Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 06 - A Season of Change
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Authors: Diane Greenwood Muir
Tags: #Mystery: Cozy - Friendship - Iowa
| Diane Greenwood Muir - Bellingwood 06 - A Season of Change | |
| Bellingwood [6] | |
| Diane Greenwood Muir | |
| Nammynools Publications (2014) | |
| Tags: | Mystery: Cozy - Friendship - Iowa |
The future opening of Secret Woods Winery brings the return of three young superstars to Bellingwood. They left to make a fortune in the computer gaming world and came home to do something completely different. The winery's lodge is being built just down the road from Sycamore Inn, an old strip hotel that Polly and her boyfriend, Henry Sturtz, are renovating. There are great changes in store for this little town in the middle of Iowa
When someone is killed at the winery, the one person who is going to find the body... does. Polly can't bear the thought of calling the sheriff to tell him it's happened again, but there's nothing else she can do. The mystery of Sycamore House's vandal deepens, and Andrew Donovan introduces Polly to a new best friend. Both of these things threaten to change Polly's life in extraordinary ways, and it's all she can do to hang on for the ride.
Polly's life is in flux, but her friends stick close. When everything changes, her relationships keep her steady. Now more than ever, she experiences the truth of that maxim.
A Season of Change
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission.
The publication / use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
Cover Design Photography: Maxim M. Muir
Copyright © 201
4 Diane Greenwood Muir
All rights reserved.
Don’t miss all of the books in
Diane Greenwood Muir’s
Bellingwood Series
All Roads Lead Home – Bellingwood #1
A Big Life in a Small Town – Bellingwood #2
Treasure Uncovered – Bellingwood #3
Secrets and Revelations – Bellingwood #4
Life Between the Lines – Bellingwood #5
Room at the Inn – Bellingwood #5.5
A Season of Change – Bellingwood #6
“I’m telling you, this is a terrible idea,” Polly protested. “What are you people thinking? Isn’t it bad enough that I find dead bodies in real life? Now you want me to play a murder game?”
“You’ll have fun. I promise.” Henry parked in front of Aaron and Lydia Merritt’s home.
“We always have fun. I just don’t think it’s a good idea to set me up for more murder.”
“Well, you look absolutely beautiful tonight,” he said, patting her hand. “Does that help?”
“I’m just saying,” she said, laughing. “And by the way, you’re kind of hot yourself, young man.”
Polly had purchased her first little black dress for this party. She was a bit intimidated by it until Henry’s eyes popped out of his head. A year of working with horses, tossing hay bales and shoveling manure had toned her upper body, while running with Obiwan had done wonders for the rest. Dressing up had become
much more fun.
They were on the front stoop when Nate and Joss Mikkels pulled in behind Henry’s truck. Henry walked back to open Joss’
s door. She stepped out, dressed in an adorable silver cocktail dress with a tiered skirt and sequined bodice. Nate looked dapper in a black tuxedo.
“We’re all
looking pretty impressive for an evening at the Sheriff’s house,” Nate said. “I’m glad to see that you two dressed up. When Joss made me wear my tux, I wondered if I was supposed to be the preacher at a funeral.”
“Don’t talk about funerals,” Polly said. “I’m not finding the dead body.”
Joss linked her arm with Polly, “I’ve never been to a murder mystery dinner.”
“Me either, but trust Lydia to come up with something new.”
Aaron Merritt opened the front door and Polly looked him up and down in approval, “She even got you to dress the part.”
“My wife talked me into buying this tuxedo a long time ago,” he said. “It makes her happy.”
“I can see why. Ooh la la!” Polly said.
“You’re my prime suspect tonight, Polly.” Aaron gestured to the stairs leading down
stairs. “I’m keeping an eye on you.”
“Remember. I don’t kill them, I just find their bodies.”
The familiar family room had been completely transformed. Lydia took her parties seriously. “Murder at the Winery” was on tap for the evening. The room was laid out like the map that had come with the invitation and Lydia had found a few wine casks to complement the decor.
“I’m glad you’re here!” Lydia exclaimed, crossing the room. She hugged them and gestured to the room. “What do you think?”
“This is wonderful,” Joss said. “Where did you get the barrels?”
