I was too pleased to care about my wet jeans—or the growing bruise on my backside. The gratitude in Wanda’s expression, not to mention the tears in her eyes, were enough to keep me warm through a thousand winters.
She gathered her things from the ground where she’d left them, and we exited the park together. Outside Bread n’ Butter, we parted with a hug. She went into the bakery for a cup of coffee, and I headed for my car. Once more I was glad I kept a change of clothes in my just-in-case overnight bag.
Deena was in the kitchen setting out corsage pins and ribbons, as if readying for an assembly line. “There you are,” she said when I came in the back door. “Did you take Gus for a walk?”
“Yes, I did. And we had quite an adventure. I’ll tell you about it in a minute.”
I took Gus to the office and rewarded him with a dog treat and a chew toy. Then I changed in the bathroom and freshened up. When I rejoined Deena in the kitchen, she asked me about my adventure.
“We ran into Wanda again,” I said. “And hopefully managed to put her husband’s spirit to rest.”
She tilted her head at that. “Seriously?”
I laughed. “Well, I guess that remains to be seen.” I started to lay out flowers on the table, then paused. “Where’s Calvin? Have you seen him yet?”
“Briefly. He’s in the greenhouse.”
“I think I’ll go out there now.” I grabbed a clean bucket from the floor and filled it with water and floral solution. “I’ll get the roses we need.”
“Okay,” she said agreeably. “Get ready for the silent treatment, though. Calvin seemed a little down.”
“Thanks for the warning.”
I found him in the rose side of the greenhouse. He was pouring liquid fertilizer into the soil around some of the plants. He looked up as I approached him.
“I’m about done here, if you need help with wedding prep.”
“Yeah, that would be great.” I picked up a pair of gloves and gardening shears from a workbench and headed to the next row over. After slipping on the gloves, I examined the blooms on a bush of light peach Tiffany roses. They would be perfect for the bridal bouquet.
However, before I made the first snip, I heard Wanda’s voice in my head. Talk it out. Far be it from me to ignore the wise woman. After all, I did tell her I’d take her advice. Placing the bucket and shears on the floor, I looked over toward Calvin.
In truth, my anger at him had already begun to fade. And finding Wanda’s ring had left me in an exceptionally tender mood. At this point, I was ready to let bygones be bygones. I would make peace with Calvin’s past, present, and future, whatever that might entail.
I walked to the end of the row and saw that he was putting away the fertilizer. With his eyes on his feet, he trudged my way.
“Hey,” I said brightly. “I have something to show you.”
He looked up in surprise.
“It’s in the shop, though,” I continued. “In my purse. It’s an anonymous letter I wrote, to send to the police.”
“About Lowry?”
“Yeah. The truth needs to come out about him, don’t you think?”
“For sure. Thanks for doing that.”
We locked eyes for an instant, then he looked away. I wished I could read his thoughts. Probably, he was feeling discouraged, considering he was still a murder suspect. I couldn’t fault him for that.
“If—” I began, stopping when he spoke at the same time.
“I—” He broke off, one corner of his mouth curving in a faint half smile. “You go first.”
“I was only going to say that if you want to talk, I’m a good listener.”
His smile broadened, before dropping into an expression of remorse. “And I was going to say I owe you an apology. I’m sorry for being weird yesterday.” He paused, running his fingers through his hair. “And for not being completely forthright with you.”
“That’s okay,” I said automatically. I was eager to forgive him and set things right between us. “But thank you. That means a lot.”
“I, uh, wasn’t in a great place emotionally before I came to Aerieville. Besides losing my job and my reputation, I’d broken up with my girlfriend.”
“Your roommate?” I guessed.
He nodded. “We’d already grown apart a long time ago. The stress of the Lowry situation only made things worse. She thought I should’ve been more assertive and—well, whatever. It doesn’t matter now.”
As he talked, he moved down the row to the peach-colored roses and picked up the bucket of water. I took the shears and began gathering the flowers, while he held the bucket. He didn’t seem inclined to elaborate about his ex-girlfriend, and I was okay with that. This was a start.
I snipped a rose and handed it to him. “On the bright side, your reputation may soon be restored. When it comes out how dishonest Lowry was, it will be more believable that he stole your research.”
“Yeah,” Calvin acknowledged. “It might help a little, especially if there’s a thorough search of his papers.” He didn’t seem overly cheered by the prospect.
