leaning over to give me a quick kiss.
“Sure. Have fun. Maybe tonight we can find time to finish what we started earlier?”
“If that’s an offer, I’ll try my best to finish early.”
I winked at him. “Get to work!” I went to Starbucks to get the vanilla latte I had originally come down here for. Then I sat at one of the small tables to write down all the things that had happened or that I had found out. I was much better at thinking through a problem when I was able to get it down on paper. Somehow the act of writing it down helped my brain work.
My phone vibrated. Again a local number I didn’t recognize. It was probably the dispatcher from 1-800 GET FLORAL.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Is this Presley?” a man asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“Hi, this is Dan. From 1-800 GET FLORAL. I got a message that I needed to call you about a delivery this afternoon?”
“Oh, yes. Thanks so much for calling back. Did you send a delivery truck to Rosewood Mansion today?”
“ I had two deliveries this morning and then this afternoon. All my runs were on the other side of town. I didn’t have anything to Rosewood Mansion. Did we miss something? If so, I’m sorry and would be more than happy to refund your delivery charge.”
Pretty impressive customer service, which these days seemed hard to come by. “No, you didn’t miss anything. Thanks again for calling back.”
“No problem. Make sure to call 1-800 GET FLORAL anytime you have a delivery need,” he said before he hung up.
Well, now we knew someone faked a flower delivery. I didn’t bother calling Cooper to tell him since I knew he was in a meeting. I would catch him up later.
I turned to a clean sheet of paper and began to list all the events in chronological order, looking for anything that jumped out at me that might be a connection or something that didn’t fit. Besides the pseudo maintenance guy and Elaine knowing about the flowers that no one was supposed to know about, nothing else jumped out. Something with the pranks played on the girls had to relate. I sat there tapping my pen on the table, hoping that action might spark something, but it was a waste of time. I was getting nowhere besides doodly.
I put my notebook back into my purse and gathered my things to leave when I felt my phone vibrate again. I pulled it out and looked at the display. It was Katy, my friend from back home. We had been friends since second grade, and while we didn’t get a chance to talk all that often these days, she was one of those friends with whom you could go months without contact and then have a three hour conversation as if no time had passed.
“Hi, Katy. Long time no talk.”
“Hey, chicky. What have you been up to?”
“Just trying to stay busy and out of trouble,” I joked. “You know how it is.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“How’s the salon?” I asked her. Katy owned a beauty salon in Alkon where we both grew up. I had moved away the first chance I got, whereas she had stayed. We were just different like that.
“It’s doing great. It keeps growing and I even have some people coming from other towns to get their hair done by some of my girls.”
“That’s wonderful!” We chatted for a few more minutes, and I sensed Katy had something to tell me, but she just wasn’t coming out and saying it. Finally, I called her out on it. “Katy, I love talking with you, but is there a specific reason you called me? I mean, I’m not trying to rush you or anything; it just seems like there is something bigger on your mind than chitchat.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line like she was working up the nerve to say something big. It was starting to make me worry. Hopefully, this wasn’t bad news. I started running scenarios through my mind of what it could be.
“Katy, are you still there?”
“Chris and I are getting married,” she said in a rush.
Now it was my turn for the long pause. Katy had a long history with Chris, and it
“Sure. Have fun. Maybe tonight we can find time to finish what we started earlier?”
“If that’s an offer, I’ll try my best to finish early.”
I winked at him. “Get to work!” I went to Starbucks to get the vanilla latte I had originally come down here for. Then I sat at one of the small tables to write down all the things that had happened or that I had found out. I was much better at thinking through a problem when I was able to get it down on paper. Somehow the act of writing it down helped my brain work.
My phone vibrated. Again a local number I didn’t recognize. It was probably the dispatcher from 1-800 GET FLORAL.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Is this Presley?” a man asked.
“Yes, it is.”
“Hi, this is Dan. From 1-800 GET FLORAL. I got a message that I needed to call you about a delivery this afternoon?”
“Oh, yes. Thanks so much for calling back. Did you send a delivery truck to Rosewood Mansion today?”
“ I had two deliveries this morning and then this afternoon. All my runs were on the other side of town. I didn’t have anything to Rosewood Mansion. Did we miss something? If so, I’m sorry and would be more than happy to refund your delivery charge.”
Pretty impressive customer service, which these days seemed hard to come by. “No, you didn’t miss anything. Thanks again for calling back.”
“No problem. Make sure to call 1-800 GET FLORAL anytime you have a delivery need,” he said before he hung up.
Well, now we knew someone faked a flower delivery. I didn’t bother calling Cooper to tell him since I knew he was in a meeting. I would catch him up later.
I turned to a clean sheet of paper and began to list all the events in chronological order, looking for anything that jumped out at me that might be a connection or something that didn’t fit. Besides the pseudo maintenance guy and Elaine knowing about the flowers that no one was supposed to know about, nothing else jumped out. Something with the pranks played on the girls had to relate. I sat there tapping my pen on the table, hoping that action might spark something, but it was a waste of time. I was getting nowhere besides doodly.
I put my notebook back into my purse and gathered my things to leave when I felt my phone vibrate again. I pulled it out and looked at the display. It was Katy, my friend from back home. We had been friends since second grade, and while we didn’t get a chance to talk all that often these days, she was one of those friends with whom you could go months without contact and then have a three hour conversation as if no time had passed.
“Hi, Katy. Long time no talk.”
“Hey, chicky. What have you been up to?”
“Just trying to stay busy and out of trouble,” I joked. “You know how it is.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“How’s the salon?” I asked her. Katy owned a beauty salon in Alkon where we both grew up. I had moved away the first chance I got, whereas she had stayed. We were just different like that.
“It’s doing great. It keeps growing and I even have some people coming from other towns to get their hair done by some of my girls.”
“That’s wonderful!” We chatted for a few more minutes, and I sensed Katy had something to tell me, but she just wasn’t coming out and saying it. Finally, I called her out on it. “Katy, I love talking with you, but is there a specific reason you called me? I mean, I’m not trying to rush you or anything; it just seems like there is something bigger on your mind than chitchat.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line like she was working up the nerve to say something big. It was starting to make me worry. Hopefully, this wasn’t bad news. I started running scenarios through my mind of what it could be.
“Katy, are you still there?”
“Chris and I are getting married,” she said in a rush.
Now it was my turn for the long pause. Katy had a long history with Chris, and it
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