He moans as he wolfs it down. “Lottie Lemon, I may never leave. Between the devil’s food and Carlotta’s nightcaps, earth is shaping up to be its own version of paradise.”
My lips part in horror. “Please tell me you’re not having nightcaps with Carlotta. I know for a fact she has a bona fide liquor cabinet in her bedroom.”
“That she does.” He belts out a wistful laugh, and it’s a disconcerting sight coming from this tough majestic beast.
“So, what’s she giving you?”
“Screwdrivers.” He nods. “Except on Wednesdays. Carlotta says she always has White Russians on Wednesdays.”
“Of course, she does. It makes perfect sense. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll be sure to put the OJ on lockdown.”
Rex lets out a sharp bark in response. “I say we put the perpetrator on lockdown. I need to find the killer, Lottie.” A menacing growl escapes him as he bears his fangs. “No more dawdling. No more baking delicious treats.” He lets out another ferocious bark before tipping his head to the side. “May I please have another?”
“Your wish is my command,” I say, tossing another cupcake his way just as I spot Keelie waving to me from the front. “Don’t worry, Rex. I plan on meeting up with the suspects sooner than later—as in today if I’m lucky. Stay tuned.”
He barks after me, “Judging by the gash on your face, you’re not very lucky.”
He’s not wrong. My mother is lucky no one required stitches.
I make my way up front and smile over at Keelie with her adorable baby bump sitting before her as if it wanted to steal all of the attention, and it’s doing just that.
“How’s the mama-to-be?” I ask, handing her a freshly iced devil’s food cupcake.
“Angry that I missed the freak show at your mother’s last night. I heard the walls were bleeding.”
Lily swoops over with her eyes set wide at the thought of idle gossip. “I heard when the lights came on everyone was naked and that the ghosts had their way with the women.”
I roll my eyes. “Neither of those things is true.”
Lily smirks. “You know what is true? Your mother’s next meet and greet with the dead has already sold out.”
“Next?” I can hardly get my thoughts formed when in strides my mother with Carlotta by her side. “Just the woman I want to see,” I say, stepping around the counter. “Mother, are you insane selling tickets to another one of those bloodbaths?” Not that there will be another bloodbath. I’ve threatened those ghosts within an inch of their afterlives. They’ll put away the claws if they know what side their earthly standing is buttered on.
Mom blinks a tight smile. She’s head to toe in purple, including a purple parka to keep up with the relentless arctic blast outside those doors.
Carlotta steps over with her dowdy white puffer coat and her adorable, yet alarmingly familiar, bright green boots.
“Carlotta?” I inch back to take a better look at her. “Are you wearing my clothes?”
“What else am I supposed to find while rifling through your closet?”
I close my eyes for a minute. Bear had better put a move on fixing up Nell’s old house. Living with Carlotta has been nothing but a fiasco, what with her popping into my bedroom while Noah and I are doing things that grown adults are prone to do in the nude, not to mention bringing her boyfriends by, and getting shnockered with the ghostly guests. And don’t get me started on her midnight snack runs in the buff. I’ve seen more of Carlotta’s body than I care to know exists.
Nell, Carlotta’s mother and my grandmother, left me her old house along with every other house. Carlotta was living at Nell’s until she singlehandedly ruined the plumbing, and that’s how she ended up at my place.
“Never mind that.” Mom steps in front of her. “Not only did I sell out tonight’s séance, but I hiked the ticket prices up to four hundred dollars apiece.”
“What?” Keelie, Lily, and I sing in a choir.
“Mother.” It takes everything in me not to shake her. “People were hurt. And what if the ghosts decide not to show?” Like I’m positive they won’t. “You’re going to have to issue a refund to each of those people.”
“Oh no, I won’t.” She wags a finger at me. “Wiley made sure I put an all sales are final clause in the ticket contract. Nobody is robbing me blind tonight.”
“No,” I say. “You’ll be the one robbing people blind.”
She waves me off before asking Lily for coffee and a donut.
