Nightshade on Elm Street: A Flower Shop Mystery (28 page)

Tell me about it.

“Did you tell Jake that you and Pryce had called off your engagement?” Marco asked.

Melissa seemed surprised that we knew. “Yes, I did. Jake’s easy to talk to.”

“Did you know that your behavior with Jake looked flirtatious to some people?” I asked.

Melissa scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. If Orabell or Jillian told you that, consider the source.” As though realizing she’d just disparaged my cousin, she said sheepishly, “I didn’t mean to dis Jillian. I love her. Really.”

Right.
“Did you share your suspicions with Jake about why Pryce called it off?” I asked.

Melissa looked startled. “Suspicions? I’m not sure what you mean.”

“An ulterior motive,” I said. “Something Pryce might have said when he called off the engagement?”

“We decided jointly that we weren’t ready yet,” she said, running her hand through her hair. “I didn’t—don’t—have any suspicions about him.”

“Any plans to go forward with the engagement now?” I asked.

She smiled, as though she had a secret. “We’re talking.”

Another summit meeting? “Would you call Pryce a romantic man?” I felt Marco dart me a questioning look, but I ignored it.

Melissa leaned toward me, as though sharing a confidence with me alone, and said with a smirk, “You would know as well as I would that he’s not.”

“You’re right,” I said. “I would not call him romantic. I don’t know about you, but I never received any flowers
or love notes, which you’d expect from someone you were going to marry.”

“That’s Pryce,” she said, raising one shoulder, as though it was not important. “There’s not much anyone can do to change that, is there?”

Love note in Melissa’s purse was not written to her,
I wrote.

“How long have you known Lily?” Marco asked.

“We met a few months ago, when I started seeing Pryce. He took me to Beached on our first date.”

That was a jerkish thing to do.

“How was your relationship with Lily?” Marco asked.

“Fine. We didn’t have any problems getting along.”

“Would you say you were on good terms with her last weekend?” Marco asked.

“Yes, I’d say that.”

“Were you aware that Pryce and Lily dated during college?” I asked.

She nodded a bit too eagerly. “Pryce mentioned it right away.”

“Any jealousy on your part?” I asked.

“Of Lily?” Melissa forced a carefree laugh. “No. Their relationship was over and done with.”

Now, especially.

“How would you describe Jake and Lily’s marriage?” Marco asked.

She ran her fingers over the little square of fabric. “Jake was crazy about Lily, but Lily never seemed into their marriage.”

“Did you feel any strife between them?”

“Not really. She was critical of him and very cold, but Jake took whatever she dished out. In all honesty, I don’t know why she married him. It was obvious she wasn’t in love with him.”

“Was Jake aware of her feelings when they got married?” Marco asked.

“Jake is Jake. He does things spontaneously.”

“Did he express any anger about the way Lily treated him?” Marco asked.

“Not that I remember, but I wasn’t around Jake much.”

“Why do you think Lily married Jake?” Marco asked.

“Maybe she didn’t want to be single anymore,” Melissa said. “Loneliness is tough.”

“Do you think Lily could have been in love with someone else?” I asked.

“I don’t have a clue. We weren’t close, just, you know”—she shrugged—“casual acquaintances.”

“Did you and Pryce ever go out with Lily and Jake?” Marco asked.

“Never,” Melissa said a little too quickly. “It was always in a group setting at the cottage.”

“Think back to last weekend,” Marco said. “Was anyone particularly angry with Lily?”

“Oh, Orabell, for sure,” Melissa said.

“Why?” Marco asked.

“Because Orabell was certain Lily stole her expensive watch.”

I noted that she called it a watch, not a timepiece. If Melissa did end up marrying Pryce, his parents would have to school her in Dune Haven etiquette.

“Do you know why Orabell believed that of Lily?” Marco asked.

“First of all, Halston and Lily flirted a lot, mostly behind Orabell’s back, but sometimes openly.”

“He’s old enough to be her father,” I said.

