Carnations and Deadly Fixations Read online

  CARNATIONS AND DEADLY FIXATIONS

  A Fern Grove Cozy Mystery

  By

  Abby Reede

  Published by Pen-n-a-Pad Publishing in 2019

  All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Copyright © Pen-n-a-Pad Publishing

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  CONTENTS

  About Carnations and Deadly Fixations

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  Thank You!

  ALSO BY ABBY REEDE

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  About Carnations and Deadly Fixations

  Released: August, 2019

  Series: Book 1 – Fern Grove Cozy Mystery Series

  Standalone: Yes

  Cliff-hanger: No

  Tracy Adam had three things going for her in her just-above-average boring life namely:

  1. A good job

  2. A good job… that she liked

  3. A good that she liked… and paid VERY well

  When she lost her job and had to move back to the small town where she grew up, it seemed like her life had lost all purpose. Helping out at her aunt's floundering floral shop seemed like the perfect distraction before she decided what to do next.

  When her aunt's competition, a nasty and egotistical know-it-all is found dead, the rumor mill in Fern Grove goes into overdrive. With an important piece of evidence linking Tracy to the scene of the crime, she becomes a person of interest in the murder investigation. This leaves her feeling vulnerable and confused.

  Moving back to Fern Grove was meant to be start of a new life but this murder mystery is fast ending what has hardly begun. Will she retain her wits and piece the clues that will lead her to the killer?

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  1

  T racy Adams popped her work apron over her head as she made her way out of the back of In Season, the small, but established flower shop her aunt, Rose Bishop had founded with her husband, Frank, many years ago. In the few moments of peace and quiet that she knew would be short-lived once her aunt arrived, Tracy sipped at her coffee and her mind wandered. Tracy would never have imagined that her life would have taken the sharp detour it had. At thirty-eight, and with the trajectory that her once burgeoning professional life had been on, helping run a somewhat floundering florist shop had sure not been on her menu. She had landed her dream job right out of The University of Portland, doing event-planning for CMB Capital, an up and coming bank in Portland, OR. Her future looked as bright as could be imagined until some questionable speculations by the senior management team put the high flying financial new comer in jeopardy.

  Once decisions had been made, it was like this rolling tide that everyone could see coming, but were unable to stem. She observed as colleagues and friends at CMB were told their positions had been deemed “redundant”. Tracy despised all forms of euphemistic language, but this term especially raised her ire; like calling the blow that you were about to be laid off could be softened by this word. She held her breath and prayed she would survive the cutbacks, but in her heart, she knew her position as an event planner was most likely not an essential role for CMB’s survival.

  The days went by and Tracy actually began to believe she had somehow been spared. But then one morning her boss, William Atherton, the man who had recruited her out of her undergraduate program, came with the bad news she had been dreading. Though he promised she would be one of the last of the furloughed staff to be dismissed, due to her great work since coming onboard and her undying loyalty to CMB, it was just empty words. She was sure Atherton had been sincere in his pronouncement to her, as she could see in his face when her dismissal came down, that the decision had most likely come from above him.

  So here she was, back in her small hometown of Fern Grove once more, looking out the window at In Season, the family business she had known as a child. After losing her job at CMB, it had been a struggle, for Tracy as well as a lot of others, to recover and acquire new professional positions. She was starting to get a little frantic as to what she would do and how she was going to pay her bills when her Aunt Rose inquired as to whether she would be interested in coming to the florist shop and helping her out. Rose had become like a mother-figure to Tracy ever since her mother, Madeline, Rose’s sister, had died suddenly in a traffic accident when Tracy was just fifteen. Rose and her husband had founded and grown In Season from scratch and it had, over time, become very popular in Fern Grove. Once a successful businesswoman in Fern Grove, the death of Frank was the catalyst that led to Rose neglecting the business. That, plus having her own kids move out of Fern Grove and then away from Oregon as well, had dampened her drive and though still respected in town, Rose was just feeling fatigued and mowed down by the circumstances in her life.

  During a call with her aunt one day, Tracy had innocently inquired as to how things were going at In Season, as she knew Rose was struggling with all the downturns she had encountered as of late. She could hear the sadness in her voice and though she was concerned, she had never ever considered helping out until Rose just came out with it.

  “I don’t know, Tracy…” Rose said with a heavy sigh, “some days I just do not know…”

  “Aunt Rose?” Tracy asked as her aunt’s voice just trailed off without any seeming direction.

  “It’s just not the same without Frank anymore. Flowers are not moving the way they used to, and some days it just seems too overwhelming, you know?”

