The next morning, Cowboy’s barking woke me up. Sun streamed through the bedroom window, and my phone display showed it was close to eight.
Upon standing, I fought off a dizzy spell. It’d been a short night, and I never functioned well when sleep deprived. Once the room quit spinning, I headed to the kitchen. “Good morning.” I opened the crate and rubbed the growing retriever’s head. “Is it time to let you sleep in the bedroom with me? Or after weeks of roaming, do you like the security of your crate?”
Cowboy licked my face, then trotted to the back door.
I walked outside with him, wearing a faded blue daisy T-shirt and shorts.
Now that I’d helped catch Willow’s killer, what did my future hold? I’d dreamed of working with plants for most of my life. My journey of proving Paige’s innocence had cost me dearly. Yet if I’d had to do it all over again, I’d still stand up for my friend.
If I humbled myself, was it possible to get back my old job at the pharmacy? Even if it didn’t fill me with joy, it paid the bills.
“Anybody home?” One of the Nelle sisters called out from the side of the house.
“I’m coming.”
Cowboy raced me to the gate.
Ruby, Gaby, and Rosalita all stood wearing grins as big as Texas. Each one held a planter of flowers.
Rosalita said, “Don’t just stand there, Emma. These are heavy.”
My dog barked, then ran the perimeter.
I opened the gate and took the containers. “What are y’all doing?”
“You’re our friend, and you need help. So, here we are.” Ruby leaned close. “You might want to fix yourself up. There are men coming too.”
“Men?” My voice squeaked.
Ruby nodded. “You’re one of us, and we’re fixing to help you out of this jam. First, get changed.”
I set the flowers in the shade. “Do you mind if the dog stays with you? Or would you prefer to come inside?”
Gaby pointed to my patio table and chairs. “We’ll sit right there, and the dog won’t bother us.”
“Okay, thanks.” I dashed inside. For the love of daffodils, the sisters were up to something. It didn’t take me long to wash up and slip on more appropriate clothing. I grabbed my straw cowgirl hat and headed to the door. On my way out, Cowboy darted inside.
Jake and Celia stood on the patio deep in conversation, and I joined them. “Hi, Celia. Jake, can you explain what’s going on?”
He reached for a cup on the patio table and handed it to me. “Hot tea sweetened with local honey. As for the rest, the sisters called the locals together. The plan is to replant your gardens with starts, I think they called it. They don’t want you slowed down by planting seeds again.”
I sipped my tea and gazed at my crowded yard. Tess Carranza, Faith and Zig Meier, Buddy Hewitt, Tyler Legend, Katie Paxson, Wayne Johns, Dr. Bushy Erb, and Sophie. Why wasn’t she at the bakery?
There were even a few people I didn’t recognize. I pinched my lips to stop their trembling. Nobody wanted to see me cry.
Sophie hurried over to me. “We need some guidance from you on where the different plants need to go.”
“Why are you here?”
She shrugged. “That’s what friends are for. I put a note on the bakery door, telling people to come over and lend a hand.”
“Oh, my goodness. Thanks.” I gave her a quick hug, then gathered my sketches from the garden shed. Whatever my friends and neighbors had brought over would be perfect, even if they weren’t what I’d originally planned to plant.
By late afternoon, the crowd had dwindled to Jake and me.
I pointed toward the patio. “Let’s have a seat. I think there’s some lemonade left.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“Hello, Emma?” A familiar masculine voice called out from the sideyard.
“We’re on the patio.”
Matt appeared. “I heard you had quite the crowd here earlier.”
“Sure did.” I was too emotional to express my appreciation, so I changed the subject. “Help yourself to a cookie or whatever is left.”
He took three cookies and a can of Dr. Pepper, then sat in a patio chair. “Thanks. It’s been a long day.”
“Did you get any sleep?”
“Nope. But it’s worth it to be able to report our progress to you.”
“How soon until I get Ms. Daisy back?”
“Give me a couple of days for the lab techs to finish going over it. Or should I say her?” He bit into a chocolate chip cookie.
It was easier to be patient with the police chief now that I knew he’d made some arrests.
Jake winked at me.
Matt wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Mary Moore convinced Rita Flores the answer to all of Vince’s problems would be to get rid of Willow. They knew a divorce would ruin Vince, so they had to act fast. Mary convinced Rita to ask Dave to kill Willow. Mary also provided the money to pay Rusty. When that didn’t work, they tried to find Gambler, otherwise known as Kevin Anderson. Time was running out before the divorce hearing, so Rita went to talk to Willow. She asked her to take it easy on Vince. Willow wouldn’t agree. The women argued, and Rita left in a rage. She called Mary and told her the hit was on. Gambler was ready and waiting.”
“Whoa, talk about the worst mother-in-law in history. What about Nick?”
“Gambler waited for him to leave the store before approaching Willow. There wasn’t time for him to snatch her and take her to some remote region. Instead, he killed her there and tried to make it look like Paige did it.”
Jake cleared his throat.
I spoke up, “Vince was the first person I thought of.”
Jake rubbed his hands together. “Speaking of Vince, did you have time to look at the files we gave you?”
“We did, and we contacted the FBI. They have an agent questioning Vince now. Rita Flores, Dave Smith, Kevin Anderson, and Mary Moore are also being questioned by my officers. Jake, we may have an opening for you sooner than I expected.”
I said, “Who wrecked my yard?”
“Best I can tell, it was Kevin. That slimeball will pretty much do anything for a buck, especially if he’s not doing well at the poker table.”
“The poker chip made me think it was him. What about Vince’s father?”
“Daniel Moore had nothing to do with the murder or anything else bad. He’s innocent.”
“That’s good to hear.” I sighed. “He’s awful nice. Do you believe he’ll return to Baltimore?”
“My best hunch is he’ll remain in Lutz for the sake of Christine and Blake. Willow’s family is actively involved now too.”
“Matt, do you think Nick killed his first wife?”
“That happened before I became the chief of police. Give me time to wrap up Willow’s murder, then one of us will take a look at her case.” Matt stood. “I need to hit the road. There’s more to do before I can call it a day.”
“Matt, thanks for the updates.”
“No problem. I’ll see myself out.” He moseyed away.
Jake smiled. “I’m surprised he didn’t offer you a job.”
“Even though I’d like to see justice for Rhonda Johns, I don’t want to be a cop. This is where I belong. Growing flowers.” I motioned toward the gardens. The town had stood by me today, and they’d restored my faith in people.
“If it hadn’t been for your tenacity to prove Paige was innocent, I’m not positive Matt would’ve solved the crime. Leastways not as fast as he did.”
“I appreciate the compliment, but the only mysteries I plan to solve in the future will be the fictional ones I read for book club.”
“Good to know.” Jake stood. “I’ll see you around, Emma.”
“You betcha.” I walked him to the gate. “Take care of yourself.”
“You too, Sunshine.” He kissed my forehead and disappeared before I could respond.
Goosebumps danced up my spine in a delightful Texas two-step, and I smiled. Hopefully, Jake would stick around town.
I walked through my restored gardens. My daughter and Emma’s Flowers were my top priorities. It was time to trust myself to make my business work. It was time to trust men. They weren’t all like my husband and Vince. Jake had turned out to be one of the good guys.
The time had come to open my eyes to all the possibilities life had to offer. I’d start as soon I recovered from solving my first homicide.