Read Ginny Gold - Early Bird Café 03 - Dead and Berried Online
Authors: Ginny Gold
Tags: #Mystery: Cozy - Café
Ginny Gold - Early Bird Café 03 - Dead and Berried (10 page)
Zach made the call and they all waited impatiently to learn if the glasses would solve this mystery.
“I didn’t think anyone else in Hermit Cove would have a pair of these,” Lani said, excitement lacing her voice. Kori couldn’t figure out why anyone would have them in the first place.
She knew the price tag was well over $1,000, but she couldn’t think of a single use for them.
Everyone waited while Lani looked the glasses over and then put them on. She started fiddling with the buttons but Kori couldn’t tell if she was seeing anything. This was too weird for her.
“I can’t believe the battery isn’t dead.” She kept pressing more buttons and it was clear now that she was seeing something on the screen. Her eyes weren’t focusing on anything far away. “I can’t believe it. There’s actually a video on here.” She kept watching whatever was streaming across her eyes without anyone else having a clue as to what was going on.
“Is Arnold Greene guilty?” Kori finall
y asked, knowing him the least and wanting Holly and Stanley to be innocent for personal reasons.
Lani paused before answering. She glanced at Zach, who gave her a slight nod, and said, “He is. There’s no sound so we’re going to have some serious interviewing to do. But I don’t see how he can talk his way out of this one.”
Zach sprang into action, Lani close behind. She took the glasses off and put them in her shirt pocket. “Don’t do anything stupid,” Zach said, looking pointedly at Kori. “We’re going to pick up Arnold. Thanks for solving this for us. The glasses really sealed the case.”
Kori
nodded and smiled at Zach. She wanted to take his warning to heart but she couldn’t help thinking that she’d be able to find Arnold first.
When she heard the cars start up out front
, Nora leaned over and said, “I know what you’re thinking. But they’ve got this one. I’ll go get us some drinks instead of tea.”
Kori
gave in to Zach and Nora’s advice and sat back, completely relaxed knowing that she’d helped put another killer away.
***
“I really meant it when I said we couldn’t have solved this without you,” Zach said, hours later. He’d come over to Kori’s after the arrest and brought dinner. Kori was happy to have him all to herself again now that they were both less busy.
“Thanks. But you don’t have to sweet talk your way into staying,” she teased. She placed two strawberry shortcakes on the coffee table in front of them and they enjoyed their dessert together.
After a few bites of fresh strawberries, homemade shortcake and whipped cream, Zach said, “You know, I’ve been thinking—”
Kori didn’t say anything but he seemed to be considering what he’d been thinking about.
“Maybe we can take a vacation together.”
Kori almost choked on her dessert when she started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, hurt coming through with each word.
“I’m sorry,” she finally stuttered, still laughing. “Nora told me
she’d
been thinking that.”
Zach blushed. “Okay. So maybe I wasn’t the first one to come up with the idea. But with all these cases I’ve been working—and you’ve been helping with,” he quickly added, “I thought it was a good idea she had. We could spend some time together without all this other stuff getting in the way.”
“I’d like that,” Kori whispered and leaned into him. “But let me hire some help first.”
“Deal.” Zach turned Kori’s face toward his and kissed her. Kori couldn’t help wondering if he’d spend the night at her place.
ALL NATURAL CLEANER
I try to keep my kitchen as natural and organic as I can while still
sticking to my budget. Sometimes that’s hard. Like when gelato is on sale and I feel like I just
have
to stock up. But when it comes to cleaning the counters, there’s nothing cheaper than making my own.
Vinegar is a natural disinfectant, and distilled white vinegar—the same kind I use for canning—is super cheap. But that vinegar smell isn’t something I particularly want to have everywhere. So I soak orange peels—another natural disinfectant because of their acidity—in vinegar for a couple weeks, and violà! Orange scented cleaner that isn’t toxic!
INGREDIENTS
- Peels from one to two oranges
- White vinegar
Eat an orange and save the peels. Put them in a jar—any size will do. Cover with vinegar and let sit for about two weeks. If you eat another orange in that time, add the peels and more vinegar to cover.
