When we arrived at Flower House, we found Deena elbow deep in fresh-cut wedding flowers. She’d unpacked the delivery from Bart and had been busy trimming all the flowers and placing them in fresh water to rejuvenate them after transport.
“Wow!” I said, looking around the workroom. It looked like a fairytale floral explosion. “I need to get a picture of this. It gives new meaning to the name Flower House.”
Calvin took his cardboard box upstairs, saying he’d be right back to help. Deena appeared more frazzled than I’d ever seen her—which was to say she still looked nearly flawless. Her forehead was slightly dewy, and a few strands of her glossy hair had slipped from her long ponytail, framing her slightly tense face.
“I knew we’d never had an order this big,” said Deena. “But I didn’t fully realize how much space this was going to take. The last wedding we did was just bouquets, corsages, and small centerpieces. By comparison, this one feels like we’re prepping for a royal wedding.”
I picked up a bucket of dahlias and inspected the petals. They were a little tired-looking, but I knew they’d open up by tomorrow. “I’m so sorry I left you alone to do this. I can take over now, if you need a break.”
“I’m fine. But I don’t know where we’re going to put everything. I think we’ll need both coolers.”
I realized she was right. I opened the cooler in the workroom and began removing bouquets. “We’ll donate these to the nursing home,” I said. “That will free up some room.”
Calvin came in then and saw what I was doing. “Do you need me to make some deliveries?”
“Yes, please.” I packaged the bouquets for delivery and told him where to go.
As soon as he left, Deena gave me a curious look. “How was the trip? Did you learn anything?”
“Yeah. A lot.” I moved a bucket from a stool and sat down. “I learned that Calvin apparently lived with a woman, still has a key and some belongings at her place, and didn’t say a word about it to me!” My mind returned to the night I’d spent at his place. We’d talked for hours, about all aspects of our lives. He could easily have shared this bit of information.
Deena stared at me with arched eyebrows. “Okay. Wow. That’s big. And, not to minimize that bombshell, but did you find out anything about Professor Lowry?”
I waved my hand. “Yes, that too. He was involved in all kinds of illegal schemes.”
I filled Deena in, while we finished cleaning and organizing the flowers. By the time we’d completed both tasks, I’d told her everything. She was duly impressed—and as elated as I’d felt back in Knoxville. But my excitement had worn off. Because, in spite of everything we’d learned, we still had no way of knowing who struck the professor with the candlestick.
“What are you going to do with all this intel?” asked Deena. “Go to the police?” She swept the floor, while I cleaned off the worktable.
“Yes, definitely. At first, I wasn’t sure how exactly to do that, but I think I know now.”
“Anonymously?” she guessed.
“Yep. I think I’ll type up a letter describing everything the student, Benji, told us. I’ll include detailed directions on finding the secret lab and the hidden poppy field. And I’ll send the letter to both the Aerieville Police and the Knoxville Police. Maybe the UT dean as well.”
Deena held open the door for me, so I could fit through with the bin of leaves and stems. She walked with me as I carried it to the compost pile behind the garden.
“Then what?” she asked.
“Then, I assume the police will investigate and confirm what a louse the professor was.”
Deena shielded her eyes from the late day sun. “Maybe then people will rethink Calvin’s claims about his research paper,” she said. “If it comes out how dishonest Lowry was, they might believe he stole Calvin’s work after all.”
I didn’t respond, but I might have rolled my eyes a little.
“What? Don’t you want Calvin to be vindicated at the university?”
Deena watched, as I dumped over the bin and shook out all the debris. Then I grabbed the pitchfork we’d left leaning on the fence and turned the compost pile. It released a faint rotten odor, which meant we hadn’t been aerating it often enough.
The foul smell matched my mood. Of course, deep down, I wanted Calvin to have his name cleared at the university. That would be amazing. He should absolutely get credit for his research, if at all possible.
But then what? Would he go back to his old job—and his old life—in Knoxville? Right now I was so irritated (and, okay, hurt) by his attitude toward me that I wasn’t sure I cared. So what if he did leave?
I returned the pitchfork to where I’d found it and brushed off my hands. “It’s all well and good for the truth to come out about Lowry,” I finally said. “But it doesn’t get us any closer to solving the murder.”
Deena regarded me thoughtfully. “Doesn’t it?”
“I mean, sure, it provides potential motives. All three of the students might have had reason to want him gone. But which one did it? Maybe all three were in on it together. Or two of them. Or just one.” I started back for the house, my thoughts spinning like the pinwheel in the garden. “Then, there’s Bart. It was so odd to see him wandering around—and so close to the secret lab. It makes me wonder if he knew what was going on in there.”
“You’re right,” said Deena. “They’re all more suspect than ever.”
“I just wish I could spy on the students somehow.”
