Aaron did his best to explain to him what was happening, but all Mr. Crosby would say was that he was glad Fox owned a nice suit so they wouldn’t have to buy him one when he started work on Monday.
Tom didn’t see any trace of Junior, and he didn’t dare ask about him. Of everyone here, he was certain Junior was the only person capable of these crimes. But could he have actually done it?
After talking to his co-workers, he took note of when each family was burgled. Junior certainly would have been free to go sneaking off and rob most of them, but the Winslow family’s home was broken into when they were here for the viewing.
And so was Junior.
Maybe Tom was wrong. He hated to assume anyone’s guilt, but he had the strangest feeling Junior was still involved somehow. He kept his thoughts to himself, barely saying goodbye to anyone before he was flying out the door precisely at five o’clock.
Cypress had texted him and let him know he needed to come to the back door of the flower shop, and Tom texted in reply he’d be there as soon as he could.
He got home, walked Mister Doodles, and then he had to decide what to wear. He stared forlornly at his closet, packed with bland suits and not much else.
This was still a date, no matter how casual the setting, and he wanted to look nice.
Finally settling on his best pair of jeans and a light blue sweater, he got dressed and packed an overnight bag with a few essentials. He made sure to bring what he needed for Mister Doodles, checking over the bag one more time to see if there was anything else he’d missed.
Scrubs, underwear, socks, pajamas, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, dog food, dog bowl.
Tom wasn’t sure if he was forgetting something, but he was too eager to get going to worry about it. He gathered up the bag and Mister Doodles, and he headed over to the flower shop.
He drove through a small alley to park in the rear next to Cypress’s car. He got Mister Doodles on her leash, let her pee, and walked up to the back door. He didn’t see a bell, so he knocked.
Tom felt his heart flutter when the door opened, and he saw Cypress’s bright smile. “Hey!”
As usual, Cypress was perfectly edible in a snug emerald turtleneck and dark jeans.
“Hey there, yourself,” Cypress said, ushering Tom into a cramped hallway and kissing him. “Mmm. I’m glad you’re here. You look great.”
“Mmm, so do you.”
“Hi to you, too, Mister Doodles,” Cypress greeted, reaching down to pet her.
Mister Doodles barked and wagged her tail.
“Aw, she’s happy to see you.” Tom grinned.
“Probably because I smell like food.”
“Wow, so this is all yours?” Tom looked around, seeing a staircase and another door.
“Sure is. Want the grand tour?” Cypress asked.
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. We’re closed, and unlike your job, no one is gonna come walking in. Come on.” Cypress took his hand and led him to the door. He opened it, leading Tom and Mister Doodles into a large room crammed full of empty floral arrangement stands, dozens of vases, and big boxes of ribbon. “Storage, very glamorous.”
“Kinda reminds me of the supply closet at the funeral home.” Tom laughed. “Little bit of everything.”
“I might be a tiny bit of a floral packrat. Can’t stand to throw anything away if I think I can use it again.”
“This is nothing. I’ve seen Mr. Crosby try to wash a used coffee filter before.”
“Yeah, no. I’m not quite there yet.”
Cypress led them through another door into a short L-shaped hallway, explaining, “If you go to the right, you’ll hit what used to be the kitchen. It’s now cold storage for flowers. And if you go the other way through the big archway, it goes into the front of the shop.”
Tom peeked around the edge of the archway, blushing to see the back of the counter he had just been bent over last week. He turned back to peer down the other end of the hallway, asking, “Cold storage? You mean like a cooler?”
