“Excellent. Then it’s the perfect time to ask a favor. I need to run into town to meet with the contractor who provides our toiletries and was wondering if you could watch the front desk.”
I patted my hands dry on the kitchen towel with the two cows and a pig embroidered on it. “Sure. I could do that. Are we expecting any check-ins?”
“No, but it’s good to have someone available in the lobby in case a current guest has a request that needs to be filled or someone calls for a reservation.”
“Consider it done.”
He gave a brief thank you and walked out of the kitchen. Once I’d dumped my paper bag from lunch in the recycling container under the sink, I stopped in the office long enough to drop off my purse and put my cell phone in my pocket.
I went up front to take my position behind the counter, noting how silent the lobby was. I drummed my fingers on the countertop and looked out the front window. Several ducks rested on the patch of grass next to the small pond. In the parking lot, a blue jay flew from one tree to another.
When the animals didn’t do anything the least bit entertaining, I went over to the sitting area, with its blue-and-white-checked sofa and two blue wingback chairs, and straightened the half-dozen magazines that littered the coffee table. I noticed a thin layer of dust on the wood and retrieved a rag from under the counter to wipe the surface. That done, I stowed the rag and checked the time.
Good grief. Gordon had been gone for only five minutes.
With no guests in sight, I darted back to the office for a pen and a notebook and then returned to the counter. While I had a few minutes of downtime, I might as well brainstorm ideas on how to best market Esther’s farm as a wedding destination. I wrote down anything that popped in my mind, no matter how silly.
I’d just added Wilbur and the other pigs to my list, though I wasn’t entirely sure pigs would be a big draw for a wedding, when my cell phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and checked the caller ID: Private Caller. It was most likely a telemarketer trying to sell me solar panels or housecleaning services, but I answered anyway.
“Hello?”
“Dana, it’s Bethany.”
Uh-oh.
Why was she calling me when I’d seen her less than an hour before? This didn’t bode well.
“Yes?” I asked. I tried to look on the bright side. Maybe she had thought up more additions to the bouquet. Maybe she was going to offer me a discount.
“I’ve run into a problem with my supplier.”
I shouldn’t have wasted my time on the bright side. “What kind of problem?” I asked.
“He won’t be able to get the color of delphinium you wanted.”
Well, that didn’t sound so bad, as long as another fall color was available. “What colors can he get?”
“Blue.”
Eek. Blue was definitely not a fall color. “Blue won’t work,” I said, feeling like I was stating the obvious.
“No,” Bethany agreed, “but I’m sure you have a backup flower already picked out.”
My mind went blank. The moment I’d sat down to study her binder of possible arrangements, I’d latched on to the roses and delphiniums without a second thought. “Unfortunately, I don’t.”
“That’s okay,” Bethany said hurriedly. “I have a few possibilities. Maybe freesia or alstroemeria.”
I had no idea what either of those flowers looked like. Bethany probably realized that when I didn’t respond.
“Here’s an idea,” she said. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, maybe you could stop by this evening and take a look at a few selections.”
I considered my plans for tonight. I had that dinner date with Jason, but if my trip to the flower shop didn’t take long, I would still have time to stop by my apartment for a quick shower and change of clothes before driving to his place. “That’ll work,” I said.
“Thank you. And again, I’m sorry for the mix-up. I’ve been doing business with this supplier for at least five years and he’s always been reliable.”
“Guess there’s a first time for everything,” I said.
“It had better be the only time if he knows what’s good for him,” she said, an edge to her voice. I winced as I pictured the tongue-lashing she may have given the guy. When she spoke again, her tone was back to normal. “Don’t worry, you’ll love the other options. I’ll see you this evening.”
I ended the call and set my phone on the counter, hoping that by some miracle Bethany would call right back to tell me there’d been a big misunderstanding and everything was back on track.
When my phone didn’t ring, I gave up staring at it and returned to my list of perks for a farm wedding. I glanced out the window for inspiration and saw Gordon pull into the parking lot. A moment later, he walked into the lobby, carrying his ever-present clipboard. From the moment Esther had hired Gordon, he’d carried around that clipboard, taking notes on anything that needed to be corrected, fixed, or replaced. I’d even seen him count the plates in the kitchen and record the number. At one time, I’d suggested he upgrade to a personal tablet for convenience, but he’d refused, saying the old method worked fine.
“Any drop-in guests?” he asked.
“None. And no calls either.”
He pulled out his pen and wrote something on the clipboard.
I tried to read the page upside down. “Are you making notes on the fact that nothing happened while you were gone?”
“Of course. I’ve started tracking which days of the week get the fewest walk-in guests and requests for information.”
I mulled over how we could use his notes to the farm’s advantage. “Are you thinking about running specials on those days to improve the vacancy rate?”
“That’s one possibility. Do you have any others?”
I came around the counter so I could see the clipboard and the chart he’d created. “I could increase our online presence those days, tweeting more and posting on Facebook.”
“Excellent idea. Let me gather a few more weeks of data; then we’ll set some of these plans into motion.”
“Sounds good to me.” I folded up the wedding list I’d been working on and picked up my pen. “Now that you’re back, I have some work to finish in the office.”
