Everett and I spent nearly all day yesterday with him at the hospital. Everett rehashed every story from their short tenure as stepbrothers out loud, and I laughed as he entertained me with one tale after the next. I could have sworn I saw Noah’s eyebrows bounce a few times in amusement himself, but the nurse says that was more than likely an automatic bodily response.
The light begins to quicken as the hall behind the kitchen grows brighter.
“Excuse me. I’d better check on my pies.” I feel a wee bit bad about not telling Everett the supernatural truth, but I’ll make sure to check the pies just so that I’m not officially lying to him.
I make my way to the back of the kitchen and spot Gemma doing an odd little dance. That tuft of fluffy hair at the top of her hair bounces with her every move and her mouth hangs open, exposing me to more of her buck-toothed cuteness.
“Something is happening, Lottie. What is it? What is it?” Her voice grows more spastic by the moment.
“I don’t know,” I say as I crane my neck back at the service line. Down at the opposite end of where Everett and my mother are, I spot Chanelle standing right next to Leo and my stomach drops.
How dare she tell me she has no idea who he is and then so brazenly step out with him in public the very same week her mother was buried.
I didn’t even know Trisha that way, and I’m fuming as I make my way over.
“Chanelle,” I say as cheerful as I can muster. “What a surprise to see you here.”
Her lips twist with a precocious smile. “My mother used to ask me at least once a month to make the effort, but as long as she was here, I knew I didn’t want to be.” She takes a brief break from doling out the green beans. “But a friend asked me to come.” She shoots a sly glance to Leo who’s become quite animated and friendly toward the people he’s serving ever since I showed up.
“A friend?” I skewer him with a look. “I thought you said you didn’t know your mother’s boyfriend?”
She shrugs it off as if it were no big deal. “The weird thing is, she knew I had my sights set on him.” Her lids lower just a notch. “That’s just another typical example of what a great mother she was. Anyway, that’s over for good now.” She shudders. “And you know what? I’m ready to start life all over again. In fact, I might even start volunteering here at the shelter more often.”
Gerrie Havershem walks by at a quickened clip carrying an empty oversized pot back to the kitchen. Now there’s a suspect I haven’t pinned down yet.
“Have a good time,” I say to Chanelle just as someone demands their green beans.
I trot ahead of Gerrie and take the empty, albeit still heavy, oversized stockpot.
“I’ve got it,” I say as I step in stride with her. “Things are really going well today.”
“That they are, and they wouldn’t be without your pies. I can’t believe Nettie got you to donate with just a quick word. Usually we have to beg and pester people about donations. And yet, here you are, not only with pies, but with friends and family to help serve the masses. I can’t tell you what a blessing you’ve been.”
Her silver hair is neatly curled under her jawline and she’s wearing a burnt umber wool sweater with matching shell. There’s just something about her that reminds me of my mother, and a part of me can never envision her pulling the trigger to end anyone’s life—even if she was having a beef with them.
I set the pot down on the counter in the kitchen.
“I bet you miss Trisha,” I say, although I’m not quite sure she does. “I mean, at the shelter. She was a big helper I hear.”
“Oh.” She averts her eyes. “She was something. Okay, so she was a helper. But she was a control freak, too. I don’t know how many times she tried to berate me on the way I operated things around here.”
There was a time or two I witnessed her doing the same thing to Naomi, so this doesn’t surprise me.
“I’m sure it came as a great shock to hear she was murdered.”
She sniffs the air. “I wish I could say I was surprised. That woman made an enemy or six before noon each day. Not all of us know how to play well with others on this planet.”
Cormack and Cressida bounce through my mind.
“I’ll second that.” A thought comes to me. “Hey? It’s so hot in here I’d love to take off my sweater, but I’m afraid I’ll leave it here.” My finger glides over the strap from my backpack as I feel Ethel warming me from behind. “It was my father’s favorite on me and I’d hate to lose it.” And I hate that I just dragged my deceased father into my investigation unwittingly. But, knowing my father, he’d be glad to help.
