Crocuses and Crime

The new year is off to a smooth start. Pink's Flowers is doing well and Lacey is growing even closer to her wonderful boyfriend, Detective James Briggs. But when a local man is killed, one of Lacey's dearest friends is implicated in the murder. Briggs has asked her to step away from the case but Lacey is determined to find the real killer. Will her meddling cause irreparable damage to their relationship? Lacey must risk everything, including her heart, to find the truth.

A few warmer than average days had melted the early January snow and rivers of ice cold water rushed along the Harbor Lane gutters toward the coast. The crisp morning air still prompted me to push my coat collar up higher to hug my ears. Normally, the chill would have prompted Kingston to trot quickly toward the flower shop door, but Elsie's newest endeavor, a seating area for people with dogs, pulled my always hungry bird toward the bakery. On a long winter jog around town, a new, bold idea popped into Elsie's head. (She insisted she always did her best thinking when she was out on a run. I told her I'd be happy to test her theory as long as it didn't require me to actually run.) Her brilliant, new plan, hatched on pops of endorphins, was to start baking dog treats. Naturally, as with everything Elsie created, the peanut butter pup biscuits were a huge success. It wasn't until last week that Elsie decided her new furry customers needed a place in the sidewalk seating area to enjoy their goodies.

Elsie had squeezed together her overly elegant sidewalk tables to make room for three curved benches, painted a bright blue. Whimsical yellow paw prints were hand stenciled along the backs of each bench. A large swath of fake grass acted as the outdoor rug beneath the benches. Silver water bowls sat at the end of each bench so that her newest customers had something to wash down the peanut butter biscuit.

Kingston had quickly discovered that the green Astroturf rug was the perfect catchall for biscuit crumbs. He'd taken it upon himself to 'tidy-up' the place every morning. His sharp black beak disappeared between the thin green blades of fake grass as he quickly rid the area of messy tidbits.

Elsie saw me waiting for Kingston. Dressed in a pale green apron that was stained with what appeared to be blueberry she hurried around the counter. On her way to the door, she grabbed a bone shaped dog biscuit. She waved it in the air as she stepped outside. Kingston's head shot straight up and he waddled quickly toward the cookie. Elsie leaned over to offer the crow his goodie.

"You're such a good boy, coming by each morning to clean up after those silly, slobbery pups that you deserve a reward." She cooed to Kingston in a tiny, cartoonish voice as if she was talking to a baby. Elsie wasn't my crow's first true love, (Lola held that prestigious title) but her newest marketing idea could eventually win her the crown. I wondered when I would win it, considering I was the one who boiled him eggs every morning and kept his perch and cage clean.