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

  “Thank you, Mr. Hopkins. I’m sure you will be happy with what I bring today. Oh, and give my sympathies to Mrs. Hopkins.”

  “Between you and me? Nicole is dancing on her mother’s grave.” With that comment, he turned and walked out.

  Chapter 6

  Lily stood with her mouth open, not believing what she’d just heard. Pulling herself together, she turned her closed sign to open as Daisy parked in front. She walked in looking like she hadn’t gotten much sleep. Lily looked at her with one eyebrow raised.

  Daisy brushed past. “What? I’m here on time.”

  Lily put her hands up. “Nothing. You look tired. Get any sleep last night?”

  “Um. Not really any of your business. What was Julius Hopkins doing here?”

  Lily went back to her work area to finish up the last arrangement for the Hilltop Academy event. “He was in a panic thinking I was going to deliver the flowers at the wrong time. Somehow he got yesterday’s time for the Lyman Estate mixed up with today’s time for the Academy. And, listen to this, he told me that his wife is dancing on her mother’s grave.”

  That got Daisy’s attention. “Sounds like a close family,” she gasped.

  “Didn’t Mom say she had all the dirt on them?”

  The door closed. “The dirt on who?” Iris’s voice sounded from the front of the shop.

  “We’re back here, Mom.

  Poppy ran in first, right over to Rosie’s dog bed, squeaking and licking her. Iris sat in a comfy chair and Sweet Pea, Lily’s shop cat, jumped in her lap, kneaded a few times and curled up.

  “So, fill me in. I’m guessing you’re talking about Harriet’s death.”

  “Julius came here early. Before I was even open, pounding on the door to come in.”

  Iris stroked Sweet Pea’s soft fur. “Did he come to confess? Unburden his guilty conscious?”

  “No. Not quite. But there’s no love lost between Harriet and Nicole. He actually said, Nicole would be dancing on her mother’s grave. Can you believe it?”

  “To tell you the truth, it doesn’t surprise me at all. Those two have never gotten along, much to Walter’s dismay.”

  Daisy poured three cups of tea and passed them around. “Why didn’t they get along?”

  “Did you ever meet Harriet?” Both girls nodded. “A complete control freak. I think Nicole wanted to get out from under her mother’s financial and emotional control.” Iris looked at each of her daughters. “You two don’t know how good you have it.” Iris reached over and patted herself on her shoulder.

  Lily sipped her tea. “Sure we do, Mom. You tell us what to do and we ignore you.” Lily and Daisy laughed out loud. Lily added, “But Nicole’s married. Didn’t that get her some freedom from Harriet?”

  “You would think so, but Nicole and Julius are living at the Lyman Estate until the headmaster’s residence for the Hilltop Academy is renovated. They didn’t want to live in one of the residence halls with the students.”

  Daisy finished her tea and started working on bouquets. “Can’t blame them for that. Who would want to babysit those spoiled kids?”

  The doorbell jingled and Jennifer walked in on a mission. Poppy and Rosie greeted Jennifer with lots of wags and a few dog kisses.

  Lily looked up in surprise. “Is your café closed? This is an odd time for you to be here.”

  Jennifer shook her head. “I only have a few minutes. I had to give my statement at the police station about what I saw at the Lyman Estate yesterday. Marcia is covering for me now and it’s between the breakfast and lunch rush so she should be able to manage.”

  “Did you see anything of importance?”

  “It turns out, I’m probably the last person to see Harriet Nash alive, except for the killer, of course.”

  Lily got her notebook out of her tote and started making some notes. “What time was that?”

  Jennifer laughed. “Ryan told me to watch out for your questions. He doesn’t want you getting involved in this investigation.”

  “Just some innocent questions. How can that be of any harm?”

  “Okay. I saw Harriet around two o’clock. She was fit to be tied when she saw me in her kitchen. Walter told me she was leaving at one so she startled me when she walked in and I didn’t know what to tell her.”

  The other three women listened attentively. “And?”

