Edelweiss and Espionage Petal Pushers Cozy Mystery - A Free Chapter

Chapter 1

“I can’t believe we’re in Germany,” I said to Katy as we walked off the plane in Munich. I clutched my carry-on backpack to my side as passengers streamed past us, eager to get to wherever they were heading. 

“I know!” Katy said. “Though I’ll tell you, I’m happy to get off that plane. That ten-hour flight was about eight hours too long.” “I agree with you there. I couldn’t even imagine flying to Australia or Asia, where it takes almost an entire day. I would go stir crazy.”

“I’m glad the signs are both in German and English. I barely remember high school Spanish, much less German,” Katy said, looking around. “We need to walk to the right to get to baggage claim.”

I appreciated that the signs were in English and German, too. I’d taken Spanish in college but was never fluent, much less able to understand any German. Since I had won this trip by entering a contest, I had been practicing German words with an app on my phone, but so far, all that stuck was “hello,” “please,” and “thank you.”

My name is Presley Sands, and I am a former HR director turned clothing store owner turned flower shop owner. I moved back to my hometown of Hunter’s Hollow a while ago to take over my mother’s flower shop, so she could retire, and she and my dad could go gallivanting around the country. When I won this trip by entering a contest at the travel agency in Hidden Hollow and my husband Cooper wasn’t able to come with me, while disappointed, I was thrilled to be able to take my best friend Katy. The contest winnings included an all-expenses-paid vacation to visit the Christmas markets of Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna. All we had to provide was spending money. It was a trip we’d never be able to afford on our budgets.

I saw Katy looking around again.

“What are you looking for?”

“I don’t know. Nothing in particular. I wondered if any of these people might be flying in to join our tour group. Though I guess that seems a little far-fetched.”

“You never know,” I said. “People need to be flying in from somewhere, and there’s only this one international airport in Munich.”

We made it to baggage claim and waited for our luggage. Once we collected our bags, we grabbed a taxi to take us to the hotel. I had my Google Translate app all ready to go on my phone, but we got lucky because our taxi driver also spoke English.

“Das Märchenhaus,” I said and told him the street address, needing to spell out the street as I had no idea how to pronounce it. 

He laughed. “In English, it means the Fairy Tale House. It’s a very nice hotel. It will be about a twenty-minute drive, so just relax,” he said in heavily accented English. 

He navigated his way out of the airport and got on the highway. Katy and I were both captivated, looking at the city scenery outside the windows. I found it interesting how different parts of the world could look so similar and yet so different.

“My name is Hans,” the driver said. “What are your names?”

“I’m Presley, and this is my friend Katy.”

“Nice to meet you. Are you here on holiday?”

“Yes, I won a trip to see the Christmas markets, and Katy came with me.”

“Oh, well, if you love Christmas, you will love the Christmas markets,” he said with a smile. “I’ve lived here all my life, and I never get tired of going to them.”

Hans pointed out a couple of things of interest during our drive, then fell silent as we drove through town. He was a good mix of talking without being annoying.

Soon, he pulled up in front of the hotel in the downtown area. Clutching my purse, I got out and looked up at the stone exterior of the tall hotel as our driver opened the taxi’s trunk and helped us with our bags. I paid him, giving him a generous tip.

“Thank you,” he said, pocketing the cash and then handing me a business card. “This has my phone number. If you ever need a ride, don’t hesitate to call me.”

I nodded. “We sure will. Thank you for the ride and the brief history lesson.”

“Munich has centuries of history to speak about.  Hopefully, I didn’t bore you.”

“Not at all,” I said, and Katy echoed her agreement. Hans got back in his car to take off, and we grabbed the handles of our suitcases, pulling them behind us as we went in.

As we walked into the lobby, we saw a few tables to the left, which was the breakfast area. Behind one of them sat a young woman, probably in her mid-to-late twenties, with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The table she was sitting at had a sign on it that said, “Trinity Tours.” That was the tour group we were with, so I assumed we needed to check in with her. We walked in her direction.

“Hi there,” I said, hoping she spoke English. I’m Presley Sands. This is Katy Smythe.”

The young woman looked at her sheet and put a checkmark by two names before looking up at us and holding out her hand to shake ours.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Andrea Mayer, and my husband David and I are your tour guides for the week.”

“Nice to meet you, Andrea,” I said as we all shook hands.

“Here are your room keys,” she said, handing me two plastic cards. “One for each of you. If you want to go to your room and freshen up, we’re all going to meet back here at six. Our group will walk across the street for dinner, where we have reservations.”

“Sounds good. Thank you.” I grabbed the keys and handed one to Katy, and we headed over to the elevator. Our room being on the fourth floor needed us to use the elevator which was surprisingly small, as was our room , we established as we walked in , especially for a double. The beds looking narrower than a standard twin.  A window looked out toward a nearby church, surrounded by brick buildings. 

“Well, this is certainly interesting. Look at how small the shower is,” Katy said as she poked her head into the bathroom.

I walked over and peered in to see for myself, and she was right. The shower was tiny and barely looked big enough for a human.

“You can tell they don’t need to follow the American Disabilities Act,” I said. “These doorways are so small; I’m starting to feel self-conscious. I might not fit through them,” I said with a chuckle.

“No kidding. But that’s half the fun of traveling. Experiencing how things are done elsewhere.”

We both took turns washing our faces and changing clothes. I would have liked to shower after being on a plane for that long, not to mention being in the same clothes for hours before the plane left. There just wasn’t time. Putting on a clean pair of pants and a sweater made me feel a lot better.

