Page 31 of Smoldering Nights
Start cycling the interior cameras.Look for any time Sadie came in the last 48 hours.Watch for Travis, too, if he ever walked her in.
They finished breakfast and climbed into his truck.As he drove through Blossom Springs, the town looked the same.Quaint.Unassuming.But now every corner hid a shadow.Every smile a potential mask.
Someone close to Izzy was dirty.And Mitch was going to find out who, before they got any closer.
Chapter14
Izzy unlocked the front door of Petal Pushers and stepped inside, the scent of fresh greenery and floral preservatives already in the air from the stock she’d prepped yesterday.She inhaled deeply, letting the familiar comfort settle over her shoulders like a warm shawl.
Ms.Jillie was already there, arranging ribbons on a table with surgical precision.
“Morning, sunshine,” Ms.Jillie greeted with a warm smile.Her silver hair was swept up in its usual twist, and her cheeks were flushed pink from the early morning hustle.
“Morning,” Izzy replied, locking the door behind her.“You beat me again.”
Ms.Jillie shrugged.“Old habits.I was awake before the birds, might as well come in and do something useful.”
Izzy smiled and moved toward the prep station.“We’ve got the Saunders funeral this afternoon.Two standing sprays, a casket arrangement, and four vase displays for the tables.They want classic white with greenery.I figured we’d start with the standing sprays?”
“Already started pulling stems,” Ms.Jillie said, pointing to a cart loaded with white roses, lilies, hydrangeas, and eucalyptus.“Thought you might like a head start.Looks like you got everything cleaned up yesterday.”
"Yes.Sadie came and helped me."
Ms.Jillie smiled."You've got a good friend in her."
“I do.”Izzy pulled on her apron and got to work.
For the next two hours, the shop buzzed with quiet concentration.She and Ms.Jillie worked side by side, trimming stems, soaking foam, and threading in blooms.Conversation was light, mostly about flower techniques and neighborhood gossip.Izzy appreciated the normalcy of it.It made the ugly stuff fade into the distance for a few short hours.
By mid-morning, the last arrangement was secured with ribbon and misted with sealant.
“Would you mind dropping these at Harper’s Funeral Home for me?”Izzy asked, rubbing a kink from her neck.“They need everything set up before one.”
“Of course.”Ms.Jillie patted her shoulder.“You take a breather.I’ll be back in half an hour.”
Izzy helped her load the delivery van and watched her drive away with a small sense of relief.It felt good to do normal things again.No sabotage, no fear, just flowers and kind company.
She went back inside the shop, locked the door, and pulled the few orders she'd managed to get confirmation on.She checked her inventory to make sure she could handle the orders and relief swept through her.Noah had delivered most everything she'd needed yesterday, with another shipment of flowers coming this afternoon from a different vendor.The back door opened, and Ms.Jillie stepped through the door with a smile on her face."All delivered and in perfect shape."
"Thank you so much.If we can keep this going, the fire will just be a blip on the radar of all the things here at the shop."
Ms.Jillie nodded."Let's hope so."
Izzy returned to the cooler and began sorting through flowers for her next arrangement.She was halfway through a container of snapdragons when her phone rang.
“Petal Pushers, this is Izzy.”
“Isabelle,” came the sharp, annoyed voice of Edgar Harper, the funeral director.“We have a problem.”
Her stomach dropped.“What kind of problem?”
“The Saunders family arrangements.The vases are wilted, and the standing sprays look like someone threw them together in the dark.Half the ribbons are missing, and the main casket piece hascarnationsin it.”
Izzy blinked.“What?That’s not possible.I made the casket piece myself.”
“Well, something changed between you making it and it showing up here,” Edgar snapped.“This is a funeral, Isabelle, not a middle-school recital.The family is livid.I need it fixed.Now.”
“I...I’ll be right there.”She hung up and stood frozen for a beat.
