27. Lottie

LOTTIE

P anic sets in the moment Noah, Everett, and I burst through the doors of my mother’s B&B. And believe me, the cozy haunted charm this place holds is doing nothing to soothe the anxiety gnawing away at me.

“ Kitty cat .” Lyla Nell giggles as we trot through the foyer, and Thirteen runs by, leaving a trail of purple stars in his ghostly wake.

“Yes, sweetie,” I tell her. “Looks as if Thirteen has somewhere to be.” I glance at Noah. “Has your mother said anything else?”

“Nothing,” Noah pants. “All I know is she said she received a disturbing note and that we had to get down here immediately.”

“The killer could still be on the premises,” Everett growls. “Lemon, let me take you home.”

“Too late,” I say as we zoom through the empty reception hall. “I have to know what that note says and I’m already here.”

Lyla Nell sits perched on Noah’s hip, clutching a stuffed bear as if he were a life preserver, while Everett strides ahead, looking determined to track down the killer himself.

I’m sandwiched between them, trying to keep my anxiety and my appetite in check, but it’s not easy when every instinct is telling me that something is seriously wrong.

Not to mention I missed out on those funnel cakes back at the Winter Festival. And sorry, Suze, but that is the biggest grievance of them all.

The sound of laughter comes from the drawing room, and we speed that way. The doors are wide open, and I’m shocked to see a gaggle of little kids sitting cross-legged on the floor. Each and every one of them is staring at my sister, Lainey, with wide eyes as she sits on an armchair, reading aloud from a book.

Lainey is all smiles as she holds the book out so they can see the colorful pictures of what looks to be a polar bear. I’m sensing a theme in my life. And her voice has a bit of a lilt to it as she spins a tale like a pro—or rather reads like a pro. And considering she runs the Honey Hollow Library, she, in fact, went pro a long time ago.

“What in the world…” I start with a whisper, but my voice trails off as my mother pops up beside me and gives us all a little wave.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” she says, clapping her hands together like a proud mother hen. “We’ve started something new. It’s called Story Time with Ghosts. The kids love it. We read the books, and the ghosts rattle the chandeliers and ruffle the curtains. It’s all very theatrical.”

“Story Time with Ghosts?” I stare at her for a moment. “Please tell me you’re not hosting a séance for toddlers?”

“Of course not. Don’t be silly.” She flicks a wrist at the thought. “You know darn well hosting a séance is grounds for getting my membership revoked at church. I’m already on the fringe for having a home brimming with the dead. Besides, this is all in fun. And the ghosts seem to enjoy it.”

The chandeliers give a mean rattle and I look up to see Greer and Winslow each swinging from their own mountain of crystal as if they were a couple of flying trapeze artists.

They wave down at me and I give a tiny wave back.

“Yeah, well, let’s hope they don’t get too enthusiastic and start throwing the furniture around.” I turn to my mother once more. “Mom, do you have any idea of where we can find Suze?” Never mind the fact little Lea prefers to throw machetes.

Mom cranes her neck past me into the hall as a few couples start to migrate this way. Parents of the children being quasi-terrified, I’m assuming.

“Oh, I’m sure Suze is around here somewhere.” Mom twitches her lips as she sighs. “Last I saw, she was heading toward the conservatory. Probably admiring all of those gifts left over from the baby shower. People have been going in all week taking a peek around. Which reminds me, I’ll need to have the do-over shower that we’ll be hosting catered as well. I just can’t wait to get my hands on those crepes again. They’re so delicious, they’re downright creamy and dreamy.”

“The key really is making sure the batter is as thin as possible.” I’m not sure why I offered up that little tidbit. My mother stopped trying her hand at baked goods the day I opened the Cutie Pie, and she’s been feeding her sugar addiction for free ever since.

Noah glances at his phone. “I just got a text. She is in the conservatory.”

“Great,” I say as the three of us turn to leave, but my mother blocks Noah’s path.

“Why don’t you give me that dimpled darling?” she says, taking Lyla Nell out of his arms. “It’s time to listen to a few spooky tales with Glam Glam!” She wrinkles her nose my way. “I promise, these books are spooktacular.”

“ Boo book! ” Lyla Nell claps as they head inside and the three of us make a dash for the glass castle sitting in the back.

Within seconds, we spot Suze hunched over something while seated at one of the tables up front. And if I’m not mistaken, her entire body looks as if it’s shaking.

We burst into the room, and Suze jumps a foot high in her chair while clutching a piece of paper to her chest as if it were her last lifeline.

“Mom, what’s going on?” Noah barks.

Suze looks up. Her eyes are wide and filled with fear.

“I... I found this,” she whispers hoarsely, holding out what looks to be a letter on a standard-size sheet of notebook paper. It’s blank from the back, but once we circle around to see the front, we gasp at the sight of it.

Noah pulls on a pair of gloves, ready to collect the evidence at hand—whatever it may be—and carefully takes the letter from her.

The note is composed of cutout letters and words from a magazine, or a variety of magazines, with each word carefully glued to the paper in a manner that sends chills down my spine. Without even reading a sentence, the message is clear, menacing, and once I see Suze’s name at the top, it’s all too personal.

Noah sighs. “I’ll read it.” He clears his throat, and just as he’s about to begin, a wild ruckus erupts from the door as Carlotta rides in on the back of a polar bear, who just so happens to be sprinting this way. A wild spray of blue stars sparkles in his wake, and the ground shakes as they thunder their way over.

“Don’t you dare start without us,” Carlotta bleats as she pulls back on Petey’s fur above his neck and he whinnies like a horse while rocking back on his hind legs. “Keelie told me that the three of you took off as if your knickers were on fire. I figured you were about to get frisky, but then she mentioned something about Suze wanting all the attention. So I figured Suzie Q was dead.” She looks at Suze then turns my way. “Sorry, Lot.”

“Carlotta.” I swat her foot because it’s the closest to me.

Petey looks my way with those big button eyes of his. “Well, if she’s not dead, what are we doing here? They’ve got funnel cake back at the festival.”

“ Eh .” Carlotta slides off of him. “We may as well stay and see what has Suze so hot around the collar.”

Suze sputters and gags as she points to Carlotta. “How was she floating like that? She’s a witch, isn’t she? I knew it! I knew there was something dark and wicked about you. The both of you.” She points my way as well and I roll my eyes.

Even though Suze is transmundane, she doesn’t seem to retain the fact that I am, too. Heck, she can’t get my name right half the time. Honestly, I don’t think she’s trying to be rude. I think her mind is getting ready to take a permanent vacation. If I were Suze, I’d take a real vacation before she loses her marbles and can’t enjoy a good frozen concoction while sitting on a tropical beach.

“Go on, Noah,” I say. “Let’s find out what this psychopath has to say.”