  “I told her the truth but asked her to be surprised for Walter’s sake. She laughed, not a happy laugh, and said she knew all about what was going on and she didn’t like it one bit.” Jennifer leaned closer to Lily. “You won’t believe what she said next.” Lily stopped writing and waited. “She told me that they all came hoping to get money out of her.”

  “What?” Lily, Daisy and Iris all said at once.

  “Yeah. She said they were all money grubbing friends and relatives and she didn’t have any use for any of them, especially Nicole. Her own daughter. Then she walked out of the kitchen into the sunroom, her favorite room, she told me. She stopped and turned back toward me and said, ‘That new library will ruin the view from the sunroom and will only get built over my dead body.’”

  “The sunroom?”

  Jennifer reached down to pick up Poppy who could never get enough attention. “The sunroom. And that’s the last I saw of her.”

  Lily started writing frantically. “She actually said over my dead body?”

  Jennifer nodded.

  “The kitchen was connected to the sunroom?”

  “Yeah. There was a hallway from the kitchen into the sunroom but there was a heavy door. I didn’t hear anything. I was too busy baking and getting all the food set up in the dining room on the other side of the kitchen.”

  “So someone could have entered the sunroom the way Daisy and I came in or from the kitchen. And of course, through the French doors from the outside patio.”

  Poppy licked Jennifer’s face. “I had a small table on the patio setup with drinks and a few appetizers. I’ve gotta get back to the café. Can I buy a few flowers for my tables? Everyone loves that touch.”

  Lily went into her walk-in cooler and brought out some hot pink alstroemeria. “Here. These will look great in your bud vases and they last a long time.”

  “Thanks.” Jennifer gave Poppy one last pat and put her down before walking out of the shop.

  Lily looked up at her sister and mother. “Nicole was the first person we saw after we found Harriet’s body. She definitely acted strange. Poor Walter. I wonder if he was after Harriet’s money too.”

  Iris said, “He did sign a prenup so there may have been some resentment on his part, but I never noticed that. He seemed to be completely devoted to her. Or else he’s one heck of an actor.”

  Daisy put her bouquets in the display cooler. “Everyone was after money or saving the library. The question is—who had the biggest motive?”

  Lily closed her notebook. “Maybe someone was after her money and saving the library. Well, maybe I can find out some more dirt when I deliver these flowers to the Academy. I’m going a little early so I have a more time to chat.” Her phone rang. “Hi Ryan.” … “Very busy.” … “Don’t worry.” Lily threw her phone back into her tote. “Ryan was checking that I was still here and not out doing any investigating. Can you believe him?”

  Daisy grinned. “He knows you better than you realize. Be thankful someone worries about you.”

  Daisy helped Lily load the arrangements into her minivan. “What happened to your sign?” Daisy looked at the Dooms instead of Blooms on the side of the minivan.

  “The neighborhood kids.”

  “Oh really? Maybe this is why Ryan is so worried about you. This sure looks like a message from someone.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Maybe. I don’t know. I’ll get it fixed later,” Lily said vaguely. “I shouldn’t be gone for too long. You can get started on the flowers for Harriet. Several orders came in this morning for delivery to the Lyman Estate.

  “That’s quick.” Daisy went back inside
to check the orders and get flowers and vases ready.

  Lily drove to the Hilltop Academy which was only about one mile from the center of town. The prep school was for grades nine through twelve with students from around the U.S. and several countries who had parents with a lot of money and high expectations for their kids to get into a top college. The luncheon today was in the library which had a lovely view overlooking a long lawn leading down to a private lake.

  Lily parked at the service entrance of the library to unload her flowers, but first walked in empty handed to see what the actual setup looked like. Also, she thought, maybe she could corner someone to find out more about what was going on with Julius Hopkins.

  The library was setup with two long buffet tables and a half dozen round tables, all covered with white linen, fancy china, silver and crystal. Several women, dressed in white uniforms with blue aprons, were finishing setting up. Lily didn’t think they would know anything, probably just from the kitchen staff. As she looked around the room, someone tapped her arm.

  “Can I help you?”

