The Accidental Florist jj-16

by Jill Churchill

  "She was the only nice woman at Thelma's funeral and I wanted to give her a tribute."

  "I take it as a tribute to your father and me as well for raising such a nice thoughtful woman."

  "You and Dad did a good job of teaching me good manners."

  "Have you heard from Mel?" Cecily asked, changing the subject.

  "Not a word. Where are we having breakfast?"

  "We might as well just eat at the hotel. I stepped outside a few minutes ago and it's really too hot to walk somewhere else."

  "I'll meet you as soon as I can catch an elevator."

  Her mother, father, and Katie were waiting for her as she emerged.

  "Did you invite Todd and Mike?" Jane asked.

  "They're already here, holding a table for us."

  As they entered the dining room, Todd hopped up and pulled his mother aside. "Mike had too much champagne and let me drive his truck home. It was cool. When are you going to buy me a truck? You bought his. I remember that."

  "Katie doesn't have a car yet. You have to wait your turn," Jane said, taking his arm and leading him to the table.

  As Jane sat down, Katie asked, "Why did Mel disappear from the wedding after the first dance?"

  "Because he'd been waiting for some people to be found and somebody found them."

  "Who are they?" Katie asked.

  "You'll have to ask him about it later.""How much later?"

  Jane just shrugged and said, "Nobody knows. And he might not want to talk about it yet."

  "But you know, Mom?"

  "Just a little of it. I'm starving," she said, picking up the breakfast menu.

  When they'd ordered and were waiting for the food to arrive, Jane asked her father, "Have you told your plans to Katie yet?"

  "Yes, if you mean that we intend to live in Chicago soon. I have a few last reports to make before I can be let go to be retired."

  "Are you sure you don't want to buy a house?" Jane said.

  Her mother laughed at this. "My darling daughter, we've never owned a house. We don't know how to mow lawns, or cook for ourselves, or remember when to pay the water bill."

  "Most certainly," her father added. "We need something with a concierge, and maybe a cook who can also teach us how to cook."

  Cecily raised an elegant eyebrow and said, "You're going to learn this?"

  Michael laughed. "I thought maybe you might take the lessons."

  Cecily simply smiled.

  When breakfast was done, Jane asked, "Would you like to take us all along to look at some condos?"

  "That would be fine," Michael said. "But we'd have to hire a car service to haul all of us."

  Katie had been looking back and forth from her grandmother to her grandfather. "Do either of you know how to drive or have a driver's license?"

  "We both know how to drive, and have licenses from a half dozen different countries, including America. But we will need to buy a car."

  "Can I go with you to pick one out?" Mike asked eagerly. His grandfather had no time to answer because two waiters were putting down their plates.

  When they were finished eating and had paid the bill, Jane's father said instead of looking for condos they wanted to see the office she was building for Mel. Mike and Todd took Mike's truck, and Jane took her parents and Katie home in her Jeep.

  The work was admired. "When will it be done?" her father asked.

  "It was supposed to be done when we got married, but since we moved the date forward, Mel will have to wait to move his things."

  As she spoke, the phone rang and she rushed back inside to catch the call.

  "Janey," Mel said. "Where and when are all of you having dinner? And may I join you?"

  "I'd love that. They're all here looking at your office. Nobody's working on it because it's Sunday. Is your mother still here?"

  "Nope. She escaped first thing this morning."

  Jane was tempted to show her relief, but managed tosound sorry. "She won't get to see your office today." "Dinner, Jane? I've only had an Egg McMuffin for breakfast. And it was early."

  When she called back to tell him where they'd decided to go, he said, "Let me pick you up so I can talk to you privately."

  "You've found them, haven't you?"

  "We have. The brother is in big trouble. We're hoping his sister will try to save herself by spilling the beans."

  Epilogue

  first," Mel explained, "the brother and sister were sur‑

  prised that two people, one in a tux and the other in a red dress and hat, were beating on their door at one in the morning with three uniformed, armed men standing behind them."

  That made Jane laugh.

  "They were completely befuddled and so dim that they invited us all inside. I asked them if the house was a rental and if so, who owned it. The brother, if he really is Miss Welbourne's son, rummaged in his billfold for the owner's business card and gave it to me. I handed it over to Officer Needham and she went outside to call and wake the owner up. She asked him when the Welbournes had rented the house.""And when was it?" Jane asked.

  "A week before Miss Welbourne was murdered." "Time to find out where she lived and where she worked?" Jane asked.

  "Maybe. Welbourne said he'd been to the barbershop that morning and while waiting looked through an old copy of the New York Times, and saw the picture of himself and his sister.

  "Then I asked them if they'd dress and come down to the police station and again, they stupidly, or cannily, agreed. I left two of the other officers to stay at the house until the judge, who wasn't happy to be woken up in the middle of the night, signed a warrant to search the house."

  "What did they find?"

  "The blackjack. In a small black Dopp kit at the back of a drawer."

