Lou Lou and Pea and the Mural Mystery

by Jill Diamond

  Jeremy was nowhere to be seen.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Elmira the Candle Lady (Part Two)

  Lou Lou’s mom, Jane Bombay, was still in a sleepy daze when Lou Lou stormed into the SS Lucky Alley kitchen. She moved into Lou Lou’s path just in time for Lou Lou to crash into her, spilling Jane’s coffee all over her fuzzy bathrobe.

  “Jeepers, young lady! Try to be more careful—” Lou Lou’s mom stopped in mid-scold, for it was clear that something was very wrong with her daughter. Lou Lou’s hazel eyes were little slits and her hands were clenched at her sides. But most telling were her ears. Whenever Lou Lou was excited or upset, they tingled and burned, turning pink, then red. The more worked up she got, the hotter and redder her ears became. Right now they were the color of strawberries.

  Lou Lou paused. She said chrysanthemum three times in her head, a method she used to control her anger. “I’m sorry, Mom. It’s just … something bad has happened, and I think Pinky is dying.”

  “Oh, Lou Lou! That’s terrible! What can I do?” her mom asked. “I know I’m not very good at gardening, but I am always happy to be your horticulture sidekick.” Lou Lou wished it were that simple. But this was a job for experts.

  “I need to go to Green Thumb. Is that okay?” asked Lou Lou before she remembered that Juan didn’t open the nursery until nine-thirty. But the candle shop was open earlier and if anyone besides Juan could help, it would be Elmira. “Actually, I need to go to the candle shop first and then to Green Thumb. Please.”

  “I was making banana pancakes,” Lou Lou’s mom replied. “But I guess they can wait.” A bowl of fluffy flour mixture sat on the counter. Banana pancakes with walnuts swimming in a lake of maple syrup were a Jane Bombay Saturday specialty that Lou Lou hated to miss. But her mom was right—pancakes could wait and Pinky could not.

  “I’ll be quick, Mom! Pinky really needs help,” Lou Lou said.

  “I understand, honey. Do you want me to come? I don’t like you wandering around by yourself.”

  “I won’t be on my own for long,” Lou Lou replied. “I’ll call Pea and have her meet me.”

  “Okay. Make sure you’re home in an hour and, here, take my phone.” Lou Lou nodded and rushed out the door. On the way to the candle shop, she dialed Pea.

  “Hello?” Pea’s father, Henry Pearl, answered.

  “Hi, it’s Lou Lou. Is Pea up? It’s really important!”

  “She’s not, but I was just about to wake her. She’ll sleep all morning if I don’t. Hold on a minute.”

  “Actually, can you just ask her to meet me at Elmira’s as soon as possible? Thanks, Henry!” Lou Lou didn’t wait for a reply.

  When Lou Lou arrived at the candle shop, Elmira’s door was locked. There were still ten minutes until the shop opened, so Lou Lou sat on the sidewalk and tapped her foot on the concrete, running through crime scenarios in her head. Had Jeremy assaulted Pinky with poisons and a hammer? It seemed possible, but he had no motive that she knew of. Maybe it was someone else, someone who wanted the blue ribbon. There was that man with the forsythia who always bragged to Juan. Or it could have been the girl who’d won last year with her hydrangea. But she’d seemed really nice and had given Lou Lou some helpful fertilizer tips.

  Lou Lou was still thinking about culprits when Pea’s father dropped her off. Pea looked uncharacteristically disheveled from the morning rush out the door. She’d missed buttons on her coat, her scarf was askew, and a section of her hair was matted.

  “Lou Lou, what on earth is going on?” Pea asked, squatting down next to her while being careful not to touch the dirty pavement. She worked her hair into a neat braid, adjusted her scarf, and rebuttoned her coat.

  “Oh, Pea. It’s just awful. Horrific!” Lou Lou cried. Before she could explain, she heard the click of a lock behind her. The candle shop was open for business. Rushing inside, Lou Lou nearly tripped over the Candle Lady.

  “Can you help me, Elmira? Who did this? And why? Why would someone hurt Pinky, my poor camellia? I’m never going to win a blue ribbon now!”

  Pea raised her eyebrows, finally understanding why Lou Lou was so upset.

  “¡Qué lástima, Lou Lou Bombay!” Elmira clucked and shook her head. “I am sorry for your woes. I know how much you love esa camelia preciosa. And the competition is right around the corner!” The Candle Lady patted Lou Lou’s arm. “Plant problems are painfully puzzling.”

