Murder in the Mix Box Set

by Addison Moore

  Vivian comes up, looking ravishing in a pale lavender gown that makes her eyes glow the same color. “I heard the news.” She high-fives her friends. “Can you believe Clayton and Ryan were convinced the sheriff was closing in on them?”

  The three of them share a wild cackle because sadly they believe Clayton and Ryan’s lies.

  I spot Landon and Cormack by the main refreshment table, and if I didn’t know better, I’d think they were squabbling.

  “Excuse me,” I say as I thread my way through the crowd until I come upon the Featherby sisters.

  Cormack shakes Landon by the shoulders. “You are going to cost me everything!”

  I can’t help but scoff. I bet poor Landon was about to turn in Cormack for filing a false report. And good on her. It’s about time everyone’s sins become exposed. And how ironic that the truth comes out on a night where we glorify hiding behind a plastic mask.

  Landon pushes her away. “I’m not doing this with you right now. This is my night.” She sails into the crowd, and I pull Cormack back by the elbow before she can make a break for it.

  “She caught you, didn’t she?” I can’t hide my glee.

  “What are you talking about?” She yanks her elbow free. “She was about to purchase a painting that would look amazing above my bed at that trite B&B your mother is running into the ground. It’s intoxicating to look at, and Noah would find me irresistible lying on the bed in front of it. That is, if the killer doesn’t get to me first!”

  “Listen, Cormack. I have a real threat looming. Where is Noah, anyway?”

  “He stepped outside.” She rubs her elbow as if I might have bruised her. “Probably looking for you,” she hisses as she dives into the thicket of bodies herself.

  Outside.

  I scan the room to get my bearings before following the exit signs until I’m dumped into the icy Honey Hollow air. The lake glistens to my left, and in front of it sits the overflow from the parking lot.

  I spot a familiar face jumping back from an opened trunk and speed on over.

  “Hey! Have you seen No—” Before I can finish, I spot a shoe in the trunk, then follow it up to a dark suit, all the way to that handsome face I first fell in love with.

  And then it all comes together like a puzzle with every piece falling perfectly into place as my phone is plucked from my hand.

  “Oh my God, it was you.” The world falls to darkness, and the next thing I know I land right next to Noah.

  The trunk shuts tight.

  We’re trapped.

  The good news is, I’m pretty certain I know who the killer is.

  The bad news is, I have a feeling Noah and I are next on their kill list.

  Chapter 57

  I pluck the thick sack off my head, only to find that it’s dark, smells like expensive luggage, and I’m pretty sure my lips are now pressed against Noah’s. The car starts to move backward then forward with a marked thrust as we begin to build some serious momentum.

  “Noah.” I pull back and rattle him by his lapels. “Please wake up. You can’t be dead. Please don’t be dead. I forbid you to cross over to the other side!”

  A hard moan evicts from him.

  “That’s better,” I pant as my lips bump over his.

  Noah reaches up and holds me there by the back of the neck as a dull moan rattles in his chest.

  “Noah Fox.” I laugh incredulously as I try my best to inch back in the small space we’re presently confined in. “How dare you take a moment to steal first base.”

  “Don’t be too hard on me. I just had a mallet thrust to the back of my head.” He groans as he tries to shift his body.

  The car takes a hard left, and the centripetal force lands me over Noah once again.

  His chest rumbles once again. “You just can’t keep your hands off me, can you?”

  “Don’t let your ego inflate, Fox. There’s not that much room in here.”

  He huffs a hard breath over my cheek. “So Blythe.”

  “Yes, Blythe! Can you believe it?” The car wobbles erratically, and Noah wraps his arms around my waist to keep me from tumbling off him. “I bet she found out that Nessa was having Ryan’s baby.”

  “We don’t know that. She could have just been tired of the affair.”

  “But why kill her? Why not kick Ryan to the curb and move on? How did she get you to the car, anyway?”

  “She said she had a package she needed a pair of strong arms for.”

  “I knew that ego of yours was nothing but trouble.”

  “How did you get to the car?” His hands warm my back, and it’s not until then do I realize I was shivering.

  “I came out here looking for you.”

