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

  Drowning in Dahlias

  Lily Bloom Cozy Mystery Series

  by Lyndsey Cole

  Copyright © 2014 Lyndsey Cole

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author and/or publisher. No part of this publication may be sold or hired, without written permission from the author.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the writer’s imagination and/or have been used fictitiously in such a fashion it is not meant to serve the reader as actual fact and should not be considered as actual fact. Any resemblance to actual events, or persons, living or dead, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication / use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 1

  Lily was enjoying the sweet deliciousness of a cider donut when she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard a sexy voice. A voice that made her heart flip flop and put a smile on her face.

  “I didn’t know you would be here at the farmer’s market,” the voice said.

  Lily turned and looked into the soft brown eyes of Ryan Steele as her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk from the donut she’d stuffed in. She put her hand to her mouth so the crumbs wouldn’t spray all over Ryan’s police uniform. “Daisy is at Beautiful Blooms until I get back,” she mumbled.

  Ryan chuckled. “What? You have beautiful boobs?”

  Lily’s face got as hot as a chili pepper and was probably the same color. She choked down the rest of the donut, wishing she had something to drink to wash down the lump that was stuck halfway down her throat. “No. I said, Daisy is at Beautiful Blooms.”

  Ryan whispered in Lily’s ear, “I like what I heard better.”

  Lily playfully slapped Ryan’s arm. “I’m buying some fresh veggies because I was thinking of inviting my neighbor over for dinner. He’s nice and doesn’t pick on me.”

  “It looks to me like you’re buying donuts.” Ryan brushed some crumbs off of the edge of Lily’s mouth. “What kind of veggie is that?”

  “They’re related to the potato and it’s best to eat them when no one is looking. They’re a little sweeter and you don’t have to cook them,” she joked. “Seriously, do you want to come over for dinner?”

  “What about that handsome neighbor? Won’t he be jealous?”

  “I’m not so sure about the handsome part but I think he’ll get over the jealous part.”

  Ryan gave a mock shocked look. “You drive a hard bargain. What time?”

  “Sevenish.”

  “I’ll bring dessert.” He winked.

  Lily watched Ryan walk back to his cruiser as her heart did another flip flop. She admitted to herself that she was attracted to him from the day he moved in next door to her. The day she got herself caught in her minivan door and he had to come and rescue her. He was the temporary Police Chief of Misty Valley then but when the old Police Chief had to resign, Ryan got the job. He had a quiet way about him and it didn’t hurt that he was so good looking, too. Their relationship was moving forward. Slowly, but still moving in the right direction.

  She paid for a mixture of salad greens, sugar snap peas and broccoli, then looked down the row of venders to see if anyone from Hill Farm was there. They made the best apple sausage that she wanted to get for her dinner. The last stop was back to the donut table where Lily picked out a half dozen to take home. She had a weak spot for cider donuts. Her dad used to buy Lily and her sister, Daisy, cider donuts when they were younger. He would always bring some home for a special treat when he went out to get the morning paper, and her mom, Iris, would pretend to scold her dad for letting them have sweets for breakfast. It was one of her favorite memories of her father. She missed him but felt close to him when she was in her flower shop, since she started it with the money he left her when he died. The name of her shop had a special meaning to Lily, Daisy and their mom. Her dad always thought of the three girls in his life as his Beautiful Blooms.

  Lily sighed as she inhaled the scent of the donuts. A donut would be a nice surprise for Daisy when she got back to Beautiful Blooms. A nice afternoon pick-me-up.

  Daisy had her hands full, literally, juggling flowers, the phone and the cash register when Lily walked in. Lily handed Daisy the bag of donuts, sent her to the back work room, and took over all the chaos. She hadn’t expected it to be so busy when she took a quick trip to the farmer’s market. But, that was how it went: completely unpredictable. It made Lily realize, once again, how lucky she was to have Daisy helping her. She had turned into a reliable, hardworking employee. Lily had been a little leery of hiring her sister initially since she didn’t have a strong focus for anything except boys when they were younger. But now, with Daisy working at Beautiful Blooms and starting her own part time specialty cake business, they complemented each other very well. Lily thought, with a sigh, that Daisy meeting Detective Adam May probably had something to do with her new motivation. That romance had taken off with leaps and bounds.

  “Ms. Bloom? Ms. Bloom?”

  Lily realized that Walter Nash was talking to her. How long was I daydreaming? How long has he been standing here? “Hello, Mr. Nash. So sorry. My mind was somewhere else, I guess.”

  Walter smiled kindly. “You had a smile on your face, so I’m guessing it was a good thought.”

  “Yes. I was thinking about my father.” Lily liked Walter. He came in regularly to buy flowers for his wife, Harriet. Harriet was another story though. She was lucky to have found Walter since Lily didn’t think anyone else would be able to put up with Harriet’s quirks. And, Lily thought, quirks was an extremely kind way of putting it.

  “What can I do for you today Mr. Nash? Flowers for Mrs. Nash?”

