Lyndsey Cole - Lily Bloom 01 - Begonia Means Beware (3 page)

“Thanks for the information. I guess I’ll be meeting the people in town sooner than I expected.”

“Ryan?” Lily’s voice was serious.

“Yes?”

“You’re a lot better for Misty Valley than the old police chief. He was a real scumbag.”

Ryan nodded.
“So I’ve heard.”

Lily watched Ryan get into his car and drive off.
He does seem nice. Maybe Mom is right about him.

Daisy came out the side door. “Well, look who decided to come back to work. What took you so long? And why do you have Rosie with you?”

“I don’t want to talk here on the street. Is Mom still inside?” Lily asked, looking around to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

Daisy nodded.
“What’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

The door slammed behind them.

Iris took one look at Lily. “You found him didn’t you?”

“
Found who? What are you two talking about?” Daisy demanded.

Lily looked around the store. Empty. “Yes. The body was in my bathtub.
”

Iris gasped.
“Clifton Harris?”

“Yup. With a
bullet through his heart. And flowers on his chest. My house is a crime scene. I can’t stay there tonight. I have Rosie and a change of clothes. Can I stay with you, Mom?”

“Of course.”

The phone rang and all three of them jumped. Iris looked at the phone. “That’s Tamara calling.”

Lily cautiously picked up the phone. “Hello. Lily Bloom speaking … hello Tamara … yes, I did hear … I’m so sorry … well, of course the wedding is cancelled …
alright, I’ll see you in the morning.”

Lily looked around her shop. “What am I going to
do with all these flowers now? Let’s get busy organizing them. Maybe Tamara will want to decorate her house. We can still make the arrangements. The flowers are too beautiful to waste.” Lily and Daisy got back to work making the centerpieces.

Tamara walked in bright and early in the morning.
She saw all the lovely flowers and almost fell apart. “This is an unfortunate event, but we’ll make the best of it. I’ve decided to donate all the flower arrangements for the new hospital charity event. They’re raising money for a new building. Clifton would have wanted that I’m sure.”

Lily looked at Iris and raised her eyebrow. “Tamara. What have you heard?”

“Just that Clifton was found dead.”

“Who told you?”

“Geoffrey called me. Is there more?”

Iris interrupted. “I haven’t heard anything. Your idea of donating the flowers is very kind.”

“Of course, I’ll need a receipt for tax purposes.”

“Of course.” Iris rolled her eyes.

Lily handed Tamara a receipt. “When is the charity event?”

“On Saturday. I was going to miss it
because of the wedding, but now I won’t have to. I’m on the planning committee, you know.”

Lily replied.
“I’ll give Jack a call and work out the delivery details with him.”

Tamara looked angry.
“That boy is useless. I don’t know how he ever got the job as manager of Misty Valley Country Club. I did everything I could to stop it but someone went behind my back and hired him. If I ever find out who did that—well, never mind about that.”

“I hear he does a fantastic job managing the country club.” Iris wanted to add fuel to the fire and see what Tamara
said.

Tamara huffed.
“I should withdraw my membership until they fire him.”

Iris wanted to find out more.
“What on earth did he ever do to you?”

“He stalked my daughter and I just wish he would move out of town. He’s not good enough for my Melinda.”

Daisy walked over to Tamara. “How is Melinda holding up? She must be devastated with the news of Clifton’s death.”

“The poor dear. She is so fragile. She can’t stop crying. This is just the most tragic event in her life.”

Iris poked a little more. “I hear you and Clifton were working on some real estate deals together. What will happen with that now?”

“Oh, umm, well, I haven’t thought about that yet. I really don’t need Clifton to handle that. My ex
, Tyrone, can do all the paperwork for me. Did you know that Clifton was going to be a partner in Tyrone’s law firm?”

Lily was busy wrapping a bouquet of
pink tulips. “Really? That’s quite a loss for Tyrone.”

Tamara waved her hand as if to shoo a fly away.
“Not really. I don’t think he was happy about the whole idea anyway.”

“Why would he do it then?”

“For Melinda I guess.”

Lily handed the wrapped tulips toward Tamara.
“Here are some flowers for Melinda. Maybe it will make her feel a little better.”

