Everett’s on his third slice. Noah’s on his fourth. I’ve lost count of my own consumption, but the pile of crusts on my plate suggests I should slow down. And don’t think for a minute I’m wasting a bite of this. I have a strict no crust left behind policy. I sort of view those as dessert.
I don’t slow down. And Everett has already ordered another pizza to take home with us. That man has forward thinking on lockdown.
“This,” I say around a mouthful of pepperoni and cheese, “is exactly what I needed after that nightmare in Leeds.”
“Agreed,” Noah says, reaching for another slice. “Nothing erases the memory of a key party like carbs and cheese.”
Everett nods thoughtfully as he chews. “I’m filing that experience underthings I will never speak of again.”
“Too late,” I say. “It’s already burned into my brain forever. Along with Refrigerator Man and his paint-stripping cologne.”
A shower of tiny blue stars erupts as Percy materializes on the empty chair next to me. “Lottie Lemon, is that pizza I see?”
“Percy’s here,” I say with a smile, and both Noah and Everett offer a short-lived smile.
Percy coos and warbles as he scoots in close. “Might I have a slice? Pepperoni, if you please.”
“He wants pizza,” I say as I grab a slice.
Noah nods. “This day has already gone sideways six different ways, I don’t see why not.”
I slide a piece onto a napkin and set it in frontof the gorgeous ghost, and he picks it up delicately with his spectral talons and takes a bite.
I have no idea how ghost digestion works, and I don’t ask. As long as Percy is happy, so am I.
“Perfection,” he sighs. “Pizza never disappoints.”
“So,” I say, sliding another cheesy slice onto my plate. “Let’s talk suspects.”
Noah pulls out his phone and opens his notes. “We’ve got three strong candidates. Dolly Hatchett—embezzled from the charity fund five years ago, still paying it back, Vivienne was planning to expose her.”
“Gigi Wentworth-Crane,” Everett adds. “Her mother was rejected from the Daughters multiple times, but Gigi’s been lying about it for forty years. You mentioned that Vivienne had proof and was going to reveal it at her retrospective.”
I nod. “And then there’s the mystery woman Ronnie mentioned,” I say. “The one whose perfect life Vivienne was planning to destroy. The one who’d been paying monthly hush money for six months.”
Percy hops onto the table, carefully avoiding the pizza. “Don’t forget the affair, Lottie Lemon. Mother Vivi was sleeping with someone’s husband. That’s motive enough for murder right there.”
“Percy says we can’t forget about the affair,” I say as I take Everett’s and Noah’s hands. For some reason, I work as a conduit when it comes to hearing clear to the other side.
“We’re not forgetting,” Everett says. “But without knowing who the husband was, we can’t connect those dots yet.”
“What about Vivienne herself?” I ask. “What was she getting out of all this? The blackmail, the files, the threats?”
“Control,” Noah says while giving my hand a squeeze. “Power. She obviously liked having leverage over people.”
“She was a monster,” Percy says. “A beautiful, elegant, well-organized monster, but a monster, nonetheless. She collected secrets like other people collect stamps.”
“And eventually,” I say, “someone decided they’d had enough.”
Noah nods with a sigh. “Too bad forensics couldn’t find a single print on the skillet.”
The server returns with the check. Everett drops a wad of cash onto the table that more than covers the bill, the tip, and maybe the rent on this place, and then we bundle ourselves back into our coats.
Outside, the rain has started. Not the gentle spring rain that makes everything smell like fresh grass and possibility, but the cold, relentless variety that reminds you this is Vermont and pleasant weather is always temporary.The rain is coming at us sideways, hard and angry, as it drums against the sidewalk, bounces off car hoods, and turns the streetlights into blurry halos.
“Oh, this is horrible,” I say as we stand under Mangias’ awning, looking out at the dark Honey Hollow night and hoping for a reprieve.
Both Noah and Everett groan simultaneously.
