Murder in the Mix (Books 4-6) Read online

  It looks up at me with those glowing red eyes and whimpers as if trying its best to lick up the mess once again.

  “I’m sorry you can’t indulge. But if it makes you feel any better, brownies have far too much chocolate in them and they could kill you.” I wince as I say it. I suppose it’s rather a moot point anyway. “In that case, I’d sweep up both platters and let you have at it, but as fate and your lack of a digestive system would have it, I guess I have to clean the mess up myself.” A silver charm dangles from his neck. “I bet I can find out who you belonged to. Maybe there’s a number on here?” I balk at the thought. Like I’m really going to call someone and say you’d better watch your back. There’s a good chance you might be slaughtered in your sleep tonight. That would go over real well. But there’s no number, just the name Dutch written across the front.

  “Dutch?”

  As soon as I say it, his head jerks up—and he is indeed a boy. I gleaned that fact a moment ago while he was rolling around getting his tummy scratched to his heart’s content.

  Dutch sits up straight as if he heard someone calling his name from a distance, those fiery eyes pinned on something behind me. Then, just like that, he takes off and runs out the back door that leads to the parking lot.

  “Hey!” I call out, abandoning the broom as I speed into the night after him. I follow his golden fur through the lot and up a small mound of snow and stop short at the sight of something red sprawled out before me about twenty yards away. Sitting dutifully by that pile of cheap red velour and curly white wig is that red-eyed retriever.

  It takes all of my strength to hustle my way over, my boots sinking into the powder well past my ankles.

  Lying facedown in the snow is Tanner Redwood with one of my gingerbread cookies still curled in his hand. There’s a foot-long icicle piercing the side of his neck, and I quickly fall to my knees and pluck it out.

  “Lottie?” a familiar voice booms from behind as Noah races his way over, a bouquet of red roses in his hand, the other on his gun. “What the heck is going on?”

  “It’s Tanner,” I pant. “He’s dead.”

  Chapter 3

  There have been times in my life when I have really regretted leaving my bed in the morning. There have been places I’ve been to that I wish I could retrace my steps and erase any evidence of my presence. This moment in time happens to be a healthy mixture of both.

  “I know what this looks like,” I say, panting up a storm while holding a bloodied icicle over Tanner Redwood’s stone-cold body.

  “Did you kill him, Lottie?” The flowers slip from Noah’s hand as he staggers over and does a quick check of Tanner’s pulse.

  “No,” I say, dropping the murderous weapon and struggling to get back on my feet as the snow does its best to hold me still as if it were placing me under arrest itself. “I found him. I was in the kitchen, and there was this dog.” I come close to covering my mouth before noting the pink stain on my frozen fingers. “Anyway, I came out and found him like this, and then you showed up.”

  Noah is already on his phone calling in a possible homicide, and my stomach churns just hearing it.

  No sooner does the phone call end than the howl of sirens saw through the night.

  “Lottie”—Noah wraps an arm around me, gently pushing the hair from my face—“did you see anything at all? Did you notice anything funny going on inside?”

  “No. I mean, yes. I caught him cheating on Lainey twice in one night. With two different women!” I can’t seem to catch my breath as I say it. Every emotion under the sun is rushing through me, and as petty as it sounds, I’m still angry about the fact Tanner thought it would be acceptable to be so brazen.

  “You’re okay.” Noah holds me while he inspects my features. My God, he’s so stunningly handsome with the snow behind him, the dark sky framing him from above. Those flowers he dropped lie cold in the snow, so very stunning in their own right.

  “Were those flowers for me?” My voice is lower than a whisper as if Tanner could hear.

  Tanner’s the only other one out here other than the loyal Golden Retriever who’s lying by his side with his head resting over his paws, those glowing red eyes set to Tanner.

  Noah’s dimples press in deep. “Yes, Lot, they are.” He lands a soft kiss to my lips. “In a second I’ll get both them and you back in that warm room, but you have to tell me if you saw anything else going on with Tanner in there. Did he argue with anyone? Did anyone exhibit any threatening behavior toward him?”

