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

I’ve had. Dash and I went out to Fallbrook and raided Cressi-duh’s ridiculous closet boutique. Can you believe she actually has armed guards patrolling the place? Trying to watch us change?”

My eyes bulge wide. “Evie! Those were nothing but perverts with guns. Why would you change in front of them?”

“Don’t worry.” She sets her blue eyes to mine. “Once I saw how interested they were in watching a sixteen-year-old take off her clothes, I started filming the whole thing and told them I was making a documentary for my class on child predators. Then I mentioned the fact my uncle was a top cop and my dad was a judge who likes to make people suffer. And what do you know? They suddenly had to go out for a smoke.”

Flo honks out a laugh. In all seriousness, it sounds as if the horn on my minivan went off three times fast.

“This girl’s got hutzpah.” Flo takes another bite from Evie’s waffle, and I’m left filling in as the guilty, albeit hungry, culprit. It turns out, Flo has hutzpah, too.

Evie gives me the stink eye. “Do it again and die.”

Flo titters. “I like this kid,” she says as she snaps off another bite, and for a second I consider letting Flo take the heat on her own, but for the sake of everyone’s sanity, I bite the bullet and risk my own demise.

“Mom!” Evie wails. “Fine.” She slides the plate my way. “It’s as if that kid has you possessed. I forgive you.”

Keelie belts out a laugh. “Don’t worry, Evie. I’ll get you another stack.” And she quickly does just that. “You can’t really blame your mom. She’s programmed to eat everything she can for the next two months.” Keelie pats her belly. “And maybe a little beyond that. Who knew it would take so much energy to be a mom?”

Carlotta waves her off. “Who cares about being a mother?” She turns to Evie. “Tell us about the loot you snagged from the Bentley vault. Did you get jewels? Cash and prizes?”

“Just a stupid hot dress.”

Flo nods. “She means stupid in a good way. I have a niece who taught me all the new lingo.”

Evie pulls out her phone and flashes her screen our way to reveal a picture of her in a sheer lace number that stops about mid-thigh, low-cut, no back, and leaves almost nothing to the imagination.

“Conner and Kyle are going to have heart attacks when they see me in this.” Her lips curve with pride. “And then their brains are going to melt.”

I nod. “Your dad’s brain is going to melt, too.”

“Ooh.” Flo pokes me on the arm. “If we off the judge, maybe jury duty will get canceled and you can focus on my case instead?”

I shake my head at her. “We’re not offing the judge,” I whisper.

Carlotta nods. “Don’t forget the heart attack.”

“Geez, Mom.” Evie takes back her phone. “If you really think Dad will bite the big one just because I’m showing a little skin, I won’t let him see me in it. But Conner and Kyle? Face it, with a dress like that, I’ll have those boys eating out of the palm of my hand.”

“That’s where you went wrong, Lottie,” Flo says while picking up my fork and stabbing at my waffles, and I quickly cover my hand with hers. “You need to show some leg to that judge boyfriend of yours.”

“Husband,” I correct, and Everett looks my way from across the room.

“That’s a thought,” Carlotta says. “Why don’t you wear something skimpy and show some leg in court, Lot? I bet Mr. Sexy will send you home for good before the other men in the room fall in love with you, too. You’ve got my stems, Lot Lot. And believe me, I’ve used them as weapons of mass destruction before. All you gotta do is grease ’em up with some baby oil. Once they’re good and shiny, you’ll be slippin’ and slidin’ your way to freedom.”

“She’s right.” Evie nods into the lunacy. “But don’t forget to shave.”

“I can’t shave my legs,” I grunt. “It’s too hard.” I look to Keelie. “Will you come over and shave my legs?”

Carlotta waves me off. “Don’t worry about it, Keelie. Lot Lot has Foxy to do her dirty work. That boy has been sweating it out on the sidelines. You might just make his whole year by asking him to do it.”

Everett and Bear pop up.

Everett looks so alarmingly, vexingly, handsome in his dark inky suit, it’s proving impossible for me to stay mad at him. And Bear looks as if he fell into a cement mixer with his dirty blond hair slicked back and coated with the gray stuff and his clothes encrusted and shredded.

“What’s going on?” Everett nods my way.

Evie lifts a finger. “Mom is plotting to have Uncle Noah shave her legs so she can get kicked out of jury duty.” She winks my way. “You’re welcome.”

My mouth falls open. “Not true,” I tell him. “Mostly.” I make a face. “What’s going on with the house?”

Keelie gasps. “Did we get the job?”

Everett bows his head in my direction, and my lips invert because I know as soon as I agree to this I’m going to regret it. Oh heck, I regret it already.

I look to Bear and nod. “I think you have the job.”

Both Bear and Keelie whoop up a storm, sending half the customers running for the door.

“But”—I hold up a hand, and Flo swipes a cruller from the pasty shelf—“I need this house finished in an acceptable time frame.” More like an acceptable decade.

Keelie gives a frenetic nod. “Don’t worry, Lottie. You won’t have to wait a million years to move into your new house. I’ll have him do a rush job.”

I suck in a quick breath. “No rush job!” Visions of my brand new home collapsing like a house of cards ignite a whole new fear in me. “Take your time, Bear. Take all the time you need.”

Evie rolls her