A Poisonous Plot (Lily Larkin Mysteries #3)

Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

The message from Seren came through just as Lily put her key in the lock back at the shop. She muttered a curse, remembering that she’d promised to let her know if she found out anything about Glynis. From the doorstep she fired off a quick message saying Glynis was stable and that she’d seen her, then asked where Seren was. Hopefully, she might have time for a chat, since Lily could do with a sounding board.

When a reply came immediately to say she was working at the pub, Lily removed her key from the lock and turned on her heel.

She arrived at the Mermaid Inn a few minutes later.

“Sorry,” she said to Seren while sliding onto a bar stool. “I meant to message you yesterday, but my day got crazy.”

“No worries.” Seren continued to pour drinks. “How was Glynis when you saw her?”

“She didn’t look good, but the doctor didn’t seem overly concerned.”

“Mirren just left to visit her.” Seren paused and tipped her head to one side. “She was sure you must be wrong about Glynis having a carer. She didn’t know anything about it, and she chats to Glynis regularly.”

Lily smiled, imagining how put out Mirren Treneary would be about not being on top of island news. “She definitely has someone living with her. Apparently Maria is an old friend.”

“How long did you say she’s been living with Glynis?”

Lily shrugged. “I think she said a few months.”

“Weird. Glynis didn’t mention anything to me, but maybe she doesn’t want to ruin her reputation. Being so independent is a part of her identity.”

“Makes sense,” Lily said. “Apparently Maria is also shy. Glynis told me she was worried about her not socialising.” She watched as Seren expertly topped up a pint of Guinness. “I guess she’ll be hiding away at home for longer now, since she’s also ill.”

Seren grimaced. “Same thing as Glynis?”

“I don’t know.” Lily frowned. “Did you hear about the welcome baskets that made people ill?”

“Yes! Everyone’s been talking about it today. Crazy, isn’t it?” Her eyes widened. “Did you get one?”

“Yes, but thankfully I didn’t touch anything in it.”

Seren shook her head, causing a lock of red hair to fall from her messy bun. “Can you imagine trying to do a good deed and then making people ill? Whoever sent them must feel terrible. I wonder if they’ll come forward.”

“I don’t think it was an accident,” Lily whispered.

Seren narrowed her eyes as she loaded the drinks onto a tray. “How do you mean?”

“I think someone deliberately delivered contaminated food. They wanted to make people ill.”

“Why would someone do that?” Seren’s eyes shone with disbelief.

“I’m not entirely sure, but I think someone has a grudge against newcomers to the island.”

“Are you serious?”

Lily gave a curt nod and took out her phone, clicking into the reviews of Dante’s restaurant. “I think the person who delivered the baskets also tried to sabotage Dante’s business.”

She wrinkled her nose. “ Who? ”

“Dante Accardi. He owns the new Italian restaurant. His food has been making people ill, and he asked me to look into it. I didn’t think much of it at first.” She handed the phone to Seren, showing the review which bothered her the most. “I’d really like to find out who posted this.”

Seren chewed on her lip as she scanned the review. “The Secret B,” she muttered, reading the name of the reviewer.

“I don’t suppose you have any idea who it could be?”

“I do, actually.” Seren handed the phone back. “Do an internet search for The Secret Botanist. Add Isles of Scilly into the search and see what pops up. I’ll be right back.” She slid the tray from the bar and set off across the room.

Lily typed frantically on her phone, then clicked on the first link that came up. The blog was a simple layout with a banner across the top of the page and a list of hyperlinked blog post titles, each with a thumbnail picture of different plants. She clicked one entitled ‘Edible Flowers’ and immediately straightened her shoulders.

“What the heck is this?” she asked when Seren returned.

“The Secret Botanist is a local who blogs about gardening.”

Lily’s eyes bulged. “Whoever wrote this article was at the garden centre earlier. I saw a bunch of notes and sketches at the garden centre. The drawings were just like these.” Lily angled the phone screen towards Seren.

“That makes sense.”

“Does it?”

“Of course.” She leaned against the bar. “The identity of the secret botanist is the island’s worst kept secret. It’s Arthur Penrose.”

“Arthur from the garden centre?”

Seren nodded. “The blog has been going for years. At first he had some notions about keeping his identity a mystery. I’m not sure why. Anyway, since he can’t stop talking about it, he didn’t keep it a secret for long. He’s very proud of it.”

“He has a list of poisonous plants.” A rush of adrenaline tingled through Lily. “Why would he have a list of poisonous plants?”

“For his blog, I imagine.”

Lily clicked out of the blog post and scrolled through the list. She didn’t scroll very far.

“Poisonous plants in your garden,” she said, reading the heading aloud before she clicked into it. “Oh, my goodness.” Her eyes skimmed over the text and accompanying sketches and photos. Alongside the common plants and flowers were the ways they could make you ill, including symptoms. “Someone is really poisoning people,” Lily muttered.

“Lily!” Seren said, snapping her from her trance. “What are you talking about? Why do you think someone is poisoning people?”

“Because of Dante’s restaurant, and then the welcome baskets being delivered anonymously.”

“I think you need to slow down.” Seren lowered her eyebrows. “Are you sure you’re not getting carried away and seeing things that aren’t there? Because this all seems pretty coincidental to me.”

“I thought so at first as well,” Lily said in a rush. “But I got ill too.”

“You said you didn’t eat anything in the basket.”

“It was from a smoothie at the garden centre.”

Seren pursed her lips. “How could you possibly know it was the smoothie that made you ill?”

“Because I shared it with Glynis. I think that’s what made her ill.”

“That’s weird.”

“Isn’t it? I thought we just had a stomach bug until all these other people started getting ill.”

Seren’s eyes sparkled. “Actually, I meant it’s weird that you share drinks with a little old lady. Couldn’t you afford one each?”

“I had two sips and hated it,” Lily explained with a smile. “So I gave it to Glynis to finish.”

“Okay, that makes it less weird, but I still can’t believe someone would intentionally make people ill.”

“What do you know about Arthur Penrose?” Lily asked quietly.

Seren set her hands on her hips. “I know he’s a sweet man who wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

“But all the information is here in his blog. Plus, he wrote a review for the restaurant saying he doesn’t like people coming to the island and taking jobs. I think he’s trying to scare off newcomers. Or sabotage their business in Dante’s case.”

“Not Arthur,” Seren said. “There’s no way in the world.”

“You have to admit this is very suspicious,” Lily said, holding the phone out again.

“Even if someone is intentionally poisoning people, everyone has access to the blog. And Arthur talks about it to anyone who’ll listen. Someone could easily have got the information from him.”

“That’s true.” Lily put the phone aside and inhaled deeply.

If it was Arthur who’d been sabotaging the food, he wasn’t covering his tracks well.

But apparently he was someone who liked to talk, so hopefully he wouldn’t be shy about answering a few questions.