6. Lottie

LOTTIE

" S top your screaming," Suze bellows as she hoists the knitting needles in our direction and Carlotta and I scream twice as loud because of it.

Personally, I'm shocked no one has run out of the ballroom to see who's screaming bloody murder out here, especially considering the fact there has been a bloody murder out here.

Well, in truth, it's not too bloody.

" Lemon ," the sound of Everett's voice rings out like a gunshot. A rather welcome gunshot, might I add.

Speaking of guns, my sweet Glock, Ethel, is tucked safely at home, and for once, I say good thing because should I have brought her along for the ride, Lyla Nell's sourpuss of a grandmother would have been riddled full of bullets by now.

I turn to find both Everett and Noah bolting this way with guns drawn. Yes, Everett is now packing heat as well. Noah's gun might have been issued to him by the Ashford County Sheriff's Department, but Everett went and picked up his piece on his own. It's basically his Fred to my Ethel, and well, that's why we've nicknamed it Fred .

"What the heck is going on?" Everett thunders as he does his best to take in the scene.

"Mom?" Noah looks stymied by the scene himself.

Then, in unison, the two of them look down and groan as they spot the body.

They both put their weapons away while Noah drops down and checks the woman for a pulse.

" Geez ." He sighs. "She's gone. I need to call this in." He jumps up and steps away to do just that.

"What happened?" Everett asks just before his eyes zero in on those knitting needles. "Suze?" His eyes grow in size as his mouth falls open.

Noah jogs back. "What did I miss?"

"Sexy here just figured out who the killer is," Carlotta says without missing a beat.

Sexy and Foxy would be the nicknames she's gifted Everett and Noah.

I've come to the conclusion that if Carlotta doesn't gift someone a nifty nickname, she doesn't care about them all that much. It's essentially her love language.

" Mom? " Noah looks twice as stymied as he was when he got here. "Say it ain't so."

"Oh, it ain't so," Suze gruffs while spiking those knitting needles in our direction once again, and this time all four of us inch back.

"Let's make a run for it," Carlotta shouts as she grabs me by the elbow.

"You and I both know I can't run," I shout back as I yank myself free.

"I know it, Lot," she pants. "But I had to extend the offer so I won't look bad at your funeral. Everyone knows the killer always catches the slow one first."

"Carlotta." Everett shakes his head. "Do you honestly think I'd leave my wife behind?"

"Oh hush, you," Carlotta snips. "What we've got here is a lady killer. It's no secret Suze couldn't care less about men. It's the women she wants to stab in the heart with a pair of knitting needles."

" Carlotta ," Noah growls at her for even implying it. "She's not the killer."

"Don't you Carlotta me, Foxy. Everyone also knows that you couldn't spot a killer even if she was holding a pair of bloody knitting needles to your face."

I shrug his way without meaning to. I mean, technically, she's not wrong. I'm the one who's solved the last fifty or so homicides that have landed on his desk. You would think I'd be part-time staff at the homicide department by now, or in the least an honorary member. But as it stands, the department practically has a restraining order against me.

"Speaking of killers." Carlotta turns her ear toward Suze. "Knitting needles were a clever yet crafty move. What's next, death by crochet hook?"

The sound of sirens fills the night just as a pair of footfalls heads this way and we turn to see a redhead in a dark coat.

Speaking of the homicide department, here comes the she-devil they keep on a long leash.

"I should have known," she gravels my way and I can't help but sniff at the comment.

Detective Ivy Fairbanks works with Noah down at the homicide department.

Her hair is pulled back into a tightly coiled bun, her skin is pale as death, and that cold expression of hers never once leaves her face. I've had warmer greetings from corpses at the morgue. And not only does she have a mad crush on Noah, but she has an all-out personal vendetta against me . Mostly because I still hold Noah's heart and she knows she can't have it.

I'll admit, the thought pleases me way too much, and perhaps for multiple reasons.

"I had nothing to do with this," I'm quick to tell her.

"Yeah." Carlotta pulls back her shoulders and it triggers a seizure of light from that neon sweater of hers. "It was Foxy's mama who did the deadly deed. She stabbed her bestie in the eye with a pair of knitting needles, and she's been bragging about it ever since."

I shake my head. "Suze didn't stab anyone in the eye." I cringe for a moment. "Although she was besties with the woman. And well, knitting needles are involved." I motion to Suze who's still holding them.

" Mom? " Noah's bewilderment only seems to grow.

Then in a burst, a flood of women drains from the back door of the Evergreen Manor just as a swarm of deputies arrives on the scene as well.

Eudora, the redhead who was arguing with Glenda earlier, steps our way along with my mother.

"Oh, Lottie, no," Mom cries as she tosses up her hands. "Can't you let us have one tiny little gathering in peace? And poor Glenda!"

My mother might be upset, but Eudora hardly looks surprised at all. Instead, a smile tugs on her lips as she stares down at the poor woman. If I didn't know better, I'd think she was pleased at the sight.

And that action alone spikes her up to the top of my suspect list.

Ivy looks up and gives a sigh of relief.

" Mother ," she says as she trots over and gives Eudora a hearty embrace. "As soon as I got the call that there was a murder at the Evergreen, I came right over. What a tragedy. And on your big night, too!"

"Mother?" I practically mouth the word as I inspect the two of them.

I shake my head at the thought.

Not only is Noah's mother sitting at the top of my suspect list, but Ivy's mother is, too.

Something tells me this is going to be the mother of all investigations.