Holding my purchase, I hurried over and pushed through one of the doors. The back section of the store was much darker than the front, and I paused in the gloom to allow my eyes to adjust.
As I waited, I heard footsteps coming toward me from around the corner. A second later, Lucia came into view, a price-marking labeler in her hand.
“Excuse me, customers aren’t allowed back here. If you’re looking for the restroom—” She broke off when she recognized me. “I didn’t realize it was you, Dana.” She glanced at my toilet paper. “Did you need a price check?”
I lowered the package, feeling like an idiot for running through the store with it. “No, I saw you head back here and wanted to find out how you were doing.”
“Okay, but nervous. I’m going to the police station as soon as my shift is over.”
“I’m glad you haven’t changed your mind.” I gripped the package in my hands. “While I’ve got you here, I wanted to ask you something about the accident.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What now? I already told you everything that happened.”
I heard movement behind me and turned to look. A man in a short-sleeved white dress shirt and a clip-on tie came in through one of the swinging doors. His name tag declared he was the manager.
He frowned at me. “Did you need something, ma’am?”
Lucia tensed but remained silent, her eyes on her boss.
I tried to think of a valid reason for being back here. “Um, I was looking for the bathroom,” I said, since that’s what Lucia had originally assumed I needed.
The manager raised his eyebrows at the package I clutched in my hands, and I felt my face grow warm. I could only imagine what he thought I needed twelve rolls of toilet paper for.
“It’s in the other back corner of the store,” he finally said.
“Gee, I’m not good with directions. Maybe she could help me find it?” I asked, gesturing at Lucia. My face only got hotter at my ridiculous request. I made a mental note to never shop here again.
The manager seemed momentarily stymied, but then recovered. “I suppose that would be all right.” He turned to Lucia. “Help this customer, please, Lucia, and then return to stocking the Christmas tree lights.”
Christmas tree lights? It was the beginning of November! Whatever happened to Thanksgiving?
“Yes, sir,” Lucia said. She led the way out of the back room and I followed. Together, we headed to the opposite corner of the store. I glanced back to find the manager watching us.
Lucia stopped when she reached a small hallway. It held two restrooms and a drinking fountain. She turned to me with folded arms. “Whatever you want, you’d better make it quick. I know my manager’s keeping an eye on me, and I need this job. You already know that.”
I set the package of toilet paper at my feet. “Look, I’m not trying to cause you any trouble, but last night you told me Bethany wasn’t blackmailing you over the accident. I’m positive she was.”
Lucia surprised me by laughing. “Is that what this is about? The blackmail? You can’t blackmail someone who’s broke.”
“But she tried?”
“She did. I stopped by the shop to place an order—I’d been ordering these little bouquets for weeks by this time—and Bethany started asking me who they were for. She wouldn’t stop pestering me with her questions.” Lucia looked at her hands. “I’m still not sure why I told her what happened. I mean, I’d been keeping my secret this whole time from everybody, even friends and family. I think I was just tired, tired from trying to hold it all in. I hadn’t been sleeping that great, or eating much. And she seemed so nice and sympathetic, like she really wanted to help me with my problems. It was almost like talking to my mom.” She passed a hand over her eyes. “Before I knew it, I blurted out the whole story and how I send the woman flowers after her physical therapy sessions to cheer her up. I realized later that Bethany was only pretending to be nice to me so I’d tell her my secret, but by then it was too late.”
A lump formed in my throat. I already knew Lucia was carrying around a lot of guilt. Sending flowers to the victim was her own form of penance.
“The next time I went in the shop, Bethany started hinting around about how tough it was for a single businesswoman to make a living and how a little extra money could make all the difference. She practically called me a liar when I told her I couldn’t help her out, but then I reminded her that if I had any money, I’d be at school right now, not working here. After I explained it that way, she seemed to get it.”