Tamara held up her hand. “Can you deliver them? I have to
go to the country club for a meeting of the hospital building committee.”

Lily saw Ryan park a mountain bike outside her shop. The bell above the door
jingled as he walked in. “I thought this might be a good starting point. Seems to be a central meeting spot here at Beautiful Blooms.” He winked at Lily. “That’s a catchy name. Does it refer to your flowers or the beautiful Bloom women?”

Heat shot up Lily’s neck but Iris came to her r
escue. “You are a clever policeman, Mr. Steele. The name can mean whatever you want. But I rather prefer your interpretation.” She actually fluttered her eyelids at Ryan.

Ryan extended his hand to Tamara Biotchi
? “And who is this lovely lady. I’m Ryan Steele, the acting police chief.”

“Did you ride up on a bicycle?” Tamara said with disdain
, ignoring his outstretched hand.

“Yes ma’am. I find
riding a bike is quicker getting around this charming town.”

“It’s not very professional, in my opinion.
” Tamara looked him up and down with distaste. “And shorts? What next? If you’ll excuse me, I have an important meeting to get to.” Tamara headed to the door.

Ryan blocked the exit. “I’d like to extend my condolences on the death of your future son
-in-law. It must be very difficult for you and your family.”

“Thank you. We are certainly all devastated. My Melinda is completely heartbroken.” She tried to maneuver by Ryan in the confined space
and knocked over a big basket of red snapdragons sitting on a small three legged table.

“Oh dear.
I’m sorry, Lily,” she said as she scurried out the door, leaving the others to clean up the mess.

Ryan’s gaze met Lily’s. “Is there a quiet spot we can talk?”

“Sure. Come on into the back work area. It’s crowded and messy but we’ll be away from prying eyes.” Lily glared at Daisy and Iris.

Rosie got off her bed and wiggled all over when she saw Lily and Ryan.
Sweet Pea was nowhere in sight. “Kind of lonely back here, Rosie?” Lily turned to Ryan. “How about we walk and talk so I can give Rosie some fresh air. Actually, I need it too.”

Ryan looked around at all the arrangements waiting to be delivered. “This is beautiful back here and it smells wonderful. What flowers do I smell?”

“Probably those big white oriental lilies. They have a nice scent but can be overpowering in my opinion. My favorite are these.” Lily held up a yellow flower for Ryan to smell.

He held her
hand to pull the flower closer to his nose and took a deep breath. “I’ve never smelled anything like this. What is it?”

“Freesia.” Lily pulled her hand away.
She liked how his hand felt but it unnerved her. “Shall we take our walk now? You take Rosie out. I need to tell Daisy I’ll be gone for a few minutes. I’ll meet you out front.”

Lily hurried to the front of the shop.

“Well?” Daisy asked, eyebrows shooting up.

“Well what?”

“Come on, Lily, tell us what’s going on with you and handsome new cop,” Daisy whined.

“Nothing is going on. He needs to talk to me so we are taking Rosie for a walk while we talk. I’ll be back soon.”

Iris hollered. “Do you need a chaperone?”

Lily could hear both Iris and Daisy laughing
as the door slammed behind her. She loved her mother and sister but sometimes she needed more space away from them.

Rosie was pulling Ryan toward the town green
by the time she was catching up to them. “Looks like we’ll go this way,” Ryan said, just barely holding on.

Lily jogged to keep up.
“Have you got more information about the murder?”

“Not really. I need your help. You know everyone in town and I’m new here. I was hoping you could help me make a list of anyone that might have had a reason to kill Mr.
Harris.”

“I told you before, that list is pretty long. He was involved in a lot of real estate stuff. Maybe you should start there. Also, there’s going to be a charity event
to raise money for the new hospital at the Misty Valley Country Club on Saturday. Lots of people will be going.”

“Are you inviting me to go with you?”

Lily was flustered.
Is he teasing me
, she thought. “Mrs. Biotchi is donating all the flowers that were supposed to be used for the wedding so I’ll be busy getting that set up.” She paused as she looked around. “I could meet you there.”

“Lily. Wait up,
” a voice called behind them.

Lily turned around to see Jack Weaver running up the street toward her.

“Hi Jack. This is Ryan Steele. The new police chief. Have you met yet?”

