Page 27 of A Poisonous Plot

At his words, her face whipped up to meet his gaze, then she glanced all around as though reacquainting herself with her surroundings.

“Where did you come from?” she asked.

“I just collected a basket. You were miles away.”

She stared up at him. “You didn’t get a basket,” she stated firmly.

“Nope.”

“Why not?” she demanded.

He lifted an eyebrow. “Is that rhetorical, or are you expecting me to know why I was left out?”

“I’d like to know.” She pressed her lips together, seeming deep in thought again. “If someone was delivering baskets to newcomers to the island, why would they skip you?”

“Maybe I’ve offended them?” he suggested.

“That’s a fair possibility,” she agreed, a little too fervently for his liking. “But what if it’s notyouthey have an issue with, but your profession.”

“You think someone didn’t give me a basket because they don’t like the police?”

She shook her head. “I think they drew the line at poisoning a police officer. If you were committing a crime, maybe you wouldn’t want to commit a crime against a police officer, right?”

“Wait…” He pursed his lips. “What did I miss? Why are you assuming the poisonings were intentional?”

“Several reasons, but I’m not sure of anything yet. I need to look into it further.”

“I need to get the basket from you and then head back to the station.”

He decided it was as easy to walk to the shop with her than take the car. On the way, she told him about her visit to Dante and the restaurant’s connection to the garden centre.

“You could be on to something,” he agreed when they arrived at the shop and she finally stopped talking.

“Or I could be making connections which aren’t really there…”

“They’re definitely there. It’s worth looking into.” They stepped inside and went to the back of the shop. “I could mention it to the sergeant and see what he thinks.”

She shook her head. “I wouldn’t mention the garden centre just yet. Tell him about the restaurant review if you want.”

“What are you going to do?” he asked as he retrieved the basket from the counter in the back room.

“I’m going to pay a visit to the garden centre tomorrow and see if I can find a link between that place and the welcome baskets.”

Of course she was.

Smiling, he wished her luck and made her promise to keep him updated.

Thanks to her information, his afternoon collecting food baskets felt a lot more worthwhile now. As much as she doubted herself, he was sure she was onto something. With any luck the sergeant would agree.

Chapter Twelve

Considering it was Saturday,the garden centre was surprisingly quiet when Lily arrived in the middle of the morning. An elderly couple arrived at the same time as her and smiled before setting off to wander the outside area. Lily went in the other direction, walking slowly and hoping something might jump out at her as being out of place.

She was contemplating how she might go about subtly questioning the staff as she made her way inside.

The till inside the entrance was unmanned and her eyes lingered on the assortment of ribbons in a dispenser at the edge of the desk. The welcome baskets had been tied with ribbon. She smiled to herself, thinking how convenient it would be to catch someone with an incriminating strip of ribbon. As though the person who’d put the baskets together might still have a piece trailing from their sleeve.

At the back of the building, the cafe was empty, though there were signs of life, with a laptop open on one table and a bunch of papers and notebooks spread around it. Instinct had Lily drifting in that direction, while glancing around, expecting the owner of the belongings to reappear at any moment.

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