  “I’m Lily Bloom. I’ve got the flowers for today’s luncheon. I just wanted to see where everything is going before I cart them in. Looks like a fancy event.”’

  The woman held her hand out. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Madeline Jordan, assistant to the headmaster. He was worried you wouldn’t have the flowers here in time. It’s an extremely important event for him.” She held up her hand to shield her mouth and whispered, “His job depends on it.”

  Lily looked surprised. “What do you mean?”

  “The school is in money trouble and all the guests are big donors. He’s hoping to impress them so they open their checkbooks again. It could save my job, too.” Madeline paused before adding, “The pressure is off a little since his motherin-law died. Everyone thinks his wife will get a big inheritance, being an only child and all.”

  Lily started to ask another question but was interrupted by a deep voice behind her. “I’m glad you came a little early, Ms. Bloom. Where are the flowers?”

  Lily looked at Julius Hopkins, dressed elegantly. “I’ll bring them in. I think they will make this room come alive.”

  “I certainly hope so.” He turned and left.

  Madeline looked at Lily, a little red in the face. Lily wondered how much of their conversation Julius overheard.

  Chapter 7

  Lily got the flowers on the tables, stood back and was completely satisfied to see how much life they added to the room. There was something special about fresh and colorful flowers jazzing up an occasion. She looked around the library at the light oak bookcases with leather reading chairs arranged in small groups, giving a feeling of quiet elegance. It looked like money.

  Julius Hopkins was suddenly at her side. “What are you thinking?”

  “How beautiful this room is. It feels calming but powerful.”

  Julius smiled. “I’ve never heard it described that way before, but I have to agree with you. There will be a lot of powerful men and women here for lunch. The flowers add the final touch. You have quite an eye for putting flowers together.”

  Lily smiled. “Thank you. I’m pleased you’re happy with my work.”

  “You met my assistant, Madeline?” he asked as he watched her reaction carefully.

  Lily wanted to leave as quickly as possible, get away from his scrutiny. “Yes. She introduced herself when I arrived. Well, I’m all done, so I’ll get out of your way. I’m sure you’re very busy. Thank you so much for your business.” Lily could feel Julius staring at her even after she turned away and walked out of the library to her minivan on her shaky legs.

  She sat in her minivan taking deep breaths, wondering if she had imagined more than Julius intended.

  Lily drove back to Beautiful Blooms, parked, grabbed her tote and slid out of the driver seat.

  “Lily. Lily.” She turned to see Nina Baldwin hustling over before Lily could get inside.

  Nina put her hand on Lily’s arm. “You said you would talk to me today, do you have a minute? I’m working on an article about Harriet Nash’s death.”

  “Nina, I don’t know much. I don’t think I’ll be much help.” Lily didn’t want to get involved having her name connected to an article in the paper about Harriet’s death. She would rather keep a low profile and not attract unnecessary attention to herself.

  “Just a few questions?” Nina looked hopefully at Lily and waited.

  “Okay. But I’d prefer you don’t use my name.”

  Nina raised one eyebrow. “Are you involved?”

  “No, nothing like that,” she answered too quickly.

  “You confirmed yesterday that you and Daisy found the body. Was anyone else there at the time?”

  “Nina, can’t you get this information from the police?”

  “I like to get several sources and compare all the different perspectives.”

  Lily didn’t see any harm in answering this question. “No one else was in the sunroom but there were other people in the house.”

  “Oh?”

  “It was a surprise birthday party that Walter planned for Harriet and it is my understanding that family members and some friends were all at the estate.”

  Nina jotted notes down and flipped through some pages. “Do you know anything about the new library?”

  “The new library? Why do you want to know about that?” Lily felt this might be getting into some dangerous territory.

  “My article is going to cover Noah Lyman and the Lyman Estate. He had very specific instructions connected to the money he left the town for building the library. I know Harriet Nash was dead—well that’s a poor choice of words.” She chuckled. “Dead set against the library being built next to the Lyman Estate after she bought it. Now, Harriet turns up dead. That makes for an extremely interesting twist in the story. Don’t you think?”

