Chapter Nine

After we left the hotel — with Janey assuring me there was no problem to pack up the room and put all of Brad's things in their store room — Sara insisted on driving us to the florist.

Although I was partly caught up in her unabashed enthusiasm for “following a clue,” my more sensible side wondered if I should really be consulting a lawyer. Although Detective Logan was more than kind to me last night and earlier today, I still couldn't help wondering if he were viewing me under a veil of suspicion. As far as he knew, I was the only person in town who was even acquainted with Brad. Even I had to admit my loathing of the man constituted enough motive for murder. Not that I would dare say that out loud! Yet, someone else in town also had to know him. It was only logical to conclude whomever it was must’ve hated Brad enough to kill him. Even though I wracked my brain, I couldn't see how anyone could have managed to connect the two of us. I was so very careful never to mention his name. I never even told my marital status to anyone. I avoided seeing a therapist over the trauma I suffered, choosing instead to “endure the feelings” and allow them to dissipate over time. I looked forward to when I didn't feel constantly emotionally exhausted. I was also careful to never consult a physician in town, ensuring my medical records were not viewed by anyone. The longer I thought about it, the stronger I concluded that no one was using me as their motive. In other words, no one lured Brad here to enact their vengeance on him for what he did to me.

So if I weren't the reason, it had to be something entirely unrelated to me. How could I discover the true reason?

“You know what we should do?” said Sara. “We need to put a whole bunch of heads together. You need people.”

“I have people.”

“I’m not referring to acquaintances, although that's a start. I mean, you need a loyal group of friends who can get involved with this and put their heads together with ours to solve it. Is there anyone you trust?”

“Well, let's see—” I paused to think, counting on my fingers. Finally, I had to concede she was right. I had a lot of acquaintances, but only one that burgeoned into a real friendship. “You,” I said, feeling more than a little embarrassed I couldn't rattle off a list of close, warm friendships.

“It’s a start,” said Sara. “Two heads are always better than one.”

I gave her a bemused smile. “You really think we can crack this case?”

“On your own, maybe. Together, possibly. But in a group that crowd-sources ideas and facts, and also knows everyone and everything going on in town? Absolutely!”

I pondered that. She had a point. Murder investigations rarely got solved by one lone actor. Every TV show I'd ever seen had a full-time squad on the case, or at least a partner. Sara was right, asking for help could pay huge dividends. I just didn't know whom to ask. Having kept to myself since arriving in town, even though I was friendly, I always eschewed making real friendships. That’s because I made that mistake once before in the first town I settled in. Then, I abruptly had to cut ties when Brad appeared one cold winter afternoon. Although I'd lived in Calendar more than a year, a little voice told me I might not be lucky this time around either so I never tried. Of course, he still found me! Thankfully, now he could never find me again. I could make close friends from now on. In fact, I could do anything I chose to do now. The revelation was both exciting and terrifying. The swirling pit in my stomach reacted without the need to identify which was which.

“You look a little green,” said Sara. “I'm sorry. This was silly. You've had a terrible shock and I pushed you clean out of your comfort zone. Do you want to go home? I can call our local handyman to fix your lock. Or you could eat dinner at my house? No one needs to think about making dinner at a time like this.”

“Isn't that the florist?” I asked as we drove past a shop framed with an arch of beautiful flowers. “Let’s go there.”

Sara glanced over her shoulder. “It is.” She slid into the next available parking space, almost at the end of the block. “We don't have to go inside. Like I said, I realize now how pushy I was and maybe it isn't what you want.”

“Actually, I think it's a great idea. I've been puzzling over and over about what happened and I have to prove it wasn't me. To do that, I need as many facts as I can gather. I can't thank you enough for being here with me. If I haven't been as friendly to you as you’ve been to me, I’m more than ready to make amends.” The words tumbled out of my mouth as fast as the thoughts formed in my mind, but they were the absolute truth.

“You've nothing to make amends for! If anything, I should be making amends to you! If I'd been more aware, perhaps I could have spotted the signs and managed to help you sooner. At the very least, I could have kept an eye out for that guy!”

I reached for her hand. “Does any of it matter, so long as we're friends now?” I asked.

Sara squeezed my hand in return. “I'm so pleased to hear you say that.”

