Chapter 16
After fixing the funeral flowers, Izzy came back to the shop.
Her fingers shook as she leaned her hands against the scarred wooden counter she used as a checkout point.
Her father had used that counter for years, and she hated to give it up.
Plus, it gave the shop that old-fashioned feel.
She took a deep breath, pushed away from the counter, and pulled up her orders on her computer.
A birthday arrangement for a sixtieth birthday.
Reds and silvers. That would be a huge contrast to the all-white funeral flowers. She'd do that one next.
She went to the cooler and pulled out some of the red flowers and set them on the worktable. Ms. Jillie stepped in from the greenhouse carrying a coral arrangement.
"That's pretty, Ms. Jillie."
"Thank you, dear. I did this one for the anniversary party tonight. I made three of them. I think they turned out lovely."
Izzy smiled and nodded. "That's an understatement."
Ms. Jillie took a deep breath. "Is everything alright at the funeral home?"
“Yes, it's all taken care of."
"I'm really sorry about all of that. I don't know what happened."
"I know Ms. Jillie. It isn't anything you did. Mitch is investigating it right now."
"Oh, he's such a nice man. Handsome too."
Izzy chuckled. "Yes, he's certainly handsome."
Ms. Jillie grinned and took her beautiful arrangement and set it in the cooler to display it to customers.
The bell above the shop door jingled, and Izzy glanced up from her worktable, her fingers still sticky with floral tape. Sadie stepped inside, the sunlight glinting off her sunglasses as she pulled them off and tucked them into the neck of her tank top.
“Hey,” Sadie said casually, brushing her hands down the front of her shorts. “Thought I’d stop in, see how things are going.”
Izzy forced a smile, trying not to stiffen. “Hey. Thanks for coming by.”
Sadie’s gaze darted around the shop. “Looks like things are finally back to normal. You and Ms. Jillie handled the funeral arrangements?”
Izzy hesitated, the words catching for half a second before she nodded. “We did. Although someone tampered with them after delivery.”
Sadie blinked. “Wait, what? Are you serious?”
“I wish I wasn’t. Someone entered Harper’s and ruined them. Wilted flowers, torn ribbons, you name it. I had to remake them all at the funeral home. The wilted flowers had been heated with something, like a heat gun or something.”
“Jeez,” Sadie muttered. “That’s awful.”
“It is,” Izzy said, the words sharper than she intended. “And it’s not the first thing that’s happened lately.”
Sadie tilted her head. “You think it’s the same person behind everything?”
“I don’t know,” Izzy said carefully. She didn’t want to bring Travis into it, not without proof, but she couldn’t pretend everything was fine anymore. She took a deep breath and said, "Someone close to me has too much information to even know that I created those funeral arrangements."
Sadie tilted her head. “Do you have any idea who that might be?"
Izzy stopped working and wiped her sticky fingers on the damp cloth sitting on the worktable. "No. There are suspects. Mitch is looking into it."
Sadie's lips pursed together. "You’ve been quiet around me lately. Is there something I should know?”
Izzy hesitated. “Things have been... off. I’m trying to figure out who might be behind everything.”
Sadie’s brows furrowed. “What do you mean? Like the fire? The flowers?”
“Yes. And the break-in. The sabotage. It feels personal. Too personal.”
Sadie gave a small, nervous laugh. “You think someone has it out for you?”
“I don’t know. But it sure seems like it. And I’m just trying to protect myself and the shop.”
Sadie folded her arms. “You think it’s someone we know?”
“I think it might be someone close enough to know when I’m vulnerable.”
Sadie frowned, her eyes narrowing. “Wow. That’s... unsettling.”
Izzy nodded slowly. “It is.”
There was an uncomfortable silence between them.
“Well,” Sadie said, shifting her weight, “I hope you figure it out. I can’t imagine who’d do something so messed up.”
“I hope so too,” Izzy murmured, her chest tight. She hated feeling like she couldn't tell Sadie what was going on. But to accuse Travis if it was nothing, was not a good thing for her to do. It would ruin their friendship completely.
Sadie stared at her for a moment, then her lips pressed together. “I’ve gotta go. Let me know if you need anything.”
“I will. Thanks for stopping by.”
Izzy watched the door swing shut, Sadie’s reaction lingering like static in the air.
They hadn’t fought, not really, but something between them had cracked.
Izzy didn’t like keeping secrets, especially from someone who’d been so loyal, but she couldn’t tell Sadie everything. Not yet. Not without evidence.
Not without hurting her.
The shop fell quiet again. Izzy glanced at the clock.
A little after two. Still hours before closing, but with no customers and her nerves fraying, she decided to clear her head.
She finished tidying up the workbench, spritzed the roses in the cooler, and took out the trash bags she’d tied off earlier.
The alley between Petal Pushers and her greenhouse was narrow and mostly empty. She'd always planned to connect them, which would be a space for supplies such as watering cans, nippers, and other tools she used in the shop. Right now, she had the garbage cans near there to fill the space.
The summer sun had shifted behind a cloud bank, casting a gray pall over the brick walls and dumpsters. She hauled two bags to the bins and flipped the lids open.
The soft scrape of a shoe behind her made her pause.
She turned.
A figure stood near the far corner of the building, near the front. Hooded. Dressed in black. Not moving.
Her heart kicked into overdrive. “Can I help you?” she asked, her voice thin but steady.
The figure took one slow step forward, which further shrouded him in darkness.
Izzy backed up a pace, her fingers tightening around the trash bags she still held.
“Stay away from me,” she warned.
The voice came low and sharp. “Stop digging.”
“What?”
“You keep poking around, you’re going to get burned worse than your damn flowers.”
Izzy’s blood turned to ice.
“I...I don’t know who you are, but you need to leave. Right now.”
A chuckle, dry and humorless. “No one’s coming to save you if you push too far.”
She blinked and in that split second, the figure slipped around the corner, disappearing down Main Square.
Izzy stood frozen for several seconds, the only sound was her own harsh breathing. Her hands trembled as she fumbled for her phone and dialed Mitch.
When he picked up, her voice broke. “Someone just threatened me. In the alley between the shop and the greenhouse. I couldn’t see their face, but it was a warning, ‘stop digging.’ Mitch, I’m scared.”
“I’m on my way,” he said instantly. “Lock the doors. Don’t let anyone else in.”
She ran inside, heart racing, and twisted the deadbolt into place. She raced to the front of the building and locked the front door too. She braved a look in both directions down Main Square. She saw people coming and going from businesses. No one in a dark hoodie. It was too hot out for that.
This wasn’t just about sabotage anymore. It was a full-blown threat.
And whoever was behind it was getting closer.