Page 58 of Toxic Apple Turnovers
Owlbert hoots four times fast. “What do I do, Lottie? I’ve never intervened in a homicide about to happen. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”
And how I hate the thought that Everett and I are the homicide about to happen.
“Go for the eyes,” I say breathlessly, as he does just that, and I hop over the two of them just as Connie fires the gun into the air, screaming her head off as if she were being eaten alive. I latch onto Connie as we struggle for the weapon.
Chrissy does his best to pluck me off, but I prove tenacious as I dig my fingers into Connie’s hair.
“Freeze!” a female voice calls out from behind, but I can’t stop until I get that gun away from Connie.
A hand clamps down over it just as a shot is fired, and the entire lot of us finally gets around to freezing.
“Got it.” Everett pulls me back and holds the gun up victoriously, a trickle of blood running down the side of his quickly swelling face. Everett pushes Chrissy against the ground, and Connie decides to make a break for it.
Without thinking, I extend my foot, and she goes sailing to the ground with a thud.
Owlbert chuckles as his illumination grows dim. “Good work, Lottie. Good work indeed. Until we meet again… I’m afraid they’re calling me home. Oh, look! There’s my Amanda. And what an angel she is, Lottie. If you could only see her now.”
My chest bucks with emotion as Detective Ivy Fairbanks tosses Everett a pair of cuffs, and she subdues Connie while he handles Chrissy.
Soon they’re back on their feet. Both Connie and Chrissy are a little dirtier than they were before, but no worse for wear.
“They tried to set up Mark Russo,” I pant as Everett navigates Chrissy over to Ivy. “If you look in his glove compartment, you’ll find the pills they used to poison Amanda.”
Connie glares over at me. “I didn’t poison anyone. You can’t pin this on me and you won’t. Do you know who my brothers are?”
A chill rides through me at the mention of her family. The Canellis are a notorious crime family that everyone in their right mind knows to steer clear of. I’d be a liar if I didn’t say the threat didn’t bother me.
In a moment, we’re surrounded by sheriff’s deputies that Ivy called over, and both Chrissy and Connie are led off the premises.
Ivy looks to the two of us, her lips twisted as if she were contemplating something.
“You’re a good team.” She lifts her chin to Everett. “Get that cut checked out. I’ll need to speak to the both of you in a bit.”
We nod as we make our way back to the festivities. The laughter of the crowd, the screams of delight from the people on those hayrides, the hustle and bustle of a beautiful fall night, it’s all unfazed, untouched by the horror of what just happened.
Everett pulls me in under a silver moon as a sprinkling of stars shimmers above us. “She’s right, Lemon. We do make a good team.”
“I’ve always suspected as much.” I lean up on my tiptoes and offer him a kiss on the cheek. “Oh! The party.”
“Go. I’ll be fine.”
“No. I’m getting you checked out. There’s a nurse’s station just outside the barn. Let’s get your sister before she wanders off again and sheds another article of clothing.”
We do just that. We collect Meghan and head straight to the nurse who gives Everett a questionable bill of good health. She cautions me to watch him through the night and gives him an ice pack and a bandage. If anything looks amiss, she instructs us to go straight to the emergency room.
But, upon Everett’s insistence, we head into the barn instead. The inside of this home to all things hay and horses looks amazing with a plethora of white balloons, a huge sign that readsCongratulations, Keelie and Bear, and Mason jars filled with tiny twinkle lights strewn about the refreshment tables. Dozens of crystal chandeliers hang from above that Hazel had installed for just this occasion. Each one illuminates the cavernous space with stunning brilliance. It’s perfectly magical for a perfectly magical couple.
I text Lainey and Forest, and they’re kind enough to bring out the cake, a three-tiered whitewash of roses that looks impeccably delicious, impossibly elegant. And after all the guests are amassed under the canopy of twinkle lights and crystal chandeliers, Meg ushers in the guests of honor.
The entire lot of us shoutsSURPRISEat the top of our lungs and watch as my best friend bursts into tears—happy tears.
I wrap my arms around her, and then pull Bear in close. “You two deserve the very best in life, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you get it.”
A live band starts up, and soon everyone is dancing to the music.
Naomi wrangles Alex to the dance floor, and Lily looks as if she’s after blood. But she joins them anyway.
I spot Meghan shaking her body along with Holland himself.