“Forest and I are having our own little party after Nell’s shindig.” She lifts a sultry shoulder my way and laughs.
“Private party for two?” Mom offers a knowing smile. She’s been more than giddy that Forest and Lainey have gotten back together as well. In fact, I’m surprised she’s not pushing for a wedding. “You do realize that’s how grandchildren are created.” Or that.
Lainey shrugs it off. “At least she’s subtle tonight. How about you, Lottie? Got any buns in the oven?”
“Why yes, I do,” I answer that way just to watch my mother’s mouth round out with hope. “I’m being literal,” I say, pulling out a tray of dinner rolls and placing them onto the cooling rack. “I think we’ll have more than enough tonight. The Honey Pot is going all out, and I have all the sweet treats covered.”
Lainey tries to sneak a dinner roll but recoils once the heat nips her fingertips. “So, do you think the murderer will be here tonight? Forest says it’s not unusual for suspects to congregate in large gatherings.”
“I don’t know. I doubt any of the Hollister kids will be here tonight. Valerie, Eve’s housekeeper, for sure has far more interesting prospects this evening. Maybe Connie will show? I think she knows Nell.”
“Of course, she did.” Mom pulls up another platter to put the finishing touches on it. “Everyone knows Nell.”
Lainey looks to me as she snatches up a chocolate pretzel cookie. “Who’s Connie again?”
Mom swats Lainey’s hand as she goes for another. “Connie Chutney, she volunteers down at the hospital. I’ve decided to go with her husband as far as the conservatory goes. It looks like Bill the Builder, construction done right for a tight budget wins the bid.”
“Bill the builder?” Lainey winces. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“I’ll tell you.” Forest Donovan strides our way looking deathly dapper in a dark suit and elegant blue tie. He’s clean-shaven, and his hair is slicked back looking much darker than it usually is. Forest is so handsome that if that firefighting gig doesn’t work out, he can always get a job as a male model.
He wraps his arms around my sister and lands a tender kiss to her temple. “Bill’s a notorious bootlegger. He doesn’t get half the permits he needs and ends up costing the homeowners twice as much to redo the work. That is, if they’re caught. Most people know what they’re getting into with him.”
My mouth falls open as I look to my sweet, innocent mother—Brad Rutherford and the Jungle Room come to mind. Okay, so she’s not that innocent, but nonetheless.
“Mother, I forbid you to use him. You’re going with Bear. At least we know he’s reputable.”
The bell chimes, and I head to the front. “Sorry. We’re closed,” I call out, but it’s not your run-of-the-mill customers standing there tall, dark, and dapper. It’s Noah and Everett looking every bit dressed to kill.
A wicked grin escapes me, and just like that, the party begins.
* * *
The Honey Pot Diner is brimming with bodies, each anxious to start in on the delicious dinner set before them. Becca, Keelie, Naomi, William—who looks like a masculine version of his sister Becca—and his three girls sit up front at the special table set up for the birthday princess. Nell looks ravishing in her cobalt blue gown, a diamond broach sparkles over her heart, and she’s been ear-to-ear smiles all night long. When she walked in, I simply wished her a happy birthday and whispered I love you into her ear. I didn’t have the audacity to shake her down for details concerning my supersensual status. Although, I have a feeling if I mentioned it to Noah, he would take that word in a whole new direction—I’d make sure of it.
The crowd glitters under the duress of twinkle lights strung over each and every branch up above and leading right to the trunk of that resin tree planted in the middle of the Honey Pot Diner. This place has always had a magical appeal, and this night is no different.
Becca lifts her glass, as do the rest of us. I’m seated at a small table with both Noah and Everett, my two invited guests. And for the most part, they seem to be civil to one another. Noah looks amazing in a dark charcoal suit with the faintest of pinstripes. And I cannot wait to get him back to my place so I can rake that dress shirt off the way I love to do. Everett, of course, is living up to his barista-gifted moniker, and, suffice it to say, every woman with functioning ovaries has been sneaking glances in the direction of our table. I can’t help but feel like the luckiest girl in the room.
