Drowning in Dahlias (Lily Bloom Cozy Mystery Series Book 4)

by Lyndsey Cole

  “Did you tell the police about this?”

  Nicole shook her head. “I’m not fond of authority figures. I’m telling you since you seem to be friends with the police chief. You can tell him.”

  “He’ll need to hear it from you, too. Surely there were other ways for Gwen to get around your mother from stopping the library. Murder seems extremely drastic. Was there anything else between the two of them?”

  Nicole looked down as she fiddled with her red curls. “Maybe,” she started, then paused before looking back up at Lily. “I think Gwen is in love with my father.”

  “Wow. This is a lot to digest.” Lily patted Nicole’s arm. “Thank you for telling me. Seeing your mother dead on the floor has been haunting me. I can’t get the image out of my head and I need to know who did it before I can move on.”

  Nicole turned and headed toward the door.

  Lily made a quick decision. “Nicole? Who were you with last night at the restaurant? He seemed to be quite fond of you.”

  Lily noticed Nicole’s shoulders tense as she stopped and replied with her back still toward Lily. “Just a friend.” Then she was out the door.

  After the door slammed closed, Daisy came out of the back room where she had been listening to the conversation. She looked at Lily and rolled her eyes. “What an actress. Did she manage to squeeze a few tears out, too?”

  “You don’t believe her?”

  “Are you serious Lily? You took that hook, line and sinker?”

  Lily shrugged. “It could be the truth.”

  “Why is she all of a sudden confiding in you after treating you like the scum of the earth every other time you’ve seen her?”

  “That’s a good point. Do you think she’s the murderer?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t think you should get sucked in by that acting,” Daisy cautioned.

  Lily slumped down into her chair. “I think I want to believe her. Whenever I go over all the facts in my head, Gwen always seems to come out on top of the suspect list.” She jumped up from her chair and grabbed her tote. “I almost forgot about this.” Lily dug around in her tote and held up the flash drive. “Gwen dropped this on the counter when she paid me this morning.”

  Daisy took it. “What’s on it?”

  “I don’t know. When Ryan came in, I threw it in my tote and just remembered it now. I was planning to give it back to her when I deliver the flowers. Should we look at it?”

  “What’s with you today Lily? Of course we should look at it. Maybe there’s a clue or confession or at least something interesting here.” Daisy went into the office, waking up Rosie from her late morning nap, and stuck it into Lily’s computer. “We’ll know soon enough.”

  Lily leaned over Daisy’s shoulder, staring at the computer screen. “That’s interesting. Noah Lyman’s missing manuscripts. She must have scanned them and copied them onto this flash drive.”

  “I’ll copy all this so you can take it back and she’ll never know we have this information.”

  Lily looked at the time. “When you’re done, I need to deliver the flowers. When I’m gone, look through those titles and see if anything interesting jumps out at you.”

  Lily took the flash drive and got the flowers out of the cooler. “Want to go for a ride with me, Rosie?” Rosie jumped up, always ready for anything, and they headed to the Lyman Estate. I wonder if Gwen has even missed the flash drive yet. What if she thinks I looked at the information?

  She drove through the gate up the winding quiet driveway. Lily didn’t see any other cars parked in the front. Walter must need a lot of people to take care of the lawns, gardens and pool. Then there’s the inside help. Geesh, is it worth it to have all this space? She looked at Rosie. “They don’t even have a bunch of dogs to enjoy this space. That’s the first thing I’d do if I lived here. At least a half dozen. Wouldn’t that be fun?”

  Rosie woofed her agreement.

  Gwen opened the front door. “What a coincidence. I was just thinking about you, Lily. Come in.”

  Lily followed Gwen into the massive entryway with the bouquet of flowers. Gwen continued to the right, toward the sunroom. She handed Lily a vase. “Can you get some water and put the flowers in this?”

  Lily was feeling like one of the servants, but she’d had stranger requests. This wasn’t too bad in the big scheme of things. She remembered where the bathroom was and got water for the flowers. When she returned, Gwen was sitting on the couch with a tray in front of her. Lily looked around at all the flowers that she had delivered the day before and started to have an eerie feeling about the delivery she was making.