Deena laughed. “Listen to you. That trek to Knoxville gave you a taste for secret agent life. All that hiding in closets and infiltrating the professor’s criminal enterprise. Look out, James Bond.”
I smiled. “I’m not gonna lie. It was a little thrilling.” I wasn’t compelled to add that having Calvin at my side might have had something to do with that.
We paused at the back door, and Deena smoothed the front of her blouse. “Maybe if we hang out more with Richard we’ll overhear something like he did.”
I looked at her, moved by her interest and readiness to get a little sneaky. And just like that, my optimism kicked in again. “You know what? You may be on to something. Do you have plans this evening? We should go over to Richard’s right now. We’ll call ahead and ask if we can bring a pizza or something.”
She grinned at me. “I’m in, partner. Let’s do it.”
Sometimes things work out so perfectly it makes me wonder if a higher power is at play. Maybe it was serendipity or maybe it was fate. (Though, I often said I didn’t believe in fate.) Either way, the stars were aligned tonight. Richard welcomed our offer to bring pizza to the B&B. Sheila and Isaiah had decided to visit Aerieville’s used bookstore and, after that, Augie’s Steakhouse. Neither of those destinations appealed to April and Vince, who stayed behind. Richard felt obligated to provide them with supper, and he didn’t know what it was going to be.
With two of the guests out of the way, that would make it easier to focus on the remaining two.
On our way to Richard’s, Deena and I stopped at our favorite Italian restaurant (the only authentic one in town) to pick up a couple of pizzas. While waiting for our order, I checked in with Rocky. He assured me all was well with Gus. After that brief call, I almost phoned Calvin too. Darn it. The guy had gotten under my skin. I couldn’t seem to go ten minutes without his image popping into my brain.
Well, if he wanted to talk to me, he knew my number. I was done inserting myself into his life. Besides, I had more important matters to focus on: like finding a way to get April and Vince to talk.
As we sat around Richard’s dining room table munching on pizza, one thing became abundantly clear. April’s phone was a potential goldmine. She stared at it almost nonstop, madly texting as if her life depended on it. What I wouldn’t give to know who she was conversing with and about what.
In between casual conversation with Richard and Deena about the upcoming wedding, and polite small talk with Vince, I was secretly obsessing over how I might get my hands on April’s phone. But with every imagined scenario, I kept bumping up against the bigger problem: how to get past her password protection.
“I hope it cools off for you guys tomorrow,” said Richard, evidently falling back on weather talk. “Hiking in the boiling heat is not my idea of fun.”
“You’re going on another hike?” asked Deena, addressing Vince and April.
Vince shrugged and April nodded. She pulled her eyes from her phone long enough to say, “Isaiah is insisting on it. He says we have to go on at least one hike in the national park. Even though our trip was canceled, he says I have to see his favorite trail. I guess it leads to one of the tallest peaks or something.”
“It’s a challenging hike,” said Vince. “But it’s exhilarating. You can never feel more alive than when you’re standing at the top of a mountain you’ve just scaled.”
Deena smiled. “In some places, you can take a sky tram to the top. If you ask me, that’s plenty exhilarating enough.”
“Here, here,” said Richard.
I took a sip of sparkling water and wiped my mouth. “Do you need to get permission to leave town?” I was genuinely curious about that. The whole reason they were still at the B&B was because the police had asked them not to leave. Legally speaking, they could probably leave anytime they wanted. But I recalled Sheila mentioning that the university wanted them to cooperate with the investigation.
“Sheila said it would be okay,” said April. “Because it’s not overnight.”
“Plus, we’ve exhausted everything there is to do in Aerieville,” added Vince.
“You poor kids,” said Richard, without sarcasm. “I know this isn’t how you wanted to spend any part of your summer break.”
“You’ve been great,” said April, giving him a sweet smile. “We like staying here.”
“That’s kind of you to say. And, hey, the county fair starts this weekend!”
“Sounds fun,” April said politely.
“It can be,” said Richard. “Anyone ready for another slice?”
Vince raised a finger. I accepted another small piece too, but I waited to take a bite. I needed to redirect the conversation before we got too far off topic.
“I can’t imagine y’all will have to stay here much longer,” I said. “I’m sure the police are getting closer to solving this thing.”
“That’s not what I heard,” said Richard.
Deena and I both looked at him in surprise. “Where’d you hear that?” I asked.
He shook his head. “A little birdy told me, but forget I said it. I need to work on my optimism.”
I turned to April and Vince. “Say, I have a question for you two.”
“Shoot,” said Vince.
“That day—Saturday morning—when you all were waiting next to the greenhouse—did you happen to see Calvin and me exit the back door of the flower shop? With my dog, Gus?”
“Oh, that was such a cute doggie!” said April, setting her phone down for a moment.
“I saw you walk by,” said Vince.