Gerrie’s robust upper torso bounces with a laugh, her chin rippling with the effect. “I’ve done it a time or two.” Her expression grows dark. “In fact, it almost cost me my life.”
“What?” I gasp just enough to let her know I’m more than interested.
“That’s right. The night Trisha was killed.” She leans in. “I left my sweater right here at the shelter and Trisha brought it over to me. It was still in her car while I was fixing to leave. And Nettie, being the sweet angel she is, asked Trisha for her keys so I wouldn’t have to face her after the disagreement we had.”
“What kind of disagreement?”
She clamps her lips shut before turning to her left. “Even though we often didn’t get along, I wanted to let her know that there was another woman her beau was seeing. I mean, if it were me, I’d want to know. Wouldn’t you?”
“You bet I would.”
“I didn’t tell her who. I just simply hinted at it, but after she made that snide remark about me not being able to handle being in charge of the volunteers, my niece leaned in and whispered it to her. You could have blown Trisha down with a philandering feather.”
“So do you know who the other woman was?” I bite down on my lip because I feel bad for asking. It feels more like gossiping.
“Oh yes.” She rolls her eyes to the ceiling. “That saucy daughter of hers. She’s known for stirring the pot.”
“That would explain why Nettie and Jade were going at it in her midst,” I muter under my breath.
“At the funeral?” Gerrie shakes her head. “Oh, those girls have a genuine tiff of their own. Jade does anyhow. I personally think my niece is the innocent in all this.”
“How so?”
She glances over my shoulder before leaning in. “Nettie used to date Jade’s brother Robby.”
“The one who passed away?”
She gives a sorrowful nod. “Of course, Jade blames Nettie for everything that happened to the man, but none of it was her fault, I tell you.”
“What happened to him?”
“Robby Pope—well, he was a scoundrel. A charming scoundrel nevertheless. Once their parents died, Robby turned to a life of crime to help support both him and his sister. Nettie was dating him in the midst of all this. Anyway, they arrested him for grand larceny and put him away for what would have been quite some time, but he was killed in prison.”
“That’s terrible all around. How especially sad that he felt a life of crime was his only alternative.”
“Theft is never the answer.” She takes a breath as she looks out at the crowd in the dining room. “But then neither is murder.”
She takes off, and I’m about to head that way myself when I hear a loud pop come from just outside the door that leads to the alley. That’s exactly where I parked my van.
Good grief. It had better not have gotten hit. I love every inch of that van and coincidentally the man who gifted it to me. I’m sure Everett wouldn’t be too happy to see it smashed up either.
I head on out into the frigid air and spot a body lying next to the dumpsters.
“Oh my God,” I shout as I head over to find Nettie Havershem lying on her back, her eyes wide open, a crimson bloom expanding over the center of her chest as she shivers uncontrollably.
“Nettie?” I call out as I run to her side and a small group of women pour out
of the kitchen along with me.
“Call 911,” I shout and one of them whips out her phone as the others quickly tend to Nettie.
Oh my God, I have to call Noah. I mean, Everett. I should call Ivy, too, but my phone isn’t on me at the moment.
The sound of heels clattering away comes from behind the building. And without thinking I bolt on over.
The shadow of a woman gets lost among the forest just to my left, and I traverse the debris in the woods in an effort to catch up with her. My God, she could be the killer.
My heart begins to race, and my adrenaline takes off to new heights.
The woman trips over a log and I close in on her, spinning her around by the arm, and before I can see her face my eyes hook over her shoes a moment.
I gasp at the navy heels with a thick gold band over the toe. I look up slowly and meet her gaze.
“It was you that night. You killed Trisha Maples. And you just shot Nettie, too.”
Chapter 18
There is always an odd sense of satisfaction when I finally peg down who the killer really is. There is a sense of excitement, the undeniable rush of adrenaline like I’m having now, and the undeniable sense of danger, which is always unavoidable.
