Page 48 of Toxic Apple Turnovers

Everett pulls me in one more time and holds me like that. His eyes bearing hard into mine, speaking to me far deeper than words could ever venture, intimately sharing his affection for me. Those magical eyes make me forget everything that just happened, everything that’s still happening. But Noah lingers in the back of my mind like a ghost.

* * *

That nightnot only does Everett come bearing champagne—an exquisitely expensive one at that, but Noah comes by and so do Keelie and Bear.

“To Lottie!” Keelie lifts her champagne flute, and we follow suit.

I cringe at the thought of toasting myself. “To justice, I think.” I wrinkle my nose at Everett and laugh as we drink up.

Bear is the first to hit the bottom of his glass. “Whew, that was the good stuff. You deserve it, Lot. And if you think having two men vying for your heart is tough, just wait until you have them lining up out the door. Now that you’re loaded, people are going to take notice.”

Keelie grunts, “The wrong people. All of the people who love you won’t mind one bit—we’ll just expect better Christmas presents.”

We share a warm laugh.

Noah lands his champagne flute onto the counter. “I have an announcement. I’m looking into purchasing a piece of real estate myself—a lodge up in Hollyhock.”

“What? That’s great,” I beam, proud of him.

Everett leans in from behind, his chest warming my shoulders. “Hear that, Lemon? He’s trying to one-up you.”

Noah laughs. “If that were the case, I’ve got a long way to go.”

“Noah, I’m so happy for you. Let us know when escrow closes and we’ll celebrate.”

“I haven’t quite got that far. I’m still weighing the investment potential. And I’d like to take you up there sometime to see what you think.”

“Noah, I’d love that.”

Keelie shudders. “Any news on those thieves? Or how about that killer?”

Noah shakes his head. “We should go over the investigation,” he says my way.

Everett grunts, “You know how to a kill a party, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t mind,” I say. “It’s the perfect time. Let’s go over the suspects for Amanda’s case first. There’s Hazel. She sure stepped into Amanda’s shoes without missing a beat. But I’m not entirely sure about a motive.”

“The money her parents left,” Everett reminds me. “Money is a strong motivator even among family. We witnessed that today.”

“Amen to that.” I take a quivering breath at the memory of how angry my uncle was when he stormed out of that courtroom. “Okay, so she has a motive. There’s Connie Canelli. Her motive is far more pronounced.”

Bear groans as if he might be sick. “You have a Canelli involved? I’m afraid to even listen to this.”

Keelie dusts his face with her hair. “Hush, you coward,” she teases before rewarding him with a kiss.

I shake my head. “Connie’s motive is pretty strong. Amanda swiped her billionaire boyfriend from under her. And then she carried on as if it never happened. I would have been worried if I were Amanda.”

Everett takes a breath. “What about Janelle?”

“She mentioned that Amanda pulled her business from under her. It turns out, Make it Happen was Janelle’s baby, and Amanda came in and basically took over. Buying her out for a few measly hundred dollars.”

Noah folds his arms. “There’s Chrissy, the wedding singer. He seemed nice, for the most part.”

I hold up a finger. “But Pastor Gaines did say he saw Chrissy head out the door just after Amanda on the night she died.” I think on it for a moment. “Mark Russo, her fiancé. He basically implicated both Connie and Pastor Gaines.”

Both Keelie and Bear balk at that one.

“Pastor Gaines?” Keelie shakes her curls as if she were restyling her hair. “Come on.”