After two weeks, discard the peels and pour the liquid into a spray bottle. Use on counter tops, stove top and even as a quick disinfectant for fruits and veggies (just remember to rinse them after so they don’t taste like vinegar!).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ginny Gold lives in the high Rockies and wouldn’t trade it for the world. She loves anything outdoors—especially skiing, cycling, and gardening, though living at over 9,000 feet does make for a short growing season. You can also find her volunteering with local nonprofits and schools when she’s not cooking up her next cozy mystery for her loyal readers.
BEFORE YOU GO …
If you enjoyed this installment of The Early Bird Café Cozy Mystery Series, be sure to join my FREE COZY MYSTERY BOOK CLUB! Be the first to know about new releases, promotions, sales, new recipes, and even be entered to receive advanced reader copies. Join the club here—
http://www.ginnygoldbooks.com
If you enjoyed
Dead
and Berried
, the third of The Early Bird Café Series, check out
Roses are Dead
, the third of the Lily Bloom Cozy Mystery Series —written by my mother!
Business is popping for Lily as wedding season is in full swing. The brides are all over the place from easy-to-please to last-minute-panics. But one in particular stands out—a leggy brunette who is looking for plenty of red roses for her wedding to Police Chief Ryan Steele.
Lily is beside herself with betrayal that Ryan would lead her on like that, all the while engaged to this beauty. It’s almost too much to take until the bride is found dead, surrounded by none other than the very roses she’d been admiring.
Lily shoots to the top of the suspect list, a place she’s been all too often lately. And as she starts to uncover more about the woman’s past, she’s thrown into another game of cat and mouse. Only she’s not sure if she’s the cat or the mouse. Will she be able to follow the clues to the real killer in time? Or is everyone connected to Ryan Steele in danger and Lily could be next?
Lily opened her eyes, stretched and smiled at the warm body leaning against her back. The memory of sitting outside under the stars the night before with Ryan Steele was still fresh and wonderful until the memory of him getting called into work jerked her wide awake.
Who is this in bed with me
? She wondered in a bit of a shock. A wet snout and two black eyes looked at her as if to say,
do we really have to get up already?
Lily relaxed and looped her arm around her best friend. “I should have known it would be you
, Rosie. When did you sneak up on the bed?”
Rosie’s tail thumped the mattress in reply.
“Well, don’t make a habit of it,” Lily pretended to scold as she patted the white terrier who had saved Lily’s life twice now. “I guess you know I could never actually be mad at you.”
Lily stretched her arms up, twisted left then right as her spine made a series of cracks and she felt limbered up to start the day.
Looking out the window, she gazed at the bright blue sky and thought to herself,
This looks like it’s gonna be a beauty
. Her phone brought her back to earth and to her responsibilities.
“Hi
Mom … You what? … A puppy? … Bring her to the shop … Sounds like a great idea.”
Lily looked at Rosie. “Looks like you’ll be having some competition for cutest canine in the family.”
Shower. Jeans and t-shirt. Coffee. Good to go. Lily grabbed her quilted tote, put the leash on Rosie and headed to her minivan. She felt energized and was eager to get to her flower shop, Beautiful Blooms. Business was booming and she and Ryan seemed to be falling into a comfortable friendship.
Ryan Steele, or as Lily’s sister Daisy liked to refer to him,
Your Handsome Cop, was just pulling in to his driveway next door. Lily waited for him to get out, noticing his rumpled uniform and sagging shoulders.
Ryan perked up when he saw Lily. “You’re the best thing I’ve seen since, well, since I left you staring at the stars last night. Sorry I had to run off. How about a real date tonight at the Victorian House Restaurant?”
Lily was nodding and smiling. “I like that idea. Sevenish?”
“I’ll pick you up. Nothing is going to spoil this night. I’ll leave my pager home. Deputy Quinn is on duty tonight and I know I can count on him to take care of business. Don’t forget to put on something nicer than jeans
,” he teased.
“I’ll think about it.” Lily and Rosie hopped into her minivan and headed to Beautiful Blooms. She watched Ryan in her rear view mirror. Ever since he got the permanent job as Police Chief in Misty Valley, it had been hard for the two of them to find much time to spend together.
Lily’s business had grown over the year since she bought the rundown building at 25 Lupine Lane and turned it into the Beautiful Blooms Flower Shop. She was even thinking about helping her sister Daisy get started with her own business idea of making specialty cakes. Flowers and cakes seemed like the perfect combination and it was time for Daisy to have something she could call her own. All in all, Lily was feeling quite happy with how everything was moving forward—business life and love life.
