African Violet Club Mystery Collection

by Elise M Stone

  Lilliana edged her hands to the right side of her pot, where somehow a bulge of clay had developed. As soon as she tamed that section, she realized the left side had a similar deformity. What she was creating seemed more like a mutant snake than the component to a work of art.

  Her glance toward Pieter on her left turned into an envious stare, and she lifted her hands off the clay. Pieter had already formed a coil about three rows high and was expertly scraping the surface into the base of a bowl.

  “You’ve done this before.” It was a statement, not a question.

  Pieter looked up at her. “Yah, I have. It was something to do to pass the time during the long Wisconsin winters. Besides”—he grinned before continuing—“the kiln kept the back porch warm enough to sit on and watch the snow fall.”

  His description conjured up a cozy Currier and Ives picture in her mind. Not that she had any intention of ever being in a place where she could regularly watch snow fall again, mind you. She’d grown too used to the heat of Arizona, her blood thinned so that even seventy degrees sometimes felt cold.

  “Of course, I didn’t need extra heat on the ranch.” A wistful look settled in his eyes, and his hands stopped molding the clay, hovered in the air for several seconds before he resumed scraping his pot.

  “Ranch?” Lilliana asked.

  Pieter kept his eyes on his creation.

  She assumed he hadn’t heard her question and went back to rolling her clay. When she had a relatively uniform length, she wrapped it into a somewhat lopsided circle. She pushed it with her fingers until it stood a little straighter, then picked up the scraper. As she pushed against the inside wall, the pot bowed out so far that the middle coil protruded between the other layers. She tried to push it back into place, but only succeeded in shifting more of the clay out of round.

  She gave a loud sigh. She knew it was loud, because Pieter looked up from his work.

  “Watch me,” he said. He dipped his fingers in a bowl of water sitting between them and stroked them against the side of his pot. “You have to keep the clay moist. Not too wet, or it will sag. Not too dry or it will crack.”

  Pieter picked up the scraper and held it against the inside of his project with the fingers of his opposite hand pressing along the outside. “You have to give it equal pressure from both sides to keep the shape. Work slowly so you can feel if things are going wrong.”

  Lilliana felt dismayed. Making pottery appeared to be more complicated than she’d thought. “I don’t think I can do that like you do.”

  “Sure you can. It yust takes practice. Squeeze your clay back into a ball. It’s almost impossible to fix a pot that’s out of shape. Easier to start over with a fresh coil.”

  She did as he said, dismantling all the progress she’d made, and pushing the coil back into a sphere. It resisted her efforts.

  “Use the water,” Pieter encouraged.

  She did as Pieter had, dipping her fingers in the water, then massaging the clay. Pieter was right. The clay was a lot more cooperative now. She looked up at him as she picked up the scraper again. He gave her an encouraging nod. This time, she did a much better job.

  “See, you can do it.” Pieter was smiling at her. While Lilliana had struggled to get past step two, Pieter’s pot was now fully formed.

  “I doubt I’ll ever be as good as you are.” Then an idea came to her. Penny Cameron had said she thought the African violets would sell better if they were in pretty pots. “Do you think you could make more pots than the ones for the class?”

  Pieter’s bushy white eyebrows arched in a questioning look, the lowered in concentration. “I might. I’d have to get permission to use the kiln outside of class hours. And I’d have to buy my own clay and paints and glazes. That could be expensive.”

  “But what if someone paid you for the pots?” she asked. She assumed she could pay Pieter a lot less than Penny Cameron would charge her for the pots in the store.

  “I would enjoy that,” Pieter said. “ My only hobby is raising African violets now, and I don’t have as many plants as you or Frank do. I have plenty of time to fill. I think I’d like to make pottery again. But what would I do with the pots?”

