Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery

by Addison Moore

  “What’s a matter, Lot?” Carlotta gives my arm a jostle as if she were trying to pull me out of my trance.

  Both Carlotta and Keelie insisted on accompanying me on my latest investigative mission, and I didn’t protest at all.

  Keelie squints in the direction I’m staring and gasps. “Oh my stars! Is that?”

  “Don’t say his name,” I hiss. The human ear is trained to hear its own name at remarkably low decibels, and God knows I don’t want to clue Everett in on the fact I just caught him red-handed—with a redhead in a red coat no less.

  My entire body goes numb. I can’t move. It’s as if my life whizzes before my eyes, and just like that, it’s all over before it ever really began.

  A lone tear rolls down my cheek, and the icy air licks it with its fiery tongue.

  Carlotta gasps. “Well, there’s your clincher. He’s a two-timer.”

  “He’s a two-timer,” I say in disbelief. “How is this my life?”

  It’s not. I refuse to lay claim to it.

  Keelie scoffs. “Actually, you have a long history of going out with cheaters. First, there was Bear, then that ninny in New York you were engaged to.”

  Carlotta nods. “Let’s not forget Foxy.”

  A hard groan comes from me just as a white Range Rover speeds right up to where we’re standing and out pops Evie before the vehicle speeds away again.

  “I knew it!” She clasps her hands together. “You’re on a stakeout or something, right? Dash and I saw your minivan leaving the bakery with Keelie and Carlotta, and I thought we should follow you. So what are we doing?” She quickly puts her long hair into a bun that wobbles directly over the top of her head. “Don’t worry, Mom. We’ve got this. Do you need me to distract someone?”

  “Nope,” Keelie answers for me as she leads us in through the very doors Everett just emerged from. “That’s what she’s got me for. It’s late, my sister should be long gone for the day, and she always leaves men in charge at night. It gives her a false sense of security thinking they’ll ward off any criminals.”

  “And yet here we are.” Evie skips as she says it.

  “We’re not criminals,” I’m quick to tell her.

  Evie shoots me a look. “Are we about to do something illegal?”

  My mouth opens then closes. “If the door is unlocked and I happen to get lost, it’s not entirely illegal.” But I’m pretty sure riffling through their personal files is a felony offense.

  “How do you like that?” Carlotta harps. “My own niece is a sexist. Naomi’s got another thing coming if she thinks all she needs to do to ensure security is have a man around.”

  Keelie frowns over at her. “More like your niece likes to find any excuse to hire as many hot men to work with as possible. Which is exactly why I’m here. I’m going to unzip my jacket and show the man at the front desk my goodies while you run off and get the info you need, Lottie.”

  Evie gags. “You’re going to show him your boobs? You really think that’s going to put some poor guy in a trance? He’ll call the cops on you, right after he takes a few pictures for his personal files.”

  Keelie scoffs. “You haven’t seen my boobs. You don’t know what they’re capable of. They’ve grown ten times in size after I had little Bear.”

  “So has the rest of you, Keelie Nell,” Carlotta blabbers. “So has the rest of you.”

  “Oh, would you stop,” I hiss over at my look-alike. “Keelie, I’m sure your boobs are wonderful, and by the way, so is the rest of your body, but I think we should stick to something a little more G-rated now that Evie is here.”

  “Right,” Keelie says as we glide into the well-lit foyer, with its ritzy flocked Christmas tree bejeweled with extravagant red and white ornaments. “Hey? Maybe I can find out if Everett rented a room?”

  I quickly link my arm to Keelie’s and give it a death squeeze.

  Evie leans in. “Why would Dad rent a room here? Did Uncle Noah give him the boot? If Dad is moving into the luxury digs at the Manor, I might have to come with him.”

  “Traitor,” Carlotta belches the word out, and I glower over at her.

  “Evie,” I say. “I will never accuse you of being a traitor for loving your father.”

  She shrugs. “I was going to say it’s because they have a spa on site.”

