A Fresh Kill

by Eryn Scott

  Hadley and Luke followed Deborah back to her car. Hadley dragged with her the realization that this process may take longer than she had before she needed to be out of her house.

  5

  Monday morning, Hadley biked to the jam kitchen. Before she unlocked the place, she walked three buildings down to pick up her flower order for the week. Stoneybrook was free of any large chain stores and chock-full of local businesses. They looked out for each other, promoted wherever they could. After all, a dollar spent in Stoneybrook was a dollar toward a stronger town.

  In addition to sourcing her labels from Suze’s design company and using local produce in her jams, Hadley liked to set up a large vase of flowers from Valley Wildflowers in each of the three picture windows on the street side of her jam kitchen.

  She stopped in front of the violet-and-white striped awning hanging above the Valley Wildflowers sign.

  A bundle of silver bells tied to the front door announced Hadley’s entrance as she pulled it open and stepped inside. As always, the first thing to hit her was the smell of the store. From the light, sweet smell of the fresh greenery to the more intense perfume of the flower petals, she felt herself sucking in a deep breath through her nose in an effort to appreciate each unique scent.

  And that wasn’t where the delights stopped. The place was a visual anti-depressant. Each color, so intense and perfect, worked together to create a palette that made her smile.

  Some people had worried when Leo had first announced his plans to stop outsourcing and carry local, in-season wildflowers about a decade earlier. They figured the limitation would alienate people looking at roses for winter weddings or any other out-of-season wish. The result, however, was that the town was surprised by the vast array of local species and learned to embrace whatever was in season at the moment.

  The front door jangled shut behind Hadley and someone blew their nose from behind a fern in the back right of the shop.

  “Oh, hello!” Jessie, Leo’s daughter poked her head out from behind the large green fronds, blowing her nose into a tissue with one hand and holding up the other in a just a minute gesture. After she’d finished wiping her red nose, she smiled. “Sorry about that. My allergies are crazy bad today.”

  Hadley’s forehead wrinkled as she took in the poor young woman. She did seem miserable. Normally, Jessie glowed. From her long, blond hair to her flawless skin, the young woman was the picture of beauty. Today, her eyes were rimmed with red, and the chapped skin under her nose led Hadley to believe that tissue hadn’t been her first and wouldn’t be her last.

  “Are you allergic to the flowers?” Hadley asked.

  Jessie exhaled, her youthful face adopting a beaten down, tired expression. “Quite a few of them, I’m afraid.”

  “I had no idea.” Hadley shook her head. She didn’t remember ever having seen the girl so affected in all the years she’d known her. “That must be terrible.”

  Jessie shrugged. “I usually take medication for it, but I’ve been trying some natural remedies lately, you know, to be less dependent on pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, nothing I’ve tried so far is working.”

  Sniffing once more and then tossing the tissue into a garbage can behind the register, Jessie straightened her shoulders and said, “Dad left your order all ready. I’ll go grab it.”

  Before Hadley could say anything else, the girl disappeared through a door Hadley knew led to the cold flower storage in the back. She returned a few moments later, clutching two vases while the other was held tight between her arm and torso.

  Hadley’s eyes lit up as they roamed over the mix of white lilies, magenta hollyhocks, blue columbine, pink lewisia, and three bright yellow sunflowers. Rich green salal and a few sage-colored grasses completed the look, pulling all of the other colors together.

  Jessie set them onto the counter. “He did such a great job this week, didn’t he?” She beamed as she surveyed the arrangements.

  “He always does. It’s my favorite part of Monday morning.” Hadley smiled. She loved how Leo would go through each flower, explaining what it was and some fun fact about it. After months of picking up vases, Hadley felt as if she’d gotten a full course on local flora. She was even able to identify most of the plants in her own garden thanks to Leo’s lessons.

  Speaking of Leo, Hadley wondered where the man was. She loved talking to Jessie—the nineteen-year-old was usually away at college, and it was great to see her home during the summer to help her father with his shop—but Hadley had been hoping to see her father, especially after seeing his shop listed on that realty site.