  Noah shifts as his hands run the length of my hair. “You were looking for me?”

  “Yes. I just discovered that Ryan was the man in the sketches. I saw his fiery tattoo. It’s a bad one, by the way. It’s no wonder he’s not quick to show it off.”

  “Did she hurt you?”

  “No. She threw a thick velvet bag over my body. Before I could process what was happening, I was next to you and we were flying.”

  A dull glow infiltrates the darkness, and I gasp.

  “Light!” I sing. “Where’s it coming from? Did the car stop?”

  Noah turns his head from side to side. “What light?”

  “This light,” I say, looking to the rear of the trunk. “It’s getting brighter.” A familiar form begins to take shape, and I gasp again. “And it has a face! Max! I’m so happy to see you, I can just kiss you!” I lean over and offer up a ghostly smooch, and shockingly he feels oh so real. “You need to help us. You need to get us out of here.”

  Max’s eyes widen, brightening the vicinity all the more as he ticks his head to Noah.

  “Lottie?” Noah’s body stiffens for a moment. “What’s happening? Are you having a hallucination?”

  The car speeds up and jolts right then left.

  “No, I’m not hallucinating! Here, give me your hand.” I reach down and thread our fingers together. “Say something, Max. Prove to Noah you’re real.”

  Max tips his head my way, his brow arching as if to ask if I were certain.

  “AARGH! This is no time to be stubborn. We’re being kidnapped, in the event you haven’t noticed.”

  Noah shifts, struggling to see in the direction I’m shouting in. “Lottie, who’s Max?

  “Max Finmore. He died years ago in a manure accident. It turns out, Nessa St. James rigged the hitch to his dump truck and caused it to malfunction. She’s a murderer, Noah—a killer herself long before she was ever killed.”

  “Lottie?” There’s a thread of panic in Noah’s tone. “Are you saying you think you see the dead?”

  “I don’t think I see the dead. I do see the dead.” I reach over and twist Max’s shirt into my fist and marvel at how very real it all feels. “Say something, or I’ll make sure you’re trapped on Earth forever, haunting some hovel in the middle of Siberia!”

  A hard bump hits us from the side, and both Noah and I groan as if we took the impact.

  Noah leans up as much as he can. “Either someone is trying to slow her down or she just hit something.”

  “Let’s hope she didn’t hit some poor jogger on the side of the road. Now speak up, Max. You have five seconds to say hello to Noah or you’ll join the ranks of the esteemed popsicle poltergeists of the great frozen North!”

  “Fine,” he grunts, and Noah holds his breath as his sanity is tested.

  “Lottie? Do you have the ability to throw your voice and sound decidedly like a man?”

  “No.” We hit a hard bump, and Noah and I hit the top of the trunk before I fall hard over him once again. “I have special abilities.”

  “So you are a witch.”

  “No, I’m not a witch. I’m a good Christian girl.” I smack him on the cheek. “I’m something called transmundane, further classified as supersensual. I don’t know why I have this strange ability, but I ca
n see the dead. Mostly pets that have crossed over into the great beyond that are a sure sign of terrible things to come for their previous owner. It used to be simple things that might cause injury, but as of late it almost always means death.”

  “What?” Noah edges away as if he were trying to escape my psychotic clutches. “Wait. Is that your big secret? The fact you’re…supermundane?”

  “Supersensual,” I correct, and my insides ache that it took me this long to reveal it to him. “Yes, Noah. That’s the big secret I’ve been guarding from you. Only Everett knows, and before him, it was just Nell. I’m sorry I waited so long to tell you.” I pull back so I can see that horrified expression on his face just the way I envisioned it would be—sure enough, it’s there. “And now you want nothing more to do with me. I’m sure you’ll have me committed, too.”

  His eyes close a moment, and his dimples press in. “Never. If Everett can make peace with this—if he can wrap his head around it, then I can do the same. I just need a minute. Is he here? This Max person?”

  “Yes! And I recently discovered that if I touch someone, they can hear them, too. Max, you need to help us. You have to get into the front of the car and take over the wheel. She’s driving erratically, and if that’s any indication—Blythe doesn’t care if she kills us all in the process.”

