She arched her brow at me then turned to Brady. “Do you have Ms. Salinger’s cell phone number?”
He shook his head. “No, just the shop number.”
She nodded as she jotted the information down. “Are you aware of anything unusual about how the order was placed? Any special instructions?”
Brady nodded. “Abby told me to make sure the lilies got here by five on the dot and that it was really important.”
“But did you see the customer?”
Brady frowned and shook his head. “I don’t work in the shop or take orders.” He sucked his teeth. “I don’t even know what this is about. All I do is deliver flowers, that’s it. I don’t know anything about bombs and stuff.”
The officers’ faces registered alarm.
“Bomb?” Jeanna stared at me. “Detective Holden said you received threats via a flower delivery and to secure the scene.” She blanched. “Is there a bomb in the van?”
“I don’t think so,” I replied hesitantly. “It’s somewhere else.” The where was anyone’s guess. Now that Ezra wasn’t in his truck anymore, a part of me hoped they would find it under the carriage. It chilled me to the bone to think about him being in mortal danger, but at least we’d have found it before it could do real harm.
“You got one of your, uh...” Jeanna scratched her nose to indicate my aroma-mojo.
I gave a quick nod and quietly said, “Yes. And there’s a deadline.” I tapped an imaginary watch on my wrist. “It’s set to go off at eight o’clock.”
“How do you know that?” Her brow furrowed. “Isn’t your uhm, thing, about seeing memories, not the future?”
“Yeah, but whoever is doing this knows that. They planned this at least a week ago.” Possibly, they’d been planning this for a lot longer and were just now putting their plan into action. “They wanted the florist to deliver the flowers to me at exactly five o’clock, and in the memory, they said I had three hours.”
Jeanna hissed a curse under her breath.
Levi turned to Brady, his demeanor and tone demanding. “Did anything seem off when you loaded up your delivery?”
The kid recoiled. “The only thing was the smell.” He wrinkled his nose and curled his lip in disgust. “It was intense. It gave me a headache and made me sick to my stomach. That’s the only reason I delivered them early.”
Again, the early delivery was an indication of his innocence in the matter. I was grateful for the extra time, though I wasn’t sure how much half an hour would help. The clues, if the person who sounded like Morgan Freeman gave any, were vague. EZ Holden as EZ Reader. Was there something in the play on words? Or was the bomber merely trying to be clever?
Jeanna’s lips pursed as she put her notebook away. She glanced at Brady. “Stay put, Mr. Newsome. We’re not done with you yet.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Brady jammed his hands in his pocket as he looked down at the carpet and avoided eye contact with the officer.
Jeanna’s eyes narrowed on him as she scanned his face. “You sure there’s nothing else you need to tell us? You seem pretty nervous forjustdelivering flowers.”
Brady rubbed the back of his neck, his face flushed. “Well...”
Levi stepped closer, his voice stern. “Spit it out, kid. We don’t have all day.”
Brady swallowed hard. “I might have some weed gummies in the van. They’re legal now, but still...” He spread his palms wide. “I haven’t taken any today. I wait until I get home.”
Jeanna and Levi exchanged a glance. It didn’t take a psychic to know that people, in general, don’t drive around with weed in their vehicles if they are only using it at home. Even so, with the new marijuana laws in effect, I wasn’t sure that was a battle the two officers wanted to take on right now. Besides, the potential bomb took precedence.
“Three-hour deadline,” I reminded them.
Jeanna clucked her tongue. “Okay,” she said. “Thanks for being honest, Brady. Just sit tight while we sort this out. We’ll need to have a look at those gummies, too.”
Brady nodded, relief and anxiety mingling on his face. “I’ll cooperate. Whatever you need.”
I glanced at the van, filled with Starfighter lilies, and wondered if I could get a second vision from them. With the short timetable and the imminent danger, it was worth a shot.
“Jeanna, I need to smell those lilies,” I said, stepping forward. “The ones in the van, I mean.”
Levi raised an eyebrow. “You think it’ll help?”
