“
I did!” he insisted, fresh tears forming and his grief causing his voice to crack. “In fact just to be extra cautious I emptied out all of the sunflower oil that was in here, I cleaned the bottle, and refilled it with sunflower oil myself!” he shook his head as he stared at the offending bottle with a mixture of shock and hatred. “I know I did.”
“
So, you're saying someone else must have put the peanut oil in the bottle after you cleaned and refilled it?” Vicky asked as she studied the bottle intently. There was no sign that it had been tampered with, but it wasn't a sealed bottle and the cap just screwed off so there was no way to tell what had happened to it.
“
Someone must have,” Henry insisted as he handed the bottle to Vicky so she could have a closer look. “I know for a fact there was no peanut oil in there, not even when I added the oil to the food. In fact there wasn't a trace of peanut oil in this kitchen. Someone had to bring it in from outside the kitchen. But that's just crazy, isn't it?” he shook his head as if he was doubting himself.
Vicky was certain as she rolled the bottle between her fingers that Henry was telling the truth, but
Ida didn't look as convinced.
“
Or maybe you just made a mistake,” Ida pointed out and shook her head. “And now you've covering it up because you know the inn and you will be held responsible.”
“
Aunt Ida!” Vicky frowned as she shot a glare in her direction. “Henry wouldn't do that!”
“
Maybe not,” Ida said with a sigh. “But that is what the police are going to say when they find peanut oil in Sandy's food.”
“
If that were the case why would I admit to it now?” he snapped in return. “Why would I suddenly say there was peanut oil in the wrong bottle? I would never lie about something like that!”
“
Calm down, Henry,” Vicky cringed as she glanced towards the entrance of the kitchen and then back to him. “Just keep this quiet for now,” she slid the bottle of oil into her pocket.
“
Vicky, what are you doing?” Aunt Ida hissed as she stared at her niece. “You can't conceal evidence! If anyone finds out, you could face jail time!”
“
It isn't real evidence,” Vicky argued in return, though she was careful to keep her voice low. “It's evidence that was planted, to make it look as if this death was accidental. But Sandy's death was no accident,” she said grimly as she looked from Henry to Ida. “Sandy Holstead was murdered. I'm not going to let Henry be accused of something he didn’t do, and I'm not going to let the inn take the fall because someone decided it was the perfect place to commit a murder. It may seem like the wrong thing to do, Aunt Ida, but it's the only thing I can think of right now. Until we get to the bottom of this, all three of us have to be clear on one thing,” she looked from one face to the other. “This bottle never existed, understand?”
Henry swallowed thickly, he still had tears in his eyes, but he nodded.
Aunt Ida sighed heavily, she wrung her hands together and shook her head with frustration.
“
Yes, Vicky,” she finally agreed.
“
I need to speak with Henry,” a voice said from right behind Vicky. Vicky spun on her heel to find a tall man in an expensive, black business suit staring hard at her. For just a moment Vicky was startled by his hawk-like gaze and his fierce stance. He was a slender man, to the point of being called skinny, but his presence was very large and full of arrogance. When Vicky found her voice again Ida had stepped closer to her.
“
May I ask who you are?” Vicky inquired in a polite tone.
“
My name is Barry Baker. I am a lawyer, and I represent the Lambard family,” he said as he studied Vicky. “I don't need to know who you are, I already do. You and your sister own this inn. Now, if you don't mind, I need to speak with Henry alone.”
“
I'm sorry, I'm not sure that would be best…” Vicky began to say.
“
I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you the impression that you had a choice,” Barry responded and narrowed his eyes. Ida moved closer to him, her gaze locking with his.
“
Listen Barry, we're all trying to understand what happened here. Perhaps I can interest you in a glass of ice water?” she offered, and batted her eyelids flirtatiously. Barry seemed to be distracted by Ida's behavior, and the corners of his lips even turned upward slightly. Vicky was shocked at how quickly they had arranged for a lawyer to come.
“
Water would be nice,” he agreed with a slight nod. As Aunt Ida sashayed across the kitchen to retrieve the water, Barry turned back to Vicky. “Please excuse us,” he said sternly.
“
I'm not going anywhere,” Vicky retorted growing more annoyed by the moment.
“
It's okay, Vicky,” Ida insisted as she brought Barry his ice water. “I'll keep this strapping, young man company while he talks to Henry,” she purred as she drifted her fingertips along the back of Barry's hand. “You don't mind, do you, Mr. Baker?” she asked and offered a seductive gaze.
“
Well, I suppose it couldn't do any harm,” he chuckled and watched Ida as he took a sip of his ice water. Vicky knew that Ida would keep a close eye on the situation, and she needed to warn Sarah about the lawyer's presence. She looked up at Henry who was starting to pull himself together. She met his eyes as she spoke to Barry.
“
I think you'll find no matter what questions you ask, the inn is not responsible for Mrs. Holstead's death. In fact, your time might be better spent finding out who exactly her husband was having an affair with,” she suggested and then shifted her gaze slowly to Barry.
“
Ha,” Barry smirked as he glanced over at Vicky. “If I spent my time tracking down mistresses I'd never have time for anything else. I'm not interested in affairs. Mrs. Holstead died of an allergic reaction, one she no doubt informed your staff about. Now, I want to know how this happened. Her family is expecting an answer, and I certainly will give them one,” he furrowed a heavy brow as he met Vicky's eyes directly. “Now, if I have to ask you again to excuse us, then I will have to launch an even more thorough investigation into whether you were trying to withhold evidence of negligence. Perhaps we should get local law enforcement involved?” he suggested.
Vicky swallowed thickly. She could feel the bottle of oil pressing against the inside of her pocket. She kne
w that if Barry, or even worse, Mitchell discovered that she was hiding it, she would be in serious legal trouble.