  “Sell them to me.” Lilliana explained her idea, and Pieter seemed agreeable to it. She smiled to herself as she finished shaping her own pot. Handcrafted pots would certainly be a selling point. And a unique advantage over Frank’s plants in the Cameron’s flower shop.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  ONLY a thin strip of sunlight colored the horizon as Lilliana made her way out of her apartment on her way to the cave the next day. Not wanting to take any further chances, she’d been up before dawn—and before Uaine’s arrival—to avoid being seen. She’d skipped her morning cup of Earl Grey and hurried into the desert scrub.

  “Lilliana!” Esmeralda exclaimed once she’d reached the fairies’ domain. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon again.” Esmeralda flicked a glance at Tam Lin, who was seated cross-legged beside her, strumming softly on some kind of instrument. “No new trouble, I hope?”

  She shook her head so Esmeralda would know it wasn’t about Tam Lin this time. “Not that I’ve heard.”

  Esmeralda visibly relaxed.

  “But I have been thinking about our problem. I can’t keep coming here before dawn. For one thing, the more I come, the more likely I am to be seen. For another”—she grimaced—“I really do need my tea in the morning.”

  Esmeralda looked puzzled. “But I thought we agreed on what to do. Uaine is to come to you each morning and see if there is anything you need.”

  “But she might be seen as well,” Lilliana said. “She can’t loiter on my patio every day.”

  “Then what are we to do?” Esmeralda asked.

  “I think I have a solution. I’ll set up one of those fairy gardens I told you about. If I need to talk to you, I’ll raise the flag on the little mailbox the night before. Uaine can fly by early each morning and see if the flag is up. If it is, she can wait for me. If it’s down, she can come back here so she won’t be seen.”

  “That might work,” Esmeralda said.

  “I think it will,” Lilliana agreed. “Now, all I have to do is buy the supplies from the Camerons.”

  “Camerons?” Tam Lin stopped plucking the strings and looked up at her in alarm. “And who might these Camerons be?”

  Apparently, Esmeralda had not told him about the newcomers. “Geoffrey and Penelope Cameron recently arrived in Rainbow Ranch and opened up a flower shop,” Lilliana said. “I warned Esmeralda that they were selling fairy gardens, and all of you should stay away from them because you might be seen.”

  “Warn is right!” Tam Lin said. “The Camerons were the reason me and my troop needed to leave Scotland. I’m sure they followed me.”

  “But why?” Lilliana asked.

  “I think they want to trap us, just like you said,” Tam Lin said. “Think of the money they could get for real fairies in their fairy gardens.”

  “How did they even find you?”

  Tam Lin looked shamefaced. “Well, you see, I might have been a wee bit careless. One time, back in Scotland, Penny Cameron saw me dancing about the heather.”

  “And, knowing you, you teased her in some way,” Esmeralda said disapprovingly.

  “Well, I might have. Just a little,” Tam Lin admitted. “It was a bit of a game, you know. But, after that, she came back with her husband. She kept trying to prove she’d actually seen fairies. They managed to trap old Elphin, but luckily he was able to escape.”

  “Is that when you stopped helping them make the magical biscuits?”

  “How do you know about those?” Tam Lin asked.

  She related the story Penny Cameron had told her, then shook her head. “Maybe we shouldn’t be in contact until the Camerons are gone.”

  “But when will that be?” Esmeralda asked. “If they’ve opened a shop, they’re probably intending on staying.”

  “Maybe the shop won’t be suc
cessful. Maybe they’ll leave town.” Lilliana knew she was grasping at straws. “In the meantime, please, all of you, be careful. Don’t leave the cave unless you need to.”

  “But I will send Uaine each morning,” Esmeralda said. When Lilliana opened her mouth to protest, Esmeralda shook her head. “No, Lilliana. We are friends. We must be able to communicate.”

  CAREFUL as she’d been, apparently it hadn’t been careful enough. Christopher spotted her returning from her visit to the fairies and called out from his patio.

  Trying to act natural, she smiled and altered course to meet him. She didn’t want to seem unfriendly.

  “Some day I’m going to have to join you on one of your morning hikes.” Christopher paused. “If I can get up early enough.”

