’s calling from his apartment in New York City, having flown in last night from New Zealand.

“Business or pleasure?”

“Both, as always,” he says. “How is everything going there?”

“Busy. The wedding is today.”

“That’s why I’m calling. I need you to snap as many photos as you can, and we’ll use them for an advertising spread to showcase the guesthouse as a wedding venue.”

Her heart leaps. He’s taking this even more seriously than she expected.

“Maybe some video, too, for the new website,” he adds, as if the site is a done deal. “Got it?”

“Got it!”

Efficient as always, he thanks her and tells her to have a good day. As she hangs up, she realizes she forgot to mention the hot water situation. Maybe he’ll want her to hire a plumber.

Should she call him back?

But that would just remind him that this is an old house, and if he keeps it, the plumbing will need to be replaced, and the furnace, and the wiring . . .

The door opens, and Odelia bustles into the kitchen with several shopping bags. Tall, paper-shrouded bread loaves poke from the top of one.

“Sorry I’m late!” She stops short, looking in dismay at the baguettes on the cutting board. “You already got them? I thought I was supposed to pick them up.”

“You were, but the bakery always sells out early, and I didn’t know where you were.”

“So you went? But you have so many other things to do. I could have done it.”

You were supposed to, but you didn’t.

Aloud, she says simply, “I sent Luther. He’s also going to go buy more liquor for the wedding and drop it off later. We used a lot more than I expected last night.”

“Well, that’s because we had more guests than we expected.”

“It worked out well in the end,” Bella says with a shrug, not in the mood to talk about Calla’s plus-one. “Everyone had a great time.”

“Did Johnny notice the mismatched plate?”

“Nope.”

“Really?” Odelia seems surprised—and disappointed. The one she’d brought over for Blue to use had been chipped, just as she’d promised, and made of inelegant brown pottery. Clearly, she hoped Johneen would put up a fuss and ask him to leave.

Maybe her attitude toward Blue Slayton has less to do with his breaking her granddaughter’s heart and more to do with . . . something else. Does Odelia suspect him of something?

“Where is everyone else?” she asks Bella.

“They’re helping me,” Bella tells her, wanting to add, “Like you were supposed to.

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