Lyndsey Cole - Lily Bloom 03 - Roses are Dead by Lyndsey Cole Page B

might be some jealous boyfriends out there.” Scrolling through Carla’s photos, Lily searched by date. “This looks interesting. Carla and two other guys she has tagged as Chris Pierce and Larry Burke. There are a lot with these two guys a few months ago, then just Chris recently. Oh, and look at this Rosie.” Rosie raised her head but wasn’t interested. “Vinnie is in some of these photos too. It looks like it’s some kind of police event so maybe that’s not strange. But these recent photos of Chris and Carla certainly look like there could be something going on between the two of them.”
    Suddenly Carla’s Facebook page disappeared. “Crap. Well, I got something at least. Someone must have closed her account. Come on Rosie. Let’s take a walk. I need to clear my head so I can organize all this information.” Rosie perked up when she heard walk, her favorite word, or maybe second favorite word after food.
    Lily got Rosie’s leash and let Rosie decide which way they would go. Lily didn’t care, she was just walking and thinking and following behind Rosie’s meandering route. Ryan startled her when he stopped next to her on his mountain bike.
    “Where are you going? Want some company?”
    Lily did but she didn’t at the same time. She hadn’t decided how much of these new developments she wanted to share with him. Oh what the heck , she thought, he might know something about the two cops she saw in the photos with Carla . “Sure. Aren’t you working?”
    “I’ve got the rest of the day off. I just went to your house and couldn’t find you so I figured I’d take a bike ride.”
    “Go ahead with your ride if you want.” Problem solved .
    “No. I’d rather walk with you and Rosie. I’ll leave my bike here and get it when we come back around.” He leaned his bike against a tree, mostly out of sight. “You looked like you were deep in thought. Not thinking about Carla, are you?”
    Lily hesitated. “Actually, I found some interesting photos on Facebook. It looked like she was involved with a lot of different cops and there were lots of photos of two in particular from not long ago. Also, Vinnie was in some of them.”
    “That was a clever place to do some snooping. Want to show me when we get back?”
    “I can’t. Her Facebook page disappeared. But I got two names. Chris Pierce and Larry Burke. Ring a bell?”
    “Vaguely. Adam might know them better.”
    Lily stopped and turned toward Ryan. “About Adam. Don’t you think it’s odd that he’s here in Misty Valley and was staying at the Cozy Motel?”
    “He has a good explanation for all of it. I believe him. For now.”
    Rosie lurched forward, almost pulling Lily off her feet. Jennifer and Katie were walking toward them. “Are you already done at the café?”
    “It was a fantastic first day. Marcia offered to close up so I could spend some time with Katie. We were heading to your house.”
    Katie was bouncing around like an energetic five year old. “Is Poppy at your house?”
    Lily crouched down to be at Katie’s level. “No, but I’m sure Rosie will be happy to play with you. How’s Posie doing?”
    “She sleeps with me and purrs in my ear.”
    Lily chuckled. “She’s a lucky kitty to have you in her life.”
    They turned back toward Lily’s house, retrieved Ryan’s bike on the way and watched R osie and Katie explore the backyard. Ryan went in to get some snacks and drinks for everyone.
    Lily had a few minutes alone with Jennifer to pick her brain about Carla. “Hey Jennifer, did Carla have any siblings?”
    “Yeah, she has a brother, Ty, but they never got along. He was quite a bit younger, very quiet, kept to himself. Carla was the outgoing one. Always the center of attention, a bit of a daredevil.”
    “What about her parents?”
    “What’s all the interest in her family?”
    “Oh, you know, just curious. Trying to understand the big picture.”
    Rosie ran around the two women with Katie hot on her heels, laughing