Eggnog Trifle Trouble (Murder in the Mix #28) - Addison Moore Page 0,19
bursts out laughing. “Good one, Aunt Carlotta.”
“I’m not laughing,” I grit it through my teeth. “Do not breathe a word about anything coital to my dear daughter. I’ll be the one handling the sex ed portion of her childhood.”
Keelie takes the last bite of her trifle. “I’m not sure that’s any better, Lot.” She shrugs out a silent apology.
Carlotta finishes cluttering up my counter with those tiny fire hazards she’s hauling around.
“And keep your kinky candles to yourself, too,” I say. “The last thing I need is to burn down the bakery.”
Carlotta ticks her head to the side. “With that Hearst curse still hovering around you like a dark cloud, it’s bound to happen sooner or later. I figure why not get a few candle sales in while I can.”
The Hearst family once lived in Honey Hollow and basically amassed a ton of wealth, and a ton of attention from the Grim Reaper at the very same time. One of the Hearst family members was murdered in town this past October. And just before that, the ghost of my grandmother Nell came back to warn me not to get involved. She said it had the power to negatively affect not only my own life, but that of my baby’s as well. And, as fate and my poor judgment would have it, I stepped right in the middle of that cursed investigation. I brought down the killer, too. And once I thought everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow, my house and Everett’s burned to the ground that very night.
I’ll admit, I’ve been looking over my shoulder ever since.
“I don’t believe in curses,” I say just as one of the gingerbread houses on the counter collapses in on itself.
Both Carlotta and Keelie let out a little scream.
“Oh stop,” I say, breaking off a piece of it and taking a bite. “It’s simply a case of not enough frosting to hold it together.” Although, I’ll admit I made sure to glue that sucker together with enough royal icing to withstand a hurricane.
Carlotta sighs. “Sorry to say it, kid, but it looks as if curses believe in you.”
Keelie leans her head on my shoulder for a moment. “Try not to think about it, Lottie.”
“That’s right,” Carlotta chirps. “Think about something that makes you happy—like that murder that happened last night. Who’s the first suspect on your hit list?”
I frown her way a moment. “First, murder does not make me happy. Second, I’d ixnay the use of the term hit list, especially since I may or may not still be on the hook for accidentally putting a hit out on Noah. And third, I have a few people I’d love to speak with. But I’d really like to start with a woman whose name I don’t even know.” A swell of emotions hits me all at once. “I guess that means I’m losing my investigative mojo.”
“Aww.” Keelie wraps me in a firm embrace. “I’ll still love you, even if you never solve another case again.”
Carlotta nods. “Foxy and Sexy will appreciate the heck out of it, too. They spent all morning trying to figure out how to stop you from meddling in this one. So who’s this mystery suspect, Lot?”
“She was a tall brunette dressed as an elf. She and the victim were having a few tense exchanges, and then I saw Gloria haul off and smack the poor woman right over the face. I’m betting that put the elf in a killer mood.”
Carlotta chuckles. “If you go meddling in this case, you might actually winnow out the real killer. If you let Foxy and that Detective Fairbanks take the wheel, they might actually put Suze Fox away for good and throw away the key.”
Keelie gasps. “She’s as good as your mother-in-law, Lottie. I don’t know. As much as I want to say I’d save Bear’s mother, I might just opt to let the sheriff’s department handle the case and see where it gets me.”
Those nasty words Suze said about me last night come to the forefront of my mind.
“So what if Suze doesn’t approve of me or even like me? She’s Noah’s mother and perhaps my baby’s grandmother. The last thing I want to give my child is the legacy of having a grandparent in the pokey. I’m not solving this case for Suze. I’m solving it for my unborn child. And my sudden hankering for fried pickles with a side of justice.”