Page 44 of Cause and Effect

I received this earlier.

I snapped a picture of the arrangement and sent it.

That’s pretty, but I didn’t send them. There wasn’t a card?

No.

That’s strange. Maybe go to the florist and ask who sent them.

Yeah. I think I might. I’ll see you later.

If Julian didn’t send the flowers, who did? That question would stay with me until I found out the answer. I looked at the delivery card, pulled it off the wrapping, and noticed it was from Vivian’s Florist in Downtown Los Angeles.

“Girls, as soon as you’re done eating, get dressed. We need to make a stop before we go to Roman’s house.”

We stepped into the florist, and a nice older woman asked if I needed help.

“I received some flowers from your shop this morning, but there wasn’t a card. Could you tell me who sent them?”

“I can try. What’s your name and address?”

As I rattled it off, she typed away at her computer.

“Ah, yes. I remember. A young woman came in yesterday and ordered them. She paid with cash. I distinctly remember asking her if she wanted to include a card, and she said no. That’s all the information I have.”

“What did she look like?” My brows furrowed.

“Honestly, she looked homeless. And for what thatarrangement cost, I was surprised she would spend the money on that and not on helping herself. It was a little odd, though.”

“What was?”

“She handed me a piece of paper with your name and address on it.”

“Do you still have the paper?” I asked.

“No. It went out with the trash last night.”

“Thank you. Come on, girls.”

I punched Roman’s address into the GPS and drove to his home.

“I need you girls to be on your best behavior. Got it?”

“Got it, Mom.” Stella smiled.

When Roman opened the front door and we stepped inside, all I heard was Maddie screaming.

“Sorry about that. She’s been doing it all morning,” Roman said.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“We don’t know. We’ve tried everything. Morgan is at her wit’s end.”

I entered the kitchen, said hi to Morgan, and set my purse down.

“Let me take her.” I smiled.

“She’s all yours.”

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