  “That would be lovely,” Lilliana said. Now that she wasn’t going to be going in the direction of the fairies, it might be nice to have some company. “I don’t usually go this early, but I awoke before the sun and decided to take advantage of that.”

  “Would you like a cup of coffee?” he asked.

  “Thank you, no. I want to change before breakfast. I’ll have my Earl Grey then.” She stressed the name of the tea.

  “Oh, that’s right, you’re a tea drinker. I used to be, but somehow I’ve acquired a taste for coffee. See you at breakfast, then?”

  “Of course.” She turned and hurried back to her apartment, hoping he hadn’t noticed how dirty she was from her crawl in and out of the cave.

  Two hours later, they were strolling down the driveway of the retirement home together, headed into town. When, over breakfast, Lilliana had mentioned she wanted to visit the flower shop, Christopher said he wanted to stop at Pulaski’s and see if they’d gotten in the specialty coffee he’d ordered. Despite her reservations, Lilliana liked to think he also wanted to spend more time with her.

  When they got to the grocery, Christopher asked, “Would you like to come in with me?”

  “You go ahead. I’ll be across the street, picking out pieces for my fairy garden.”

  Christopher entered the grocery while she continued on. Geoff Cameron looked up from the counter as she entered the flower shop.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Wentworth,” he greeted her gruffly. “What can I help you with today?”

  Penny came out from the back of the store. Her eyes were red and teary, but she pushed a smile onto her face at the sight of Lilliana. “Hello, there. Come to check on your inventory?”

  Surprised, Lilliana asked, “Have you sold a plant of mine?”

  Penny’s smile widened. “Two, in fact. I was thinking of calling you this morning, then I realized I don’t have your phone number.”

  “Oh, let me give it to you now.” Penny wrote the number down while Lilliana regretted not calling first. She would have loved to have brought more plants to the store since she was coming into town anyway. “I could bring you some more tomorrow morning. Or this afternoon, if you think I should.”

  “Tomorrow morning would be fine,” Penny said. “It will be too hot later today. In fact, I’m surprised you made the trip. It must be ninety degrees already.”

  “I’m used to it. And I’ve decided that I do want one of your fairy gardens.”

  “I’d be happy to help you with that,” Geoff interjected. “Come with me.”

  Penny’s smile faded. She shrugged at Lilliana once Geoff had passed them, then headed toward the back of the store again.

  Lilliana followed Geoff. She would have preferred to deal with Penny. She found Geoff repugnant.

  “I suppose you’ll want to start with a dish,” Geoff said. “Unless you have something at home in mind to use?”

  “No, I don’t have anything suitable. What about that round red one?” She pointed toward a ceramic dish about twenty inches across. The red wasn’t bright, more like a brick color. She had just the table to set it on on her patio.

  “Excellent choice,” Geoff said.

  She had a feeling he would have said the same no matter which container she chose. She already had in mind the pieces she wanted to put in the garden from her last visit, including the little mailbox. As she pointed at them, Geoff took one of each from stock and piled them inside the dish.

  “So you plan on attracting the little people,” Geoff said. He seemed to be eying her a little too intently for a casual question.

  “Oh, I don’t know that that’s possible.” Lilliana laughed. “There actually have to be fairies in order for you to attract them.”

  “Don’t you believe in fairies?” The question hung between them for a beat. Lilliana felt awkward, as if Geoff already knew the answer and was merely waiting for her to confirm it.

  Penny came through the door to the back again. “Geoff,” she said, “There’s someone on the phone asking about payment for a shipment. I told him we hadn’t gotten the shipment yet, but he insists you signed for it. I think you’d better talk to him.”

  “Excuse me, Mrs. Wentworth. Let me put this on the counter for you. It’s a too heavy to carry around.”

  “I’ll take that,” Christopher said. Lilliana hadn’t heard him come in. She supposed Penny had been talking when the bell over the shop door rang. Geoff gave her selections to Christopher along with the same intent stare with which he’d recently been favoring Lilliana. Geoff didn’t let go of the dish immediately. It was almost as if the two men were having a tug of war. Or wills.