  Lainey’s fierce reaction when she caught him red-handed comes back to me, and I shrink a little in Noah’s arms.

  “Lottie?” It almost sounds like a reprimand when he puts the inflection on my name like that.

  “Fine. Lainey flipped her lid when she caught him with another woman. She may have screamed that she was going to kill him—over and over again—the screaming, not the killing.” I wince. “But we both know she’s innocent. Besides, I told Everett to take her to her car and wait there for me. I bet that’s where she is right now.”

  “Lottie?” a male voice booms from behind, and we turn to see Everett jogging through the snow as he makes his way over. “Have you seen your sister?” His mouth falls open as he spots the pile of red velour and white curls. “Oh no.”

  “Oh yes,” Noah says just as a dozen sheriff’s vehicles pull into the lot.

  In a moment, the entire place is swarming with deputies.

  Captain Jack Turner—Keelie’s father who took me under his wing after my own father passed away—calls both Noah and me over.

  “Start talking.” He folds his enormous arms over his belly and gives me that look that I’ve grown to dread. Jack is tall and stately. He has always had a calm, in-control demeanor about him that has settled my spirit, but it doesn’t seem to be working at the moment.

  I spill out all the details I know sans the part about the handsome retriever, or anything to do with the fact my sister was openly threatening bodily harm to the recently deceased. There are simply some things better left unspoken.

  “Lottie.” Jack stomps his foot over the ground with great restraint. His face is quickly turning purple as if he were holding his breath. “You have got to stop stumbling upon dead bodies. This is beyond reasonable at this point.”

  “But I was never responsible before as I’m not now. And I’ve always graciously helped you catch the killer.” Dear God, it’s like I’ve been cursed to magnetize to the dead. Those pesky poltergeists don’t exactly help my dilemma either.

  Noah groans at the thought. He’s not exactly enthused over the fact I’ve infused myself into any of the aforementioned investigations. In fact, it’s often a point of contention between us.

  “I’m here!” a husky female calls out as none other than detective Ivy Fairbanks jogs up to the scene. “A deputy just briefed me.” She flits her luminescent eyes to mine. “I understand you were at the scene of the crime—again.” A paper white fog plumes from her mouth and gives her the appeal of a dragon. I’ve always suspected she’s had serpentine roots.

  Ivy is a redheaded beauty with a mean streak a mile wide. She’s tall and stately and carries herself with enough confidence to let you know she’s not afraid of anything, namely me. Although, she might scare me just a bit. A fact I’m not proud of.

  Jack turns to me. “Excuse us, Lottie.” The three of them shuffle off to the side just as my sister clip-clops out into the parking lot in her four-inch stilettos. My sister has never been one to eschew fashion because of a little snow on the ground.

  “Careful, you’re going to slip.” I trot over with my arms set wide as if I had the power to catch her from three feet away. “Where were you? And please, dear God, let there have been witnesses!”

  “What? I was in the bathroom bawling my eyes out when I wasn’t screaming out obscenities.”

  “The bathroom! That’s perfect! I bet half the community center saw you head on in.”

  “I doubt it. Once I ditched E
verett, I took off for the one in the foyer. Hot tip: it’s dead out there. Not a single line in the ladies’ room. Not a soul in sight.” She wrinkles her nose past my shoulder. “What’s going on out there? I was just coming to get you. There seems to be a problem with the show.”

  “It’s pretty much dead out there, too.” I grip my sister by the shoulders. “Brace yourself, Lainey. This is not good news.”

  “Oh my God, Forest!” Her voice riots into the night and miraculously Forest Donovan appears from nowhere and wraps his arms around her as if she just summoned him from the great beyond. They exchange a quick, and might I add heated, embrace before Lainey turns back to me. “If it’s not Forest, who is it?”

  “You didn’t hear?” Forest runs his finger under her jawline, and it looks tender and intimate as if they never skipped a beat. “They found Tanner. He’s dead.”

  “What?” Lainey’s eyes blow up the size of my cookie platters. “Oh my God, they think I did it, don’t they? Wait—was he butchered to death just the way I pictured? Oh my God, I’m an animal! I have the superpower to kill by way of suggestion!”