“Did you see anyone else leave that door any time before us?” I still didn’t know whether or not to believe Bart’s claim that he’d seen Wanda leave the house. I wondered if the students could corroborate his story.
“Yeah,” said Vince. “I saw somebody. That delivery guy, Bart.”
Deena lightly slapped the table. If I could read her mind, I was sure she was thinking, I knew it! She’d always suspected Bart.
“I didn’t see him,” said April. There was a hint of defiance in her voice, as if she was challenging Vince’s assertion.
“That’s because you were hypnotized by your phone,” said Vince. “An asteroid could fall in front of you, and you wouldn’t notice it.”
“Ha ha,” she said, picking up her phone again.
As we finished our pizza, Richard announced that he had a special treat for dessert. “Fondue!”
“What’s fondue?” asked April.
“It’s hot chocolate sauce for dipping, with strawberries and other fruit.”
“Then why didn’t you just say that?” asked Vince.
Richard rolled his eyes with pretended impatience. “Young people,” he said drolly.
“It sounds delicious,” said Deena.
I murmured in agreement, but my attention was elsewhere. I’d been watching April with her phone, and I’d observed something very interesting. The screen stayed open for about thirty seconds after she stopped typing and swiping. It was only after the thirty-second mark that the screensaver appeared, requiring her to enter her password again. From my vantage, it was impossible to see what she typed in for the password. But if I could get a hold of her phone within thirty seconds of her last click, I wouldn’t need the password at all.
“I think I’ll skip dessert,” said Vince, patting his rock-hard torso. “I need to do something active. Anyone up for a game of ping-pong?”
“Not me,” said April. “I want to try the fondue.”
Deena looked to me for my lead. It was as if she sensed I was cooking up a plan.
“Maybe later,” I said to Vince. “Deena and I both love chocolate. We gotta have some of this dessert.”
“Thanks for speaking for me,” said Deena dryly. “But it’s true.”
I winked at her, then turned to our host. “Richard, why don’t you go play a round with Vince. Is it called a round? A match?”
Richard opened his mouth, as if to protest, but thought better of it—probably because of the sharp kick I gave him under the table.
“Of course, I will. I want all my guests to have a good time here.”
“Are you sure, man?” asked Vince. “I can wait.”
“Totally sure. Let me just get the fondue ready for the others. Maybe I’ll convince you to try a taste after our match.”
Everything seemed to be coming together perfectly. Serendipity. Now I just needed to communicate with Deena.
“Dee, could you come out to the car with me for a quick minute? We should bring in that … flower thing before we forget.”
“Uh, right. Good thinking.”
As soon as I closed the front door behind us, I spoke quickly. “Here’s the deal. I need five minutes alone with April’s phone. I’m gonna spill chocolate on her lap. The second that happens, you need to whisk her off to the kitchen to treat the stain. Keep her in there for as long as you can. Okay?”
She looked a little wary but gamely nodded. “You got it.”
We returned to the table as Richard was setting up the fondue pot. He’d also brought out an assortment of fresh fruit and set out small bowls and plates in front of each seat. “It’s all ready,” he said. “Enjoy.” He and Vince left through the kitchen and out the back door toward the garage.
It was now or never. Deena stood at the head of the table, waiting for me to make a move. April was in the chair across from me, filling her plate with strawberries and sliced melon.
“This is so cute,” she giggled. “It would be perfect for a date night.”
“Yeah,” I said, standing up. “Perfect.” I picked up a small bowl and ladled myself a serving of hot chocolate sauce.
My heart thudded in my chest. How hot is this anyway? I didn’t want to burn the girl.
Deena cleared her throat, and I shot her a look. Her eyes were bright. I felt her willing me to get on with it.
Time passed in slow motion. Crossing my fingers for luck, I dipped the ladle deeply into the fondue pot. Then, in one swift motion, I jerked my hand up and screamed, sending a splash of chocolate sauce directly onto April’s shirtfront—and splattering onto the table and her plate as well.
“Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed. “I’m so sorry! I thought I saw something. Something touched me. I don’t know what happened.” I babbled incoherently, as Deena rushed over and grabbed April’s arm.
As for April, she screamed in shock and dropped an f-bomb—which, coming from her delicate rosebud lips, was almost as startling as my outrageous performance.
“Go!” I urged. “Go clean that off right now before the stain sets.” My window of opportunity was closing rapidly. I’d already lost a few precious seconds during my hesitation.
“Come on,” said Deena, pulling April to the kitchen. “I know what to do.”
I ran around to the other side of the table. The instant the kitchen door swung shut, I grabbed the phone and touched the screen to keep it from closing. Droplets of chocolate sauce dotted the phone case like teardrops. I hastily grabbed a napkin to wipe it off.
Okay, okay, okay, I said to myself. “What can I see?”