Pecan Pie Predicament (Murder in the Mix #27) - Addison Moore Page 0,49

husband and I used to vacation up in Hollyhock now and again. There’s a beautiful lodge up there. You should really see it.”

A laugh gets caught in my throat. “The Maple Meadows Lodge?”

She nods. “That’s the one. Boy, do I have some memories there.” She closes her eyes a moment.

“Well, I’ve seen it. And funny story? I happen to own it with my husband and Noah.” I’m not sure if she knows Noah on a first name basis, but it took a lot to refrain from calling him my boyfriend. I’m so trained to do it, I typically don’t give it a second thought, but it does tend to throw people for a loop and I definitely don’t want to throw Autumn for a loop.

Autumn’s green eyes grow wide. “Are you the one that did the remodel? I went up last week just to poke around, and it’s stunning inside.”

“We did as much as we could,” I tell her. “But we have plans to do more in the future.” I pat my stomach. “I’m afraid it’ll have to wait, though. I’m sort of remodeling my life at the moment.”

“I’m still envious.”

The bartender slides a pink drink my way, and I take a careful sip. “So Hannah’s killer—they must really be living it up thinking they’ve gotten away with murder.”

She tips her head toward the street. “She’s still out there taunting the sheriff’s department. Laughing at them, too.”

“She?”

Autumn nods. “I’m sticking to my story. I think Reese has the biggest motive. Hannah all but shut down her business. And her business was brand new. Even the slightest financial hit could prove fatal.”

I lift a finger as I try to digest this. “Wait, I thought last week you were sure it was Maizy who did this?” I know for a fact she did because that’s what led me to the Slammer Jammer where Everett was a deity among mere mortals—as he is always.

She squeezes her eyes shut a moment. “I did think that, but after really considering it, the evidence can’t be denied. They found Reese’s fake pink hair at the scene. That kind of cinched it for me. I thought they would have made an arrest by now. It’s a breadcrumb that can’t be overlooked, and it leads right to Reese Underwood’s own body.”

“You’re not wrong.”

Barry and Greer float this way.

Barry twitches his ghostly head her way. “Any luck?”

I shake my head at the two of them.

Greer makes a face as Evie tries her best to plow her way through that pie.

“I’m going to help that girl out.” Greer speeds over, and soon every last bit of Evie’s pie has up and disappeared.

The bell goes off, Evie is declared the winner, and the crowd goes wild, especially me as I document every moment with my phone. By the time I’m done frolicking in the victory, I glance back to the bar, but Autumn is gone and her plate has already been cleared.

So there’s that. But she did have a good point regarding Reese. I’ll have to talk to Noah about that again.

Evie and I head back to the table to find both Carlotta and Mayor Nash, and Noah and Everett have polished off every last bit of their Thanksgiving feast set before them.

“You did it!” I cheer just as the waitress arrives and sets a pumpkin pie down on each of their tables. And each pumpkin pie has at least six inches of whipped cream nestled on top of it to boot.

“You’re almost there!” The waitress gives a cheery laugh. “Just devour the pie, and you’ve got a free family dinner once a week for an entire year!”

A horrible moan comes from Carlotta. Her eyes float into the back of her head, and she rocks right then left before doing a face-plant into that nest of whipped cream.

“We’re out.” Mayor Nash holds up his hands. “We’ve had enough Thanksgiving dinner to last the next seven years.” He gets up and does his best to hoist Carlotta to a standing position. “We’ll see you all back at the cabin. Carlotta’s got a key. There’s no way I’m letting her spend the night at my place in this condition. The woman is ready to blow.”

Carlotta murmurs something to us from under that whipped cream facial she just gave herself as he drags her out the door.

“I think she just wished the two of you luck,” I say. It was just a guess on my part, but regardless, they look like they can use