  “Geoff?” Penny said.

  He let go and hurried back to where Lilliana supposed the store’s office was.

  “Are you finished, Lilliana?” Penny asked.

  She shook her head. “I suppose I’ll need some plants if it’s to be a garden. I don’t think my African violets will do very well on the patio. Can you recommend some?”

  “Of course,” Penny said. “Come over this way.” Her feet tapped across the cement floor toward a display of small, green plants. “These are all dwarf varieties. They don’t grow very fast, so you won’t need to prune them very often. You might want to try an English boxwood as a tree.” Penny gestured toward a small variegated leaf plant.

  Lilliana thought the fairies might like that; it might remind them of home more than the mesquite and palo verde of Arizona. “I’ll take one. No, give me two.”

  “Some dwarf mondo grass or moss would make a nice ground cover.” Penny pointed to pots containing those. “Or ajuga.” She pointed to a plant with fleshy green leaves, interspersed with a few purple ones.

  “That’s pretty,” Lilliana said. “I think I’ll take one of those and some moss.”

  Christopher, apparently bored with the discussion of foliage, wandered over to the gift area. This gave Lilliana a chance to speak to Penny privately. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Is something wrong, Penny?”

  Penny started to shake her head, then, with a quick glance in Christopher’s direction, nodded. “It’s Geoff. He’s been disappearing for long periods of time lately. And, well, he hasn’t been as attentive as he used to be, if you know what I mean.”

  She almost asked for clarification, then realized what Penny was referring to. “And?”

  Penny’s whisper became barely audible. “I think he might be having an affair.”

  “Surely not.” Lilliana responded almost as a reflex, then realized Penny had confided in her, genuinely thought there was a problem, and it was uncharitable not to believe her. “Any idea who with?”

  “For a while I thought it was Fox Fordyce. I even followed him one night when he went out. He went into the hotel. A few minutes later, Ms. Fordyce arrived. A while after that, they came out together.” Penny blinked back tears. “But it can’t be her now.”

  “He’s still disappearing?”

  Penny nodded. “Sometimes. I’m not sure where he goes. I’ve been too afraid to follow him again.”

  She could certainly understand why Penny Cameron thought her husband had been having an affair. Perhaps he had. But in light of what Tam Lin had said, he might also be hunting for
fairies. Since Fox Fordyce had lived in Rainbow Ranch for most of her life, perhaps Geoff thought she might know something about them.

  Before the discussion could go any further, Christopher returned. “Are you almost done?” he asked.

  She realized the fairy garden components must be heavy. “Almost,” she said, then quickly asked Penny, “What about something with flowers?”

  Penny looked thoughtful for a minute, then said, “You could add some creeping phlox. This one is a candy stripe—white with pink along the edges of the blooms. But you already have a lot of plants for such a small container. Remember you’re going to need room for the house and the bench and the other things.”

  “Oh, that’s right, isn’t it?” Lilliana had been so intrigued by the furniture and the plants, she’d forgotten there were limitations. In the end, she put back the ajuga and one of the miniature boxwoods. “That should be all right, shouldn’t it?”

  “I think it will be perfect,” Penny said. “Let me check you out.”

  Christopher put his burden on the counter, and Penny added the plants she’d picked out. After Lilliana paid her, Penny asked, “Are you sure you don’t want me to hold these for you until you can come back with a car or something?”

  She thought of the wagon back at her apartment and wished she’d had the foresight to bring it with her. She gave Christopher a questioning look.

  “I think I can handle it,” he said.

  Penny wrapped up the dish in newsprint, put it in one shopping bag, then put all the fairy garden pieces in their boxes in another. She also carefully wrapped the plants and lay them in a third shopping bag, putting strips of cardboard between them and stuffing more newsprint around the edges so the plants wouldn’t tip over. “There, that should work.”

  “I’m sure it will,” Lilliana said. She picked up the bag with the plants while Christopher grabbed the other two.

  “Ready?” Christopher asked.

  “I think so,” Lilliana responded.