The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner (Buttercup Bend Mysteries Book 4)

Book summary

When Cathy, Nancy, and Mildred arrive on Long Island to plan a triple wedding, they find wedding planner Georgia Hampton dead on her boat. As they investigate, suspects range from Georgia’s sister to jilted couples. With another suspicious death at Captain Sharp’s Whale Watching Tours, can the trio solve the mystery?

"The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner" is a captivating cozy mystery.

Excerpt from The Case of the Whale Watching Wedding Planner (Buttercup Bend Mysteries Book 4)

Cathy sat across from her friends, Nancy and Mildred. They were in her grandmother’s kitchen discussing wedding plans. It had been six months since Cathy accepted Steve’s marriage proposal after she returned from Oaks Landing Farm where she’d help solve the murder of Mildred’s co-worker, a retired librarian. Following Cathy’s announcement, Nancy, who’d been at the farm with Cathy, visited her boyfriend Brian. She’d expected him to be angry with her for not telling the truth about why she went to Oaks Landing. Instead, Brian presented her with a ring. He said he missed her so much that he realized it was time to ask her to be his wife.

As Nancy sipped tea that Florence brought along with home-baked muffins for the girls to share, she said, “It’s funny how things work out, Cat. Both of us engaged! Can you believe it?” She flashed her ring. The diamond was about the size of the one that Steve gave Cathy. Both were small, as neither man earned much money in their occupations as a gardener and an assistant deputy. Nonetheless, their value was high in feelings.

“I know, Nance. What’s even stranger is that Mildred is engaged, too.” She glanced over at the librarian who’d convinced Cathy to go to Oaks Landing to help solve her colleague’s murder. During her time at the farm, Mildred met a widower, and they hit it off. When she returned, Henry put up his house for sale and planned to join Mildred in Buttercup Bend.

Mildred said, “I was surprised that Henry proposed, but he’s a gentleman and doesn’t believe in cohabitating before we tie the knot.” She winked. Mildred, although she’d been married briefly and had a grown daughter, was known as a spinster in Buttercup Bend. Like Henry’s spouse, her spouse was dead. Nancy rented the basement apartment that Mildred’s daughter, who lived in another state with her husband, used to occupy.

“I asked Cathy to invite us here to talk about our wedding plans,” Nancy said, picking up a muffin from the platter and placing it on her dish. She paused, waiting for them to look toward her. Then she continued. “Cathy, you’ve been dragging your heels setting a date, and you, Mildred, haven’t mentioned your plans at all. I want something memorable but haven’t a clue on how to go about it. It takes time to arrange a decent wedding, so I thought we needed to get together and make some decisions.”

“I’m eager to marry, Nancy, but everyone is giving me different ideas of where to do it. Gran wants it here in her house. My brother says we should have it in a hall. Steve wants it in a garden.”

“It’s your wedding, Cathy,” Mildred said. “You decide where you want it. As for me and Henry, we’re at an age where we can elope. Henry won’t move here until we’re married.”

Nancy ate a piece of muffin and wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I think this may help.” She reached into her purse and withdrew a business card. Placing it in the center of the table, she said, “This lady was recommended to me by Pauline. She did a feature on her once for the Buttercup Bugle.”

Cathy glanced at the card. “Georgia Hampton, Wedding Planner, Georgia and Ginny’s Wedding Services.” The address was on Long Island. “Are you crazy, Nancy? She probably charges a fortune, and she’s too far away.”

“Pauline said she’ll give us a discount for the referral.”

“Us?” Mildred had finished her tea and pushed the cup aside. “I don’t need a wedding planner.”

“Ah, but you will if we have a triple ceremony.”

“Now I know you’re crazy,” Cathy said. “Why would the three of us marry on the same day?”

“Why not?” Nancy smiled. “We can all chip in on the cost. It’ll be a blast. We have an appointment with Georgia tomorrow. I suggest you both start packing.”

Cathy wasn’t thrilled that Nancy made an appointment with the wedding planner without consulting her or Mildred. When she told her grandmother, Florence said, “Seeing a wedding planner isn’t a bad idea, but I’m not pleased that Nancy is hoping to plan a triple wedding with you and Mildred. It might take away from a day that should be special for you, not two other brides.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that either, Gran, but what should I do about seeing the wedding planner?”

Florence sighed. “Because Nancy already scheduled that, why don’t you go? I’ll take care of the kittens and also Hobo if Nancy needs me to watch him. Since you’ll be on Long Island, you can stop by to meet my sister. In fact, why don’t you stay there overnight? I’ll call Madeline and arrange that.”

