The police took Letty away in handcuffs. As they exited the flower shop, I stared down at the cookie crumbs sprinkled across the floor of the events room and was reminded of the scene here after Abe’s death. It seemed we’d come full circle.
Then I glanced at Gus, who had run to the window to see outside, and again at the crumbs. He had eaten most of the cookies. A horrible thought popped into my head. I raced to the front door and ran outside.
“Wait! Letty!”
The officers paused, and she looked up at me with a haggard expression.
“Was there poison in the cookies? Gus ate them!”
She met my eyes, making me wait for a second that felt like an eternity, then shook her head to tell me “no.” The cops urged her into the back of their waiting patrol car, and then they were gone.
I became aware of Flo standing outside the bakery, shielding her eyes from the noonday sun. I waved at her cheerily, before returning to the shop. Nothing to see here, I thought. Just another ordinary day at Flower House.
I believed Letty was telling the truth about the cookies, but I would still watch Gus carefully to be sure. So far, he was acting as lively and frisky as ever. Calvin was playing with him, keeping him occupied as he’d done while the police took statements from Richard and me. They’d also taken a peek at the kitchen and, thankfully, bagged and removed Letty’s gun.
After that, Richard said he wanted to go home, take a shower, and “collect my nerves.” He said he’d come back later to fix both doors in the kitchen, if I wanted him to. I assured him I did. I apologized for locking him in the basement, but he wasn’t angry. In fact, he felt guilty and embarrassed about what he’d done at the bank, and he promised he would come clean.
Now I slid into a chair in the events room and watched Calvin and Gus. Calvin looked different, I realized, than when I’d first met him. He wore an open-collar button-down shirt and jeans that actually fit. His manner was more easygoing too, less stilted. As if feeling my eyes on him, he looked up and grinned.
“Richard told me how our buddy here saved the day,” he said. “Attacking Letty’s legs and making her fall over the gate?”
“Ha! Sort of,” I said, with a smile. “Hey, how did you know to bring the police to Flower House anyway?”
Calvin walked over and pulled out a chair across from me. Gus followed him, still wanting attention. “After dropping off the orchids, I tried calling you to ask if you’d like me to pick up something for lunch. I went ahead and stopped off at Nell’s Diner, tried calling again, and still no answer. Then I started thinking about that stunt in the cemetery. I got this crazy notion that Richard, or one of the others, might try coming after you. I actually bumped into the officers at the diner and decided to say something.”
“It’s a good thing you did. Letty was trying to escape when you arrived, but she was pretty unstable. Who knows what she might’ve done next.”
Calvin nodded soberly, no doubt conscious of how differently things could have turned out. In that moment, I regarded him with a mixture of gratitude, curiosity, and something like affection.
Impulsively, I reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”
His eyes flickered with surprise, before he quirked his mouth into a slight smile. “Of course.”
A cell phone buzzed nearby. I let go of Calvin’s hand, so he could reach into his pocket and look at his phone.
“Excuse me a minute,” he said, standing up. Gus and I watched, as Calvin walked to the front door and stepped outside, while saying, “Hey, what’s up?” into his phone.
Hmm. I got up too and went to the kitchen to fill Gus’s water bowl. After he had a drink, I coaxed him into the office with a chew toy and sat down at the computer.
Now that Abe’s murder was solved, I finally had the bandwidth to focus on the other mystery that had been nagging at me: Felix’s sudden departure and Calvin’s convenient arrival.
I pulled up a web browser and clicked on the history tab. I knew Calvin had been freely poking around in here. He could very well have erased the computer’s history and cleared all past search results—but apparently he didn’t. I scrolled down to see what websites Felix had visited in the days before he left. From what I could tell, the site names pretty well reflected his interests: Geocaching Today, Fishing Poles for Sale, River Water Levels, Geocaching, Botanical Names of Plants, Geocaching.
I opened the link to a geocaching forum, which Felix seemed to frequent on a daily basis. It didn’t take long to see that my old boss went by the handle “Flower Man.”
“How original,” I said. I was talking to myself, as Gus was still engrossed in his chew toy.
Evidently, Felix participated in conversations on a number of topics, but the one that came up the most was the “Arwin Treasure.”
“Treasure, huh? Didn’t Angela say Jim Lomack was on a treasure hunt?”
