Lyndsey Cole - Lily Bloom 02 - Queen of Poison (8 page)

Once again, Lily was looking up at faces staring down at her. But at least she was on something soft with a warm tongue licking her cheek. She moved her hand to pat Rosie.

“Lily, c
an you hear me?” Lily registered the sensations of Iris gently stroking her arm while Rosie licked her face.

“What happened?” s
he asked as she tried to sit up.

“Oh no you don’t. You got up to
o soon after that whacking. You have to stay right here until tomorrow. I’ve got Rosie on guard and I’m staying with you tonight.”

Lily was relieved to let her body relax back into the soft cushions of her couch.
Her eyes moved around the room—Iris, Daisy, Marigold, Nina, Ryan, Jennifer and Katie were all watching her.

Katie ran over, putting her head between Lily and Rosie. “Are you okay? Can I
see your booboo?” she asked as only a five year old would.

Lily smiled and turned her head for Katie’s inspection. Rosie immediately licked it clea
n of dried blood. “That’s gross,” Katie squealed, watching Rosie.

Jennifer gently took Katie’s hand. “Time for bed. I said we’d wait till Lily woke up. You can visit again tomorrow.”

Spontaneously, Katie hugged Lily and kissed her cheek. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Lily watched them leave. “What happened? I can’t remember anything except someone pointing at me.”

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. You need to get some sleep.” Iris covered her with a blanket and shooed everyone out the door.

Lily drifted into a restless sleep. She was trying to run away from someone but couldn’t move. There was always someone hiding around every corner but never a face to see who it was. Finally, she opened her eyes to see the sun streaming in the window. That made all the ghosts in her head evaporate.

Iris helped her sit up and gave her a steaming hot cup of tea. “Let’s start with this before you try to get up. You’ve got a bump on your head the size of an extra-large egg.”

Lily sipped the tea. It felt hot and good, warming her from the inside out. “What happened?”

“Do you remember anything?”

Lily thought. “We were at the museum. I remember being in that office with Daisy.
Something happened but I don’t remember.”

The back door opened and a deep cheery voice yelled a hello. The delicious aroma of
muffins straight from the oven hit Lily’s nose and she instinctively sucked in her gut, remembering her vow to cut out carbs.
Oh well
, she thought,
one more day before starting to work on the muffin top won’t make a difference.

Ryan walked in with Katie dancing by his side. “Jennifer made you some muffins if you feel up to eating anything.”

“Smells scrumptious. You bet I’ll eat one, maybe even two, before I go to work.”

Iris and Ryan both frowned at her.

“What? I’m feeling good. I can’t just sit around here all day, I’ll go crazy.”

Ryan looked at Iris. “I have to go to work. I’ll let you deal with your stubborn daughter. Come on Katie. Jennifer is taking you to the playground today.”

Iris grinned at Lily. “You can stop sucking in your gut now. You certainly weren’t doing it to impress me.”

“What? You could tell?”

“If Marigold was here, she would have been able to tell. Listen, honey, just be yourself. You’re much more interesting with all your imperfections. Perfect is not remarkable.”

“I was just
trying to be perfect like you, Mom.” Lily managed to keep a straight face for about three seconds, then they both howled with laughter. “Are you coming to the shop with me to make sure I don’t overdo it?”

“Do I need to?” Iris asked with a
your-mother-knows-best look.

“Nope.
I promise to take it easy and Daisy will be there to help.”

Lily savored every crumb of the muffins, even licking her fingers. “Ryan is gonna get fat if Jennifer stays with him. She’s a great cook and she seems to like it too. I hope she always makes enough for me.”

“Go take a shower. See how that goes and then decide about going to work.”

The hot water pelting on her felt like it was washing all the fear away. She couldn’t put her finger on what was making her feel fearful but there was something lurking in the background. She still couldn’t remember what happened at the museum. Something happened and it had seeped into her dreams.
Was someone out to get her? Work was the best remedy to clear her head.

Dressed in her
usual uniform of jeans and a t-shirt, she was good to go. “I’m ready. Feeling like a new me.”

