Pumpkin Spice Sacrifice

by Addison Moore

  No sooner does she take a seat than the church goes dark and a brief video montage plays. Collette looks expressive and vibrant in each and every photo, and it really is heartbreaking that she was taken away from this world so soon. Suddenly, I feel charged to find the killer, not just for Everett, but for Collette as well.

  I glance back toward Jenna and think about my own blonde bestie. Surely, if something untimely happened to me, she would do what any best friend would do as well. There would certainly not be anything to fear or to be embarrassed—OH MY GOD!

  I glance to Everett and smack him on the arm.

  He tips his head up at me as the lights come back on and bodies begin to drain next door to Carlson Hall for refreshments.

  Everett wraps his arm around my shoulders as he leans in close. “What’s going on?”

  “I think I just discovered who broke into Collette’s home that night after I did.”

  His brows pinch hard in the middle. “You broke into Collette’s home?” he hisses just above a whisper.

  I give a quick glance around. “Only to look around and I found some kinky goodies, too. Sex toys—plus, that’s initially where I learned about the Jungle Room. But when Noah and Ivy went to look around, those things were gone. I spoke with someone at the bakery today, and she confirmed there was a blonde who showed up later that night in a red sedan and came out with a bag.”

  “And?”

  “I’m willing to bet Jenna Hatfield drives a red sedan.”

  Chapter 11

  Everett and I—and his ever-present father, file out of the church and hungrily look for a cherry red sedan in the parking lot but to no avail.

  “I think I found it,” Everett whispers and points across the street at a rather hastily parked cherry red sedan.

  “That must be it! You did it! We did it!” I lunge over him with a hearty embrace just to find Noah standing behind him flashing a manufactured smile my way.

  “What exactly did the two of you do now?” Noah’s affect falls flat again, and I’m quick to disembark from Everett.

  “Nothing.” I hop over and land a chaste kiss to Noah’s lips just as Ivy comes up from behind. “Detective Fairbanks,” I say without letting go of my man, and she openly scowls at me.

  “Lemon.” She nods to Everett. “Judge Baxter. I’ll be inside with the refreshments. Detective Fox, please mind what we discussed.” She takes off for the set of opened doors behind us as a flood of bodies fill the hall.

  “Mind what we discussed? Do you mind sharing what that might be?”

  He glances to Everett. “Only if you mind sharing what put you in such a celebratory mood when I came upon you.”

  Everett glowers at Noah a moment too long, and if I’m not mistaken, his father does the same. “Lemon, I leave that entirely up to you. I think I’ll join Detective Fairbanks inside.” He takes off, and Noah wraps his arms around my waist.

  “You don’t have to tell me. In fact, if it doesn’t involve a strip joint or an underground sex club, I’m good with not knowing for now.”

  A choking sound emits from my throat. “You really don’t want to share whatever secret you and Ivy have, do you?”

  He grimaces. “It’s not necessarily a secret. Let’s just say some information is best kept under wraps until it’s proven to be true.”

  “I fully agree with that.” I just hate that there are question marks between us. But as much as I crave open and honest, there are some things I just can’t bring myself to share with Noah. At least not yet. I rather like the fact he finds me sane—for now. “How about we head in and I take you right to the platter of chocolate chips cookies I snuck over just for you?” It’s true. I had an inkling he might show up.

  “You do love me.”

  “That I do.”

  Inside the hall it’s thick with bodies, which in turn brings up the temperature in the room. Intermittent bouts of laughter emit, but mostly it’s a somber scene with old friends catching up with one another and upcoming holiday plans being exchanged. I spot Lainey and the forever hair flipper Tanner Redwood talking to a few of Lainey’s friends from the library. Tanner is a two-timer. Everyone knows that but my sister. I just hate that she and Forest unraveled like a cheap sweater. And even more than that, I hate that Lainey has kept close to Tanner ever since. At first, it was just to make Forest crazy. Lainey rather liked the idea of him wanting to scratch his eyeballs out with jealousy. But now they’ve sort of come to an understanding that they’re together. I’m not sure if Tanner has fully gotten the memo, considering I’ve spotted him around town with other girls on a few occasions, but when I presented the information to Lainey, she didn’t seem too bothered about it, which made me wonder if they had some sort of agreement. Nonetheless, adjacent to them, speaking to the chief of the fire department, is Forest himself. And he’s not paying attention at all to what the chief is saying. His jealous eyes are pinned right on my beautiful sister.

  Noah leans in. “Looks like Mr. Rutherford is coming our way.”

  I jump a little as both he and his wife appear before us and offer pleasant smiles.

  “Mr. Rutherford, Mrs. Rutherford.” I nod to the two of them. “It’s so nice to see you again. I’m sorry it wasn’t under better circumstances.”

  “Yes, well”—he turns to look at the giant picture of Collette now being moved from the church to the front of the hall—“I wanted to thank you personally for delivering those platters of delicious cookies to the office last week. It really did provide the morale boost we needed. Spirits have been down ever since we lost our bright light. And I wanted to thank you for catering the awards ceremony as well. Collette let me know earlier that evening that you were making pumpkin spice everything just for me.” He gives a soft chuckle.

