The Finest Hour Read online

  THE FINEST HOUR

  ANINA COLLINS

  The Finest Hour

  Join Poppy and Alex for the final Poppy McGuire mystery!

  For three years, Poppy and Alex have worked together solving cases in their small town of Sunset Ridge, first as just co-workers but later as partners in nearly every sense of the word. Now they’re about to take the final step and become husband and wife, but in the midst of getting ready for what folks around town are calling the wedding of the year, the murder of someone involved in the preparations makes their plans go awry.

  Samuel Morrow, the kind man who has run Morrow’s Jewelers for over twenty years, is found murdered in an apparent break-in, and there’s no shortage of suspects who may have had a reason to kill him. Oddly enough, something very valuable to Poppy and Alex is missing from his store too. Is the theft connected to the murder?

  As they hunt for Samuel’s killer, carefully eliminating suspect after suspect, they must juggle cake tastings and reception planning, as all the while someone’s watching their favorite amateur sleuth. Will Poppy and Alex solve the case and reach the altar, or will the killer make their ever after far less than happy?

  The Finest Hour is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  2018 Eight Feathers Press, LLC

  Copyright © 2018 Eight Feathers Press, LLC

  Kobo Edition

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  Published in the United States

  ISBN: 978-0-9982084-3-5

  Book Cover Design by Susan Coils

  aninacollins.com/subscribe

  Click on the covers below to learn more about the series:

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  About the Book

  Copyright Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  About The Author

  Chapter One

  Three months of searching for a maid of honor dress may have been a new world’s record. At least it felt like it could be. Holly, my good friend from college who had the honor or torture of being my maid of honor, depending on how you looked at it, had given the thumbs down to every dress we’d seen since we started this quest one snowy day in February.

  We’d searched the three biggest dress shops in Baltimore and one in Frederick, and all with no success. Now we found ourselves back in the dressing room at Michelle’s Dress Shop in Sunset Ridge, the place we’d started in the first place, and still no luck.

  Each time it was a variation on the same theme. The blue dress had too much frilliness to it. The green one hugged her body too closely and showed off her slightly imperfect figure. And I mean very slightly. Holly Richardson ran every day and took great care of herself, and her body showed it. But no matter what she did, her hips were always just a little too big for her liking.

  I thought she looked incredible in everything she wore, including every bridesmaid dress she tried on. That fact aside, I understood her pickiness. I just wished that magical dress she’d love would come along soon. These Saturday treks around Maryland to search for it were killing me.

  Holly stood on the pink carpeted dais and stared at herself in the triple mirror as she tugged at the light blue dress that made her pretty face twist into a look of disgust. Even that didn’t ruin the very cute thing she had going on with her short black hair and stunning green eyes.

  At least in my opinion.

  Not that I liked the dress that much. With its puffy sleeves and wide bottom, it reminded me of something the Founders Day Planning Committee would want every woman in town to wear for one of their historical celebrations.

  “It’s so poofy, Poppy. You don’t really want me to wear this in your wedding, do you?” Holly asked with fear in her voice.

  I shook my head. “No, it’s not right. I think we need to move on to the next one. Michelle brought in another dress that might work. I hadn’t planned on a black and white wedding, but it could work.”

  Holly trudged back toward the dressing area to change out of the light blue poofy dress, so I grabbed the sleek black number off the rack and took it to her. Sticking my hand in through the curtain, I said, “It’s definitely not like the other one. Maybe this will work.”

  She took the hanger from me. “I’m sorry I’m so difficult about this, Poppy. I just want it to be perfect. How is it possible that bridesmaid’s dresses are all so ugly? Even the ones in Baltimore weren’t right. Is this some kind of conspiracy to make all bridesmaids hideous?”

  Her comment made me chuckle, even though I knew the frustration in her voice was genuine. “I think I heard at some point that the dresses ensured that the bride is always the most beautiful woman in the room. That’s why you can’t wear white to a wedding, I think.”

  I heard her grunt and groan as she pulled the dress over her body. “What does it matter what anyone else looks like at the wedding? Alex is only going to be looking at you anyway. I think these rules were made up by insecure women who knew they were marrying dogs who would be cheating on them not a few months into the marriage.”

  Her lack of romanticism lately could be traced directly to the breakup of her own marriage a few months ago. Her soon-to-be ex-husband Chase, whose name now seemed more prophetic than anyone could imagine when they first got together, had cheated on her with at least three women that she knew of, and that didn’t include all the women she suspected him of cheating with.

  She had every right to be sour on romance. I knew I would be. I had been for years after Jared ran off with that Food King check-out girl.

  “What’s it look like? Come out and let me see,” I asked, hoping this would be the dress that would finally put an end to our quest.

