“It put a nice dent in things, but you know, interest tends to add up.”

  Luke bumps his shoulder to Jimmy’s. “Especially when you’re charging thirty percent.”

  The two of them share a dark laugh.

  “Great.” Leave it to my father to jump right into the deep end of the shark tank. “So what did he say he was doing with this money, anyway?”

  “Food, drink.” Jimmy nods to his left at the rest of the blackjack tables. “He found a clever way to repay me early but in ways that don’t count.”

  “So he’s got a gambling problem,” I mutter mostly to myself.

  Luke shakes his head with dismay. “Why is it when a man wants to relax with a game or two he has a problem. And yet when a woman blows enough dough on a designer purse—enough dough that could have bought her a house in Idaho—she’s a collector?”

  Jimmy nods. “It’s a double standard, I tell you.”

  “All right, how much does my father owe you?” I ask. “I need to know what I’m up against.” I’ve got some money socked away. And what I can’t handle I’ll ask Everett. I’d rather give him thirty percent interest than someone capable of busting my father’s kneecaps—or worse, putting a hit on him. If anything happened to Miranda because of my father’s foolishness, I’d never forgive myself. Lottie wouldn’t either.

  “More than a cop can afford.” Jimmy taps his fingers over the table. “Besides, I don’t like collecting from the kids. The father pays for the father’s sins.”

  “Wonderful. How much? He’ll be by in the morning with a check in hand.”

  “I’ve said too much.” He leans in a notch. “What else, Detective? We’ve got a meeting to get to.”

  “Tell me where to find Manny, and I’ll get out of your hair.”

  He glances to Luke. “Some janky motel on the border of Leeds and Honey Hollow.”

  “The Caspian,” I say. “I know it well. I stayed there a night or two while looking for a place to live in Honey Hollow.” I hop out of my seat.

  “We’ll see you Friday at the taping,” Jimmy says. “Luke and I are in the running for your honey’s daddy. Mother Nature plays her cards right and I just might be your new father-in-law.”

  Luke elbows him. “She’s married to the other one. Don’t you keep up? Your mind’s going or something.”

  “Wonderful,” I say as I take off.

  Here’s hoping Mayor Nash holds his own in the genetics department.

  Here’s hoping I do, too.

  I jump into my truck and drive by my old stomping grounds and slow down as I pass the large blue no-tell motel with its signage that boasts of pay by the hour.

  I’m about to take off when I spot a dark truck with Jersey plates pull into the lot.

  I pull over, killing the lights and the engine as I watch the show.

  Sure as heck, there he is, Manny Moretti looking tough in a dark suit to match that dark heart of his.

  He goes around to the other side of the car and a woman appears by his side, wavy dark blonde hair, killer smile.

  Wait a minute…

  I squint into the night just as they step under the streetlamp before heading upstairs and my heart ratchets up a couple notches.

  Holy heck, it’s her.

  My adrenaline courses through me and thumps through my ears like a heartbeat. For a brief second I thought it was Lottie. But that woman—that’s got to be the same woman who’s been stalking us at every turn. She works for the Morettis?

  Hold on… Everett asked me to track Manny down.

  Everett.

  I shake my head. Always one dangerous step ahead.

  My truck roars back to life, and I head for Honey Hollow.

  Everett has a little explaining to do.

  But there’s no way I’m breathing a word of this around Lottie.

  Nope. I’ll wait until we’re alone and then I’ll shake it out of him.

  I’ve been meaning to shake him anyway.

  Everett

  D-Day.

  I didn’t sleep a wink last night, and ironically, Lyla Nell did. Or at least I think she did. At some point in the night, Lemon dropped her off at the nursery and let Noah take over. She came back to bed and dropped to the mattress, already asleep. I wrapped an arm around her and held her all night, wondering if it was for the very last time.

  I wait until Lemon’s alarm goes off before I get up with her. We shower, dress, eat a scant breakfast, and wait for the next three hours before Fiona sends me a text.

  Jury’s back. Get down here.

  We don’t hesitate. We all pile into Lemon’s minivan as I drive us to my impending doom.

  All right, so maybe that’s a touch dramatic, but it just may not be.

  Clouds hang overhead. The forecast says rain, and I wonder what kind of an omen that might be. I’m guessing not a good one.

  We head into the courthouse just like I have thousands of times before. Heck, I want it to repeat a thousand times more, and yet I’ve got my neck on the line.

  Carlotta socks me on the arm. “You’re gonna kill ’em, Sexy. And if you get sent to summer school, you might want to do the killing. You know what they say, kill or be killed.” She takes off for the courtroom. “I’ve got to get me a front row seat!”

  Evie steps in. “Dash, Conner, and Kyle can’t make it. Their moms weren’t too happy they missed school yesterday because of it, but they wish you luck. Also, Conner says if they take you away that he’ll try to put a smile on my face.”