I’d assumed she was referring to the pretend treasure that made up a cache in a geocaching game. However, as I soon learned, legend told of a real treasure. Years ago, an anonymous rich man, known only by the moniker “Arwin,” reportedly hid a cache of jewels worth upwards of a million dollars. He’d also hidden a series of obscure clues all over the country, in increasingly hard-to-find places. Some of the clues used the botanical names of plants marking the hiding place for the next clue.
Interesting. I gathered that the treasure hunters had been stumped about one particular clue for years. Apparently, it involved a riddle about a rare plant.
A soft sound behind me made me look up. Calvin was standing in the doorway.
“Whatcha doing?” he asked, glancing at the computer screen.
I leaned back in the chair and crossed my arms. “Tell me the truth. Why are you really here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Okay, then. How about if I tell you why you’re here. You’re trying to figure out where Felix went, because you think he solved the clue to the Arwin Treasure. And you’re working with someone else, who’s trying to follow Felix. Is that about right?”
He opened his mouth to respond but evidently didn’t know what to say. All he managed was, “Uh.”
I frowned. “Is anything you told me true? Are you really a botany teacher ghostwriting a book? Did Felix really agree to rent you the apartment? Or are you a complete fraud?”
“I’m not a fraud!” Calvin insisted. “I mean, I’m not actually writing a book. That was a fib. But pretty much everything else is true.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “So, you’re really a klutzy, pun-loving plant nerd?”
At least he had the grace to blush. “Okay, I admit I acted a bit nerdy and awkward at first. I thought I’d have better luck ingratiating myself here with a more, I don’t know, innocent persona? I thought I needed a cover to explain why I was so interested in Felix’s books and papers. But then you turned out to be so trusting, and I realized I didn’t really need the act.”
Now I was irked. He might as well have called me “gullible and naive.” I narrowed my eyes, about ready to kick him to the curb. But then he hurried to my side and dropped to his knees so we were eye level.
“You were right to trust me,” he said quickly. “I’m not a bad guy. Look.” He reached over me to move the mouse and click into another exchange on the geocaching forum. “This is a conversation between Felix and me. See how far back it goes? Way before I even learned about the treasure.”
I glanced at the computer screen. “You’re ‘Plant Prof’?”
“Yeah, that’s me. See? Felix and I bonded over our shared interest in both botany and geocaching. I mentioned I needed a break from Knoxville, and how nice Aerieville sounded, and he offered me the apartment above his shop.”
It appeared he was telling the truth. But I wasn’t entirely satisfied. “What about your partner? What will he do if he catches up to Felix? Try to steal the treasure?”
A shadow of concern passed over Calvin’s face. “That’s actually a good question. I don’t know this guy that well, and I’m starting to suspect he might not be as chill as I’d thought.”
“What do you mean?”
Calvin shook his head. “I’m afraid Felix might be in danger—and not just from my partner. There are others out there trying to find him.”
Alarmed, I sat up straighter. “You need to throw them off the trail then! Tell them Felix went someplace else.”
“Yeah. I guess you’re right.” He scratched his head thoughtfully. “The good news is that there are supposed to be several more clues. Felix probably won’t find the treasure anytime soon. Anyone following him will probably leave him alone, so he can lead them to the next clue.”
“Well, I’m going to warn him anyway,” I said, looking around for my phone. “Let him know he might be in danger.”
“He probably already knows to be careful,” said Calvin. “He’s aware of all the interest in the treasure.”
I supposed Calvin was right. But knowing Felix, and how absentminded he was, he could have a parade of followers and be none the wiser. I’d still give him a call sometime soon.
Gus gave a bark and ran out of the office.
“Someone must be here,” I said.
A moment later, we heard Deena’s voice. “Hello! Anyone here?”
Calvin stood up and I swiveled my chair away from the desk as Deena came in. “There you are,” she said. “What did I miss?”
A bubble of laughter escaped from my lips. “So, so much,” I said. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Sorry I’m so late,” she said airily. “I had some phone calls to make and things to take care of.”
“Oh, right,” I said. “You had ‘business to attend to.’” I found myself slightly miffed at her vagueness. Didn’t she want to confide in me?
“Yes. I had to speak with my doctoral advisor and purchase a plane ticket for Chicago.”
Now she really had my attention. “What? You’re going back to Chicago?”
