“I’m sorry.” It comes out curt because I’m really not at all. “But my bakery was being pilfered, and fingers were pointing in my direction before I ever left the Evergreen Manor that night. Bear’s not in trouble, is he? He’s my friend. Please go easy on him.” Bear and I haven’t always been on speaking terms, but after that horrible tragedy with Hunter, we’ve pretty much put our unsettled past behind us and have been nothing but amicable ever since. It’s sort of nice having Bear as a friend.
Noah tips his head suspiciously. “You and Bear are friends again?”
“Yes. He’s good with a hammer and happened to have the key to Collette Jenner’s house. He’s the best kind of friend,” I tease. “Not to mention after that nightmare with Hunter, we’ve put all past grievances aside.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that. But I’m not glad to hear that the two of you went into Collette’s home after she was murdered.” His eyes sharpen over mine. “What were you doing, and what did you find? Detective Fairbanks questioned him this morning, and the only reason you’re not in Ashford sitting in the hot seat is because Bear emphatically denied having anyone with him. You do realize he perjured himself for you.”
My hand flies to my lips. “Oh God, this is turning into another horrible nightmare. You can’t tell Ivy. She’ll ruin everything.”
His eyes spin wild like pinwheels. “Lottie, you are crossing every line I’m asking you not to go near.”
“You never instructed me not to go into that house.” My voice hikes up a notch.
“Because common sense lends me to believe I wouldn’t have to!” His voice matches mine, and a couple of tourists glance our way. “Look”—his voice softens as he brushes a kiss over my nose—“you are in way over your head. And I am not going to implicate you, but Fairbanks is smart enough to put two and two together. There was a streetlight malfunctioning in front of Collette’s house, and half the neighborhood was up cursing at it when they saw Bear and a woman, with your height and hair coloring, ducking in through the back door. What happened when you got into the house?”
“Bear had been doing some work for her and needed to get his tools.”
“At that time of night? Knowing what he did about her?” He lifts a brow.
“Okay, fine. I may have charmingly reminded him he owed me one—and he let me do my thing while he cleaned up his mess.”
“God.” He closes his eyes. “Did you touch anything?”
I shake my head. “I used my sleeve.” I wince, and poor Noah shakes his head in disbelief.
“You’re a seasoned pro. What did you see?”
“Nothing really. The house hardly looked lived in. I guess that’s because she was always at the office. But I did find this.” I take out my phone and pull up a picture of the notebook.
“Shit!” Noah looks as if he’s about to jump out of his skin. “You took pictures? You need to delete those right now.”
“No way.” I pull my phone close to my chest. “There are some serious clues here. I just have to mine them a bit to see what they mean.” I show him the legal pad filled to the brim with odd details she needed to tend to and the orange sticky note that reads Jungle Room enthusiastically. “And it turns out that good old Collette had a hankering for the dirty side of bedroom business.” I blush a little when I say it. As much as I hate to admit it, I gave my virginity to Bear at a discounted rate in exchange for a bad pick-up line and a strong margarita. I gave much more to Curt, and I regret every mattress move I ever shared with him. I swore to myself I wouldn’t let another man have me until I was certain he was the one. And my quivering thighs, my hungry to have him stomach, screams that Noah Corbin Fox is indeed the one.
“Dirty bedroom business?” His lids hang heavy as he whispers the words hot over my lips. “What did you see, Lottie?”
“She had these—I don’t know, tools or toys in the nightstand next to her bed. Needless to say, I didn’t take a picture of them. But they were out there.”
“They weren’t out there. You were snooping.”
“Well, they may as well have punched my face as soon as I opened the drawer—with my sleeve.”
“I’m sure Collette would have loved to have seen them do just that. I’ll check it out tomorrow afternoon. We’ll be searching the property.”
“Oh, you’ll find them. And the legal pad is in her briefcase on the desk in her bedroom—and the note about the Jungle Room is on the counter in the bathroom next to a basket full of makeup. Any word on what they used to poison her?”
