Lethal in Lavender

by Sarah Hualde

  “What? Why?” Kat whispered.

  Flora only nodded toward Kevin. Kat followed her aim and signaled understanding. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. Nothing. I’m fine. We're fine. I was just on them too much today. Kevin freaks out when anything is out of the ordinary.” Kat picked up the throw pillow and set it over her friend’s toes. “Thank you. It’s difficult to keep calm when I’m trying to keep him calm, too.”

  At that moment, Jess and Ever swung around the side of the couch and tossed their dusty bodies onto it. “Mom,” Jess asked, waiting for the adults to stop talking or for their lips to stop moving. “Ever wants to see my lizard.”

  “It’s not your lizard.” Kat solidified, drawing her cell phone from her back pocket.

  “I know I’m only pretending it’s mine.”

  “Just as long as you tell yourself it’s all pretend. No lizard is coming home with us.” She handed the phone to Jess, “Can you take charge?”

  “Sure, Mom,” Jess beamed with the responsibility and privilege of controlling her mother’s phone.

  Ever smashed himself between his mother and her company. He kissed Flora’s belly before lying back on the cushions. Jess settled in scooting close to Ever. The two knocked heads, trying to share the miniature screen.

  Flora leaned over to watch the kids scroll through the pictures. Jess narrated everyone in hyper speed before finding the one of her and the gecko.

  “See?” She squealed, “I’m not scared of any old lizard. I think he’s cute.” She enlarged the picture and handed it to Flora to see.

  The mother held the phone at arm's length. Ever continued his chatting with Jess. "Ah, he is cute. Are there more pictures?" The children erupted from the couch and went on their way. Their laughter came from the kitchen table, but their conversation was beyond discernment.

  “Oh, yes. There’s more. Jess didn’t want me to stop taking photos. It’s like she’s trying to convince me we already own the thing. Or hoping I’ll get used to hosting a gecko in my home for years to come. I think she’s playing a mind game with me.”

  “Little does she know,” Flora laughed and swiped to the next photo. Flora fawned over each photo, showing them to Kat and expressing her shock over the rapid growth of their children. “Oh, she looks just like you in this one. Except that she’s wearing a reptile.” Flora giggled and zoomed in on the shot.

  “Nah, she’s much prettier than I ever was.” Kat grinned over at her playing daughter. When she turned back to Flora, her friend was speed swiping Kat’s phone. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

  Flora shoved the phone at Kat. “Look!”

  Kat obeyed. ‘Yes?”

  “The guy in the background.”

  “The guy in the jacket?” Flora nodded.

  “That’s the hoodie man from last night!”

  Kat understood the shock but wasn't sure the observation was accurate. "I doubt he was dumb enough to hang around."

  “Stalkers don’t always make sense.”

  “Yes, but… are you sure? I didn’t see him, remember?”

  Flora nodded, mouth parted and eyes wide. “It’s him.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Again, Flora nodded. “It was only a second, but I know that’s him.”

  “Even in a hoodie, you can tell?”

  “That’s what made me take a second look. I recognized the hoodie.”

  “It’s just a hoodie. There’s a ton. They all look the same.”

  Flora squinted at her friend. “Yes, yes. Do you have more pictures of him?”

  Kat palmed her phone and flipped through the pictures. She zoomed in and around her daughter's braid and the friend perched on her shoulder. She scanned the horizon, and there he was the man in the hoodie. There were three photos of his back, one of his profile, and one where he'd turned to face Kat's phone. His image was grainy but telling. She showed Flora.

  The pregnant woman gasped, and her husband flew to her side. "What is it?" His paling expression searched Flora for signs of labor or distress.

  Flora pointed to Kat’s phone, “That’s Shane Mons. That’s the strange guy Emily was flirting with.”

  “What?” Kat and Kevin sounded in unison.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Averie's eyes opened. The twittering of machines told her where she was. She lived in a hospital before. After the accident, she stayed in the hospital for months. Fear click-clacked down her neck. Her heartbeat increased. Beeping monitors kept rhythm. Sight hazy and eyelids heavy, she spotted a person sleeping in the bed beside her own, and she screamed in horror.