  Forest drums out a sorrowful laugh as he struggles to get her attention once again. “I promise, you’re in the clear.”

  Jack Turner comes up with his badge shining under the streetlamp. “Lottie—Lainey Lemon? I’d like to have a word with you girls. Witnesses say you were having a fit with the deceased just a few minutes before you”—he glowers at me a moment—“were found hovering over his body with an icicle.”

  Lainey gasps just as Forest averts his eyes.

  “I didn’t do it, I swear. I found him in the snow, and I plucked that thing out of his neck. I thought I might save his life. You don’t think this has anything to do with those package thefts, do you?” Silly, I know, but right about now, I’d say anything to take the spotlight off of me.

  Poor Jack’s eyes double in size. “No, Lottie, I don’t.”

  Ivy Fairbanks struts up with an unreasonably handsome Noah by her side. It is so not fair that he only gets better looking as the night wears on. This night of all nights.

  “We’ll take it from here, captain.” Ivy strides over, looking every bit the supermodel she secretly is. “Lottie, we have your prints on file at the station. We’ll still need to question you both at length.” She looks to Forest. “You as well, Donovan. Witnesses saw you running out the back.”

  I glance over my shoulder and, sure enough, every person who was in the community center has created a ring outside of the barrier the sheriff’s department has erected.

  Ivy separates Lainey and me, and I watch as both my sister and Forest take off with Noah.

  “I suppose it was too much to ask to have my boyfriend conduct the questioning.”

  Ivy smirks at the thought. “Boyfriend? How very junior high of you.”

  “Is not,” I’m quick to protest as she ticks her head for me to follow her over to an opened police cruiser. “It’s perfectly acceptable for a woman of any age to refer to her love interest as a boyfriend. It sure sounds a lot better than gentleman caller. Now that sounds all kinds of wrong.”

  She practically shoves me into the back seat while hovering intimidatingly over me with a notepad in hand while I lob answers at all the asinine questions she tosses my way. Again, I cleverly leave out both that cute little golden pooch and my sister’s tirade. Ivy here is going to have to do more than dance for her dinner if she ever expects to get anything so juicy out of me.

  She slips her pen against the notebook before looking back to the community center. “I’ve got an entire fleet of people to speak with before the night is through. You’re free to go. Don’t leave town. I might make a pit stop at that bakery of yours.”

  “Sounds great. I look forward to your visit.” I’m sure it’s not a sin at all to lie to an authority on the night a beautiful pooch leads you to a dead body.

  A happy yelp comes from the field, and I look over to see the beautiful beast illuminated from the inside with a golden glow as he bounds his way over with a joyful bark.

  “I can hear you!” I marvel as he skips his way over, and I give his neck a quick pat. Those flaming red eyes of his don’t look half as scary now that I’ve gotten to know him a bit. Then it hits me. Gah! I heard him! I heard him bark. I can hear his panting.

  Oh my dear God up in heaven, forgive me. It’s never gone this far before. It’s never at all been vocal. Come to think of it, I heard him back in the kitchen whimpering over the brownies he couldn’t eat. Not even Everett’s father who graced us with his ghostly presence was of the verbal variety.

  Hey? I wonder if this means my powers are getting stronger?

  Powers. I hate that word. But in all honesty, I have never known how to frame this strange yet spooky ability of mine.

  Ivy glances back at me with disdain. “Yes, you heard me.” She sniffs as her gaze drops to the friendly pup as if she could see him. “What are you doing?”

  “Oh!” My fingers quickly migrate to my shin. “I have an itch. Probably fleas. I’ve got plenty of those.”

  “Fleas? This time of year?”

  Before I can answer, Noah crops up behind her, and Ivy offers him a wry smile.

  “I’d look out if I were you, Detective Fox. Your little girlfriend has fleas.” She takes off as I struggle to come up with a clever response.

  “Don’t you listen to her.” I wrap my arms around Noah as his chest rumbles with a dull laugh. “For one, I don’t have fleas. And two, I’m not that little. That’s just her way of being condescending.”