Lily’s mom, Iris, was already at the shop. Her yellow convertible VW bug was parked in front of Beautiful Blooms. She was an early riser and now that she had something to share, of course, she would be at the shop extra bright and early.
Lily walked through the small garden into her shop to the sound of her door bell jingling. A rush of scents enveloped her nose and she breathed deeply to get a nice lavender rush. Before she could even say hello to Iris, a small black fur ball was chewing on her ankles. Lily crouched down to pick up the squirmy chubby pup.
“This has to be about the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time. What made you decide to get a puppy?”
Iris was beaming. “When I was researching about guide dogs for my friend Marigold, I saw that they needed foster parents for the puppies. I volunteered to foster a pup from the guide dog program. So, meet Poppy. She’s eight weeks old and I’ll have her until she’s about a year and a half old.” She watched Lily and Rosie interact with Poppy with a satisfied smile.
Rosie was wiggling all over, trying to sniff Poppy and getting down on her front paws in a play bow. Lily put Poppy down and she immediately peed on the floor. “Hope you have lots of rags for cleaning up all the accidents at your house
, and my shop.”
Iris wiped up the puddle. “I’m prepared. Looks like you have a customer heading in. Do you want me to hang around until Daisy gets here?”
“That would be great.”
Iris took one more swipe over the wet spot and picked up Poppy with a pleased expression.
The door jingled and Lily looked up to see a leggy brunette sashay into her store. Lily watched as she looked around, picking up different flowers and smelling them before carelessly discarding them to fall on the floor. Lily’s nostrils flared and she pasted a false smile on as she walked over to offer help.
“Is there something special you’re looking for?”
she asked in a carefully controlled tone.
The woman screamed. “A bee!
A bee in the flowers. I’m deathly allergic, get rid of it.” She rummaged around in her purse and pulled out an EpiPen.
Lily caught the bee in a cup and released it outside. Taking another look at the woman, she thought,
A bit of a drama queen
. She glanced at Iris who was rolling her eyes so far it looked like they would get permanently stuck.
The brunette looked at Lily. “Thank you. I’m looking for Lily.”
Lily’s brow wrinkled.
Do I know this person
? Instead she said, “It’s your lucky day. That’s me. What can I do for you?”
“You’re Lily? Lily Bloom?”
“The last time I checked in the mirror, it was me. Do I know you?” Lily tilted her head as she studied the woman.
The woman looked intently at Lily. “I feel like we’re sisters. My name is Carla. Carla Sullivan.” She looked expectantly at Lily, waiting for recognition.
“Nope. Not sisters. Have you ever been in my shop before?”
Carla wandered around, humming to herself. Suddenly she turned. “It’s time.”
“Time? Time for what?”
Carla held out her left hand displaying the shiny diamond ring on her finger. “Time to order my wedding flowers of course.”
Lily thought this was an odd conversation but business was business and it brought in all types.
Lily guided her to seat in the small room for meetings. “Come on in and have a seat. When is your wedding?”
Carla gazed around the room filled with baskets of flowers and photos of wedding arrangements. “Next weekend.”
“That’s not much time to get everything done
,” Lily blurted out.
“I’ve been engaged for over a year.” She sat down, giggled and confided in Li
ly, “I thought this day would never come.”
Lily had her notebook open and was writing down the information she had so far. It wasn’t much. “Do you have any idea what kind of flowers you want?”
“Not really.”
Lily was having difficulty keeping calm. This was like pulling teeth and Lily was starting to feel like pulling out Carla’s and maybe shoving her out the door. “How about a color? We could start there.”
“Red.” Carla said with conviction. “Blood red.”
That’s creepy
,
thought Lily. “Maybe roses? Roses come in many shades of red, they have a wonderful scent and they hold up well in a bouquet.”
“Red roses. Yes, that’s exactly what I want. Nothing else, just red roses.
“No baby’s breath or greens?”
“Nope. Do you have some roses I could have now?”
“I could manage that.”
Lily set her pad down and stared at Carla. “Do you have a location? Number of people coming?”
Carla studied her fingernails. “Location? For what?”
Lily clenched her left hand so hard her nails dug into her palm. Through gritted teeth, she replied as sweetly as possible, “For the wedding?”