“Are you ready to go back down?” Katy asked.

“Yep.” I slung my cross-body bag over my shoulder and grabbed my coat. I didn’t want to put my coat on until we went out. I knew I would get way too hot.

We headed down to the lobby and saw Andrea in the same place she had been earlier, but now a few more people were milling around as well. Some were talking to her, while others chatted amongst themselves. 

Excitement ran through me. This trip was part of a group, and even though we didn’t know each other, I thought it would be fun to share this experience and get to know people. As we got closer, I realized that Andrea was arguing with a gentleman I didn’t recognize though that wasn’t a surprise since I was in a foreign country. He looked like he was in his mid-forties and thin. We weren’t close enough to hear exactly what his problem was, but I caught the word “room.” Maybe something was wrong with the room he’d been assigned. I felt bad for Andrea because I knew what it was like when you were in a customer service industry and had someone yelling at you, especially when it was for things beyond your control. Finally, the man gave up, or Andrea had solved his issue. In any case, he stalked away and took a seat, scrolling on his phone. As we walked up, Andrea looked at us with a broad grin. Good for her, I thought, she didn’t let one rude customer throw her off.

“Ladies, great to see you. Did you get a chance to rest?”

“A little bit. It was nice to be able to change clothes,” I said.

“Oh, I bet. Let me introduce you to a few of our fellow travelers who are here,” she said, walking us over to a group of four who were talking. “This is Heidi, Pam, Rhoda, and Margaret.” 

Heidi was younger and looked like Pam, so I assumed they were related. Rhoda was probably close to our age and looked extremely fit, and Margaret was probably in her sixties. 

We all said our hellos, and then she turned and pointed at the gentleman she had just been arguing with. “And that is Lucas.” 

When Lucas heard his name, he looked up from his phone and scowled. Shouldn’t he be in a good mood if he was here on a vacation?

“Lucas, this is Presley and Katy.” 

He gave a brief nod, then went right back to his phone, and Andrea gave us an apologetic look. Katy and I just smiled at Andrea as if to say, “What can you do?” We sat with the ladies and chatted, and over the next ten minutes, the rest of the group trickled in.

“I’m never going to remember all these names,” Katy whispered to me after Andrea introduced us to her husband, David.

“Me, neither. I remember Rhoda because it’s an unusual name, and Lucas because his attitude has made quite an impression on me and not in a good way,” I said.

“Alright, everyone,” Andrea said, pitching her voice just loudly enough to get our attention, “let’s head over to the restaurant. Tonight’s meal is already preordered, and I’ve taken into consideration any special dietary needs. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.” 

Dinner went by fast, and I had the most delicious wiener schnitzel The meat was pounded so thin and the breading was full of flavor and crispy. I found myself wanting another even though I was stuffed, it was that good.

After dinner, we all got up as a group to leave, and Andrea did a quick headcount. As I looked around trying to remember everyone’s name, I realize we were missing Lucas. I had noticed him when we first sat down for dinner, only because I looked to see who he was sitting next to. Feeling bad for whoever it was, if he had the same attitude as earlier. He had been at the opposite end of the table next to someone who I thought was named Alex. Though, to be honest, I wasn’t exactly sure. Andrea seemed satisfied with the count, and we started walking out.

“I wonder where the grumpy guy went?” I asked.

“He probably got tired of having fun and went back to his room,” Katy joked.

“I hope he’s not like that for the entire trip. What a downer.”

“No kidding. Why would anyone want to be so grumpy on a trip of a lifetime?”

“Who knows. Some people are just never happy.”

We crossed the street to get back to the hotel, and when we walked into the lobby, Andrea called out and waved her hand to get our attention.

“Tonight, if you’re not ready to go to bed, you can hang out down here in the sitting area. As you can see, they have a little café area with drinks and light snacks. Breakfast is down here tomorrow between six and eight, we will leave at nine A.M. to tour the palace and then hit the first of our Christmas markets. Any questions?” she asked. Pam spoke up asking if the vendors took credit cards or if we all should bring cash, and then people headed for the elevators to go to their rooms.

“I’m not ready to go to the room. Want to hang out down here for a bit?” I asked.

“Sure. I should be exhausted from the travel, but I think I’m too excited to be tired.”

“Me, too.” There was a nice sitting area with a fireplace, so we went over and joined a couple who were sitting there enjoying a glass of wine.

Only about twenty minutes passed before Katy yawned. That triggered me to do the same.

“I think the warmth of the fire did the trick. I’m tired now,” I said.

“Me, too,” Katy chuckled. “I’m ready to go to our room.”

When we got off the elevator, I saw that there was a sign that said, “Laundry.”

“Let’s go check out the laundry room. I purposely tried not to over pack, especially since we’re staying in three different places over the course of ten days. I would feel better if I was able to do laundry. Let’s see if the machine takes credit cards or if we will need change.”

“Okay,” Katy said. We walked down the hall to the laundry room, and I went to push the door open, but it would only open a crack. Pushing harder, I wondered if maybe the door was just stuck, but as I pushed again, an arm flopped out from the opening. Katy and I looked at each other, and then I peered through the small window in the door and gasped.

“It’s the cranky guy. Lucas! And by the look of it, I think he’s dead!”

If he wasn’t, he was in a serious condition, judging by the amount of blood on the laundry room floor. By the angle of the body something told me this was no accident.