Carlotta pulls me to the side, and Rex trots on over with us.
Carlotta offers him a quick pat to the back. “Just a heads-up. I’ll need to have the place to myself tonight.”
“What place?” I ask, only mildly perturbed.
“Our place. The house. I’m having a few friends over, and I don’t need you there bringing the energy down. You’re a prude, a negative Nelly, and a know-it-all.”
I suck in a quick breath. “I’m none of those things. Carlotta, you are not having a party at my house tonight—or any night for that matter. I’m terrified to think what might happen.”
Noah strides our way with his dimples digging in deep, but his demeanor is very much serious. As it should be, considering our present company. Carlotta has given us both more than a few things to be concerned with over the last solid year.
“What’s going on, Noah?” I ask, picking up his hand in the event Rex would like to add anything to the conversation.
“Forensics just sent in the toxicology report. It turns out, Tim was poisoned with enough caffeine equivalent to three thousand cans of soda.”
Carlotta slaps her hands together. “Lot, if I were you, I’d throw every last ounce of that devil’s food cake into the back of my car. Not everyone can handle its chocolaty goodness like I can.”
I make a face at her. “I don’t think it came from my cake.”
Carlotta gives a wistful shake of the head. “I’m just saying he was wearing it and eating it when he bit the big one. The dots aren’t all that hard to connect.”
Rex gives a light bark. “Give it to me. I know just how to dispose of it.” His tongue rides over his mouth. “Carlotta, I do think the White Russians would go better with chocolate.”
“You bet, big guy.” She pretends to shoot him with her fingers. “And I got some more of that ice cream you like, too.”
“Maple bacon freeze?” Rex howls each word out.
“That’s the one.”
Noah shrugs. “I’ve seen it in the freezer. I won’t lie, I took a bite and it’s delicious.”
Carlotta squawks, “Hear that, Lot? I’ve got good taste. Let me have the house to myself.”
I look to Noah, choosing to momentarily ignore Carlotta’s deranged plea. “How do they think that much caffeine got into his system—and yours and your friends?”
“I don’t know. I think our first guess might still be right. I think it’s the coffee. But then, only a small population had any symptoms. We were able to document thirty people—with the most lethal dose going to Tim.”
Rex growls, “Poisoned. I’ll be sure to take my time with the killer once I sink my teeth into them. Nobody poisons my Tim and gets away with it.”
Carlotta takes a breath. “That must have been some coffee. Although, Harry and I each had a cup and didn’t feel a thing.” She squints out at the window a moment. “Come to think of it, we did pull an all-nighter. But that’s nothing new with me. I’ve been keeping vampire hours for years now.”
“I had the coffee, too,” I say. “And didn’t notice anything out of the usual. How could the killer have adulterated just a portion of it?”
Noah looks equally perplexed. “We checked both the decaf and the regular coffee left at the event and found nothing wrong with either. All I can figure is that someone was pouring it directly into their cups. And that’s what we’ve thought to begin with. It’s hard to find, but you can get straight caffeine in liquid or powder form. Although, it’s important to note the FDA ban
ned the powder not that long ago.”
“Both sound terrifying.” My phone buzzes in the pocket of my apron and I fish it out. “It’s a text from Everett,” I say, looking to Noah. “He wants to know if I’d like to join him for dinner and drinks at some pub called O’Malley’s tonight at seven. Want to join us?”
Noah rocks back on his heels. “As much as I’d like to say no, tell him we’ll be there. I don’t think I could stop you.”
“From having dinner with Everett?”
He shakes his head. “From talking to the prime suspect. Leslie Troy is a waitress at O’Malley’s.”
I bat my lashes up at him. “You’re right about that one, Detective.”
I text Everett and let him know we’ll see him there at seven.
Rex lets out a sharp bark. “And I’ll be there with hell’s bells on. See you at O’Malley’s,” he thunders the words out as he runs right out the bakery window and leaves a spray of stars in his wake.