  “Yes. How did you know?” He twinkled with delight. “It’s her fifty-fifth birthday and I’ve planned a little surprise for her.”

  “You are just the sweetest guy. She is one lucky girl. When do you need the flowers?”

  “Well, um, I’m a little embarrassed to say, I need them later today. I know it’s not much notice but with ordering the cake and the food and trying to keep it all a surprise, the flowers slipped my mind. Getting old, I guess.”

  “No problem at all. Looking for anything special?”

  “Well, she does love those pink dahlias you used the last time. And add in whatever else looks like it was just picked from the garden.” He reached down to a bag by his feet. “I brought this vase in. Do you mind using this? It’s her favorite.”

  “That is a beautiful vase.” Lily cradled it carefully.

  “It’s a family heirloom. Be extra careful. Harriet would probably kill me if it gets broken.”

  “I will treat it with tender loving care. Don’t worry. When should I deliver the flowers? Or do you want to pick them up?”r />
  “Oh, I thought I’d have time to pick them up but if you don’t mind, could you deliver them? She’ll be occupied all afternoon. You can bring them around five, just put them in the sunroom, okay? Let yourself in. Through the front door and to the right. You’ll find it.”

  “I’d be happy to. Have a nice party Mr. Nash.”

  Daisy appeared at Lily’s side wiping crumbs from her mouth. “Were all those donuts for me?”

  “I thought we could split them.”

  “Thanks. Just the pick-me-up I needed. Was that Walter Nash leaving?”

  “Yeah, he’s having a surprise birthday party for his wife and needs some flowers.”

  “I forgot to tell you, he ordered the cake from me. I’m excited and a little nervous. They have more money than anyone around here and I certainly don’t want to botch it. I need to get some good feedback to keep this business growing.”

  “Congrats, Daisy. What kind of cake did he order?”

  “Fortunately, it’s my never fail, three layer carrot cake with cream cheese frosting with a special request to add mini chocolate chips. Apparently, Harriet Nash is addicted to chocolate chips.”

  “Well, who in their right mind isn’t?”

  Daisy agreed. “Not a bad addiction in the big scheme of things. The cake’s all done but I thought I’d decorate it with some fresh flowers before I deliver it. What do you recommend?”

  “How about some small dahlias? Harriet loves dahlias.”

  “Great idea. I’ve already made chocolate covered leaves. I’ll add the dahlias between the leaves.”

  Lily went to the cooler to get the flowers for Walter’s bouquet. She thought blue delphinium, yellow snapdragons, ivy and hosta leaves would go nicely with the pink dahlias. “When are you delivering the cake?” she asked Daisy when she returned with her arms full.

  “He said to bring it at five and put it in the sunroom. He left a cooler there to put it in.”

  “Awesome. We can go together.” She gave Daisy a handful of small dahlias for the cake.

  The antique bell on the front door jingled as Iris burst into the shop. “You’ll never guess what Poppy learned to do.” She said full of pride and excitement.

  Lily and Daisy waited patiently to hear the latest update of Iris’s puppy. She acted as if Poppy was a substitute grandchild. Ever since she got involved with the guide dog program and became a foster parent for Poppy, she hadn’t been hinting to Lily and Daisy for a grandchild as much. Poppy was the center of her life and she couldn’t be more proud of every little skill Poppy learned.

  Iris stood in the middle of the shop with Poppy on her leash. “Poppy. Sit.” The puppy’s wiggly butt immediately hit the floor and she looked up at Iris as Iris beamed like a proud mother. “What do you think? Isn’t she brilliant?”

  Lily smiled. “Good job, Mom. But don’t train her too well or she’ll graduate from the guide dog program and you’ll have to give her up.” Lily was thrilled that Iris had a puppy who had become Rosie’s best playmate.

  Iris sighed. “It is a mixed challenge. I’m so attached to her but I want her to succeed and become what she’s meant to be. By the way, did I see Walter leave the shop?”

  “Your old flame?” Daisy asked.

  Iris blushed. “We have always been good friends. That’s all. With that witch of a wife he needs all the friends he can get. There was a time he had his eye on me, but that was ages ago.” She fluffed her purple hair do. “What are you two up to today?”

  Lily finished up the bouquet for Walter’s wife. “I have to make a delivery for that witch, as you call her, and Daisy made the cake for her surprise birthday party. We have to make the delivery at five.” Lily checked her watch. “Oh my goodness. Where did the time go? I guess we’ll be heading over to the Lyman Estate shortly.”

  Daisy asked, “Why is it still called the Lyman Estate? Noah Lyman died a while ago.”

  Iris said, “Just a funny habit in these small New England towns. A name gets attached to a home and sticks for a long time. Noah Lyman was certainly an interesting character too. I imagine it will be known as the Lyman Estate for many more years. Especially since he left all that money to Misty Valley to build a new library. People will always remember his name. Too bad Harriet Nash has so much money she could buy his place after he died. Poor Noah is probably rolling in his grave at the thought of that woman living in his beautiful home.” Iris got an evil grin on her face. “Or maybe he’s plotting another one of his thrillers to get rid of her—A Ghostly Death, or something like that.”