  “Bring the flowers over here. Do you have time to sit and have a cup of tea with me?”

  Was Gwen lonely? Did she buy flowers as an excuse to get some company? “I have a few minutes. Tea sounds nice.” Lily sat down across from Gwen, adrenaline pumping, keeping her on high alert.

  “The flowers are lovely. I’m sure they will put a smile on Walter’s face.” Gwen poured tea and handed a cup to Lily. “I misplaced something this morning. Did you happen to find anything in your shop after I left?” Gwen sipped her tea and watched Lily carefully.

  “What did you lose?”

  “Something fell out of my purse, but it’s not important.”

  Lily reached into her tote. “Is this yours?” She held up the flash drive.

  “You did find it.” Gwen smiled and took it from Lily. “There’s a lot of important information on this.” She looked out the French doors with her hand resting on her chin. Turning back to Lily, she said, “I suppose you know now.”

  “Know what?”

  “Don’t play cute, Lily. I know you’re a smart and curious girl. Are you trying to make me believe you didn’t look at what’s on this?” Gwen held up the flash drive. Her face had turned into an ugly sneer.

  The only sound was the water splashing from the fountain in the corner. Lily put on her poker face, her heart pounding like it would break free of her body. She didn’t want to give anything away and she didn’t want Gwen to know she was starting to feeling trapped. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Gwen cackled. “You must have figured out that it was me.”

  “You?”

  “Stop playing dumb. I killed Harriet. I couldn’t let her block the new library. The legacy for Noah Lyman.”

  Lily put her cup on the table. “You? Why? There must have been other ways to stop her.”

  “I ran out of time to go the legal route. She was buying the land out from under the town’s offer.”

  “Didn’t you try to make her see the benefit the library would have for Misty Valley and everyone here?”

  At first Gwen looked shocked at Lily’s comments, then burst out laughing. “You’re kidding, right? That opinionated, self-centered shrew? She didn’t care about anyone but herself. And with the money she had, she could always manipulate events to get the outcome she wanted.” Gwen reached between the cushions of the pillow and pulled out a gun. “I think it’s time we take a little walk. Get up,” she ordered.

  Lily got to her feet, scanning the room for an escape route or a weapon. Lots of heavy objects that she could use to knock Gwen senseless, but she would have to wait for the right moment.

  “What are you going to do? Kill me too? You’ll never get away with that. Think about it. And Kristy would have no one.”

  “Get moving.”

  Chapter 16

  Gwen followed closely behind Lily. Lily could feel the hard metal pressing into her back. She could hear Gwen’s labored breathing. Patience, she told herself, Gwen will get distracted and then I can make my move. I’m stronger than Gwen and in much better shape. I have to outwit her.

  “Your conscience must have been bothering you to confess to me. No one has any proof that you’re the murderer. Conscience is a funny thing, isn’t it?” Lily asked Gwen.

  Lily looked around the enormous rooms they walked by, at all the beautiful antiques and painting
s. Everything spotless, immaculate, shiny. Who lives like this?

  “My conscience is fine. Go up these stairs.”

  They were in the back of the estate, climbing what Lily assumed were the servants’ stairs. “Doesn’t it take a lot of help to keep this place looking like a museum?”

  Gwen chuckled. “Nice try. Walter does have a lot of help but I gave them all the day off. Just in case.”

  “In case of what, Gwen?”

  “In case you did have the flash drive and figured out the mystery.”

  “Where’s Walter?”

  “He went to visit that busy body friend of his, Tamara something-or-other. I don’t know how he can stand her. She’s always poking her nose in everyone’s business and she’s loud and clueless. On the other hand, I’ve been a little worried about the time he spends with your mother.”

  They got to the top of the stairs and Gwen pointed to a room at the end of the hall.

  “My mother?”

  “I think he has a little crush on her. I’ve got to get her out of the picture.”

  “What picture? They’re just friends.”

  “That’s what it has been, but with Harriet gone I think Walter has other ideas. He’s always told me how much he admires Iris. How they’ve been friends since they were kids. Iris this and Iris that. Why do you think he buys so many flowers from you?”