  “Maybe time for some changes?”

  “Maybe…maybe…you still looking for a job?”

  “You know I am, Aunt Rose.”

  “You had a really high-flying position over at CMB before they nearly went under doing corporate events, seminars and job fairs…things like that, right?”

  “Yes…”

  “Maybe with that experience, you could join me and help me turn this place around.”

  Tracy paused as she had not been expecting this. However, there was a part of her that was excited at the prospect of remolding In Season back into what it had once been…maybe even better! She smiled over the phone, welcoming the challenge to bring some ‘big business’ concepts and strategies she had learned to a small business. Without any more hesitation, her brain was already bubbling with innovative strategies and modern plans for action. Her only real hurdle, she knew, was going to be her aunt.

  She knew Rose was still stuck in the mind-set she and Frank had instituted when they had begun when Tracy was just a little girl. Times were changing all around, even in Fern Grove, and the way people were looking at and purchasing flowers was evolving as well. But Rose seemed resistant to change with the times. Part of it was her age, Tracy knew, and she was sure Rose might be a bit intimidated by how technology was impinging on everything these days—something that was likely to be as foreign to her aunt as waking up one day and discovering she now had three heads. Tracy was sure she could overcome it, just as she had other similar instances in her l
ife.

  Having lost her husband and then having her kids move far away, Tracy knew, was part of her aunt’s inertia as well. It had taken the fire out of her belly after she had been so successful. And all of this together was contributing to the downturn in revenue at In Season. The last time Tracy had been to the shop she was struck by just how frumpy and old-fashioned the interior appeared in relation to the new shops that had opened around town. Tracy readily agreed to help her out; somewhat out of an obligation to her aunt who had caught her when she was collapsing after her mother’s demise, but also it was just her nature to want to help out when she was asked. However, the one stipulation was that Rose allow Tracy to institute some serious changes to the shop—ones that would bring In Season into the 21st century. Rose reluctantly conceded, but in the tone of her voice, Tracy could envision this being a struggle.

  ************

  In just another minute, Rose came in and gave Tracy a confused look as she closed the door of the shop behind her.

  “What’s with the banner outside?”

  Tracy had arrived early to hang the “Temporarily Closed While We Prepare for the Grand Opening of the New In Season” sign.

  “Remember our agreement, Aunt Rose?”

  “OK…OK….but I cannot stay closed too long or we will never recover lost customers.”

  “Fair enough. You are going to have to change with the times, Aunt Rose. Like it or not. I know you love to talk about the good old days, and how you and Uncle Frank used to do things. But if you want to keep this place open and make it a going enterprise again, we need to try some new approaches.”

  Rose nodded, but Tracy could see she was not real sure. Tracy motioned to Rose to follow her to the back where she had sketched out a strategy. Rose looked at the designs and notes and Tracy could tell this was going to be a harder sell than she had imagined.

  “My idea is to select a popular flower each few months and make that the centerpiece showcase around which everything else revolves. To begin with, I chose the carnation.”

  “Carnations? Really?” Rose asked. “Pretty common flower in my opinion.”

  “Perhaps, but popular with the world nonetheless. Did you know, for example, that the carnation dates back over 2000 years? They are rich in symbolism and mythology as well.”

  Rose did not reply.

  “And each color is attached to an emotion: white for love and good luck, while red is seen for admiration and deeper love and affection while purple colors imply vulnerability or fickleness. Most impactful are the pink colors, though. This variety originates from the story that they first appeared from the Virgin Mary’s tears which became symbolic for a mother’s undying love.”

  “And that helps us, how?”

  “You need to really market your products, Aunt Rose. They are not just flowers. I am telling you, from my experience at CMB, that an elaborate story behind something simple—or common as you put it about the carnation—makes the ordinary seem extraordinary.”

  “I guess…why did you leave that fancy-schmancy job anyway?”

  “Aunt Rose, can you please not bring that up. I am here to help you out until I can figure out what is next for me.”

  “Sure…sorry. I did not mean to bring that up again.”

  Tracy then went back to her designs to explain in more detail to Rose just how this was going to work and what other flowers she might consider down the road as different focal points to avoid having one type get stale and predictable.

  “Think change and innovation and allure, Aunt Rose….”

  Just then there was a sharp knock at the front door. They both looked up suddenly wondering who this could be as the closed sign with the announcement of a relaunch was clearly visible. Tracy went to check and felt her spirits sink as she saw who had come calling. Before opening the door and greeting the visitor, Tracy turned to her aunt.