Cathy had forgotten that her great aunt Madeline still lived on Long Island. She knew that Florence kept in touch with her older sister, but Cathy hadn’t seen her since she came to her parents’ funeral five years ago and before that only as a child when she visited her grandmother.

“That’ll be nice if she doesn’t mind. But does she have room for the three of us?”

“I’m sure she does. Her husband died before you moved in with me, so she’s in her house all alone.”

Cathy wasn’t sure Nancy and Mildred would go along with the idea, but she looked forward to catching up with her great-aunt. “Okay, but I need to tell Steve I’ll be away. We’re having dinner together tonight.”

“Of course, dear. I’ll call Madeline and let you know what she says.”

Steve took Cathy to a new Italian restaurant in Buttercup Bend. When she told him about her wedding planning appointment, he said, “A wedding planner might be helpful. As the groom, I don’t have much say in the details. If it were up to me, I’d ask Pastor Green to marry us in a garden somewhere. As far as our getting married with our friends, I won’t argue with that if it’s what you want, but Nancy can’t force you to sign any contracts.”

Cathy looked down at her plate of lasagna that she’d barely eaten. “That’s what you think. Nancy can be very convincing when she wants to be.”

He chuckled.

“It’s not funny. She’s gotten me into a lot of serious predicaments in the past.”

“She also showed you your sleuthing side.”

Cathy sighed. “It’s true that I would’ve never considered becoming a detective until Nancy had me investigating Maggie Broom’s murder. But I don’t owe her anything for that.”

“She is your best friend.” He raised a blond eyebrow.

She sighed again. “You’re right. I’m going, and I’ll keep an open mind. I’ll try, anyway.”

He smiled. “That’s my girl. Now eat your lasagna.”

After she had dinner with Steve and he dropped her home, Gran told her that everything was arranged with her sister. Cathy called Nancy to ask if she wouldn’t mind staying a night on Long Island at her great-aunt Madeline’s house and told her she could bring Hobo over the next day for Florence to watch while they were away. Nancy loved the idea. She hadn’t yet made any hotel reservations and said she’d thought about asking Brody to watch Hobo but was worried that his adopted cat Stripey would have a harder time with him than Harry and Hermione since Stripey was old and set in his ways. Besides, Hobo had stayed with Florence when Nancy had gone to Oaks Landing, and Cathy’s cats had gotten along well with him.

When they finished talking, Nancy promised Cathy she’d tell Mildred that they’d be staying overnight at Cathy’s great-aunt’s house after their wedding planning appointment.

Nancy brought Hobo over in his carrier the next morning. Mildred was still at home finishing her packing, which Cathy thought was unusual because the librarian normally prepared early for everything. Cathy kissed Florence goodbye, grabbed her overnight bag, and drove with Nancy to Mildred’s house to pick her up. When Nancy opened the door, Mildred answered. Her cheeks were flushed, and she smiled widely. “Good morning, ladies. I have something to show you. Please come in.”

“What’s up, Mildred? You look excited.”

Mildred led them into the living room. Cathy was used to meeting Nancy in the downstairs apartment so wasn’t familiar with the main level of Mildred’s home. She found it suited the librarian with wall-to-wall bookshelves and comfortable-looking seating. There were photos of her daughter and her family in frames on the walls and side tables. There was also a photo of a man with a younger Mildred. Cathy assumed that was her dead husband.

“Come here.” Mildred brought Cathy’s attention back. She walked over to a desk that faced the window. It held a desktop PC. “Nancy, you haven’t seen this yet either. While you were bringing Hobo over to Cathy’s house, I did some research.” She tapped the space bar, and Cathy saw what was on the screen. It was a Google search for Georgia and Ginny’s Wedding Planning Services.

Cathy skimmed the page that included photos of two women, the Hampton sisters who were partners in the company, and their bios. Georgia had dark curly hair and wore purple-framed glasses. She looked to be in her mid-thirties. Ginny, listed as “Virginia,” had long blonde hair and wore a bright pink and white polka-dotted scarf. She appeared to be a few years younger. She reminded Cathy of Stacy, the vet who’d moved from Oaks Landing to work with Michael at his animal hospital. She still felt guilty at turning down his proposal and hoped he would develop a relationship with Stacy. When she first thought they might be involved, she was jealous. But now that she and Steve were engaged, she wanted Michael to share their happiness.