Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

H armony Honeycutt clears her throat as she waves a hand at the crowd.

"Go on, Effie, tell everyone how you've manifested your best life yet!"

I glower at the front row, to the exact spot where Naomi Turner is fighting Watson for space in Cooper's lap, batting her eyelashes up at my man as if she's trying to start a tornado.

My jaw drops, and Harmony looks slightly panicked as if her hocus-pocus just went horribly wrong while Cooper is trying to extract himself from Naomi's death grip.

"I think your manifesting mojo is a little off today," I say to the self-proclaimed guru by my side and the room breaks out into laughter.

"Oh hon, you have to wait for Thanksgiving to arrive before you can give your final assessment." She gives a nervous laugh as the crowd breaks out into a spontaneous applause. "The universe is still working on your requests."

"The universe has a strange sense of humor."

"Maybe so. But don't worry. The power of positive thinking always prevails." She gives a little wink before turning to the crowd. "All right, everyone, let's take a short break. Help yourselves to some refreshments and mingle a bit. We'll continue in fifteen minutes."

As the room buzzes with chatter, I sidle up to Harmony before she can drift off to the dessert table where about fifteen other people have already landed a grabby hand toward those pies.

"Thanks for all that jibber-jabber," I say. "I really appreciate it."

Her mouth falls open as she inspects me.

"You probably don't remember, but we met last night at the book signing. I'm already almost done reading it." It's true. I blame the Sandman for not bothering to show up last night. "It's pure genius. With every page I turn, I keep telling myself I wish I had known this years ago. If I had, I'd most likely be sitting on my own island with a far steamier book and my toes in the water."

We share a quick laugh.

"Wouldn't we all," she teases. "I'm actually heading to the Caribbean after the holiday to unwind. Great minds think alike."

"Well, only one of these great minds is actually going to have her toes in the sand. I'm starting to think the universe likes you more."

She laughs again. "Maybe it does. Or maybe I've just figured out how to bribe it with pi?a coladas." She sighs hard. "But then, my world isn't all a garden of roses."

"I heard about what happened." I wrinkle my nose. "About your ex? I'm sorry about your loss."

"Yes, well"—she sighs once again—"I suppose when it's your time, it's your time."

"Actually"—I glance around at the crowd—"I sort of wanted to ask you about Peter."

Her smile falters slightly, but she quickly recovers. "What about him?"

I take a deep breath. "I was actually there during his untimely demise. It really hit me hard, as death tends to do. I can't imagine how difficult this must be for you. I mean, I know you were divorced, but still. You once had some serious feelings for the guy."

She rolls her eyes then quickly regains her composure. "I suppose that's true. But Peter and I had a complicated relationship. We were married for several years, and while we had our good times, things eventually fell apart. We divorced about a year ago, but we still had some business dealings together."

I nod, encouraging her to continue. "What kind of business dealings?"

She brushes a stray curl from her face. "We were co-owners of a small publishing company, Honeycutt & Co. We published self-help books, including my own works. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, though it did come with its own set of challenges."

"Challenges?"

Harmony hesitates for a moment. "Peter was—let's just say he wasn't always the easiest person to work with. He had a knack for making things difficult, especially after the divorce. But we managed to maintain a professional relationship, at least on the surface." She glowers out at the crowd as if to contest her words.

"So how was your relationship after the divorce? Personally, I mean."

Harmony bites her lip. "We weren't close if that's what you're asking. We stayed out of each other's lives and were peaceful for the most part. But we had our moments of contention, especially when it came to the business."

She's not giving me much to go on—not as far as a motive goes anyway. A thought comes to me.

"So you wrote all these great books and bam he gets fifty-fifty in the divorce? Remind me never to get married."

She snorts out a laugh. "You got the first part right. Well mostly. The lawyers awarded me eighty percent of our past profits and one hundred percent from the day of the divorce on. I hired a real shark who knows how to bite. Peter had been swimming in the wrong tank once he met me."

"I'm liking you more by the minute." And I mean it. But that sort of wipes away any obvious motive about money on her part. "I heard whispers that this might be murder. Who do you think would have wanted the guy dead? I mean, you've already had your way with him and sent him to the cleaners. Was there anyone out there holding a grudge against the guy?"

"Please, Peter collected enemies the way some people collect stamps." Harmony's eyes dart around the room as she leans in closer. "If you're looking for someone with a motive, you might want to talk to Fiona Harper."

"Fiona Harper?" I ask, unsure of who this woman might be. But her name does sound vaguely familiar.

Harmony nods, lowering her voice. "Fiona was Peter's partner in a nonprofit foundation before we got married called Honey Hollow Hearts. She felt sidelined when I came into the picture and took Peter's attention away. I swear the woman never really forgave him—or me—for that matter. Fiona and Peter had a falling-out about something recently, but they seemed to maintain a cordial front for the sake of appearances as far as the foundation was concerned."

"What was the falling-out about?"

She shrugs. "I'm not very close to either of them, but I'm sure Fiona would be more than happy to fill you in. The woman is a talker. Once you wind her up, it'll be near impossible to shut her up. Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I'm afraid I don't know her," I say. "Any idea where I can find her?"

"She owns that cheesy boutique on Main Street, Elegance and Envy." She rolls her eyes as she says it. "Oh wait, I have a picture." She pulls out her phone and fiddles with it before sharing the screen with me. "That's her on the left."

I look down to see a small crowd gathered around a table filled with odd items. The woman in question has short dark hair, narrowed eyes, and a painful looking smile.

There's something familiar about her and then it hits me.

"That's the lady in orange," I say. "She was there last night at the book signing, too." And at the deadly pie-eating contest, but I keep that little lethal tidbit to myself.

"Yes, she was wearing orange last night." Harmony scoffs. "A lot of good being around high fashion has done for her."

I glance back at the picture and spot another familiar face.

"Hey, it's the guy with a carpet of dark hair," I say, mostly to myself.

He was there last night, too. I remember him because he was glaring at the deceased as if he had stolen his lunch money.

Harmony squints at the screen. "This guy?" She points to the handsome older man and I nod. "That's Frank Santoro."

She sighs at the sight of him while I try not to suck up the Thanksgiving feast behind us with a gasp.

That's Frankie "The Bull" Santoro!

Okay, rug aside, I can totally see why Aunt Cat and Carlotta would start a turf war over the guy. He's a looker, all right. And apparently at any age.

"He's done a lot of the Honey Hollow Hearts Foundation as well. That's where we were when this picture was taken. I was auctioning off a basket full of my books that night. And I happened to have garnered the most in donations—just the way I manifested it." She winks my way. "Have a good rest of the night, dear. I'd better mingle."

She takes off and I can't shake the feeling that there's more to this story.

Nevertheless, I've got a shiny new suspect on my radar named Fiona Harper. It's time to dig deeper and uncover the truth behind Peter Honeycutt's death. And who knows, maybe along the way, I'll manifest a few answers of my own.

I'm about to step into the crowd when Cooper and Naomi make their way over.

Let's see if I can't manifest a sinkhole right underneath Naomi Turner's high-heeled shoes.