  “Hate to ruin your day, Aunt Rose, but it would appear your competition has arrived. I am guessing the signage was too much of a curiosity factor to ward her off.”

  Rose looked to the closed door, and like Tracy, had no idea the day could get any worse. Never say never she mumbled to herself…..

  2

  R ose moved forward as Tracy gritted her teeth and greeted Becky White. Becky strode into In Season like she owned the place, but then again this was how she treated every place in Fern Grove. Becky had just opened her own florist shop, but to Rose’s dismay and consternation she seemed to be slowly gathering up the lion’s share of business…a lot of it former customers whom had once patronized In Season.

  Though In Season was an older and more recognizable establishment to the average resident, Becky’s new sleek and modern-looking operation looked as if it might soon push In Season to the sidelines. As was her habit, Becky was adorned in her apparently everyday attire of a crisp white dress, looking as if the sharp creases in the hem might be able to cut glass.

  In addition, her outfit was complemented with elegant white gloves and matching shoes and hat. Tracy was not sure if the whole white costume was a conscious homage to Becky’s last name or not, but if so, that was also another reason she considered her cartoonish. To Tracy, the whole getup was laughable and ridiculous, but what was not a joke was just how much of a threat Becky White was to In Season.

  Unlike Rose, Becky had fully embraced the current retail climate concerning aggressive and expansive marketing of her own shop. To Becky, she was the 800-lb gorilla in the florist business now, and unfortunately Tracy could not argue the point. But it was her off-putting and troublesome personality that really rubbed Tracy the wrong way. Though Becky had a few supporters, you really had to go hunting to find more than a handful who she had not annoyed and irritated with her abrasive manner and distasteful personality. Even her soft-spoken husband, John, a visible presence in the volunteer scene in Fern Grove, was the target of his wife’s barbs and jabs. John was simultaneously admired for his work in town while also pitied for how he had to endure his wife.

  Since In Season had been somewhat neglected as Rose had gotten distracted and depressed over other events in her life, many residents of Fern Grove were more than willing to go to the more upscale and welcoming bright space Becky had to offer when they needed flowers now. Tracy saw the forced smile on Becky’s face as she shook her hand, but no amount of theatrics and facades could make her feel anything but dislike and caution around the woman.

  This visit, pretending like it was some neighborly social call, Tracy was sure, was just a ruse. As much as Tracy and her aunt disliked the overbearing and haughty rival, they also knew the feeling from Becky was the same. She liked being the Big Kahuna, and even with her pretense of civility, Tracy knew Becky had arrived because of her, to see what was going on and why Tracy had suddenly arrived on the scene. Tracy was, she knew in her heart, a definite threat to Becky White and her image as queen in the florist biz in town. At least there is that, Tracy mused…

  “How can we help you, Becky?” Rose asked, struggling to keep her composure in light of the woman’s obvious unwanted intrusion.

  “Oh…just passing by and saw the signs out front. Just curious as to what you and your little shop were up to these days. Always good to keep your finger on the pulse of the competition…no matter how insignificant.”

  Tracy was tempted to explode at the insult, but all it would do would be to reflect negatively on her aunt and the shop once Becky ran to her contacts at the paper and made up some contrived scenario. Right now, they needed to stay on point and focus on In Season. They could not control the Becky White Show. Bad press, no matter how inaccurate, would not help.

  “Thanks for your concern, Becky,” Rose said with sarcasm as she stepped up beside Tracy, “but I’m sure you’ve got better things to do with your time than survey the business climate of Fern Grove.”

  “Indeed I do!” she snapped back. “From the looks of things here, I am guessing your new target market is the bottom feeders in Fern Grove. From the displa
ys and how outdated this place is, I cannot for the life of me see who else would be willing to buy flowers in this dingy atmosphere.”

  Rose began to move forward, but Tracy put a hand on her shoulder.

  “I guess since my core base is composed of all the elites in town, celebrities, and high-ranking government officials and the like, someone has to sweep up the dregs.”

  “OK, Becky,” Tracy finally said, “you’ve had your say. We’re busy preparing for the grand re-opening of the shop. I think it is time for you to toddle on down the road.”

  “Very well…as I can see, nothing here to worry about…”

  Becky spun on her white heels to depart when she spied a prototype display of carnations that Tracy had cooked up to show her aunt what she had in mind. She froze staring at the arrangement.

  “What exactly is this?” Becky asked as she shot daggers of anger toward them, her gloved index finger pointing at the flowers.