"Yes, the same woman who told everyone they could come eat treats with Mr. Darcy on Valentine's Day."
I laughed. "Oh my gosh, I forgot all about the Mr. Darcy calamity. But it worked out in the end."
Briggs started the car. I was feeling a hundred percent better about Briggs but a hundred percent worse about Dash. Of course, a good detective always listened to both sides of the story. One day, I'd ask Dash about what happened back then. It would be interesting to hear the story from his side. But I still was never going to feel the same about my charming, handsome neighbor.
Chapter 31
Well, it was happening and it was my fault. Now that Lola and Ryder were officially a couple, my best friend was spending a whole bunch of time in the flower shop just lingering and making sparkly eyes at her new boyfriend. I wasn't too annoyed, yet. I had a bigger worry. I knew Lola, she tended to jump in with both feet and search for the life preserver later. Lola had a major crush on Ryder right from the start. When he returned the interest, she backed away, scurrying off in fear. Now the opposite was happening, and I worried things were moving too fast for both of them. But I was going to keep positive thoughts and hope for the best.
Lola's giggles twittered down the short hallway to my office. Lola was not normally the giggle type but for Ryder she managed a good long set. I finished up my purchase orders. It was a slow week because of the holiday landing right in the center of it, so I had a few minutes to make a graphic for the murder case. Sometimes it helped me to look at all the pieces and connect the parts.
Jenny's missing gun was a major development. If it was indeed the murder weapon. That still needed to be clarified, but for my graphic, I made it the killer's gun. The garden party was on Monday. That was the day Jenny showed the four of us her prized collection. Since Jenny was shot on Wednesday, chances were the gun was stolen the day of the club meeting. That narrowed down the list of suspects considerably. I could cross my name off because I knew I wasn't the killer. That left Molly, Carla and Percy.
"Knock, knock." Lola popped her head into the office. She was now both a giggler and a person who said 'knock, knock' instead of actually knocking. "Are you busy?"
"Actually you caught me doing something that has nothing to do with the flower shop."
"Uh oh. I won't tell the boss though." She was practically skipping as she entered. (Skipping—also not a normal Lola thing.) She dropped heavy into the chair across from my desk. "Just thought I'd say hello before I went back across the street."
I looked up and waited.
"Hello," she said. Then she leaned forward. "Oh my gosh, he is such a doll," she whispered. "So funny too. I can't stop laughing when I'm with him."
"So I noticed."
"Wait, am I laughing too much? Shoot, I don't want to seem silly. Should I tone it down?"
"No, be yourself. It's fine. Just don't move too fast."
The chair scraped the floor as she scooted it closer to my desk, as close as her knees would allow her to get. "Are we moving too fast? I'm going to blow it. I always do. I just know I'm going to ruin this."
I glanced toward the door. The shop bell rang. Ryder started talking to the customer. I still lowered my voice considerably. "Lola, just be yourself. Don't over think this and for goodness sakes, relax. Ryder is an easy going guy. So are you when you're not in the throes of hysteria. Like right now. Deep breath and stay natural. If it works out great and if doesn't, it's not the end of the world."
I should have stopped at the word great. She sat forward so fast her knees smacked the desk. "Do you think it's not going to work out?"
"I didn't say that. Stop second guessing yourself. You're awesome. He's awesome. It a great match."
Lola finally relaxed some. "You're right. I've got to let things happen naturally." She sounded resolute but I wasn't counting on her to follow up on that. "New subject. Did you try the petit fours? Elsie brought me a plate this morning, and I've been buzzing on a sugar high ever since. She said she had a wonderful time with Peggy Pinkerton."
"Yes, my mom didn't stop talking about Elsie all morning. And yes, I was dropping those petit fours like M&Ms. One bite cakes are brilliant. As long as there are a lot of them on the plate. My mom said she was going to spend the morning online shopping for athletic shoes and sportswear so she could start running. She wants to be fit and trim and full of energy like Elsie. But between you and me, my mom runs circles around me. If she has any more energy, we're going to have to get her one of those hamster wheels in human size. Anyhow, she's started new exercise regimens many times. They usually end quickly with a pulled muscle because she dives into everything so enthusiastically, she ends up getting hurt."