I went down the hall to see what was next on my marketing to-do list. I worked in the office for two more hours and then went out to help Esther with odds and ends around the farm, including skimming the leaves out of the pool and hot tub, sweeping the patio, and cleaning up around the picnic tables.
When my workday was finished, I gathered my things and got in my car, my mind full of finding replacement flowers, though I wasn’t terribly worried. Bethany had said she had good options to replace the delphiniums, and I believed her. If having to pick a new flower was the worst thing that happened during my wedding planning, I’d consider myself lucky.
Exiting the freeway, I cruised down Main Street and pulled up to Bethany’s shop. The Open sign no longer glowed, but I didn’t give it a second thought. She was expecting me, after all.
I got out of my car, walked up to the shop door, and grabbed the knob. It didn’t budge. I tried again, but the door was locked. Feeling a sense of déjà vu, I cupped my hands on the glass to try to look inside, but I couldn’t see anything. The shop was dark.
Where was she? I knew she had my cell phone number. If she’d had to leave unexpectedly, why didn’t she call, especially since I was making a special trip at her request?
Maybe she was working in the back, much like my lunchtime visit. I knocked as hard on the glass as I dared. No one came to the door. I abandoned the front of the store and made my way past the ice cream shop and down the short alley that ran between it and the Prescription for Joy drugstore.
The back parking lot contained a large Dumpster, several empty beer bottles, and a single dirty diaper. Dozens of cigarette butts littered the ground. The back door to Get the Scoop was open, though the screen door was shut. I could hear voices inside a
s I walked by. The door to Don’t Dilly-Dahlia was closed and I knocked, not wanting to startle Bethany by entering unannounced.
No one answered this door either. I tried the knob, expecting it to be locked like the front, but the knob turned easily in my hand. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The overhead light was off. The only sources of light were from the opened door and the tiny window over the sink.
“Bethany?”
Silence.
Where on earth was she? Why hadn’t she called if she needed to reschedule? Since I was already inside, I’d wait a few minutes to see if she came back.
I strode across the room, hit the light switch, and turned around. My breath caught.
Bethany lay faceup on the floor near a worktable. The front of her ivory-colored blouse had turned a violent shade of dark red. What appeared to be blood pooled around her body. Her eyes were wide open, staring at nothing.
My breath started coming in hitches. I felt like my insides had turned to ice.
Now I knew why Bethany had missed our appointment.
She was dead.
Chapter 4
My hand flew to my back pocket, and I fumbled to pull out my cell phone. My heart hammered against my chest as panic swelled inside me. The corners of the phone kept catching on the pocket’s seams, and I had to work to yank it free.
I held my thumb over the number nine, but paused before I pushed the button. I forced myself to look at Bethany again. My practical mind told me she was absolutely dead, no question. But what if I was wrong? What if I should be administering first aid?
Cringing slightly, I knelt down and laid my fingers on her neck, where I imagined her pulse should be. Nothing, not even a flutter.
I pulled my hand back and rose, a little unsteady on my feet. I turned away so I wouldn’t have to look at Bethany while I dialed the phone and reported what I’d found. Before I hung up, the 911 operator promised me officers were on their way.
With Bethany beyond my help, I moved into the front of the shop and out of sight of her body.
What could have happened to her? What had caused all that blood?
My phone chimed, and I checked it. Jason had texted me: Can’t wait to cook you dinner.
Dinner.
The word seemed like a foreign concept right then. How could I think about eating beef stroganoff when there was a dead florist in the next room?
Bile rose up, but I choked it down. I texted him back to tell him our dinner plans were canceled. Not only did the thought of food send waves of nausea roiling through my stomach, but sadly, this wasn’t the first time I’d discovered a body. I knew the police might keep me here for hours while they launched their investigation.
My phone chimed again with another text from Jason: What’s wrong? Are you sick?
In as few words as possible, I typed that I was at the flower shop and had found Bethany’s body.
His response came swiftly: On my way.
While Jason and I had been exchanging texts, I’d noticed the faint sound of sirens getting louder. I watched through the store window as an ambulance pulled up to the curb, followed by a police cruiser. From half a block away, a fire truck was approaching.
I opened the door as two EMTs rushed across the sidewalk and into the shop. One carried a large plastic medical kit.
“Who needs help, miss?” the one with the kit asked.
I gestured to the curtain that led to the back room. “She’s through there, but you can’t help her now.” I hadn’t meant to sound quite so dramatic, but the words just sort of tumbled out.
“We’ll take a look anyway,” he said as he and his partner went through the doorway.
I watched their retreating backs until the curtain swung back into place, then turned toward the door. The police officer was only now climbing out of his cruiser. He shut the car door and headed toward the shop in what I could only describe as a saunter. Didn’t he realize this was an emergency?
He finally crossed the store’s threshold, but before I could tell him what had happened, I heard one of the EMTs behind me say, “Ruiz, we need you back here.”