“Just long enough to close out some accounts and get my stuff. I’ve decided to move back to Aerieville for good.”
“Oh!” This rollercoaster of emotions was leaving me slightly breathless. In the past half hour, I’d experienced worry, fear, disappointment, relief, and hope. What next?
“Yes,” she went on. “And I’ve already found a cute little apartment on Main Street. I can’t keep living with my parents.” She gave me an eager smile. “I’m definitely going to need a job, though. Is it possible I could work here, with you, full time?”
“Me too,” chimed in Calvin. “In case you were wondering, Sierra, I’d like to stay on. For real.”
Deena cocked her head curiously. “I’ve clearly missed something here.”
“So, so much,” I said again. Then I looked from Deena to Calvin, and I realized I’d already made up my mind days ago. But now I was ready to make it official.
“Yes,” I said. “You can both stay. And I’ll ask Byron to put you on the payroll. I’ve decided to keep Flower House going, as long as I can.”
In the following days, the flower shop had more visitors than ever before. It seemed the whole town was grateful and relieved there was no longer a murderer at large. Go figure.
In fact, so many folks stopped by to offer congratulations and well wishes, I decided to run another flower sale. I was excited about the future of the business. Between Mother’s Day, prom, and the upcoming wedding season, I had a feeling we would be very busy in the coming months. As I mentioned to Deena, I also wanted to plan more flower-arranging workshops. She’d raised an eyebrow at that. “Crime free, of course,” I’d assured her. I was positive Aerieville had seen its last murder for a long time. Odds were certainly against it.
My family dropped in too, on the day of the grand reopening. Truth be told, I was a little nervous to face my mom. Memories of my stint in Nashville were resurfacing like sharks’ fins. I couldn’t forget her disappointment and worry when I’d left college and struck out on my own, followed by her begrudging acceptance when things seemed to go my way—until they didn’t anymore. Given my history, could she ever see her way to supporting my decisions?
“Sierra! Come here and let me hug you, Ms. New Small Business Owner!” Mom pulled me into a strong embrace right there in the foyer of Flower House. “I brought you some information about the Chamber of Commerce. There’s a meeting tomorrow evening. You can come with me, and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
I chuckled at her exuberance. “Okay, Mom. Sounds good. Thanks.”
Dad and Rocky each clapped me on the shoulder as they breezed past, on their way to the hors d’oeuvre table. I caught Granny’s eye over Mom’s shoulder. She gave me a subtle wink, before glancing up at the basil still tacked above the doorway—probably gauging whether it needed replacing. In that moment, my heart swelled with gratitude. My family was there for me, no matter what. I truly was one lucky woman.
Of course, the Morrisons were not thrilled when I told them I didn’t plan to sell Flower House. They were even more disappointed when they learned who the mayor appointed to replace Abe on the zoning board: one Valerie Light. Valerie shared the news when she stopped by to purchase roses (white, yellow, and lavender). She also told me she was a big proponent of public participation and transparency in government. There would be no more board approvals without community input.
Deena was as relieved as I was to learn that Bill and Flo’s plans had been thwarted—especially considering how sneaky they’d been. In truth, I wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea of a theme restaurant. If done right, it could be a boon for the neighborhood. But I was definitely glad we would have a chance to hear the details and offer our opinions when the time came.
With all the lingering mysteries solved, I felt as if a huge weight had lifted off of me—heavier than anything I’d ever lifted at Dumbbells. There was a lightness to my steps I hadn’t felt in a while. Moreover, in spite of all the recent troubles, I realized I’d actually gained quite a bit over the past couple of weeks.
I thought about this one morning while walking Gus through Melody Gardens. I’d found a new friend in Deena, a joyful new companion in Gus, a brand-new business venture. And, with Calvin, a new … well, let’s just say another new friend. At this point, I couldn’t be sure of my feelings toward him. After all, I still needed to get to know the real Calvin Foxheart.
I did know one thing for sure, however. I now understood I didn’t need to move to some far-off exotic locale, date a movie star, or become a famous singer in order to be happy. I’d learned it was possible to make the life of my dreams right here, in little ol’ Aerieville.
“Right, Gus?” I said. “As the saying goes, ‘Happiness comes from within.’”
He gave a bark and jumped on my legs, clearly in agreement.