  “Where is your dad? I was hoping to talk with him.” She didn’t mention why she wanted to talk with him, unsure if Jessie was aware of her dad’s financial troubles.

  Jessie chewed on her bottom lip for a second before answering. “He isn’t feeling well. I told him I would run the show today.”

  Nodding, Hadley said, “I suppose that makes sense, considering…”

  “Right.” Jessie picked a stray leaf from the counter and flicked it into a compost bin. “I hear you were the one who found him. What happened?” She glanced up, eagerness gleaming behind her eyes.

  Hadley was sure Jessie knew exactly what had happened on Saturday. There wasn’t a person in the lower valley who wouldn’t have heard at least four different accounts of Charlie’s death. However, Hadley also knew it was a common Stoneybrook practice for citizens to ask questions to which they already knew the answers in order to maintain the illusion the town didn’t run solely on gossip. Even the town’s younger generation was well versed in the expectation, as was evident from Jessie’s question.

  “It was awful,” Hadley said. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather not relive it.”

  Jessie shot her a small smile. “I understand. Sorry to bring it up. I guess I’m still shocked.”

  “Everyone is.”

  At that, Jessie scoffed. “Not everyone, it seems,” she mumbled.

  Hadley tipped her head to one side. “What?”

  Jessie blinked up at her as if she’d forgotten she was there. “Oh, there are just a few people who seem to think Dad had something to do with Charlie’s death. They said they weren’t surprised Charlie showed up dead with the way Dad’s been threatening him.”

  “Yeah…” Hadley pulled in a deep breath.

  “Dad wouldn’t bend a flower petal on purpose, let alone do anything to hurt a person.” Jessie’s voice rose and her tone wavered.

  Hadley nodded. “I know. We all know that, Jess. It’s just the threats he was making toward Charlie make him look super suspicious now. He’s got a good alibi for that morning. Surely enough people saw him at the market, at his booth. The police will clear his name in no time.”

  “Thanks for your support.”

  “Are you sure you’re good?” Hadley asked again. “What happened to Charlie is awful. It would make sense to be sad about it,” she said, wondering briefly if the girl was masking her tears as allergies.

  Shaking her head vehemently, she answered, “I’m not saying Charlie deserved to die, but I definitely won’t be shedding a tear for him. He’s been awful to my dad for years, and the guy’s a complete creep. Well, he was…”

  Hadley hadn’t encountered Charlie too many times, but in the times she had, the man made her uncomfortable, touching her without asking and calling her pet names when they’d just met.

  Jessie, obviously done with their conversation, pushed the vases closer to her on the counter. “Do you need any help carrying these?”

  Hadley wrapped an arm around one vase and then grabbed the other two with her hands. “Nope. I’m a pro by now.”

  The color returned to Jessie’s face as she smiled. “Have a great day.”

  As Hadley exited the store, she felt a little tickle in her nose now that her face was surrounded by blooms. It must’ve just been the power of suggestion, though, because she’d never had an allergic reaction to the plants before, and while she knew it was possib
le to develop them as one got older, she doubted it was anything more than sympathy allergies.

  The thought reminded her of Charlie’s bee stings. As an adult, he had to have been aware of his allergy, if it was bad enough that three bee stings could bring on such an intense reaction. Someone who worked in an industry where bee stings were a given couldn’t not know they were deathly allergic to the insects, right? If he hadn’t known, it was possible his death had been a freak accident, the poor guy being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

  If he did know he was allergic, though… Jessie’s comment about allergies and the different medications she’d tried came to mind. Assuming Charlie knew he was allergic and he had still decided to work as a florist, he must’ve had something precautionary like an EpiPen just in case of an emergency. And if that was true, why hadn’t he used it that morning? Anaphylaxis would’ve taken a few minutes, at least. Plenty of time to reach for an Epinephrine pen. But she hadn’t seen anything of the sort near him inside his flower van. Of course, she hadn’t noticed much beyond his body.

