Page 24 of Deadly Sins: Gluttony

As the truth crept in, the tears rushed in along with it, and Hazel’s grandmother hurried over, offering whatever comfort she could.

A murder had been solved, but uncovering the truth offered no peace—only more grief, threaded through generations of Hollow Pines like roots that refused to rot.

16

Cade and I drove through Hollow Pines with the windows down, the night air cool against my skin.The town looked different in the dark, quieter somehow, as if it was finally willing to let its secrets rest.

But there was one last stop we needed to make before we left.

The lights inside the bakery glowed as we pulled to a stop.Inside, I found Camille and Martin sitting at a table, shoulders slumped, their grief heavy in the air.The place no longer looked like a crime scene—once more, it was a bakery.The smell of flour and sugar lingered, though it carried no sweetness tonight.

I told them everything—about Hazel, about her mother’s deathbed confession, about the tangled history that led to Gideon’s murder.As the somber story unfolded, their faces fell, sorrow etching deeper into their expressions.

“I hate what she did,” Camille whispered.“But I can’t help feeling sorry for her too.She was just a girl carrying her father’s revenge.”

Martin’s jaw tightened, grief making him look older than his years.“I feel like we’ve lost him all over again.And for what?A girl’s poor judgment.It disgusts me to think of it, a simple misunderstanding that could have been cleared up if she would have just given him the chance to tell his side of the story.”

There was no comfort I could offer that would make the words less true.

The bell above the bakery door jingled, and Sheriff Briggs stepped inside.He looked different tonight, tired more than arrogant.He nodded to the siblings, then turned to me.

“I’ll admit it,” he said, voice low.“I underestimated you, Sloane.Thought you were just another outsider sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.But you saw what I didn’t.You figured it out.This town owes you for that.”

For once, there was no sarcasm, no bite to his words.Just truth.

“I appreciate you taking the time to tell me that before we head out,” I said.

“Oh?You leaving town tonight?”

“Don’t get too excited.”

He swished a hand through the air and grinned.

I gave him a short nod, then we said our goodbyes, and I slipped my arm through Cade’s and we headed for the door.

The street outside was bathed in lamplight, the kind that casts long shadows.That’s when I saw her—a woman in a long, dark red dress standing halfway up the block.She smiled, then lifted her hand and waved.I froze, then raised my own hand in return.

I glanced over at Cade, but when I turned back, she was gone, and the sidewalk was empty.A chill slid down my spine, though it wasn’t fear.It was something else—recognition.

Esmerelda.

The restless spirit was said to walk Ravenwood Drive at night.I’d laughed when I’d first heard the story, but now, standing beneath the hollow glow of the streetlamps, I wasn’t laughing.

THE END