Lola laughed. "Gee, where have I heard that before?" She pointed up to her chin. "Oh yeah, right here. But now that we've talked, I'm determined to cool my heels some. Take things slower. Starting now. I need to head back to the shop and leave Ryder to his work." She stood up. "Oh hey, did you ever find out why Detective Briggs' ex-wife was in town?"
I decided not to tell the whole story of the marriage breakup. It wasn't really my story to tell. "I guess she's in town for an uncle's funeral. She lives on the east coast. So we won't be seeing her much after this."
"The flower shop owner said with a sigh of relief," Lola quipped.
I had to nod in agreement. I waved my fingers at her. "Go run your shop before Late Bloomer hires a new store manager."
"I wish. Then I could just be some squirrely helper who gets to dust the antiques and answer the phone instead of holding the weight of the world on my shoulders."
"Oh? Business not going well?"
"I just need to put my parents in a different mindset. Less centuries old, garish, ornate stuff and more modern, simple furniture and lamps. But that is my cross to bear not yours. You have a murder mystery to solve." She motioned to my paper with the graphic and names. "My money is on Molly. She's always a grump. Later."
"Bye." I stared down at my paper. I'd written Jenny's name in a circle in the center and the three possible suspects in boxes around the circle. All three of them had access to the gun. Motives for everyone were weak at best. Carla was upset at Jenny because her husband always bid on Jenny's picnic basket. Otherwise, it seemed Jenny went out of her way to be a kind and supportive friend to Carla. Percy had a much stronger motive than the other two. He had lost a court battle over a dividing wall, and he had to give up some of his property as a result. That meant money and money was always a good motive for murder. (If there was such thing as a good motive for murder.) Percy was also the only one of the three with no real alibi. He was at home with his parakeet but no one saw him. Molly had just a slightly stronger motive than Carla and the picnic basket problem. Jenny had caught her cheating in the pie contest. And even though there was little reward, other than the honor of being the best pie baker for the contest, it would have been humiliating for Molly if the town found out. Of course, there was the one of a kind hat debacle where both Molly and Jenny agreed not to wear the rhinestone hat to the festivities, then neither stuck to their promise. Again, hardly a reason to kill someone. And the hard truth of it all was that both Molly and Carla had solid alibis for their whereabouts during the fireworks show.
I sat back and tapped my pencil against my chin trying to come up with anything else pertinent, but I was drawing blanks left and right. I folded the paper but could still see my writing through the back. Molly's name lined up over Jenny's. Seeing the two names over each other sparked a far out idea. It was about as crazy and far-fetched a notion as I'd ever had. Jenny and Molly were about the same height and weight. They were both wearing the same hat on the night of the murder. Jenny was shot from behind. What if the killer was after Molly and accidentally shot Jenny? While Molly was less agreeable than Jenny, why on earth would someone want to kill her?
That question brought me right back to the start.
Chapter 32
The morning passed quickly. Before I knew it, Mom and Dad sho
wed up for the lunch we'd planned. As we strolled to Franki's Diner, Mom told me all about the running gear she bought for her latest foray into the world of fitness, and Dad worked hard not to comment on how much money she'd spent on her last exercise ventures.
Franki spotted us the second we walked in and marched right over with hands on hips and signature beehive tilting slightly to the right. "Well, Lacey Pinkerton, I wondered when you were going to introduce me to your parents." Her stern expression fell away. She went straight for a hug from each of them before I had a chance to introduce anyone.
Franki stepped back. "In case you missed the nametag, I'm Franki."
"Franki, my parents, Peggy and Stanley."
Dad glanced around at the vintage decor. The whole restaurant was an explosion of red vinyl, polished chrome and white laminate. "I love this place already, and I haven't even tasted the food." Dad smiled at Franki. "Which I've heard is fantastic."