  “Will do.” He offers a mournful look Noah’s way. “And heck, Detective Fox. I have to tell you, I get how hard it is to want someone so deeply and watch them love someone else. It’s tough. And I want you to know that you’re not alone. Sometimes the best of us go through the deep end of the pits.”

  A choking sound emits from me. “Thank you for making me feel like a monster.”

  “You’re not a monster, Lot.” Noah wraps his arm tighter around my waist. “And, Max”—he looks around at the nebulous space above his head—“thank you for that. It means a lot to me. Word of advice, try not to crash into a tree.”

  No sooner does Noah get the words out than the car takes a hard hit against the bumper and spins wildly out of control like a teacup at the happiest place on Earth.

  “Hang on, Lot!” Noah shouts as he rolls me to the side. “As soon as we stop moving, I’m popping the trunk.” He pulls out his gun, and I bury my face in his chest as the car careens to my right, gliding as if it were on ice, then SLAM!

  The car comes to an abrupt stop, and the trunk bounces open before Noah has a chance to shoot it out.

  “Are you okay?” he shouts over me as he scrambles to get up.

  “I’m fine.” I think.

  “Stay here. I’ve got this, Lot.” Noah bounds out of the car, and Max floats right after him.

  “The heck I’m staying in this steel coffin,” I say as I gather up the ridiculously heavy dress I’ve stuffed myself into and roll right out of the trunk and into a bed of pine needles.

  “She’s running!” Noah shouts as I get my bearings to the surroundings. A thicket of evergreens stands strong and proud as the moon illuminates Honey Lake in the distance. The scent of fresh pines mingling with raw earth ignites my senses. The lights to the car are still on, blaring into the woods, but there’s no sign of her there.

  I recognize the terrain. We’re just below Cider Grove Orchard. There’s a fence up above and a sheer drop down below. We’re on a narrow strip of land that dead ends to our left and heads back to the open road to the right. But Blythe isn’t traveling in a car anymore, and she could hide just about anywhere.

  The sound of Noah’s panting grows progressively faint as he travels to the right. I turn to find Max heading to the left, and I follow his unearthly glow. He stops abruptly and shouts an expletive. “Lottie, turn around. I’ve passed her up. She’s near you! Call to Noah!”

  The soft sounds of footfalls emanate from behind, and I slowly turn around.

  Blythe Bentley stands with her legs parted in that ridiculously oversized light blue ball gown, hands clutching a gun with the barrel pointed straight at me.

  “You have a gun,” I whisper mostly to myself. “Why do they always have a gun?”

  “It’s not mine. It’s Ryan’s.” She blows a loose strand of hair from her face, and I can see a pink abrasion just above her left eye.

  “You’re hurt,” I say, taking a carful step forward with my left foot. My arms are outstretched in this dim light, if for anything to keep my balance. The woods hold a deep blue hue, and Blythe's hair is white as a flame.

  “I’m fine. But you’re going to be hurt, Lottie. I’m sorry, but I can’t have you ruining everything for me.”

  “You killed Nessa.” My breathing grows erratically as I try to plot an escape. “Did you know she was carrying Ryan’s child? That she would be a mother soon?” My tone is far more aggressive than I meant for it to be.

  A quick breath escapes her as if my words had the ability to sucker punch her. “Nessa was pregnant?” She scans the ground as if looking for affirmation as Max waves from behind her back.

  God, he could push her. He could push her, and the gun could go off. Now that might not bode well for me. I shake my head over at him as Blythe lifts the gun higher just a notch.

  “But you just said she was expecting! Do you know how that makes me feel to know I killed an innocent child in all of this?”

  “Why did you kill Nessa then? Why couldn’t you just leave Ryan to his dirty affair, walk away, and be done with it?”

  “Because I was invested!” she roars. “I gave him my prime, my twenties. I was groomed for this moment. Ryan is going to run for Senate one day, then maybe a presidential bid. I was not going to have some spoiled little slut ruining it for the two of us.”