  Holly pushed the curtain off to the side and shook her head. “Nope. Not this one either.”

  I scanned the dress from the thin straps that came over her shoulders to the fitted bodice that hugged her body beautifully. Confused, I asked, “Why? It’s gorgeous. If it’s the black thing, that’s okay. I know we aren’t having an evening wedding, but I don’t think anyone will care if we break this wedding rule. I know I won’t, and trust me, Alex won’t care.”

  Holding one finger up, she smirked. “One moment. You haven’t seen the whole thing.”

  And then she slowly spun around to show me the back, and I instantly saw the problem with this dress.

  She shook her behind, which stuck nearly halfway out of the dress, and looked back at me. “You still like it? Talk about people paying attention to the wrong thing at your wedding! As you two recite your vows, all anyone will be looking at is me mooning the entire congregation,” she said with a laugh.

  Definitely not the right dress.

  “Okay, that’s a big no. Let me go ask Michelle if she has anything else that
would cover your entire butt. For what it’s worth, I like the front a lot, if that’s any consolation.”

  Holly walked back into the dressing room and pulled the curtain closed as she yelled out, “As long as I’m not mooning people. That’s a hard line I won’t cross. I may be single again, but even that doesn’t mean I want my butt cheeks hanging out for all the world to see.”

  After finding Michelle out at the register, I explained about the air conditioned backside of the most recent dress and asked her if she had something similar to the way that dress looked just with more fabric on the rear. She thought for a moment and then handed me a pale yellow dress I immediately checked to make sure Holly wouldn’t be mooning anyone if she wore it. Satisfied it would cover all her body parts that legally should be covered, I headed back to the dressing area.

  I had a feeling Holly wouldn’t be crazy about the pale yellow color with her black hair, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The wedding was only three weeks away, and if we didn’t find a dress that day, I didn’t know what we’d do.

  “Michelle swears all your bits and pieces will be covered with this one, so let’s see how it goes,” I said cheerily, hoping my upbeat attitude would make her want to look past the color.

  “Yellow?” she asked in horror as she took the hanger and dress from my hold. “So the bumblebee look is what you’re going for?”

  “It’s not that kind of yellow. Just try it on and maybe if it looks good, we can ask Michelle if there’s a way we can rush order a different color in the same dress.”

  I sat down on the pink upholstered chair that almost matched the color of the carpet covering the dais in front of the mirrors and waited to see how she looked in the newest last chance dress. A minute later, she appeared and I knew this dress wouldn’t work either.

  “The look on your face tells me what I thought when I first saw it was right,” Holly said as she sat down on the dais defeated. “I’m going to be the ugliest bridesmaid in history, Poppy. You know, there’s still time for you to pick someone else.”

  Hoping to cheer her up, I stood from the chair and said, “Hang on. Maybe if I show you my dress that will help us choose something right.”

  My friend hung her head and sighed. “I don’t think it could hurt.”

  I retrieved my wedding gown from Michelle and headed back into the dressing room to get into it. The white dress fit perfectly, and as I looked in the mirror at myself, I felt more beautiful than ever before in all my life.

  Pulling back the curtain, I stepped out into the dressing area and heard Holly gasp when she looked at me in it for the first time. That’s what the perfect dress was supposed to do. I only hoped Alex would have the same response when he saw me walking down the aisle.

  She stood up and walked over to me, her mouth hanging open. “Oh my God, Poppy. It’s gorgeous. I’m speechless. Alex is going to lose his mind when he sees you in this dress.”

  I looked down at my wedding gown in tears at the idea that it would do that. “I know it’s simple and doesn’t have a lot going on with it, but I liked it.”

  Turning around, I showed off my favorite part of the dress. “Look at the bow in the back. I thought that was so cute when I saw it.”

  “I love how it’s basically backless, except for the sheer fabric on each side of the V in the back. You look so incredible in this, Poppy. I mean it. Alex is going to lose his mind at how stunning you look. It’s perfect for you.”

  I stepped up onto the dais and looked at myself in the three mirrors in front of me. “I love the lace on the bottom of the dress too. It comes out from my waist and looks so delicate.”

  Holly stood behind me and smiled. “It’s the only dress I can imagine you getting married in. It’s a combination of wholesome and slightly sexy that’s quintessentially you, Poppy.”

  Looking back at her, I asked, “Does it help you with what kind of dress you might want to wear, though?”

  She nodded and stepped off the dais. “I think so. Give me a couple minutes. I’m going to ask Michelle if she has something that just popped into my head. Don’t take your dress off yet, though. I want to see the two of us standing together.”

  Holly returned a few minutes later with a pale pink dress that resembled the black dress from earlier. Before I could say anything about the back of it, she assured me there would be none of her hanging out in this one and hurried into the dressing room.

