“That would be me.” Everett’s chest expands with pride.
Collette grunts, “I leave him alone for one minute and he decides he’s the marrying kind.”
“Congratulations to the two of you.” Jade sheds a quick smile our way before getting back to the paperwork at hand. “When’s the baby due? I’m sure the two of you are thrilled.”
“Actually”—my mouth contorts—“I’m not really sure when the baby is due. I haven’t seen anyone about it yet.” Not quite true. I did see someone about it and they said it didn’t exist. A thought hits me. “And we’re not sure who the father is.” I shrug. “It could be either of these guys.”
Her jaw comes unhinged as she inspects the three of us.
Collette chortles up a storm. “That look on her face is priceless. You’re going to have to get used to it, Lottie. You’ll have people looking at you that way for the next nine months or so.”
I make a face over at the perky poltergeist.
Wait? Didn’t I already tell Collette that this baby is just a figment of Carlotta’s imagination and a case of bad gas? Oh well, there’s always later. If Keelie knew my memory was being tested, she’d swear I had what she calls baby brain. Keelie says she can’t remember anything. She walks around in a fog all day.
“You don’t know who the father is?” Jade wrinkles her nose my way. “Really?”
“Really.” I nod and Noah lifts his brows as if I had just amused him. “Men can be so complicated. Relationships can be so complicated. Anyway, I was with Noah first, then Everett, then Noah, and now I’m back with Everett. And well, now there’s a baby involved. I guess I wasn’t being as careful as I thought. But it’s happening and they’ve both stepped up to the plate.”
Jade leans in. “Oh my goodness. So when will you know who the father is?”
Noah nods. “When it’s born. I’ve looked into it.” He shrugs my way. “There is a procedure that allows you to find out before the baby arrives, but there’s a risk involved and I don’t think either Everett or I want to risk anything.”
“Good idea,” Everett agrees. “Better safe than sorry, Lemon.” He turns to Jade. “Did you and Dane ever think about marriage or children?”
Beautiful transition. I nod his way and give a pat to his knee to reward him.
Jade takes a breath. “Dane was a good guy deep down. He just had a very hard time being faithful.”
Collette bubbles with laughter. “You’re telling me. I was usually the girl he was cheating with.” She blows me a kiss as she says it.
Wonderful. The touch of pride she infused it with was the icing on the cake.
Noah frowns. “Lottie can commiserate. Everett is a virtual playboy.”
Collette is right back to giggling, but I choose to ignore her ghostly titter.
Everett looks to Noah. “Not anymore. I’m a one-woman man, and this woman is it for me. Nice try, Fox.”
Jade laughs. “Oh, Lottie, it’s apparent they’re both very into you. If Dane was half as interested in me, I could have tolerated a lot more. Anyway, Dane always had a side girl. And this month’s flavor was Sammy something or other. She was there that night, too. I saw her slap him. She probably killed him, too, for all I know.” She glances to the floor and glowers at it. “I could have killed him.”
“Right,” I say. “But it’s not like you could get a gun into a venue like that. I mean, they had metal detectors at the entry.”
She shakes her head. “I heard the cops were allowed to keep their guns so long as they showed their ID. Maybe the killer faked his credentials?”
“Or hers,” I muse. After all, the butt of a gun was sticking out of her purse when she dropped it. I spot the same blue hobo style purse sitting on the counter against the wall, and just above it is a framed picture of her and what looks to be Dane. “Hey, is that a picture of Dane?”
She glances back. “Sure is.”
“Would you mind if I looked at it?” I ask as I glide across the room and right through Collette.
“Watch where you’re going, lady.” Collette glides up next to me and observes the picture as I pick up the heart-shaped frame. It’s a picture of Jade and Dane on some tropical beach. “That’s the rat.” She snorts. “But I really do think he loved me. Hey? I wouldn’t be here if he didn’t, right?”
I give a slight nod her way and her entire countenance lights up at the thought.
She nudges me with her elbow and I feel it. “Do you really think this girl could have pulled the trigger?”
I shrug, pointing down at Jade’s purse.
“You want me to look inside?”
I point to the floor and she nods.
“Got it. Go take a seat. I’ll make sure all heck breaks loose in less than five seconds.”
“Would you look at this?” I say as I give the picture to Everett. “Your old friend looked as if he was having the time of his life.”
Jade is about to say something when Collette dumps the entire contents of Jade’s purse on the floor and causes lipsticks and pens alike to scatter to the four corners of the office.
“What in the world?” Jade bends over to start scooping things up and I land on my knees in an effort to find the murder weapon. The metallic blue butt of a gun peers out from under the desk and I quickly pick it up.
“Ah-ha!” I say, holding it up victoriously before I grimace at the item in my hand. “What the heck is this?” Sure, it has the butt of a gun, but the barrel is much shorter than Ethel’s and something isn’t quite right about it.
“Oh, that.” She takes it from me and pulls the trigger, causing a flame to emit from the front. “It’s just a lighter. It was my father’s. My mother gave it to me a few weeks ago and I just haven’t taken it out of my purse yet. He just passed, and having this with me, as silly as it sounds, feels as if I have a little bit of my daddy.”
Tears come to my eyes, and I blink them away.
“It doesn’t sound silly at all,” I say, quickly retuning all of her things to her purse before finding my way to my seat once again. “I get it. I’m sorry about your loss. You’ve really had a hard time as of late.”
She closes her eyes a moment and nods. “I’ll power through it. Not that it’s easy, but I need to work. Life goes on, as cruel as that sounds.”
Noah leans in. “Jade, who do you think could have done this to Dane?”
She shudders before warming her arms with her hands.
“I was just talking to Detective Fairbanks a few days ago.” She nods his way. “And I told her that I think maybe Kent Noble had something to do with it. Did either of you know Kent as well? He and Dane went way back.”
Both Everett and Noah shake their heads.
Everett tips his head. “We just met that night. What does Kent do?”
She gives a weak laugh. “Same thing Dane did—stick his hands into too many fires. Dane owned Caper Productions, and Kent was his attorney and his investor. The three of them were always in cahoots about one project or another.”
“Three of them?” I ask.
“Ridge Porter as well. I’m telling you, and Dane would tell you, too, if he was here, signing Unsolved Mysteries Tonight was the best thing that had ever happened to Dane. And, of course, I’m the number one fan of the show. I’ve seen every episode at least ten times.”
I offer a weak smile. “Which was your favorite? I’m sort of an Unsolved Mysteries Tonight junkie myself.”
She taps a pen to her chin. “Let’s see, the biker, the home invasion, the disappearance of Alison Beamer, the disappearance of Jenika Tate, the school bus driver with the temper, the couple that went camping, the missing landlord. I guess I can’t decide.”
“Wow,” I say. “You named them all. I guess you really are obsessed.”
She laughs. “And you knew that I named them all. I guess you really are a junkie. I knew I liked you.”
I laugh along with her. “Hey, they’re filming an episode this Saturday at my mother’s B&B in Honey
Hollow—the only B&B in Honey Hollow. Why don’t you come out if you get a chance? I’m sure it’ll be an all-day event.”
“Ooh! I think I will.”
Noah gives a sly wink my way before looking to her. “Jade, where do you think I could find Kent Noble to speak to him? I have a project I’m working on and I’d love to pitch it.”
“He lives out in Fallbrook. His house acts as his office. But since Dane died, he’s been at the Caper Productions studio out in Leeds. It’s where they do all the prep for the show and edits. They shoot the voice-overs there and some of the shots. I guess they’ll be doing a remote shoot at your mom’s B&B.” She crimps a smile my way. “They usually do that when they’re trying to jazz things up.” She looks back to Noah. “Oh, and just so you know, Kent is a night owl. They all are. So if you want to catch him, your best bet is in the evening. No one arrives at the studio before two or three, and they stay until well after midnight.”
“Good to know. Thank you for that.” Noah nods to Everett and me.
I guess we know what we’re doing tomorrow night.
We wrap it up and Carlotta drives off in her Green Greased Lightning, her words not mine. And Noah and I hop into my shiny new minivan, metallic crimson. Carlotta thought it was fitting and in the end so did I.
Everett drove us all over in his sedan, so he’s following me home. And Carlotta is just a blip on the highway in front of me. I guess she got the guts she wanted in that machine.
Noah leans back as I take us home to Honey Hollow.
“This is a great car, Lot. I’m thrilled for you.”
“I agree. But you and Everett are ridiculous. I can’t believe you went in on halves.” I scoff. “And Everett paid for Carlotta’s at the last second. I won’t ever forget that.”
Noah grunts, “I have a feeling he won’t ever let either of us forget it.” He looks my way and I can feel the weight of his stare heating up the right side of my body. “Lottie, I just want you to know I love you. I’m never going to stop, and I’m going to be there for you and the baby for as long as I’m drawing breath in my body.”
My lips invert as my chest bucks with emotion. I can’t take this anymore.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he whispers. “But I do have to tell you. I have a hunch that baby is mine and my hunches are rarely wrong.”
My heart breaks just hearing it.
I’m sorry, Noah. But your hunch is very wrong this time. This baby isn’t yours. Because there isn’t a baby.
“Noah,” I press his name out with sadness as I prepare to tell him everything.
“Nope.” He perks up. “I don’t want to upset you. Let’s shift gears. What do you think about Jade Archibald? Do you think she’s our killer?”
“I don’t know. But I have an uneasy feeling about this whole case, and I can’t put my finger on why.”
“It’s probably those creepy unsolved mysteries.”
“I bet you’re right.”
“How about pizza at my place sometime and we’ll take a crack at the cases and see what we come up with. I bet we solve them all. We’re a good team, Lottie.”
I bite down over a smile as I glance his way.
“You bet we are. But first, we’re going to crack Dane Gannon’s case wide open.”
And then I’ll crack open both Noah’s and Everett’s hearts when I tell them the truth about this fictious baby.
And I’ll have this minivan around forever to remind me of this debacle.
At least it’s comfortable.
Chapter 14
The very next evening, Everett, Noah, and I pile into my shiny new minivan and drive down to Leeds.
Everett actually does the driving since that pizza we scarfed down at Mangias doesn’t seem to be sitting well with me.
Ironically, poor Everett and Noah think it has to do with the baby and, dare I say, they were each a smidge too excited when I mentioned I was feeling off-kilter.
Noah leans forward from the middle row.
“I read that morning sickness, which could actually occur at any given time during the day, is a very good sign of a healthy pregnancy.”
“You read?” A note of panic rises in me. “You’re reading books?”
He chuckles. “You bet. In fact, don’t tell the sheriff, but I spent more than an hour looking up everything I could on the internet today. There’s just so much to learn. I don’t think nine months is long enough.”
I cower in my seat.
“I’m guilty of this as well.” Everett gives a wistful shake of the head. “Remember all of those baby books we bought last November?”
I moan at the thought. “How could I forget?” Even I thought I was pregnant during that scare. I shake my head, but choose to keep my mouth shut. I’m so angry at myself for letting this farce propagate I can’t see straight. And when you get right down to it, the pizza isn’t making me sick. It’s my horrible secret. I don’t even care about Everett having a secret of his own. I’m sure it’s nothing like the matzo ball I’m holding in the air. I’m sure whatever it is, we’ll work around it. In fact, I should probably let him go first this weekend when we get to doing the big confidential reveals—right after the taping at my mother’s B&B tomorrow, or better yet Sunday.
Everett’s secret will be a mere papercut compared to the guillotine I’m about to drop on our relationship. I’ll be lucky if Noah or Everett ever speaks to me again. Heck, I won’t be speaking to myself ever again. I’ll be too busy shoving peach cobbler into my pie hole, trying to eat away my guilt.
Everett finally lands us in Leeds, right in front of Caper Productions Studio, and the three of us head inside.
“Hey? Guess what?” I whisper to my two handsome bookends. “I’ve got Ethel with me.” I hold out my purse like a wing under my arm.
Noah makes a face. “You didn’t need her tonight. I’m here.”
“I’m here, too,” Everett adds, looking equally miffed.
“So? I’m here. What if the two of you need to use the restroom or go out for fresh air and I’m all alone? Or what if you’re in trouble? I’ve got your back.” My soliloquy doesn’t seem to appease them. “What gives? If I don’t bring Ethel with me, you’re irritated. And now, if I do bring Ethel with me, you’re irritated.”
Noah shrugs. “I don’t know… You’re going to be a mother. I just—it doesn’t feel right.”
“I agree.” Everett slips an arm around my waist. “I’m sorry, Lemon. It’s just something I’ll have to get used to.”
Not for long, I want to say, but instead, I nod to appease them.
The studio is a cavernous warehouse made of tin that holds the scent of deep fried fast food and something metallic just beneath that—I’m guessing rust. It’s warm inside, but not stifling, and the concrete floors are slicked with dust.
The lighting is dim and theatrical as if everywhere we looked the room was about to brighten and we’d be treated to a bona fide play. To the left, extinguished floodlights face a stool sitting in the middle of a brown drop cloth. And to the right, there looks to be a series of rooms.
A couple of men with clipboards walk by before backtracking and Noah asks to speak with Kent.
On the drive here tonight, Noah and Everett came up with a cover and it sounded reasonable enough to me. I guess we’re about to find out.
Kent Noble himself appears wide-eyed as he looks our way, his mouth in a tiny O. He’s wearing a white T-shirt stretched over his distended belly, and the stubble on both his head and face looks more salt than it does pepper in this dull light.
“Can I help you?”
“Kent,” Noah says as we head his way. “I’m Noah Fox. This is Everett Baxter and my girlfriend, Lottie. We met at the awards ceremony.”
“Oh right.” His brows lift, but he still looks somewhat confused.
I can’t help but sneak a glance over at Noah. I’m sure when he introduced me as his girlfriend, it was because it felt natural and not because he was trying to sli
ght Everett. And to be honest, it felt natural to hear it, too.
Everett nods his way. “We were old high school buddies of Dane’s and we were just in the neighborhood meeting my wife’s sister for dinner, so we thought we’d stop by.”
“Oh yeah, sure.” Kent looks as if the picture is coming in clear now. “Why don’t you take a look around? In fact, I’ll give you the grand tour.” He points to the area with the drop cloth. “That’s where some of the magic happens. Ridge is usually up at bat and we film most of what we call the dark spots here. That’s where he sits and narrates some of the story for the camera. And then, of course, we use the sound studio as well.” He points to the room behind him with a sign hanging on the door that reads sound room. “Ridge is here. Hey, Ridge,” he shouts, and soon enough Ridge Porter, that larger than life hottie that has the United States gripped with both his good looks and terror, sheds a giant grin my way.
He gives a warm laugh. “Noah, Everett, Lottie. Well, to what do we owe the pleasure?” He takes up my hand and bows. “Will we see the three of you at the B&B tomorrow afternoon for the taping?”
“You bet,” I say. “I’m catering an entire dessert menu, on the house.”
Both men give a little cheer.
Ridge ticks his head to the side. “More reason to come early and stay late.” He pats his belly. “I can’t wait to dig in. But the studio would love to reimburse you for your trouble.”
“I wouldn’t hear of it. I’m just thrilled you’re taping at my mother’s B&B.”
Ridge chuckles. “What brings you out this way tonight?”
Everett’s chest expands as he takes a half-step forward. “I just thought I’d bring my wife and her friend out this way. Dane and I go way back.”
Kent twists his lips as he looks to Noah. “I thought you said she was your girlfriend?”
“Both is true.” I wince. “I’m his girlfriend and his wife.” Sort of. But then, this is no time to get into the fact I’m with Everett and holding a fake pregnancy over both their heads. “It’s a long story.”
Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 8 Page 45
