Lyndsey Cole - Lily Bloom 02 - Queen of Poison Read online

  “I’ll find you when she has a moment. Oh, and Nina Baldwin will be taking photos. Be sure to have her get one of you next to your flowers.”

  Lily glanced at Daisy to see if she heard that exchange. Daisy nodded slightly. Iris and Marigold were already ahead so Daisy pulled Lily away from Elizabeth and they hurried to catch up.

  Iris was describing the paintings to Marigold and letting Marigold guess what flowers were used in the arrangement based on the scent. She did an excellent job figuring it all out and seemed to enjoy it more than Iris even though she couldn’t see anything. Lily smiled as she watched the two older women. Iris was so content ever since Marigold moved in with her. It gave Iris a focus away from her two daughters, which was good for all of them. And Marigold was thrilled to be out of the nursing home.

  The museum was stunning with all the flowers. A trio of violin, cello and piano played classical music at the side of the main staircase. The mixture of flowers perfumed the rooms. All in all, it was perfect.

  Lily felt a gentle touch on her arm. Elizabeth was pulling her away from her family and pointing toward an elderly woman standing off to the side. She whispered, “Ms. Barry is free and wants to meet you now.”

  Lily was surprised to see how tall and straight Marion Barry was. She looked elegant in her black dress with a dark red shawl draped around her shoulders. Her silvery gray hair was cut stylishly just below her chin. She smiled warmly as Elizabeth escorted Lily over and introduced them. She was much warmer in person than how the artist captured her in her portrait.

  Ms. Barry extended her hand to Lily. “I’m so glad to meet you Ms. Bloom. I’ve heard a lot about you from Elizabeth and she was absolutely right when she said you would put together an arrangement to complement my newest painting. And it’s wonderful that Misty Valley finally has a flower shop. If you ever need anything, let me know.”

  Lily was having trouble finding a reply to this generous offer. Suddenly the lights went out. Several seconds of silence were broken by screaming and scuffling. Lily felt a weight fall against her chest. She held on, confused about what was happening. Crashing sounded from the main entryway.

  What felt like forever actually only lasted for a few minutes before the lights were back on. Lily saw that she was holding Marion Barry. Iris and Daisy appeared at her side. They both looked wild eyed. “What just happened?”

  Lily gently lowered Marion onto an antique Queen Anne chair nearby. “I have no idea but we need to get help for Ms. Barry. Call 911. Is Ryan here yet?” She looked around frantically but couldn’t see him through all the chaos.

  Elizabeth hovered, wringing her hands and sobbing. “Oh dear. Oh dear. Is she alright?”

  Lily looked at Elizabeth and shook her head as she felt for a pulse on Marion Barry’s wrist. She felt like she was going to faint. “I think she’s dead.”

  Chapter 3

  A portly middle aged woman pushed Lily aside. “What have you done to Marion?” If looks could kill, the look that hit Lily would have dropped her in an instant.

  “What have I done? She fell into me when the lights went out. All I did was catch her. Who are you?”

  The woman stretched to her full height which was at least two inches below Lily’s chin. “I am Ruth Walsh, Ms. Barry’s personal secretary. I’ve been at her side for the last thirty years.” She looked Lily up and down before asking with contempt, “And who are you?”

  Lily realized there was a lot of emotion running through everyone at the moment and decided not to take Ruth Walsh’s comments personally. “I’m sorry for your loss. Elizabeth had just introduced me to Ms. Barry. I’m Lily Bloom. I did the arrangement to go with her new floral painting.”

  Ruth’s nose wrinkled in distaste. “Oh. You did that ghastly arrangement? And you call yourself a florist?”

  Ryan Steele showed up at Lily’s side. “Your mother said you need help.”

  “In more ways than one at the moment.” She managed to ignore Ruth and nod her head toward Ms. Barry slumped in the chair. Her face was already a pasty gray. “She fell into me when the lights went out. I think she may have had a heart attack or something.”

  The EMTs entered with a stretcher. “Clear the way please. We need to get through.” They placed Marion’s body on the stretcher and rushed her into the ambulance.