  Lily stopped walking. This was information that completely caught her by surprise.

  “Shocked aren’t you? He hopes to run into her at your shop. I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do about that yet.”

  Lily felt the panic rising in her. “Have you figured out what you’re going to do about me?”

  “Go into that room. For now, you’ll be comfortable here. Enjoy it while you can, Walter will be back soon and I have to wait until I can send him on another errand.” Gwen shoved Lily into the room and slammed the door. Lily heard the lock click.

  She waited a few minutes and tried the door just in case, but it was locked good and tight. She pushed and pulled on the door, but nothing. No weakness. She looked around the rest of the room. It was small and tidy. A twin bed, dresser, closet, throw rug and a chair. A painting of a young girl cuddling a puppy. Cozy under a different circumstance, she thought. The room had two small windows but when she looked out, it was a long way down. As she considered her options, she saw Daisy’s car driving up the driveway. She pushed the window open as far as it would go and leaned out waving and shouting.

  Suddenly, she was pulled back into the room and the window was slammed shut. “Nice try. Now I’ll have to gag you and tie you to the chair. Don’t worry, it won’t be long before I can deal with you.” Gwen laughed her evil laugh and proceeded to tie Lily up.

  Gwen suddenly stopped. Footsteps were coming down the hallway. Kristy kicked the door open and pulled Daisy into the room. They both took in the scene. Daisy blanched and Kristy frowned. “What’s going on here, Mom?

  Gwen sat on the bed, trying to catch her breath. “I have a small problem.” She looked at Daisy. “And it just got bigger. Why are you here?”

  Daisy had to think quickly. “I had to get ahold of Lily and she wasn’t answering her phone. Ya know, she’s always losing things and I decided it would be easier to just drive out here and see if I could catch her before she left.”

  “Too bad for you. Not your best decision today.”

  Lily couldn’t keep silent any longer. She gave Daisy a sharp look and tiny shake of her head hoping she would understand that Lily didn’t want her to say anything. She looked at Kristy. “I found your mother’s flash drive and she’s worried that I know something.”

  Gwen stood up again. “That’s a moot point now. I already confessed to you, so you, and now your sister, will have to be taken care of.” Gwen picked up her gun again.

  Lily suddenly had an idea. “I’m a curious person. You’ve probably figured that much out by now. One thing has been bothering me. How did you kill Harriet? The murder weapon was never found.”

  Gwen waved that detail away. “Have you noticed everything in this place? I just grabbed one of her precious antique vases and gave her a good whack, then threw it in the dumpster.” Gwen gestured with her arm, making a quick swipe through the air in a bashing motion.

  Lily forced herself to sound calm. “Really. That’s interesting. It wasn’t a vase that killed her.” Lily kept her eyes glued to Gwen’s face as the color drained away, almost forgetting the others in the room.

  Kristy’s voice startled Lily. “What are you doing, Mom? No one knew. Now you blew it.”

  Gwen stuttered. “I was just trying to protect you. I’d do anything for you.”

  Kristy walked slowly into the room and stood in front of Gwen and Lily. “You seem to know something, Lily. What was the murder weapon?”

  “The perfect weapon. You almost got away with murder, didn’t you? If your mother didn’t feel she needed to protect you by making a false confession, you could have pulled it off.” Their eyes locked.

  Gwen reached for Kristy. “What are you two talking about?”

  Lily answered without looking away from Kristy. “The ice bowl. The perfect weapon once it melts.”

  Kristy smiled. “Yes. I thought so, too. Do you know where I got the idea?” She took the gun from her mother who sat, defeated, on the bed.

  Lily shook her head. A cold sweat seeping through her.

  “You didn’t look at the flash drive, did you?”

  Lily shook her head again, thinking to herself that she hoped Daisy had scoured that flash drive, found the clue and called the police before she drove out here.