Becca clears her throat into the mic that Naomi handed her. “My mother and I just want to thank every one of you for coming out tonight. I knew it would be a big crowd, but this is fantastic. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my mother’s day so special. Mom, would you like to say a word to your guests?”
Nell waves her off. “Dinner is getting cold! I’ll chew their ears off after we eat.”
The room breaks out with warm laughter as a smattering of conversations explode throughout the room.
“Think about it,” I say to Noah and Everett as we continue the conversation we were having before our food arrived. “Valerie Vernon has every right to be bitter, ashamed at what she could have easily blamed Eve for. If Eve paid her more, then she wouldn’t have to entertain clients in her free time.” I say clients with air quotes.
Everett leans in. “Are you telling me one of the lawyers at my courthouse spends her nights breaking the law?” The muscles in his jaw tense. Everett looks ten times comelier when he’s angry, and about three different women sigh in his direction.
“Technically, she doesn’t.” A chuckle gets buried in my chest. “Valerie painted the Elite Entourage as a dating app. She more or less said that what they do after dark is their business.”
Noah cuts into his steak and gives a wistful shake of the head. “Elite Entourage? Sounds like a club in Leeds.”
Everett points his fork in my direction. “Do you remember how I like my steak, Lemon? Noah thinks I’m winning this bet.”
Noah glowers at him. “What bet?”
Everett’s brows hike. “The one in which my fiancée cooks me a steak dinner.”
I wave the ornery judge off. “Everett thinks the masterminds of this dating ring are in Leeds, and if they are—I have to cook him dinner.”
Noah groans, “Ten bucks says he’ll win.”
A choking sound gets locked in my throat. “Are you betting against me?”
Noah’s dimples depress. “Sorry. I officially take my wager off the table.” He frowns at Everett. “I’ll buy the steaks. And I’ll make sure mine is bigger than yours.” An easy grin glides over his face. “Besides, Lottie is right. A date that ends in a compromising position at the end of the night isn’t a crime so long as the consent is mutual and no cash is exchanged for the coital transaction.”
“So, it’s perfectly on the up-and-up to hire a date for the night?”
Noah shrugs. “I don’t see why not, but they’re walking a very thin line.”
“Wonderful.” Everett gulps down his water as if trying to wash away this entire conversation.
“Anyway, they’re making loads of money, and I was thinking—”
“No,” the two of them flatline in unison, and I glower at them.
“I was going to say, I think this could be connected to some dark overlord controlling all these women.” I nudge Noah’s knee with my own. “It’s obviously a prostitution ring. I think Ivy should go undercover. Permanently.”
Noah’s dimples dig in, and his lids hang precariously low. “Has anyone ever told you how adorable you are when you’re jealous?”
Everett leans in. “I wouldn’t let you feel like number two.”
“She’s not number two.” Noah shoots him a scathing look. “I happen to work with Detective Fairbanks, and there’s simply not a lot I can do about that.”
“Hmm.” Everett digs his fork into that glibbery mass of beef on his plate. “I’d put in for a transfer just to make you feel better, Lemon.”
I hold m
y hands between them. “Nobody has to make me feel better. I’ll get over it. One day. Hopefully.” A woman’s high-pitched laughter garners my attention. “Ooh, look, that’s Connie Chutney. The only suspect that’s here tonight.” I can’t help but frown at her husband. “My mother came this close to hiring her husband to do the addition to the B&B, but Forest let us know he’s a notorious bootlegger.”
Noah coughs as he swallows his food. “Bill Chutney?” He looks that way before taking down half his wine. “A bootlegger, huh?” He inspects the man with his eyes. “He worked for Eve.”
“And she was miserable the entire time.”
Noah moans as he sits back in his seat. He goes into full-on detective mode, and I won’t lie—he is hotter than a grease fire.
“You don’t think he did it, do you?” I laugh the idea off. “Valerie and each of the Hollister kids had far more motive.”