  Suddenly, her arms were pulled and poked. Shapes flooded around her bed. She fought them. Her tongue, too thick to articulate, stuck to the roof of her mouth. The face of her cousin loomed behind the shoulders of the nurses attending Averie.

  Help me, she thought, please help me. Darkness surrounded her, thick and sticky. The Shadow Man waited for her. Streams of helpless tears splashed down the artist’s face and dampened the rim of her hospital gown.

  *****

  Flora woke. Her back tightened, and knuckles clenched. A cracked window let in the honeysuckle breeze, but Flora remained a giant ball of sweat. She tiptoed to the bathroom.

  Kevin peeled one eye open and watched his wife with guarded breath. “You okay, Babes?”

  She flicked a hand behind her to wave away his worry. “Just hot.”

  Kevin shuffled behind his wife. “You overdid. Didn’t you?”

  “I’m okay. I need to soak.” Kevin scurried about getting Flora’s favorite robe and towel. He grabbed Flora’s oil kit. “Babe? Babe! You’re freaking me out. Please, go back to bed.”

  Reluctant to leave her side, Kevin lay down but did not allow himself to get comfortable. He rested his head on the foot of the bed. His drowsy eyes flitted from sleep to the bathroom and back again in a paranoid cycle. If Flora sighed, he jumped to sitting. If Flora was too quiet, he called out to her. She responded with a clip, yet cheerful reassurance.

  It was too late to wake Lydia when she discovered the stalker on Kat's phone. The men urged Flora to wait and show the phone to Ivy before calling Ethan. When his cell shot to voicemail, the dilemma solved itself. The hospital didn't have great cell reception. She would have to wait until morning.

  *****

  Her best friend betrayed her. Though coffee is a stimulant, it never caused Lydia unwanted sleeplessness. The mix of the day’s adrenaline rushes and crashes married with too much caffeine had her mind buzzing to terrible places. She sat on the couch scrolling through TV channels without purpose.

  When Ivy rambled from her bedroom, Scout wailing on her hip, Lydia was ready to help. Ivy’s tired eyes couldn’t force a smile. Relief soothed her growing worry lines. She wouldn’t be alone for this bout of bawling.

  “Her teeth,” Lydia asked, already up and reaching for Scout. Ivy nodded.

  "My phone's not charging fast enough. Can we watch Scout's shows out here?" Ivy didn't wait for a response. She picked up the remote Lydia ditched and found Averie's ASMR. "Look, Lyds, there's a new one."

  Lydia paced with the red-face Scout while rubbing her jaw in soft circles. Scout howled and wriggled trying to escape the pain. The familiar little stars lit up the screen.

  “Hello and welcome to Stardust ASMR. Let’s spend some time with one of my favorite animals…”

  If Lydia could preoccupy Scout long enough she would hear Averie, the fighting would be over. Ivy wept on the couch. Scout froze watching her mother. She then noticed the screen. Averie wore a white beekeeper uniform. The veiled head cover shaded her face, but the pink of her hair and the green of her eyes shimmered beneath it. Scout reached pudgy hands out for her mom.

  Lydia sat beside the teen and handed her the baby. Girl mom and baby daughter soothed at skin contact. They nestled into each other.

  Lydia carted a bottle of water with her to the couch. She needed rest, and if she had to drink water to get it, she would drink it. Ivy patt
ed the cushion beside her and Scout, beckoning Lydia to join the couple. "Will you sit with me? I'm sad."

  Mother sat beside mother and the young one placed her head on the elder’s shoulder. Lydia almost cried. This was the most intimate contact Ivy ever started with her. It felt like family. Lydia prayed, thankful for the trust. Ivy prayed, thankful for the safety.

  They watched Averie show off the Hive’s Bee Yard. She spoke in whispered tones about bees and pointed out each worker flying in and out of the hives. With help, unseen other than an occasional gloved hand, she showed the viewer the surplus chambers and comb. The gloves waved a stainless steel smoker around the boxes, and the bees slowed their buzzing.

  The screen faded out and returned to show Averie in the Hive's kitchen. She steeped tea in a glass teapot and sprinkled petals and seeds into the hot water. The stirring sounds caught Scout's attention. The baby chattered back to the set, in drowsy delight.