I can feel Ethel lying over my back as that tiny backpack she’s buried in warms my flesh. I was more than ambivalent about bringing my gun to the shelter today. I knew there would be kids, and lots and lots of families—but boy, am I ever glad I listened to Everett and brought her anyway.
Although, at the moment, Jade Pope happens to have her own gun still clutched in her hand. And everyone knows one in the hand is better than one over the back.
“You did it,” I say weakly. “But I know a great defense attorney who can spin this. I promise, Jade. You can plead insanity. You didn’t mean to kill Trisha that night, did you?”
Her face grows increasingly pale as the woods lengthen their afternoon shadows over us. Jade’s cat eyes only seem to grow more animalistic as the seconds go by. She’s so beautiful, and smart—she didn’t need to resort to this. But sadly, she did.
“How do you know?” She takes a step back, steadily raising the barrel my way. “Move slowly to your left. I’m a good shot, Lottie, as you can see.” She looks sick at the thought as she glances quickly in the direction where Nettie lies—hopefully, getting the help she needs. “Start walking and start talking. Put your hands where I can see them. I’m curious to see if you got it right.”
I lift my hands and do as I’m told, walking incredibly slowly toward the woods, backwards, just praying Everett will come looking for me.
“Talk, Lottie,” she riots. The gun in her hand begins to waver as she becomes increasingly shaken.
An ambulance roars in this direction and her eyes widen with fear.
“Fine,” I say a notch too loud myself. “You must have overheard the fact that Nettie was going to get Gerrie’s jacket out of the car. You thought you had her alone, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” Her chest trembles with a silent laugh. “But what you don’t realize is that as Trisha’s assistant, I was at the shelter with her that afternoon. And once that old bat took her sweater off like she did every single time she was here”—she takes a moment to scoff—“I hid it so when it came time to leave, it was out of sight out of mind. It was my idea to take it to her. Trisha was a bit more vindictive and wanted to donate it to one of the women looking for a handout. And once it was safely in the back of Trisha’s car, I knew she’d leave it there. It was me who told Nettie that she should get it. But what I didn’t count on was the fact Trisha would intercept her and try to get it herself. Leo was breaking up with her and she wanted to leave. I overhead him telling her how smothered she made him feel. Anyone would have wanted to get out of that conversation.”
That night comes back in snatches. “Both Trisha and Nettie had their hair up that evening.”
She nods. “Now you’re catching on. And they both wore red dresses. The lighting was terrible and my adrenaline had hit its zenith. I was finally going to take that witch off the planet for what she did to my family.”
“To your brother?” I nod, causally letting my backpack swing off my left shoulder.
I’m so close to Ethel, I can feel her.
“Yes”—she cries out in agony—“to my sweet Robby.” She tips her head back for a moment and lets out a howl of grief.
I land my backpack in my hand, my fingers on the zipper.
“Oh, Lottie, you don’t know what it feels like to lose someone you love. It guts you—it changes you right down to the core of who you are. I had to go through it three times, Lottie. First with my parents. But Robby—he shouldn’t have died. He wouldn’t have gone to prison if Nettie hadn’t been such a princess. My God, he felt the constant need to spoil her. All she wanted was expensive purses and shoes.”
I glance down at her heels. “You lost a shoe that night, didn’t you?” I say breathless as a white plume expels from my mouth. It’s so cold and dank, I’m shivering right to the bone.
She stills a moment as if in awe of me. “You really do notice everything, don’t you? Yes, I lost a shoe, but only for a minute. My heel caught in the concrete, but I kept running. I heard voices out in the parking lot, and I didn’t want anyone to see me. And as soon as the deputies arrived, and the melee picked up, I went back and retrieved it. I thought I was going to get caught that same night. And yet, it was today— and it wasn’t by the sheriff’s department at all. It was you. Some silly little baker sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.” She gives a long blink, her chest palpitating hard. “And now I’m going to have to kill again, Lottie. I’m sorry, but I have to do this. Whatever it is you need to say, you have three seconds. Speak your final words.”
The forest lights up with a burst of supernatural light and Gemma comes charging out from the right and straight for Jade.