“We should talk to the florist. The receipt you found in Brad’s pocket certainly came from them, but I'd like to know if he said anything when he bought them.”

“Something like, 'I want to intimidate my estranged wife; do you think giving her some creepy red peonies could still work?'” asked Sara.

“Now I think about it, how weird it was that he would send me flowers at all. To intimidate me, sure, and it worked, but if he came to ask me for a divorce, well... who bothers to send flowers first?” I wondered.

“I had an ex that brought me flowers — the most beautiful bouquet — then dumped me the next week. I was curious why he would spend so much money on me, given he must have had qualms already, but I figured ultimately, the money didn't matter to him. He was just doing what he wanted to do.”

“That’s strange.”

“You're telling me.”

“Your boyfriend is nice. I like him.”

“Isn't he?” Sara beamed. “I didn't like him at first because of the conflict over the library when we first met but he grew on me very quickly. Plus, without his help, I might not have found the clues that helped me solve that mystery! You should come by and meet the puppy. Of course, he's Jason's dog really but he's so great to have around. I take up every opportunity I can get to pet sit. He's a big, furry ball of adorability.”

“Jason? Or the puppy?” I asked and Sara laughed before she replied, “Both!”

“Let's go inside while I still have the nerve,” I decided.

“You have bags of nerve. You wouldn't have escaped from that awful man if you didn't,” said Sara. “Let's go.”

Full Bloom Florists was filled with buckets of cut flowers and pretty potted plants in every shade and texture on the display shelves. Two long poles mounted on the wall behind the cash register held ribbons and bows, and an array of greeting cards stood beside the register on a swivel stand. A woman stood behind the desk, rolling a bouquet in cellophane. “Hi,” she said, looking up, “I'll be right with you. Feel free to browse.”

“Thanks,” replied Sara.

“I just realized I don't have any plants in my house,” I said.

“Maybe they're waiting for you to put down roots,” Sara said, raising her eyebrows at her pun. I laughed and nodded. Perhaps she was exactly right.

“How can I help?” asked the woman.

Sara indicated I should take the lead so I stepped forwards. “I received some flowers from here yesterday,” I told her.

She smiled. “I hope you liked them?”

“They were beautiful,” I said, because they weren’t to blame in themselves but rather, what they represented to me. “Do you recall who sent them? They were a large bunch of red peonies.”

She smiled wider. “Oh, yes, I do remember. I wrapped them up myself. There was a card too.”

“There was. They were delivered to my shop, Blake's?”

“That's right. I took them there myself but the shop was closed so I left them in the doorway since the posted hours in front said it would open soon.”

Another woman stepped out from the rear and joined us. They had similar green eyes and round faces, which made me wonder if they were mother and daughter. “Someone else asked about them too,” she said, giving us both a curious look. “A Detective Logan.”

“Whatever for, Bobbie?” cried the older woman, her jaw dropping.

“He wanted to know who purchased them.”

“Are you sure?” asked the mother. “Why did he want to know that?”

“I’m positive. That's the only bouquet of red peonies we sold this week.”

“What did you tell Detective Logan?” I asked.

Bobbie shrugged. “I showed him the card receipt. An initial and a last name and the banking details. I only allowed him to see it because Detective Logan said it was part of an investigation. I don't think we should give out that information to just anyone.”

“Of course,” I agreed. “Except we know already who sent them. Brad Van den Berg.”

“Then I don't know how else we can help you?” said the woman, glancing at her daughter who also shrugged.

“Do you remember anything he said while he was here?” interjected Sara. “You're not in any trouble. My friend is just curious about why he sent them to her.”

“The card that came with them was blank,” I added. “There was no explanation and it certainly wasn't my birthday.”

“This young lady was the recipient, Bobbie,” said the first woman. She paused in wrapping the bouquet and seemed keenly interested. “I don't see any harm in telling her whatever he said.”

“Well, if you're sure, Mom... now, let's see... I asked him if it were a special occasion and he said it was to surprise his wife. I recognized the address of that nice boutique and asked him if he wouldn't rather have it sent to their home; but he said no, the shop would make it more of a surprise. I told him I liked the boutique a lot and bought a pretty dress from there last month for my brother's wedding. Then I said they always have such fabulous styles. I asked if his wife was the one with such great taste and he said she was. I think that was about it. Such a nice man. And so handsome, too!”

