Heavenly Highland Inn 05 - Suffocating the Sunflowers Read Online Free PDF

beside Sarah. “What are you both so worried about?” she demanded as she looked from one tense expression to the other. “Is this all about my motorcycle?”
    “ No,” Vicky exhaled as she shook her head. “It's not about the motorcycle.”
    “ We have a real problem on our hands, Aunt Ida,” Sarah said darkly as she scooted closer to her aunt on the couch and looked up at Vicky. “Sandy Holstead is dead, and it appears to be from an allergic reaction. If there really were peanuts in Sandy's food after she informed us of her allergy then the inn could be held responsible for her death.”
    “ You think that people that rich will sue us?” Aunt Ida asked with surprise and a cluck of her tongue. “Don't they have enough already?”
    “ It isn't just about money, Aunt Ida,” Sarah pointed out with a shake of her head. “It's about recklessness and the fact that a person lost their life because of something someone at this inn did.”
    “ But you don't really believe that do you, Sarah?” Vicky asked as she looked into her sister's eyes.
    “ I don't know what to think,” Sarah admitted with a shake of her head. “We're looking at a situation where it's quite obvious that Sandy ingested peanuts, and the food she consumed was food that had been prepared in our kitchen.”
    “ But you know that Henry never would have allowed peanuts or any products that contain peanuts to go anywhere near her food,” Vicky insisted anxiously. She began to pace again in an attempt to keep herself calm. She didn't want to see Henry lose his job over something that she was certain was not his fault. Sarah sighed heavily, her eyes were closed tightly and her lips stretched thin. Vicky could tell from the redness of her cheeks that she was feeling very stressed.
    “ All I know for sure is that Sandy Holstead is dead, and we're going to have to figure out what happened,” Sarah said with a grim frown. “If we're going to save the inn, and save Henry from a possible criminal or civil law suit, then we have to find another explanation for how this happened.”
    “ I still don't understand how she could have forgotten that her EpiPen was used already,” Vicky pointed out grimly. “If I was deathly allergic to something, I wouldn't ever forget something like that.”
    “ It is strange,” Sarah agreed and then sighed. “But she was on vacation, maybe it somehow slipped her mind. Whatever the reason it did, it doesn't change the fact that something in the food triggered the allergy in the first place,” she pointed out.
    “ Is it possible that it had nothing to do with the food?” Vicky suggested hopefully.
    “ What do you mean?” Sarah asked curiously.
    “ Well, maybe she ingested the peanuts in some other way. She had just eaten, but that doesn't mean the peanuts were in her food, does it?” she asked. “Maybe she ingested it in some other way, or maybe her reaction was due to something else entirely.”
    “ Well, the lab will examine the contents of her stomach, as well as the food she was eating, but I guess our first step should be checking the kitchen,” Sarah suggested. Her eyes grew a little lighter at the notion that there could be some other explanation for Sandy's death. “But who knows what we will find,” Sarah added. “To be honest, if it is our fault, we should take responsibility.”
    “ Nonsense, Sarah, I really doubt that anyone at the inn did this,” Vicky said sternly. “I'll check the kitchen,” she offered as she saw the stress mounting in her sister's expression again. “You try and get a little rest before the next round of questions, okay?”
    “ Okay,” Sarah sighed with relief. Sarah could handle running the entire inn mostly on her own but facing an investigation into an accidental death was very different from what she was used to.
    “ I'll come with you,” Aunt Ida suggested, it was clear from the gleam in her eyes that the mystery had piqued her interest.
    “ Fine,” Sarah