Murder at the Azalea Festival Read Online Free
Author: Ellen Elizabeth Hunter
didn't want to know how we were going to do it. "Unfortunately, there hasn't been the money to maintain the house until recently. All we had was our good name."
"We'll come back tomorrow and make a detailed inspection," I assured her. "We'll take photographs and measurements, and draw up a comprehensive plan. Then we'll be able to tell you how much this will cost."
Tiffany waved a hand dismissively. "Money's not a problem. We've both done well. We've been very lucky, I with my acting, Gus with his investments."
"You are eligible for tax credits with this type restoration. I'll prepare the necessary applications for you," I said.
"Well, that's great, Ashley. Still, we can't start tomorrow. The Azalea Queen's coronation is scheduled for the morning, and our producer is insisting we all be there. A photo op that can't be missed, he says.
"Then in the afternoon, Gus and I are hosting a garden party here for the queen's court and the festival officials. Your sister Melanie as the grand marshal will be here, and we'd like you and Jon to be our special guests. Will you come?"
Jon and I exchanged looks, nodded, and I accepted for both of us. "We'd love to come. We can inspect the house on Monday after the festival is over."
"That's great. Come on, let me show you our quarters. There's an enclosed porch where you and Jon can set up an office if you want."
Tiffany and Gus preceded us down the stairs, across a piazza, and into the north wing of the house. Here, with the addition of electricity, plumbing, and carpentry, the wing's first floor had been converted into a livable apartment. There were two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a sitting room with a Pullman kitchen, and an odd little room that appeared to be an enclosed service porch.
Tiffany and Gus shared the apartment after he'd finished his studies at Duke, she'd told me on my first visit. Having him return to Moon Gate meant she could return too; the place was just too forbidding for a twenty-year-old to live here on her own. When Gus granted himself the present of a long trip through South America, Tiffany had stayed at a downtown Bed and Breakfast. Now they were sharing again, and Tiffany seemed happy with the arrangement.
Indicating the enclosed porch, Tiffany said, "This is the room I was talking about." She hooked her hair behind her ear with an index finger in the signature mannerism she'd perfected for her role as Julie on Dolphin's Cove.
As we passed through the first floor rooms again, I spotted more displays of animal skulls on shelves and tabletops. One in particular caught my eye. It was large and bleached white like the skulls one sees in Georgia O'Keefe's desert paintings. The jaw was long and narrow, and at first I mistook it for a horse's head. Then I realized it was a pelican skull, and I thought these were odd items to collect. I wondered if they'd been acquired recently, or were they prizes from a distant Talliere's collection?
4
Thursday dawned gloriously, one of those incredibly beautiful days that are rare and remain indelibly imprinted on the brain as the epitome of a perfect spring day. During the night, a gentle rain had washed away pollen and dust and refreshed the flowers. The colorful azaleas stood out vividly against a stark white tent that had been set-up on the lawn between the Talliere mansion and Caesar's terraced gardens.
Groups of Azalea Belles in pastel ballgowns strolled the lawns, parasols raised to shield fair faces, and they smiled and giggled with the princess and her court. The princess this year was a high school senior from Hoggard, bright and possessing a promising future.
I had been concerned that the crumbling mansion would appear inappropriate as a backdrop for the festivities, but I needn't have worried. The house came across as a faded Tara, much the way Scarlett's home had appeared when she returned to it after the war, and thus endearing itself to the heart and soul of any Southerner.
As the
"We'll come back tomorrow and make a detailed inspection," I assured her. "We'll take photographs and measurements, and draw up a comprehensive plan. Then we'll be able to tell you how much this will cost."
Tiffany waved a hand dismissively. "Money's not a problem. We've both done well. We've been very lucky, I with my acting, Gus with his investments."
"You are eligible for tax credits with this type restoration. I'll prepare the necessary applications for you," I said.
"Well, that's great, Ashley. Still, we can't start tomorrow. The Azalea Queen's coronation is scheduled for the morning, and our producer is insisting we all be there. A photo op that can't be missed, he says.
"Then in the afternoon, Gus and I are hosting a garden party here for the queen's court and the festival officials. Your sister Melanie as the grand marshal will be here, and we'd like you and Jon to be our special guests. Will you come?"
Jon and I exchanged looks, nodded, and I accepted for both of us. "We'd love to come. We can inspect the house on Monday after the festival is over."
"That's great. Come on, let me show you our quarters. There's an enclosed porch where you and Jon can set up an office if you want."
Tiffany and Gus preceded us down the stairs, across a piazza, and into the north wing of the house. Here, with the addition of electricity, plumbing, and carpentry, the wing's first floor had been converted into a livable apartment. There were two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a sitting room with a Pullman kitchen, and an odd little room that appeared to be an enclosed service porch.
Tiffany and Gus shared the apartment after he'd finished his studies at Duke, she'd told me on my first visit. Having him return to Moon Gate meant she could return too; the place was just too forbidding for a twenty-year-old to live here on her own. When Gus granted himself the present of a long trip through South America, Tiffany had stayed at a downtown Bed and Breakfast. Now they were sharing again, and Tiffany seemed happy with the arrangement.
Indicating the enclosed porch, Tiffany said, "This is the room I was talking about." She hooked her hair behind her ear with an index finger in the signature mannerism she'd perfected for her role as Julie on Dolphin's Cove.
As we passed through the first floor rooms again, I spotted more displays of animal skulls on shelves and tabletops. One in particular caught my eye. It was large and bleached white like the skulls one sees in Georgia O'Keefe's desert paintings. The jaw was long and narrow, and at first I mistook it for a horse's head. Then I realized it was a pelican skull, and I thought these were odd items to collect. I wondered if they'd been acquired recently, or were they prizes from a distant Talliere's collection?
4
Thursday dawned gloriously, one of those incredibly beautiful days that are rare and remain indelibly imprinted on the brain as the epitome of a perfect spring day. During the night, a gentle rain had washed away pollen and dust and refreshed the flowers. The colorful azaleas stood out vividly against a stark white tent that had been set-up on the lawn between the Talliere mansion and Caesar's terraced gardens.
Groups of Azalea Belles in pastel ballgowns strolled the lawns, parasols raised to shield fair faces, and they smiled and giggled with the princess and her court. The princess this year was a high school senior from Hoggard, bright and possessing a promising future.
I had been concerned that the crumbling mansion would appear inappropriate as a backdrop for the festivities, but I needn't have worried. The house came across as a faded Tara, much the way Scarlett's home had appeared when she returned to it after the war, and thus endearing itself to the heart and soul of any Southerner.
As the
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