Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

O nce the parade was officially over, Watson and I joined Cooper and the rest of the North Pole brigade down at the community center where we ho, ho, hoed with the best of them.

Okay, so the only ho there was Naomi, who kept taking advantage of the fact she was playing the part of Santa's plus-one by way of sticking her tongue in his ear. And the only reason she was able to jab it into that orifice is because Cooper kept turning his head every time she tried to put it in his mouth.

Anyway, I could only take so much, so I let Watson chew on Naomi's ankle and moseyed into the kitchen to sneak a bite. And to my surprise, I find two familiar faces working away to make the tasty holiday magic happen.

"Stir the stuffing, would you?" Niki shouts my way.

"Is this why you weren't at the Turkey Trot?"

"I was at the Turkey Trot, all right," she says. "Lottie asked me to put away the pies before she left the bakery this morning, so I put away three." She pats her belly. "I used a fork, but in truth, I didn't need it."

I avert my eyes. "Teaches Lottie to ask you anything." I nod over at Uncle Jimmy. "Happy Thanksgiving," I say, heading his way as he offers me a hearty embrace. He's manning the mashed potatoes, and by the looks of it, he's wearing them, too.

"Happy Thanksgiving, bella facia," he says right back as he gives both of my cheeks a proper kiss. "Congrats on your kills. You're doing me proud."

I make a face. "I didn't kill anyone. I don't deserve the money. A friend of theirs did them in. I got her to confess, and she's already on her way up the river."

Uncle Jimmy inches back. "And? Even better work. You got someone else to take the fall."

"No, that's not what hap?—"

He holds up a hand. "Never mind the details. You got the job done. The money is yours. Consider it a pat on the back for carrying out a little justice." His shoulders jump. "Even if it wasn't necessarily for me. At the end of the day, we both got what we wanted." He turns back to his potatoes. "Now we'd better serve up the last of this food and make it snappy. Your mother threatened to take me out if I was late for dinner."

"Something tells me she'll take all three of us out for that," I say.

Uncle Jimmy, Niki, and I serve up the rest of the food while Loretta Salami belts out orders as if this were her calling in life. And it just might be. With Fiona out of commission, the Honey Hollow Hearts Foundation needed a new ringleader, for this afternoon at least. Something tells me Loretta might even be moved to open up her very own foundation soon—albeit a little more honest and honorable.

Oh, who are we kidding? It will be just as corrupt and dishonest.