Page 68 of A Poisonous Plot

“Burning it seems like a good plan,” Flynn said, sticking solidly by Lily’s side. “Once we’ve figured out how it got here, anyway. For now, I guess we need to take it as evidence.”

“I’m not so sure,” Sergeant Proctor said. “I prefer your plan of burning it. No chance of anyone else getting hurt that way.”

“Surely not,” Arthur said sadly. “It’s such a rarity. I could put it away safely at my house and no one need ever know about it.”

The sergeant snorted a laugh. “Not until you write one of your blog posts telling everyone about it.”

“Iwouldlike to write about seeing one in person,” Arthur said eagerly.

“You can’t keep it,” the sergeant told him firmly. “That’s not up for discussion.” He shook his head. “Any clue as to what exactly is going on here?”

Lily blinked rapidly when she realised he was talking to her. “My guess would be that someone wasn’t happy about Gordon’s radio interview…” Her mind whirred, but nothing was making much sense. “It’s weird though, because you’d think if someone is trying to scare away newcomers, Gordon’s interview would have helped their cause.”

“We don’t know that whoever left the plant here was targeting Gordon specifically,” Flynn said. “Is he the only person who uses the office?”

“No,” Arthur said. “Everyone goes in there. All the staff use it.”

“The person who left the plant might not have known that,” Lily said, her instincts telling her that the plant was intended for Gordon.

Sergeant Proctor rubbed at his forehead. “I need to get down to the hospital. Arthur, you should come with me and speak to the doctor.”

“What do you want me to do about the plant?” Flynn asked.

“Call PC Hill and get him to pick you up and help you transport it to the station. Wrap it in bubble wrap or something so no one else gets hurt. I’ll figure out what we do with it later.” His gaze shifted to Lily. “Thanks for your help.”

“Yeah,” she murmured dumbly. “No problem.”

Flynn waited until they were alone until he spoke again. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“No.” She gritted her teeth as she stared at the innocuous-looking plant. “I’m seriously annoyed. I have no clue who did this. I really thought Gordon was behind the poisonings.”

She’d thought she was getting closer to figuring everything out, but now she felt as though she was right back to square one.

As she churned everything over in her mind, none of it made any sense.

Chapter Thirty-One

Lily calledFlynn for an update on Gordon the following lunchtime. Apparently, he’d left the hospital early in the morning and was recovering well.

“I think I’ll pay him a visit,” Lily said, pacing her living room as she spoke into the phone.

“Maybe you should just leave things alone for now,” Flynn suggested. “You’re opening the shop tomorrow afternoon. You should focus on that.”

“I can’t.” She threw her hand out in exasperation. “How can I concentrate on anything when there’s a criminal loose on the island? I need to figure out who it is before they strike again.”

“We burned the plant but sent the plant pot over to the mainland for forensic testing. There’s a chance we can get fingerprints from it.”

“Only a slim chance,” Lily muttered. “Because they probably used gloves and even if they didn’t, their fingerprints need to be in your database in order for us to know who did it.”

“Yeah,” he said. “But there’s still a chance that it will lead to something.”

“If not, we’re just sitting around waiting for them to strike again.” She banged her fist on the back of the couch. “I’m going to visit Gordon. I need to do something.”

“We’ve already spoken to him at length, but he’s ranting a lot. The sergeant isn’t inclined to act on what he’s saying.”

Lily stopped her pacing. “So Gordon has a theory?”

Flynn hesitated for a moment. “He’s pointing the finger at Arthur.”

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