Everett glances that way while cutting into the last bit of his steak. “Maybe he has a motive. You never know. I’ve seen people kill for flimsier reasons than an argument over a remodel. Usually when that goes south, both parties are hotheaded.”
Noah and I stare one another down a good long while before he nods. “I’ll look into it.”
“You do that.” I offer a sweet smile. “In the meantime”—I say as the staff begins to clear away the dinner dishes—“I’ll go get the cake ready for its seven-layer debut.”
I head back to the kitchen and put on the finishing touches, heaping a few extra berries over the top until they’re flowing right into the custard.
The beauty of my famous, or now infamous seven-layer cake is that it’s virtually unfrosted, just seven layers of cake, a quick crumb coat, and layer after layer of rich buttery Bavarian cream that is, well, to die for.
Keelie helps me wheel the seven-layer stunner out into the Honey Pot on a rolling cart, and just as we enter the bustling room, she lights two candles, a sparkly pink nine and a matching three. Honestly, this cake couldn’t have tolerated much more wattage than that, and I don’t think Nell’s lungs could have either.
The twinkle lights above dim to nearly nothing as we wheel the cake over to Nell, and the crowd begins to sing “Happy Birthday” at top volume.
No sooner does the catchy tune come to an end than Nell blows out the candles, and the room explodes with a raucous celebratory cheer. The twinkle lights come up again, and I bend over and offer up Nell a kiss on the cheek.
“Happy birthday, Nell. I love you.”
“Oh my dear, sweet Lottie.” She pulls me in by the hand, her watery eyes never leaving mine. “You have always held a special place in my heart.”
“And you mine. Go ahead and enjoy the party. Maybe before it’s over you and I can continue our conversation? You mentioned that there was something I was never to do.” Again, that overwhelming feeling of foreboding hits me because I’m sure it’s already been done.
Her sweet face grows heavy with distress, and her mouth opens and closes as if she couldn’t get the words out.
“You have been far too patient, far too kind with me,” she whispers. “I promise you, this night won’t end without you knowing the truth in its entirety. And you will know exactly what to do and why. And what you must never, ever do.” She shakes her head as if admonishing me not to do it right this minute.
My entire body fills with relief, and I give her another quick peck to the cheek.
“Oh, Nell, I cannot wait.”
A gentle smile curves on her lips before vanishing to nothing, and just like that, Nell slumps over, face-first, right into that seven-layer cake I lovingly baked for her.
Chapter 16
“Nell!”
It’s all I remember shouting over and over again as one of the guests, a physician, offered her mouth-to-mouth. Nell was carted off to Honey Hollow General Hospital in a whirlwind, and Noah and Everett drove me over in a show of support. There might have been a tiny argument on the way there. Noah offered profusely to drop Everett off at his house since it was on the way. But Everett, knowing all about my supersensual standing and the fact that Nell was about to give me some cold hard answers, insisted on coming along to support me in ways that Noah couldn’t—his exact words. I cringed when he used that verbiage, but he did apologize for it. But on a chaotic night like tonight, I can’t hold anyone accountable for anything. I just need Nell to be all right.
Noah and Everett hang out in the waiting room with Keelie, Naomi and me, and William and his three daughters all about my age. Becca is the only one allowed to stay with Nell while she undergoes a bevy of tests. Noah has already alerted the doctors to the fact there was a similar incident earlier this month with another woman who dropped dead after being drugged with tetrahydrozoline. And I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs at the thought of somebody hurting Nell that way. The doctor assured us toxicology would find everything.
After what seems like hours of waiting, I excuse myself for the restroom. On my way back, I note a familiar looking woman in a red coat lurking in the hall, and as soon as she spots me, she opens the door to the stairwell and takes off running.
“Hey!” I call out as I run after her and swing open the door, only to meet with the echo of her thumping footsteps as she trots to the bottom. “Are you following me? You stay away from me! And stay away from my bakery, too!”
A pair of strong arms pulls me back, and I twist to find Noah holding me tight.
“Whoa. What was that about?” His head cocks to the side just as the waiting room drains of all the people that were at Nell’s party, and he hitches his head that way. “Family is free to see her now. Keelie says that includes you.”
