Lyndsey Cole - Lily Bloom 02 - Queen of Poison Read Online Free PDF Page B

in the face when she tried to pull into Beautiful Blooms and there wasn’t any spot to park. I hope this is all business , she thought to herself.
    No such luck. TV crews were set up and Nina approached her as soon as her big toe hit the pavement.
    “Lily Bloom? Did you kill Elizabeth Stevens?”
    She pulled her foot back in the car and slammed her door. She picked up her phone and called Daisy.
    “What’s going on inside? I’m mobbed out here.”
    “Crazy here too. Should we close for the day?”
    “Yes. Meet me at Mom’s house.”
    It took longer than Lily expected for Daisy, Iris, Marigold and Rosie to show up. But at least when they pulled into the driveway no one was tailing them.
    Lily was busy at the kitchen table writing down everyone she thought had a motive. She had to figure this out and get her life back to normal.
    Iris was the first to enter the house. “What took you so long at the police station? We were worried you were thrown in jail.”
    “Not yet. Sit down. We’ve got work to do. I’ve got a list of people and we have to do some snooping around.” Lily looked up at everyone. “Do you want to help me?” A chorus of yes, of course and definitely, met her ears. “Great.”
    Iris sat down after she helped Marigold get settled. “First, you have to hear Marigold’s story. She was about to tell you before Ryan showed up at the shop.”
    Daisy interrupted, “No. First, let’s have some lunch. I’m starving. What have you got to eat around here, Mom?”
    “Look in the fridge. I think I have some left over tortellini and greens. Make a big salad. There’s homemade bread in the bread drawer too.”
    Daisy got busy with that while Marigold told her story. “Well, you all know how my hearing is pretty sharp, right?” Everyone nodded, which was ridiculous since Marigold couldn’t see that, but she continued anyway. “I heard two women arguing about who was in charge right after all the commotion started. One reminded me of monkshood and the other had a sweeter voice like a white carnation. The second one was the voice that talked at the end when we all had to leave.”
    Iris was excited as she looked at Lily. “It must have been that horrible R uth person who accused you of being the reason Marion died, and Elizabeth. I bet they don’t like each other and both want to have control of the museum.”
    Lily wrote some notes on her paper. She had columns for suspects, motives and clues. “So you think Ruth killed Elizabeth to get control?”
    “It’s a possibility.” Iris sat back with a smug look on her face.
    Daisy put a big bowl of tortellini salad in the middle of the table, with plates and forks. “Water?”
    Nods again. Iris passed around the plates, filled one for Marigold and one for herself. “Dig in everyone.”
    Lily remembered about the flowers near the body. “Daisy? Do you remember when we were looking at the arrangement next to the portrait of Marion Barry? Did you notice who made that arrangement?”
    Daisy chewed slowly and thought. “I think it was Ruth. Why?”
    Lily got busy writing again before she answered. “Ryan told me monkshood blossoms were around the body.”
    “He knew it was monkshood?” Daisy asked skeptically.
    “No. He showed me the flowers and I told him what they were.”
    Marigold r esponded. “That can mean danger. And that’s the voice I heard. Monkshood. Danger. Ruth.”

Chapter 6
     
    Iris announced that they needed to get Tamara Biotchi involved. “I think she’s on the board of directors for the museum.”
    Lily rolled her eyes. “You should have told us that before. She might know who’s running the show now.”
    Iris called Tamara who said she would be over shortly. Ever since her ex-husband and son landed in jail, Tamara broke free from her rigid lifestyle and was up for any adventure. They heard her scooter pull into Iris’s driveway just as they finished eating and cleared up the dishes.
    Tamara burst into Iris’s house,