I hummed an old Rolling Stones' tune as I finished potting some basil plants.
"Someone is in a good mood," Ryder said as he finished arranging a dozen roses. "Guess that's the happy hum of someone who solved a murder."
"It sure is." I rinsed my hands. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. The police were about to haul Avery Hinkle in for murder, based on false evidence presented by the real killer. (Not that I would have minded if Avery Hinkle had suffered a false arrest for a few hours after her last visit to my shop.) Once Melody's shell cracked and her story started falling apart, she poured her heart out, trying to frame herself as the victim. Avery had stolen her fiancé and Ellen stole her shampoo formula. It was easy to see why she would be angry, but most people in those types of situations didn't resort to murder. She knew both women well enough to plot her murder and frame up in advance of the show. Melody knew Avery would throw a fit if she thought Ellen stole the trophy from her. And Avery reacted just the way Melody predicted. She then killed Ellen, knowing everyone saw Avery's tantrum. It made her the logical suspect. She'd even planned out what to tell the police the first time to make it look as if she was protecting Avery. Then came Melody's dramatic show at the police station where she added in more incriminating but fake details because the guilt of not telling the truth had gotten to her. It was a fairly impressive murder plan, but she forgot about Pebbles.
I walked over to where Ryder was finishing up his bouquet. "I guess Lola is probably humming happily too," I said, "now that her mom is back in Europe."
Ryder didn't answer at first. He put down the ribbon he was holding and pulled out his phone. "You can't tell Lola I have this or that I showed it to you, but, well—there was such a scene at the airport, people were filming it. So I decided to join them."
He showed me the screen on his phone and hit play. Lola and her mom were hugging and crying and creating a goodbye scene worthy of an Oscar winning movie.
"Oh my gosh, that is a lot of crying and hugging," I said. "Are you sure that red hair and Beatles t-shirt belong to Lola?"
Ryder laughed and put the phone away. "Oh, it was our Lo-lo all right. The phony. She complained about her mom the whole time but when it was time to say goodbye those two acted as if they were parting forever."
I smiled. "I'm sort of glad it went like that. Aren't you?"
He nodded. "Yeah, it was kind of cool. Only I don't dare bring it up because that sends Lola into a tizzy. So lips sealed."
I pulled the zipper across. "You can count on me." The door opened. I was pleasantly surprised to see a handsome detective with an even heavier and darker beard.
I rubbed my chin between my finger and thumb. "I'm trying to decide if you should keep the beard. It makes you look a little more mysterious."
Briggs reached up and scratched under his chin. "It also makes me feel itchy so don't spend too much time deciding. It goes as soon as the bandage comes off my right arm. Hey, Ryder, how's it going?"
"Great. I heard my boss solved a murder case," Ryder boasted.
Briggs' brown eyes were smiling at me. "That she did. And I've come to take her to lunch as a reward."
"And because you are bored out of your mind," I added.
"That too." He took my hand. "Let's go button-nosed Sherlock. You can fill me in on just how you solved a case long before the police. Maybe I'll learn something."