“I have to go.” I bolt down the hall and catch up with the crowd just as we make our way into Nell’s dimly lit room. A soft glow emits from above the bed, and the peachy light makes Nell look like an angel. Her arms are limp, she has tubes running out of her arms and nostrils, cords and wires are strapped to her chest, and she looks darn right feeble. Instantly, everyone in the room begins to tear up.
“Nell.” I try to make my way to her, but Becca, William, Keelie, Naomi, and their cousins have all enwreathed her. The only space that’s left for me is down by the foot of the bed. And I suppose that’s the way it should be. I’m not really family, not in the way they are at least.
“You gave us a scare.” Keelie sniffs into her tissue. “Don’t ever do that again, Grammy.”
“Never!” Naomi barks it out like a harsh reprimand, and for once I happen to agree with her on something.
Her cousins all break out into a similar appeal, and Nell offers a weak smile.
“You know I”—Nell whispers the words out, wincing before she can finish—“love you all.” She looks to Becca. “Where is she? Where is Carlotta?”
Becca leans in. “She’s not here, Mother.”
“I’m right here!” I raise my hand and all but jump up and down. “Nell, I’m here. I would never not be here. I love you so much.”
Her tired eyes slowly make their way over to me. “Lottie,” she says it lower than a breath before motioning everyone out of the room. “Just Lottie and me.” Her fingers flick my way.
“What’s this?” William looks to his sister. “Who’s this girl?”
Becca clicks her tongue at her brother. “Keelie’s best friend. She and Mother are very close.” Becca lands a kiss to Nell’s cheek. “We’ll gladly give the two of you a moment.”
The room empties quickly, and I make my way closer, taking up her hand as I lean in close.
“Nell, you’re going to be just fine. I know it.”
“Oh, honey”— she gives my hand a weak squeeze—“open your eyes and look around. It’s my time to go.”
“No, you can’t go anywhere. There are so many people who love you. We all need you. Honey Hollow needs you.”
A soft laugh bubbles from her as her head seems to press deeper into the pillow. “Nobody needs me anymore on this earth, child. My time here has come to f
ulfillment.”
“Nell, stop talking like that.” My voice hitches with every other word—it’s like pushing past a boulder in my throat just to evict them.
A shimmer of pale blue light catches my eyes at the foot of the bed, and I can’t seem to take my next breath when I see it. Slinking forward is a fluffy black cat with glowing green eyes, and it curls up right over her chest. Another shimmering blue kitten emerges from seemly nowhere at the foot of the bed and does the same thing, then another and another until the entire bed from Nell’s neck down is filled with beautiful fluffy beasts, each purring away contentedly, their glowing eyes all feasted her way.
A gentle laughter emits from her as she struggles to touch the one nearest her fingers. “I have always had cats and, my goodness, here they all are. It’s true, I have never played favorites.”
“They’re beautiful,” I say, stunned as tears roll down my cheeks without any hope of stopping.
“Lottie, there have been many things I have withheld from you. One of which I promised I would not tell—but the person responsible has given me her word that she would indeed deliver the truth to you.”
“Who? What is this about? What about the gift? The transmundane? Supersensual?”
“Aw, yes, the gift.” A lengthy sigh expires from her. “I’m glad you see it that way. It was never intended to be a curse. Your ability to see into the next world is something to be treasured, an avenue that leads you toward your true destiny. And, in a way, you’ve already found it.”
“I have? Is it helping track down killers? My God, am I going to be staring death in the face my whole life?”
A weak smile flexes over her glowing face. “Yes, unfortunately, you are. But don’t fear it. Embrace it. You can do things that others can’t. And that’s exactly what makes you so very special.” Her body bucks with a weak cough. “I’ve left you a letter in the event I don’t have a chance to say everything I needed to. It’s with my lawyer.” Her lids begin to close, and I jostle her hand without meaning to.
Seven-Layer Slayer: MURDER IN THE MIX 5 Page 12