  Lily laughed. “Sounds like a great story line, Mom. But maybe you need to write it. I’m not sure I want to wait for Noah’s version.” Lily loaded all her deliveries into her minivan. “Are you ready to go Daisy?”

  “Yup. Can you swing by my house so we can pick up the cake?”

  “Your house, two deliveries, and then the last stop will be the Lyman Estate. We should be there at five on the dot.”

  Lily waited in her minivan while Daisy went inside to get the cake. She was thinking about the dinner she had planned for Ryan once all this work was done. Quinoa salad, stir fried snap peas with cashews and grilled apple sausage from the farmer’s market. She didn’t care too much about having any meat but she knew Ryan loved the apple sausage. He was bringing dessert, so everything was all set.

  Daisy hopped back in after carefully sliding the cooler with her cake into the minivan and slammed the door. “Good to go.”

  “You seem pretty happy lately. Does Adam have anything to do with that?”

  Daisy blushed two shades of pink. “I couldn’t be happier. What a lucky break for me that he was here working on that murder a few months ago. I think he and Ryan patched up their old problem, too. Adam did you a big favor by breaking up that engagement Ryan had with Carla. She turned out to be a nut case, don’t you think?”

  “A dead nut case. How did I manage to get involved in that murder?” She shook that thought away and got back to the present. “Adam breaking up the engagement got Ryan in my life. And Carla getting murdered got Adam in your life. A win-win for both of us.” Lily turned into a gravel driveway snaking through a well-manicured park-like entry to the Lyman Estate. “Wow. Look at this place. I can’t wait to see the inside. I’ve never been in the house before, have you?”

  “Nope. Hope we don’t get lost. Did Walter give you directions to the sunroom? Or are you supposed to use your GPS?” Daisy laughed at the thought of a house so big you’d need a GPS to get around inside.

  “He said to go through the front door and to the right. Let’s go.”

  There were several cars parked in the circular driveway but people could be anywhere at this humungous estate and you would never know it. They walked up the granite steps, through the mahogany door and turned right. Daisy had the cake and Lily had the beautiful vase filled with garden flowers. It felt odd to just walk into the house, but that was what Walter had told her to do.

  “I’m guessing all that sunshine is the sunroom he was referring to.” Their sneakers squeaked on the marble floor, breaking the silence in the massive entryway as they made their way toward the sun.

  Lily almost swooned at the sight of the sunroom filled with orchids, palms and even a little waterfall and fountain in the far corner. There was comfortable looking, cushion covered wicker furniture and the view through the French doors took her breath away. She whispered to Daisy, “I could live in this room. I wouldn’t need anything else, except maybe a bathroom. The sound of the fountain is making me feel like I have to pee.”

  They giggled as they put the cake and flowers off to one side; the cake in a cooler under a wrought iron table and the flowers on the table.

  One more look around and Lily’s hand went to her mouth. “Are those feet over there?” She pointed to the side of the room opposite where they were standing. “It looks like the wicked witch of the west from the Wizard of Oz.”

  Daisy gasped. “It looks like feet with sensible shoes and s
omeone wearing nylons.” They looked at each other, nylons in this heat? Then they ran to see who was on the floor.

  Chapter 2

  Lily and Daisy stared down at the face of Harriet Nash. Her eyes stared at the ceiling. A vacant, unseeing stare. Her skin, the pasty color of putty. Her head was lying in a pool of what looked like pink water with pink flower petals floating in it and broken pieces of glass scattered around. One side of her head was bashed in.

  Daisy turned as white as a sheet. “What should we do?”

  Lily already had her phone out, hitting speed dial for Ryan’s number. Her heart was pounding but at the same time, everything seemed normal. The birds outside were singing. The fountain gurgled. The sun kept shining. Everything, normal. Everything except the dead woman on the floor.

  “Ryan? You won’t believe it, but Daisy and I are here at the Lyman Estate and it looks like Harriet Nash is dead on the sunroom floor.”

  Lily put her phone away, telling Daisy that Ryan was on his way over.

  “Who are you and what are you doing here?” A harsh voice from the doorway made them both jump and spin around.

  Lily didn’t recognize the young woman. She had red hair like Harriet’s and was a little taller than Lily. “Who are you?”

  “I live here. What in the dickens are you two doing in here?”

  Lily saw Walter walk up behind the young woman staring at them. He put his arm on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Nicole. These two wonderful women are delivering the flowers and the cake for Mom’s birthday party. This is Lily and Daisy Bloom.”

  Nicole relaxed slightly but didn’t greet Lily or Daisy. Instead she turned and disappeared inside the house.

  Walter continued into the sunroom. “Excuse my daughter. She’s having a rough time at the moment.” He looked at the table with the flowers and smiled. “Lily, the flowers are perfect. The only thing Harriet loves more than flowers is her view from this room. Thank you so much.”