“What? You’re not buying the babymoon story?” I make a face because we both know she’s not.
“Maybe the hot judge is planning something special for the two of you, but I highly doubt it would be a ritzy night at the planetarium.”
“I’ll give you a straight answer if you tell me if Suze is one of us.”
It still feels strange acknowledging that Serena is transmundane, but if Suze is, I could never get used to it.
She takes a quick breath. “You know the rules, Lottie. Why haven’t you asked her yourself? It’s not proper etiquette to out another in our community.”
I suck in a never-ending breath. “Oh my goodness, she is!”
“I didn’t say that.” Those emerald eyes of hers bug out. “I didn’t say it. But in the event she is, which I’m not admitting, then you, Lottie Lemon, will simply have to ask her. Besides, the baby is almost here. I always encourage the mothers-to-be in my classes to glean all of the maternal and paternal medical history that they can gather. That would be a great opener for you.”
“Oh, I see. I just say, ‘By the way, Suze, do weak bones, weak eyesight, and weak supernatural powers run on your side of the family?’”
Serena rolls her eyes. “You supersensuals always think you have the be-all and end-all power. I’ll have you know, being a beguiler entails far more than you know.”
“Ohh.” I startle as I spot Chad jumping off the stage for a minute. “I’d love to hear all about how great you beguilers and your little powers are, but I see someone I need to have a quick chitchat with.”
“Chad? I should have known. Here”—she lifts a finger his way—“I’ll deliver him straight to you. And then we’ll see how little my powers are.”
Sure as heck, Chad Harris draws a straight line over to us with his feet.
“Chad, honey”—Serena pulls him in by the shoulders—“my friend Lottie here was just asking who to see about putting in a request for a romantic song. She has two different suitors, so you may want to free up an entire playlist for her. If you’ll both excuse me, I’m wanted for pictures.”
She trots off, and I’m not sure which impresses me more, the fact Serena just used her beguiler abilities to practically make Chad Harris appear before me or the fact she came up with an icebreaker in two seconds flat—and a zinger, but that’s beside the point.
If Serena really is that good, I’ll have to drag her along on some of my investigative escapades.
“What song is on your mind, little mama?” He sheds an affable smile as he looks my way. His light blue dress shirt brings out his eyes, and his dark blond hair is shorn short and mimics the stubble on his face. There’s something easy about him, as if he could make friends with just about anyone—and yet this was the heckler that was harassing Verity the night of the Love Your Selfie event.
“Oh, um, ‘Islands in the Stream’? I think we could cover a lot of ground with that.” I’m not sure that song would cover any ground considering the fact there is someone very much in-between Everett and me at all times, namely Noah. But if that song were made for a woman with a heart for two men, it would be perfect.
“No can do,” he’s quick to shoot it down. “That’s a duet. But tell you what, I’ve got a country song that’s just as sappy and twice as weepy. Just wave my way and I’ll toss it into the mix when you’re ready. I’d hate to catch you off guard in the event you were in the restroom. My sister had a kid last year, and she practically lived on the toilet.”
“Same here. I won’t go anywhere anymore unless I have a map of where the bathroom is. Hey, I think I’ve seen you before. Did you sing at the Honey Hollow Christmas Auction?”
“Wasn’t me. But I was in Honey Hollow a couple of weeks ago.” His chest expands with his next breath and he’s scanning the crowd. “At that bed and breakfast they’ve got. That night…”
He’s getting cagey. I can tell he wants to make a quick escape.
“Oh, I was there that night, too,” I say just as a smattering of pink and red stars ignites the air, and Teddy the cute, yet highly misguided, furry koala pops in our midst.
“I was there as well,” Teddy says a touch sternly. “And do you know who’s not here now? Carlotta.” She turns her thick neck to the left and gasps. “Why, I see her shoving those crab legs into her purse. I’m sorry, Lottie. But I need to put my foot down. It’s pertinent that the primary is the one interrogating the suspect. I demand you pause the conversation until I come back with her.” She zips off, and I can’t help but shoot a sour look in her wake.
Chad winces my way. “You look as if you’re reliving a bad memory. I know what you’re thinking about. Verity Prescott. She’s the one that died that night, but I suppose you already know that. Everyone in the world seems to know it. I guess Verity really was as popular as she believed. I never bought into that. I knew her when she was still Vera Pumpernickel.”
“Vera Pumpernickel?” I give a few quick blinks. I bet dollars to donuts, Detective Ivy Fairbanks doesn’t know that and neither does Cormack. Not that Cormack knows anything at all.
“That’s right. She didn’t think Pumpernickel sounded polished enough, so she pulled Prescott out of the bag and went with it. Verity was her full name, though. But she’ll always be Vera to me.”
“It sounds as if you were really close to her.”
“We were.” His features darken. “Perhaps too close. Vera had a strong personality. She was a lot to take in.” His expression
