Mom gives me a hug as we lock up the bakery. “Don’t worry about a thing tomorrow. Both your sister and I will be there to cheer you on. Rest assured, you’re going to win.”
“I hope so,” I say, lacking the proper enthusiasm. It’s not the win I want. It’s the killer—and Noah’s killer lips back on mine. Not necessarily in that order.
“You will. There is just so much to look forward to!” She gifts me a kiss before trotting off to her car. I stand there under the stars, the glacial wind nipping at my neck.
There certainly is a lot to look forward to.
But not for Collette.
In fact, she may not even get to look forward to justice.
Chapter 17
The Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie Bake-off is held in the state-of-the-art kitchen in the heart of Ashford Culinary School. There are thirty participants this year and a panel of nine judges, all of whom I’m sure will be hard to impress.
“Thirty participants,” I lament to Keelie as we unload all of the ingredients onto my newly assigned workstation. The inside of the culinary school kitchen looks every bit like a studio, and good thing, considering the fact this event is televised on a local cable channel.
I spot Crystal Mandrake looking every bit the superstar with her chef’s hat and army of sous chefs. Her blonde hair is pulled back into a hairnet, and her cinnamon-colored skin glows against the hot pink lipstick she’s got on. Her apron is encrusted with rhinestones with the word winner emblazoned across the front.
Keelie leans in. “At least she’s subtle. Don’t worry. You’ve got this, Lottie.”
My mother kept announcing spontaneously, my daughter, the star, over and over again on the ride to Ashford. She and Lainey commuted with Keelie and me, and now, looking at how serious my competition looks, I’m regretting not driving all by my lonesome in the event I want to cry all the way home. I usually do my best not to cry in front of people if I know it’s going to make them uncomfortable, and since I’ve never run into a situation where it wouldn’t, I usually do all of my boo-hooing in a closet somewhere, or in bed with Pancake. Although, I haven’t boo-hooed once since that furry handsome little man came into my life. I wish I could have had Pancake at every age and stage of my existence.
“Relax,” Keelie whispers. “You’re going to do just fine.”
“At least I have a great cheering section.” I glance up where Lainey and my mother are currently holding up a sign that reads Team Lemon.
“You sure do. And it’s going to be expanding in about an hour or so. I’ve taken the liberty of inviting a couple of strong, handsome men to watch you drive home in that new ride of yours.”
“You did?” I moan at the thought of seeing Noah and Everett here. “It’s going to make me nervous. And believe me, I’m plenty of that all on my own.”
“Nervous? About what? Lottie, this is your element. Pie is a part of your cellular makeup. And have you tasted that crust you make? People would gladly have that as their last meal.”
“That’s grisly.”
“That’s true.”
We finish up all the prep, and soon enough I make the crust and the fillings. I bake the crust shell just enough to give it some firmness before pouring in my signature recipe. It looks so smooth and creamy and smells as if the entire fall season were melted into this one delicious pie filling, I’m half-tempted to sit down and eat it with a spoon.
Hey? Maybe I could bottle this and sell it as comfort food? Although, on second thought, you can catch all sorts of things from uncooked eggs, and Lord knows I don’t need another poisoning on my hands.
Just as I’m finishing up and setting my two pies into the oven, all contestants are called to the front to meet the judging panel. It’s a blind reveal in the event we try to cater to the judges and their personal preferences. It’s not uncommon for judges to switch out from year to year just to keep those who participate in these kinds of contests on their toes.
The emcee of the evening is a tall, stalky man who looks as if he’s a pie lover indeed named Jeremy Nicolson, a star chef himself and who also happens to teach at the culinary school.
Jeremy introduces the judges down the line, along with their interests, and before he gets to the end, I do a double take at the woman with the tight bun, the excess skin on her face pulled back because of it, and those twisted tight bright orange lips. It’s none other than Patricia Rutherford. I’m both relieved and enlivened by the sight of her. And here I thought today would be a waste of the investigation. But as soon as we’re excused, I’m going to say a quick hello. Since the judges will sample the pies blindly, there are no restrictions on mingling with them.