I nodded along as she spoke, realizing why there had been no dollar amounts under Lucia’s initials in Bethany’s notebook. Lucia simply didn’t have any cash to give her. At least not enough to bother with.
“You must have some money,” I pointed out. “I’ve had to order several bouquets and boutonnieres for my wedding, so I know buying flowers once a week can’t be cheap.”
“I wasn’t planning to do it for as long as I have,” she said. “Originally I was only going to buy flowers once or twice, but I think about the accident every day. I needed to do something to keep from obsessing over it. Besides, they’re only carnations and daisies. Those are about the cheapest flowers you can buy.”
“How do you even know where to send the flowers?”
“I heard the woman ended up at the hospital here in Blossom Valley. I have a friend who works there. She told me about the physical therapy appointments. I figure the flowers aren’t much, but maybe they brighten her day.” Lucia studied her hands again. “I never sign the cards, but she must know that they’re from whoever hit her. I hope she knows how sorry I am. I’m just glad she never tried to track me down through the flower shop.”
I didn’t point out to Lucia that she still might. But since Lucia was planning to tell the cops everything, it didn’t really matter.
“Once Bethany realized you didn’t have any money, she just dropped the whole thing?” I asked.
Lucia nodded. “She never seemed all that interested in the money anyway, even though she gave me a hard time about it. I think she really liked knowing my secret. She’d hint around about it every time I went in there, but I was too scared to get my flowers somewhere else.”
The manager’s voice boomed behind me, interrupting our conversation. “Everything all right, ladies?”
I gave a little start and turned around, offering him a big smile. “Yup, turns out the lock on the door doesn’t work, so I needed someone to stand guard.”
His eyes narrowed. Even if I ever did want to shop here again, he’d probably have me banned for acting so strangely. I could already imagine my picture tacked up next to the cash registers, like those people who wrote bad checks.
I bent down and retrieved my toilet paper. “Guess I’m ready to leave.” Before I walked away, I turned to Lucia, who was once more watching her boss. “Thanks for your help, miss. I’d never have found the bathroom without you.” I only hoped I hadn’t somehow gotten her in trouble.
I headed to the front of the store, the manager close behind. There were three people in line at the only open checkout lane. The manager took my package of toilet paper from my hands, moved over to another register, and said, “I can ring you up right here.” He was clearly done with my nonsense.
After I paid for the toilet paper, I left, wondering as I did so if I was any closer to figuring out who had wanted Bethany dead. Violet had ended up with a store she didn’t seem to really want, and Carter had dumped the girlfriend Bethany had been blackmailing him about. Even when Bethany was alive, Carter seemed to have no trouble paying her off. As for Lucia, Bethany’s other blackmail victim, she really had no reason to kill Bethany, especially since Bethany had kept her secret even when she received no money in return.
That left Mitch. I really wanted him to be innocent, for Mom’s sake, but he seemed to benefit the most from Bethany’s death. If Violet accepted his offer to buy the flower shop, he’d realize his dream of restoring his grandfather’s property to its
original state, plus he might be able to get his business back on track. Maybe Detective Palmer would reach the same conclusion and arrest him. Then I could focus squarely on my wedding and forget everything else.
I opened the trunk of my car and loaded in the toilet paper. Once behind the wheel, I checked the clock and found I had just enough time to run home for a quick lunch. Then I’d head to work. With no looming deadlines, I felt confident it would be a quiet afternoon.
Chapter 27
With my head full of thoughts about the wedding, I drove home. I frowned when I saw Ashlee’s Camaro in its regular parking space at the apartment complex. If Ashlee was home, why had she texted me to ask if I could run an errand for her?
I grabbed the toilet paper out of the trunk and climbed the stairs to the apartment. Inside, Ashlee was sitting on the couch in her veterinarian smock, with her blond hair swept up in a bun. I tossed the giant pack of toilet paper onto the coffee table in front of her. Startled, she glanced up from the court show she’d been watching.
“Thanks, sis. I knew I could count on you,” she said.