“Quite the romantic,” added the first woman, winking at me. “You're a lucky girl. But why on earth did Detective Logan ask about that? Your husband's not in any kind of trouble is he?”

“You'll have to ask Detective Logan,” said Sara swiftly. “Thank you for your help. We really appreciate it.”

“Thank you,” I called when Sara shepherded me out of the shop. “He made it sound like were still together,” I said, becoming more puzzled as we walked to the car.

“I doubt he knew your home address. Only where your shop was. That must have been why he sent the flowers there and not to your house.”

“If that were the case, he found out where I lived pretty quickly. My neighbor saw a man looking in my windows and Detective Logan said she confirmed it was Brad.” I pondered how he could have acquired that knowledge and said, “I don't think it would be too hard. People are so friendly here, if he asked the right person, they might just tell him. Although I'd put my money on a private investigator. By sending them to my work, he wanted me to think about him all day. Perhaps he watched me from somewhere to see my reaction.”

“What a horrible thought!”

“But not without merit,” I said and Sara pulled a face.

“Then we shouldn't rule out that he already had your home address,” she said. She beeped the car unlocked, walked around to the driver's and rested her arms on the roof. “I've only known about this guy less than a few hours and I already loathe him.”

“You're not the only one in town,” I said, thinking about both myself and the killer. “His murder was very personal. He was stabbed in the heart. That's brutal! I keep wondering if his murder might be strictly about him and have nothing to do with me at all!”

We climbed in and Sara reached for her seatbelt, asking, “Is that possible?”

“I chose this town because I had no links to it. None, whatsoever. I'd never been here, not even for a vacation or en route to another destination. I never read about in a magazine or saw it on TV. I never even heard about it when I first left San Diego so I could never mention to Brad that it was somewhere I'd love to live. I only happened across Calendar a few weeks before I moved here! And even then, I wasn't convinced it was a permanent move yet.”

“This town really needs to up its PR,” said Sara. “How could you manage to live your life without ever hearing of us?” she said sarcastically.

“Point taken, but as for your question... no. I'm sure none of the locals here knew either one of us. I'm not one hundred percent positive, but as good as,” I said, thinking about my neighbor Jerry’s guesswork.

“Someone could have followed him?”

“Wouldn't he have noticed?”

“Not if he were really self-absorbed.” Sara gasped and shot me a look. “Or maybe they followed him via electronic means? Dropping a locater bug in his bag or jacket? Or slapping a device on his car? They can be bought online now. A person doesn't even need to physically follow anyone anymore.”

“Was there anything in his jacket pocket at the hotel that looked like a bug? I didn't find anything like that in his suitcase or laptop bag.”

“No, but perhaps it's in his clothing at the morgue? Or maybe on his rental car?”

“If it were on his rental car, wouldn't the perp have to arrive before him? And know exactly which car was rented by Brad?”

“You're right. That doesn't feel at all possible. But they could have followed him to town, staked out the hotels until they saw him, and waited until he got into a vehicle.”

“They would have to strike it lucky very quickly. There're lots of hotels here and he only arrived the day before yesterday.”

“So, we're back to the suspicion that something was inside his clothing when he was killed? What about his phone?”

“I assume Detective Logan would have Brad's clothes and his phone.”

“Do you think he'll let you take a look at them?”

“At evidence? I don't think that's likely. We need to seek other avenues that don't involve asking Detective Logan for favors.”

“First, let's get lunch. You're probably riding on nothing more than adrenaline right now.”

“Is it weird that despite knowing what happened to Brad, and what I actually saw, it still hasn't fully sunken in?” I asked.

“It might not for a while. I think that's perfectly natural. We have several books on grief at the library but I'm not sure any of them would cover this kind of situation. All I know is: we have to eat now for good brain function. So, let’s leave the car here while we have a bite and brainstorm.” Sara popped her seatbelt and waited for me to nod.

“Okay,” I agreed. I didn't feel hungry one bit but Sara was right. I did need to eat if I wanted to think clearly and find my way through this mess.