“And on the end”—Jeremy Nicholson gurgles out a drum roll—“we have the ever so lovely Mrs. Patricia Rutherford whose interests include baking, knitting, reading eighteenth century poetry, and horticulture.”
I glance my mother’s way. Patricia would fit right in with her Horticulture Hotties. I’m about to laugh the idea off when suddenly my lungs seize, my muscles freeze solid, and I have very bad case of tunnel vision. All I see is Patricia Rutherford hunched over a patio table somewhere grinding up dehydrated wolf’s bane into a fine powder.
“It can’t be,” I whisper as bodies begin to mill about freely once again.
Someone from the stands calls my name, but I don’t turn around. I’m one hundred percent focused on the task at hand.
Patricia gives a trace smile as I step in front of her.
“I remember you.” I try to sound friendly, sound excited over this, but there’s not a cheery note in my tone. In fact, I sound frightened, highly disappointed that this poor woman would be driven so far.
“Excuse me?” She takes a careful step back, her lips trembling with the question.
“I remember you.” I shake my head at her in disbelief as I follow her to a dark corridor.
“I remember you, too, Ms. Lemon. You certainly know your way around a kitchen.” She looks past me. “Now, if you’ll ex—”
“And you know your way around a garden, don’t you?”
She stops dead in her tracks, and her eyes widen a notch as she takes me in and inspects me from head to toe as if surveying what I might know.
She tries to take a step to my right and I block her at the pass, but instead of bulleting past me, she turns around and bolts down the corridor. A door opens and closes in the distance, and I’m left with silence.
“Patricia, wait!” I call out as I take off after her. The hall is painted black, and the doors lining the hall are painted the same dismal color. I quickly open and close a few of them, but they lead to a broom closet and a pantry. There are at least a dozen doors between me and the end of the hall. I pat my pockets down for my phone to call Noah, but I don’t have it on me. It’s buried in my purse, in Lainey’s possession for safekeeping.
The figure of a man appears at the end of the hall, and I breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of him.
“Everett!” I run over and throw my arms out for a quick embrace, falling right through him.
It’s not Everett. That would explain the fact he’s illuminated from the inside.
“Edward! Do you know where she went?”
He nods.
“Take me to her!” I hiss.
He turns to his left and touches his ghostly hand to the nearest door. I don’t waste any time. I simply speed right in. I take a few stumbling steps inside, then proceed with caution as I take a look around. There’s nothing but a dull blue glow of natural light streaming in from the tiny windows up near the ceiling. It’s an oversized kitchen, a classroom I’m assuming, and in the middle of the gargantuan space stands an oversized island made of stainless steel.
“Patricia?” I call out but am met with silence. I glance back to Edward, but he’s vanished. A lot of good that does me.
A tower of boxes lines my left. And in front of me, suspended on the wall, is a row of cutlery secured to a magnetic strip. I speed over to arm myself in t
he event I need it.
“Stop right there.” Patricia emerges from behind the boxes, the steely blade of a chef’s knife secured tightly in her hand.
“You did it,” I say breathless as I look to this crazed version of the demure woman I’ve come to know her as. “You killed Collette.” The words stream from me numb with shock. “You were the last person I suspected. But you did it because your husband was having an affair. You let the world think you didn’t care and you did. You very much cared indeed.”
A ripple of laughter emits from her, something dark and maniacal. “You stupid little thing. I didn’t care about that silly girl, just like I don’t care about you.”
“Of course, you didn’t care about Collette. That’s why she’s no longer with us,” I hiss, my adrenaline spiking to unsafe levels.
“I didn’t kill her, you ridiculous idiot! None of it was intended for that girl. What a waste of all my precious time. Had I known he was asking for her, I wouldn’t have given it to him.”
