Keeping Mum (A Garden Society Mystery) Read Online Free Page A

names, then Cam claimed she had to get to the more mundane details—invitations, catering, and the like.
    Joel was willing to stay, but Cam insisted it wasn’t necessary. She’d had an epiphany, and really preferred he’d just go so she could talk to Annie.
    “What?” Annie said as soon as he’d left.
    “Isn’t it wine o-clock?” Cam asked.
    “Holy cow! It has to be good if you’re stealing my lines.”
    Annie flagged over the waiter and sent their sweet tea off, requesting a bottle of pinot noir—a compromise. Red, like Annie preferred, but lighter bodied, like Cam liked.
    “Okay, so what?”
    “Well first, Petunia and Nick are already on for catering,” Cam said. “I didn’t want to argue with Joel about that.”
    “I figured.”
    “Yeah, well, I had to fight for them a little. Samantha keeps sticking her hands in this and thought they weren’t fancy enough.”
    Cam’s sister and brother-in-law owned a restaurant called Spoons that frequently catered events in the Roanoke area. Cam thought they were very nice, but “fancy” was another tier up, and they weren’t a violin-music-and-candlelight restaurant, as Samantha had pointed out. Then again, for catering, a lot of that was up to the location anyway.
    “Speaking of,” Cam said. “Have you figured out where this will take place?”
    “Hunting Hills Country Club,” Annie said. “They want to do it outdoors if they can. I guess Samantha has ordered eighty flats of chrysanthemums to make sure it’s festive and hooked in a dozen RGS members to autumnize the gardens.”
    “Holy crap. I wish she’d talked to me. I’ve already been in contact with Henry Larsson to make sure the gardens include predominantly heirloom flowers—we want to make it authentic for the twenties, after all. If Samantha doesn’t back off, I might have to wring her neck.”
    Cam knew that Henry actually handled Samantha well and would be diplomatic about whether her order fit or not. Maybe just the main garden would be heirloom and the rest of her plants could be spread around the grounds.
    “The pro shop, bar, and tearoom are all booked in case of rain, and for dinner in any case,” Annie said.
    “You know our group. They were really only interested in supporting Samantha’s cause if gardening could be a big focus,” Cam admitted, “So outside, if at all possible . . . even in the second week in November.”
    The waiter brought their wine and poured, and when he left, Annie leaned in. “So? Idea?”
    “It’s not as big as I made it out to be,” Cam said. “But you know how the story is set up to look like a jilted lover is to blame?”
    “Yeah?”
    “If Vivian is picked, I think we should have clues and a card ready to put her as the dame who left him. We could even have a second murder later in the night—as the number-two fund-raising person . . . and call him the smoking man.”
    “Oh, excellent! Now, even if I didn’t already like her best, I want her picked!” Annie said.
    “Then I think we’re set!”

C HAPTER 3
    T he night of the party was a bit blustery, but the forecast said it would stay dry. The outer grounds were gorgeous, though Cam wasn’t a fan of the meticulously trimmed hedges. The flowers brought it into a full state of fall glory, boasting every shade between pale yellow and deep red. Mums appeared to be the favorites of the groundskeeper of the country club, probably because they were reliably pretty and more dignified than asters, though Cam preferred the asters for the colors they offered. It was even mild, temperature-wise, so a game outside would be fairly comfortable. Cam wondered if Samantha Hollister had bribed the weather gods—she seemed connected to everyone else.
Cam had spent the afternoon helping her sister and brother-in-law. They were pros, but Petunia, Cam’s sister, was six months pregnant, and snarky even without the extra passenger. Cam just thought things might flow more smoothly if they had an extra set of