  Kristy talked and waved the gun she was holding. “Hmmmm. I’ll fill you in. It’s nice to finally talk about this to someone. I got the idea from one of Noah Lyman’s unpublished manuscripts. Real life copying fiction. Brilliant, really. And you know what else?” Kristy didn’t even wait for a response from Lily, it was like she was talking to herself. “He was my father. I couldn’t let Harriet block the new library. His legacy. His dream. My future.”

  Gwen stood up. “Stop it Kristy. Don’t say these things out loud.”

  Kristy laughed. “You’ve kept this secret all these years. Why? I want people to know. Noah Lyman was my father.” She yelled at the top of her lungs. “The fact that he didn’t want anything to do with me; that will tarnish his mystical reputation. Well, I don’t care. I’m his heir. I should be living in this estate. I want the royalties from his books. I want to look out of the sunroom at the view of the new library.”

  Gwen put her head in her hands, tears streaming down her face. She wiped them away and looked up at her daughter. “I didn’t want to lose you to all this. I wanted to protect you from the whispering and scandals.”

  “Oh shut up, Mom. You stay here. I’m running the show now.” Kristy waved the gun. “Let’s go you two, I don’t want to make a bloody mess in here.”

  Chapter 17

  Lily slowly got up, wracking her brain for some great idea to get herself out of this mess. Nothing. A big blank. Kristy pointed to the hallway leading to the stairs. Lily walked slowly with Daisy by her side. Usually they were pretty good at reading each other’s thoughts. All Lily was reading was fear. Raw, gut wrenching fear she could taste. And she didn’t like the flavor.

  “What’s your plan for us Kristy?”

  “No talking. Just head to the front of the house and keep going.”

  Lily searched for any type of weapon, but with Kristy’s gun rammed in her back she didn’t dare reach for anything.

  Daisy glanced at her and winked. What was she thinking? Lily giggled.

  Kristy pushed the barrel of the gun harder into Lily’s back. “You think this is a joke? You think this is funny?”

  “Not ha-ha funny but laughing helps relieve some of the tension. And all the tension is making me have to pee. Could we take a pit stop at the bathroom?” Lily asked as they walked toward the front door.

  Another jab of the gu
n was all the answer Lily got to that request. “I guess that’s a no.”

  They stepped through the massive front door into the bright sunshine. All Lily could imagine was that they were getting one step at a time closer to their deaths. Her heart was pounding. She felt sweat streaming down her face. Her shirt was clinging to her skin. She thought she might faint as she walked across the hot driveway. She forced herself to breathe. In out, in out. A little farther and she would be on the grass. That was when she heard a low rumbling growl and she turned her head around. A shot of adrenaline surged through her limbs. Everything tingled.

  Kristy jumped and looked at Rosie’s bared teeth inches from her calf. “Where did that mutt come from?”

  The moment Kristy looked away gave Lily the opportunity she was hoping for. She brought her arm down on Kristy’s wrist, knocking the gun to the ground. In a flash, she had the gun turned on Kristy. “Are you okay Daisy?”

  “Now I am. That was a quick reaction.”

  “Good girl, Rosie.” Keeping a steady watch on Kristy and the gun pointed at her, Lily explained, “This amazing mutt jumped out of my car window. She knew you were planning to hurt us.” Lily patted her leg, calling Rosie to stand next to her. Rosie’s eyes never left Kristy and she continued her low deep rumble.

  “I wouldn’t try anything if I were you, Kristy. Believe me, Rosie means business. By the way, was this in one of Noah Lyman’s books, too? Maybe the one titled, Maimed by the Mutt?” Lily laughed and patted Rosie’s head.

  They heard sirens in the distance and hoped they were on their way to the Lyman Estate. She wasn’t sure if her shaky legs would make it back to the sunroom to get her phone. The sirens were getting closer. She felt pure relief when she saw Ryan’s police cruiser pull up next to her, with Iris right behind.

  Gwen came running from the house, shock, then horror taking over her face when she took in the scene. She fainted, sprawled on her back like a kid making a snow angel. Lily couldn’t help but feel some pity for Gwen. All Gwen wanted was to keep her daughter safe. Any parent’s goal, Lily assumed. Now she would lose the one thing that mattered the most to her.