Flower Shop Mystery: Snipped in the Bud

Abby Knight, a former high-powered attorney who now runs 'Bloomers' flower shop in New Chapel, receives a strange anonymous order: one hundred dollars in cash for a dozen black roses to be delivered to Professor Bruce Barnes at Millston College. Despite warnings from her friend Marco, a local bar owner, Abby decides to deliver the flowers personally to check on her daughter Sydney, who is struggling in Barnes's law class. At the college, Abby runs into Carson Howell, a rival lawyer who once beat her in a major animal rights case involving a company called Dermabrir. Their encounter is tense, highlighting Abby's lingering resentment over his unethical tactics. After a brief, unpleasant meeting with the abrasive Professor Barnes, Abby leaves his office but realizes she needs to retrieve the flowers to maintain her 'botanical dignity' after he tosses them in the trash. Upon returning, she discovers Carson Howell dead in Barnes's chair, stabbed in the neck with a sharpened black pencil. Detective Reilly quickly identifies Abby as a person of interest because her fingerprints are found on the murder weapon—a result of her accidentally knocking over Barnes's pencil cup earlier. Abby's history of public conflict with Howell further incriminates her. Refusing to sit idly by, Abby begins her own investigation, aided by Marco and her father, a retired police officer. She identifies several suspects: Professor Barnes, who was passed over for tenure by Howell; Barnes's wife Jocelyn, who was secretly having an affair with the victim; and Belinda, Howell's assistant who had been harassed by him. Abby even participates in a 'stakeout' at Howell's memorial service, where she notices strange connections between the college staff and Walter Pierce, the owner of Dermabrir. As the investigation intensifies, a local reporter named Connor McKay writes a series of articles painting Abby as a 'law school killer,' prompting her to give a risky interview to tell her side of the story. The breakthrough occurs when Abby discovers a hidden rejection letter in the law department's mail. She realizes that Kenny Lipinski, Sydney's seemingly helpful Teaching Assistant, had a motive: Howell had denied him a prestigious clerkship at the behest of Kenny's own father, who wanted his son to join the family firm. When Abby confronts Kenny, he reveals his true nature, admitting he sent the black roses as a diversion and killed Howell in a fit of rage. The film reaches its climax when Kenny takes Sydney hostage in the college halls. Abby and Marco arrive just in time to distract Kenny, allowing the police to apprehend him. The story concludes with Abby's name cleared, a budding romance with Marco, and a new 'revenge rose' marketing line for her flower shop.