“He’s also influential and very good-looking,” Melissa pointed out. “It all depends on what you need in a
husband.”

“Was there an honest attraction between them?” I asked.

Melissa crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in her chair, obviously feeling more in control now. “Not mutual, no. From what I observed, Lily liked to toy with men’s emotions.”

“Including Pryce?” I couldn’t resist asking.

Melissa shrugged one shoulder. “I truly believe Halston was in love with her. My second point is that Orabell is a nutcase,” Melissa continued. “She accused
me
of flirting with Halston last Saturday evening. With Halston! My stockbroker! And all I did was ask him some tax questions. That poor man must be afraid to blink wrong for fear of sending her off on one of her tangents. I don’t know how he puts up with her.”

“He could divorce her,” I said.

“I suggested that to him once,” Melissa said. “But he wouldn’t hear of it. He said taking care of Orabell was his duty, although I’d call it a penance. Personally, I keep hoping she’ll fall off the pier and never be seen again.”

Realizing what she’d said, Melissa’s hand flew to her mouth. “I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I would never wish ill on anyone.”

I had a hard time believing she was that magnanimous when Lily was alive.

Melissa pushed her sleeves up, sat forward, and put her elbows on her desk, very serious now. “If you ask me, I think you should be talking to Orabell about Lily’s death.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Because I’m almost positive she was aware of Lily’s flirtation with Halston, and because I caught her snooping in Lily and Jake’s room late Saturday evening—going through Lily’s overnighter.”

Melissa raised her eyebrows and sat back, clearly
waiting for our reaction, so I gave her one. “Really? She was snooping in Lily’s bag?”

“Yes, she was. So perhaps Orabell found her missing watch in the bag and decided to take revenge on Lily by luring her out to the water.”

“Wouldn’t she most likely have called the cops about the watch?” Marco asked.

“This is Orabell we’re talking about,” Melissa said, “the woman who keeps poisonous plants in her kitchen.”

“You know about her plants?” I asked.

“Oh, yes. I got to hear all about them when I was hired to redecorate. I got to hear about the plants
and
those crazy manikin parts she keeps in her closet.” Melissa lifted her arms in a wide gesture and said with a wry smile, “I mean, seriously, can you trust a nutcase like Orabell?”

Could we trust Melissa? was the bigger question.

“W
hy do you think Orabell believed that Lily stole her watch?” I asked Melissa, taking a sip of my now cold tea.

Melissa set the fabric swatch aside, clearly not needing it to calm her nerves anymore. “The simple answer is because it turned up missing after Lily catered an event there.”

“Do you think it’s possible Lily took it?” Marco asked.

“I’ve only been around Lily at weekends here, so I really can’t answer that.”

“Any theory on where the watch went if she didn’t take it?” Marco asked.

Melissa shook her head. “Someone on the catering staff snatched it? Or maybe Orabell simply misplaced it. That wouldn’t surprise me either. It’s happened before.”

“She’s had other watches go missing?” Marco asked.

“Didn’t anyone tell you about her Tiffany?” Melissa asked. “You’ll have to ask Halston, because that happened before I started coming out here. Seems like a pair of diamond earrings went missing, too, also before August.”

“How did you hear about these missing items?” Marco asked.

“Pryce told me.”

“How did you happen to find Orabell snooping in Lily’s bag?” Marco asked.

“Well,” Melissa said, “we had all decided to sit on the Burches’ deck, and the temperature was dropping, so I went back to the Osborne cottage to get my sweater. I passed the bedroom Lily and Jake were using and heard strange sounds inside, like someone muttering. I knew Jake and Lily were both at the Burches’, so I peeked around the door and there was Orabell, bent over Lily’s overnighter, pawing through her things and muttering to herself.”

“Did you say anything?” I asked.

“Are you kidding? And suffer Orabell’s temper? No way. I backed up and left. Then I had second thoughts, so I cleared my throat a few times so Orabell would know someone was nearby. When I came out of Pryce’s room with my sweater, she was gone.”

“Did you know she was gone because you looked inside their room?” I asked.

