35. Lottie

LOTTIE

P etey growls and his eyes grow red with rage as we stand in a darkened corridor with Carlotta, Orson Wingate, and Agatha Reed here at the Fletcher Hotel in downtown Leeds.

Petey waves his snout my way. “Lottie, which one of these animals killed my Ursula?”

I shake my head because I can’t be sure which one did the deed. But I know for a fact they’re both going to fry for it.

Orson’s face hardens as he steps forward and towers over me in the process. “You have no proof of anything,” he says and his voice is low and dangerous.

I look up at him, unfazed. “Oh, I think I have more than enough proof to put both of you away for a very, very long time.”

Agatha and Orson exchange a panicked glance, and I know I’ve hit the nail on the head.

“Okay, you’ve got us.” Orson gives a dark laugh as he looks from Carlotta to me, stepping our way and pushing us deeper into the darkened corridor. “Ursula was a terrible wife and terrible friend. That’s what initially bonded Agatha and me.”

“You told me she stole your men,” I say as I look at Agatha. “You wanted revenge, so you stole hers.”

“ Nah ,” Carlotta bleats. “Orson is a hot silver fox. She wanted in on the action. Ursula didn’t let a little wedding band stand in her way, and neither did you, Raggedy Aggie.”

“You’re a witch ,” she hisses at Carlotta.

“And you’re a killer,” I hiss back. “You lured Ursula out of the conservatory that night. You knew that Francine and Ursula were at odds with one another and you took advantage of that fact. Francine Dundee provided the perfect cover-up. You took the scarf that Francine knitted to do the job. I’m pretty certain you collected a few of her bobby pins that day as well. It was easy enough to do. She had a million in her hair and half fell out in the conservatory. You’ve been throwing Francine under the bus from day one. And when that didn’t get her arrested posthaste, you concocted a hairbrained scheme to create that cut-and-paste letter and stick it in Suze’s purse! Francine would never write anything so incriminating. It was obvious someone was trying to frame her.”

Not that it was obvious from the outset, but they don’t need to know that.

Petey shakes his head. “I didn’t think it was obvious.”

“I was hoping it was Francine,” Carlotta mutters. “She always did look good in orange.”

Agatha lets out a cry of frustration as she turns to Orson. “I told you we laid it on too thick. Now what are we going to do? You should have divorced her. Who cares if you had to pay her alimony and surrender half your kingdom? We won’t be living large anytime soon. We’ll be in a six-by-eight cell!”

He raises his hand to her. “How many times do I have to tell you, I’ve got it under control!”

“You have nothing under control,” I boom. “That’s why you killed Tom Darius and landed him on Suze’s car that night. He worked for you, didn’t he? So did Suze, and so did Francine. You had them running bank drops for the illegal gambling room you have upstairs. Your financial empire was crumbling, so you turned to crime. I don’t know how you roped Suze into doing your dirty work, or Tom, but I’m guessing Ursula had Francine doing her dirty work for her. Only you weren’t taking any of that money to the bank. You were taking it to Ursula’s restaurant. That’s where you’ve been washing the money.” My eyes widen a moment. “Have you been washing the money through my bakery, too?”

How in the world could he have convinced Suze to do that?

He lunges my way just as Petey jumps in front of him and belts out a roar right in the man’s face. Although Orson can’t hear a thing Petey has to say if he isn’t touching Carlotta or me.

Orson’s hands reach out my way, and if I had to guess, he’s aiming for my neck.

“You grab the squirrely one,” he shouts to Agatha.

Carlotta sputters, “Who you trying to sweet talk, buster?”

Orson staggers my way with his arms extended as if he was a zombie and Agatha hops onto Carlotta as if she suddenly morphed into a female wrestler.

Fun fact: my sister, Meg, used to be a female wrestler out in Vegas. She went under the name Madge the Badge, and sometimes Mad Madge. And if she were here, she could totally take these two even in her precarious state. But she’s not here.

I try my best to move out of Orson’s way, but he steps right along with me.

“Get back here,” he growls as his arms try to extend over my belly, but alas, his hands can’t quite reach my neck. “I’m sorry, Lottie. But this is your last night on this planet.”

The twins give me a swift kick on either side of my belly and I gasp.

“You’re not hurting me or my babies.” I go to reach for my gun, only to realize that I left Ethel at home. I usually keep her in a holster strapped to my thigh, but as it stands, I haven’t seen my thighs since Thanksgiving.

Drats.

“Nobody is hurting your babies, Lottie,” Petey roars just as Orson dives in my direction and I simply step out of the way as Orson crashes into the wall behind me and Petey crashes into him from behind with the force of a freight train right before he lifts the man about six feet off the ground.

A horrible cry escapes Orson. “I think I broke my ribs,” he mumbles with his face still pressed firmly against the wall as Petey manages to hold him there. “What’s happening to me?” His legs begin to dangle and kick. “Why can’t my feet reach the floor?”

The thing with the ghosts that come back to help me is, they can’t always do anything physical to the perps lest they risk having their earthly day pass revoked a little early—or in this case, right on time.

Petey’s fur begins to shimmer and grows increasingly translucent.

“Lemon?” Everett’s voice booms from the lobby.

“ Lottie? ” Noah’s voice trails a second behind.

“In the hallway,” I call out. “ Help ,” I shout as Carlotta and Agatha twirl in a tangle of limbs.

Both Noah and Everett jump this way with their weapons drawn on us.

“Everybody freeze,” Noah bellows.

“They confessed,” I shout. “They killed Ursula! Orson runs the casino,” I pant as Petey holds the man pinned to the wall about six feet off the ground. “He was washing the money through the Cozy Croon Café and maybe the Cutie Pie.”

Noah looks over at me in horror and I nod.

“I think your mother has been washing money through the bakery.”

Orson falls to the ground and Noah quickly lands both him and Agatha in cuffs.

A couple of meaty looking men run in and Everett growls their way.

“You’re late,” he roars at them.

“We were at the bar. It was just a second,” the taller of the two confesses.

“Too bad you’re fired,” Everett thunders and they take off and oddly head back for the bar.

“What was that about?” I ask, hardly able to catch my breath.

“Those were the idiots I hired to keep an eye on you,” he says with a sigh as he pulls me in closer.

Within seconds, the darkened corridor glows with the light of a thousand baby blue stars.

“Goodbye, Lottie Lemon,” Petey calls out. “It’s time for me to return to the big mackerel buffet in the sky.”

“Until we meet again,” I call out and wave as he ascends toward the ceiling.

“I’ll catch you later, hot stuff,” Carlotta calls out after him.

“Sooner than you think,” he says back to her.

“What?” she squawks in a panic. “What do you mean, sooner than you think?” She grips at her throat just as the corridor fills with sheriff’s deputies.

Soon, I’m both in Everett’s and Noah’s arms. It’s a tangle of muscles and one I don’t mind all that much, or at all.

“Did he hurt you?” Everett gruffs as he lands a kiss on my cheek. “Are the twins okay?”

“I’m fine,” I say. “We’re all fine.”

“You’re going to the hospital,” Noah insists. “We’re not taking any chances.”

“I’m not going to the hospital,” I tell him just as a swarm of medics dash past us. “What’s happening?”

Noah darts into the lobby and Everett and I follow.

Before we can ask a soul a question, the elevator opens and out spills a small crowd of women, including my mother, Suze, Meg, and Sam.

“It’s time, Lottie!” my mother cries with glee. “Both babies are on their way!”

A laugh gets caught in my throat as I look to Everett and Noah. “It looks as if I’m heading to the hospital after all.”