  That’s what I’m afraid of.

  “Tell him I said thanks.” I pull her in and Evie latches onto me with the intensity of a hurricane.

  “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ve already decided that if they stick it to you, we’re going to appeal. We’ll take your sleepwalking case to the Supremes if we have to.” She lands a kiss to my cheek. “I’d better sit next to Cray-Cray. I don’t want to miss a second of what she’s got planned for today. It’s going to be hard to top that diaper act.” She shoots me with her finger before taking off.

  “Lemon.” I pull her in and Layla Nell nestles between us, giving us a husky little laugh as she looks up at me. She’s serious and cute as a bug in a rug, and has blessed my life far more than I could have imagined.

  “Everett.” Lemon sheds one of her easy smiles. “I have a good feeling about this. And great news, I’m actually wearing a nursing bra today, so I won’t be slapping anyone with my unmentionable body parts.”

  I frown at the thought. I’ll have that image of Noah taking one to the face ingrained in my mind for life.

  “Save all your naughty moves for me, would you?” I close my eyes a moment because I immediately regret my words. The plan was to get the divorce ball rolling if I’m convicted. That will be my sign from the universe that it wasn’t supposed to be me in that bed with her to begin with. I’d fight the universe on it if I could, but there won’t be any use once I’m rotting in a cell for fifteen years.

  “Don’t you go dark on me.” She gives my stubble a scratch. “Once they find you innocent, we’re going to party. And we’re going to invite all of our friends to do it.”

  “Maybe we should hold off on the party. We’ve got a big day ahead of us tomorrow.” That is, if I’m there to see it.

  “That’s right.” She bites down on her lip and looks gorgeous while doing so. “We’ll get to celebrate again tomorrow because Lyla Nell’s paternity mystery and mine will finally be solved.”

  “Agree. No matter what the outcomes may be, it will be done.”

  “And then we just have the killer, that mystery woman, and the hit put out on you to worry about. Oh, I almost forgot to mention. Jimmy Canelli agreed to call off the hit if I turn out to be his kid.” She wiggles her shoulders. “Here’s hoping the genetic dice land Canelli side up.” Lyla Nell squeals out a few words only she can understand, but she’s looking right up at the two of us and growing more animated by the minute.

  Lemon and I share a laugh.

  “That was her way of wishing you luck.” She lands a kiss to my lips. “We both do. Let’s head in.”

  I spot Noah headed this way and frown. “You go in, Lemon. I’ll be there in a second.”

  As soon as she disappears, he shows up frowning right back at me.

  He nods my way. “I found Moretti last night.”

  “When?”

  Noah showed up at the house at seven and never left.

  “On my way home from work. I didn’t want to say anything with Lottie around.”

  He takes a moment to glare at me. “You knew she was there.” He nods. “That woman who looks likes Lottie. I saw them together heading up to his room.”

  “Where are they?” I’m half-moved to take off right now.

  “Caspian Motel in Leeds, but slow down, buddy. You’re not going anywhere near that place right now. Be honest with me. How did you know they were together?”

  “I’ll be honest with you.” I glance past him. “But not because I want to. Because I have to. I met up with Manny the night Lemon gave birth. You took off and Manny said he was downstairs. I had asked to meet up with him earlier that night and things got away from me. Anyway, I’ve been giving him ten grand a week to keep Jimmy’s men the hell away from me, from you, from my family, the bakery, all of it.”

  “Geez.” His eyes bulge. “And what about that woman?”

  “When I got back to the room that night at the hospital, she was about to head into Lemon’s room. I caught her by the wrist, but Carlotta came up from behind. The way they looked at one another—the way they looked like each other, she’s got to be Carlotta’s kid. I asked her about it, but she wouldn’t admit to it.”

  “Did she deny it?”

  I shake my head. “Look, I don’t know what she wants, but she could be a psychotic for all I know. I’ll handle things from here.” I spot Fiona headed this way and reality smacks me in the face again. “On second thought, if I’m hauled away, I need you to take care of things.” The air expires from my lungs as I look Noah in the face. “Take care of my girls.” A lump forms in my throat, and I don’t want to push the next few words out. “Take care of Lemon.” I hitch my head toward the courtroom. “Get in there.”

  He nods my way. “You know I’d take care of them. And I will be doing it—right alongside you.” He takes off, and Fiona steps in his place.

  “I spoke with Judge Macalister this morning and he said he’d handle sentencing if need be directly after the judgment as a courtesy to you.”

  “I figured he would.” I shoot a dark look into the courtroom. “You don’t lose Fiona, that’s why you’re here.”

  “You don’t find yourself on the wrong side of the law, Essex. At least not until you met her. Do you ever regret it? You could have had a dozen just like her with far less trouble. One for every day of the week.”

  I lift a brow. “That’s the thing, Fiona. There are none just like her. And I don’t regret a moment.”