The nebulous they would be me at the moment. As far as the sheriff’s department is concerned, I’m still the number one suspect.
Noah glances past me a second before leaning in. “Toxicology is pointing to a homemade remedy. Maybe wolf’s bane.”
“Wolf’s bane?”
“Also known as the devil’s helmet, the queen of poison. It’s a plant that’s easily absorbed into the system, and given the right amount, causes death in minutes. The strange thing is that they didn’t find a trace of it anywhere on the table that night. Not in her food, not in yours. They found it in her coffee.” I shrink a little because I just so happened to have provided those pumpkin spice lattes. He touches his forehead to mine a moment. “Which brings me to the bit of good news I was coming to give you. Fairbanks and I have officially absolved you as a suspect. There simply isn’t enough motive or leads to pursue you any further. And please don’t go off and give us any. I mean it, Lottie. You need to step back and let the professionals handle it from here.”
“Detective Fairbanks and you.” I give a vigorous nod. “You better believe I will. Now that I’m no longer a suspect, I’ll be eligible to participate in the pumpkin pie bake-off later this month, and I might even drive home the grand prize—a brand new refrigerated cargo van that will work perfectly for catering events.”
“I’m sure you’ll take home the grand prize.” Noah leans in and lands a lingering kiss to my lips that heats me from the inside out until I reach my boiling point in the very best way.
I pull back and bat my lashes up at him dreamily. “I think I’ve already won the grand prize.” I give his tie a gentle tug, pulling him down to me another notch.
“The winner would be me.” He presses his lips to mine a moment. “How about dinner sometime this week? I miss seeing your smiling face.”
“Don’t give me anything to frown about and you got a deal. I’m open every night. Just give me a holler.”
“Will do and don’t forget, no funny business. There is a very dangerous person out there who was brazen enough to kill in a room full of people.”
“Aye aye, sir.” I offer a mock salute. “Say, now that I’m not at the top of the suspect list, who’s next on your professional radar?” I’m only half-teasing. Everyone in that room had a beef with Collette.
Noah shakes his head subtly. His expression grows serious as if it were dire news.
“It can’t be that bad,” I tease. “I hardly knew anyone in that room, so I doubt I’ll take it as hard as you are.”
“You know him well enough.”
“Him?” Mr. Rutherford comes to mind, then Josh the mouth-to-mouth guy who wasn’t to touch her—and then another far more handsome and respectable man pops to mind. “No!” I bark so loud half the park freezes solid for a second.
“Yes. I let him know this morning. He’s not too thrilled.”
“Will it affect his career? I mean, do they allow judges who are suspects in active homicide investigations to preside over a courtroom?”
“Not for long. He’s got five days to clear his name before he’s suspended.”
“Five days.” My God, Everett could lose his entire career over this nightmare.
“And that’s more than enough time for me to prove he didn’t do it.” He tips his head to meet my wandering gaze. “Me being the operative word. Do we agree on that?”
I hold my tongue a moment because there is not one single part of me that wants to agree.
Instead, I nod in lieu of words.
I’m nodding because Noah is gorgeous, and right, and my brand new boyfriend whom I don’t want to ruin things with.
“Good.” Noah crashes a kiss to my lips, and I don’t bother withholding my tongue from him another moment. Noah and I exchange a heart-stopping lip-lock right there under that old faithful oak, in the middle of the day, right here in Honey Hollow.
Noah and I are finally at peace together.
But a small part of me can never really be at peace knowing that Everett only has days before he’s forced off the bench.
And I’ll do everything I can to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Chapter 7
All night I toss and turn trying to think of ways to help Everett without actually seeing Everett, because to be honest that whole quasi-invisible father figure freaks me out a bit, but I’ve got nothing.
I get to the Cutie Pie early and bake my heart out, and the bakery is packed with bodies until well past noon. That’s when one of my customers informs me she was at the awards banquet last Saturday night and just had to come in for some more of those addicting sweet treats. She casually mentioned that the entire PR firm has been raving about them ever since. Odd, considering the fact one of their own bit the big one while imbibing on a latte that I provided. But what they may not realize is that the sweet treats and the lovely lattes were all born from the same kitchen. As soon as she left, I was hit with a humdinger of an idea and convinced Keelie to help me pull it off.