Iris was skeptical but Lily was a big girl and she could learn the hard way if that was the way she wanted it. “
Let’s go. Do you want me to carry anything for you?”

“All I need is my tote. It should be here someplace but I can’t find it. Not that important, maybe I left it at the shop.”

Lily walked into chaos at her shop. Besides the phone ringing, customers lined up and Daisy furiously wrapping flowers, she inhaled the sweet scent of the flowers which always helped her feel better. This was her sanctuary whether it was hectic or quiet. Daisy looked up when the door jingled. “I’ve never been happier to see you, Lily. Get the phone, I’ll take care of these customers.” So much for a moment of reflection.

Lily jotted down the phone order and saw the list already waiting to get done.
She hurried to the design area to get going on the list of orders. Jack, who was managing the local greenhouse, walked in the back door with buckets of flowers. “Where do you want these Lily? I’ve got snapdragons, alstroemeria, hybrid delphinium, dianthus and hosta leaves.”

“Perfect timing. Put them wherever you can find room. I’ll process them when I have time. Everything’s in water already?”

“You bet. How are you feeling? I heard you got whacked last night.”

Lily grinned. “
I’m feeling pretty good, thanks for asking. News sure does travel fast in this town. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, you do have a direct link to Tamara and everyone knows how she likes to share news.”

Jack nodded. “About as fast as a pat of butter melting on a hot griddle. Let me know if you need anything else.
”

“With the look of these orders, I’ll need another delivery later in the week.”

Lily finished up a couple of arrangements and put them in the cooler along with the ones Daisy had already made.

The rest of the day flew by without much peace and quiet. Lily and Daisy worked well together, anticipating what needed to get done or
knowing when another pair of hands was needed to hold something. Lily knew she was lucky to have Daisy around and didn’t know what she would do if Daisy decided on a different career. Lily was even thinking of expanding the flower shop and adding specialty chocolates so Daisy could have her own space. She didn’t have the money yet for an expansion, but if business kept going at this pace it wouldn’t be long.

Daisy flopped into the chair, picking up Sweet Pea and stroking her soft fur. “This was one long and busy day. I’m glad you weren’t completely incapacitat
ed or I would have had to have Mom help.” They both rolled their eyes. Iris was great, but they both preferred not to work with her.

“Don’t worry. I never plan to put you through that.”

The door that had actually been quiet for the past half hour jingled and Daisy groaned. Lily peeked out front. “It’s just Ryan.”

“What do you mean, ‘just Ryan’?” she teased. “Maybe it’s time for me to head home. Can you finish up?”

Lily looked at the clock, shocked to see it was almost five. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll make a few deliveries and then close up.” She hugged Daisy. “Thanks. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“I know.” Daisy
was twinkling from the compliment, said hi to Ryan and left the shop.

Lily looked over to see Ryan casually leaning in the doorway to the design room, arms crossed and trying not to smile. She could see the edges of his mouth twitch just enough for her to know he was on the edge of a big toothy grin but was going to say something serious instead. She waited.

“Why did you go down the hall last night? Who were you following?”

Lily scrunched her face in deep concentration. “I don’t remember.”

“Come on Lily. This isn’t a game. What were you and Nina doing?”

“Ryan. I really don’t remember anything from last night except being in the office and someone pointing at me.”

His face got serious. “I thought you were just trying to avoid answering my question.”

“I wish that was the case. I tried to remember. I
had bad dreams all last night—someone chasing me, but I could never see a face.”

Ryan picked up Sweet Pea and sat in the chair, letting the cat get comfortable in his lap. “Something will trigger the memory. Are you almost done?”

“I have to make a few more deliveries, then close up. Why?”

“Nina is stopping at my house later to show me the photos on her two cameras. Come on over, maybe that will trigger something.”

“Okay. Will there be food?”

“Probably. Jennifer loves to cook. I’ll miss that when she finds her own apartment.”

“You’re a rotten brother. You’ll miss her cooking but not her?”

He laughed. “Of course I’ll miss Jennifer and Katie and the kitten I got as a surprise for Katie.”

“Really? She’ll be thrilled.”

He stood up. “See you later?”

“I’ll come for the food and your sister’s company,” she teased.