  “Do you think a candle can help?” Lou Lou asked.

  “I certainly hope so,” replied Elmira. “Please, that one.” The Candle Lady pointed at the Crecer candle that Lou Lou had declined yesterday. “Since you are a good friend and have suffered such a catastrophic camellia calamity, twenty percent off.”

  “Thank you, Elmira. Does your intuition tell you anything about who would harm Pinky?” she asked. “Was it one of my Hello Horticulture! Society competitors? Or maybe my new neighbor?” Lou Lou thought back to Jeremy’s suspicious hammering.

  “I wish I could help you, but no one is coming to mind. Unfortunately my deepest sympathies and the candle are all I can offer,” Elmira said, her brow furrowed with concern.

  Lou Lou sighed and took the green candle from the dusty shelf. Maybe it could magically revive Pinky. She pulled a fistful of crumpled dollars from her pocket and counted them out. For Lou Lou, money was measured in two-dollar cupcakes, and this candle had just set her back four vanilla buttercreams. But it was worth it if it would save her camellia.

  Realizing that Lou Lou still owed Elmira more, Pea handed the Candle Lady two neatly folded bills.

  “Pea—” Lou Lou started to protest.

  “It’s okay, I want to help. And I got my allowance today.”

  “Thanks, Pea. From me and Pinky.”

  “Sí, muchas gracias.” Elmira put the money into the cash register. “And you, Peacock Pearl … I sense you may be facing another feisty feline fiasco.”

  This was correct. Pea’s mean cats, Uno (the black cat) and Dos (the white cat), hated each other and were in a hissy war.

  “Tiene razón, Elmira,” Pea answered. “But I still have the Amistad candle I bought a few months ago. The cats are not exactly friends now, but when I burn it, Uno hides under the couch and Dos curls up behind the bookshelf. It keeps them from fighting, so it seems to be working!”

  “Muy bien,” Elmira replied. Then she offered a bit of her mystical wisdom: “Shine a light on a problem and you’ll have an answer.” Before she disappeared behind the curtain, the Candle Lady said, “Again, I am very sorry about your plant. Buena suerte.”

  Lou Lou looked at the Crecer candle in her hands. Would its light be the answer to Pinky’s recovery? She wasn’t sure, but she was willing to try anything.

  “Please bring Pinky back,” she whispered.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  A Planticide!

  Lou Lou paced the length of the tiny crow’s nest. It had been exactly four hours and thirty-one minutes since she started her Saturday with enthusiasm. But so much had changed in that time and Lou Lou had spent much of it fuming, puzzling, and running back and forth between her room and her garden to check for other signs of plant assault or mischief. Pea watched from the bed, coughing occasionally at the mixture of smoke and sweetgrass from the Crecer candle.

  Lou Lou knew only a miracle could bring Pinky back to life. They’d stopped at Green Thumb after leaving the candle shop. Juan, although devastated to hear of the attack on Pinky, couldn’t think of a solution. Still, Lou Lou kept her eyes on the window, hoping she’d see bright blooms reappear on her beloved camellia. But Pinky was in the same sorry state and a recovery seemed doubtful. Lou Lou’s Flowering Bushes and Shrubs blue-ribbon dreams were dying alongside her plant. She threw up her hands and flopped down next to Pea, almost toppling a plate of half-eaten cucumber sandwiches.

  “Lou Lou,” Pea said soothingly. “I think you need to take your mind off things. Maybe we should go for a walk? I could treat you to Cupcake Cabana.”

 
“Take my mind off things!” seethed Lou Lou. She put her cool hands over her scorching ears. “There has been an unthinkable camellia crime. This isn’t merely a thing! It’s a murder—a homicide. No, a planticide!”

  “I understand, and I am trying to help.” Pea spoke gently despite her friend’s anger. She patted Lou Lou’s arm and Lou Lou’s breathing slowed.

  Chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum, chrysanthemum, Lou Lou said to herself. “Sorry, Pea. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m just so furious, I could scream.”

  “Even more reason to go out,” said Pea. “You can have a nice long scream in Limonero Park. Plus, I hear that cupcakes can help with planticide investigations. People think more clearly when their stomachs are full of frosting.”

  “I guess you’re right,” said Lou Lou. She’d skipped breakfast and barely touched her sandwich, so her mouth watered at the thought of Cupcake Cabana. Sometimes vanilla buttercream was the best immediate solution for a serious problem.