I put my hands on my hips. “If you were planning to come home for your lunch break, why didn’t you pick up the toilet paper yourself?”
Ashlee snuck a peek at her show. “You said you were taking the morning off, so I figured I’d give you something to do. Plus, I’m kind of short on cash right now.”
I gritted my teeth and stalked into the kitchen area. There was no sense in pointing out to Ashlee that I had plenty to do on my morning off, especially with my wedding so close. I’d only be wasting my breath. Besides, in a few short days, she wouldn’t be my constant problem any longer.
That thought cheered me up, and I found myself humming as I dug through the refrigerator and pantry for something to fix for lunch. I managed to dredge up two slightly stale slices of bread, some packaged turkey, a couple of wilted lettuce leaves, and a tomato that was a little softer than I liked but edible. Not the best sandwich in the world, but considering I usually grabbed fast food or zapped a frozen meal in the microwave, it was definitely an improvement.
While I put everything together, Ashlee came over and leaned her elbows on the counter. “What’s with the humming?” she asked.
I couldn’t exactly tell her I was rejoicing over how soon I was moving out. Instead, I said, “Just thinking about the wedding.”
Ashlee snorted. “About how you’re going to be tied down to the same guy for the rest of your life? That’s, like, forever, you know.”
I sliced the tomato. “That’s what makes me so happy.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless.” She toyed with the phone charger that was sitting on the counter. “Do you think we’ll still hang out after you get married?” Her voice was softer than usual, and I paused in my slicing. “I mean, Brittany’s going to be an awesome roommate,” she said. “It’s just, you know, you and I always watch the Oscars together, and the Emmys, stuff like that.”
I set the knife down. “Of course we’ll get together. Not everything’s going to change. I’ll still mock you for dating the wrong guys, and so many of them. You’ll make fun of me for getting married. It’ll be like I’m living here with you, only I won’t be buying your toilet paper anymore.”
“I’m sure I can get Brittany to do that,” Ashlee said. “But you’ll be spending every minute with Jason. You might not have time for me.”
I felt a knot form in my chest. Could my sister actually be feeling lonely? “Jason and I aren’t joined at the hip,” I said. “Besides, he likes you, too. I’m sure we’ll have you over for dinner. You just better hope Jason’s the one who does the cooking.”
Ashlee pretended to gag. “Dinner with a married couple? Are you guys going to wear matching aprons? And make us sit at an actual table?” She put her hands up. “I don’t think I’m ready for all that grown-up stuff.”
I picked up the knife and resumed slicing the tomato. “You’ll get used to it. And then, one day, you’ll turn into a grown-up, too.”
“Hardy har har. I’ll never let that happen.” Ashlee went back to the couch and turned up the volume on the TV. Clearly she was all done talking about being adults.
I finished making my lunch, added a pile of chips to the plate, and carried everything into the living room, where I ate my sandwich and Ashlee stole most of my chips. When the pile had dwindled to a handful, I turned the plate around to save a few for myself and swallowed the last bite of turkey.
“You all set for your honeymoon?” Ashlee asked when her show went to commercial.
“I need to buy a few more things, like new sandals.” I probably should have used my morning off to go shopping, but too late now. “We’ll only be gone for five days, so it’s not like I have to pack a lot.”
Ashlee threw herself back on the couch. “Yeah, but five days in Hawaii. I’m sooooo jealous.” She straightened up. “Hey, do you want me to keep an eye on Jason’s place while you’re gone? I mean, it’ll be your place by then, too.”
I still thought of Jason’s place as his own, but she had a point. I needed to start thinking of it as our place. “I’ll ask Jason,” I said, touched by the offer.
“I hope he says yes.” Ashlee picked up her phone from the coffee table and started texting. “After that party I threw when you were out of town last month, I think the management’s keeping an eye on me. I can’t risk having any more parties here.”
