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“Here’s hoping.” He bumps his elbow to mine. “Why does it feel as if life gets just a little more complicated with each passing day?”
“Don’t worry, Noah. In a few weeks’ time, Cormack will have your baby and all will be right in the world.”
He shakes his head at me. “Keep laughing. You’re just lucky you dodged a bullet with that one.”
“Don’t I know it.”
He takes off for the crime scene and I head in the direction Lemon took off in.
The night curls around me like a vine, with a pressing darkness that whispers danger in the balmy breeze.
Something nefarious is lurking in the shadows of our lives, but I just can’t put my finger on what it might be.
We’re on the precipice of a very bad storm, and it’s about to rain with fiery fury.
LOTTIE
“Marlena Mills is dead,” I say, pausing as I unpack the Chinese food we just picked up from the Wicked Wok. “I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it,” Noah says ,landing a pepperoni pizza down on the table that he just picked up from Mangias. “It’s another tragedy, that’s for sure.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that, Lemon.” Everett lands a kiss to my forehead before unboxing the rest of the food for me.
We picked up more than enough to feed the whole town before heading back to the house. You’d think a brand new homicide would cause us to lose our appetite but, sadly, it’s quite the contrary.
“I’m sad I had to see it, too,” I say. “That poor woman was killed in cold blood just a few hours ago.” The visual of her lying slumped in her car runs through my mind, and a shiver grips me from head to toe.
It’s just a little after nine, and Lyla Nell fell asleep as soon as we walked through the door so I put her straight to bed.
Evie is still out with her friends, not that I mind.
Noah brought that duffle bag I took from Marlena’s car, and it’s sitting on the coffee table, waiting patiently for us to extricate its contents.
Noah had Ivy head down to the station and start on the paperwork. There was no way he was going to leave me to my own devices when it came to that bag. Personally, I’m surprised he didn’t pluck it out of my van and bury it in some evidence locker down in Ashford. But I think Noah realized that trying to pluck it from my possession would be futile.
My curiosity would have caused me to break into the sheriff’s evidence room, and the end result most likely wouldn’t have been pretty.
“Look at all this food,” Carlotta balks as she makes a face at the culinary offerings. “But who can eat when you’ve got millions of dollars sitting on the coffee table from the bank heist you just had Foxy and Sexy pull off.” She winks my way. “Good idea, distracting the rest of the town with another dead body.”
I frown her way. “There was no bank heist, Carlotta. And I certainly didn’t try to cover up anything with a dead body.”
“You’re too humble,” she insists. “That was a good cover, and you know it. I’m proud of you, Lot. You’re finally using your murder touch to your advantage.”
“My murder touch?” I frown at her again for even suggesting it.
“Yeah, you know.” She shrugs while adjusting that dusty crown of horror she insists on wearing. “It’s like the Midas touch but far deadlier.”
Everett shakes his head. “Don’t listen to her, Lemon. You’re a breath of fresh air wherever you go.”
“Pfft,” Carlotta sputters. “And where do you suppose she steals her oxygen supply? From the dead. Now let’s get over to that treasure chest sitting on the coffee table before it up and disappears on us. We could all be bazillionaires right now and not even know it. I can’t get a bite in until I know what’s in that pot-o’-gold.”
That navy duffle bag catches my eye, and I blow out a breath.
“I’m with Carlotta,” I say. “I don’t think I can eat a bite because whatever is in that bag is eating me.”
Although, I could definitely go for a bite of my chocolate babka.
I brought the treat I was set to give to Marlena back to the house with me, and neither Noah nor Everett complained that I plucked it from the dead woman’s porch.
