Chocolate Chip Cookie Conundrum (Murder in the Mix Book 32) by Unknown (the lemonade war series .TXT) 📕

Lemon.” He swings those maudlin blue eyes my way and my heart breaks. “I’ve got the baby. There’s no hurry.”

“Sure, we’re gonna hurry,” Carlotta harps. “It might be your last night of freedom. You and Lot Lot have got plenty of ground to cover in that bedroom if it’s going to last fifteen years. I’ll tell you what, I’ll make sure she picks up something naughty to wear on the way back. My treat.”

“Carlotta,” I hiss, pulling her out the door with me. “Ignore her, Everett. We’re going to spend the next fifteen years together, under the same roof. I love you.” I blow him a kiss as I shut the door.

“Where are we really headed, Lot?”

Cluck Norris floats right through the closed door and leads the way down the porch.

“We’ve got a suspect to speak to Carlotta,” he shouts. “Once Everett is hauled away, I’m afraid her zeal for the investigation will wane.”

“Nobody is hauling Everett away.” I shake my head as we jump into Carlotta’s minivan. “But he’s right. We’ve got one more suspect to speak with and I plan on making it quick. Here’s hoping we can find him down in Red Satin like Woody suggested. Hey? While we’re heading out that way, this would be a great time to invite Jimmy Canelli to the who’s your daddy taping.”

“Wise move asking him in person. Important men like Jimmy need to be wooed if they’re going to risk humiliating themselves on TV. I’ll make that meeting happen tonight at Red Satin as well,” Carlotta says, pulling out her phone. “In fact, I’ll do you one better, Lot. I’ll invite Luke, too. Those boys would do anything for me.”

“And shockingly they have,” I say as she puts in the text. “Let’s hope neither of them is the reason my body is sitting here today.”

“Ah ha!” Carlotta holds up her phone in victory. “They just let me know they’re both down there already. I guess they’re having a meeting of their own.”

“I guess they are.” And suddenly I wonder why two opposing crime families are holding a powwow to begin with.

I’m betting this meeting of the minds is of a nefarious nature.

Just like the meeting of the minds I’m about to have with Burt Walker—that is, if he’s in the mood to lose his money.

Red Satin Gentlemen’s Club is owned by the Canellis. Inside of the establishment, the walls, the carpet, and the furniture all bear that crimson hue from which its moniker is derived. The women are virtually naked both on stage and off and the men are rowdy, boozed up, and are quick to part with their dollars as evidenced by the fact Carlotta and I just made fifty bucks as we walked from the entry to the back.

I spot Meg by the bar with her dark hair twisted into a bird’s nest, her pale blue eyes sirening out at us rung in copious amounts of black kohl. She’s got on a skintight black mesh top, ripped up black jeans, and has on her signature combat boots that seem somehow necessary in a testosterone warzone like this.

“What’s up, chicas?” she asks as she pulls me into a warm embrace. “Let me guess, they threw the book at Mr. Sexy and you’ve come to organize a going away party? I can arrange for a half a dozen girls to come to your house if you want to surprise him. What the heck, I’ll give you the good guy special.”

“I’m not laughing.” I smack my lips at my younger, not funny in the least sister.

Carlotta cocks a brow. “How much are we talking? Mr. Sexy needs a pick-me-up on his last night of freedom and Lot might need a few pinch-hitters to help get her through the night.”

“Everett’s not going to prison.” The words speed out of me.

Carlotta winks over at Meg. “Entertaining her delusions is fun. But you might want to stop by the house tomorrow night. In fact, order up a half a dozen male dancers and bring ’em along with you. We’re gonna need to cheer her up and you know she’s got a weakness for a side of beef in a banana hammock. If we keep that up for the next fifteen years, she might not even notice he’s gone.”

Meg laughs so hard it sounds as if she’s choking on air.

“She’s not wrong, Lot,” she wheezes. “Besides, you’ll have Noah to pinch-hit for Everett. I guess it was a good idea for you to keep a spare around after all.”

“Take us to the casino,” I demand and she does just that.

Red Satin is truly a conglomerate of shady enterprises. There are actually a half a dozen or so dicey businesses that take place in the underground region. I’m only aware of a handful of places—the casino, the finance department, and the skeezy sex club, but I wouldn’t rule out an entire illegal universe taking place down here that leads straight to middle earth. The Canellis have more money than should be legal—and most likely is not, so building an entire subterranean empire seemed like the right thing to do.

Soon, we’re engulfed with an entire infantry of one-arm bandit slot machines going off all at once, spinning, twirling, whirling, and doing their best to burst our eardrums as if a nonstop fire alarm were going off.

The sound of a rooster crowing to my right snags my attention to the exact suspect I came hoping to see, and I smack Carlotta on the arm.

“There he is!” I squeal with excitement. “We can quickly question him, meet with Jimmy and Luke, and get Everett his dinner before it ever gets cold.”

“Don’t forget the pit stop at the bakery. You don’t want to lie to Sexy, do you?”

“You’re gunning for a few free cream puffs, aren’t you?”

“This diaper isn’t going to fill itself.”

Meg grimaces. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“She’s kidding,” I shoot Carlotta a look. “She’s about as funny as you are, Meg.”

My sister takes a cautious step