“
Yes, sir, please excuse me,” she said quietly and stepped out of the kitchen. She hurried down the hall to her apartment and opened it to find Sarah just about to open the door from the other side. “Sarah, the Lambard family lawyer is here,” she gasped out in one breath.
“
I know,” Sarah frowned. “Michelle is working the front desk, she texted me to let me know that he'd arrived. I need to get to him fast…”
“
Sarah, wait,” Vicky grabbed her by the elbow and steered her back into her apartment. “You need to listen to me. He's questioning Henry right now.”
“
That's okay,” Sarah shrugged and tried not to panic. “I know Henry wasn't involved in this so…”
“
Sarah,” Vicky growled and pulled the bottle of oil out of her pocket. “I know he wasn't either, but someone is trying to make it look like he was. Whoever put the peanut oil in this bottle, was not just trying to kill Sandy, but also trying to frame Henry for the crime.”
“
Oh no,” Sarah gasped when she caught the scent of the peanut oil. “This is terrible! Do you think Henry is going to tell the lawyer that he made a mistake?”
“
Henry is very honest,” Vicky said and bit into her bottom lip. She wasn't sure what Henry would do, especially in his emotional state. “What we need is a good distraction, we need to get Henry away from Barry Baker, and everyone out of the kitchen.”
“
The fire alarm,” Sarah suggested, her eyes widening. “We can set off the fire alarm, then maybe we can get them out of the kitchen.”
“
No, it needs to be more than that,” Vicky said as she tried to come up with something that would absolutely drive everyone out of the kitchen.
“
The sprinkler system,” she announced suddenly. “Barry was wearing an expensive suit, if the sprinklers go off he's going to run out of that kitchen.”
“
But the sprinklers only go off if there's smoke,” Sarah pointed out with a shake of her head. “We can't just turn them on.”
“
Don't worry about it, Sarah. You go to the front desk, I'll take care of the sprinklers, understand?” she met her sister's eyes.
“
Vicky, please be careful. Whatever you do, get that bottle out of your pocket and put it in a safe place!” she hissed. “If you get caught with it…”
“
Sarah, everything is going to be fine,” Vicky declared impatiently. But as her sister brushed past her and Vicky rummaged through her kitchen drawer for a lighter, she had no idea if everything was really going to be fine.
Vicky knew
that she needed to get back inside the kitchen. Unfortunately, when she peeked into the kitchen she saw that Aunt Ida, Barry, and Henry were all standing around the island in the center of the room. There was no way to get inside without them noticing. If she slipped inside and then the sprinklers went off Barry would be very suspicious. She decided that the only way she was going to get inside was through a window.
Vicky
stepped out through one of the side doors towards the gardens and walked around to the staff quarters. The staff quarters were directly across from the kitchen, with a walkway and large, grassy space between them. There was only one window on the wall of the kitchen facing the staff quarters that was large enough for her to fit through. It was a window into the pantry. Vicky tried to jump up high enough to grab it but it was a high window. Instead, she had to drag one of the rubber trash cans around from behind the kitchen and place it beneath the kitchen window. She tested its strength with one foot. It was tough rubber, but it was still rubber. She balanced herself by leaning her hand on the brick surface of the outside wall as she climbed up onto the trash can.
The center of the lid
of the trash can began to give way, making her feel as if she was going to fall through it. She gripped the ledge tightly, worried that she might fall and cause a commotion. Just as the trash can was about to give way completely, Vicky managed to get the window open. She tossed one leg over the windowsill and then climbed the rest of the way in. When she got both legs on the other side of the windowsill she encountered a new problem. The floor of the pantry was a long way down. Luckily, there was a small ladder that was used to reach the items on the highest shelves of the pantry. She managed to hook her foot through one of the rungs and guide it closer to her. Once it was stable against the wall she climbed the rest of the way through the window. She could hear the voices in the kitchen, and though they were muffled she could tell that Henry's voice was full of defeat. It seemed as if he was preparing to make a confession.
There was nothing Vicky could do but hope that her paper and lighter would be enough to convince the sprinklers there was a large fire. She stood on the ladder in th
e pantry, nearly tumbling off it every time she tried to ignite the lighter. In the kitchen she could hear the voices of Barry and Henry growing a little louder.
“
Do you often use peanuts in the food?” Barry asked.
“
Of course I do,” he replied with a heavy sigh. “It's a common ingredient in its different forms in many of the meals that I prepare.”
“
And were you informed of Sandy Holstead's allergy to peanuts?” he asked. From the next equally deep sigh that Henry produced, Vicky knew that he had already surrendered himself to the idea that it was his fault.
“
Yes, I was,” he replied reluctantly.
“
So, you're the one who prepares all the food?” Barry asked.
“
I am,” Henry replied morosely. “With some assistance from my sous chef.”
“
And where is he?” Barry pressed, his tone becoming more insistent.
“
I- I,” Henry stammered for a moment. “I honestly don't know,” he finally said. “But he wasn't involved in this. I was the one who made the food.”
Vicky winced as she knew that if Henry continued to give Barry evidence against him there was going to be a real problem clearing
his name. She flicked the lighter three times in a row and finally got a flame. She touched the flame to the edge of the piece of paper and then held the paper up towards the sprinkler head. What she didn't expect was how fast the paper began to burn. She cringed as the heat quickly approached her fingertips. She swayed on the ladder as the top half of the paper became hot ash that fell against the skin on the back of her hand. Just when the flame was about to touch her fingertips the sprinkler finally came to life and began spraying the paper, and of course, Vicky. All of the sprinklers in the kitchen began spraying. The system was designed to work so that the sprinklers in the kitchen were the only ones to go off, but the fire alarm was triggered throughout the inn. As Vicky had hoped, Barry began to complain about his suit.