Franki blushed. "Why, thank you. Here, let me show you to a table, and we can get you set up with one of our delicious lunches." Franki led us down the aisle of seats. She looked back at Dad. "I think you'll like our chili and cornbread. All made from scratch."
Mom leaned over and whispered in my ear. "He'll love it but after a few hours, I'll be sorry about it."
I elbowed her and laughed. I pointed out the red diamond tile pattern running beneath the counter. "Hey, Mom, does that remind you of anything?"
It took her a second. "Yes, that looks just like our first kitchen. It's adorable in the diner but not so great in a house."
"Ah, I loved that red diamond pattern."
Franki led us to a booth near the end of the room. She placed down the menus as we slid onto the seats, Dad and I together and Mom across, facing the direction of the entrance.
"I just brewed some raspberry tea," Franki said.
I picked up the menu. "Sounds good."
"Yes, please," Mom said. The second Franki walked away something else caught Mom's eye. She gave me a little kick under the table. "There's your neighbor. Should we invite him to sit with us?"
"No," I said so abruptly even Dad looked up from his menu. "No," I said quietly.
"Hello, Dash," Mom said cheerily. I tapped her foot hard under the table. She scowled back at me.
Dash stopped at the last seat on the counter, just across from our table. He turned to us.
"Hey, Pinkertons, nice to see you again." His green eyes landed directly on me. "Lacey," he nodded.
I returned a nod but it was so slight it could easily be missed.
"How are the boats today?" Mom asked. "That's what you do, right? Fix boats?" Sometimes I loved my mom and sometimes I wanted to pretend I didn't know her.
"Yes. And the boats are good. Thanks for asking."
"That's nice," Mom said. "Oh and if you're interested in some petit fours, there is a tray of them in Lacey's refrigerator. In fact, maybe Lacey can bring some by later." She blinked big eyes at me. I didn't respond and lifted up my menu.
"Have a great lunch," Dash said.
My shoulders relaxed with a sigh when Dash turned back to his stool. As we waited for our three orders of chili and cornbread, I got a text. Mom tried to give me the 'not at the table' scowl but those days had long past. I picked up the phone and read the message. It was from Briggs.
"I've got some news on the case. Can you get away from the shop for a bit?"
I texted back. "I'm eating lunch at Franki's with Ma and Pa Pinkerton. I can walk over right after. I've got another wacky theory."
"Looking forward."
"Can I bring you something from Franki's?"
"No, I ate a sandwich at home. Bear is just starting to recover from the fireworks noise. I should have named him Lion. Cowardly Lion."
I sent back the smiley emoji. "See you soon."
I tried to have an enjoyable, fun lunch with my parents, but I was hyperaware of the man sitting just a few feet away. Mom kept looking at him, then she'd sweep her eyes toward me and then back to Dash again like she was watching a tennis match. I was sure she was hoping if she looked back and forth enough she could create a line of romantic sparks between us. She was persistent, if nothing else.
When Dash decided to take his lunch with him, I was finally able to relax enough to enjoy the chili. That was after Mom created a scene with her good-bye and vocally lamenting that Dash wasn't staying to eat his lunch. Can't imagine what made him decide to take it to go.
Dad had finished his cornbread, and he was not-so-secretly eyeing mine. Franki came to the rescue with another plate of it. "I was in the kitchen and I looked through the window and saw your bread plate was empty but you still had chili. You must be a cornbread dunker, and you can't eat chili properly without something to dunk."
Dad's grin was a mile wide. "Lacey, I might just have to move to this town."
Franki looked pointedly at me. "See, you should have brought them in earlier. I kept thinking—when is Lacey bringing her parents into the diner? I was starting to feel a little neglected to be honest."
"I'll make it up to you by bringing them in for lunch tomorrow," I said.
"Perfect." Franki looked at Dad. "I'll bet you like a good cheeseburger. And I make my own ketchup."
"Oh yeah," Dad said, "I've been known to like a good cheeseburger."
Normally, Mom would have chimed in on Dad having an almost flirty conversation with another woman, but she was too busy watching Dash head back to the marina with his bag of food. She was completely oblivious to the conversation at the table. I hadn't planned on telling her, or anyone, what Briggs had told me. But I thought it might tamp down her matchmaker enthusiasm if she knew.