  “Think of the cats,” Carlotta pleads with her. “Who’s gonna feed them? You know half the time all Lot cares about is feeding herself. Heck, without you there to run the house, Lottie might eat those furry little kittens. And what about our system? I knock three times if I have a boy over and you knock three times if you—”

  Evie makes crazy eyes at Carlotta and stops her in her tattletale tracks.

  “Evie?” I growl at her without meaning to. “Please tell me you’re not having boys over.”

  “Wouldn’t you just like to accuse me of it,” she hisses. “First, you take away my ski trip, and now you want to take away my friends. Don’t worry, Mom. Carlotta has her imaginary ghostly boyfriend, and I have mine. It’s a fun game we play.”

  Great. Why do I get the feeling I’m the one getting played?

  We hit the front desk and pretty much assault a poor young man with a jumble of words all at once. And while he tries desperately to make heads or tails out of it all, I speed toward the ballroom and bypass it until I find a small hallway with a door marked private. It’s exactly where Candy said it would be. I try the handle, but the room is locked.

  Shoot.

  “What’s the matter?” Carlotta pops up next to me and pulls a bobby pin from her bra. I’m not even going to ask. “Can’t get in, huh? That’s what you got me here for.”

  Evie appears in the murky shadows, and I groan.

  “Evie, you can’t come in,” I tell her. “Your father will kill me.”

  Carlotta chuckles. “Well, then it will be a double homicide because I’m pretty sure you’re going to kill him.”

  Evie’s mouth falls open. “What’s going on? What did Dad do? Does this have something to do with that sick pamphlet I found lying around on your dresser the other day? And before you ask, I needed to borrow an ugly sweater for a party I was going to.”

  “An ugly Christmas sweater?” I ask. “I don’t think I have one.”

  “Oh, Mom, you’ve got plenty.”

  Carlotta nods. “An unfair amount. Before you went and bought them all out, I wish you would have left some for the rest of us.”

  “Very funny,” I say just as the door glides open, and Carlotta steps in and switches on the lights.

  Evie steps in before me. “This looks so basic.”

  I take it all in. “If your definition of basic is a desk and a filing cabinet, then you’re right.”

  “Don’t forget the couch.” Carlotta is quick to make herself comfortable on a tiny loveseat that narrowly fits wall to wall.

  Evie picks up a colorful, large tin and opens it to reveal cheese-flavored popcorn.

  “We’ve got snacks!” she sings as she dives next to Carlotta.

  “I wouldn’t trust those. They could be poisoned for all you know.”

  Carlotta grunts, “Who are we kidding, Lot? You’re the only killer in this one-horse town. The only guessing game is, who are you gonna pin it on this time?”

  “You’re on the list,” I say as I touch the mouse and the computer screen lights up. I spot Numbers, the exact same software I use at the bakery to keep up with my business accounting, and I head on in.

  Chris Holiday is the money bags around here. I’m assuming I’m looking at his handiwork. I scan the last few months but don’t find anything suspicious. All of the expenses seem legitimate to me. A lot of withdrawals, but I’m assuming that’s to purchase gifts and food and whatever else they need to make up the Christmas baskets they’ll be delivering this year. The last row to each transaction requires electronic initials. It’s standard on the software to require an ID before inputting.

  A thought comes to me. In order to make any chan
ges to the balance sheet, it requires the user to log in. And each set of initials requires a new login. But what most employees who use this don’t realize is that if you double click the initials, it will show the username of the person who logged in, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be the same person. I begin double clicking. I may not be able to do any transactions, but the software doesn’t care that I’m noseying around.

  Chris, Chris, Chris—so far it’s all him. Suze.

  SUZE! And she left Chris’ initials in her wake—and perhaps to cover her tracks. Oh my goodness, she’s a witch and a crook. Not that the beguilers are witches, but still—Suze just might be the exception. I count nine different withdrawals from Suze posing as Chris. It’s almost as if she was trying to set him up for the fall.

  Would Suze really do something like that?

  I go back another fifteen or so transactions and find another handful of transactions that Suze has pilfered.