  “That I did. And I hope before the evening turned disastrous, you had an opportunity to enjoy a little of it.” Keelie said that Naomi told her they ended up scrapping every last cookie into the dumpster once the forensics team was through investigating. To think all those hours of baking and no one to enjoy it.

  “Oh, I sure did.” He nods vigorously. “In fact, the pumpkin spice latte was to die for.”

  His wife, Patricia, smacks him on the arm. “Please excuse my husband. He has no decorum when it comes to funerals. I’d best get him home before he goes and says all sorts of inappropriate things as he’s prone to.” She lifts a finger as she speeds him to the door, and I watch as they snuggle into their coats before heading out into the overcast day.

  “Noah? What do you think would prompt a woman to stay with a man whom she knows is cheating on her? I can’t figure it out for the life of me.”

  He grunts as he glances to the door. “Security. Fear of being on your own in life. Divorce is messy, costly. It can sure turn your world inside out before you know it.”

  “I guess so, but I ouldn’t nearly be as tolerant.”

  His chest vibrates with a laugh. “Duly noted.” He leans in and presses a soft kiss to my ear. “And I promise that you will never have to worry about it.”

  Ivy waves him down from deep in the crowd, and he sighs. “Duty calls. I’ll be back.” He takes off, and I spot Jenna at the cookie table loading up a dessert plate until it’s heaping so I make my move.

  I speed over and snatch up a dessert plate of my own and throw on a few pieces of German chocolate cookies.

  “You did great today,” I say as somber as possible, and she does a double take in my direction.

  “It’s you! The cookie girl. Yup, I meant every single word. Trust me, I wouldn’t be wearing this bubble gum getup for anyone else.”

  “Well, I’m glad you made it in time. And after all that trouble you had on the road, I think it’s a miracle you found a parking spot in the lot.”

  “Oh, I didn’t.” She takes a bite out of an almond snowdrift and moans. “I ended up parking across the street.”

  Winner winner best friend dinner!

  I glance over at Everett in the distance and h
e nods my way, but my work isn’t finished here just yet.

  “But your eulogy was just beautiful. You really loved her. My best friend and I are pretty close, too. And I completely understood what you meant about doing anything for her.” A huff of a laugh bucks through me as I lean in close. “In fact, we have a pact. If anything should happen to either one of us, we’re to hightail it over to one another’s homes and do a little housekeeping in the bedroom, if you know what I mean.”

  Jenna belts out a monstrous laugh, and half the room lulls to a whisper for less than two seconds. She leans in, an impish gleam in her eye.

  “We made the same pact.”

  I gasp with delight. “And did you uphold your end of the bargain?”

  “Yup. I sure did. But my God, I had almost forgotten. Anyway, it was done in the nick of time. You know, it always sounds good in theory, but it was a tough thing to do knowing she would never head back into that bedroom. But I figured she wouldn’t want her mother or, God forbid, her brother to find those things we girls like to play with.”

  Eww. “Yes, I totally agree. You are truly a good friend, Jenna.” I look to Everett and frown. Lily Swanson has planted herself staunchly by his side, filling his head with gibberish, I’m sure. But his father stands with arms folded across his see-through chest just staring at me as if he wanted answers. “Hey? You knew Collette best. Who do you think would do something so horrible to her?”

  She groans as she looks into the crowd. “Collette had more enemies than she had friends, but I can’t imagine anyone actually trying to kill her. I mean, she did tick a lot of people off, though.”

  “Who did she tick off last? You know, at the office?”

  “That’s easy. That would be Jules King.”

  “Jules? I think I met her the night of the ceremony. Dark, straight hair?”

  “Looks like a Halloween skeleton.” Her chest pulsates with a laugh. “It’s just us girls. You can say it. Jules and Collette were both up for the VIP award—and as some might suggest, Jules did land three new corporate clients for the firm this year.”

  “And how many did Collette bring in?”

  “None. She was too busy sleeping with the boss.” She waves past me and excuses herself.

  Jules King. That’s the woman I saw arguing with Collette that night. Huh. I do a quick sweep of the room but come up empty.

  Everett pops up—ironically along with his Pops.

  “Hey, Everett? If someone stole a position of honor at your courthouse, you wouldn’t consider murder, would you?”

  “I wouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean someone else with far more rage would do the same. Why? Did you find the killer?”

  “Maybe. But I don’t see her here. I still have some investigating to do.” I glance to his father and blink a shy smile.

  “Well, Lemon, once you set your mind to something, you are determined.” He looks to me sternly. “As is my father. I saw you glancing to my side. He’s here, isn’t he?”

  “Rest assured, he’s always here.” I shrug. “And, believe me, I have no idea why.”

  Everett threads his arm through mine and flashes that rarely seen smile my way, scant and brief as it may be. “Brace yourself, Lemon. We’re about to find out.”