  Hadley pondered that as she walked down the street back toward the jam kitchen.

  “You’re a walking hazard with those.” The gruff voice stopped her, and she turned to see her brother standing, arms crossed, as he shot her a playful smirk. He stepped forward. “Here, let me take a few before you walk right into the road.”

  Smiling, Hadley handed over two of the three vases. Paul followed her as she rounded the corner into the back alley and unlocked the jam kitchen’s back door. It was usually such a chore each Monday to try to locate her key in her pocket and unlock the door with all of those vases in hand, so Paul’s help was appreciated.

  “So what’s got you all spacey this morning?” Paul asked, setting the two arrangements he held on the tables in the front windows. He walked over to her and took the last vase, setting it on the last table before returning his attention to her.

  “What?” she asked, arranging the flowers even though they were still perfect. “I’m not spacey.”

  Paul chuckled. “Right. You regularly zigzag across the whole sidewalk making pedestrians run out of your way. Sorry. I must be wrong.”

  Hadley pulled an apron over her head and focused on tying it behind her back to avoid the fact that Paul had a point.

  “Plus, you’ve almost no more nail polish left, and I swear you just painted those the other day.”

  Oh, great. I must’ve been picking at it while I was talking with Jessie. She curled her fingers in even though he’d already noticed the lack of light-purple polish.

  She sighed. “Okay, sorry. I was thinking about Charlie and Leo.”

  Paul raised an eyebrow. “How so?”

  Hadley told him about seeing the flower shop for sale, and explained her wonderings about Charlie’s allergy preparedness.

  “We’ve been looking into it. Apparently Charlie did have a prescription for an Epinephrine pen, but we haven’t found anything of the sort in the van.” Paul rubbed a hand over his dark beard.

  “Any luck finding Suze’s mystery woman or figuring out how she’s involved in this whole thing?”

  Paul shook his head. “Kevin and I are going up to Cascade Ridge this morning to go through Charlie’s home with Sheriff McKay to see if there are any clues there.”

  Hadley felt her eyebrows lift as if of their own accord.

  “Nope,” Paul said, leveling her with a serious stare. “Don’t you get that interested look. You are not coming with. We’ve got this under control, Had.”

  She knew Paul getting shot had shaken him just as much as it had her. Paul seemed intent on keeping her away from any further investigation, saying he couldn’t forgive himself if something happened to her. But what Hadley couldn’t forget was the fact that she’d been the one to save his life; that his gunshot wound would’ve likely been fatal if she hadn’t disobeyed him and gotten involved. So even though she knew he wasn’t going to be happy with her, she couldn’t help but investigate.

  Paul interrupted when she opened her mouth in protest.

  “I’d better get going.” He patted her shoulder and headed out through the front door.

  Once Paul was out of sight, Hadley slipped her phone from her purse and texted Suzanne.

  “Wanna go up to Cascade Ridge for reasons which definitely don’t include digging around at Bloom while Paul’s busy with the rest of the deputies at Charlie’s house?”

  Suze texted right back.

  “Pick you up in ten. Get coffee.”

  Hadley smiled and grabbed her wallet.

  6

  Hadley stood outside the jam kitchen ten minutes later, two lattes clutched in her hands as she watched Main Street for Suze’s powder-blue mini. She jumped, almost spilling the coffees when a black sedan pulled into one of the slanted spots in front of her and honked.

  Bending down to get a look at the driver, she was startled to find Suze behind the wheel.

  “Hey!” Hadley said as she opened the passenger door and climbed in.

  “Sorry for honking,” Suze replied. “I don’t know how to work the windows in this fancy thing.” She glanced cluelessly at the complicated dashboard of the fancy car.

  “I didn’t know you were getting a new car.”

  “Oh,” Suze chuckled. “This isn’t mine. I swapped with Hazel for the day. Figured Paul would spot my car instantly. Cascade Ridge is a big place, but a powder-blue car is a powder-blue car.”

  “Good point.” Hadley nodded, glad Suze had caught on to the clandestine nature of their mission.