“You sure we’re not going to get arrested?” Keelie’s usual bubbling demeanor has been replaced with a morbid dread of the county jail. Both our arms are brimming with giant platters of cookies, and if the wind picks up again, it might just rain pumpkin pinwheels.
“I’m positive,” I say, looking into the darkened windows of the Weitez and Winnow, Endeavor PR firm. It’s a six-story building made entirely of steel and black glossy windows. There’s an air of superiority to the building itself, and I’m willing to bet it’s a contagion that’s spread to the minions who dwell inside. “Besides, we’re simply bringing them a couple of samplers to enjoy as a sign of our appreciation for allowing us to cater that night.” A couple of men in business suits exit, looking intimidating with their dark sunglasses—and with no sun in sight—their briefcases heavy with presumably important things. I look to Keelie. “Whatever you do, don’t mention Collette Jenner.”
We stride in and are greeted with a spacious floor plan, clean and bright, all steel and Carrera marble. The staircase to our left is made of a series of hard angles, and the railing looks as if it’s made of steel string.
A warm face glances up from the front desk, and I press out a smile as we head on over.
“I remember you!” I say a touch too cheerfully to the dirty blonde with a bit of a mischievous look in her eyes. “Collette Jenner introduced you as her best friend.”
Keelie steps on my toes so hard the air gets knocked out of my lungs just as efficiently as if she socked me in the gut.
“Oh”—her face crumbles a moment—“that’s right. You’re the girl who baked the cookies.” She points to the trays. “I’m Jenna Hatfield.”
“Hi, Jenna. We brought these for the company, for anyone who might want them. I just thought it might be a kind gesture during these trying times.”
“By all means, put them down. They’ll be gone in ten minutes and mostly by me.” She giggles as I peel the plastic wrap off them, and the sweet scents of sugar and vanilla fill the air. She snaps up a brownie dusted in confectioners’ sugar and moans into its fudgy goodness. “You really are good at what you do.”
“Right.” I glance to Keelie and shrug. “And, um, Collette was really good at what she did. I hear the funeral is Saturday. I’m sure we’ll be getting the final details soon.”
“Oh, I already have them,” she says with a mouthful before pulling up her phone. “Noon at the Honey Hollow Covenant Church. Mr. Rutherford and Collette were really close.” She averts her eyes when she says it, and it sounds an alarm in me.
“Oh? That’s great. I’m really close with my boss, too. In fact, I think of her as a grandmother. I bet Collette felt the same warm paternal feelings.” All that kinky garb she has in her dresser drawer leads me to believe otherwise.
A gurgling laugh emits from the girl, and there goes that eye roll again. “Collette didn’t think of him as any sort of father figure. Nope, more like a sugar daddy, if you know what I mean.” She gives a little wink as she pops a pumpkin spice cookie into her mouth.
Keelie knocks her knee into mine. “Oh, honey, I know all about that. I once dated a higher-up in my company, and his wife was none the wiser. That man had more money and time to burn than I could spend. But we all know what he was really after.” A husky laugh pumps from her.
My mouth falls open, unsure of where to take this crazy train next.
Jenna lifts a finger. “Funny you should say that—but let’s be honest, that’s all he wanted from Collette.”
What? Score! I’ll have to remember to high-five Keelie in the car—and not with my fist like I threatened to do if she got out of line.
A deadly thought comes to me. “But wives don’t look too fondly on that kind of thing once something of that nature is revealed. In fact, it could make them stark raving mad.”
Jenna snatches a honey bar off the tray and waves me off. “Patty couldn’t care less who her husband is banging these days.” She does a quick sweep of the vicinity before standing up and leaning in. “He’s into things that Patricia Rutherford would rather die than do. I should know. He was into them with me, too.” She guffaws at the thought, and I elbow Keelie in the ribs until we’re cackling right along with her.
