Green Living Can Be Deadly (A Blossom Valley Mystery) by Staci McLaughlin Page A

the good grace to look guilty for standing around and staring at where Wendy had been killed. Two or three even drifted away. Lily extracted a handkerchief from within her long sleeve and dabbed at her eyes. I waited until she turned around to leave before darting out of my booth to intercept her.
    “Lily. What a lovely gesture to bring flowers.”
    She held the handkerchief to her chest, and I noticed she’d torn one of her fingernails. “Wendy touched my life at an important time, and I want the world to know that she’ll be missed.”
    “She would have loved knowing she made such a difference.” I remembered how in high school, Wendy had basked in all the attention and accolades of being head cheerleader and student class president.
    “I can’t believe I got so close to her yesterday, yet we never spoke.”
    I inched toward my own booth, hoping to draw Lily away from the remaining bystanders. “Say, I know I already asked you this, but I could really use your help. I need to know what Wendy and that man were fighting about, in case it will help find Wendy’s killer. Someone mentioned they saw you standing right outside the tent during the argument, so you must have heard at least part of the conversation.”
    Lily twisted the handkerchief in her hands until her knuckles turned white. Something had definitely affected her. “I don’t feel it’s my place to say.”
    “You of all people must want to bring Wendy’s killer to justice. You can’t keep valuable information to yourself. Think of Wendy.” I felt a smidge guilty for using such cheap tactics, but only a smidge. She could be a key witness.
    Color sprang into her cheeks. “Of course I’ll help any way I can. But that fight was a big misunderstanding.”
    “What kind of misunderstanding?”
    She opened her mouth, then pressed the handkerchief to her lips, reminding me of a damsel in an old Western film who’d just seen the town preacher kissing a dance hall girl. “I couldn’t possibly repeat all those terrible things. Wendy would have cleared everything up—I know she would have. And now she’ll never get the chance.” She burst into tears, and everyone turned to stare.
    I gave brief consideration to crawling under my table, but there was no tablecloth to hide me from the accusing glares, so I dismissed the idea. Instead, I took her hand in mine. “Look, Lily, I didn’t mean to upset you.”
    She sniffled. “It’s not your fault. I still can’t believe she’s gone.” She pulled her hand away. The tears were already welling up again, so she ran her handkerchief under her nose. She looked ready to collapse.
    I checked around for a chair, but I saw none. “Do you need to sit down?” I gestured toward the parking lot. “My car is right over there in the parking lot. It’s the red Honda.”
    She glanced at my car, but she shook her head. “I need to be alone for a while.”
    “But you still haven’t told me what you heard yesterday,” I said.
    She didn’t answer. Instead, she walked off down the street, shoulders slumped. I wanted to follow her, but I had a spa to promote. I returned to the booth and noticed the crowd next door had continued to thin. A few minutes later, the last of the spectators in front of Wendy’s booth departed. The space was empty, much like the rest of the street. I could see a handful of people milling about way at the other end, but who knew if they’d ever make it down my way?
    While I waited for more people, I studied the shops across the way behind the tables and canopies. The going-out-of-business sales weren’t as frequent as they had been in past months, but most of the stores were still struggling. Now that autumn had arrived, the Get the Scoop ice cream parlor had started offering hot coffee drinks and cookies to entice customers. The Raining Cats and Dogs pet supply store seemed to have their dog food half off at least every other week.
    Looking down the street again, I could see that this