  Chapter 12

  Everett hustles us right out the door, into the windy afternoon and around to the side of the building where there’s a patch of grass and a small fountain. It’s secluded and socked in between the church and the hall, so there’s a bit of a reprieve from the blustery weather.

  “Let’s have it, Pops.” Everett looks around every which way. I point next to the fountain to orient him. “What’s going on? Were you here to warn us of Collette’s passing?”

  The older, far more determined version of him offers a solemn nod.

  “He says yes.” My adrenaline kicks in because I’ve never actually had anything even close to a conversation with a ghost before.

  “Okay.” Everett lets this soak in a moment. “Are they going to arrest me? Am I going to be wrongfully sentenced? Sent to the electric chair?”

  “Geez, Everett,” I hiss as I take a step back. “You’re going to be fine. I’m this close to finding out who the killer is. Please do not fill your head with thoughts of the electric chair of all things.”

  His father offers another solemn nod.

  “And he agrees with me.” I point hard toward the fountain. “Everett, I get that you’re worried, and I don’t want you to be.”

  “I called Noah last night. He let me know it wasn’t looking good. Fairbanks had something on me, and he wouldn’t say what.”

  “That must be what he was keeping from me. Everett, I’m so sorry.” My heart plummets to middle earth just thinking about how terrifying this must be for him.

  “Anyhow, one problem at a time. Ask my father what he wants. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to be here any more than I want him here.”

  “What’s his name?”

  “Edward.” He casts his gaze to the ground. “His name was Edward. He was a judge in Fallbrook for decades. That bench was his wife. It was his family. We hardly saw him. One day he and my mother went at it, and he simply moved out. He was hardly interested in us. In fact, he died doing what he loved. Had a heart attack.”

  “Edward,” I say, looking right at the handsome spook. “You heard your son. Is there any way that you can communicate what it is you’re doing here?”

  He glowers at the building a moment before gliding his forefinger across his neck and pointing hard at the church.

  “He just slit his throat and pointed to the church,” I relay to Everett. “So you were here to warn us, me, about Collette’s impending doom. Is it because she didn’t have pets?” I realize how ridiculous it sounds, but hearing it makes it feel twice as unbelievable.

  He offers a hearty nod.

  “He says yes,” I say. “And what about her relatives? Did you volunteer because you wanted to somehow communicate with your son again?”

  His chest expands as if he took a ghostly breath, and he nods slowly as he looks to Everett.

  “He said yes, Everett. He’s come back for you. I’m guessing the two of you have unfinished business?”

  Everett’s blue eyes tear up in an instance, and he gives a hard sniff as if to avert any further emotions. “Okay. Let’s have it. What unfinished business?”

  The older version of him takes a step in close to his son. He shakes his head and touches his throat as if highlighting his inability to express a thing. He lays his hand over Everett’s head, and Everett closes his eyes as if he can feel him.

  “Is this about the way he left my mother, my sister, and me?”

  He nods, and I relay it to Everett.

  Everett takes a breath. “He wishes it never happened?”

  He nods vigorously, and I relay it again.

  “He’s here to apologize, make amends.” Everett pushes the words out as he comes to a sorrowful conclusion.

  The older version of him doesn’t nod this time. Instead, he wraps his arms around his son, and a spark of light fills his ghostly body.

  Everett returns the gesture, embracing his father as if he was solid, and his chest bucks silently as they hold one another like that for a good long while.

  “I forgive you,” Everett whispers as his father steps back and looks at his son with all the love and affection a father can.

  “I wish you could see how he’s looking at you,” I whisper.

  “I can.” Everett continues to look into his father’s glowing eyes, and ever so slowly that older version of him begins to dissipate. He points to himself, then folds his arms across his chest before pointing to Everett. “I love you, too, Pops. I really do.”

  And just like that, he’s gone.

  “Lemon.” Everett’s chest expands as he glances to the sky. “We won’t speak of this to anyone.”

  “Never.” I hop over and wrap my arms around him. “You’re so very lucky, Everett. You don’t know
how many people would give anything to have just one more chance, one more moment.”

  He leans in and sniffs into my hair. “I couldn’t have done it without you. I guess it was divine intervention we met that day.”

  “I guess it was.”

  A set of footsteps clop over. “Well, look what we have here.”

  I pull back as if jumping out of a fire, only to find Detective Fairbanks and a wild-eyed Noah.

  “Lottie?” Noah looks a little hurt, and my heart squeezes tight in my chest just witnessing it.

  Ivy turns to him. “I guess she didn’t leave you after all, Fox. But it looks as if she might be leaving you in a less proverbial way.” She looks to the parking lot before hightailing it out of here. I bet that’s where she parked her broom.

  “I’m not leaving you.” I avert my eyes at the thought.

  Everett looks to me, then Noah. “Look, it’s not what you think. The funeral stirred up emotions about my father that I didn’t expect, and Lemon followed me out here. She was simply comforting me in my time of grief.” He nods my way. “Thank you for that,” he says as he takes off for the lot himself.