Oh, thank God. Once Gemma knocks her over, I’ll pull Ethel out and shoot if I have to. I’ve killed before—and I’m not afraid to do it again.
But for whatever reason, Gemma doesn’t knock Jade down. In fact, Jade doesn’t even budge. Instead, Gemma goes right through Jade like the ghost she is.
“Oh dear!” Gemma canters back. “I’m afraid I don’t know how to move anything, Lottie. I’m a failure of a ghost, and soon you’ll be as dead as I am.”
I’d tell her to go find Carlotta, the only other supersensual I know, but I’m half-afraid Gemma might get distracted in the process. No offense, but her track record doesn’t bode well.
I spot a long evergreen branch under Jade’s left foot and hitch my head toward it to Gemma.
“I’m on it, Lottie! She’ll be airborne before you know it!”
Gemma tugs and bites and pushes, but the branch isn’t fazed by her ghostly shenanigans.
Jade squints over at me. “What do you keep looking at? I’m sorry, Lottie, but you’ve wasted your time. Get ready to meet your maker. And if you can, please tell Trisha I’m sorry. And tell Robby that I love him.”
The powerfully loud pop of the gun goes off like an explosion just as the woods light up as bright as noonday, and the next thing I know Jade Pope is on the ground, her gun more than five feet from her as she does her best to crawl over to it.
“Lottie!” a familiar deep voice calls out, and I look up to find the most dashing poltergeist of them all—the father of my child, my sweet prince, Noah. “Kick the gun away and run!”
I try to do just that, but Jade grabs me by the ankle and yanks me down, causing me to fall right over her.
“Lottie,” Noah roars. “Be careful—the baby!”
Jade wrestles me to the ground and wraps her hands around my neck. I do my best to pry her fingers off, but she’s got a vise grip over me. Her eyes are wild with despair.
Noah lets out a growl and lifts Jade right off my body. He hoists her into the air before she slips right through his ghostly fingers.
Gemma speeds over and miraculously breaks Jade’s fall b
y inadvertently offering her a piggyback ride.
Jade’s face grows white with shock once she realizes she’s floating through the air and she passes right out.
“Noah!” I jump to my feet and wrap my arms around him before he has the chance to disappear. “Oh, Noah, I need you. I love you so much. Please don’t leave me.” I land a smoldering kiss to his lips and I feel him there, kissing me right back.
He pulls away slowly.
“I miss you, too, Lottie. Every minute of every day. I’m sorry about leaving that night you met my mother, and I’m sorry about my mother. But I don’t have much control over anything. It seems when I get upset, I get evicted from the scene.”
Jade moans as she slowly comes to, but I choose to ignore her for now.
“That’s because it’s not good for you to be upset.” I close my eyes a moment. “Noah, I have news,” I say, shaking my head at him, tears in my eyes. “This baby I’m carrying—it’s not Everett’s. It’s yours.”
“What?” he says it breathless as he pulls back. His glowing green eyes look down toward my belly. “Mine?”
“Yes,” I pant it out with a laugh. “It’s ours. Everett and I aren’t engaged, and we didn’t buy a house. We’re buying the lodge up in Hollyhock—for you. Once you wake up, we can straighten the whole thing out.”
“Lottie, I don’t know what to say.” His eyes light up ten times brighter than before as he takes me in from head to toe. “You’re so beautiful inside and out, I want nothing more than to have a family with you.”
“It’s happening. The baby is already on its way.”
“It’s happening.” His dimples dig in, and then he begins to fade. “I’m sorry, Lottie. I think the news overwhelmed me. The last thing I ever want to do is leave you.” His voice is the last to fade, and just like that, he’s gone.
“Lottie!” Gemma begins to buck wildly. “Something is happening! Oh dear. I’m afraid I’ve gone too far.” Gemma’s ghostly frame begins to fade just as quickly as Noah did. “Take good care of that baby, Lottie Lemon! And good work catching the killer!”
Pumpkin Pie Parting Page 16