Carlotta leans in. “I guess that means you won’t be home. Sounds like a good time for me to have a nominal number of friends over. I promise we won’t blow the roof off. We’re old. It’s cold. And there are far too many medications between us all that could interfere with alcohol. I promise we’ll behave ourselves.”
I glance to Noah before shrugging her way. “A nominal number of friends.”
She nods. “What could possibly go wrong?”
With Carlotta?
Everything.
Leslie Troy had better make this visit worth my while.
I might just have a roofless house because of it.
Chapter 14
O’Malley’s Irish Pub is located right in the heart of Leeds, a seedy town that sits just below Honey Hollow. Nothing good ever happens in Leeds, but I’m hoping tonight something very good indeed will happen—like getting to the bottom of who poisoned Tim Troy.
Everett meets Noah and me in front of the brick covered building with a giant neon four-leaf clover that glows in the night. The streets are covered with snow, and the glistening powder is illuminated by the sign up above.
Inside the pub it’s noisy with the sound of a live band, voices chattering, laughter abounding, and the scent of French fries and corned beef hash fills our senses.
It turns out, Leslie Troy has been a waitress here for close to fifteen years. Noah said she volunteered the information when he interviewed her after Tim’s death.
Everett said he called her this afternoon to express his condolences and she invited him to swing by anytime, and here we are—me, my two favorite men, and the ghost of a rather dapper looking Doberman Pinscher. I’ll admit, that spiked metal collar makes him look far fiercer than he really is. In truth, Rex is loyal, sweet, devoted, and loving—he’s basically the perfect beast.
Rex sniffs the air. “I like it here. I’ll head to the kitchen to do a little sampling. I’ll find you in a few minutes.”
I watch as he runs toward the back.
“How do you like that?” I ask. “Rex took off to the kitchen to get something to eat.”
Everett pats his stomach. “I’m about to do the same. It smells amazing here.”
Noah leans in. “Hear that, Lot? He’d ditch you for food.”
Everett’s cheek flinches. “If I remember correctly, I invited her to dinner. You tagged along like the third wheel you are.”
A perky blonde bops up in a tight green T-shirt that reads O’Malley’s where the beer and the women are cheap. She’s got a short plaid skirt on that hardly covers her rear, and I note that all the waitresses behind her are wearing the same barely-there uniform. The woman standing before us is Leslie Troy. I recognize her from the crime symposium.
Her mouth rounds out once she takes a better look at Everett and Noah.
“Well, as I live and breathe. I didn’t think either of you would take me up on my invitation, and here you are on the very same night!” She pulls them both in for a quick embrace. “Mmm, you smell so very good. Which of you is single?” She bites down over her lip as if she were working up her appetite.
Everett wraps an arm around me. “I’m with her.”
Noah does the same. “I’m actually with her. He’s steeped in delusions.”
Leslie barks out a laugh. “Well, we’ve got a beer that will cure whatever ails you. Follow me, I’ll make sure you get the best seat in the house.”
She leads us into the dimly lit establishment. The wooden floors and tables are both stained dark and glossy, the chairs are covered in green vinyl, and the walls are painted a lush shade of emerald as well.
The bar is long and expansive, almost running the length of the establishment, and behind it is a hutch with intricate woodworking that looks as if it came from another era entirely.
A large sign sits in the middle of the oversized hutch that reads God invented beer to keep the Irish from ruling the world.
And there are people here. A thicket of bodies lines the bar, lines every free seat and booth. There is even a smattering of people dancing in front of the live band crooning away in the corner.
But the most interesting thing I see, yet not surprising, is every woman in this place turning to get a look at Everett and Noah.
I’ll admit, Everett is a stunner in his suit, his black hair slicked back, those blue eyes siren out like a calling card. And then there’s Noah. His dark hair with red highlights, his evergreen eyes, and deep, dimpled grin—why, they’re both Irish delights when you get down to it. No wonder half these women look as if they’re ready to toss a burlap sack over them and pitch them into the trunk of their cars. They look hungry for an Irish dinner, all right, and I think a Baxter and a Fox just popped onto the menu.