“Hi.” Jack shook Ryan’s hand.

Jack was trying to catch his breath.
“I was looking for you at your shop. What’s going on with the wedding?”

“Didn’t Tamara call you?”

“Are you serious? She doesn’t talk to me. She’s trying to get me fired.”

Lily stopped walking to face Jack.
“Clifton is dead. The wedding is off.”

Jack’s jaw dropped. “Dead? What happened?”

Ryan responded. “That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Did you know Clifton?”

Jack hesitated.
“He recommended me for my job managing the Misty Valley Country Club.”

Ryan kept digging.
“Were you friends?”

Jack acted nervous.
“No. Not exactly. I’m friends with his fiancé.”

“Melinda?”

“That’s right. We’ve known each other forever.”

Lily
put her hand on Jack’s arm. “Tamara is donating all the wedding flowers for the hospital charity event. When should I bring them over?”

“That’s generous of her.
How about Saturday morning?” He paused, thinking. “Now that the wedding is cancelled, I won’t be as busy. I don’t know how both events got scheduled for the same day. It was going to be extremely chaotic. I can meet you in the event room. Does nine work for you?”

Lily smiled.
“Perfect. See you then. I’m turning around here to get back to work.”

Rosie watched Jack walk away. “Come on Rosie. We have to go this way.”

Lily glanced at Ryan. “That was interesting.”

“What?”

“Jack said that Clifton recommended him for the manager job.”

Ryan was confused.
“So?”

“
Tamara just told me how unhappy she is that Jack got the job as manager. She’s thinking of withdrawing her membership until he’s fired. Maybe she found out that Clifton recommended him. That would have made her pretty angry.”

Ryan considered this angle.
“Angry enough to kill him?”

“
I don’t know.”

Ryan wanted more information.
“Why doesn’t she like Jack?”

“Melinda and Jack were high school sweethearts. Tamara broke up the relationship. She doesn’t think Jack is good enough for her Melinda.”

Ryan put his hand on Lily’s shoulder. “See? This is why I need your help. I would have missed those clues. By the way. I’ve been wondering. Does your mom own a gun?”

“Why?”
Lily felt the hairs on her neck stand up.

“She was the first one to find the body. I just need to ask.”

Lily was angry. “Yes she does and she’s a good shot, but if you put my mother on your suspect list, you can forget about me helping you.” She stomped back to her shop with Rosie trotting at her side. Ryan watched her blond ponytail bob back and forth as she walked away and wondered what had just happened.

The door into the work room slammed behind Lily.

Daisy turned, surprised. “Are you okay?”

Lily stood with her hands on her hips. “That Ryan Steele is crazy.”

“You were only gone for ten minutes. What happened?”

“He thinks M
om is a suspect.”

“The murderer?”

Lily walked to her work space and started poking flowers into florist foam. “Well, he didn’t exactly say it that way, but that’s what he was implying.”

“Slow down. Don’t get your panties in a twist. What
exactly
did he say?”

“He asked if M
om owns a gun.” She pushed a snapdragon into the foam so hard it broke.

“You like the tall, dark handsome cop, don’t you?” Daisy laughed.

“Are you crazy?” Another snapdragon broke.

Daisy took over the arrangement. “Why don’t you deliver those tulips to Melinda before all the flowers end up in the trash?
I’ll help you load the deliveries.”

“Okay. Come
on Rosie. I’ll drop you off at Mom’s house first.” Lily took Rosie out the side door, then stopped. “Daisy? What is Mom doing today?”

“She said she was going to the shooting range. With a killer on the loose, she wants to get some practicing in.”

Lily mumbled to herself. “I hope Ryan Steele doesn’t see her there.”

“What?”

“Nothing. See you later.”

Lily looked at her delivery list. “
Five arrangements to the nursing home. That’s easy. I’ll drop you off first, Rosie.” Rosie wagged her tail and did her silly doggy grin which looked like a snarl to people who didn’t know her. Lily laughed. “Thanks Rosie. I feel a little better now.”

***

Lily pulled into Melinda’s driveway behind a shiny black Mercedes.
Great. This probably won’t be quick.
As she was knocking on the front door, she could hear arguing inside.
Awkward.