My mouth falls open. “Oh my God.” It feels as if the floor is slipping out from underneath me. “You were trying to kill your husband.”
Those orange lips of hers flicker a short-lived smile. “Now you’re catching on.”
“But he wasn’t the one with the headache. He passed the pills along to Collette. Only she didn’t do well with pills, so she had Everett dump them into her drink. Wolf’s bane.”
She flinches when I say the name as if I struck her.
“You grew it. You dumped the original contents of those capsules and filled them with the wickedness you grew for this very purpose.” I take a step in close, and she lifts the knife another notch. “Why not just divorce him? Isn’t that what you wanted? To get away from him?”
“After thirty years of marriage? So some whore could get half of what we’ve taken a lifetime to build? I’m the only one who will reap any benefits when Bradford dies, and he will die.” Her eyes widen hypnotically as they remain pinned on mine. “As will you.” She snatches me by the wrist with her free hand and pulls me close with a violent yank. “Say your prayers. You will soon meet your maker.”
I try to pull my arm out of her hold, but she’s remarkably strong. I reach up, pulling her head down hard by the hair as Patricia cuts the air next to me with the knife. The blade hooks into my sweater at the waist, and she struggles to free it for a moment.
“Don’t do this!” I shout, hoping someone other than Patricia will hear.
“You gave me no choice!” She slashes the knife over my stomach and I jump back, narrowly avoiding the blade. I lift my arm up hard and break her hold over me, my knee reflexively rising up with it in an effort to protect myself.
“You won’t get away with this. You have to know that. Hurting me will only make things worse.” I manage to grab ahold of her wrist just below the handle of the knife and we wrestle for it, our limbs locked above our heads in a struggle for power, for survival.
Patricia lunges at me with her body and knocks me off balance. Her arm falls hard over me as the knife slices through the sleeve of my sweater. Without hesitating, I knock her to the wall, pinning her to it with my body, and I pluck the knife right out of her hand.
The sound of footsteps thundering in this direction comes closer by the second.
“Lottie!” A familiar deep voice resonates from the other side of the wall.
“In here!” I cry as I glance to the door, and Noah bursts in with his hand across his waist.
In an instant the roles are reversed, and my back is pressed to the wall, the blade of the knife to my neck as Patricia Rutherford holds me down as efficiently as a wrestler. A move I’m sure my sister, Meg, would approve of.
“Freeze!” Noah holds the barrel of a gun our way, his legs parted, straddling the weapon he’s holding erect before him.
The tip of the blade pinches my flesh. That horrifying barrel only seems to grow larger. Never in my life have I been so afraid. Never in my life have I been so utterly helpless. Can’t breathe. Can’t feel a thing. The ground feels as if it’s rising to meet me.
My knees give out, and Patricia jerks the knife away. I roll my body into hers and she topples to the floor, hitting her head with a hard thud. Without putting too much thought into it, I flick the knife out of her hand and send it spinning across the room.
“Lottie!” I look up to find Everett bursting in behind Noah, along with a couple of deputies with their weapons drawn.
“It’s safe,” Noah barks, and every weapon in that room slowly disappears.
A flock of deputies are on Patricia at once. Noah pulls me to the side and wraps his arms around my body in a hard embrace, his lips running a line of kisses up and down my cheek. He pulls me back and inspects me, his eyes pausing on the gash in my sweater.
“You’re hurt.”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Lemon.” Everett steps in close, and Noah loosens his hold on me. “What the hell happened?”
“She confessed,” I say it loud enough so the arresting deputies can hear. “She was trying to kill her husband, and he gave the pills to Collette. The poison was never meant for her. It was meant for Brad Rutherford. Everett, you’re clear. You can get back on that bench come Monday,” I pant through a smile. “I saw him again. He helped me.” My chest heaves as I breathe the words below a whisper.
Noah gives my arms a gentle squeeze. “Who did you see? Was it Mr. Rutherford?”
