Tuesday Tales 2023-1-24 Green

Over the weekend we had a New Moon in Capricorn to start off a fresh monthly cycle. We also had a Chinese New Year in the sign of the Black Water Rabbit. Now it’s time to get ready for Tuesday Tales, January 24, 2023! This is where authors write excerpts incorporating word and picture prompts. I am working on a cozy mystery. The word prompt this week is green. When you finish reading my snippet, make sure to visit all the talented authors of Tuesday Tales.

Sheriff Ford’s eyebrows arrowed into a V-shape. “Oleander?” He brushed his chin with the back of a palm. Obviously he had been expecting a rare orchid or prize vintage rose. “You mean—the ornamental bush with pink flowers?”

I nodded and explained. “Oleander is the flowering shrub that lines medians further south. North Georgia is too cold, so here it’s usually a container plant kept indoors during the winter. This one was a pale blush color.”

“The estate must have hundreds of plants. Why would Mrs. Douglas be so upset over one missing?”

“Lyon had given it to her years ago when he asked her to marry him, along with a big diamond, of course. She was sentimental about that plant.”

He cleared his throat. “I bet. You were up here visiting at the time. Why was that?”

“Lyon had taken ill, and I came up. As you know, he’s my godfather.”

“So, the missing plant got her shook up and she called it in as theft?”

“Well, yes, after we had searched all over, thinking it had merely been moved in the excitement of decorating for the holidays.”

“Had anything like that happened before?”

“Dovie said not. The plant had pride of place on the east porch. The problem was, no one could remember the last time they saw it, except Dovie was certain she had fed it on the first of the month with Green Envy. It’s a plant food that comes in sticks.”

He eyed me shrewdly. “She was sentimental about the plant. What else? I get the feeling maybe you aren’t telling me a piece of it.”

Well…” I hesitated, reluctant to talk about Dovie’s feelings on the subject of flowers. “It’s nothing important really. It’s just that she may have taken it as a sign.”

Robin squirmed beside me. I thought back to how uncomfortable my friend was when Dovie had plied us with knowledge about the special, mysterious language of flowers.

“A sign?” The Sheriff was shaking his foot, impatient for me to continue.

“That—that maybe something was amiss. Lyon had given it to her and was now sick, and the flower that started their life together was gone, you see.”

“Ah.” He blinked, as if banishing a mote from his eye.

He has dismissed it. Relief shot through me, but I wasn’t sure why.

I hope you enjoyed the snippet incorporating the word green. Thanks for stopping by. If you haven’t done so already, check out the other excerpts at Tuesday Tales.

Cheers & Happy Reading!

Flossie Benton Rogers, Conjuring the Magic with Spirited Stories

All rights reserved, copyright @ 2023 Flossie Benton Rogers