Dark Blossoming by Gloria Ferris

Author:Gloria Ferris
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery, police procedure, romantic humor, amateur sleuth, murder, small town, botanical, cemetery, coffins, funeral home
Publisher: Gloria Ferris
Published: 2023-02-10T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 35

Neil

Neil lifted the lid of the crock pot and inhaled the scent. His stomach growled, and he called to Bliss who had spent the last leg of the drive home in silence. “What’s in the pot?”

She entered the kitchen in a short wraparound over her underwear. “Chicken, potatoes, carrots, other vegetables. Eat. I’m going to take a shower to wash my hair, then a bath to warm up.”

Neil knew better than to suggest a more fun way to warm her up. He stirred the stew. “When will there be beef in here?”

“I couldn’t say.” She pattered in the direction of the guest bathroom. The renovation talks were not going well. Whenever he brought up the subject, she told him to do what he wanted. He knew that would be exactly the wrong thing. In their bedroom, the contents of the plastic storage bins spewed out to join the clothes littering the bedroom floor, clean or bound for the laundry room, who could say? She’d moved her toothbrush from the master bath.

He ground his back teeth. Their marriage wasn’t heading in a good direction. He ate two bowls of chicken stew by the time the water in the tub stopped running. No wonder their utility bill was so high. He’d never mention it, though.

After rinsing his bowl and utensils and placing them in the dishwasher, he filled two wine glasses with white wine and knocked on the bathroom door. “Can I come in?”

“Yes.”

Scented bubbles reached dangerously close to the top of the tub. Bliss’s head protruded from the chin up. She’d piled her wet hair on top of her head and plastered thick green goop on her face. Her feet were planted on either side of the tub to keep from sliding under the water.

He sat on the toilet lid. “Too bad that tub isn’t big enough for two.”

Her whiskey-brown eyes slowly opened, focused on his face, blinked once, then closed again. That said it all: Not a chance in hell tonight, buddy.

Well, fuck that. If she suggested he sleep in the spare room, he wouldn’t go. If she took her pillow and headed down the hall, he’d follow her until she talked to him.

He cleared his throat. “I brought us some wine.”

“Where’d you find it?”

“Fridge.”

“That stuff is so old, I threw some in the stew. But, okay, thanks. Gimme.”

She downed half the contents of the glass and set it on the wooden tray that spanned the tub. He took a sip from his own glass. Beer would be better.

The green stuff on her face melted and dripped onto the bubbles. Her fingers scrabbled for a washcloth, and she swiped it over her eyes. They remained closed.

“Did Dr. Reiner say you could have alcohol?”

Not exactly. Neil had been so busy the past few days, he’d forgotten about his surgery. “All systems go. Is this a good time to tell you what Heidi said today about Jean-Paul’s death?” She was dying to know but too stubborn to ask again.

She nodded but the eyes didn’t open.

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