He brushed past me and disappeared into the back room. I shut the shop door and stood among the flower displays. Seeing all the flowers made me realize I had no one to make my bridal bouquet. I immediately chastised myself for worrying about something as petty as my flowers when Bethany was lying dead back there. I looked out the window, unsure of what to do. Should I go outside to wait for Jason, or stay inside in case the officer had questions?
The front of the store was so quiet that I could hear the ticking of the wall clock and the muffled sound of cars driving by on the street. I was about to text Jason again when the EMTs came out of the back room followed by Officer Ruiz, who was moving with more urgency and talking into the hand mic clipped to his shoulder.
He took me by the upper arm and ushered me toward the door. “Ma’am, I need you to step outside with me,” he said in an official tone.
As we stepped out of the shop, a patrol car screeched to the curb and an officer practically leapt out of the driver’s seat in his haste to reach the sidewalk.
Officer Ruiz talked to him in a low voice before turning to me. “You need to stay here. Don’t leave the area.” He and the other officer exchanged a look, and Officer Ruiz tipped his head toward me as if I were about to make a run for it. My gut twisted into a knot. I had to wonder how much involvement the officers believed I’d had with Bethany’s death.
Officer Ruiz started back inside, talking into his radio once more, something about a 1-8-7, whatever that was. The radio crackled a reply, but I couldn’t make out the words. The door shut with a click, and I was left on the sidewalk with the other officer. He seemed to ignore me while he studied the street, but his occasional glances and the stiff way he carried himself let me know he was well aware I was there. I sighed and got ready for a potentially long wait.
Dusk was settling over the street, and the evening temperature had cooled considerably. I pointed to my car parked nearby. “I’m going to get my jacket.”
He gave me a terse nod. I could feel his eyes on me as I walked over and got my jacket from the passenger seat. People were starting to come out of the nearby stores and huddle on the sidewalk, no doubt drawn by the sirens from earlier and the flashing blue and red lights that appeared even brighter in the deepening gloom.
I was zipping up my jacket when I felt a hand on my shoulder. Startled, I whirled around. Jason stood before me. Even under these terrible circumstances, I couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked with his short reddish-brown hair, close-cropped goatee, and warm green eyes. Right now, those eyes were filled with worry. Without a word, he ran his hands over my hair and then pulled me in for a hug. Warmth spread throughout my body as I laid my head against his chest and tried to take deep breaths.
After a moment, he released me and tipped my chin up so we were looking at each other. “Are you all right?”
I nodded and swallowed the lump that had unexpectedly formed in my throat. “I’m in better shape than Bethany.”
Jason looked toward the store, though I knew he couldn’t see what was going on inside. “Any idea what happened to her?”
Before I could answer, the officer who’d been babysitting me walked over. “I have to ask that you not discuss what’s going on here, ma’am.”
“But it’s only my fiancé,” I said, leaving out the fact that he was also a newspaper reporter.
The cop stiffened and put his hands on his utility belt. “Doesn’t matter. Until the detective has taken your statement, I can’t allow you to speak to anyone.”
“I understand, Officer,” Jason said. He rubbed my back and leaned down close to my ear. “I’ll hang around until you’re free to talk, okay?”
I nodded. He took his hand off my back, allowing the cool air to creep through my jacket. A chill shot up my spine.
The officer had hurried over to the storefront, where two people were p
eering through the flower shop window. I took the opportunity to ask Jason one more question before he could walk away.
“What’s a one-eight-seven?”
Jason had been watching the cop at the window, but his attention shot back to me. “What did you say?”
“A one-eight-seven. That’s what the other officer said when he was talking on his radio. I assumed it was a police code of some kind. Do you know what it means?”
“Yes, and it’s not good.” Jason’s eyes never left my face. “It means they think Bethany was murdered.”
Chapter 5
Murdered? While a tiny part of me had wondered if Bethany had been killed, thanks to the amount of blood and the fact that she’d been fine earlier today, Jason’s words still sent a jolt through my system. “You really think she’s been murdered?” I thought of Officer Ruiz’s change in demeanor when he’d come back out after looking at Bethany’s body. No wonder he’d started moving faster after that.
The patrol officer strode back over after shooing away the gawkers trying to see in the window. “Ma’am, I won’t tell you again. If you continue to speak to people, I’ll need to place you in the back of my patrol car.”
Yikes, this guy wasn’t fooling around. I held up my hands. “Okay, okay, sorry.”
“I’ll check in with you in a while,” Jason said to me. He walked over to where the ambulance was parked and started talking to the EMTs.
My legs suddenly felt weak, and I eased down so I could sit on the curb. I rested my elbows on my knees. “Who on earth would want to kill the flower lady?” I asked aloud, though only the cop was close enough to hear me. He didn’t answer.
I’d thought Bethany’s dying was bad enough, but Bethany being murdered was far worse. I was having trouble grappling with this new information. I stared at the asphalt, mindlessly following a trail of ants as they marched across a jagged crack. The sound of an approaching engine called my attention to the street.
A dark blue Ford Taurus that I knew to be an unmarked car from the Blossom Valley police department pulled up in front of the ambulance. The car door opened and Detective Palmer stepped out.
Marriage Is Pure Murder Page 3