“They might even let you have your old job back.” I’d tried to sound encouraging, but it still pained me to say it. Perhaps he could tell.
“Are you tryin’ to get rid of me?” he joked.
“No! Of course not. I … rather like having you around.”
His mouth twitched, as if he was holding back a smile. “I rather like being around.”
“Good.” I looked down to snip another rose. For some reason, I felt a blush warm my cheeks. Careful not to prick myself on a thorn, I concentrated on the task at hand. Soon the bucket was full.
“Want me to go grab another one?” asked Calvin.
“No, thanks. Let’s start with these and see how far we get.”
“Aye aye, cap’n.”
Grinning like a loon, I led the way out of the greenhouse. It was good to have goofy Calvin back again.
For the rest of the morning, Deena, Calvin, and I trimmed, stripped, and de-thorned roses; arranged bouquets and centerpieces; and made all the corsages and boutonnieres. By the time we broke for lunch, my fingers were sore from so much ribbon-wrapping. I felt good about our progress, though. We worked efficiently together and, fortunately (under the circumstances), didn’t have a lot of interruptions. There were only two walk-in customers, one who ordered a dozen red roses and one who wanted a potted orchid—both of which were quick and easy to provide.
After lunch, Calvin took Gus for a walk, while Deena and I got to work on the aisle decorations: pew bows of satin ribbon and tulle, which we would later embellish with a cluster of roses and baby’s breath. The arch, on the other hand, would have to be put together at the church. She watched me create the first bow, since she’d never done it before. As I attached the frothy tulle to the folded ribbon, I recalled part of my dream from the night before.
“So,” I said casually. “I was talking to Rocky yesterday.”
“Oh?” she said, without looking up.
“About you.”
That got her attention. “Why me?”
“Because Rocky likes you.” I felt like a teenager talking like this, but I didn’t care. Matters of the heart could make anyone feel young again. “He thinks you’re—and I quote—‘smart, interesting, and pretty.’”
She stood back, with her hands on her hips. “He really said that?”
I nodded, grinning. “I don’t mean to put you on the spot. It’s cool if you don’t feel the same way.”
“Oh! Well,” she said. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind getting to know him better. I think he’s smart, interesting, and pretty, too.” She smiled cheekily, then took on a thoughtful expression.
Part of me wanted to issue a warning about not breaking my brother’s heart, but I held back. No one needed pressure like that.
“He mentioned going on a double date,” I said.
At that moment, Calvin and Gus came in the back door. “Just passing through,” he said. “I’ll keep Gus out of here.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Double date?” said Deena. “With who?”
“He’s trying to set me up with a friend of his.” I fluffed the bow and held it up for inspection.
Calvin froze, with his hand on the hall door. “Did I miss something?”
“We’re talking about Rocky,” Deena told him. To me, she said, “A double date sounds fun. Where would we go?”
Before I could answer, my cell phone rang.
“Maybe it’s Rocky,” said Deena.
I snickered at her eagerness and resisted an eye roll. Grabbing my phone from the counter, I looked at the display. “It’s Richard!”
With Deena and Calvin watching, I perched on a stool to answer the call. “Hey, Richard. I’ve been hoping to hear from you.”
“Hi, Sierra.” In place of his usual zest, there was a serious note in his voice.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, immediately on alert. “Did your guests go on their hike after all?”
“No. The hike was canceled, like I said it would be. But I have some potentially bad news.”
“Bad news?” I glanced up at Deena and Calvin. Their faces mirrored my own worry. Calvin let up on Gus’s leash, so the pup could hurry to my side. I used my free hand to pet the top of his head.
“There was a police officer here this morning, asking questions,” said Richard. “That’s what kept them from the day trip they had planned. I was hovering nearby, so I got to hear much of what they said.”
My mind jumped ahead, already anticipating what was to come. “What did they say?”
Richard sighed. “Well, they apparently decided to throw Calvin under the bus. In spite of whatever they said before, they’re all now in agreement that they saw him arguing with the professor. They also claim they saw you and Calvin exit Flower House right after Lowry was killed.”
“Just Calvin and me, and no one else?” So much for trying to place the blame on Bart.
“No one else. I hate to say it, Sierra, but they’re pointing fingers at you too. They all said they believe Calvin killed Lowry, and that you were in on it.”