  “Good, it’s settled.” Pea made for the rope ladder before Lou Lou could change her mind. Lou Lou looked out the window one last time to check on her garden. Finding nothing disturbed, she blew out the Crecer candle and followed in Pea’s footsteps.

  * * *

  After they stopped at Cupcake Cabana, Lou Lou and Pea headed toward the park. Turning a corner, they nearly ran into a ruddy-faced boy.

  “Whoa!” said Kyle Longfellow.

  “Whoa yourself, Kyle,” Pea replied as she smoothed her outfit. Kyle was in the same grade as Lou Lou and Pea, and they’d known him forever. Kyle always teased Pea. Pea insisted he was just being childish, but Lou Lou thought he might have a crush on her.

  “Peacock Pearl is a stupid girl,” Kyle said in a singsong voice, staring at Pea to make sure he had her attention.

  “Look at Kyle, he’s so vile,” said Lou Lou. Kyle seemed to notice Lou Lou for the first time. He stuck out his tongue in reply.

  “Did you escape from the zoo today?” Kyle asked, eyeing Pea’s royal-blue coat with its leopard-print pockets.

  “What a clever joke, Kyle,” Pea said sarcastically. “At least I don’t look like a bumblebee.” She pointed at Kyle’s black-and-yellow striped sweater.

  Kyle’s face turned tomato red. “It’s not a bumblebee sweater! These are Comet Cop’s favorite colors, so I wear them when I’m on space patrol.”

  Lou Lou rolled her eyes. Kyle was always playing make-believe. He wanted to be an interplanetary police officer when he grew up, just like his favorite superhero, Comet Cop.

  Lou Lou changed the subject. “Kyle, you didn’t happen to see anyone suspicious near my garden this morning, did you? I mean, when you were out on your space patrol?” Kyle was always spying on people, and if he had information about Pinky’s attack, Lou Lou wanted to know.

  “That’s a negative, Lou Lou Bombay,” Kyle said. “But I’ll keep a lookout. If I do see anyone suspicious, I can stop them with my cosmic kung fu or my meteor blaster.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Lou Lou said.

  “Hey, you never know when you might need my protection.” Kyle stole a glance at Pea. “Something could happen at any time … BOO!” Kyle jumped at Pea to scare her. She stood still.

  “Let’s go,” Lou Lou said to Pea. She’d had enough of Kyle Longfellow for one day.

  “Goodbye, Kyle,” Pea said.

  “Wait, you guys! Don’t you want to hear about the arrests I made at school when I was on hall monitor duty?”

  “Another time,” Lou Lou said. The two friends waved to him as they hurried off.

  It wasn’t long before Lou Lou and Pea were in their favorite park, sitting cross-legged on their favorite bench with their favorite cupcakes. Being in Limonero Park made Lou Lou feel a bit better and she decided to save her angry scream for another time. Lou Lou had many fond memories of colorful El Corazón festivals and celebrations in the park. Like most of the neighborhood kids, she and Pea had been going there since they were little, and the sight of the shiny swing set and the lemon trees that ringed the park cooled Lou Lou’s ears. The buttercream frosting helped, too.

  “Tell me more about your new neighbor,” Pea said. Lou Lou had mentioned Jeremy during her rant about potential suspects.

  “He’s kind of strange.” Lou Lou told Pea about Jeremy’s spiky blue hair, black boots, studded bracelet, and overly friendly personality.

  “Maybe he is just genuinely nice,” Pea suggested. “And his blue hair sounds pretty!”

  “He seemed fake to me.” Lou Lou revealed a mouthful of cupcake. “And it’s suspicious that he moved here at the very same time that Pinky was murdered.”

  “Is that actually suspicious?” Pea asked. “People move to new places all the time.”

  “I think it’s more than just a coincidence,” Lou Lou said. “He also mentioned he has ‘family’ in the neighborhood.” She made air quotes with her fingers. “But he didn’t tell me who. Probably because there is no family—he made it up!”

  Pea patted her napkin at stray frosting on her lip and pondered this.

  “There’s more. He had a hammer, Pea. A hammer! He said he was using it to work on Mr. Gray’s fence, but the fence wasn’t broken. What if he was killing poor Pinky right under my nose?” Lou Lou’s voice grew quieter and her eyes began to fill with tears. Pea took Lou Lou’s hand and gave it a sympathetic squeeze.

