Lyndsey Cole - Lily Bloom 03 - Roses are Dead

by Lyndsey Cole

  Vinnie laughed. “No. Joanne’s too old for me. I like them more your age, Lily.” He looked at her with a suggestive smile.

  Her left hand slid into her tote, searching for her phone. Vinnie slammed his muscular hand on top of her tote. “You don’t need this.” He pulled it away and tossed it into the back seat. “I’m glad you decided to come with me. We need to have a little chat.”

  Lily’s mind was racing. She was locked in the car. Her phone was in her tote on the back seat. She didn’t want to enrage him and she suspected he was looking for a confrontation with her. She forced herself to breathe and relax her muscles. “What do you want to chat about?” She asked calmly.

  Vinnie looked at Lily. “I can smell your fear. Not so cocky now that you don’t have anyone around to help you.”

  “You’re helping me. I appreciate you giving me a ride.”

  “Dumb girl. You think I’m helping you?” He glared at her.

  Lily nodded. She wanted to keep him talking. It didn’t matter what he said, but if he was talking maybe she could distract him until they got back to Misty Valley.

  Suddenly, Vinnie swerved onto a back road. “I think we’ll take the scenic route.”

  “Okay. It’s pretty around here. There’s a nice scenic view up ahead.” Lily felt sweat trickling down her sides. Her armpits were soaked. If he stopped, she would jump out.

  Vinnie slowed the car down. “Joanne told me you were asking about Carla.” His eyes took on a dreamy quality.

  She looked at Vinnie. Trying to sound surprised she said, “Did you know her?”

  Laughing like a maniac he suddenly floored the gas pedal, whipping Lily’s head back again. She clutched at the seat to stabilize herself.

  He slowed a bit. “Carla was a tease. She used men then disposed of them. You’re not that kind of girl, are you Lily?”

  She tried to smile again. “Not at all. My mother always told me I was loyal to a fault. But I find that gets me farther when people can trust that I’ll follow through when I say I’ll do something. She warned me—”

  He grabbed her arm. “Shut up. You did enjoy humiliating me at that shooting competition, didn’t you?”

  All her nerves tingled. “Is that what this is about? You resent that I beat you? I thought you wanted some good competition. Makes life more interesting. Don’t you think, Vinnie?” Lily told herself to stop babbling, a trait that took over when she was nervous.

  Vinnie started to hum to himself. Sweat was pouring down his face. He had the windows up and locked, the air conditioning off. Lily was sweltering. He stopped the car at the scenic overlook. Lily tensed, ready to run if she had the chance.

  “This is beautiful.” He raced off again. “I do like a challenge. But I always win. No one beats me. Haven’t you figured that out yet with all your ridiculous sleuthing? Carla thought she could beat me. Used me to get Lana away from that other detective by flirting and offering to be my girlfriend.”

  Lily suddenly felt ice cold. Fear tightened in her stomach. “Chris? What are you talking about?” she slowly asked.

  “That got your attention, didn’t it?” He smirked. “I planted the drugs in Lana’s backpack. It’s so easy to plant evidence. Then that brown noser, Adam May, thought he was being the hero by finding the drugs. He’s such a loser.” He starting humming again, lost in his thoughts.

  Lily was surprised. “Adam’s a loser? I thought he was involved with Carla’s death.”

  Vinnie had a self-satisfied look. “What can I say? I’m good.”

  Lily sensed she could play to his ego. “You must be. I can tell you put a lot of thought into your actions. You had me fooled.”

  “Thank you for noticing. I kinda like you. Such a shame you had to go stickin’ your nose where it doesn’t belong. I tried to intimidate you to scare you off but, well, not as smart as I thought you were.”

  Lily looked at Vinnie. “What do you mean? I’m sure we can work something out.”

  “Your right about that, sweetheart. I always work something out.” Again that maniacal laugh. “Open the glove compartment.”

  Lily pushed the latch to open it.

  “Take out that syringe.”

  Lily hesitated. “What if I say no?”

  He sneered. “You don’t want to do that. Take it out.”

  Lily picked it up, seeing Carla’s name on the side. She looked at Vinnie. “This is Carla’s EpiPen? Why do you have it?”

