“Do you?” Jen steps forward, her eyes expanding in terror as she looks to her old friend.
Everett looks my way and winces as Ethel plows through both our minds at once.
“Look, I didn’t fire any gun,” Everett says just as a flood of officers takes over the scene, and soon the area is being cordoned off.
Noah pulls both Everett and me to the side, and Detective Ivy Fairbanks, the aforementioned leggy redhead with the hots for Noah, joins us as well.
“What the hell happened?” Noah looks pale as if he could see the writing on the proverbial wall, and it seems to be spelling out more trouble for poor Everett.
Ivy pulls her long dark coat around herself as she glares my way.
“Why are you always at the scene of the crime, Lottie? And isn’t it bad enough Judge Baxter is being accused of moving a body from the morgue, now he’s stepped into another pile of dung no thanks to your morbid bad luck? That is, if you believe in luck.”
I take a sharp breath. “How dare you!”
“Yes.” Noah gives her a wild-eyed look. “How dare you, Ivy. Look, I don’t pretend to know why Lottie keeps running into corpses, but I certainly don’t think she’s in any way responsible, and I don’t think he is either.” He shoots Everett a quizzical look that begs the question.
“No,” Everett says rather adamantly. “I had nothing to do with this. We didn’t even hear a gunshot.”
Ivy shakes her head. “Let’s see your weapon, Everett.”
He quickly produces Ethel and Ivy lands a pair of gloves on before taking it from him. “I’ll take this in and give it to forensics. Once they clear you, I’ll help shout it from the rooftops.”
“Thank you,” Everett says. “I appreciate that.”
“You’re welcome.” She flexes a short-lived smile. “Why don’t you do everyone a favor and take you wife home? I’ve got a homicide investigation to deal with. Noah, I’ll keep you updated, but I’m sorry, until you’re cleared from suspension, I’ll have to ask you to steer clear of this case.”
Noah looks as if he’s about to leap from his skin. “It’s a double homicide. These are my friends, Ivy. Nobody knows this crowd like I do.”
“Or me.” Everett is quick to toss his investigative hat into the ring. “I’ll help you with whatever you need, Ivy. You have my number.”
“That I do.” She takes a moment to glower my way. “It goes without saying you’re to stay out of this, Lottie. You have a baby due in a few weeks. Please focus on that instead.” She takes off before I can get a word in.
“How do you like that?” I huff in her wake just as Carlotta and Evie hustle on over.
“Dad!” Evie’s eyes widen with fright. “You didn’t kill the guy, did you?”
“No.” Everett pulls her into a strong embrace. “I would never do that. We just walked out and found them that way.”
“Good.” She pulls back and blows out a breath. “I’ve gotta call my friends. I just saw two freaking dead bodies, and rumor has it my dad is a killer. I knew if I tagged along tonight you guys would not disappoint. This is so freaking cool.” She dashes back into the hotel and Everett groans.
“I’d better go stop her before she revs up more rumor mills than necessary.”
“Good thinking,” I say. “And tell her this is not so freaking cool.”
“That’s for sure.” He takes off and Noah pulls me close.
“Come on, Lot. Let’s get inside ourselves. Once Everett rounds up Evie, we’re taking off. I’ll rub your feet and try to get your mind off things.”
Carlotta slaps her thigh. “Leave it to you, Foxy, to try to slide in under the radar. You know a dead body gets Lot all riled up. I wouldn’t be surprised if you blew two old friends away just to get her in a frisky mood.” She shrugs my way. “What can we say, Lot? He knows your love language is corpses.”
“It is not,” I hiss her way. I’m about to further correct her when I see Slater, Jasmine’s ex, speaking to the woman with the silver hair in a heated manner. They’re both looking back at the bodies intermittently, and she’s nodding frenetically at whatever it is he’s telling her.
“Noah, look,” I whisper and point in their general direction.
“Things look tense,” he whispers.
We watch as Slater stalks off back into the ballroom while Stassi runs into the parking lot and takes off into the night.
A deputy from the sheriff’s department pulls out a bullhorn and shouts for everyone to step back into the hotel while they collect names and numbers.
Noah ushers both Carlotta and me in that direction and Ariella and Jen step in front of us as we head that way.
Jen wraps her arm around her friend’s shoulders.
“Can I call anyone?” she asks the new widow sweetly. “Can I get something for you to drink? Your coat? A chair?”
“No.” Ariella takes a deep breath as she looks from me to Noah. “I’m in shock. I don’t know what to do or think. None of this feels real. Tell me it’s all a bad dream. Tell me I didn’t just lose my husband.”
“I’m sorry.” Noah offers his old friend a mournful smile. “Let me take you home tonight. I’ll arrange for a deputy to come back and pick up your vehicle in the morning.”
“Okay.” She holds herself tightly as she gives my torso an apprehensive look. “I’m sorry, Lottie. I’m sorry you and Everett got dragged into this. I’m so very sorry.”
“Hey”—I reach over and give her arm a quick rub while holding my enormous belly with my other hand—“it’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. And neither did Everett. Whoever did this is going to be arrested sooner than later. Just between us, the sheriff’s department isn’t the only one on this case. Noah, Everett, and I will all put our heads together to nail whoever did this to the wall, and fast.”
“She’s right.” Noah gives me a wry look. Ivy calls him over and he excuses himself a moment.
“Ariella?” I look to the poor woman with grief in my heart. “What do you think Owen and Jasmine were doing out there?”
Her mouth strays open. “Owen had left my side. I don’t know what he was doing, but Jasmine said she was coming out to have a smoke.”
Noah comes back. “Ariella, why don’t you wait right here. I’m going to walk Lottie over to the refreshment table where her employee is stationed.”
Noah does just that and we find Lily already closing up shop and collecting the cutlery that we bring out to events like this back into the bin along with the rest of our things.
“I can’t believe this, Lottie.” Lily shakes her head. “But I should have expected it. And don’t worry. I’ll get straight to ordering extra supplies so we can beef up production of these lemon Bundt cakes. I don’t know how you seem to finagle your sweet treats into just about every homicide in Vermont, but I have to give it to you—you’re a marketing wonder.”
It’s true. Every last homicide I’ve somehow stumbled into—well, let’s just say one of my desserts has been front and center as well. And as fate and the morbid fascination of the public would have it, there always seems to be an uptick in demand when it comes to the infamous treat at hand.