  I click on yet another set of poor Chris’ initials, but it’s not Suze’s login this time. It’s Gloria’s. A relatively small withdrawal for less than ten dollars. Odd.

  Huh.

  I take a few dozen screenshots with my phone before pulling open the drawers and finding a bloated planner. I pull the calendar to myself and open it up to December. The same loopy cursive handwriting is sprinkled throughout the month. And judging by the fact it reads call Candy, call Elodie in the upper right, I’m guessing this was Gloria’s planner.

  I flip the calendar back a page to November and note that a few days before Thanksgiving it reads Elodie, and it just so happens to be underlined three times. Below that it reads 20 K.

  “Twenty thousand?” I whisper as I continue to scan the book for clues. Did Gloria lend Elodie twenty thousand dollars before Thanksgiving?

  Suze did say that Elodie was having trouble paying her rent last month, and now she seems just fine. Interesting.

  I flip the calendar back to October and find a black heart drawn over the fifteenth and the letters RIP written so small you practically need a magnifying glass to see them. RIP? Rest in peace? No, that can’t be right. It’s probably someone’s initials. Maybe a placeholder for a meeting she was having for the charity.

  The door to the tiny office swings open, and the three of us solidify, only to see Detective Noah Fox standing there, flashing his badge.

  “Noah.” I breathe a sigh of relief, my chest pulsating like mad as I struggle to catch my breath.

  Evie tosses a handful of popcorn at him. “You scared us half to death.”

  Noah frowns at the three of us. “You think that was scary? Wait until you spend the night behind bars.”

  Carlotta jumps to her feet. “I’ve seen those beefy guards.” She thrusts her hands his way. “Take me now, Foxy. I’ll serve enough time for the three of us.”

  Evie shrugs. “I’m in.”

  “Stop,” I say, fishing my keys out and tossing them to Carlotta. “Take Evie and Keelie home. If you go now, Keelie might still be modestly dressed.”

  Noah shakes his head my way.

  “Fine,” Carlotta says as they file out of the room. “But I’m stopping by the Steak Shack on the way home and picking up some burgers.”

  “Ooh, pick a couple up for me,” I tell her. “Like six.” I shrug over to Noah. “You never know. I might get up hungry in the night. Extra pickles,” I call out as they take off, and I hear Evie say some snarky remark about me needing a meat locker in the kitchen.

  “Lottie.” Noah’s brows narrow as he says it, and I can see the disappointment written on his face.

  “Oh, Noah.” I wrap my arms around him, and all of the emotions I’ve been holding back come flooding to the surface.

  “Whoa, easy.” He buries a kiss in my hair. “Is this about Everett?”

  I nod as I try my hardest to pull it together. “I think I made a terrible mistake. I don’t think he’s the man I thought he was.”

  “What are you talking about?” He searches my features as if he were genuinely confused.

  “Never mind. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”

  “Let’s get out of here.” He helps me out of the room before flicking off the lights. “You up for a sleigh ride? There are a couple of horses out front waiting to take a spin around this place.”

  I bite down on a smile. “I’d like that a lot.”

  He navigates us out front, and soon we’re seated in that enchanted sleigh that’s lit up like a dream as the horses and the driver lead us on an adventure through this magical snowy night.

  “How did you find me?” I ask as Noah wraps his arm around me tightly and we warm ourselves under the wool blanket we were provided.

  “I have a tracking device on your van, remember?”

  “That’s right. Is it too late to request that you put one on Everett’s car?”

  “Lottie.” He inches back, and I shake my head.

  “Never mind,” I say. “I really don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Then let’s talk about the case. What did you glean?”

  “That your mother may not just hold transmundane powers, but she’s very good at borrowing money from the organization she volunteers for.” I quickly tell him about the transactions she’s been making—or taking.

  “What in the heck?” He looks genuinely stymied by the thought. “I can’t believe this.” He tips his head back and blows out a breath. “The plan is, I was going to wait until after Christmas to confront her about the weapon. I was hoping that long before then I would have—”

  “Found the real killer.” I shrug up at him. “Noah, I heard your mother threaten Gloria just before she was killed.” I quickly recant that conversation to him.