Melinda’s dad pulled the door open with a scowl on his face. “What do you want?”

Melinda hollered from the living room. “Come in. Dad, where are your manners?”

Tyrone
barely stepped aside for Lily to enter. He was a big man. Big and intimidating in Lily’s assessment. She certainly wouldn’t want to be on his bad side.

Lily brushed past Tyrone and found Melinda sitting on her couch.
“How are you doing, Melinda? I brought you some flowers.”

“
Pink tulips? They’re lovely. Do you have time to sit? Company helps me take my mind off what happened.”

Lily sat across from Melinda on a soft white chair. The whole room was white. Melinda just about disappeared in her white dress on the white couch. Lily focused on the pink
tulips in Melinda’s hand.

“You must be in shock. This is so tragic about Clifton.”

Tyrone harrumphed. “No loss in my opinion.”

“Daddy. How can you say that?”

Tyrone paced around the room. “I don’t have to hide my thoughts anymore. He was a conniving, lying, cheat. I’m glad I don’t have to make him a partner in my firm. I’ll have to thank whoever did this.”

Melinda almost shouted.
“Daddy, that’s enough of that talk. And you will still pay everyone for the wedding arrangements. It’s not their fault that this happened.”

Li
ly sat on the edge of her seat looking for a way to escape. “Did you know that your mother is donating the flowers to the hospital charity event? She said that Clifton would have wanted that.”

“Clifton didn’t have one generous bone in his body. He would have sold his own mother to make
a buck if she was still alive,” Tyrone fumed.

Melinda started to sob again.
“Daddy, you don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t want to listen to any more of this.”

“Fine.” Tyrone walked out
, slamming the door behind him. His Mercedes roared out of the driveway.

Melinda focused on Lily.
“I’m sorry you had to witness that. Daddy is really a pussycat, but he comes across a little angry at times.”

A little angry? I would say more like a psycho tiger than a cute pussycat.
“I got the impression that he wasn’t overly fond of Clifton.”

Melinda choked. “Probably because
Mommy is the one who groomed him for me.”

Lily almost fell off the chair.
“Groomed him?”

“Made sure he was good enough for me.”

“How did you feel about that?” Lily was trying to wrap her head around having someone else control her life. She knew that would never work for her.

Melinda nervously jiggled her white slipper dangling from her delicate foot. “I guess I never thought about it. Jack never liked Clifton either.”

“Jack Weaver?”

Melinda looked up and smiled.
“My high school sweetheart. Mommy doesn’t like Jack.”

“Jack told me that Clifton recommended him for the manager job at the country club.”

“I asked Cliffy to do that. Mommy was furious.”

“She knew?”
Lily was shocked.

“Of course. Mommy knows everything.”
Melinda waved her hand to emphasize her point.

The doorbell startled both of them.

Melinda said in a dreamy voice. “I wonder who that could be. Would you check for me? I just can’t bear to get up.”

This family. Daisy thinks Geoffr
ey is normal. I hope so for her sake.

Lily opened the door and felt her face blush.

A deep voice asked, “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Mr. Steele.”

Ryan cocked one eyebrow.
“Mr. Steele? I thought we were on a first name basis.”

“Melinda,
Mr. Steele is here. Shall I invite him in?”

“Who is Mr. Steele?”

Lily smirked. “He’s the new acting police chief.”

“He can come in. Will you stay too
, Lily?”

Now Ryan smirked
as he walked past Lily.

“Hello, Ms. Biotchi. I’m very sorry about your fiancé.
Could I sit down for a minute?”

“I guess so.” Melinda handed the tulips to Lily. “Could you find something in the kitchen for these tulips? I’m just too tired to do anything.”

Lily rolled her eyes as she walked past Ryan.
I’m not her freaking maid. I need to get out of here.

Ryan gently asked Melinda about Clifton. “Do you know what his schedule was for today?”

“He left some beautiful tulips on my kitchen table early this morning. Before I got up. He said he had a meeting and would be back tonight. That’s all I know.”

Lil
y eavesdropped from the kitchen and heard Ryan ask. “You didn’t see him when he left the tulips?”

Melinda sighed.
“No. He knows I like to sleep in.”

“Could someone else have left the flowers?”