Of course that’s why she was offering to help. I should have known. “I’m not letting you watch Jason’s place so you can invite a bunch of your friends. Give me a break.”
“Seriously? I’m doing you guys a favor here. The least you could do is let me have a few friends over.”
“Forget it. But I’ll bring you a souvenir from the honeymoon.” I stood up and carried my plate to the sink, shaking my head at Ashlee. I could only imagine how many parties she and Brittany would try to have once I moved out. “Hey,” I called to her, “when management evicts you, don’t even think about asking to move in with Jason and me.”
Ashlee scrunched up her nose. “As if. That would be almost as bad as moving back in with Mom.” She touched her bottom lip with her index finger. “Although, didn’t you tell me he has a spare room?”
Sheesh. I shouldn’t have brought it up.
I wiped down the counters, made sure I’d put away all the sandwich makings, and said good-bye to Ashlee. She gave me a thumbs-up in return. I headed out the door for work.
Rain drummed steadily on my car’s roof as I drove down the highway, and I started thinking up alternate plans for the ceremony. If we moved all the tables to one side, we might be able to squeeze all the guests into the dining room. Otherwise the lobby was another option, although that space was even smaller. I blew out a breath. Man, I hoped this rain was only temporary.
Once at the farm, I parked in front of the main house and hurried through the lobby door. Gordon stood at the reservation desk, crossing off something on his clipboard. Based on his satisfied smile, he’d had a productive morning.
“How’s it going?” I asked.
He paused. “No guest complaints today, which is always a good sign.”
“How could there be, with you running the show?”
He looked up, probably wondering if I was mocking him. When he saw I was being sincere, he went back to his clipboard. “That reminds me . . .” He lifted up the paper he’d been working on and scanned the one underneath. “This is coming along pretty well. Know any words that rhyme with reliable?”
Man, he’d better not be working on my wedding toast. “How about certifiable?” I said.
He looked up at the ceiling, considering. “That won’t work, but I’ll think of something else.”
I glanced toward the parking lot, but no cars had pulled in. I turned to Gordon. “I’m expecting someone to stop by here in a while. Could you let me know when she arrives please? Her name is Violet.”
“I can do that. I’m assuming she won�
�t interfere with your work duties.”
Same old Gordon. At least he was reliable. Maybe even certifiable. “She won’t.” I went down the hall and into the office, where I typed up the day’s blog and posted it to the farm’s Web site.
As I turned my attention to the handful of e-mails waiting for me, Esther walked past the office, reminding me that I wanted to ask her a question. I hurried to the doorway and called after her, “Esther, do you have a minute?”
She stopped and came back to where I stood. “What is it?”
“I was thinking about the decorating I need to do on the patio for my wedding. I realize it’s not until Saturday afternoon, but would you mind if I started decorating the patio tomorrow? I know we’ll have a few guests checking in, but I’d be sure to keep out of their way.”
“Of course I don’t mind. I’m sure you have a million other things to take care of on your wedding day.”
I nodded. “Exactly what I was thinking. The more I can check off my to-do list ahead of time, the better I’ll feel.”
Esther patted my shoulder. “The whole day will be right as rain, just so long as it doesn’t really rain.” I must have looked as panicked as I felt because Esther hurriedly added, “Not that there’s a possibility. It’s California, after all. The forecast always calls for blue skies and sunshine. I’m sure this storm won’t last.” She sighed. “What a weekend. A wedding one day and a memorial service the next.”
For a second, I wondered who died, but then I realized she must be talking about Bethany. While I had no reason to go to her service, other than to snoop around, I imagined Esther would. She and Bethany had known each other for years.
Esther pursed her lips. “I didn’t mean to cast a cloud over your special day. I shouldn’t have mentioned Bethany’s service.”
“That’s all right. Is Violet arranging everything?”
“As far as I know, although it’s an awfully big job for one person. That’s why every member of my Bunco group is bringing a casserole or dessert to the gathering after the service.”
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