The Victim Sent Flowers
A florist receives advance orders from a man murdered yesterday.
ImagineYourBook writes a fresh draft from this idea.
How it begins
The dead man's flowers were late.
Hazel knew this because he had paid extra for delivery before nine, and the driver was still arguing with the van.
She checked the order.
White lilies. Five blue irises. No ribbon.
Recipient: Detective Leon Marsh.
Occasion: In case I am murdered.
Hazel put down her scissors.
Yesterday, the local news had shown a familiar face beside the words police appeal. She had watched while eating soup, then washed her bowl and told herself she could not be expected to remember every customer.
Now she remembered him perfectly.
He had apologized for bringing mud into the shop.
People planning to die ought to be allowed a little mud.
The bell above the door rang.
A man in a dark suit stepped inside.
"Are those for me?"
Hazel looked at the photograph on her screen, then at the man waiting beside the buckets.
"Detective Marsh?"
"Leon."
"You're early."
"I'm told he's dead."
"He appears to have anticipated that."
She turned the order toward him.
His face changed at the irises.
Not shock. Recognition.
Hazel had spent twenty years watching people buy flowers for emotions they could not manage in speech. She knew the difference.
"What do they mean?"
"Nothing."
"Then you're having a very strong response to nothing."
Outside, the van finally started. The driver cheered.
Leon reached for the order.
Hazel moved it out of reach.
"I keep the originals."
"Police matter."
"My business."
He studied her for a moment.
Then he looked toward the back room, where six more arrangements waited on the long workbench.
"How many?"
"Seven."
"All from him?"
Hazel nodded.
Leon closed his eyes.
She noticed he was wearing a black tie, but his shoes were not polished. A man who had dressed for grief in a hurry.
"Don't deliver them," he said.
The printer behind her began producing another order.
This one was addressed to Hazel.
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Outline and characters
- Hazel receives a fresh order from yesterday's murder victim.
- She verifies that the order was scheduled in advance.
- Each arrangement encodes a recipient's concealed meeting.
- Leon recognizes a flower associated with an old case.
- Hazel refuses to deliver an accusation she cannot verify.
- They trace the orders to a witness-protection arrangement.
- The killer changes one bouquet to redirect suspicion.
- Hazel identifies the substitution through a stem supplier.
- The funeral becomes a controlled opportunity to reveal the witness.
- Hazel delivers the final bouquet to the person the victim meant to protect.
Characters
- Hazel Grant, 45. A florist who keeps every customer's handwritten order
- Leon Marsh, 50. A detective attending an old friend's funeral
Series possibilities
- Hazel receives an apology bouquet addressed to a person who does not exist.
