The Walleld Flower Read Online Free

niece. It’s my duty to my sister, and as her aunt, to find out what happened to her and make the person who killed her pay.”
    Katie sighed, reaching out a hand to rest on Rose’s shoulder. “You’ve had a traumatic afternoon. You should go home and rest.”
    “How can I rest when Heather’s murderer is out there somewhere, running around free?”
    Katie could only nod. “Would you like me to drive you home?”
    Rose pursed her lips. “I may be old, but I’m not feeble.”
    “I didn’t mean to imply—”
    Rose’s expression softened. “I know.” She clasped Katie’s hand. “Thank you, dear. Together we’ll find out who killed Heather. Even if I have to die trying.”

    Katie didn’t like to feel rattled, but if she was honest with herself, despite her outward appearance of calm, she was definitely in a state of denial. Finding what was likely Heather Winston’s earthly remains had indeed left her feeling decidedly unsettled. She had too much on her mind to allow herself to dwell on the whole subject. And yet… she knew Rose would keep pushing.
    Katie fought to concentrate on the printed spreadsheets before her. Artisans Alley’s bottom line had improved considerably since she’d taken over its management some six months before, but there was still so much to do if she was going to drag it completely out of the red and into solvency.
    She thought she heard a noise off to her right, but it really didn’t register, so she paid no attention to it. She shook her head at the expenses column. There wasn’t much she could do about the escalating utility costs. Sales had dropped considerably since the holidays. Taking ten percentof her rent-paying vendors with it. With Easter right around the corner, it was time to put another ad in the Rochester newspaper. Not too big an ad—and only if she could convince the Merchants Association to go in on it.
    “Ahem.”
    This time Katie turned at the interruption, and found Gilda Ringwald standing in the doorway of her office. Gilda, of Gilda’s Gourmet Baskets on the south side of Victoria Square, was the Victoria Square Merchants Association’s PR director—and she’d arrived just in time to receive Katie’s ad pitch.
    “Gilda, I was just thinking about you,” she said with a smile in her voice and rose from her chair.
    “Do you have a few minutes?” Gilda asked sheepishly, her shoulders rounded as though she were trying to look smaller than her five foot four inch height.
    “For you, always. Can I get you a cup of coffee?” Katie asked and ushered Gilda into one of her shabby guest chairs. A trip to OfficeMax was in the offing—she really should replace the chairs with something more comfortable and stylish. One day…
    “Oh, no,” Gilda said and sat down, resting her empty hands on the knees of her navy slacks. Katie always found Gilda’s jet-black pageboy haircut to be a bit disconcerting on a woman her age—late fifties or early sixties. But she had no complaint with Gilda’s efforts on behalf of the Merchants Association, of which Katie was the reluctant head—voted in after Ezra Hilton’s untimely passing the previous fall.
    “What brings you to Artisans Alley? Something for the Merchants Association?” Katie asked, almost dreading the answer.
    “Actually, I’m here on some personal business. I want to ask a favor of you.”
    “If I can help—I’d be glad to.”
    Gilda’s cheeks blushed. “Conrad and I are finally going to tie the knot.”
    “That’s wonderful,” Katie said with genuine surprise. She understood that Gilda and Conrad Stratton, who owned the Square’s wine shop, The Perfect Grape, had been a couple for a long time. Decades, in fact. For them to suddenly marry…
    Gilda smiled and nodded. “We never thought we’d need that piece of paper—but we’re getting on in years, and if something happened to either one of us, it would be better to be married in the eyes of the state than to be considered just good