Engaged in Death (A Wedding Planner Mystery) by Stephanie Blackmoore Read Free Book Online

State?
    “What about school? Aren’t you enrolled this summer, to catch up? And what about your job?” A heavy feeling settled in my stomach, not helped by her erratic driving.
    Rachel was suddenly very interested in the road and wouldn’t glance over at me. She reached into her voluminous turquoise bag and donned her sunglasses.
    “Promise you won’t tell Mom and Doug. I dropped out. And gave the bakery my notice. It’s nice living with them, but I think I need my freedom. It’s time for a change.”
    “You didn’t even finish the summer semester! After Mom and Doug paid your tuition.” I shook my head.
    At twenty-two, Rachel was still finding herself. Which would be fine if Mom and Doug didn’t need to bail her out time and time again, sometimes literally. My parents adored Rachel, but they hadn’t expected my sister to move back in once they retired. I often wondered if I played the part of the goody-good to Rachel’s role as the wild child as an attempt to distinguish myself from her.
    Before I could scold her further, the house loomed into view.
    “There it is,” I whispered, my voice softened in awe.
    “Holy crap.” Rachel slammed on the brakes.
    “I’ll say.” I was momentarily distracted from my sister’s job and school situation.
    Sycamore dead-ended in front of Sylvia’s house. Ah, here was where all of the dandelions were. They were chemically suppressed from the other well-maintained lawns, but here they bloomed in sunny profusion. The house was partly occluded by a stand of pine trees, thank goodness. A once-grand lawn flanked the house and stretched for acres behind it.
    I got out of the car and treaded lightly up the path of herringbone bricks, crushing the stems poking through. Weeds reached through the path to tickle my ankles and calves. Rachel caught up with me, trailing her long nails in the thigh-high meadow that had overtaken the grass.
    There it stood. The brick walls had once been white but were now a blistering gray, faded and flaking from years of neglect. It was three stories high, with a shingled mansard roof, a central brick tower, and a front porch composed of a series of arches. A porte cochere sagged off to the right, the roof threatening to cave in. The whole thing was decked out in crumbling trim ornate enough for Liberace’s jumpsuit.
    “What are those, pineapples?” Rachel pointed at the gingerbread roofline, where each corner of the house was adorned with a cone-shaped object, anchoring the house to the sky.
    “I think they’re thistles. That’s the name of this place, right? Thistle Park.”
    Rachel started to laugh. “Isn’t that fancy.” She adopted her best British accent. “We can be the duchesses of Thistle Park.”
    I didn’t laugh. I was closer to tears. Sylvia, I can’t take this on . Did you really mean for me to have this house?
    We pressed on until we were directly in front of the beast. A straggly clump of lilac bushes threatened to climb onto the porch, and fat bumblebees, the size of baby hummingbirds, buzzed around the bushes, then my neck and ears, making me dizzy. The place had decayed even more in the year since I’d seen it from the street. It was a beautiful, moldering pile of rubble.
    “This place is way past dumpy.” All of Rachel’s former excitement had subsided.
    “It’s bordering on condemnation, more like it. Although, Garrett did say it’s structurally sound.”
    “And it’s ginormous.” Rachel pushed up her sunglasses and took a step back, then another, and craned her head. “This place has so much potential.” Her keen green eyes gleamed with schemes and plans, and just like that, she was excited again.
    “You can tell it was amazing once. But it’s so far gone. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves until we’ve seen the inside.” Even Rachel’s enthusiasm couldn’t surmount my growing sense of dread.
    “After you.” Rachel solemnly gestured me forward.
    I gingerly climbed the front stairs. The three front