Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery Addison Moore (the reading strategies book .txt) 📖

He says I should pivot and write beach fiction, something with less heat, more friendships, and a whole lot of sand.”

“Actually, I think I like that idea. You could have those dreamy covers of Cape Cod beaches and lighthouses. In fact, I think I’d pick that book up right now. I can really use an escape.” My hand warms my belly.

“Me too, Lottie.” She frowns over in the direction Wiley just took off in. “Before I forget, I’ll need you to cater dessert for Christmas Eve dinner. Oh, and I’ve already invited Eliza and Everett’s sister. So that’s one less thing you’ll need to worry about.” She pats my hand before taking off.

Serena swishes by in her floor-length deep purple dress, and I catch her by the wrist. Her dark hair is set in long ringlets, and her face is so pale it matches the snow piling up outside.

“Not so fast,” I say. “I demand to know right now if the women at those ridiculous magic mavens meeting share your strange talent.” Namely Suze. “Look me in the eye right now, Serena. Are you a true beguiler? And is Suze Fox one as well?” My heart beats wildly in my chest at the prospect. And just as Serena’s lips part, my phone bleats. I quickly fish it out, but it’s not Everett or Noah for that matter, or even Lily at the bakery. It’s a text from Dr. Barnette letting me know that my iron levels are low and that she’s already called in a prescription for me.

“Ha,” Serena balks while peering down at the screen. “I called it.” She lifts her chin in a smug manner before ditching back into the crowd.

“What about Suze?” I call out after her.

Serena did say I had low iron that day she was swinging old wives tales over my belly by way of that pendant hanging from her neck. Wait a minute… if she was right about that, is she right about Noah being the father?

I wrap my arms protectively over my growing stomach. If that’s right, then there’s another chasm between Everett and me.

Maybe Everett is only with me at the moment because of the baby? And once he finds out it’s Noah’s, he’s going to leave me outright.

This is terrible. A tragedy unfolding right before my eyes, and this time it’s happening to me.

But in order to keep my sanity together, and make it through this holiday season, I’d better focus on something else—like the tragedy that unfolded for Gloria Abner.

“Where to now, Lottie?” Kringle whips my ear with his tail.

“It looks as if we’ll be visiting the Evergreen Manor tonight, long after office hours. I have a feeling if we do a little digging, we’ll find something new.”

Something that just might lead all the way to the killer.

Chapter 15

The Evergreen Manor is a large, stately beast of a structure that looks like it eats little establishments like my mother’s B&B for breakfast.

It’s aptly festooned with garland and lights, and a tall evergreen stands out front bejeweled in white twinkle lights from top to bottom. A giant sleigh driven by two gorgeous beasts with long flowing manes offer rides around the property, and a couple is currently taking what looks to be a perfectly romantic adventure on a snowy moonlit night. The sleigh is decorated with garland and twinkle lights and a giant wreath strapped to the front with a bow on it. And to the right of the entry to the Evergreen there is a snowman out front to greet us with his cute carrot nose and fancy top hat and scarf.

Nice touch.

I’ll have to pass it along to my mother, and maybe Wiley could build her one out in front of her place. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind having one in front of the bakery to greet my patrons, too.

I pull out my phone to take a picture of it—lest I forget about my snowman endeavors, as I’m prone to forget just about everything these days. The baby is not only sitting on my bladder these days, but she or he is noshing on my brain cells as a snack.

I’m about to snap a picture when a couple steps out from the entry and swoops on by on their way to the parking lot, and I freeze solid once I see who that man in the dark coat is—the very man who graced my bed up until last night.

The woman he’s with has on a long red coat, and they move behind a planter box for a few seconds, taking themselves out of my line of vision while they do God knows what. Then a few moments later they walk off toward the parking lot, slowly drifting from one another as if they were strangers.

“What’s a matter, Lot?” Carlotta gives my arm a jostle as if she were trying to pull me out of my trance.

Both Carlotta and Keelie insisted on accompanying me on my latest investigative mission, and I didn’t protest at all.

Keelie squints in the direction I’m staring and gasps. “Oh my stars! Is that?”

“Don’t say his name,” I hiss. The human ear is trained to hear its own name at remarkably low decibels, and God knows I don’t want to clue Everett in on the fact I just caught him red-handed—with a redhead in a red coat no less.

My entire body goes numb. I can’t move. It’s as if my life whizzes before my eyes, and just like that, it’s all over before it ever really began.

A lone tear rolls down my cheek, and the icy air licks it with its fiery tongue.

Carlotta gasps. “Well, there’s your clincher. He’s a two-timer.”

“He’s a two-timer,” I say in disbelief. “How is this my life?”

It’s not. I refuse to lay claim to it.

Keelie scoffs. “Actually, you have a long history of going out with cheaters. First, there was Bear, then that ninny in New York you were engaged to.”

Carlotta nods. “Let’s not forget Foxy.”

A