  Averie sunk a honey dipper into a mason jar filled with the amber harvest of the bee lot. Just as purposefully, she retrieved it and let its contents course into an empty china teacup. After tapping the teapot, she poured her cup of tea.

  “This was my grandmother’s favorite teacup.” Averie’s nails scrapped the sides of the cup and traced the signs painted on the outside. “She saved up for this cup and bought it from a little shop in her hometown. She often told me the teacup’s story as she set out her tea service for us on Sunday afternoons.

  Sometimes my cousin, Maven, joined us for tea. You all know Maven. She drank from a pastel cup with matching saucer. "Poor Maven couldn't make it to our tea and bees party today. She has quite the allergy to my buzzy little buddies.

  That’s okay, though. That makes it tea for two. Me and you. Stardust to Stardust. Just like Grannie and I used to do. Teatime was a special time for her and me. We made time for tea every day until she passed. And it was never without special treats. Especially, hot buttered toast smothered in sticky, sweet honey.”

  Averie took a careful bite of her toast and drank a sip of her still steamy tea before signing off. Her logo appeared, signifying the end of the episode. Her cheery soft voice whispered, “come back soon for more of my adventures at the Lavender Festival. Go to my site for a sneak peek of what is coming up next. Goodnight, my little Stardusts.”

  Scout, relaxed by the distraction, forgot her teething pains and slept on her momma’s chest. Ivy soothed but not asleep, turned to face Lydia. “It says this video published this morning.”

  Lydia snatched her laptop. Ivy swaddled her snoring infant. She put the little one to bed, leaving her bedroom door cracked and tiptoed to Lydia's side. "More coffee, “she asked the temporary insomniac and brewed it before Lydia answered.

  “What’s the site?”

  “Stardust ASMR or Averie ASMR, either one works.” Ivy set out two cups and creamer and made toast.

  “You hungry?”

  “Power of suggestion. I want hot buttered toast with honey. What about you?” Lydia’s mouth watered. She wiped it with the back of her hand.

  “Sure, since it doesn’t look like we’ll be sleeping soon.”

  A subscriber signup popped in the foreground drawing Lydia’s focus back to her screen. She clicked to close it and scrolled through the pages.

  “Under videos,” Ivy said. Lydia was already there.

  She watched the channel introduction play as she read the video titles. “Found it.” She punched on the coming soon button. A list of colored upcoming video titles decorated the screen.

  Someone crossed Beekeeper Secrets out. Completed was scribed above it in a purple font. The list included Candle Dipping, Candle Carving, Yoga at Sunrise and Lavender in the Twilight. Ivy gasped as she read behind Lydia's shoulder. Lydia flung out her arm in an exhausted startle. She knocked the toast from Ivy's plate, and it skittered across the tile.

  “Sorry,” Ivy whispered and picked up the bread. “It landed butter side up, thank goodness. Click on titles to see the descriptions.”

  “Which one first?”

  “Yoga at Sunrise.”

  Lydia complied. A photo of Averie in cobra pose graced the screen. Lydia read the description to Ivy as the teen made more toast. “So, that’s that then. Averie must have been in the field shooting her yoga video when something happened.”

  Ivy leaned over the counter to view the screen. “No. Look.” She pointed a chewed fingernail to the purple words under the description. In editing but coming soon. “She’s already shot that one.”

  “How long has she been in town? She’s made two videos down to the edits.” Ivy shrugged.

  “Maven said they’d been there a week. But that’s a lot of work to do in a week. Click the other one.”

  Again Lydia did as the teen asked. She was just as curious as the girl if not more so. Her arms remembered holding the helpless and bleeding Averie. She felt responsible for her.

  The description detailed a lovely walk down a candlelit path in the middle of the lavender field. There were snapshots of the 5K track and the front of the Hive Bed and Breakfast. Lydia thought it was kind of Averie to stick in an advertisement for Berna. She also thought it was foolish.

  “That’s how her stalker found her.” Ivy relayed her thoughts aloud.

  “Why would she do that?” Lydia thought as Ivy chomped her toast and scooted the plate toward Lydia. She poured cream into black coffee and slid it toward her friend. Lydia took a heavy drag from her coffee cup.

  “If Maven knew Averie was in the field shooting a video, why didn’t she mention it to Ethan?”