Melissa nodded.

“Tell us who was present at the Burches’ when you returned with your sweater,” Marco said.

Melissa contemplated for a moment. “Everyone but Lily was there. She had to go to work.”

“Had Orabell returned?”

“Yes, but she was in her kitchen. She joined us a few minutes later with a platter of brownies.”

“Did she seem upset? Angry? Nervous?” Marco asked.

Melissa’s eyes darted to the clock on her wall. “I’d have to say she seemed pleased with herself, like the cat that caught the canary—and I really need to close up the shop now.”

“Recap?” Marco asked, as we headed toward his Prius. He’d had to park in a public lot near Pisces because the one behind Franklin Street had been full.

I opened the notebook and tilted it so I could read by the streetlamps. “Number one. Melissa bites her fingernails. They were a mess. I made a note to ask Jillian if that’s usual.”

“Good observation.”

“Thanks. Number two. Melissa had access to Lily’s overnight bag after she shooed Orabell away. She could have gone through it, too. Number three. Halston’s reaction to Lily’s death was almost as great as Pryce’s, which gives credence to Melissa’s tale of flirtation between Lily and Halston.

“Number four. I’d be shocked if Melissa got a room at the Grand at this time of year without making reservations, even from a cancellation. Also, she used cash? She carries that much cash around? Those rooms aren’t cheap.”

“Ever stayed there?” Marco asked.

“No, but my brothers and their wives go once a year. Number five, she was a little too vociferous about claiming she had no jealousy of Lily’s past with Pryce. It struck me as phony.”

“Me, too. Is there a number six?”

“Yep. It felt like Melissa was pushing really hard to convince us that Orabell was crazy enough to kill Lily, even bringing up the plants in Orabell’s kitchen. I have a hard time imagining Orabell taking revenge on Lily by drowning her.”

“I thought so, too. Anything else?”

“Yes, number seven. Melissa had a love note from Pryce in her purse that I’m certain was taken from Lily’s bag.”

“That explains your question about flowers and love notes—and why I never saw the tea biscuits.”

“Sorry. I saw an opportunity and grabbed it.”

“Don’t apologize, Sunshine. That was good sleuthing. Tell me how you reached the conclusion that the note wasn’t for Melissa.”

“It was on Pryce’s stationery, in his handwriting, and said, ‘I love you.’ Remember her agreeing with me that Pryce isn’t romantic? If he’d left her a love note, I promise you she would have bragged about it. Plus, if he’d written that to Melissa and then dumped her, she wouldn’t keep it folded in a purse. She’d burn it.”

“She’d actually burn it?”

“Or shred it or dump candle wax on it. That’s what jilted women do, Marco.”

“Is that what you did?”

“I didn’t have anything to burn.”

“Would it have helped?”

“For about five seconds.”

Marco glanced at me, as though waiting for me to say more. When I didn’t, he said, “Anything else about Melissa?”

“The question is, did she get that note from Lily’s bag? I think she did a little snooping, too, and found the note.”

“Why would she take it?” Marco posed.

“Maybe she had intentions of using it against Pryce—or against Lily. I just don’t trust Melissa. If she lied about staying at the Grand Hotel, who knows what else she lied about? Maybe she never left Indiana. I’m putting her at the top of my suspect list.”

“Do you think Melissa is strong enough to hold Lily underwater?”

“She could’ve taken her by surprise.”

“She could also have had an accomplice.”

“Oh, that’s good, Marco. We know she was talking to Jake, and we saw her being chummy with Halston, so who knows? Maybe it’s one of those two.”

“If Halston was in love with Lily, it doesn’t seem likely that he’d kill her.”

“Are you kidding? Simplest explanation in the book of romance. Unrequited love. Maybe he wanted Lily to
run away with him and Lily told him to get lost because, with Melissa out of the picture, she was going after Pryce. Maybe Halston snapped.”

“So what kind of emotion was Halston displaying when Pryce announced that Lily had drowned? Was it shock or was he pretending to be shocked?”