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Chapter Five: My Two Fathers
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2026-10-12 10:58:16
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The Plants Know What You Did Chapter Nineteen: The Ex-Wife
Marcus Hale’s ex-wife arrived at the nursery on Sunday morning carrying a cardboard box, a potted rubber tree, and an expression that suggested she had very little patience left for the world.I understood the expression. I wore something similar whenever someone asked whether succulents needed sunlight.“Are you Ivy Faylan?”“Yes.”“I’m Natalie Hale. Claire said you were taking care of Marcus’s fern.”I glanced at the rubber tree. Its broad leaves were dusty, but otherwise it looked healthy. “I am. Would you like to see it?”Natalie’s expression softened. “Actually, I would.”I led her into the greenhouse, where Fern had been moved to a bright corner among several other recovering plants. Mabel had spent the morning explaining greenhouse etiquette, an undertaking Fern appeared to find both bewildering and reassuring.Natalie stopped beside Fern’s bench. She looked to be in her late forties, with dark hair streaked silver at the temples and the kind of careful posture people adopted w
The Plants Know What You Did Chapter Eighteen: Behind the Filing Cabinet
By Saturday morning, Marcus Hale’s basement had become the most interesting room in a house I’d never visited. This was particularly irritating because it contained no plants.“Not even moss?” I asked Steven.“No moss.”“Mold?”“Probably, but I don’t think you want to interview it.”“Fungi aren’t plants, Steven.”“I stand corrected.”I balanced my phone against a bag of orchid bark and continued mixing potting medium. Saturday mornings were busy at Ivy & Rose, and I’d already spent twenty minutes explaining to a customer that a peace lily couldn’t survive indefinitely in a bathroom with no windows.Some people considered this unreasonable.“Tell me about the filing cabinet.”“Crime scene confirmed the marks on the floor are recent. The cabinet was moved away from the wall and pushed back.”“Anything behind it?”“An electrical outlet, some damaged plaster, and a loose section of baseboard.”I stopped mixing. “Loose how?”“Recently disturbed. The wood’s cleaner along one edge, and there
The Plants Know What You Did Chapter Seventeen: Dinner Number Two
By Friday afternoon, I had learned two things about Marcus Hale’s basement.First, it contained an impressive collection of tax records, obsolete electronics, and exercise equipment that had apparently never experienced exercise. Second, there wasn’t a single living plant down there.I considered this a personal insult. “Not even a spider plant?” I asked Steven over the phone.“No.”“A neglected cactus?”“No.”“An ambitious potato growing in a forgotten cupboard?”“Ivy.”“I’m trying to help.”“I know.”I sat at my desk and regarded Fern, who had been listening to my half of the conversation with considerable interest.“Did you find anything?”“Maybe. There are scuff marks on the basement floor near a metal filing cabinet. Crime scene is checking whether anything was moved.”“Blood?”“Nothing visible. They’re testing.”“Could Marcus have been looking for something?”“Possibly. Claire says he stored older financial records downstairs.”I considered that. “Did Elliot know?”“We’re asking
The Plants Know What You Did Chapter Sixteen: What Plants Mean By Fear
Elliot Hale had apparently decided that being questioned by the police was an insult to his character.Steven called Thursday morning to tell me the interview had lasted forty-seven minutes, during which Elliot had demanded an attorney, threatened to sue the department, and repeatedly insisted that his brother’s death was none of his business.“That last part seems particularly unfortunate,” I said.“Why?”“Because Marcus was literally his brother.”“I noticed.”I tucked my phone between my shoulder and ear while examining a tray of African violets. “Did he explain why he visited Marcus the night he died?”“He claims Marcus called him over to discuss a financial matter. Says they argued, he left, and Marcus was alive when he walked out.”“Do you believe him?”“I believe we haven’t established otherwise.”“Your commitment to being reasonable is exhausting.”“It’s one of my better qualities.”I smiled and pinched off a damaged leaf.“Did the medical examiner agree to review the case?”“
The Plants Know What You Did Chapter Fifteen: Accident, Officially
By Wednesday morning, Marcus Hale’s fern had developed a strong opinion about my office. “Too quiet.”I looked up from the invoice I was reviewing. “You spent years in an accountant’s office. Surely you’re accustomed to quiet.”“He talked.”“What did he talk about?”The fern considered the question. Its fronds shifted slightly in the gentle breeze from my desk fan. “Numbers. People. Things that made him angry.”“That sounds like accounting.”“Sometimes he sang.”I smiled. “Was he any good?”“No.”“Well, nobody’s perfect.”The fern seemed pleased with that answer. I’d moved it into a larger pot the previous afternoon, removed the dead fronds, and given it a thorough watering. It was already looking better, although recovery would take time.I understood the appeal of keeping something alive after losing someone important. Claire had seemed genuinely relieved when I promised to care for it.My phone rang. Steven.“Good morning,” I answered. “Please tell me you have something interesting
The Plants Know What You Did Chapter Fourteen: Dead Man's Fern
The first indication that my Tuesday was going to be unpleasant came from a Boston fern. This was not unusual by itself.Boston ferns were dramatic creatures, prone to declaring emergencies whenever humidity dropped below their preferred level. I’d once spent twenty minutes listening to one describe the indignity of being placed beside an air-conditioning vent.This particular fern, however, was genuinely distressed. “He fell.”I stopped examining the shipment of miniature orchids Mari had unpacked. “What?”“He fell, and nobody came.”The voice belonged to a large, rather bedraggled fern sitting on the quarantine bench. Its fronds drooped over the edges of a plastic nursery pot, and several had turned brown at the tips.I hadn’t noticed it arriving. “Mari?”She looked up from her clipboard. “Yeah?”“Where did this come from?”She followed my gaze. “Oh, that. Woman dropped it off about twenty minutes ago. Asked whether we could save it.”“Did she leave a name?”“Claire Hale. Said it be
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