  Ruth turned her attention back to Lily. “You’ll pay for this young lady. This is all your fault.” She turned and left, presumably to follow the ambulance to the hospital.

  Ryan watched that interaction. “Why does she think it’s your fault?”

  Trying to remain calm, Lily took a deep breath. “I think she’s just upset about losing a dear friend. At least I hope that’s the reason.”

  Lily was stunned by the events of the last fifteen minutes. She looked up and was blinded by the flash of a camera going off in her face. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust and see Nina Baldwin snapping away. This was going to be a much more interesting story than covering a relatively boring Art in Bloom opening night.

  Nina grabbed Lily’s arm. “Come over here,” she said excitedly. “I want to get a photo of you with your flowers and the new painting.” Lily stumbled along with her even though she knew she did not want to be in the photo. Nina got her shot, then was dashing off to photograph more drama.

  Daisy found Lily. “This is turning into a circus. I overheard Marion Barry’s niece and nephew talking about her death. They expect to be millionaires now. It didn’t sound like they were disappointed about the turn of events. Do you think they might have murdered her for the money?”

  Lily shushed Daisy. “Don’t even talk like that. No one is saying it’s murder. She just fell over. Onto me. How could that be murder?”

  Daisy toned her voice down to a mere whisper. “That’s what I’m hearing. People think she was murdered for the inheritance.”

  Lily pulled Daisy off to the side. “That just makes a more interesting story than saying she died of natural causes. We’ll find out soon enough. Here comes Ryan. Maybe he knows more.”

  Ryan put his hand on Lily’s back. She felt his warmth through the thin fabric of her dress. The warmth spread right to her fingertips. “Everything okay?”

  Lily couldn’t stop the question from blurting from her mouth. “Was she murdered?”

  “I don’t know but I have to close the museum. Elizabeth Stevens is going to make an announcement soon asking everyone to leave. Could you check on Jennifer? I won’t be home for a while.”

  Lily’s gaze swept the room. “I’ll be happy to get away from all this.” She looked sympathetically at Ryan. “We’ll get some food and invite Jennifer to my house. Don’t worry about her.”

  Elizabeth stood half way up the stairs with her husband, Kirk Stevens, at her side. “Everyone. Please quiet down. I have to make an announcement. As you may have heard already, the museum’s founder, Marion Barry has been taken to the hospital. After discussing the matter with the museum board of directors, we have decided to cancel the opening for tonight and reschedule for tomorrow night. Marion won’t be able to be with us but we are confident that this is what she would have wanted. So, please accept my sincere apology about this unexpected turn of events and come back tomorrow to help us launch Art in Bloom properly. Thank you. The museum will be closed in ten minutes.”

  Daisy looked puzzled. “Is she still alive?”

  “I don’t think so. Maybe they just don’t want to say anything until all the facts are determined. Let’s find Iris and Marigold, get something to eat and go to my house.”

  ***

  “Mom, swing by the Misty Valley Market. I’ll run in and buy a couple of Billy’s premade pizzas. They’re all ready to pop in the oven.” Lily reached for her purse, feeling around on the floor. “I can’t find my purse. Daisy, give me some money, I’ll pay you back.”

  It took longer than expected to get to the market since everyone was pulling out of the museum at the same time. And it seemed like many others had the same ide
a about buying a quick dinner at the market. This would be great for Billy. He had complained to Lily that the opening was going to cut into his normal evening sales.

  Lily managed to get inside before too many other hungry people and grabbed the last two pizzas. Lily saw Marion Barry’s niece and nephew arguing by the deli counter. Lily watched them while she waited in line to pay. Maggie was laughing and giggling but Jared was unsmiling and kept telling Maggie to shut up and quit leaning on him. Lily couldn’t help but wonder what their life was like and how it would change with the death of their aunt. From what Daisy heard, they expected to inherit a lot of money but maybe Marion was leaving it all to the museum and her favorite charities. Lily laughed at that thought and how it would upset those two greedy relatives.

  She paid and got back into the car. “Okay. Next stop, my house.”