Speaking of which—I glance to Everett and Noah—my own proverbial stomach is beginning to rumble.
Leslie seats us at a square table close to the bar and far enough away from the band so we won’t suffer any real hearing loss, and already I’m thankful for her generosity.
She hands us each a laminated menu. “Anyone interested in a traditional Irish meal? Six pints and a potato?”
We share a warm laugh.
Everett quickly peruses the menu. “Leslie, what do you suggest as an appetizer?”
She lands a long green fingernail over the top of his menu. “The pretzel ring and beer cheese dip is to die for. It was Tim’s favorite.” Her affect sobers for a moment.
My heart wrenches because I can sense her agony. “I’m sorry for your loss, Leslie.”
She sniffs into the back of her hand. “Thank you. People think just because we were divorced that I’m indifferent. But I’m grieving. I still very much loved him. That’s the thing with Tim and me, we never fell out of love.”
I tip my head her way. “Can I ask why you divorced then?” That conversation at the symposium about her cheating on poor Tim with Perry Rosin comes back to me and I wince with regret.
Leslie closes her eyes a moment. “Tim and I—we had our ups and downs. I had a wandering eye.” She leans in. “Don’t hate me. My Irish blood made me do it.” She gives a little giggle. “I can’t help it. I like men. But Tim, well, he wasn’t so keen on sharing. It’s no secret that I was with his best friend. Perry and Tim were like brothers. Perry was always over, late nights, early mornings. Heck, he went fishing with us just about every weekend. Half the time we used to joke that I was married to the two men. Then one night I made a mistake. And I kept repeating it until finally Tim caught on. He didn’t want anything to do with Perry after that.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I don’t know what to say.”
She waves me off. “You can’t say anything that anyone hasn’t already said. I’ve been judged and crucified in the court of public opinion. But I’m a big girl. I can take it.”
She sniffs as she tucks the pen back behind her ear. “I’ll be right back with your appetizer. If you need any help with the dinner menu, let me know.”
She takes off and I groan in her wake. “I feel like I p
ut my foot in my mouth making her rehash all of that.”
Everett shakes his head. “Don’t worry. With Leslie, what you see is what you get. She’s a good person.”
Noah nods in agreement. “I remember when that whole thing with Tim and Perry went down. I had just landed back in Vermont. Tim was in bad shape. We hung out for the next few months. Let’s just say that he had an odd way of comforting himself in the wake of their divorce.”
Everett hitches his brows. “Women?”
“One woman,” Noah corrects as he glances to the bar. “That woman. Tim kept sleeping with Leslie.”
“What?” My mouth widens with amusement. “That’s a new one.”
Noah shrugs. “They couldn’t get enough of one another. Apparently, he thought he was giving Perry a little taste of his own medicine.”
“How did Perry take it?” I ask. “Do you know?”
“I know.” Everett takes a breath. “He took out a restraining order against Tim. He said the guy was threatening him. A part of me wondered if it was retaliation. I knew about Tim and Leslie. Tim made sure everyone knew. He wanted Perry’s ego as bruised as his own.”
Noah clicks his tongue. “It’s true. He once told me he thought of killing the guy. It was in confidence, and after several beers. Neither of us ever mentioned it again. And as you can see, Tim never got around to making good on his threat.”
“Thank God for that.”
Leslie comes back with a large round platter that looks as if it’s lined with piping hot pretzel buns, and in the center of the dish is a pool of cheesy goodness.
“This looks amazing,” I say, taking in the scent of the fresh baked buns. There really is no better scent than something baked coming right out of the oven. “I’m addicted to cheese, so I might have just found my new favorite dish.”
Leslie bubbles with a laugh. “Lucky for you, it tastes even better than it looks. Are you ready to order your meals? I can get them in for you while you’re working on this.”
We quickly do just that. Everett orders the shepherd’s pie, I ask for the corned beef hash and eggs, and Noah decides on beef stew with cheddar herb dumplings.
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