  “But don’t you see? It was just as much Ryan’s fault as it was hers. I mean, sure, that whole nest routine took place where she all but forced Ryan to have her, but—”

  “Please”—she belts out a husky laugh, her eyes glinting wildly in the moonlight—“those boys signed up for it. Everyone who had ever been near Nessa St. James knew exactly what they were getting into. She was a lot of things, but she never forced anyone to lie down with her. If anyone was a victim in all of this, it was the girls who had to stand by and watch this vagrant cheating. I hated it, and I hated her.”

  “So you poisoned her. How did you possibly—” My mind flits back to the day of the party. “Oh my God, you faked an injury. You had the peanut butter with you in that gauze wrapped around your wrist, didn’t you?”

  Blythe squelches a laugh. “You are a sharp one. But I didn’t have to fake an injury. I really did tweak my wrist while playing against Nessa ironically. And that’s where I hid the pouch. It was easy enough to do. Once I smeared the bottom of the lemon bar with peanut butter, I handed it to her. It was such a free-for-all, Nessa never even noticed who gave it to her. I made sure to take her purse just before Landon’s ridiculous document barbeque. That way Nessa couldn’t get to her EpiPen if she brought it. I didn’t think it would work so quickly, so brilliantly. She was dead within minutes. But now with the news of the baby— with you and that detective boyfriend of yours, it’s all gotten so messy.”

  “Lottie?” Noah calls out as he tracks this way, and before I can flinch, Blythe is on my back, her arms wrapped around my upper torso, our dresses making an aggressive swishing sound as they intermesh.

  “Don’t say anything. I won’t have to kill him unless you call out. Remember, Lottie, it’s going to be you making this deadlier than it needs to be.”

  “Noah!” I call out, because for one, I will never believe the promises a killer makes.

  Blythe points the barrel to my temple, and I can hardly catch my next breath.

  Max waves with both hands as if he were trying to land a 747 on the runway. “I got him, Lottie. I banged the heck out of the woods with a stick, and he caught on.” He takes a few steps forward. “I’m going to take her down now.”

  “No,” I whimper as the gun inches closer to my head. She’s unpredictable. There’s no telling who she’ll shoot or why. I can feel h
er heart palpitating like mad over my back.

  “It won’t hurt, Lottie. It will be quick.”

  “Wait”—I try to glance her way, but she keeps my head turned forward by way of the butt of her gun—“I have to know if you sent those threats to Cormack.”

  “Why would I care about Cormack? All I wanted was Nessa St. James out of my life, and that’s exactly what I arranged to happen.”

  “Blythe”—Noah booms from an unknown position, and the two of us look every which way—“drop your weapon. We have you surrounded.”

  Her chest bucks. “I don’t care if you have an army. I’m leaving this planet today, and I’m taking Lottie with me.”

  Max nods to someone behind me, and a female voice screams louder than a banshee on fire. I recognize that ghostly howl as coming from none other than Greer Giles herself.

  Blythe lets out a horrendous groan as she lowers the gun without meaning to. I dig my elbow into her stomach, and the gun goes off, offering a lightning white flash right before my eyes.

  “God,” I howl as I do my best to take it from her, but Blythe is strong and putting up a heck of a fight as we wrestle it out.

  Blythe lands on top of me, and just as soon as I absorb her weight, it feels as if she’s levitating right back off.

  Max growls as he hoists her into the air. “Lottie”—he shouts as he kicks the gun from Blythe’s hand—“I’m not supposed to do this. Something is happening. I think I’m leaving. I stepped out of bounds.” He turns to look at Greer. “I’ll see you on the other side.” That last word comes out faint, and just like that, he’s gone.

  “Goodbye!” I shout into thin air as Greer begins to dissolve as well. “Oh no,” I whimper as Blythe drops over me like a stone.

  “Lottie?” another deep voice shouts just as I roll Blythe over and pin her to the ground as she yelps and squirms.

  “Everett?” I say, turning to find both Everett and Ivy racing up the path behind me.

  Noah runs over, his breathing quickening as he carefully lands onto Blythe's back and has her hands cuffed in no time.

  “It’s over,” I say as Everett helps me up, and I wrap myself tightly around him. “Oh, thank you. It’s finally over.”