My mouth opens as I look to Everett and shake my head. “I guess, it might have been. I don’t really know who it was.”
Everett pulls me into a partial embrace. “I’m glad you’re safe, Lemon. I owe you.” He takes off, and Noah reels me back in.
“Lottie.” Noah inches his head back so he can get a better look at me. “I’m sorry we had a disagreement.”
I shake my head and press a finger to his lips. “I’m sorry. I know that you want to keep me safe.”
His eyes close for a moment, and it feels as if he takes the light from the room. “I was terrified when I found you with a knife to your neck. I’m glad you’re safe, but if I didn’t get here in time…” His Adam’s apple rises and falls.
“I’m sorry I put you through that. But I’m safe and Collette’s killer has been caught and is officially off the streets.”
“You did it.” A sly smile creeps up his cheek.
“But I’m sure you and Ivy were about to close in.” I can’t help but tease him.
A dull laugh rattles through his chest. “Actually, we just closed in on the perpetrator who vandalized Everett’s place.” He averts his eyes as if his find embarrassed him on some level.
“Don’t keep me in suspense. Who was it?” My heart starts to drum once again, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the perpetrator—it’s one hundred percent this gorgeous man who’s holding me in his arms.
“Steven Jenner.”
“Her brother!”
“The funeral left him feeling helpless, and he confessed to his mother. She called this morning and apologized on his behalf. There will be a fine, and it’s up to Everett if he wants to file charges.”
“I doubt he will. He’s pretty forgiving.”
“Are you?” He winces.
“Always. The only thing I won’t forgive is if you don’t kiss me right this second.”
A lascivious grin blooms on his lips. Noah takes my mouth as if he owned it, hot and reckless, and he does very much own it. He can have his way with my mouth, and in less than a month, he can have his way with the rest of me, too.
We make our way back to the competition just in time to see Crystal Mandrake holding the keys to her brand new cargo van, and I’m okay with it.
She can have the van.
Everett can take his rightful place on the bench, and I can have the first good night’s sleep in a very long time.
Chapter 18
There are so many things that I am thankful for, my family, my friends, the special man who stole my heart. B
ut this time of year has me thankful for even the smallest of pleasures, a smile from a stranger, seeing the joy a cookie can bring a child, a cozy fire, a slice of pie, a mug filled with pumpkin spice everything. I am so very thankful for the town I call home, for the people who reside in it, and the fact that now we can all sleep a little bit sounder at night.
If I’ve found anything to be true, it’s that love conquers all. Noah and I leaped over this latest hurdle. We are still trying to find our parameters, file down the rough edges of who we are. But we’re okay with that as long as we are on our way to becoming who we’re destined to be—together.
After a breakneck pie-baking marathon, after all three hundred sixty-five pies were picked up—more or less on time—I closed down the shop last night and spent my first full day off from the bakery cooking up a storm in my new kitchen. Noah and Everett helped with the turkey, stuffing, and gravy. My mother brought the mashed potatoes and candied yams, and Lainey brought the green bean casserole—sans Tanner who didn’t bother to show even after he said he would. It’s probably for the best. The less Lainey sees of him the better. And, of course, I baked a couple of pies—two pumpkin, two pecan.
Noah moans through a bite. “Best pie I’ve had in my life.”
Everett lifts his fork as he savors a bite. “I agree.” He looks my way. “You should really consider opening a bakery.”
The room breaks out into a warm laugh.
Keelie and Nell stopped by for dessert, and Nell laughs the longest at Everett’s little quip.
Nell lifts her cup of cider, and the rest of us follow suit.
“To the formidable Lottie Lemon.” Her face breaks out into a series of comma-like wrinkles as she smiles with all she’s got. “You are a wonder, and you have been ever since the beginning. Truly the one who steals your heart will have a treasure to behold, as we all do.” She gives Noah a hint of a wink.
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