“Yeah, some people just don’t get it,” I say, completely unaware of where I’m going next. “But I get it. And Collette certainly got it.”
Keelie nods. “She’s the one who really shed a light on things for me. In fact, I credit Collette with where I am right now in my life.”
Brill! I bite down on a smile at Keelie’s punny punch line.
“You, too?” Jenna looks gob-smacked. “It’s a lifestyle choice really.”
I give an audible gulp. Anytime somebody invokes that term it sends up an internal red flag.
“I agree,” I say, hoping she’ll take the bait. “What’s that place she told us about?” I snap my fingers at Keelie. “The Romper Room?”
“Ha!” Jenna squawks. “The Jungle Room,” she practically mouths the words.
“That’s right!” Holy mother of all things good and evil! “It’s down in Leeds, right?”
“Yes,” she nods enthusiastically.
I shoot Keelie a knowing look. All the down and dirty roads lead to Leeds. Hey? That’s catchy! They should look into that as a slogan.
Keelie winces my way. “Told you it was. It’s at that nightclub, the girly one. Red Lace?”
“Red Satin,” Jenna and I say in unison, and I’m secretly mortified I have so much knowledge in all things down and dirty.
Jenna and I share a laugh and exchange congratulatory high fives.
“I haven’t been down that way in months.” She dabs the corners of her eyes with her pinkies. “I used to be Collette’s side girl, but she got greedy and wanted Rutherford all to herself.”
Side girl? I glance to Keelie, and she shrugs.
I clear my throat. “I know all about that greedy side of her. I wanted to be her side girl with Everett, her special friend I’m sure you met that night, but she wasn’t having any of it either.”
“Ooh!” Her eyes widen with glee. “That cute hunk of a man she dragged down to the banquet Saturday night? He’s a judge, isn’t he? Who would have thought he was into ménage?”
“Men—ahh!” A croaking sound comes from my throat, and Keelie quickly waves a crowd over.
“Free cookies!” she trills, and a stampede nearly knocks us to the floor.
I wave to Jenna as the crowd pushes us toward t
he door. “Stop by the Cutie Pie Bakery and Cakery any time you need a treat! It’s on me!” I say, waving and she waves right back.
“We’ll see you on Saturday!”
Keelie and I speed out into the icy air. The rustle of birch trees surrounding the building sounds like a line of tambourines.
We get into my car and burst out into a fit of nervous giggles.
“That was enlightening,” I say, holding my hand to my chest in an effort to keep my heart from ejecting itself.
“Boy was it ever! Who knew Collette Jenner was such a freak? And with her boss!”
“And don’t forget her best friend. I love you Keel, but Noah is off-limits.”
She rattles a laugh my way. “So, does that mean Noah and you are ready to take things to the next level?”
My teeth graze over my bottom lip. “I think so. I mean, I still haven’t had a decent moment alone with him. I suppose that’s next. But I feel greedy. Have you seen the man?”
Keelie makes crazy eyes, the way she always does when she wants to drive a point home. “Honey, if that was me, we would have been having this conversation a week after I met him. I’m sure he’s more than ready to talk about it. In fact, I bet all that boy does is walk around with a goofy grin while thinking about you.”
My phone buzzes, and I pluck it out of my purse. “Ha! It’s a text from Noah.”
“I’m always right. It’s pretty scary.”
Just arrived at that location I told you about yesterday. Are you sure about the toys in the nightstand? There’s no note in the master bath, and there is no sign of a briefcase.
“I think he’s at Collette’s house,” I say numbly. “He mentioned they were going to do a sweep.”
Positive. I have the pictures to prove it, remember? I text and hit send.
He messages right back. Hang onto those. I might need them. It looks like someone might have come in and picked the place clean of a few choice items. Unfortunately, this just made my night a heck of a lot longer. We’ll have to do dinner some other night. Sorry.
Pumpkin Spice Sacrifice Page 6