  “I think this is the one, Poppy,” she called out as she slipped into it.

  “Really?” I asked, truly hoping she was right.

  “Your idea of showing me your dress was a great one. I wish you would have mentioned it months ago,” she joked.

  “Me too,” I said with a chuckle.

  A few seconds later, she stepped out into the dressing area and I knew she was right. The pale pink dress hung close to her body but looked perfect on her from the spaghetti straps on her shoulders to where it slightly pooled at her feet. The color worked just right with her dark hair and olive skin, and I wondered how we’d missed this dress for so long.

  She took her place next to me in front of the triple mirrors and smiled at me. “Isn’t it perfect?”

  Nodding, I sighed with relief. “It’s perfect. Our quest is complete. And it’s not even going to take too much in alterations to make it fit. Just a little off the bottom once you put shoes on.”

  “So now that we finally found a dress, what else do you have to do with wedding prep?” Holly asked, bringing the reality of the next few weeks crashing into my brain.

  I thought about all the things that had yet to be done for our perfect today to be just that. Alex and I still had to choose the menu for the reception, attend the cake tasting, which was scheduled for two days later on Monday, and we had to decide where to go on their honeymoon.

  Just thinking about all of that made my stomach twist into knots.

  “At least the rings are taken care of. We had them specially made at a jeweler in town who’s the best at unique pieces. You should see them. Alex’s is a simple gold band with an inscription inside, and mine is a gold band with diamonds and an inscription inside.”

  Holly smiled wickedly and asked, “What do the inscriptions say?”

  I shook my head. “It’s private between us, but they say what’s in our hearts.”

  “Ooooh, I love it! So romantic! I wish I believed in romance like that anymore.”

  Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I squeezed her to me. “You will. Just give it a little time. Chase was just one guy, one fish in a big ocean. Don’t give up. Trust me. There are good people like you out there.”

  Just then, I heard my phone ringing in my purse over on the chair and recognized it as Alex’s ringtone. “Speaking of good, there’s my knight in shining armor now. Hang on.”

  I hopped off the dais and rummaged through my purse to answer the phone. “Hey you! What’s new?”

  “Poppy, we’ve got a case. Want me to head out alone or are you guys done at the bridal shop?”

  Suddenly, I felt torn between going to work on a case and hanging out with Holly, but she saw my hesitation and said, “Go. I have to get Michelle to alter this dress so I can walk down the aisle without falling on my face. I’ll call you later.”

  “Alex, I’ll meet you there.”

  “I haven’t told you what the case is yet,” he said in serious voice.

  I laughed and walked to the dressing room to get changed into my street clothes. “Oh yeah. So what’s the case about?”

  “Samuel Morrow was found dead in his jewelry shop a few minutes ago. Craig’s there and thinks it might be a robbery gone sideways. How soon can you get there?”

  His words hit me like a ton of bricks, and suddenly, my body felt like I didn’t have the strength to stand. I leaned against the dressing room wall and took a deep breath in as what he said sunk in.

  “Samuel Morrow? Oh, my God, Alex. We were just in his store a week ago. I just saw him the other day
and waved at him as I walked to the station.”

  “I know. He was one of the good guys. I’m heading to his store now. If you don’t want to work on this, that’s okay. I know you have other things going on this morning.”

  For the first time, I wasn’t sure I wanted to work on a case with Alex. I sat down and my body sagged. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll sit this one out.”

  “It’s okay, Poppy. I’ll give you a call and see if you’re around for lunch in a few hours. Love you.”

  “I love you too. Talk to you later.”

  I ended the call and let the phone drop onto the lap of my wedding dress. I’d always loved investigating cases with Alex, but this one at this time felt too close to home. Samuel Morrow, the man who we’d spent hours with designing our wedding rings, murdered. Who would want to kill him?

  “Everything okay in there, Poppy?” Holly said on the other side of the dressing room curtain.

  “Yeah. Just a case that Alex called me about. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  “Okay. I’m going to start working with Michelle on the alterations of my dress and then I have to run back to the office. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “I’ll talk to you later, Holly.”

  I heard her walk out into the shop and let a deep sigh leave my body. How could anyone hurt Samuel Morrow?

  And why?

  As I walked toward my house on Barn Street, I couldn’t stop thinking of Samuel Morrow and how wonderful he’d been when Alex and I worked with him on our rings. Who would want to kill him?

  My phone rang, tearing me from my thoughts, and I looked to see it was Alex.

  “Poppy, I’d like you to come to Samuel Morrow’s shop. Right now.”

  I heard something strange in his voice. What was wrong with Alex? He’d never been so insistent before.

  “When did you get so demanding?” I asked, wondering if this was how he was going to be now that we were going to be married. “I told you I didn’t want to work this case.”