“Oh, you know. I made a couple of calls.” Lydia grinned and took the girl’s arms and led them to a table. “Have you met the owners of Secret Woods Winery?”
The three young men at the table stood and greeted them while Lydia introduced everyone. Henry had been hired to build the winery’s lodge. Since the old hotel she and Henry were renovating into Sycamore Inn was on the same street, they’d seen each other several times over the last few months.
J. J. Roberts, Ryan Williamson, and Patrick Stephens had gone to high school in Bellingwood. Before graduating, they began coding the popular video game - Sword Lords. They’d moved to California for college and to establish their business, but when a large company bought them out they’d returned to Bellingwood to do something a little more exciting … open a winery.
Polly glanced at the young woman who remained seated. Patrick caught her look and said, “I’m sorry, you haven’t met my wife.” He put his hand on the woman’s elbow to help her stand, but she shrugged him off. “Annalise, this is Henry Sturtz and Polly Giller. Henry is our contractor for the lodge.”
She didn’t say anything, just nodded and picked at the napkin beside her place setting. Her blonde hair was perfectly coiffed into a tight bun at the back of her head and she wore a deep red dress. Matching red lipstick on pouty lips was reminiscent of a young ingénue from some of Polly’s favorite noir films.
“It’s nice to meet you, Annalise,” Polly said. “I hope we get an opportunity to see more of each other once the winery opens.”
“You’ll find your place settings at the tables,” Lydia interjected. “I hope you have a good evening.”
Aaron
took their coats and when he left, Beryl and Sylvie came down the steps, carrying baskets of rolls and trays of vegetables.
“Excuse me, I want to say hello to my friends. I’ll be right back.”
Polly squeezed Henry’s hand and walked away.
Beryl was in a bright purple dress with a flouncy skirt, while Sylvie had dressed much more demurely in a simple black skirt with a blue blouse. “Hello, friend!” Beryl dropped the baskets she was carrying on the bar counter and ran to hug Polly.
“Hello there! I’m glad to see you too, but didn’t we just have lunch together on Friday?” Polly laughed.
“But I missed you,” Beryl whispered at Polly, “And I’m not sure about that little twit with Patrick Stephens. She won’t talk to anyone. Good luck with her.”
“Be good,” Polly whispered back. “I’m surprised that Lydia invited them. I thought this was just going to be the regular crowd.”
“You know our Lydia. She thinks everyone should be friends and if there is something new and exciting going on, she’ll find a way to be part of it. She keeps us young. Wait until you see the other guests. It should be a hoot.”
“What do you mean?” Polly asked.
“Oh, just wait and see.”
Polly didn’t have to wait long.
“If there’s a murder, Polly is going to be somewhere close, isn’t she!” Ken Wallers, Bellingwood’s police chief came down the steps. He was followed by an extremely short, petite woman with straight dark hair, cut just below her ears.
“I keep telling you, it’s not my fault!” Polly protested, laughingly. “But two of the county’s finest in the same room? Is Bellingwood safe tonight?”
“My best people are on the street,” he said, then put his arm around the shoulders of the woman with him. “I don’t believe you’ve met my wife, Maude. Honey, this is Polly Giller.”
She reached out to take Polly’s hand, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Polly. I hear about you often.”
“Oh my. I’m afraid
I should apologize,” Polly said.
“It certainly keeps Kenneth out of my hair and creates entertaining stories for his future memoirs.”
Sylvie came up to stand beside Polly, “Hi Maude. How are the kids treating you?” She turned to Polly. “Maude was Jason and Andrew’s third grade teacher. Both boys loved her. It took me a while to call her by her first name, but I’m learning.”
“The children are exceptional this year. I have a terrific
group of kids.”
Sylvie winked. “She says that every year, even when they are horrible and she has to crack the whip. She brings Ken in for the first day of class and after they realize her husband is the police chief, they steer clear of trouble.”
“He comes in a couple of times a month to read to them, just to remind them that they can trust him,” Maude said. “He says it helps him get to know families in the community, but I think he just likes spending time with me.”
Len and Andy Specek arrived. She waved at Polly before stopping to speak with Beryl and Lydia. Len made his way to Henry, who was standing with J. J. Roberts and Aaron Merritt.