Of course, they’d say that. I squeezed my eyes shut, as if I could make this problem disappear. I’d carried on this morning as if everything were peaches and cream. Between helping Wanda, making up with Calvin, and playing cupid for Deena, I’d acted as if there wasn’t a murder investigation hanging over Flower House like an ominous cloud. Well, I wouldn’t do it anymore.
I opened my eyes. “Thanks for the heads-up, Richard.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“I’m not sure, but I’ll figure something out.” In fact, my wheels were turning already.
After the call from Richard, I remembered the letter I’d written. I showed it to Calvin, and he agreed we should send it right away. He offered to deliver a copy directly to the Aerieville Police Station before dropping the other two envelopes in the mail.
“I don’t care if anyone sees me,” he said, opening the kitchen door. “It doesn’t matter if the cops associate me with the letter. The evidence at UT ought to speak for itself.”
“We’ll hold down the fort here.” Under the circumstances, it almost felt like he was undertaking a risky covert mission across enemy lines. I had to resist the urge to give him a good-luck kiss. Instead, he had to settle for Gus, who got to go along for the ride.
As soon as they left, Deena and I finished the pew bows and made sure everything was organized for our final preparations in the morning. All the while, my mind never left the new accusations Richard had relayed. I wondered what prompted the change. And would it even matter? Would the police give any credence to the students’ contradictory statements? I said as much to Deena.
Like the good friend she was, she gave me a reassuring answer. “I wouldn’t think so. It seems suspicious to me that they changed their tune at this late stage.”
“Totally suspicious!” I agreed. “And why now? Do you think April figured out I snooped in her phone?”
Deena pursed her lips, considering. “Maybe. Or maybe they’re just tired of being here and want to go home.”
Whatever the reason, I couldn’t shake the feeling that time was running out.
We completed our work in the kitchen and headed to the orchid room, Deena with a feather duster and me with a spray bottle. As I misted the plants’ roots and leaves, my thoughts returned again to the day of the murder.
From what I’d observed that afternoon, Vince, Isaiah, and April—whom I’d dubbed the rebel, the preppy, and Blondie—had stood apart from their classmates. They weren’t in a fun-loving, excited mood. They didn’t even seem very chummy with one another. I remembered April trying to get the attention of both guys, who seemed to be ignoring her—until Vince apparently went into the bathroom with her. Did they go in there to discuss Isaiah’s plan to kill the professor and how they might stop him? Or were they plotting to make it happen sooner?
Something tickled my arm and I jerked it away. It was Deena with the feather duster.
“Earth to Sierra. What were you doing, building a mind palace à la Sherlock Holmes?”
I wrinkled my nose playfully. “Ha. In a way, actually. And I think I might have a plan.” An idea pieced itself together, as I spoke. “It involves talking to Vince alone.”
“Alone, alone? Is that safe?”
“Well, I don’t need to be alone,” I amended. “I just need him to be alone.”
Deena nodded. “Gotcha.”
I loved it that she knew what I meant. “I’ll call Richard right now and see what I can arrange.”
While I called Richard, Deena finished dusting the shelves in the orchid room and moved on to the front of the shop. A few minutes later, I rejoined her near the cash register.
“Okay, here’s the plan. Richard is going to tell Vince to meet me at Cuties’ at six o’clock. He’ll let him know the invitation is for Vince only.”
“And Vince will assume he’s meeting you alone?” asked Deena.
“Probably. When he arrives, he’ll find that he’s meeting with the two of us, but I don’t think it will matter.”
Deena looked at her watch. “It’s nearly five now. Want to go soon and have a drink and a bite?”
“Yeah. Let me just see where Calvin is first.”
Before I could send Calvin a text, he and Gus came through the front door.
“Mission accomplished,” he said. “And no one said a word to me when I left the letter in a tray for the chief.”
“Good.” I told him my plan to meet Vince and asked if he’d keep Gus a while longer.
He hesitated before answering. “I’d rather go with you.”
I smiled to myself. Another time. “Vince will probably be more inclined to talk without you there.”
“Don’t worry,” said Deena. “I’ll be there to chaperone.”
Calvin looked at me as if he wanted to say something more but changed his mind. In the end, he patted me on the back and muttered, “Good luck.”