Page 19 of Macaron Massacre
We share a warm laugh.
“I hear everything you’re saying. As for kicking Everett to the curb, that would be my job. And only if I feel it’s the right thing to do. I hate that we’ve morphed into something so complicated. It all felt so simple at the time. I’m sorry you’re so miserable. If it helps, I’m miserable, too.”
“You’re proving my point.” His dimples press in deep, no smile. “You and I belong together. Deep down, I think you know that.” He grimaces a second. “And if I can be honest—every time I see you leaving his place, I want to go over and shoot up his living room.”
“Nice,” I say, pulling my hands from his grasp.
“I’m sorry.” He claims my hands once again and lands a kiss over my ring finger. “Lottie, I’m asking that you don’t forget me. I want to spend the rest of my life with one woman, and that happens to be you.”
“Noah”—his name expires from me, slow and painful—“you know I still love you. And I always enjoy spending time with you—and Toby. My affection is tied for the both of you, by the way.” His chest rumbles with a quiet laugh. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what the future has in store for us.” A very sober part of my heart just can’t bring myself to pledge my life to someone who’s already legally bound to someone else. And I have a feeling that once the divorce is final, I won’t be feeling any more certain about our predicament. In the meantime, I’ve gone off and fallen in love with Everett.
Noah sighs as he gives my finger a tug. “Let’s talk about the case.”
“Another topic I’m conflicted about.” I tell him all about Naomi’s new venture into fighting crime. “It really got my juices going to solve this murder. But the thought of losing Nell makes me sick to my stomach. And God knows if anyone in this town sees me puking, it’ll only confirm the rumors.”
“What’s this?” The voice of an elderly woman pierces from my left.
“Nell!” I glance over to see her materializing, albeit for my eyes only. “Hold onto me, Noah,” I say, giving his hands a squeeze. “You’ll be able to hear her, too. Nell, where have you been?”
She floats above the quilt and looks majestic with the navy lake as her backdrop.
“I’ve been spying on Will.” She glowers as she says his name. “To think I raised such an imbecile really gets my blood boiling.”
“No offense, but you don’t have any blood to boil, Nell.” I couldn’t help but tease her. I’m so elated she’s back, it’s unreasonable how happy she’s made me.
“Never mind that.” She looks down at my hands conjoined with Noah’s and lifts a brow with amusement. “Good afternoon, Detective Fox. Lottie here tells me she’s apprised you of her secret.”
Noah flexes a smile as he looks in her general direction. “That she has. And you can rest assured, her secret is safe with me.”
“I’m glad you’ve accepted Lottie for who she truly is. And in tagging along with your previous conversation—I may have heard a snippet or two—Lottie’s children will be predisposed to being supersensual themselves.”
“I won’t mind one bit.” Noah doesn’t miss a beat.
“That’s what I like to hear.” She chortles my way. “He is a cutie.” Noah squeezes my hand at her blatant endorsement of him. “Now what’s this I hear about you not wanting to solve the latest murder? I happened to be at the bakery this morning long enough to listen in on the heresy before I met with Carlotta for breakfast.”
The thought of disappointing Nell doesn’t sit well with me, but then again, neither does losing her.
“Nell, we both know if I solve this case tomorrow you’ll be sent back to paradise within seconds. And, in the event you’re not aware of the fact, I missed you fiercely. There’s no one else like you in my life, Nell, and there’s no one else on this planet who can take your place. I can’t bear the thought of sending you off to paradise again. I just don’t have it in me.”
“My dear child”—her voice trembles with what sounds like frustration—“don’t you see? We have no say in the matter. If you go against your natural inclination to bring justice to light, you’ll risk losing your powers altogether. Your supersensual standing was given as a gift—and it can just as easily be taken away.”
“That doesn’t seem fair. Carlotta has the gift, and she’s yet to stumble upon a single body. In fact, after that meeting we had at the bakery with the transmundane community, it seemed I was the only one met with death and murder.”
“That’s your specialty. Just like Detective Fox is a professional homicide detective, one might say you’re a professional sleuth ordained by the divine.”
Noah ticks his head to the side. “That’s a much higher authority than the Ashford Sheriff’s Department, Lottie. I’d go with it if I were you.”
I click my tongue in frustration. “Nell? Do you realize how difficult it’s going to be for me to say goodbye to you again?”
“Do you realize how difficult it will be for you if your powers begin to fade? My dear, you haven’t even scratched the surface of what you’re capable of. In fact, I might be stepping out of bounds when I say this, but I can assure you that the more cases you solve, the more skills you’ll acquire in the supersensual realm. You might even get to see me a bit more than you bargained for while you’re still here in your earthly frame.”
“Oh, Nell! Really? That would mean everything to me.” A flood of relief hits me at the thought of stepping back into the latest homicide investigation. I would love nothing more than to bring Rich Dallas’ killer to justice. “And you’re so right. Trying to keep out of the case was creating an entire backlog of cravings to find the killer myself. I felt like a volcano about to erupt at that table this morning. I just have to find out who stabbed Rich Dallas to death. And I have to do it today.” I sit upright, ready to bolt from the lake and run all the way back to the Honey Pot Diner to scour the scene for evidence—not that the Ashford sheriff’s deputies haven’t picked it clean, but I have to do something, anything to progress the case. “Wait, Nell. That still means, the faster I solve the case, the quicker you leave for paradise.”
Nell bubbles with laugher as she rises to the sky. “Oh my sweet, Lottie. You haven’t heard a thing I said. I promise you this. Your powers are growing. Solve this case, Lottie. The quicker, the better. The faster you discover the killer, the quicker your powers will grow.” And with that, she floats to the sky and disappears, one ghostly molecule at a time.
“Wait! Where are you going? Aren’t you going to solve the case right along with me?”
“I’ll be back. But first, there is something I must do.” And just like that, Nell fades into the great expanse of a clear blue sky.