  "Have you tested it against Miss Welbourne's DNA?"

  "That takes a lot longer than you'd think, Janey. But his fingerprints were on it and some blood and hair. The blood group is easy to determine, but not evidence enough.

  "Jane," he went on, "wouldn't you think a reasonable person would have gone out late at night, found a block where trash bins were sitting out for pickup in the morning, and put the Dopp kit in one of them?"

  "Does he seem to be mentally impaired?"

  "Not at all. He even said he'd found out where his mother had her meetings and wanted to talk to her, but she called the police and he went away."

  "Where are they now?"

  "In separate cells where they can't hear or talk to each other. By law, we can only hold them for twenty-four hours. But the house will be watched by a fleet of officers."

  "Can you explain to the rest of my family why you bolted after the first dance?"

  "Just generally, without any names."

  Two weeks later, Mel told Jane, "They're back in Perth, with all of the documentation, and the brother will be charged with murder. He was handcuffed for the flight to a marshal at the back of the plane and his sister was handcuffed to another marshal at the front. The sister claimed she didn't know what he'd done and was so very sorry he'd killed their mother. Acted as if it was the most horrible thing she'd ever heard. She was a very bad liar. Couldn't even fake tears. She's being charged as an accomplice."

  "You did a good job, Mel. And your office will be ready on Friday to move your things in,"Jane said.

  A week later, Jane watched as the Salvation Army truck levered out the stove and refrigerator from Mel's apartment.Then the smaller items came out, the bread machine still in its box, and the electric meat slicer that from the picture on the box looked as if it could cut through a finger or two like butter. Then the box with the Cuisinart

  that looked big enough to use on a cruise ship that had to make salsa for a thousand people a day.

  There were boxes labeled dishes, silverware, and glassware. Mel had already taken all his clothing and computer parts away to Jane's house.

  After he'd returned the key to the apartment, he came back outside, grinning and saluting Jane. "It's done!
I'll follow you home."

  The office was finished. There was a dark green carpet, walls painted ivory, a cherrywood-finish set of desk, file drawers, and a huge amount of shelving. He had blinds on the windows that Jane had helped him pick out. They even had screens, for a breeze on nice spring and fall days. Jane had feared that the dark carpet and dark shelving would make the room dreary, but the three big windows and doors and cream paint made it cheerful.

  When Mel arrived a few minutes after Jane, she said, "Let's go buy that grill for you. I even bought you books about what you can cook on it. I suggest you have Todd and John Nowack put it together for us. They are good at following the instructions."

  As they sat outside at the patio table under the umbrella watching the boys lay out all the pieces in order, and reading the instructions, Mel asked, "How are your parents liking their condo?"

  "Fine so far. Food is an issue. The kitchen had the essentials. Stove, double ovens, dishwasher, microwave, and fridge. They've bought a kitchen table and chairs.

  And dishes, silverware, two tablecloths, pots and pans, a toaster, and stuff like a Cuisinart. They've learned how to make toast and scrambled eggs, but eat out at local restaurants the rest of the time.

  "I helped them buy a bed, linens, bedside tables and lamps, as well as a big dresser. But the dining room and living room are empty."

  "Not even a television?"

  "No. My mother doesn't want one at all and my dad wants a huge plasma screen. My mother's getting stingy about all these purchases."

  "They can't be poor."

  "They aren't. My dad told me about his pension. It's fabulous. And my mother has one as well as his wife who did years of entertaining. They also have stocks and mutual funds. They're richer than I am."

  "The grill is ready," Todd said. "Do you want to learn how to turn it on?"

  Mel grinned and got up. "I guess that's a good place to start."

  He came back to the table and said, "I think we should invite your folks over tonight for steaks and baked potatoes."

  "Don't you think it might be a good idea to try this out first on the three of us before we invite them?"

  "Oh, I guess you're right. If I mess it up, only Todd and you will know."

  He rummaged through the fridge and found three T-bone steaks. Also three baking potatoes, and an assortment of vegetables. Red peppers, a summer squash, some green beans, an onion, and a cucumber.

  He'd already turned on the grill and started cutting the potatoes in long quarters.

  "Why are you doing that?" Jane asked.

  "Because they'd take a full hour to cook through. Do you have aluminum foil and butter?"

  Jane showed him where both of them lived and tucked the vegetables and potatoes neatly on a plate with the steaks. With the recipe book under his left arm, he asked, "How does Todd like his steak done?"

  "Well."

  "Waste of a good steak." Both he and Jane liked theirs medium-rare.

  Everything came out at the same time and was delicious.

  "You are good at this," Jane said. "My parents have a grill in the middle of their stove. We'll do this again tomorrow and you show my father how to do it."

  The day had been hot, but it turned cool by nine and Jane and Mel sat at the patio table, each drinking a half glass of red wine.

  When Mel had finished his, he stood and stretched; "It's been a long day. Want to go to bed early?"

  "Yes," Jane said with a big smile.

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