Page 8 of Christmas Fudge Fatality
“Lottie?” Lily Swanson, my faithful employee, calls from the register. “Who are you talking to?”
“Myself.”
Noel floats back into the shop, and I offer him a quick wink.
I head back behind the counter and begin stocking the shelves up front with a fresh batch of oatmeal cranberry walnut cookies that just cooled from the oven.
Lily is a stunning brunette that has spent most of her formidable years loathing me by proxy. You see, her best friend, Naomi Turner, is my best friend, Keelie Turner’s, twin sister. Way back in high school, I dated a boy by the name of Bear Fisher, and Naomi tried her best to snatch him away. But as fate and Bear’s happy hormones would have it, he cheated on me with just about every girl but Naomi. And for some unforeseen reason, Naomi has never forgiven me for it. To be honest, I think she’s never liked the fact that Keelie enjoyed spending more time with me than she did with her.
“Lottie Lemon!” a cheery voice booms from the side, and I look over to see my perky best friend heading my way right this minute. “You found a body without me?”
Keelie wraps me in a quick embrace and her sugary perfume trails after her. Keelie is a beauty inside and out with her long blonde waves and bright blue eyes. We’ve been inseparable ever since the day we met in preschool. And now, thanks to the fact our places of employment are somewhat conjoined via a giant walkthrough between our shared wall, we’re still spending our days together.
Keelie is the manager next door at the Honey Pot Diner. The Honey Pot and the Cutie Pie Bakery and Cakery just so happened to be owned by the same fabulous woman, Nell Sawyer, who had the vision to connect the two businesses and expand each of our customer bases. Nell is Keelie’s grandmother, and since I’ve spent as much of my childhood with Keelie’s family as I did my own, she feels like my grandmother, too.
“Unfortunately, I did find a body.” I grimace at my bestie. “Tamara Gray.”
Keelie sucks in a quick breath. “Oh no, that’s terrible.”
Noel scampers between us and lets out a riotous bark. “It is absolutely terrible.”
I nod quickly his way, mostly because I feel bad that he can’t really be included in the conversation. Keelie might be my closest friend on the planet, but she has no idea about my supersensual abilities. I’m not sure why I’ve never told Keelie, but I’m pretty sure it’s because I never wanted our friendship to change in any way. I love her that much.
Keelie shudders before warming her arms with her hands. “So what’s next? Are there suspects to grill? Oh please, let one lead to an all-male strip club.”
Both Lily and I can’t help but roll our eyes. It’s true, though. Keelie and I have spent our fair share of time in seedy joints such as the aforementioned all-male review clubs in an effort to apprehend a killer or two.
I wrinkle my nose over at her. “I’m afraid not this time.”
Noel scoffs. “Thankfully so.”
Lily leans in. “I heard they arrested Scott Gray for the murder.”
I shake my head. “They took him in last night for questioning. I don’t think formal charges have been filed. Noah texted this morning and said Scott was sticking strong to his story. He says he’s innocent.” I can’t believe the words as they stream out of my own mouth.
I don’t believe he’s innocent.
Do I?
Keelie swipes an oatmeal cranberry walnut cookie off the tray and moans as she takes a bite.
“Oh wow, Lottie, you really outdid yourself with this one. Have you made these before?”
“No, they’re new. I just couldn’t sleep last night. All I could think about was Tamara lying at the bottom of the ravine. So I came in early and started experimenting with ingredients. I can’t believe I haven’t thought of these before.”
Lily swipes one up and moans through a bite herself. “Wow, they’re perfect.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” a friendly female voice calls from the other end of the counter and we look over to find Lainey holding out her hand in anticipation of a tasty treat and I quickly give her two.
The bell chimes and in walks my mother, dusting the snow off her shoulders as she strides on over.
“Oh, Lottie, people are talking. Could you please abstain from stumbling upon any more corpses?” She twitches her nose as if she found the idea repulsive, and she’s certainly right about that. “I hope you don’t mind, but my book club had to reassign venues at the last minute. I’m having the carpets cleaned at the B&B for the big speed dating event coming up. You girls must be there. I can’t believe how many people have already RSVP’d.” She turns toward the café. “Oh, and Lottie, please whip up a few platters of your yummiest desserts for the ladies of the club. And throw in some of that delicious fudge, too! Rumor has it, Tamara Gray was holding a bag when they found her. Do you know what that means?”
Lily raises a hand as if dying to answer for me. “I’ve already amped up production. Send the tourists our way any time you want, Miranda.”
I can’t help but avert my eyes a moment. I’m still not sure how I feel about these so-calledtours.
My mother just so happens to host paid tours of her haunted B&B at eighty bucks a pop. And after her bevy of ghosts are done giving her customers the appropriate amount of thrills and chills, she puts them right back on the bus they rode in on and sends them to my bakery for what she’s dubbed as The Last Thing They Ate Tour.