“We haven’t decided yet. There won’t be too many people, maybe ten. Are you coming?”
Lily ignored that last question. This person had some issues and Lily wanted to stay as far away as possible.
The door jingled as Ryan walked in. Lily couldn’t wait to tell him about this wacko customer.
Before Lily could flash him a warning look, Carla jumped out of her chair.
“Ryan dear. Come over here. We’re finalizing the flowers for the wedding.”
Lily shook her head.
Do I need to get my ears checked?
she wondered.
How does Carla know Ryan?
Then it dawned on her. Wedding? Ryan? Could Carla be Ryan’s ex—or at least Lily thought she was an ex—fiancé? Carla was pulling Ryan into the small meeting room. His face turned paler than white columbine glowing in the moonlight as he put his hand out to steady himself.
Finally he found his voice. “What are you doing here?”
Carla affectionately punched his arm. “You’ve always been such a joker, honey.” She looked at Lily and shook her head. “Men.” Then she focused on Ryan again. “You’re not getting cold feet now are you?”
“Cold feet? For what?”
“Ryan,” Carla whined. “Stop teasing. It’s not funny anymore.” She patted the chair next to her. “Sit here and we can finish up telling Lily about the flowers. Oh, and by the way, she’s just like you described her.”
Ryan looked at Lily shaking his head in total confusion. Lily’s mouth was pressed into a tight grimace.
Carla continued, “So, we’ve decided on red roses. Is that okay with you?” Carla stood up. “I’ll let you sort out the money part, I have to go find a wedding dress.” She gave Ryan a quick peck on his check, picked up her bouquet of roses and sashayed out just like she had arrived.
Lily stood up with her hands on he
r hips. “What. Is. Going. On?” she asked, drawing out each word in a cold fury.
Ryan took Lily’s hands. “Believe me. I haven’t talked to her or heard from her in over a year. She walked out with my best friend,
Adam, and that’s the last I heard from either of them.”
“What did she mean about me being just like you described?”
Ryan’s head fell. “I have no idea. I’ll talk to her and get it straightened out.”
Lily stopped him. “No. Let me try to sort this out. She obviously has some delusional issue playing out in her head and it might be easier for me to get more details.
You know, woman to woman.”
“I don’t know Lily.”
“Listen, Ryan. I don’t want you anywhere near that wacko. We’re doing this my way.”
Lily walked over to the Make Your Dreams Come True Bridal Shop and found Carla with an armload of dresses. “We need to talk.”
“Not now Lily. Can’t you see I’m kinda busy?”
Lily grabbed her arm. “Now. Before this charade goes any further.”
Carla dropped the dresses. “Charade?” Her voice took on a venomous tone.
“You walked out on Ryan. You can’t just waltz back in like nothing happened.”
Carla laughed. “Is that what he told you? Adam warned me this might happen.”
Lily looked around the store and saw that everyone was staring. She pulled Carla outside.
Once outside, Lily worked on staying calm and focused. “Let’s get this cleared up. First, who is Adam?”
“
Adam is Ryan’s best friend. I admit, I made a bad choice, but it was just a fling and it was over before it even started.”
“Did you ever consider that Ryan might not see it that way?”
Carla stuck her face right up to Lily. “He’ll get over it. Why are you even getting involved? This should be between me and Ryan, don’t ya think?”
Lily stood back in exasperation. “I thought it would be easier for you to hear it from me, but I can see I was wrong. For the record, Ryan is over you. Why don’t you just go back where you came from, wherever that slimy little rock is?”
Carla’s mouth fell open. “You’ll regret that, Lily Bloom.” Carla stalked off to her car.
Well, that went pretty well
,
Lily thought as she brushed her hands together and watched Carla get in her car, slam the door and pull out of the parking lot, dinging an oncoming car.
Lily hurried back to
her shop to explain everything to her curious mother and sister. “That’s quite the way to start the day. I’m going to take Rosie home and pick up some flowers at Jack’s greenhouse. Are you okay here for a while, Daisy?”
“Sounds like you scared off our customer, so no wedding plans to figure out.” They all laughed.
Lily left with Rosie to get her errands done, arriving back with the shop in chaos. Blue lights from several marked and unmarked police cars were outside her shop. Her heart stopped.
Did something happen to Daisy or Iris?
The bell jingled as she walked in and everyone turned to stare at her.
