The last few days had been more media sensation than anything. The police were still trying to piece together the bits and pieces from Rosie’s life, but it was a pretty simple case where the same drugs had been used in all three of the women’s deaths, the first one having been an accident, and Rosie using that as an opportunity to point fingers at Marsha and to take out women she considered her enemies.
The return of her cancer had apparently given her the freedom to make a few changes in her life—such as getting rid of the kiwi clique that had been a pain in her butt. And gave her a supposedly perfect opportunity to point the finger at the one other woman who could ruin her life by telling everyone what their husbands had done. Rosie had never wanted her grandson to know and had lived in fear of what he’d do if he found out. And the police had found the same drug had been given to her husband, whom she’d killed years ago. It looked like it was a pretty simple open-and-shut case, but the end result had left the community in shock.
And, of course, the county fair would never be the same again.
As Doreen walked by the multiple fresh graves, she stopped to look at various stones and monuments, seeing patches of lilies at various places.
Finally she ended up in a complete circle, as she stood over Rosie’s grave. “I hope you’re at peace now,” she said sadly. “It’s not the end I would have wanted for you.”
And she reached out and picked up a lily, sniffed it, wondering why lilies always represented death. As far as she was concerned, flowers should be for life and rebirth. But so often they were used for funerals. She placed it back into the vase and straightened.
She didn’t have the animals with her, out of respect for the others attending the ceremonies dotting the cemetery. It’s a good thing she’d left them at home, as signs were everywhere, saying No Pets Allowed. But being without them? … Well, she felt a little lost herself.
Not to mention how worried she was about this afternoon’s meeting with Mack’s lawyer brother. But she’d dragged out as much time as she could here. She needed to go home and eat before the two men arrived, and she had to face the unpleasantness of her now-defunct marriage.
She stared at the lilies for one last long moment, sighed, and turned to step away. As she did, a shadow fell over her side, and she could feel somebody reaching out for her. She turned with a smile, only to cry out at the blow that came out of nowhere and struck her on the back of her head. She didn’t hear anything but the sounds of footsteps thundering away, as she crashed into the pile of lilies at the graveside.
The pain was crushing. The shock paralyzing.
Poor Mack. He would be the one to find her.
Lilies. How appropriate.
Her last thought before the blackness took her over? She had already come up with a name for the investigation into her own death.
Lifeless in the Lilies.
This concludes Book 11 of Lovely Lethal Gardens: Killer in the Kiwis.
Read about Lifeless in the Lilies: Lovely Lethal Gardens, Book 12
Lovely Lethal Gardens:
Lifeless in the Lilies
(Book #12)
A new cozy mystery series from USA Today best-selling author Dale Mayer. Follow gardener and amateur sleuth Doreen Montgomery—and her amusing and mostly lovable cat, dog, and parrot—as they catch murderers and solve crimes in lovely Kelowna, British Columbia.
What was supposed to be a leisurely stroll through a peaceful cemetery after a recent funeral turns into the start of a new case. Someone clobbers Doreen over the head and leaves her facedown among the funeral flowers.
Is it random violence? Revenge? A warning of worse to come?
No one knows, not even Doreen, but one thing is certain: the attack enabled the disappearance—perhaps the abduction?—of Doreen’s beloved African gray parrot, Thaddeus. Frantic, Doreen foregoes a trip to the emergency room in favor of heading straight home, where she hopes Thaddeus will return sooner rather than later.
But when he does, the bird sports an SOS message fastened around his ankle, leading Doreen to a odd corner of town and a curious little boy who know one will talk about.
Now someone is leaving threats on Doreen’s doorstep and then delivering threats in person …
Between birds and boys and Corporal Mack Moreau’s brother, the lawyer looking into her divorce situation, Doreen has her hands full. And that’s before her former lawyer shows up unexpectedly at her home! Off-balance by all these events, Doreen opens her door to someone with a serious grudge to take her down …
Find Book 12 here!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
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Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Killer in the Kiwis: Lovely Lethal Gardens, Book 11! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
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Cheers,
Dale Mayer
About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep
