“GAH! HAIR!” I howl while holding the glossy lock between my fingers. “Is it strange that I prefer corpses to human hair?”
Collette bats it out of my hand. “That’s truly disgusting, Lottie. And I’m with you on the whole corpse thing. Come to think of it, I bet I was a beautiful corpse.”
“You were,” I say, shrugging up at her. It’s true. I should know. I was there when Collette bit the big one.
I quickly rifle through the rest of the things and freeze solid when I see a plastic identification badge with the smiling face of an older man that reads Gerald Watson, Wilson Township School District.
“Oh my God,” I whisper.
“What is it?” Collette shrinks down to the size of a Barbie doll, until she’s standing in front of me in miniature, and it’s an unnerving sight—so much so that my stomach begins to churn once again.
“Can you not do that weird size thing?” I ask. “I think I have enough to process already.”
She blinks back to her regularly scheduled size, and for that both my stomach and I are grateful.
“Look at this stuff,” I whisper as I lay out a red bandana with a silver triangular pin. “It reads Hartford Hogs. Oh, Collette, I know exactly who this belonged to—the missing biker from episode one of Unsolved Mysteries Tonight.”
She meets my gaze and we stay locked in horror that way for a second too long.
“And look at this,” I say. “A single gold hoop earring. An unfinished crossword puzzle. A medical badge of some sort with a nurse’s emblem. My God, Alison Beamer was a nurse.”
A tiny pink pacifier is next and I hold my breath as I examine it.
“Jenika,” I whisper. “The case of the missing au pair. Jenika Tate was on duty the day she went outside to take out the trash and never came back.”
Collette makes a strangled sound that only a ghost could pull off.
I hold up a slick piece of paper. “A pamphlet from a KOA Campground. It’s heavily wrinkled with a brown smear over it. I bet that’s blood—from the couple that disappeared camping.”
My stomach does a hard revolution and the prospect of vomiting seems very real, but I force myself to go on.
“And look,” I whisper. “There’s a single gold key with a keychain that reads Conner’s Coffee Shop. This could belong to the missing landlord, right? It’s a key. Yes, my God, I think that’s it.”
Collette moans. “Oh, Lottie, I don’t like this one bit. When is Essex getting here? This place is really giving me the creeps.”
I quickly take a dozen pictures of the sickening spoils before landing everything back where I found it.
A beam of light shines over the room and every cell in my body freezes solid.
“Lottie?” a familiar male voice calls out from the opened slider door.
“Noah?” I quickly tiptoe over.
Collette gasps. “Now you’re in trouble.”
I frown her way before reverting my attention to Noah. “What are you doing here?”
His eyes narrow in on mine. “Never mind what I’m doing here. What the hell are you doing here?”
“I can explain.” I spot Everett with Carlotta in his arms and wince.
Collette Jenner whizzes by and flies right into the night sky. “I’m out of here!”
Noah helps me out, and the four of us hightail it all the way back to the park where I spot Noah’s truck in front of Carlotta’s minivan.
Noah and Everett hop into the van with us momentarily.
Noah’s eyes are wild with rage. “Lottie, are you nuts? And why didn’t you call me?”
“Because I knew you wouldn’t be thrilled.”
Everett’s chest thumps. “I’m not so thrilled either, Lemon.”
“All right, fine,” I say. “I won’t call either of you in the event of a catastrophe.”
“Oh yes, you will.” Carlotta gives a frenetic nod. “Mr. Sexy here saved my hiney.”
Everett pulls me close. “Lemon, that was dangerous. Not just for you, but for Carlotta and the baby. Please, you can’t do that again.”
I close my eyes and nod. “I won’t have to.” I look to Noah and Everett. “I think I have a pretty good idea who could have killed Dane Gannon.”
Noah rakes his fingers through his hair in a fit of frustration.
“Lottie, do you realize any evidence you may have come by is now tainted? Not to mention your direct relationship to me can land both of us in hot water and let a potential killer go free? Besides, I’d need a search warrant to head in there myself, and a modicum of reasoning to get one. Let me see what I can find on Kent to make this whole thing make sense from a legal standpoint.”
I nod without saying another word.
God forbid Kent go free because of some foolish misstep of mine.
I may have a pretty good idea who could have killed Dane Gannon. But I know for certain who killed seven other people.
I think we have a serial killer on our hands.
I just need to figure out how to stick the landing with this one and get Kent Noble locked away without locking myself away in the process.
Chapter 16
Last night Collette and I curled up with my laptop and researched each of those seven cases from Unsolved Mysteries Tonight.
And as fate and perhaps the serial killer himself would allow, it turns out, all seven of those murders and disappearances have taken place in and around Vermont primarily, with one case taking place in Connecticut and one in Maine. We don’t know for certain, but we were able to deduce the long strand of hair, which under better inspection of those photos was dark blonde and belonged to Alison, the nurse that lived in Templeton. She wore her hair long and blonde, and we were able to discern that through the unfortunate missing picture still circulating on the internet.
I’m pretty sure the pink pacifier belonged to the au pair Jenika Tate. She was minding twin toddlers at the time, and I’m certain that’s why she had it in her pocket.
The unfinished crossword came from the episode of the home invasion. The older gentlemen up in Scooter Springs loved them so much they found stacks of finished crosswords tucked all around the crime scene. An easy trophy for the killer to steal.
Gerald Watson from Wilson Township School District had his nametag swiped. A bold and stupid move by the killer. The young couple who went missing, I’m betting it’s their blood on that KOA pamphlet.
The triangular pin belonging to the Harford Hogs was confirmed to belong to the same club that missing biker belonged to, the poor soul from episode one.
And that keychain that reads Conner’s Coffee Shop? There’s only one Conner’s Coffee Shop, and it just so happens to be located across the street from where the dead landlord in question lived.
Collette Jenner and I just spent the last ten minutes explaining this to all the ghosts who haunt my mother’s B&B.
It’s Saturday, the day of the big filming session at my mother’s bed and breakfast, and we’re standing in the kitchen after unloading some of the dessert platters from my van. I’ve already set up enough platters to feed an army in the conservatory, and there are still a lot of boxes of sweet treats in my van.
The ghosts in question are all gathered around and listening intently. There are Greer Giles, a beautiful twenty-something who died about a year and a half ago, and her two-hundred-year-old boyfriend, Winslow Decker, a handsome stud with dirty blond hair who used to own a pig farm right over this land.
And then there is their six-year-old adopted little ghoul, Lea. She’s a bit of a trauma to witness with her long, dark hair combed straight over her face, her dirty pinafore, and scuffed MaryJanes, but it’s the hatchet she wields in her hand that’s a bit unnerving. Her entire family was killed over this land and she’s come back to avenge them.
Then there’s the ghostly family pet, a small black cat named Thirteen who once belonged to a man who tried to kill me.
I’m not sure why these ghosts get to remain, and yet those who come back to h
elp solve a homicide need to go back, but I’m glad this motley crew gets to stay.
Winslow leans in as the five of us huddle in the empty kitchen of the B&B. The counters are a beautiful creamy marble and it’s stocked with top-of-the-line appliances. My mother has never been known to skimp on style or the best when it comes to modern technology.
“Lottie”—Winslow’s voice reverberates in a ghostly manner—“that just leaves the dark cloth with the triangular gold flecks.”
Collette lets out a throaty laugh as she floats on over to him.
“My, my”—Collette Jenner muses as she wraps her glowing arms around him—“aren’t you just the strongest, most handsome, otherworldly detective?”
Greer smacks her silly until Collette floats back by my side and sheds a smattering of stars off the back of her long mane in the process.
“What’s the next episode about?” Greer’s eyes widen as she awaits my answer.
“There isn’t one,” I say. “They’re dedicating their season finale to a recap of the other mysteries, and a tribute to Dane.”
Collette Jenner moans. “I miss Dane. I miss men.” She frowns over at me. “Oh, Lottie, can’t you find some way to let me possess you so that Essex could take the edge off for a little while?”
“Please,” I say. “Everett would only worsen the condition and leave you wanting more. I don’t think there’s a woman on this planet who could ever not want more.”
“You got me there, girl.” She offers up an unenthusiastic high-five, and I take it.
Lea growls, “You know who the killer is, Lottie. Have him arrested.”
“I do,” I whisper, looking briefly over my shoulder as the bodies of the film crew circulate freely out in the B&B. “And I’m going to pull Noah aside and tell him just that. He had an emergency down in Ashford when I called to talk to him, but he said he’d be here in twenty minutes.”
A blonde pokes her head into the kitchen. “She’s in here!” she screeches, and before I know it, Everett and Noah stream in. Those two handsome men bring a smile to my face. The blonde? Not so much.
The blonde in question is Cormack Featherby, the girl these two handsome men once thought it was a good idea to war over. And now that no one is warring over her, she’s made it a point to demand Noah take her back.
Thank God that’s never materialized. As much as I want Noah to be happy, having Cormack as a permanent fixture in his life would drive me to resort to homicide—hers. Cormack and I have never been friends, partly because a real friend would actually know my name. Cormack has made a habit of saying every name under the sun that begins with L, with the exception of my own. I have no doubt she does it just to crawl under my skin.
“Lottie.” Noah pats his stomach while looking at the extra dessert platters I’ve lined up on the long marble island. “You’ve brought my favorite,” he says as he swipes a chocolate chip cookie and takes a bite.
“I wouldn’t forget.” I head over just as Everett picks up a brownie.
He holds it out as if he were toasting me with it. “And I like them all.” He takes a bite and moans. “This is the best. Well done, Lemon.”
“So?” Cormack bounces on her heels. “Essex?” She gives a little wink his way. “How did Louise take it when you told her that she didn’t have to marry you?”
The entire room stops breathing, all movement ceases, and all eyes—of both the living and the dead—are focused on Everett.
“What’s that?” Noah’s head inches back, as a look of ripe anger fills his features.
“Of course, I didn’t have to marry him,” I say, annoyed that she even had to ask. “I volunteered. And for a good cause.” I look right at my blue-eyed husband. “Helping you save your inheritance was totally worth it.”
Everett takes a breath and his eyes close a moment too long.
“Everett?” I take a step toward him. “What’s wrong?”
Noah huffs, “I think what Cormack is trying to get at is the fact you didn’t have to marry him at all, Lottie. It was a ruse, wasn’t it, Everett? Did you lie to Lottie? Was this some big setup to yet again keep us apart?”
Everett takes another deep breath, longer and filled with far more frustration than the first time.
“Everett?” I step forward. “Is this true?”
Collette Jenner sucks in a breath so hard and fast my hair sails in her direction.
“Essex, you dog!” she howls with a laugh. “I would have married you with a wink and smile.”
Everett offers a forlorn look my way. “Yes, Lemon. It’s true.”
Cormack titters. “Oh dear. Did I just let that little tidbit fly?”
My mouth falls open, but before I can say a single word, Noah slams Everett up against the wall and proceeds to pummel him over the face. And if I’m not mistaken, Everett doesn’t look as if he’s fighting back.
“Noah!” I shout as I pick up the first thing I see, a broom in the corner, and begin whacking him over the back. “Stop it!” I scream as Noah indulges himself in the slugfest. “This isn’t like Everett!” I riot out the words as I knock Noah over the head in hopes to get him to relent.
I wedge the broom between the two of them and Noah staggers back, breathless, the venom in his eyes alive and ready to distribute round two.
“Everett?” I drop the broom and pull him forward as he winces and touches his lip with the back of his hand. He glances down to reveal a smattering of blood. “Oh my God, you’re bleeding.” I pull a dishcloth off the counter, and by the time I hand it to him, he has blood splattered down the front of his white dress shirt. “Here.” I try to dab him, but he refuses.
“I’m okay, Lemon.” He bears those heady eyes into mine. “Are you?”
“Yes,” I say without thinking. “I mean, I don’t believe a thing Cormack says. It’s not true, is it?”
He winces once again, and this time I don’t think it has anything to do with the pain of that cut lip.
Noah’s chest bucks. “See that, Lot? He’s been lying to you. He trapped you in a marriage with him in hopes to wear you down. He just couldn’t handle the fact you and I were together. This is all a part of his revenge game he initiated when I took Cormack from him all those years ago.”
Cormack chuckles as she fans herself with her fingers.
“Not true.” Everett’s voice is strong and curt as he glares over at his former stepbrother. “Lemon, let me explain.”
“Yes,” I say. “Please do.”
“I’m sorry.” A ripe sadness takes over his features. “What I said to you about my father’s will was true, or at least as I understood it to be.” He glances to Noah and offers him a hard look before continuing. “Lemon”—he wraps his arms around me loosely—“that night at my mother’s last December, less than a moment before you stepped into my view, my father’s attorney whispered that the clause was not legal. That’s all he said, that was all he needed to say, but then you stepped out looking so damn beautiful.” He lets out a hard sigh as his hands warm my arms. “I didn’t process any of it. I didn’t have time to. All I saw was you.”
Noah steps in. “And then you married her. You didn’t stop the matrimonial presses. You didn’t hit the brakes. You accelerated and took Lottie as your wife—eight months ago!” Noah thunders out those last three words. “You kept this wedge between Lottie and me, and you were never going to tell her, were you?”
Everett’s lips expand momentarily in a depleted smile. “That’s not true, Lemon. In the beginning, I had every intention of setting the record straight, but you were content to let the marriage ride on paper only, a mere business arrangement. And because I didn’t want you to think that I had done this by design in an effort to step between Noah and you, I had quietly begun to speak with a few friends of mine who are divorce attorneys. Just last month, I learned that because my father’s estate was still in the process of rolling out for me, the consensus was that a divorce in the middle of it might terminate my trust.”
&nb
sp; “Why is that?” Noah asks it curt, no mercy in his tone whatsoever.
Everett takes a deep breath. “Because although there was no legal binding for me to marry, even though my father stipulated it so, there was a legal measure put into place should I divorce within a year of my nuptials.”
Noah’s chest bounces with a dry laugh. “Hear that, Lot? He’s got you coming and going. You didn’t need to marry him, but now you can’t divorce him. How very convenient.”
Everett glowers at Noah. “She can divorce me. In fact, I have the ball rolling.” Everett’s lips curve my way. “I’m sorry to spring this on you in your delicate condition. I can have this untangled in just a few weeks. It was never my intent to corner you into a marriage you didn’t want in on.”
“You were going to divorce me because you felt bad.” My hand covers my mouth as a heavy sadness fills me. “Oh, Everett, you don’t have to do that. And wait, you were sorting through all this just last month? So it must have been on your mind when Bizzy was around to read it. No wonder she said this was a bombshell that could destroy us.”
Everett gives a long blink. “That’s exactly what happened.”
“Everett.” I shake my head up at him. “You said that lawyer whispered something to you just as I was walking down the aisle. And I agree with the fact you clearly didn’t have time to process it.” I suck in my bottom lip. “I’m guessing a part of you wanted it.”
“All of me wanted it.” He swallows hard. “I’m in love with you, Lemon. That will never change.”
Both Greer and Collette coo at his proclamation.
“I’m in love with you, too, Everett.” My shoulders bounce. “And I don’t want to talk about divorce. Not one part of me thinks you tricked me. I think you were caught off guard, and before you knew it, you were in over your head. And now here we are.”
Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 8 Page 47
