Chapter 17

The next morning I showed up at work bright and early. And as I strutted into the bakery, the scent of sugar and butter hit me like a one-two punch—and that's a one-two punch I will never complain about.

The customers kept us plenty busy straight through the morning and into the afternoon, and whenever we hit a lull, I shoved a glazed cruller into my mouth. But just a little after two the crowds die down and we can all catch our breath.

Lottie bounces to the counter holding a cake that looks a lot like a giant cream puff.

"Wow," I muse. "I think all of my cake dreams just came true."

"I sure hope so." Lottie laughs. "It's one of my new creations. I want you all to try it." She motions for Suze and Lily to come this way as well.

Carlotta is here, too, but she's way over by the door passing candy out of a cauldron to the cute little trick-or-treaters.

Halloween isn't for two days, but Main Street hosts a weeklong Honey Hallow-Haunt where schoolchildren are encouraged to dress in costume and go from business to business, in hopes their parents will find a new place to spend their money. Suffice it to say, no one leaves this bakery with just a couple of lollipops. Almost every one of those children's parents has bought boxes and boxes of sweet treats. So much so, we can hardly keep the shelves stocked.

"What is this?" Lily asks as both she and Suze take a well-deserved seat at the counter.

"Someone requested a cream cake for a Halloween birthday party and I needed to taste test it," Lottie tells her. "And you lucky ducks get to taste test it, too. It's basically pate choux dough with Bavarian cream filling. So it is essentially a giant cream puff, but I doubled the dough I would normally use for this size and the filling is a bit more like custard but stiffer."

She plates up a slice for each of us and we indulge at once.

I take a bite, expecting fireworks. And let me tell you, I got a full-blown pyrotechnic display in my mouth.

"Holy cannoli, Lottie. This is like biting into a cloud soaked in unicorn dreams," I cry with my mouth still full of creamy goodness.

Both Lily and Suze moan in approval as well.

The chime on the door jingles, and in comes another half a dozen little sugar fiends, all dressed up and ready to empty our candy stash faster than you can say trick-or-treat. They're so adorable all decked out like superheroes, a few princesses, and there are even a witch, a mermaid, and a ghost.

We watch as Carlotta begrudgingly hands out candy while muttering something about kids these days and the lack of respect for their elders. In her defense, the two littlest of the bunch just kicked her in the shin for the fun of it. And it was sort of fun to witness.

"Watch it, you little goblins," she growls. "Too much candy and your parents will have to peel you off the ceiling!"

Two of the mothers reach into their kid's plastic pumpkin buckets, scoop out a handful of candy, and land it right back in Carlotta's cauldron—twice as much as she gave to begin with.

It looks as if they won't be peeling anyone off the ceiling tonight.

Lottie shakes her head. "It's no wonder that cauldron is twice as full in the evening as it is in the morning." She shrugs as she heads our way. "So what are you ladies dressing up as for Halloween?" she asks the three of us while plopping next to Suze. "I'm thinking of going as a zombie bride. You know, the kind that's more interested in brains than bouquets. And I'm talking about those sugar-for-brains cupcakes."

"You've got sugar for brains, all right." Suze rolls her eyes. "I'll be passing out the candy at the BB for your mother, Lottie." She turns my way. "You do realize the BB is haunted. It's like Halloween there every night."

"I do," I say. And I also happen to know Suze plans on pocketing the full-size candy bars because I heard her telling one of the pastry chefs her nefarious chocolate-based plan earlier this week. I'm not so sure I blame her.

Lily nods. "I'm taking baby Levi trick-or-treating with Alex." Alex is her boyfriend, and also Suze's younger son. Little Levi's mother couldn't care less about Halloween or Levi himself, so Lily is essentially that boy's mama. "We're doing one of those family-themed costumes and going as cave people. Little Levi is going to be the cutest little caveman you ever did see." She holds her stomach and laughs as if envisioning it.

Suze smirks, shaking her head. "Ah, young love. Just wait until he's old enough to demand all the candy for himself. Then we'll see who's laughing."

Lily rolls her eyes. "Oh, he'll still be my little pumpkin, even if he does hoard all the candy. Besides, it's not like I won't sneak a few pieces for myself when he's not looking."

Suze raises a brow. "Now that"s my kind of parenting. I used to steal the candy myself when my boys were that age."

"Alex told me all about it." Lily nods. "And once we're through trick-or-treating, Alex and I will continue with our roles as cavepeople right into the bedroom."

"And that was more than we needed to know." Lottie laughs.

Suze looks a little green around the gills just hearing it.

"How about you, Effie?" Lottie asks. "Got any big plans with Cooper?" She wiggles her shoulders as she says it. "That may or may not include a bedroom?"

"He didn't mention anything about Halloween when he picked the dogs up this morning. He'll probably be out patrolling the streets or something. It's Halloween," I say. "Something wicked is bound to happen."

"Yeah," Lily huffs with a silent laugh. "Something wicked will happen if you or Lottie is around. Face it, the two of you are a couple of walking, talking horror movies just waiting to happen."

"Lily." Lottie swats her with a towel as we gobble down our cream cake and Lottie doles us out each another slice. "Effie, you should go out and have fun even if it's not with Cooper. I bet all the men will want to glom onto you. That will teach Coop a lesson. And I bet he'll want to arrest every last one of them, too."

We share a laugh at that one.

Lily nudges Suze. "You should go out, too, Suze. Halloween is the perfect time to pick up men. All those costumes and masks, it's like a giant game of dress-up for adults."

Suze rolls her eyes at the thought. "You won't catch me chasing after any men in costume. I prefer my men unmasked so that I'm fully aware of what I'm getting into."

"Halloween is like the ultimate test for men," Lily says. "Can they handle a woman who's dressed to kill, both literally and figuratively?"

"I think I'll leave the killing to Lottie," Suze says just as the parents of those cute trick-or-treaters migrate in this direction.

Both Suze and Lily hit the registers, but as for me, I just finished up my shift.

Lottie leans my way as I take off my apron. "So how's the case going?"

But before I can answer, a tall, dark, and handsome man gives her an embrace from behind.

"I'd like to know that myself," he says, offering me a dimpled grin.

It's Noah Fox—Homicide Detective Noah Fox to be exact.

Noah and Lottie share a little girl together, Lyla Nell. And she is as cute as a button. Lottie's mother watches her during the day at that haunted BB of hers. And rumor has it, Lyla Nell just loves the ghosts.

Good thing Lottie is loaded. Something tells me she'll need the spare change for Lyla Nell's therapy bills.

"Noah," Lottie says, spinning in his arms and giving him a proper embrace. "What are you doing here?"

"I had some work in this direction and just finished up," he says. "Do you have time to get a quick bite at Mangias?"

"You bet," Lottie says, whipping off her apron. "Hey, Effie, you should come with us. I'm dying to hear what's going on with Sal's investigation."

Noah nods. "I'd love an update on the case as well. I was just meaning to talk to Cooper about it before I left the office. How about it? It's on me."

"Lunch at Mangias?" I bite down on a smile. Sure, Cooper asked me not to speak with Sergio Sorrentino, but he didn't ask me not to eat at Sergio's restaurant. And who am I to say no to both my boss and Cooper's boss by proxy? "You bet I'll join you. And I'll fill you in on every little thing I know."

With the exception of the fact that I need to shake Sergio Sorrentino down for a few missing details.

We hightail it out of the bakery for a slice of pizza and a side of justice.