  “Let’s just say she left it in my car but now it’s going in your tote.” He reached behind and felt around until he got hold of her tote. “Here. Drop it in.” Lily stuck her hand in and tried to grab her phone at the same time. Vinnie snatched the tote away and threw it into the back seat again. “Nice try,” he sneered. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  Vinnie slammed on the brakes and swung the car around one hundred eighty degrees, heading back the way they’d come. They drove in silence for about five minutes.

  “Pretty clever aren’t I?”

  “Clever?” Lily changed her meek tactics and decided to confront him head on. “Framing everyone for your actions and hiding behind your tough cop persona? I’d say it’s slimy and despicable. It’s the qualities of a weak, insecure person. You won’t get away with this forever.”

  “Sure I will. It just takes careful planning and patience. Patience isn’t exactly my strong virtue, but I manage.” Vinnie drove faster, squealing the tires as they went around corners. “Convenient about your flat tire. I was afraid that tire would go flat before you left town. But everything worked out exactly according to my plan. Flat tire. You had to walk for help. A hit and run. No one will ever know who killed you. Isn’t it nice to know when and how you will die? I gave that consideration to Carla too. She thought she could use me and walk away, right back to that cop you like now. I told her it wouldn’t work. Begged her even.” Vinnie looked at Lily. “I don’t like to have to beg. Ya know what she did? She laughed at me. Well, she wasn’t laughing when I gave her those red roses full of bees. Funny how that EpiPen will be found in your tote, along with rose petals in the back of your car. It was my lucky day when I saw those roses at the farm out of town.”

  Lily’s heart was racing, her mind going at lightning speed trying to figure out how to get out of this mess. “You thought of everything. You must be proud of yourself.”

  Vinnie pulled up behind Lily’s car. “Yes. You could say that. Like you noticed, I love a challenge.” Here we are. “Get out and stand next to your car.”

  Vinnie carefully watched Lily as he grabbed her tote and a bag of rose petals from his back seat. “The rose petals will be a nice touch, don’t you think? How much of a head start do you want?” Vinnie opened the back door of Lily’s car and Rosie streaked from the back seat right toward Vinnie’s neck. The force of her charge and the element of surprise, knocked Vinnie flat on his back and Rosie stayed on him with her teeth ready to tighten.

  Chapter 13

  A shot of adrenaline shot through Lily. She got her tote and found her phone. With trembling fingers, she hit speed dial for Ryan’s number.

  “Lily. Where are you? I saw your car with a flat tire. Did someone give you a ride?”

  “Hurry. I’m at the car now. Vinnie tried to kill me.”

  “Vinnie? I’m coming.”

  Lily heard the siren and had never been happier to see Ryan’s car. A minute later Adam May pulled up from the other direction with Daisy and Iris.

  Lily heard Vinnie spinning the story about finding Lily with the EpiPen and the rose petals and her vicious dog attacking him.

  “Really? Then why did Adam find your DNA in Carla’s room and his motel room?” Ryan cuffed him and locked him in the back seat of his cruiser.

  Lily sat on the ground hugging Rosie, stroking the soft white fur on her head. “I almost didn’t bring you with me today. You saved me again.” Lily looked up at the others. “How did you know to find me here?”

  Iris walked over to Ryan’s cruiser. “He
y Vinnie. Didn’t you learn your lesson at the shooting match?” She bent down and looked right through the window at his stone face. “Don’t mess with the Bloom women.” She turned back to Lily. “Ready to go home?”

  Lily nodded and walked to Adam’s car with Rosie glued to her side. Ryan told her he would meet her at her house after he got Vinnie safely locked up at the police station.

  It was a quiet ride home. Lily sat in the front seat staring out the window with her arm holding Rosie tightly against her body. Iris and Daisy sat in the back seat on pins and needles wanting to hear every detail of what happened, but they waited quietly until Lily was ready to share. Everyone realized that she needed some time to process it all.

  Adam pulled into Lily’s driveway, walked around the car, opened the door for her and offered her his hand.

  Lily looked up at Adam. “I’m truly sorry.”

  “Sorry? For what?”