Franki walked away and Mom started in about Dash. "I think you hurt your neighbor's feelings. It was clear he wanted to sit at the table with us."
I shook my head. "That was only clear to you. I didn't see it at all. I'll tell you a few things, Mom, and you can't say one word to Elsie or anyone else. Not even Kingston or Nevermore."
Mom wiggled in her seat and picked indignantly at her cornbread. "Why on earth would I be saying anything to your pets?"
"Just this morning you told Nevermore that he was eating too fast and that he'd get hiccoughs." Dad took a bite of the new cornbread.
Mom flared her nostrils gently at him and returned to me. "You can tell me. I'll try not to blab it around town since you seem to think I am some kind of loose-lipped-loon."
Dad laughed and then shoved another piece of cornbread into his mouth to stifle it.
"I hardly think you're a loose-lipped-loon. Boy, try and say that ten times fast, eh?" I looked sparkly eyed at Mom, but her mouth was in a straight line. She wasn't going along with my attempt at humor.
"Dash is very charming and good looking and he has come to my rescue more than once. I enjoy talking to him."
Mom's smile grew with each compliment. For some reason she seemed to think my list was leading to an 'and that's why I'm nuts about him' instead of a 'but there's something you should know'. Her smile vanished when I ended with the latter.
"I know you had a bad first impression of Detective Briggs because, well, you broke, through the police line," I added and then wished I hadn't even mentioned it.
"There was no line." She was sticking to that line of defense.
"Yes, anyhow. Dash and Detective Briggs, James—" I clarified. Using his official name was probably not helping her warm up to the man. "They were good friends in high school. Played football together. James married his high school sweetheart right after graduation before he went to the police academy."
Mom sat back. "Uh huh, so he's married anyhow?"
"No, not anymore. They divorced quickly."
"Fresh out of high school marriages rarely last," Dad added a rare nugget of opinion before concentrating on his chili.
I sipped some tea. "I'm sure youth had something to do with it." I looked plainly at Mom. "But Dash had something to do with it too."
Dad caught my mean
ing instantly but Mom was perplexed. She was still wearing star covered glasses when it came to Dash.
I lowered my voice. "I don't have any details and I don't want them either, but apparently, Dash and James' wife Olivia were seeing each other on the side."
Mom was still not letting the bad stuff through. She wasn't quite ready to give up on my neighbor. "What side?"
Dad dropped his cornbread in the chili and grumbled about it before looking up at Mom. "For pete's sake, Peggy, what side do you think? They were having an extramarital affair." He said it just loud enough to gather some attention from nearby tables. Fortunately, no names were mentioned, otherwise I'd probably just have to pack up my shop and house and move on.
Mom looked positively deflated as she processed the news. Then she scooted forward and straightened her shoulders. "I knew that Dash was no good the second I laid eyes on him."
Dad and I just stared at her with open mouths. There wasn't any point in arguing or reminding her that she was practically writing out our wedding invitations only an hour earlier.
Franki came to the table with the bill. "I gave a twenty percent discount for my special guests."
"Oh, you didn't need to do that," Mom said.
Dad kicked her shoe under the table and picked up the bill. "Thank you so much. It was delicious."
Franki grinned from ear to ear. "Wonderful. Is there anything else? More tea?"
Mom lifted her glass. "Yes, please, it's so refreshing."
"Not me, Franki, thanks. Mom, Dad, I need to hop across the street to the police station to ask Detective Briggs something before heading back to work."
Mom placed her hand on my arm. "But we just sat down."
"Gosh, I hope not," Dad said as he looked at the array of empty dishes in front of him.
I kissed her cheek. "I have a shop to run, remember? Thanks for lunch, Dad. I'll see you guys at home."
I waved to Franki and headed outside. My phone buzzed as I crossed Franki's parking lot. I was surprised to see it was a text from Dash. "Any chance we can talk?"
Dahlias and Death Page 14