She looked at Ryan. “I never thought of that. Maybe. I don’t lock my door. Sometimes mother comes and leaves breakfast for me.”

Ryan was sounding frustrated.
“Do you know where he was going for his meeting?”

Melinda sighed
again. “No. He didn’t bore me with his business details.”

A loud crash came from the kitchen.
Ryan turned to hear Lily shout. “Darn. I’m okay. I’ll clean up the mess.”

Ryan got up
and told Melinda, “Excuse me for a minute. I’ll see if she needs any help.” He found Lily bleeding in the kitchen. “Are you okay? There’s blood on the floor.”

Lily held up her hand. “It’s just a small cut. Grab me a paper towel.”

Ryan pressed the towel on her hand and whispered. “These people are nuts.”

Lily whispered back.
“You don’t know the half of it.”

“Fill me in over coffee? Or are you still mad at me?”
Ryan gave a heart melting smile.

Lily couldn’t help but
grin. “Coffee sounds good. We need an escape plan to get out of here.”

Ryan cleaned up the broken vase and mopped up the water.
He looked at Lily. “Everything back the way it was.”

Lily carried the vase of tulips out to the living room and overheard Melinda talking quietly on her phone.

“I have to go. You have to wait a few minutes.” Melinda quickly closed her phone. “I’m feeling tired. I think I need to lie down now. Thanks for bringing the flowers. Can you let yourselves out?”

Lily glanced at Ryan.
“Yes. No problem.” Lily and Ryan made a beeline for the door.

Ryan closed the front door. “That was easier than I expected.”

“She was talking to someone on the phone. Let’s park down the street and see who stops by next. I think it’s someone she doesn’t want us to know about.”

“I have my mountain bike. I’ll follow you and just push it into the bushes.”

Ryan slid into the passenger seat of Lily’s minivan and quietly closed the door, his bike hidden beside the road. “First, why were you so mad at me?”

Lily pouted.
“You think my mom is a suspect.”

“No I don’t. I just wondered if she owns a gun. You jumped to the wrong conclusion.”

“Oh.”

Ryan pointed back toward Melinda’s house.
“There’s a car turning into Melinda’s driveway. Do you know who it is?”

Lily waited for the person to get out. He looked around quickly
, then ran to the door. Melinda had it opened before he even got there.

She whispered.
“It’s Jack Weaver. The manager of the country club. Remember? We talked to him this morning.”

“Why is he sneaking in?”

“He was Melinda’s high school sweetheart. Tamara broke it up.”

“So he’s happy that the fiancé is out of the picture?”

“Probably.”

Lily’s phone buzzed. “Daisy sent me a text message.”
Where r u? Need help at shop. HURRY UP!
“I’ve got to get back to the shop. Daisy is having a fit.”

Ryan opened the door to get out.

Lily grabbed his arm. “Wait. When can I go back to my house?”

He turned and looked at her hand on his arm.
“Tomorrow. What are you doing for dinner tonight?”

She dropped here hand.
“No plans.”

Ryan smiled.
“Come over. I’ll grill something. Does Rosie like burgers?”

Lily laughed out loud. “She’s a dog. I don’t think she’ll complain about that. See you around seven.”

Another text popped up on Lily’s screen from Iris.
HURRY!

Lily rushed into her shop
, breathless, wondering what new drama was happening. Daisy was busy taking orders from an elderly couple. Iris motioned Lily to follow her to the back.

She whispered conspiratorially.
“You’ll never guess who I saw at the shooting range.”

“What were you doing there?”
Lily asked angrily.

“Target practice of course, you ninny. You should come with me next time. It wouldn’t hurt for you to freshen up your skills with a killer in town.”

Lily stared at her mother.
“You know I don’t like guns. That’s why I have Rosie.”

Iris snorted. “That
dog loves everyone. She won’t protect you.”

Lily held her ground.
“When push comes to shove, she’ll protect me.”

“
Whatever. Anyway, the old police chief, Mike Keller, was shooting next to me.”

Lily was shocked.
“What? I thought he was in jail.”

“He’s out on bail. He was laughing and joking, saying he expects to get his job back now that the
prosecutor’s star witness is out of the picture.”

Lily whispered. “Who was the star witness?”

“Clifton Harris.”