  “I thought it was you all along. I didn’t trust you.”

  Adam smiled. “That’s what I wanted. Come on, I’ll explain some things to you.”

  They settled comfortably in the sunshine on Lily’s deck. Iris and Daisy brought out a tray with sandwiches, iced tea and some dog bones. Iris looked at her daughter. “It’s a good thing you have that stubborn streak and never give up until the job is done.”

  Lily smiled at her mother. “I wonder where that came from.”

  They laughed and Lily grabbed a sandwich, devouring it as if she hadn’t eaten in days. The food refueled her and she washed it all down with the ice cold tea. “Ah, that’s just what I needed.”

  Ryan joined them on the deck and handed a bag to Lily from the Sunflower Café. “Jennifer heard you had an adventure and asked me to bring this to you. She said it’s your favorite.”

  Lily peeked in the bag. A big smile grew on her face. “Cannolis? This is my lucky day.”

  Ryan shook his head. “If you call this a lucky day, what’s an unlucky day for you?”

  Lily chuckled. “Good point. It went from bad to worse to fantastic now with all of you here with me.”

  Rosie woofed her agreement to that. Or else, she was telling Lily to hurry up and give her one of those dog bones.

  Ryan found a chair. “Are you ready to tell us what happened?”

  “Definitely.” Lily filled them in on Vinnie’s bizarre talking, driving and the confessions he told her.

  “How did Rosie manage to take him down?”

  Lily looked at her awesome dog. “That’s the best part. That’s when the bad started to turn around for me. Vinnie didn’t know Rosie was in the back seat of my car. When he opened the door to plant the rose petals and the EpiPen inside, Rosie charged him like a speeding bullet. Vinnie didn’t know what hit him and since Rosie had him by his neck, there wasn’t much he could do to fight her off without getting his jugular chopped in two.” She took a big bite of her second cannoli, licking the cream from her lips. “How did Adam know to come?”

  Iris couldn’t wait any longer to share that part of the story. “Vinnie was with Joanne when you called her and he told her what to say to you. As soon as he left, Joanne called Adam. She didn’t want to see Vinnie ruin anyone else’s life. And the best part is that Lana will be able to get released now.”

  Adam looked at Lily. “So, are we friends now?”

  Lily nodded.

  “Good.” Adam glanced at Daisy and winked. “I didn’t want you to try to get between me and your sister.”

  “Don’t worry about that.” Lily smiled at Daisy, then looked back at Adam. “You never finished your part of the story.”

  Adam settled back comfortably. “I’ve been watching Vinnie for quite some time, trying to catch him up to his dirty tricks. I suspected he planted the drugs in Lana’s backpack and I knew he was after Carla. She wasn’t interested in that old fool but he couldn’t accept it. When she turned up dead, I was sure it was Vinnie. He never let anyone get the best of him, but I couldn’t find anything to pin the murder on him until that last search I did. He must have used the bathroom in her motel room and some hairs were found there. Sloppy of him. I was worried about you, Lily. When you beat him in that shooting competition, I was sure he would figure out some way to get even. Daisy told me you were going to talk to Joanne so I was heading that way anyway, but when Joanne called, I brought Iris and Daisy along too. We didn’t know what we would find.”

  Lily leaned back in her chair with her hands behind her head. “I had it all under control.”

  Iris raised her eyebrow. “If you say so.”

  Lily’s Potato Salad and More

  Lily doesn’t worry too much about amounts, that’s up to the preference of the cook and the tastes of the consumers!

  Ingredients:

  About 4 medium potatoes, cubed and cooked until tender

  A couple of hard boiled eggs (preferably home grown!)

  Chopped veggies, whatever is in season of leftover in your fridge:

  Bell pepper – any color or all colors!

  Broccoli

  Cucumber

  Zucchini

  Carrots

  Celery

  Tomatoes

  Onion

  Even nuts or seeds are good

  For the dressing, Lily uses her favorite Italian dressing and an equal amount of yogurt, followed by a spoonful of spicy mustard.

  And the final touch to make it super special? Edible flowers. Lily’s favorite for her potato salad are chopped chives—the green part and the flowers. Another option is to use nasturtium flowers which adds a peppery flavor.