  The chatter in the car was getting pretty loud with Iris, Daisy and Marigold trying to talk over each other with different versions of what happened and what might still happen. Iris managed to get to Lily’s house. Daisy carried the pizzas inside and turned on the oven while Lily went next door to check on Jennifer.

  Lily explained to Jennifer, “There was a situation and Ryan has to work late.”

  “A situation?”

  Lily clarified. “Actually, the founder died and the director closed the museum so the police could try to sort out what happened.” Lily changed the subject, she didn’t want to get into any speculation about the death. “We have pizza in the oven. Care to join us?”

  “That sounds great. I’ve got a couple of bottles of wine. Should I bring that?”

  “Definitely.” Lily held the door open. “You’re okay with a dog I hope.”

  Jennifer laughed. “Ryan told me all about your amazing Rosie. I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Lily thought Jennifer might be okay. She liked dogs and she wasn’t Ryan’s girlfriend. Maybe this day could end on a decent note after all.

  The pizza cooked and made the house smell delicious. Talk turned to how hungry they were as they sat in the living room sipping the wine.

  Iris eyed Jennifer. “Your brother is somewhat of a mystery to all of us here. Got any good stories to share?”

  Jennifer had a sly grin. “He warned me about you, Iris. Sure, I don’t mind giving a little information. Just don’t tell him it came from me.”

  Iris was like a prosecutor, cross examining a witness in a trial. “How old is he?”

  “Thirty-two.”

  “Ever been married?”

  “No.” Jennifer hesitated before adding, “But he was engaged.”

  Iris jumped all over that news. “What happened?”

  “I’m not sure you should here this from me.”

  “Yes. Yes.” The others all chimed in together, leaning forward excitedly.

  “Well, okay. His fiancé, Carla, broke it off.”

  “Why?”

  “She ran off with his best friend. Ryan was heartbroken and hasn’t dated since.” Jennifer glanced at Lily. “He’s been happy since he got hired to be the police chief here in Misty Valley. I think he needed to move away and start over.”

  The timer on the oven interrupted the conversation and saved Jennifer from anymore grilling from Iris. Lily went into the kitchen to get the pizza. “I’ll bring it out. We can eat around the coffee table.”

  Jennifer followed Lily. “Can I help? Tell me where the plates are and I’ll bring them out.”

  Lily took the pizza out of the oven. “You and your brother are close, aren’t you?”

  Jennifer smiled. “We are. We only have each other.” She opened a cupboard. “I picked the right one. How many plates? Five?”

  “Yup. If Ryan was here, he’d bring one for Rosie too. Did he tell you he made Rosie a hamburger and fed her on a plate the first time I went over to eat with him?”

  Jennifer laughed. “He did tell me. And he told me how Rosie sent over dog bone burgers. Should I bring another plate for Rosie?”

  “No. She already had dinner. Sometimes I give her some of my crust though. She’s really a spoiled dog, but after she saved my life I can never be too good to her.”

  Daisy yelled from the living room, “What’s going on in there? We’re hungry. Hurry up and bring out the pizza.”

  “Okay. Okay. Here we come.”

  Lily’s phone rang. She was annoyed. “Who can that be?” She answered. “Hello? … Thanks Elizabeth. I’ll be right over.”

  Lily explained to the others, “I have to run over to the museum. Elizabeth said she found my purse and she’ll only be there for another few minutes. Save me some pizza.”

  Iris offered, “Take my car.”

  It only took Lily a few minutes to get to the museum. Elizabeth was waiting inside near the floral painting with Lily’s purse. “Sorry to make you come now but I need to lock up and I thought you might need this.”

  “No problem. See you tomorrow?”

  “Yes. It’s such a shame about Marion but I think she would want us to finish the show.” Elizabeth looked toward the back of the museum. “I need to go. Thanks for coming so quickly, Lily.”

  Lily picked up her purse and looked around the quiet empty museum. It was such a contrast from all the excitement just an hour earlier. A little eerie. A door closed somewhere in the back as Lily walked out the door.