  “Get yourself buckled. Kevin and Paul were walking out to the cruiser when I was driving past town hall.” Suze checked the rearview mirror. “If we want to maximize our searching time, we’d better be on their tail.”

  Hadley complied. “Thanks for understanding,” she said, glad her friend was on the same page.

  If she’d told most people that she was worried about her big, burly brother, they would surely laugh in her face. But Suze knew Paul almost as well as Hadley; she understood he was much more sensitive than he let on and that his injury would have worse lasting emotional effects than physical. Plus, the three of them had always been better together than apart.

  Hadley surveyed the car. “I didn’t know Hazel had such a fancy ride.”

  Hazel Smith was Suze’s longtime neighbor. She worked at the local pharmacy and was the head of the Stoneybrook Quilters Association. She was also the town’s paramount gossip.

  “She just got it. Said she’s been saving up for it for years.”

  “And she’s letting you drive it?” Hadley cocked an eyebrow at Suze.

  Suze elbowed Hadley. “Cut it out, if you still want a ride. I’m an incredibly safe driver.”

  “I know you are, but I’m pretty sure the loan has more to do with Hazel thinking the world of you.”

  While both women had known Hazel since they were little, Suze always had a soft spot for the older woman and vice versa. Suze’s grandma had lived in the house next to Hazel until she died a few years ago. They’d grown even closer when Suzanne had inherited her grandma’s house.

  “Well, who can blame her?” Suze joked. Then, without much warning, she reversed and pulled out onto Main Street, following the deputy cruiser as it went by.

  “We know how to get to Cascade Ridge.” Hadley chuckled. “You don’t have to follow them.”

  Suze shrugged. “It’ll make the most of our time if we can get there as close to when they arrive at Charlie’s as we can.”

  Hadley filled Suze in on the new developments in the case while she drove. They had to pay close attention, making sure they didn’t get too close to Paul and Kevin; even in a different car it would still look suspicious. Hadley explained all about her chat with Jessie earlier and her thoughts about Charlie’s unfortunate bee allergy.

  “Poor Leo,” Suze said as they drove up the winding road to Cascade Ridge. “I can’t believe people think he could have done something like this. Barry e
ither.”

  Hadley picked at her nail polish.

  “Wait. You think it could be one of them?” Suze let out a small gasp.

  “No. I don’t know.” Hadley shrugged. “I just don’t want to let my feelings for people make me overlook the truth.”

  Suze took her eyes off the road for just a moment to look at Hadley. Short as it was, the glance was full of meaning, telling Hadley Suze understood why that was so important to her. Hadley had always prided herself on seeing the best in people, but last year she’d found out her husband of ten years—and high school sweetheart—had been cheating on her and had spent all of their savings. After that, Hadley vowed to not let people take advantage of her trust again, trying to become a shrewder judge of character.

  “I understand,” Suze said, smiling over at Hadley as the busy streets of Cascade Ridge came into view. “Okay, now where’d you go, Paul?” Suze scanned the roads for the green cruiser.

  “There.” Hadley pointed to the car taking a left about a mile ahead of them. “I think we’re good to head to Bloom now.”

  Suze clicked on her blinker and drove toward one of the larger shopping centers. She took the next left onto one of the busier through roads in the city.

  “If I remember correctly, Bloom is up in the next business complex.” Hadley pointed ahead.

  Unlike Valley Wildflowers’ storefront—which featured a wood-carved sign made by Hadley’s dad and hand-painted lettering on their window done by Suze herself—Bloom was in a fancy new building next to a Panera Bread and had a sign that looked like it cost more than half the businesses in Stoneybrook made in one quarter. They exited Hazel’s car and made their way up to the shiny glass doors, shading their eyes with their hands as the midday sun reflected off the large windows.

  “It’s closed.” Suze’s voice was as flat.

  Hadley sighed. “Of course it is. The owner just died. I can’t believe I thought it would be open.” She inwardly rolled her eyes at her mistake. Maybe Paul was right to keep her off the case. “I guess we came up here for nothing.”