  Mix, chill and enjoy!! And watch everyone’s expression when they see all the other stuff in the potato salad.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Lyndsey Cole lives in New England in a small rural town with her husband, dogs, cats and chickens. She has plenty of space to grow lots of beautiful perennials. Sitting in the garden with the scent of lilac, peonies, lily of the valley or whatever is in bloom, stimulates her imagination about mysteries and romance.

  ONE LAST THING …

  If you enjoyed this installment of Lily Bloom Cozy Mystery Series, be sure to join my FREE COZY MYSTERY BOOK CLUB! Be in the know for new releases, promotions, sales, and the possibility to receive advanced reader copies. Join the club here—http://LyndseyColeBooks.com

  OTHER BOOKS BY LYNDSEY COLE

  Begonia Means Beware

  Queen of Poison

  Stay tuned for the next book in the Lily Bloom Cozy Mystery Series.

  Coming Summer 2014!!

  If you enjoyed Roses are Dead, the third of the Lily Bloom Cozy Mystery Series, check out Dead and Berried, the third of The Early Bird Café Series—written by my daughter!

  Summer is in full swing and Hermit Cove is hosting the county’s annual Summer Strawberry Festival. Kori’s Early Bird Café has a front and center booth where she’s selling sweet breakfasts and desserts all day. Best friend Nora Farmer is supposed to occupy the booth directly across from hers near the entrance where business will be best, but when she fails to show up on the opening day, Kori knows something is wrong.

  And it couldn’t be more wrong. A body is found on Nora’s property and next to it is a pint of poisoned strawberries. All fingers are pointing at Nora. And when a bloody shovel turns up in her barn, things look like they’re taking a turn for the worse.

  With such a busy weekend will Kori have time to help clear her best friend’s name? Or will Nora have to take the fall for a murder she didn’t commit? They worry that Nora could be the next target if they can’t solve the case fast enough.

  CHAPTER 1

  Kori heard her phone ring letting her know she had a text message. She was still busy cleaning up after a wildly successful Friday morning at The Early Bird Café. With North Maple County’s Summer Strawberry Festival kicking off the next morning, there was a huge influx of visitors and they were all hungry.

  Thankfully, she had already set aside everything she’d be offering at the festival so sh
e didn’t have to prep for the next morning. Instead of working from The Early Bird this weekend, she had a booth at the fairgrounds and would be serving waffles with sliced strawberries and whipped cream, crepes with strawberry filling, and strawberry rhubarb pie. She had no idea how Nora had been able to grow enough strawberries to keep Kori stocked and make jams to sell all weekend.

  When the last utensil was put away into the dishwasher and it was turned on so she’d be all ready on Monday to get back to work, she finally let herself check her phone and greet Ibis.

  As soon as Kori walked into her small office at the back of the industrial kitchen she should just start calling home because she spent more time than upstairs in her apartment above the café, Ibis jumped off her dog bed and wagged her entire body, thrilled to see her favorite person. Kori patted Ibis on the head before picking up her phone.

  Then she read the text from Nora, Ready to go to the lake?

  They were both bringing their dogs to Thrush Lake for an easy afternoon since they were both all ready for the weekend. Kori wrote back, Pick us up? They would all easily fit into Nora’s pickup truck but Kori’s Subaru wouldn’t be quite big enough.

  Kori’s phone chirped again and she read, On our way.

  Kori knew she didn’t have to change since it was hot for June and she’d just get sweaty on their short hike. Instead, she picked up Ibis’ leash and headed to the front door, ready to leave the café behind for the afternoon. They only had to wait a few minutes before Nora rolled to a stop just outside the café.

  “It’s like you have a weekend off,” Nora said, smiling.

  Kori led Ibis around to the back of the truck where Milo and Otis were excitedly prancing on their toes, ready for Ibis to join them. With Ibis safely in the back with her dog friends, Kori climbed into the passenger seat and Nora headed north toward the lake.

  “Almost. It will be nice to work outside for a change,” Kori said, thinking how lucky Nora was to have been able to create her job outside. Red Clover Farm was one of Kori’s favorite places to be, and not only because her best friend owned it.