  Chapter 4

  Ryan knocked on Lily’s door early the next morning. Rosie was excited to have company but Lily had been hoping to sleep in. She dragged herself out of bed. “Ryan? What’s going on?”

  “Can I come in? Something’s come up.”

  Lily was having trouble reading his mood. “Sure. I’ll make some coffee.”

  “Did you go to the museum last night between seven and eight?”

  “Come in and sit down.”

  Ryan was fidgeting and stayed outside. “I’m here on official business, not a social visit.”

  Lily didn’t have a clue what this was all about. “Okay. Come in and we can talk official business then.”

  Ryan reluctantly sat at her kitchen table. “So, were you at the museum last night?”

  She poured two steaming cups of coffee. “Yeah. Elizabeth called me. I forgot my purse and she wanted me to come get it before she left for the night.”

  Ryan warmed his hands around the coffee cup but didn’t pick it up. “Did you see anyone else?”

  Lily thought for a minute. “No. I heard a door close when I left, but I didn’t see anyone. Why?”

  Ryan couldn’t look at Lily. “Elizabeth Stevens was found dead this morning. And the painting was stolen.” He paused. “The painting that you interpreted with your flower arrangement.”

  Lily stopped cold. “And?”

  Ryan finally looked at Lily. “And. A florist pruning knife was found near the body. The murder weapon. We’ll be checking it for prints. Lily, I’m asking as your friend, not a cop. Did you kill Elizabeth Stevens?”

  Lily stood up. “Are you serious? You think I killed her?”

  “I have to ask. You’re the last one who saw Elizabeth.”

  “Look at me.” Lily put her hands on the table and stared at Ryan. “I did not kill Elizabeth Stevens. I picked up my purse. We talked for a minute. She was still very much alive when I left. How do you know someone else didn’t come in? Or maybe someone else was already hiding in the museum and killed her after I left? Have you checked the security cameras?”

  Ryan looked exhausted and drained. “I don’t think you killed her. But there is circumstantial evidence that doesn’t look good for you. We haven’t finished searching the whole museum. I hope we find some other clues to point us to someone else.” Ryan stood up. “The security system was off, maybe as a result of that power outage. I have to go now.”

  Lily watched him walk out of her kitchen. This felt like a nightmare. Why would anyone kill Elizabeth? She was a sweet, hardworking, dedicated woman. And why would the murderer make it look like Lily was the killer?

  There
was no chance of getting back to sleep now. “Come on Rosie. Let’s take a walk. I need some exercise.” Lily attached Rosie’s leash and they headed on their loop around town. It was early enough that they could walk without having to stop to chat with anyone. Rosie sniffed all her usual spots and Lily got lost in her thoughts. She made an omelet when she got back and fed Rosie her kibble. Another cup of black coffee and she was wired to get to the shop. “Rosie, you have to stay here. I’ll be back at lunch time to let you out.” Rosie whined and tried to push through the door with Lily but she had her knee in the way and made Rosie stay inside.

  Walking into her shop was instantly calming. Lily took a deep breath. The smell of lavender drifted up from the basket next to the door. She had poured her heart and soul into building up this business and she wasn’t going to let anything ruin it. Lily already had several orders on the answering machine for flowers connected to Marion’s death. She got busy with those. Work was a good way to forget about her problems until Daisy rushed in with the latest news.

  “Have you heard?”

  “Heard what?”

  Leaning on the work bench, Daisy flattened the front page of the paper for Lily to see. “Elizabeth was murdered at the museum last night. Here’s a photo of you next to your arrangement and the floral painting. The painting was stolen. Were you the last one to see her alive?”

  Lily grabbed the paper. “I had a bad feeling when Nina wanted to take that photo. Guess who the prime suspect in the murder is?”

  Daisy gave Lily a blank stare.

  “Does the article say anything about the murder weapon?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Lily slammed her hand on the work bench. “Can you believe it?”

  “Believe what? Fill me in.”

  Lily was all worked up and agitated after reading the article. “Ryan came to my house this morning. He told me I was the last person to see Elizabeth and she was murdered with a florist pruning knife.”

  “What?”

  “He basically said it looks like I’m the murderer.”