Page 15 of Peach Cobbler Confessions
She shrugs. “And that leaves us with the latest episode. The case of the missing landlord. I’m guessing he was an easy target. Rumor had it, he was a land baron who didn’t care about the conditions his tenants lived in.” She gives me the stink eye. “Sound familiar, Lot?”
“Carlotta, I’m hardly a land baron.”
Both Meg and Carlotta inch back with a clear look of amusement written on their faces.
“Okay, fine. I’m a land baron. But only because Grandma Nell left me just about everything she owned. However, I’m notyourlandlord, Carlotta.”
“And it shows,” she gravels it out. “You’d better get that crack in my window fixed, and quick. You and I both know fall will hit hard once the calendar turns a page next month.”
“What crack in your window?” I ask.
She clucks her tongue. “The one Harry inadvertently created last night when he was breaking in past midnight.”
“Carlotta”—I close my eyes—“Harry can and should use the front door.”
“What’s the fun in that?”
Meg belts out a laugh. “You’re a riot, Carlotta, but I’d better make sure the Honey Pot is still running.” She takes off just as my phone pings with a text message and both Carlotta and Collette swoop in to see what it says.
It’s a text from Noah.How about dinner at Mangias?
I text back.Sure!Is it all right if Everett joins us? I have something I really want to share with the two of you in person.
He texts right back.Sounds good. I’ve got a surprise for you, and I think you’re really going to appreciate it.
I groan as I look to Carlotta. “Now look what you’ve done. Noah is probably spending his hard-earned money on baby items we’ll never get to use.”
Collette Jenner groans herself. “What I wouldn’t give to have a man dote on me like that. You don’t suppose Noah would be up for a ghostly girlfriend, do you?”
“Nope,” I don’t hesitate with the answer. “He’s got a stalker named Cormack Featherby who I still can’t make disappear. In fact, it’s a miracle she didn’t materialize last night at the civic center. I think she’s on a cruise in the Mediterranean.”
“Cormack?” Collette wrinkles her nose. “I heard Everett talking to someone named Cormack on the phone just this afternoon before I arrived.”
I blink back. “Why would Everett be talking to Cormack? Could Cormack be a part of the big secret he is keeping from me?” Hey? What if Cormack and Everett are secretly married? No, that can’t be. Everett marriedme. You can’t marry two different people. That would be illegal, and if Everett is anything, he’s all about obeying the laws.
Isn’t he?
Carlotta gasps. “Mr. Sexy is keeping a secret from my Lot Lot?”
My phone pings again and it’s Noah letting me know what time to meet him at the restaurant.
Carlotta nods down at the screen. “I’ll see you at seven for dinner, Lot. And don’t you worry. We’ll winnow this secret from your sexy hubby yet. There hasn’t been a single man who I can’t cull a confession from. They don’t call me the Mistress of Torment for nothing.”
“Something tells me I’ll be the one tormented tonight at dinner.”
Collette shrugs over at me. “Just say the word and I’ll spy on that sexy husband of yours. I bet he whispers all sorts of secrets in the shower.”
“Don’t you dare. I’ll find a way to send you right back to paradise where you came from and you can shower with all the ghosts you want.”
“Fine,” she snarls at me.
“Good. Because I do have a job for you. Go find a man by the name of Kent Noble. Just before Dane died, he said Kent was helping him out of a pickle. I bet Kent whispers his deep, dark secrets in the shower, too.”
“Ooh.” She shimmies her shoulders. “Kent Noble.” She fluffs her hair as she examines her nonexistent reflection in the mirror on the wall. “I’ll tell you if I hear anything. But if I see anything”—a dark laugh trembles from her—“I’ll keep that little tidbit to myself.” She grimaces. “Let’s hope it’s not so little. I broke a few astral planes and time continuums for this peep show.”
And just like that, she disappears in a spray of red stars.
If only making Carlotta disappear were so simple.