Raspberry Tart Terror (Murder in the Mix Book 30) Unknown (christmas read aloud .TXT) 📖

is, it isn’t living and breathing. It’s dead, Carlotta. Just like that poor woman lying over there with one of my raspberry tarts in her hand. Why does this keep happening to us?”

“I know, Lot.” She ticks her head to the side. “I often wonder how in the world we got so lucky myself.”

“Lucky?” I practically choke the word out, and the baby gives a kick to my ribs as if he or she were just as incensed as I am.

“Yes, lucky.” Carlotta doubles down on her lunacy. “If it wasn’t for one of your desserts being present in each and every one of these homicide cases, your little bakery would have been flushed down the financial toilet ages ago. The one thing new businesses are good at isn’t making a killing—it’s closing their doors forever. And your little hole-in-the-wall is making a killing the old-fashioned way. The sacrifices of those corpses have given the Cutie Pie life. With each death in Honey Hollow, the Cutie Pie Bakery and Cakery grows stronger and stronger. There’s not a marketing genius on the planet who could have come up with that deadly scheme.” She pats me on the back. “And don’t worry, Lot Lot. I just know your good luck is going to rub off on Foxy and Sexy, too.”

Foxy would be Noah, and Sexy would be Everett.

“Oh, my luck has already very much rubbed off on them,” I assure her with a nod. “You know, after both my house and Everett’s burned down, I was convinced that Hearst curse had fallen on me.”

Ichabod Hearst died back in October, and I was warned from the great beyond by my Grandma Nell not to meddle in that case or else risk Ichabod’s family curse reigning its terror down over me. And well, I meddled, because I apparently don’t have a stitch of common sense. But in my defense, I have an unquenchable thirst for justice that just had to get quenched.

Grandma Nell told me all about the Hearst curse and why the woman who set the curse on that family gave it to them. She was also transmundane and her powers fell under the category of a beguiler, a person who has the ability to charm, as in the ability to charm a whirlwind to come forth, objects to move at will, people to bend to your will, earthquakes, fires, and I’m sure an entire slew of things I’m not that familiar with.

“Anyway, I’m finally ready to admit I’m just plain unlucky. I’m my own walking curse.” I hold my belly as I sniff back tears. “I bet if I left Honey Hollow, it would break this horrible homicide streak we’re having. Thank God it’s just once a month and not once a week. I don’t think my sanity could handle it if the frequency increased.”

“You mean your bakery couldn’t handle it. Way to space ’em out, Lot. I’ll get Lily on the horn and tell her to start ordering more supplies for those tarts of terror. I have a feeling this will be your best seller yet. They look as if they’re smeared with blood.”

I take a moment to glower at her as she speeds off with her phone in hand.

Lily, the woman she’s talking about, is my right-hand gal at the bakery. And it’s true, she does like to be notified right away when one of these carnal catastrophes takes place so she can accommodate the anticipated orders, and sadly it will be a boon for the bakery.

Cormack and Cressida run up, both clad in the same obnoxious hue they dared to color the floor in.

“Do something, Lisa,” Cormack growls.

Fun fact: for as long as I can remember, neither of these nitwits has cared to get my name straight.

Cressida leans in with her pale eyes squinted over at me. Both women are blonde, petite, tall, and far too wealthy for their own obnoxious britches.

“You did this, didn’t you?” Cressida snips. “You did this just to spite us because you can’t stand the fact your mother handed over the reins to this dump to a couple of competent businesswomen and not you.”

My mouth falls open and I gag on a river of words I can’t seem to get out.

“You stole this place from my mother,” I seethe. I choose to leave out the fact I’m a competent businesswoman myself. “And I’m here to buy it back. Name your price, I’ll make sure you get it.” When Grandma Nell passed away, she left me half of Honey Hollow and then some. I have plenty of money to throw at these two nitwits. And believe me, I’d love to wrap that money around a brick as I toss it at them.

Cormack pushes Cressida back. “It’s not for sale.” She flashes a greedy grin my way. “This is our baby now. And your mother works for us.”

“As do I,” a rather deep female voice chirps as Suze Fox, Noah’s peach of a mother, steps up between Cormack and Cressida.

She has donned some sort of a pink frock, too, and that sinister smile on her face lets me know she’s very much on their side. Suze is a large-boned woman with short vanilla-colored hair that swoops across her eyes in the front.

Back in December, I discovered that Suze might be transmundane. However, she doesn’t seem to be supersensual like me. Instead, I think she might be the aforementioned beguiler with the supernatural ability to charm. Not that Suze has any charm. Regardless, the beguiler’s charm has more to do with charming objects and forces of nature to work in his or her favor. I really don’t know much about it, though. Suze won’t admit to anything.

Suffice it to say, she doesn’t care for me too much in general.

I spot Noah glancing this way before leaving the man in the ill-fitting suit and making a beeline my way.

The man in the suit, Chad, has his hands deep in his pockets as he looks over at Verity’s body