  Noah shakes his head as he stares straight ahead. “She told Gloria that she would rue the day she chose to challenge her?”

  I nod. “That she crossed a serious line. And the real clincher was when she said, ‘And we both know what happened to the last person that crossed a serious line with me. I did away with him, and I’ll do away with you.’” I take a breath. “Noah, do you think your mother could have made good on that threat?”

  He swallows hard. “I hope not.” A plume of fog expels from his nostrils. “Let’s go over the suspects—other than my mother.”

  “There’s Chris Holiday. There were rumors of him stealing, but Hook doesn’t think he did it, and according to those records, the only one dipping into the pot was Suze.” I wince. “Sorry.”

  He shrugs. “Go on.”

  “There’s Ebenezer. He wanted to ditch Gloria. He was seeing someone else, and I think she found out. But I don’t really see a motive there. Then there’s Elodie Frost. Like I said, it sounds as if Gloria gave her twenty grand. That would explain the note and the fact Elodie is on a spending spree. Your mother likened her to a shopaholic. I mean, she could be, but it is Christmastime. That pretty much describes everyone this time of year.”

  Noah’s chest broadens. “Elodie had a valid motive. She may have owed Gloria a lot of money.”

  “And I saw Gloria openly slap Elodie at the event that night. Things were heated between the two of them.”

  “What about Candy? Anything on her?”

  A laugh bumps through me. “The only offense that she’s guilty of is being friends with Cormack and Cressida.”

  The scenery glows around us, and for a moment it seems as if Noah and I have been transported to an enchanted forest as the moon turns the snow a pale shade of blue.

  “Oh, it’s beautiful.” I sigh, and just like that, my stomach thumps. “Noah!” I quickly grab his hand and lay it over my belly, and the baby gives another raucous kick.

  Noah and I share a laugh as the little tyke does it again and again.

  The ride comes to an end, and we head back to Country Cottage Road in Noah’s truck. My car is already in the driveway, and I’m thankful that Carlotta and Evie made it home safely.

  “Can you believe I’m going to have a baby in just a few short m
onths?” I marvel as he pulls in front of my new rental.

  “We’re going to have a baby in a few short months,” he corrects as he gets out of the truck before helping me up the porch.

  A horrible feeling takes over as Suze’s rude yet heartfelt plea comes back to me. Suze wants me to cut Noah loose. I don’t think I can ever do that. Noah is family no matter whose baby I’m about to have.

  I look across the street and note that Everett’s car is parked in front of Noah’s place. The lights are on in his cabin, and I’m guessing Everett is getting ready to call it a day—without me, of course. He doesn’t seem to need me anymore. We’ve changed. In the blink of an eye, it’s altogether different now.

  “Promise me you won’t change, Noah.”

  “I won’t change, Lot.” He lands a kiss to my cheek. “Get some rest.” He pulls back, and his dimples dip in and out. “For what it’s worth, he’s pretty miserable, too.”

  Noah waits until I’m inside before taking off, and I close the door shut as Pancake and Waffles run over to greet me. But before I can pick them up, an odd sight snags my attention.

  Carlotta and Greer Giles look to be locked in a wrestling match of some sort with their hands gripping each other’s shoulders rather aggressively.

  I glance down the hall, and a seam of light shines from beneath Evie’s door.

  “You hussy!” Carlotta belts it out.

  Greer growls as she gives Carlotta a throttle, “You beast!”

  “All right, enough,” I say. “What’s going on?”

  “Turn off the lights, Lot,” Carlotta instructs, and I do as I’m told, leaving a couple of her kinky candles, Berry Christmas and Gingerbread Dream, glowing. I’m pretty proficient in Carlotta’s inventory by now. Of course, Greer is glowing, too, an ethereal shade of blue with a smattering of tiny silver stars shimmering all around her.

  Carlotta steps before the painting of that wickedly handsome man in the riding outfit and tears open her blouse, reveling two glowing sacks of flesh that leave both Greer and me turning our heads in haste.