Alibis and Aspidistras (A Plant Shop Mystery Book 1) by Samantha Cornwell

Author:Samantha Cornwell [Cornwell, Samantha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-29T16:00:00+00:00

14 Break-in!

"What happened?" she cried, racing up to the officers standing just outside Ferns and Fancies. "My shop!"

Detective Steubens was conferring with a short blonde officer. The short blonde officer turned her attention to Sonrisa. "Are you the shop owner? I’m Officer Teresa Bland. We tried to call you, but didn't get an answer."

Sonrisa snatched the phone out of her purse and checked it. She'd turned off the ringer when she got home late last night and she'd forgotten to turn it back on. With a groan, she put it back in her bag.

"When did this happen?" she asked.

Detective Steubens looked at Officer Bland, who said, "The bookstore owner reported it half an hour ago, but it probably happened much earlier. We're not sure how long it went unnoticed."

Sonrisa looked across the way at the Book Bin. Dennis was at the side window, watching. He waved to her. She waved back.

"Was there anything especially valuable in the shop?"

Sonrisa shook her head. "Not unless you really like big ceramic pots. I deposit the cash every day."

"A plant store is an odd target for a break-in. Can you think of anyone who would want to cause trouble for you?"

Was it Sonrisa’s imagination, or did the police officer sound especially interested in this question?

Glancing at Detective Steubens, who hadn’t said anything yet, Sonrisa went through the whole story of the past few days—the first note, the discovery of Gwen’s body, and the second note.

Officer Bland hmm'd. Then she brought out a plastic bag containing another folded piece of plain white paper.

"Oh." Sonrisa wasn't sure she wanted to know what this one said.

"It says 'I'm watching you.'" The police officer waited a beat. "Does that mean anything to you?"

Sonrisa shrugged helplessly.

"All right." The blonde woman made a note, then stepped into the shop through the open door. "Please come in. We need you to inspect the shop and tell us what's missing."

For the next twenty minutes, Sonrisa stepped around broken glass and shattered pots, doing a rough inventory. The damage to her stock wasn’t as bad as it had looked at first, though the broken glass had made a real mess. Most of the plants from the window display were damaged, and some from nearby stands as well. She could prune off the broken bits, but the plants wouldn’t look nearly as appealing and probably wouldn’t sell well. She gritted her teeth. Could she count them as a total loss for her insurance?

There didn't seem to be much damage further in, but things had been moved around. In the back room, her potting supplies had been shifted. Some large plants with sprays of toothed leaflets lay on her stainless steel counter, rather as though they had been yanked out of their pots, but they were oddly unfamiliar.

"Wait…" Sonrisa studied the plants. "These aren't mine. I'm sure I don't have anything like this." The plants didn't resemble any houseplants she knew. Actually, the umbrella-like cluster of flower buds at the top of one made her think of oversized carrot plants with undersized roots.

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