Lydia spoke up, “Now that everyone is here, it’s time to begin. If you would please find your seats, we will have appetizers and introduce our characters to each other. I would like to introduce you to a couple of lovely young women who will serve us this evening. Meryl and Deena are students of our infamous local artist and will help me ensure that you have a pleasant experience. You are here to enjoy good wine, a terrific meal catered by our own Sylvie Donovan, and wonderful company.”
She turned to the trio who
were opening Secret Woods Winery and said, “We are serving several wines from our new winery this evening. It’s a privilege to be among some of the first to taste their offerings.” Lydia made a sweeping gesture around the room. “But for now, welcome to our own Bellingwood Wines and I hope you enjoy your evening.”
The girls set dishes of
steak and mushroom skewers, bacon wrapped scallops and shrimp cocktail on each table, along with baskets of bread and rolls. Polly couldn’t help but grimace as Annalise Stephens turned up her nose at each dish and took a long drink of the red wine her husband poured. He set two slices of bread on her plate and pushed the butter toward her, but she ignored him and took another drink. The girl was going to be drunk soon. With enough alcohol, she might loosen up.
Henry was chuckling beside her.
“What’s up?” Polly asked.
“We don’t have to eat pizza tonight. This is awesome.”
Polly laughed until she snorted. “We’re terrible, aren’t we! I should cook more often.”
“Either that or hire Sylvie as our live-in chef.”
“She’s closer to living with me than you are, Henry Sturtz,” Polly said under her breath.
“I need to fix that someday, don’t I?”
“Maybe someday,” Polly wiggled her eyebrows at him. “But first, more wine.”
Lydia stood again and clutching her heart, said, “I’m sorry to announce this, my friends, but Gregory, our sommelier, has met an untimely end. His stabbed and beaten body was found by our own Miss Polly Giller and one of you in this room is the horrible fiend who ended his life. Please tell us who you are and what you know of this crime.”
Everyone pulled out their cheat sheet cards and one by one, revealed their character’s motivations for the evening and the first round of clues. The entire group seemed to be having a wonderful time and one by one, each began getting into character, speaking with different accents, and developing their backgrounds. Polly was disappointed when Annalise Stephens sulkily delivered her clue, then slumped back in her chair. Great. A sulky drunk.
J. J. began poking and teasing her about her pert red lips and pouty face. Patrick scowled at him a couple of times, but finally gave up. Ryan rolled his eyes and said. “J. J. is our problem child. We’d be lost without his ideas, but sometimes it’s easier to ignore him when he gets an audience.”
“Oh, that isn’t true, my dear friend,” J. J. said. “I do my best work when I have an audience. I charm the ladies,” he took Joss’s hand and kissed it, “and schmooze the gents,” He placed Joss’s hand in her husband’s and patted them both.
“Well, you don’t charm me,” Annalise said belligerently. “I think you are a boor.”
“A boar!” J. J. put two fingers under his nose and snorted. “Are you calling me a pig?”
“No, a boor, you moron. A boo-or,” she drew the word out.
He shook his head. “I’ve been called a pig before, too, but words don’t hurt me. Even yours, mah petite.” He faked a poor French accent and winked across the table at Annalise. “We’ll kiss and make up before morning. Right?”
“We haven’t up to this point. I don’t know why we’d start now.” She sneered at him and took another drink.
Meryl and Deena cleared the appetizers and served a creamy rice soup. Annalise pushed hers away.
Patrick stopped her, “You have to eat something, dear.”
“Fine.” She slapped his hand away and pulled the bowl back in front of her. After taking two small sips from her spoon, she pushed it away again. “Is that enough?”
“Oh, good god, this is going to be a long night,” J. J. sighed. He turned to Polly and Joss, “I’m sorry about this. She gets nasty when she drinks too much.”
“J. J.” Patrick snapped the words at his friend. “Leave it alone.”
Henry reached for Polly’s knee under the table and gave it a squeeze. “So, Patrick, not to obviously change the subject or anything,” he said, “but have you given any thought to the flooring you’d like in the banquet hall?”
J. J. started laughing and Ryan, with a sly grin, said, “That’s why we wanted you to do the work, Henry. You’re smarter than anyone we’ve ever known.”
“Have you known him long?” Nate asked.
“I think we’ve known him all our lives,” Ryan responded. “We were freshmen in high school when Henry was a senior. He was pretty cool even back then.”