“I love it,” I enthused. “In fact, after work I’m heading up to the Red Fox Co-op to have dinner with my son, and my little Sunshine is going to take me there.”
“That’s what you call it? That’s cool!” She laughed, a ringing sound not unlike the bell on the door.
I fingered a dried fern stem on the counter. “Actually, I came here to ask you a few questions about your time as an intern at Novel Idea.”
“Working there was not a fun experience.” She shook her head and adjusted the green sprigs in the arrangement. “And with what happened to Luella Ardor…well, things must be really awful there. What do you want to know?”
“Do you remember when Jude received Carson Knight’s query?”
She looked up sharply. “Yes. Why?”
“How did it arrive at the office? By mail or email?”
Addison shrugged. “I’m not sure how Jude got it. I didn’t give it to him. Sometimes agents receive recommendations from their current clients.” She looked away, lost in a memory. “I just remember how excited he was after he read those first three chapters. Ms. Burlington-Duke, too. The whole office believed they had a winner. And Carson, he’s awesome.” The sprinkling of freckles on her nose gathered together as her mouth curved into a smile.
Did Addison have a crush on Carson? If that were the case, I’d have to tread carefully. “Did you know that Carson and Luella had a relationship?”
“Totally!” She plunked herself down on her stool and clasped her hands. “Carson is so in love with Luella.” Bringing her fingers to her lips, her mood sobered. “Was, I mean.”
“How do you know that?” Maybe Addison didn’t have a crush on Carson after all. Perhaps what she felt was more like hero worship. A small-town girl in awe of meeting a future celebrity. “Did he talk to you about Luella?”
She nodded. “After I came to work here, I sold flowers to Carson every day. He always said, ‘I need sweet blossoms for my sweet Luella.’ Isn’t that romantic?” Addison was obviously impressed by the gestures. “He’s run up some tab.”
“A tab?” Remembering where Carson lived, I didn’t think he could afford to be so extravagant.
“We normally wouldn’t let someone without a corporate account buy on credit, but…” She looked beyond the stores to the greenhouses. Following her gaze, I saw Martin in the distance, watering potted shrubs. Addison’s voice became a whisper. “I knew he was going to come into big money once his book sold, so I set it up for him. He’s good for it. I mean, he’s such a great guy.”
I looked into her wide blue eyes, brimming with innocence. If Carson was truly the cold-blooded murderer I believed him to be, capable of bludgeoning and smothering the woman he loved, then a na?ve young woman like Addison could be at risk should she ever cross him. I needed to warn her.
“He may not be as great as you think,” I said quietly.
Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I believe that he’s a thief and—”
“That’s impossible! I don’t believe you, and I don’t want to hear you talk like that about him.” She shot me a look that nearly singed the ends of my hair, and then she jumped off the stool and walked over to the door. Opening it wide, she said firmly, “I need to get back to work.”
I made a conciliatory gesture. “I didn’t mean to offend you, Addison, but I’ve found evidence indicating that Carson stole Marlette’s book. You remember Marlette? He used to wrap his query letter around a bunch of flower stems? He wrote the book all the agents were so excited about, not Carson.”
As my words registered, Addison narrowed her eyes. “No way! That old bum couldn’t have written his own name! Carson’s an amazing writer!” She stood with one hand holding the door, the other at her hip. “Just go!”
I towered over her in height, but in her indignation, she radiated authority. I stepped across the threshold. “Do be careful, Addison. He may have murdered Luella.”
The shock that emanated from her as I said those words was like a force pushing me outside. I hadn’t learned much more from Addison, aside from reinforcing the theory that Carson had had a relationship with Luella and that his query had mysteriously appeared on Jude’s desk.
I hoped my probing wouldn’t put Addison in a precarious situation if she were to discuss our conversation with Carson. It infuriated me that a lowlife like Carson could pull the wool over the eyes of an impressionable girl like Addison. But then, he’d done the same with Bentley, a worldly sophisticate.