Murder in the Mix Boxed Set 28-30: Cozy Mystery by Addison Moore (books like beach read .TXT) 📕

off for her, but she was smart enough to keep her gig at the Craft Emporium. Can’t blame her. Judging by the way she was living, they paid her pretty darn well. Who knew all the real money was in arts and crafts?” She cranes her neck toward the crowd. “I see Evie. Believe it or not, that kid is turning into a real celebrity. Now let’s see how much it’ll cost me to get a little dirt on her. Her friends look ripe for the picking.” She takes off, and Carlotta scoffs in her wake.

“Are you just going to stand there and let her get away with that, Lot Lot? She’s about to get the lowdown on your baby girl.”

I shake my head. “All she’s going to do is lose some cash and maybe a bit of her sanity. Evie doesn’t have any secrets.”

“Yeah, but what about my secrets?” She tosses Teddy my way as she struggles to find Evie in the crowd. “I’d best go keep an eye on things. Bambi is hungry for secrets, Lot. And those kids are hungry for dollar bills. It’s one thing for a handful of kids from Honey Hollow to be let in on my mastermind schemes, but it’s a whole other beast to have them published online. Before we know it, women the world over will be nailing my dating commandments to the wall, and then it’ll be curtains for me. I’ll be just like everybody else.”

She stalks off, and I shake my head at Teddy. “Believe me, I know nothing about Carlotta’s dating commandments.”

Sugar comes up, and both Teddy and I gasp. That little pink dress seems to show off quite a bit of skin, and that armful of gold bangles jingles with her every move. The exact same bracelets that she wore the night of the murder, just like the one she dropped in the snow as she was poisoning Verity to death by way of one of my innocent desserts.

“Here she is, Lottie.” Teddy’s voice trembles. “The woman who’s been threatening Evie. And she might just be the killer, too. I always knew Sugar was a go-getter herself.”

I take a moment to shoot the fuzzball in my hands a look. Teddy is forever the cheerleader, and always cheering on the wrong person, too.

“Sugar.” I tip my head to the side as I shed a sad smile. “It’s nice to see you here tonight.” And oddly, I mean it.

“It’s nice to see you, too.” She gives a mournful look into the conservatory behind me. “I’m not sure I can go in there. As much as Verity and I weren’t getting along, this place only makes me miss her all that much more.”

“She stole your pet. She bullied you,” I point out. “She’s the reason your grand opening was a no-go. I can’t imagine you’d miss her all that much.” I can’t bring myself to smile at her. Not after the way she’s treated Evie. This woman is clearly a psychotic.

“Aw,” Teddy coos. “Isn’t she the sweetest? My Sugar always did have the biggest heart.”

I shake my head at the mixed-up marsupial. Clearly, she’s only been trained to see the best in people, and often gets the details wrong.

“And there’s Evie,” Sugar marvels. “Look at all those people mobbing her. She’s quite the popular girl, isn’t she?” Her eyes cut to my belly and I gasp.

“Is that a threat?” I hiss the words out without meaning to. Okay, fine. I very much meant it.

“Excuse me?” She blinks as she takes a step back.

“You heard me.” My voice is tight as I step in her direction. My hormones are surging, and a rage burns within me like I have never felt before.

“Lottie, are you okay?” She squints over at me as if trying to solve the riddle that I’ve become.

I’d better pull it together before she skips town.

Noah and Ivy will most likely be here soon, and I’d hate to ruin everything.

My hands rise over my belly. “I’m teasing. You’ll have to excuse my sense of humor.” I swallow hard. “My hormones are all over the place.”

“No, that’s okay. I’m a bit jumpy myself tonight. I still can’t believe someone had it in them to poison Verity’s food. And to think they’re still on the loose. I don’t know about you, but I can’t sleep at night knowing there’s a killer out there.”

Says the killer.

Teddy moans, “Lottie, she’s genuinely afraid. I know my sweet Sugar, and what she’s saying is true.”

Sugar plucks off her bangles and puts them back on over and over again.

“Sorry.” She holds one up. “It’s a nervous habit. I tend to put them down and walk away from them, too. Thankfully, they’re just costume jewelry. I don’t trust myself with the real deal.”

“Hear that?” Teddy’s voice pitches with an ounce of hope. “She could have set one down and the killer could have picked it up and framed her.”

I shake my head at the adorable little cutie.

In fact, I’ll put an end to that theory right now.

“Sugar, the night Verity died, I saw you step out the back door of the conservatory to have a word with her. Can I ask what that final conversation was about?”

She inches back. “I didn’t go out to speak with her. It was freezing out that night.”

“Yes, you did. You were right behind the building with her.”

She shakes her head. “That wasn’t me. But you’re right, I did see Verity head outside. I think I saw Juliet go with her.”

“Juliet?” both Teddy and I say in unison.

She nods. “Juliet was fuming. Something about the Craft Emporium and the risk of an internal review.” She shrugs. “I never could figure out why Verity kept that job. You’d think after the celebrity status she was achieving, a job as tech support at a craft shop would be small potatoes.”

“Did you hear anything else between them?”

She takes a breath as she looks to the ceiling. “No, but I was in the Craft Emporium