Lucy: Where are you?
Hazel: Shall I bring vodka or tequila?
Finnie: Do I need my medical bag or a shovel?
Lenora: I doubt my stash of sex toys will help, but I’ve got two good shoulders to cry on.
Reading their responses, I sob-laughed, the kind of outburst that sent snot flying in all directions. Thankfully, I was all by myself.
As soon as I could see through the tears welling up, I thumbed out a reply.
Amelia: Hotel, vodka, medical bag for the hangover, and I need your lovely brain, Lenora.
I went to shove my car door open when movement in the trees nearby caught my eye. What appeared to be a woman and a man, stood in the shadows of the empty lot next door, their arms flapping around in the heat of the moment. I leaned closer and strained my eyes.
Then I gasped.
It was M. Smith in the flesh. Back in Hell. And if that wasn’t Mayor Bennett, he must have a twin I didn’t know about.
Grabbing my cell phone, I tried to take a picture, zooming in and snapping away, knowing they wouldn’t turn out. Dammit! Why hadn’t I thought to get night vision goggles or a special spy camera?
A minute later, they moved away, traipsing through the wooded area like weirdos. What was going on around here? Anyone who meets in the dark like that is up to something. Either an affair or something far sinister. And I’d get to the bottom of it, even if it killed me.
Wait, that was a poor phrase.
I didn’t want to actually die finding out what the mayor was up to, what with this situation with Titus needing to be resolved, but I’d try real hard. Maybe just short of bodily harm. Yeah, that was better.
I got out of the car and ran around to the front of the hotel, heading straight for the front desk and firing up the computer to check our reservations. Just as I suspected, M. Smith was not staying with us tonight. I think I would have remembered if anyone had made a reservation under that name. However, there was an M. Lizz who had checked in while I was at my parents’ house. She was in room 2G, just down that hall from my room. Now I really wished I’d picked up some spy shit. I would’ve bugged the hell out of that room beforehand. Probably illegal, but I was sure there was some gray area.
My brain felt like it might explode. I had two big situations on my hands and as much as I needed my entire brain to focus on getting Titus and me back on solid ground, I couldn’t look away from the fact that there was something sinister going on in Auburn Hill. Titus was right. I couldn’t do everything on my own. I needed to ask for help.
And then the cavalry arrived.
Lucy, Lenora, Hazel, and Finnie all came through the front door of the hotel with the breeze ruffling through their hair and determined looks on their beautiful faces. My friends were badasses.
“We’re here, gorgeous! What’s the emergency?” Lucy rested her elbows on the check-in desk, a glow to her cheeks I admired and would have commented on in other circumstances.
“Titus and I broke up because I’m an idiot. We need to hatch and orchestrate a plan to get him back. Oh, and I have a mystery we need to solve.”
“Hot damn. I knew this weekend was going to be fun.” Hazel looked ready to burst out of her skin.
“Let’s head up to your room and hear every detail. Then we can decide the right tactic for going after Titus.” Lenora pushed us all toward the staircase and we headed up, Big Foot coming along for the fun.
Once we were all seated comfortably, which was hard in a four-hundred-square-foot hotel room, I launched into my tale of woe, making sure they understood how horribly I’d treated Titus. This was not the time for trying to make myself look good. I needed them to know the gravity of the situation and precisely how much groveling would be needed. Probably should invest in some high-quality knee pads. I finished up by getting them up to speed on my suspicions about the mayor and his paramour.
Lenora was the first to speak when I was done. “Okay, mystery aside, I have ideas percolating for your grand gesture, but first, I think we should do some reconnaissance to find out how Titus is feeling. Helps to understand the other side when heading to the negotiating table.”
“I’m not negotiating a contract, for Christ’s sake, Nora. I’m trying to apologize and get him to love me again.”
“No, I think she has a point,” Lucy chimed in. “Let’s find out where things went wrong from Titus’s point of view. It’ll give you the best chance at making the gesture that means the most to him. You don’t want to get your grand gesture wrong.”
“Oh my God, that would be so embarrassing!” Hazel’s mouth dropped open. “Can you imagine how quickly Poppy would spread that debacle around town?”
I loved the girl, but good Lord, I could do without the dramatics right now. I needed to get things back on track. I stood and clapped my hands to get their attention. Big Foot jumped at the first clap and turned around to give me his backside. Damn cats and their constant judgement…
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Lucy, I need you to do some sperm analysis on the used condom under my bed. Lenora, I need you—”
“I’m sorry, what?” Lucy nearly fell off the footstool she was perched on.
“Ew,” Hazel said simply, her jaw still swinging wide-open.
I closed my eyes and begged myself for