  “True, it might have been him,” Pea said. “But it could have been someone else, too. Either way we will figure out what happened.” Lou Lou nodded and struggled not to cry. She glanced at Pea’s blue watch.

  “We better go. We told my mom we’d be home by three.”

  They gathered up their bags, cupcake wrappers, and kicked-off shoes that were scattered on the grass. As they were leaving, they heard footsteps fast approaching. It was Magdalena hurrying across the path through the park.

  “Hey, chicas!” Magdalena called. Pea’s cousin was tall with smooth chestnut hair cut into a bob and skin the color of honey.

  “Hola, Prima,” replied Pea. “¿Cómo estás? Did you get a new dress yet?” Magdalena almost always wore an expression that Lou Lou and Pea called her gold-medal smile since they were sure she’d win the Smile Olympics. But she frowned at the mention of her quinceañera dress.

  “No, but I’m heading to Sparkle ’N Clean now.”

  “I’m really sorry about what happened,” Lou Lou said.

  “Thanks, Lou Lou. It’s a total bummer. I was so excited to wear that dress tomorrow. It was such a beautiful color—a perfect match for a party here.” Magdalena looked wistfully at the lemon trees. “It really hurts when something you love is destroyed.”

  Lou Lou knew exactly how that felt. “My camellia was killed today,” she said.

  “Pinky? Oh, Lou Lou, that is so sad!” Magdalena exclaimed. “Pea told me how excited you were about competing for the blue ribbon. It’s weird that bad things happened to both of us this week.”

  “Do you have any idea who ruined your dress? Or why?” Lou Lou asked.

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” replied Magdalena. “I guess it could have been one of the mean girls in my grade.”

  Lou Lou could also relate to this. She thought of Danielle Desserts and her snooty-girl posse. Could they be behind Pinky’s planticide?

  “Or it could have just been some kid playing a cruel trick,” Magdalena continued. “I’ve got a quart of revenge cranberry juice in my fridge for when I find out!”

  “I hope the Belleza candle helps!” Pea said.

  Magdalena’s mouth finally turned up into her gold-medal smile. “I’ve been burning it ever since you gave it to me. Fingers and toes crossed,” she said, walking off toward Sparkle ’N Clean.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  School Is for the Birds

  “I have an idea!” Pea said on the walk from Limonero Park to the SS Lucky Alley. “We should make an altar for Pinky. We’ll carry it in the Día de los Muertos procession.”

  Lou Lou, who had been quiet
and gloomy, perked up. “Great plan, Pea! If Pinky doesn’t recover, of course.”

  “Oh, of course,” Pea replied. “I didn’t mean to…” She trailed off.

  Lou Lou put an arm around Pea’s shoulder. “It’s okay. I’ve spent five whole years—half my life!—as a horticulture enthusiast. I know that Pinky’s chances are slim. If we do make an altar, we’ll have to do it soon. Día de los Muertos is coming right up!”

  “We could redo Bisabuela Nellie’s altar for Pinky,” Pea suggested. “The frame already has flowers painted on it.”

  When Pea’s great-grandmother Nelida Soto had passed away last year, Lou Lou helped Pea make a Día de los Muertos altar to remember her. They decorated the altar with painted flowers, crepe paper, a photo of Bisabuela Nellie in her favorite chair, and construction-paper dogs to symbolize Pea’s great-grandmother’s beloved terriers. Alongside Pea’s family, Lou Lou and Pea had carried the altar in the twilight procession. Then they sat on Pea’s front porch to eat pistachios, Bisabuela Nellie’s favorite food, and tell each other her terrible jokes.

  “But that altar is so special to you,” replied Lou Lou.

  “It is special. Even more reason to pass it along. We made it for someone I loved, now we can reuse it for something you loved. I want Pinky to have it, and I bet Bisabuela Nellie would, too.”

  “Thanks, Pea. That’s really nice of you.” Lou Lou hugged her best friend.

  “We will just need to make a few changes.” Pea had her dreamy planning-an-art-project look on her face. “Maybe add more flowers, a photo, and some things that remind you of Pinky.”

  “My mom might even have perfume with camellia notes. We could spray the altar with it,” Lou Lou suggested.

  “What a wonderful idea. Bisabuela Nellie would be proud, Lou Lou,” Pea said.

  Lou Lou thought of one of Bisabuela Nellie’s bad jokes. “Why shouldn’t you write with a broken pencil?”

  Pea grinned. “Because it’s pointless! What kind of flower is on your face?” Pea asked.