Page 10 of Toxic Apple Turnovers
“Lemon!” Everett roars like a lion as he snatches me and pulls me back to the entry. “The criminals could still be here. It’s too dangerous.”
Both Pancake and Waffles emerge from under the sofa table, their cream-colored fur fluffing out with fright. They’re brothers from the same litter—Himalayans—both with the same gorgeous off-white fur and rust-tipped tail. I snatch up Waffles, and Everett picks up Pancake. Waffles was actually my grandmother, Nell Sawyer’s, cat. Nell was Carlotta’s mom, and I only discovered we were related once Carlotta revealed herself to me last January. It turns out, Nell was sworn to secrecy, but that didn’t stop her from developing a lifelong friendship with me. Up until she died last January, she was the only one who knew of my supersensual standing, and it was Nell who passed the gift down to me.
“Let’s go, Lemon.”
I’m about to turn around when a peppy Golden Retriever bounds out of my bedroom and heads straight for me. Dutch was crucial in helping me solve a murder last December.
“Dutch!” I cry out as I bend over and give him some love while Waffles does his best to claw up the side of my sweater. “Oh, how I’ve missed you!”
He does his best to lick up a storm over my cheek, but alas, I can’t feel a thing.
“And how I’ve missed you.” His voice is deep and charming and exactly as sweet as I thought it would be.
I gasp as I pull back and meet up with his serious glowing crimson eyes, but he blinks out of existence before I can say a word.
“That was him! It was Dutch,” I say as Everett helps me up. “He spoke to me before he disappeared.” I swallow hard. “That must mean your father will be able to speak to us as well.”
Everett closes his eyes and sighs. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, Lemon. I can hardly wait.” He navigates us out of the house and down the stairs right back to the driveway. “But for now, we’re calling the sheriff’s department. Let’s take the cats to my place.”
Last year, while Noah and I were still hot and heavy, I thought it was a great idea to rent a house across the street from his adorable little cabin. And Everett, who came along for the ride to inspect my new potential rental, bought the house next door to me. And that is exactly how we all came to live on Country Cottage Road.
We’re about to head over to his place when I spot a light shining through Noah’s cabin across the street.
“Everett,” I hiss lower than a whisper. “You’re right. They’re still here.” No sooner do I get the words out than a figure dressed in camouflage from head to toe runs out of Noah’s front door and into the woods, to the right, just past where the cul-de-sac ends.
Everett hands me Pancake in haste before bulleting off in that direction.
“Everett!” I scream so loud, I’m positive I’ve shattered the sound barrier.
I head to the car and lock the cats and myself inside while calling Noah and spilling everything in one rambling sentence. The figure of an all too familiar man comes ambling back down the center of the street, hobbling badly. “I have to go. Everett’s hurt.”
I leave the cats in the car and run over to him.
“I’m fine.” Everett holds up a hand, panting as if he ran a mile in two minutes flat. “I turned my ankle on a rock at the neck of the woods. It’ll shake off.”
“It might, but first we’re going to ice it.”
Everett and I pick up Pancake and Waffles on our way to his place, which thankfully is left unscathed. I try to get Everett to lift his foot up while I apply an ice pack, but the flashing lights of a patrol car cut through the darkness outside in a red and blue seizure.
Everett and I head on out, where we find Noah parked in haste in his own driveway across the street. Before he can jog over, my phone buzzes in my hand.
“It’s a text from Meg,” I say to Everett as I quickly read it. “It looks as if Hook’s house was hit, too.”
Everett exhales sharply as we make our way down the walk. “What in the hell is happening?” he barks at the deputies.
Noah instructs the pair to inspect my place for any signs of the thieves, and they take off running.
Noah is quick to wrap his arms around me, his heart beating erratically against my chest. “Lottie, I need you to stay with Everett tonight. I can escort you back to your place to get a few things once we sweep the house.” He shakes his head at Everett. “We’re not entirely sure what’s happening, but it seems it’s only affecting Honey Hollow. No calls from the surrounding areas, and nothing from Hollyhock, Leeds, or Ashford.”
“Hook Redwood was hit,” I say, pulling back to get a better look at him. Noah is warm and solid and feels so very safe. I can’t help but note the gun protruding from the holster on his back.
Everett looks my way. “All this and a homicide? I guess this is the big event those visitors you had last month were alluding to.”
Noah nods in agreement. “And it’s not over. I’m not resting until I catch both the killer and these idiots who have pillaged our houses.”
Everett glances back at my place. “If they’re smart, they’ve skipped town—the killer included.”
“They’re never smart, are they?” I look to Noah, and he shakes his head.