Killing the Carnations (A Heavenly Highland Inn Cozy Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page A

nudge it open with the toe of her shoe, it only pushed about an inch inward, before it thumped against something. Ida swallowed back a scream and with a trembling hand reached into her purse for her cell phone. She dialled Vicky's number. Vicky picked up on the first ring.
    “ Vicky, we have a problem,” she said quickly. “Get up to the third floor, I'm calling an ambulance now.”
    She didn't even give Vicky a chance to respond, instead she dialled for an ambulance right away. She knew that whoever was behind that door was in desperate need of medical attention.
     

Chapter Three
     
    When Vicky reached the third floor, her breath was short from taking the stairs and from panic. She didn't want to believe that this could be happening. But, Aunt Ida had certainly sounded serious when she spoke to her on the phone. As Vicky stepped into the hallway, she found Ida still standing in the hall, shoving her shoulder against the door.
    “ We have to get in,” she said with a gasp. “Whoever is in this room is seriously hurt, and if we don't get in...”
    “ Aunt Ida,” Vicky said gently as she drew her aunt away from the door.  As her aunt stepped aside, Vicky began pushing against the door, too. When she finally managed to get whatever was behind it to budge slightly she braced herself for a groan or a cry for help, but there was only silence.
    “ Hello?” she called into the room. “Are you okay?”
    “ What is this?” a shrill voice asked from behind them. Vicky and Ida both turned suddenly to discover the woman in the gold dress. She still looked just as pristine but her brows were furrowed with annoyance.
    “ Why are you blocking my way?” she demanded as she tried to step past the two women. When she saw the blood spreading across the carpet she shrieked and jumped backward. It was an agile feat, considering the height of her heels and the fact that she was still obviously tipsy.
    “ What have you done?” she demanded. “Have you hurt my Charleston?”
    Vicky' s heart began to pound very loudly. She looked up at the room number. It was Charleston's room. Not only did they possibly have a murder on their hands, but it was the murder of a man who was next in line to be the CEO of a multi-million dollar company. She slammed her shoulder against the door just as the elevator dinged, alerting them to the arrival of Mitchell. Before Vicky could catch herself she nearly fell into the room. She caught herself with the doorknob of the forced open door, and stopped herself from landing directly on top of Charleston Davis, who was gazing up at the ceiling with wide empty eyes. Those eyes that had impressed her when she first saw them, the eyes that looked so intelligent and confident, were now dull and glazed. It was quite obvious that he had been murdered.
    “ Oh no,” she said under her breath as she felt a strong grasp tug at her elbow.
    “ Come out of there, Vicky,” Mitchell insisted as he gently pulled her away from the crime scene. Vicky was a little dazed at first, and glad that it was Mitchell's eyes she was now looking in to.
    “ What happened?” he asked her as he continued to hold her steady.
    “ I have no idea,” she admitted as other officers brushed past her. “Aunt Ida was the one that found him,” her voice wavered as she glanced back into the room. It was hard to think that the man she had just met was truly gone.
    “ Are you okay?” he asked and tried to meet her eyes. She nodded without speaking. Ida was trying to reassure Amanda who was getting more frantic by the second.
    “ No! He can't be dead!” she exclaimed, her voice rising. “We weren't married yet! He hadn't changed the will! He wasn't even a CEO!” she moaned and leaned heavily against Ida. Ida looked over at Vicky with astonishment. Vicky returned the shocked expression. She had heard of some cool and calculated women that married for the sake of money, but she had never seen such a careless display. Vicky walked over to