Chocolate Chip Cookie Conundrum (Murder in the Mix Book 32) by Unknown (romantic love story reading txt) 📗

of my books, too, Fern. I’ll bring a whole pile over and sit right there at the table with you! Who knows? I might just sell a copy or two myself.”

Fern looks affronted for a moment before shaking it off.

“Sure, why not?” She shrugs my way. “I’m just about out of books anyway.”

“Well I’ll take that last copy of Death of a Cheater,” I tell her just as Cluck Norris appears in a spray of golden stars.

He lands square on Fern’s head, and I can’t help but cringe a moment. He did the same thing to Kit. It must be one of his adorable quirks, but I’ll admit, the sight is as off-putting as it is hilarious.

“Has she confessed?” he clucks. “I stopped off at the dessert table and indulged in a few of your cookies, Lottie. That woman with the dark hair who was tending to them just admitted she was losing her mind. I’d fire her if I were you.”

I suck in a tiny breath. Lily may not be able to see Cluck Norris, but she could sure as heck see those cookies disappearing all on their own as he gobbled them down. Here’s hoping Lily doesn’t commit herself anytime soon. I need her to hold down the fort until I can get back to baking.

“Here you go.” Fern hands the book my way and I thank her, opening it quickly to the exact page she autographed for me.

Dear Lottie, stay sane. Fern Cranston.

It’s written in all capital letters and the A’s all look like tiny little pyramids. I’ve always wished I had decent penmanship. Everything I write looks like chicken scratch. Poor Lyla Nell will probably inherit that from me, among far more nefarious abilities.

“So what’s new with the case?” Fern asks. “I see your foxy boyfriend is here tonight, and I was hoping he’d come to the table so I can chat him up.”

“Oh?” Now there’s a shocker. Most suspects want to avoid Noah. “I’m sure he will.” And just when I all but begged Noah to stand back, the suspect makes a request for his presence. I’m not sure Noah will let me live this down.

Carlotta nods. “Foxy is quick to do Lot Lot’s bidding. All she has to do is say jump and he says with or without my pants on. It’s not hard to see why she was the inspiration for my new book. I think she’s got a supernatural quirk that attracts men straight to her two best assets. She’s basically blood in the water when it comes to the testosterone sharks among us.” She turns my way. “Living with you has provided some serious research.”

“You live together?” Fern asks with a touch of amusement. “Wow, I could never live with my mother. If I did, one of us just might end up dead. And here’s a hint, it wouldn’t be me.”

“We’re heading in the same direction,” I tell her.

Cluck Norris cockles—the rooster version of chuckling according to my sleep-deprived mind.

“Ask about my Candace,” he clucks. “Something dark was afoot between them. I can feel it in my creaky feathers.”

“Did you live with Candace?” My fingers fly to my lips because that’s not exactly the segue I was hoping for. “In college, I mean.”

Fern blinks back as if I caught her off guard. “No, we weren’t roommates.” She squints my way. “How did you know that I knew Candace way back in college?”

“Lucky guess.” Carlotta shoots me a look that suggests I stay out of her investigation. “That’s my Lot Lot.” She pats me on the back. “It’s as if she were born with a sixth sense. She always seems to know things about people. I think that’s what gives her an edge with the men. She grew up to be nothing but a bunch of brains and boobs, just like I knew she would.”

She may not be far off on that one, at least not the boobs part.

My boobs start to harden like bowling balls at the mention of them, and suddenly I have the urge to feed Lyla Nell.

“Or you could have done a little research on me.” Fern shrugs. “I’m an open book. Get it? Open book?” She honks out a laugh at her own literary joke.

“Actually, I think Kit mentioned it when she was briefing me on Candace,” I tell her. “You just so happened to be in the studio. She said the two of you were good friends and that Candace had you on the show quite often.”

“She did, huh?” Her lips are frozen in a smile, and it’s an eerie look considering the fact her eyes are telling a not so happy story. In fact, they look downright ticked. “You know Kit had a little history of her own with Candace.”

“She did?” Carlotta tips her ear that way. “What is it, Toots? Lay it on me.”

“Kit is the killer!” Cluck Norris crows and flaps his wings like mad, all the while digging his talons deeper into Fern’s hair, but she doesn’t seem to mind. “I knew it. It’s always the innocent ones. Let’s have your boyfriend track her down and arrest her. I’ll stay here and finish up the cookies.”

Fern casts a quick glance side to side before leaning in. “Kit didn’t get that job because she worked her way up in the ranks. She got it the old-fashioned way.”

Carlotta’s jaw unhinges. “She slept with dirty old Burt Walker, too?”

“Nope.” Fern shakes her head. “That was just Cormack from what I hear. Kit Knickerson was the little sister of Candace’s husband of three days, Zack Ross.”

“You don’t say.” I lean in. “Did Kit and Candace get along?” I know for a fact I witnessed a tense exchange between the two of them.

“Not really. The entire Ross clan was pretty hotheaded, so that might explain the rift. On the other hand, some say Candace knocked Zack off the boat and that’s why he got caught in the riptide and died.”

“They were on a boat?”

She nods. “Just between