Ryan walked over to Lily. “I’ll give you something else to miss.” He put his arms gently around her waist and pulled her close. She could feel his heart be
ating through his shirt.  The rhythm of the beat matched hers. She could get lost in his arms. “This is part one. If you’re nice to me, you might get part two.” He sighed and let her go.

Lily loaded the flowers into her van and got everything delivered in record time. She wanted part two from Ryan Steele.

Back at the shop she had to feed Sweet Pea, check the cooler and lock up. Her mind was already back in Ryan’s arms when she walked in the back door of the shop.

“It’s about time you got back here. I almost gave up.”

Lily’s blood ran cold at the sound of that voice. The voice was the trigger unlocking her memories of the night before.

“Jared. What can I do for you?”

He held up her quilted tote. “You forgot this at the museum. I thought you might need it and the file you stole from my mother’s desk. Interesting choice you made with that file.”

Time seemed to stop as Lily watched Jared’s mouth move. She thought it was odd and funny at the same time how she noticed everything in such vivid detail. His wrinkled khaki pants, worn at the bottom because he never bothered to get them hemmed to the proper length.
His belt fastened in the third hole. The light blue oxford shirt buttoned right to the top.
Who buttons the top button?
His straight sandy blond hair hanging over his eyebrows between his eyes and his glasses.
That must be weird to see your own hair in front of everything.
His glasses with a fingerprint smudge on the left lens. The spotty stubble on his face.
He couldn’t grow a beard if he tried, it would just be a patchy mess.
Back to his mouth that hadn’t stopped moving while these thoughts ran through her head.

“I brought you something.”

Lily’s ears really perked up. “What did you bring?”

“Some cookies I made. Would you like to try one?”

Alarm bells blared in her head
. Eat something he brought? Not over my dead body. Well, that’s not the best choice of words since dead is probably his intention.
“Not right now. They do look delicious.  Can I save it for later?”

“Nice try. Eat it now.”

Lily took a cookie. She needed to get him talking again and she needed to pay attention to the words.
Stroke him, flatter him, boost his ego, anything to kill—oops, another bad choice of words—the time.
“Tell me more about your plans for the museum. Have you thought about working with local artists?”

“
What local artists? There’s just a bunch of hacks in this red neck town.”

“I think you’d be surprised. There’s actually a lot of talent.”

He pushed the hair out of his eyes. “I’ll ask the questions. How did you figure out about Kirk and Brandy?”

Lily forced herself to look relaxed on the outside. “Maggie hinted at it.”

“That traitor. I knew I couldn’t trust her. I was hoping to get her locked up when I ditched the painting behind the museum for her to find. She always needs money for that drug habit and I was sick of supporting it.”

Lily
risked asking a question. “What about the stolen antiques that ended up at Uncommon Antiques?”

“Brilliant wasn’t it? Made it look like Maggie again. She must have a guardian angel or something since she’s always walking into trouble but hasn’t gotten caught yet. And it certainly embarrassed Kirk.”

Lily watched Sweet Pea getting ready to jump into Jared’s lap. She wasn’t sure how he would respond to that. Sweet Pea took the leap and curled up. Jared stroked her soft fur. “Nice cat. I do like cats. They’re independent and sneaky,” he said with a glint in his eye.

“How did you get Kirk to keep making Ruth look like the murderer?”

He smiled an evil smile. “Another brilliant move. Blackmail to keep his fake daughter a secret and I knew he wanted to be director. I planted those ideas and told him if he spread the information, I would put in a good word with my mother for him. I didn’t plan on you going back to the museum after Marion died, but that took care of itself. Never hurts to have a couple of suspects—one for each dead body.”

Lily was desperate to keep him rambling. “I see your cleverness. You thought of everything.”

He relaxed back in the chair while Sweet Pea purred away.
Traitor
, Lily thought, looking at her cat.

“You know what the best part is?”

“It sounds like you can’t wait to tell me.”

He leaned toward Lily. “You stole the file with all the information ab
out the monkshood and how it’s poisonous.” He sat back satisfied with that nugget.

Lily looked confused.