  “I’m not listening to her, I promise.” He bounces his nose to mine. “At least regarding the fleas. Unfortunately, as my superior, I do have to obey her authority, and it looks as if I have not only a very long night ahead of me but a very long weekend.” A pained expression takes over as he lifts a cautious brow. “I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry? I’m fit to kill.” I bite down over my lip. “I guess we’ll have to postpone our plans.” I scour the lot a moment. “Hey? Where’s my sister?”

  “Forest took her to Ashford. She’s pretty shaken up. We’re taking their prints, Lottie. Just basic stuff. No need to panic. He mentioned he’d get her home and stay the night.”

  “Staying the night? I’ve gone from feeling sorry for my sister to envying her.” I give his ribs a quick pinch, and a momentary smile bounces on his lips.

  Figures. Noah and I move heaven and earth to make sure we get three blissful days together, and, it turns out, all the coital luck goes to Lainey and Forest. Although, I seriously doubt anything of the coital variety will be happening for the two of them on a night like tonight. If I were them, I’d settle for a few good, hearty embraces and maybe an entire slew of I’m sorrys. At least it’s a start.

  A horrible moan comes from me as Dutch stirs at my feet. “I can’t believe this is happening, and on this Friday night of all Fridays. It’s horrible all around. I’m sorry for Tanner, and I’m sorry for us, too. Rain check?”

  “I promise.”

  “At least I’ve got the flowers.” I glance over and find them firmly within the bounds of the bright yellow caution tape. The sheriff’s department just set up a spotlight over the scene as the coroner’s van rolls lazily into the lot. A mean shiver runs though me at the sight. I don’t think there’s a person on the planet who can ever get used to that sight, with the exception of the coroner, of course.

  “About that…”

  “I don’t have flowers anymore, do I?”

  “They were a little too close to the body. The captain thinks they should be carefully exhumed in the event they’re covering evidence. But you will have flowers. New, better flowers.” He drops a warm kiss over my lips, and it’s as if all of Honey Hollow melts away for a moment. Noah’s kisses have always held a world of magic to them. “You will have lots and lots of flowers.”

  I shake my head up at him. “Those were more than enough. I just want you.”

  His dimples dig in a
moment, no smile, as his mouth takes mine. Noah blesses me with a bone-shattering kiss that makes me want to kidnap him from the scene and take him to another state entirely. But I don’t. Instead, I let him walk me to my car, and shockingly Dutch, the ever-faithful retriever, hops right in, too.

  We take off for home, just my newly acquired spectral with the glowing red eyes and me.

  Not exactly how I envisioned this evening would end. I just hope to God my sweet Himalayan, Pancake, doesn’t share my gift for all things supernatural. Things could get dicey.

  I look in my rearview mirror as those red and blue lights continue to spasm into the night.

  Things are already dicey.

  That frozen spear I plucked from him comes to mind, and I look down over my fingers, still stained pink with Tanner Redwood’s blood.

  Someone killed Tanner, and I know for a fact it wasn’t Forest, Lainey, or me.

  Well, I know for a fact it wasn’t Lainey and me.

  A dull groan evicts from my throat.

  I know for a fact it wasn’t me. And that doesn’t make me feel a whole lot better.

  Both Forest and Lainey were angry enough to do it.

  But are they killers?

  I suppose I’ll have to find out.

  Chapter 4

  It turns out, Pancake can in fact detect the golden malfeasance I’ve brought home with me.

  “Rawrr!” The butter yellow hair on the back of his neck stands up on end as he runs from one corner of the room to the next, and bounding behind him like a living, breathing, demon-eyed cutie is Dutch in full-on attack mode.

  “Stop!” I scream as Dutch and those blazing red eyes chase Pancake around the room, nearly knocking over my end table and sending my ginger jar lamp wobbling on its base. “Gah!” I do my best to right it just as a knock erupts on the door.

  “Just a minute!” I sing just as Pancake whizzes by, and I make an effort to flop on top of him—stopping just shy of turning Pancake into a, well, a pancake. But the wily cat wiggles free and zips under the sofa, and I do a world record belly flop right onto the hardwood floors. Note to self: take your mother up on the offer to gift you one of her antique oriental rugs.