  "Where's the videotape?" As the words left her mouth, Lydia felt her age showing and blushed.

  Ivy snickered. “No tape. It’s probably on her cell phone or camera. Averie films her workout videos and role play videos with a camera. She shoots her day in the life videos on her phone.”

  "Still, where is it? I didn't see a phone near her. Also, I don't think there was one in her hospital bag of personal items."

  "Maven probably has it and any of Averie's valuables. She's next of kin. Isn't that what the hospital would do? Give it to the next of kin?"

  The thought made sense. Ethan could have the missing cell phone. She'd have to ask him without raising suspicions. He'd clam up if he thought she was digging around.

  “Hm,” Ivy said, groggy but attentive. “I didn’t know Averie made videos with Maven.” She pointed to the screen. “There’s a whole playlist of videos with each of them. They don’t show up on her channel.”

  Lydia led the cursor over the playlist and double-clicked. The first video came to the screen. Maven sat next to a reclining chair and spoke to the camera. Averie lounged in the chair covered in a thick crocheted blanket.

  "Welcome to Stardust ASMR. I'm Maven, and this is my Sound Spa." Maven's voice, though whispered and delicate, was too gravelly to be relaxing. Instead of mouth sounds and subtle clicking between words, she emitted a nasal squeak. She walked the viewer through a spa treatment using Averie as the client.

  Averie’s green eyes glistened with trust. Her cousin exfoliated, masked, toned, and moisturized her skin. She ended the treatment with a hot rag wrapped around her cousin’s face.

  “That was strange,” Ivy blurted.

  “Must be one of the first videos.”

  “Let’s watch another.”

  Again, Maven's face greeted the viewer. "Welcome to Stardust ASMR. I'm Maven, and this is my ASMR space shuttle."

  In the video, Maven played doctor to a newly discovered alien. Averie, being the alien, sat on the sidelines. Maven examined her ears, eyes, and palpitated her skull. Even though the execution was better than that of the first video, it didn’t hit the ASMR mark.

  The women watched the entire playlist, unable to quit. All seven videos were appalling. Lydia couldn't put her finger on it, but something was off about Maven. Maybe it was her hair, instead of black and short it was long and blonde.

  “Strange,” Ivy whispered, closing the computer.
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  “What is?”

  “In all the videos, Averie never showed her face. In the spa video, they covered her with either a mud mask or a towel, most of the time. The alien one had her in crazy makeup. The acupressure one, we only saw her ears and in part two her hands and feet.”

  “We don’t know it was her.”

  “Well, she had the same ankle tattoo of a comet and the green star behind her ear.”

  “You’re right.”

  “I wonder what made her take center stage.”

  “Me too. But I’m too tired to think about it, anymore.” Ivy stood and stretched. “Scout will want to eat, again, in thirty minutes. Maybe I’ll wake her now and see if she’ll eat and go right back to sleep. It’s a gamble. But I’m one tired mama.”

  “Ditto,” Lydia quipped. “I will sleep on the couch until Ethan comes home.”

  “I’ll get you if I need you.” Ivy blew a kiss at Lydia. Lydia captured it in her heart and thanked God for the growing relationship.

  Lydia expected fighting and tension and tears. She expected Ivy to respond to Lydia's offer of safety the same way Ivy's friend Emily replied. Emily yelled, tossed blame, and offered needy displays of disappointment. These moods came and went in a flash. They hurt, but they weren't on Lydia's shoulders. The fault lay with other mother and father figures. Lydia was the only one present to accept them.

  Lydia did not demand gratitude or kindness from either girl. She cherished it when it came her way. She took the blown kiss to the couch and snuggled it in prayer and reflection until she drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Kat perched on her porch step. It was a second service kind of Sunday. They all knew it, so her family slept. Even though she was awake with the sunrise, she planned to shower and slip back into her clean sheets for an hour before waking the kids.

  She tightened her laces and decided. She wanted to wake Lydia and Ivy to share her phone photo with them. It was very early, and Lydia was not a morning lover. A fact she stated every day when Kat came to train with her. Kat would risk it. If there was a light on at the Everett’s, she was going inside. Her brain replayed Maven’s crazy ranting at the hospital.