Sitting forward again, he glared at her. “Are you stupid? Do I have to spell everything out for you? Your fingerprints are all over it. It’s here in your tote. Now, once you eat that cookie and you’re dead in your shop, people will just think you died from that concussion on your head. And the file is the evidence pointing to you as the murderer. I was disappointed that the whack didn’t kill you last night but it’s actually working out better this way. Everyone will say, ‘That Lily Bloom, she got just what she deserves.’”

Lily was getting more and more worried as he slipped farther into his warped delusional world. He actually seemed to think that everyone else would only see his conclusions and not any other more rational possibility. This did not bode well for her.

Sweet Pea jumped off his lap and stood by the back door. Lily looked at her and then at Jared. “She needs to go out.”

“I’ll let her out. No point in having
her be traumatized watching you die. We’re about to the end of this conversation.”

Jared turned the doorknob. As the door opened a fraction, a white blur charged in knocking the unsuspecting Jared Nash to the floor. Rosie stood on his chest, baring her teeth and snarling right in his face.

He tried to protect himself but Rosie grabbed his arm, clamping down until he stopped struggling.

Lily was stunned for about two seconds before she grabbed her phone and dialed 911.

Police cars arrived in what seemed like seconds. Ryan handcuffed Jared and turned him over to his deputy.

Ryan
took a long look at Lily, then wrapped his arms around her, asking if she was okay.

“Perfect
now,” she whispered.

He added before releasing her, “We have to stop meeting like this.”

Lily never felt better as she let Rosie jump up and give a doggie kiss.

Iris rushed in with Daisy. “
We leave you out of our sight for two shakes of a lamb’s tail and you almost get yourself killed?”

Lily sank into the chair, her legs suddenly going all wobbly. “How did Rosie know?”

Iris patted Rosie. “I let her out when I got to your house to check how you were doing. She didn’t even stop to pee. She just took off. I wasn’t sure where she was going but I had a pretty good idea that she knew you needed help. How did she get into the shop?”

“Sweet Pea went to the door. I think she sensed that Rosie was waiting to come in. Jared opened the door to let Sweet Pea out and Lily crashed in like a bull.”

Tears were streaming down Lily’s cheeks from all the stress she just went through and the relief that it was over. Rosie’s head was happily resting on Lily’s lap. “This dog doesn’t even know how special she is. I wish I could clone her.”

Ryan asked Lily if she felt up to giving a statement.

“Yes. I think I need to get this out of my head now so I can move on to something more pleasant. And don’t forget to take that cookie as evidence. I’m pretty sure he was planning to poison me the same way he poisoned his aunt.”

Ryan pulled up a chair. “We can do it here
if that’s easier than going to the station.”

Lily looked around at her beautiful shop. “No. I’ve been here long enough for one day. Let’s go. Can Rosie stay with me?”

Ryan hesitated, then saw the urgency in Lily’s eyes. “Sure. We can make an exception this time. Besides, I don’t think she’ll let you out of her sight for a while.”

Ryan took Lily and Rosie to the station to get that wrapped up.

“I bet you’re starving. Jennifer said she would save some food for us. What do you think?”

Lily yawned. “Some food and a good night
’s sleep.”

Katie was still up, waiting to see Lily and Rosie
when they finally made it home. “Look what Uncle Ryan gave me,” she sang out when they walked in as she held up a tiny black kitten.

Rosie sniffed the kitten all over
, then licked his face. The kitten batted his paws at Rosie’s face. Lily crouched down. “He’s adorable. Did you name him yet?”

Katie grinned from ear to ear. “His name is Posie. I think his bestest friend will be Rosie so they’ll be Rosie and Posie.”

Lily laughed. “That’s about the bestest thing I’ve heard all day. You certainly are a lucky girl to have such a nice uncle.”

Katie ran over and hugged Ryan.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love Posie.” Katie looked at her mom. “Can Posie sleep with me tonight?”

“I don’t see why not. And speaking of sleep, it is that time. Say good
night to everyone.”

Katie cuddled Posie in her arms as she sang out
, “Good night.”

Uncle Ryan answered,
“Don’t let the bedbugs bite.”