  “Aren’t you making one big assumption?”

  “What’s that?”

  “That Harriet was murdered? It could have been an accident. Maybe she slipped and fell.”

  “Dead is dead. I want to be ready with the information so I can get my article printed as soon as the autopsy report is made available.”

  Lily leaned against her minivan. “Everyone knows Harriet didn’t want the library. That’s nothing new.”

  Nina got a sinister grin on her face. “That’s right. Everyone knew. And everyone else wanted the library. Everyone. Makes for a great motive for murder, if you ask me. Did you know that the town has an offer on a chunk of land for the library and Harriet was trying to out bid them?”

  “Really?”

  Nina chuckled. “I didn’t think so.

  Lily countered, “What about all her millions? That’s a motive too.”

  Nina clapped her hands in glee. “So you do think she was murdered.”

  Lily started to walk to the back door of her shop, frustrated that Nina had sort of tricked her into implying more than she wanted to. “I didn’t say that, Nina. Don’t go putting words in my mouth.”

  Nina blocked Lily’s path. “Listen. I know you can’t help but be curious about all this. You help me and I’ll help you? Anonymously?”

  Lily thought for a bit and her amateur sleuthing got the better of her. “Okay.” Nina put her hand out to shake on the deal. Lily smiled. “We’ll need to get together soon to talk more about this.”

  Nina had a smile from ear to ear. “Great. Anytime, just let me know what works for you. The sooner the better.” Nina started to walk back to her beat up sedan, stopped, and looked at the vandalism on Lily’s minivan. “What happened here? Never mind. It’s pretty obvious someone is trying to tell you something.”

  Lily watched Nina continue to her car. She did like Nina. She liked the fact that Nina was such a hard worker and was always working on the right side of the issues. Right, meaning she liked to expose the bad guys and get them locked up. This article would be very interesting. It would be the whole picture of the Lyman Est
ate, not just who killed Harriet.

  Daisy came out the back door. “There you are. Daydreaming?”

  “Not exactly. Come on, we have work to do.”

  “No kidding. You won’t believe the orders that are pouring in for flowers for the Lyman Estate.”

  They went back inside. “For when?”

  “Tomorrow.”

  “What? That fast?”

  Daisy lowered her voice and nodded her head toward the consultation room. “Gwen Brooks, the lawyer, stopped by. She’s still here, waiting for you to get back.”

  Lily threw her tote onto her desk, patted Rosie and joined Gwen with two cups of tea on a tray with cream, sugar and some of Daisy’s mini chocolate cupcakes. “Good afternoon Ms. Brooks. What can I do for you?” Lily put the tray on a small table next to Gwen. “Help yourself to some tea.”

  “That’s very kind of you.” Gwen took a cup of tea and a cupcake. “I didn’t expect refreshments.”

  Lily smiled. “My sister, Daisy, started a cake making business so she likes to spoil the customers that come in for flowers. It’s her way to try out her new creations. So far, there haven’t been any complaints about being her guinea pig.”

  “Was that Daisy’s cake that Walter had for Harriet’s party?”

  “Yes. That was her carrot cake, made with organic carrots, which is one of her most popular cakes.”

  “It was moist and delicious. And those chocolate chips were a nice surprise.” She sipped her tea. “Well, I’m here to see if you could make some arrangements for the service Walter is having tomorrow. Just family at the estate. But Harriet so loved flowers, and he thinks you are a genius with your creations.” Gwen helped herself to another cupcake. “Walter was thinking two big arrangements for the sunroom. Lots of color, especially pinks and purples. Just use your imagination.” She shoved the second cupcake in her mouth. “These are fabulous. Maybe Daisy could make a variety of small cupcakes too. Does she have other types?”

  “Let me get Daisy in here and you can ask her about the choices.” Lily left Gwen in the consultation room with the plate of cupcakes. Before she left, she took a quick count—four left. She didn’t care how many Gwen ate, but she was curious if she’d gobble more down when she was alone.