“Two? Why in heaven’s name would I get two? One was ridiculous enough. How many admirers do you think I have?”

“Thank you, Marjorie, this is very helpful. One more question. The ‘peculiar little creature,’ as you put it, who delivered your flowers—was it a man or a woman?”

“I’m ashamed to say, I don’t know. That’s the problem with getting old. In the world I grew up in, there was a real difference between men and women. Vive la différence! Did you ever hear that? That’s French.”

“Did the creature ask you any questions?”

“About what?”

“I don’t know. Any questions at all.”

“No questions. Didn’t say much of anything. ‘Flowers for you.’ Something like that. Squeaky little voice. Funny nose.”

“Funny how?”

“Sharp. Like a beak.”

“Anything else odd that you can remember?”

“No, that’s it. Hooked beak of a nose.”

“How tall?”

“My height, at the most. Maybe even an inch or two shorter.”

“And your height would be …?”

“Exactly sixty-two inches. Five foot two, eyes of blue. My eyes, not his. His were hidden behind sunglasses. Not a speck of sun that day, mind you. But sunglasses aren’t for the sun anymore, are they? They’re a fashion item. Did you know that? A fashion item.”

“Thank you for your time, Marjorie. You’ve been a great help. I’ll be in touch.”

Gurney broke the connection and handed the phone back to Carol.

She blinked. “Now I remember what the problem was.”

“What problem?”

“What Marjorie called me about that day. It was to ask if the delivery person had left a gift card by mistake at the desk. Because there wasn’t any with the flowers. But what was that question you were asking about the number of bouquets, whether there was one or two?”

“If you look closely at the video,” said Gurney, “you’ll see that those chrysanthemums were in two separate wrappings. Two bouquets were being delivered here, not one.”

“I don’t understand. What does that mean?”

“It means that the ‘little creature’ made a second stop on the property after he saw Mrs. Stottlemeyer.”

“Or before seeing her, because she said he only had one bouquet with him.”

“I’d be willing to bet that the other bouquet was stashed temporarily outside her door.”

“Why?”

“Because I think our little creature came here to kill Mary Spalter, and he brought the second bouquet along to give him a cover story for knocking on her door—and to give her a reason to open it.”

“I don’t follow you. Why not just bring one bouquet—and tell me that he was delivering it to Mrs. Spalter? Why bring Marjorie Stottlemeyer into it at all? That doesn’t make sense.”