  A laugh bubbles from her. “One of these days you’re going to tell me exactly what happened that night. But first, let’s go get our victory.”

  We head on in and I give both my mother and my sister a quick kiss on the cheek. I head over to Lemon and Lyla Nell and do the same before taking my post next to Fiona.

  Soon, the jury files in, each of them stealing a glance my way. I’ve been to enough of these things to know those glances mean something. Eye contact with the defendant almost always means sympathy. They don’t look them in the eye when they’re about to send them up the river. But as much as I want to bask in elation, I don’t dare. I’ve seen things go sideways for a few defendants that I thought were innocent myself.

  The bailiff calls us to our feet for Judge Macalister.

  He looks to the jury box with a stern expression. “Has the jury come to a unanimous decision?”

  An older man with a stony expression stands. “We have, Your Honor.” He hands the note to the bailiff who delivers it to the judge and he quickly peruses it before glancing at me. There is not one hint of what my fate might be on his face as he hands the note back to the bailiff and it’s delivered to the juror foreman once again.

  The man takes the note in his shaky hands and I wonder why he’s so afraid, and suddenly I’m tempted to mimic that exact feeling.

  “On the account of somnambulism, we the jury find Judge Essex Everett Baxter not guilty on the count of unlawfully removing a corpse.”

  The courtroom explodes in cheers and Fiona offers me a quick embrace.

  “I wasn’t going to let you ruin my winning streak,” she whispers it heated, right into my ear. “Get out of here.”

  The judge dismisses the jury as I hop over the pony wall and hold Lemon and Lyla Nell as tightly as I can without hurting them.

  Lemon sobs over my shoulder, and I’m half-tempted to join her.

  “Dad!” Evie jumps over and I pull her in as well. “You’re safe!” Her body bucks against me. “I’m so glad. I was so scared. I knew you were innocent. I knew it.”

  I may not have been innocent, but that wasn’t necessarily the point. It usually isn’t.

  We take off and Lemon insists the entire lot of us head to Mangias to celebrate. We eat far too much pizza before stopping by the bakery and eating far too much cake.

  That night Noah pulls me to the side in the living room.

  “Tomorrow, no matter what happens with Lyla Nell’s paternity, just know you’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

  “I didn’t think so.” I give him a light shove to the chest. “Who said I wanted to?”

  He slaps me on the arm and offers one of his dimpled grins before going serious on me. “It’s going to hurt like a hammer to the nuts if I’m not that baby’s father. If it can’t be me, I’ll be glad it’s you. But don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched, Baxter. I’m still in the race.”

  “A race that won’t end tomorrow no matter what the outcome.”

  “Now you’re catching on.” He glances past me where Evie and Lemon are snuggling with Lyla Nell on the sofa. “And once that’s through tomorrow, we’re not wasting any time. Or at least I’m not. I’m heading to the Caspian. I’m not waiting for trouble to find us. I’m going to make that mystery woman sing.” He takes a step back and looks at Lemon. “I’m going to step across the street and feed Toby. I’ll be back later to take the night shift.”

  “Bring Toby back with you,” Evie calls out.

  “Will do,” he says. “Goodnight, ladies.”

  He takes off, and soon Lemon and I are locked in our bedroom. Lyla Nell is fast asleep in the bassinet and my beautiful wife is tucked in my arms.

  “Are you ready to celebrate the right way, Judge Baxter?” She runs her fingers down my tie before cinching it around her wrist like a leash.

  “You don’t have clearance from Dr. Barnette to celebrate.” I know this firsthand because I made a note of when her body would be ready, not that I was going to storm the castle on night one. Her body has been through a lot. And I want to give her all the time she needs to heal.

  “You’re underestimating my ability to get creative. In fact, dare I say I can be more creative than you?”

  A dark laugh strums from me. “I don’t think you know what you’re up against.”

  “It sounds as if you just threw down the gauntlet.” Her fingers work my buttons loose before she pauses the effort. “I have a question for you, Everett. Were you and Noah talking about that mystery woman out there? I thought I heard you mention her.”

  I take a breath and my silence speaks volumes.

  She nods my way. “You know something, don’t you?”

  “No.” My gut cinches. Technically, that’s true, but a technicality is still a far cry from the truth.

  She pulls back and studies me with a pensive stare.

  “Are you lying to me, Everett?”

  This is it, do or die.

  “Yes.”

  Lottie

  It seems as if all of Honey Hollow has packed itself into the oversized studio right here in Leeds.

  The lights shine bright over the tiny set that consists of an orange sofa, a matching wingback chair, and a pine coffee table as an army of crew members run back adjusting, securing, and overseeing every little detail that will be needed while we film our live paternity reveal.

  Everett and Noah are having what looks to be a serious discussion backstage over by the refreshment table. Of course, my bakery provided enough chocolate chip cookies for every person under this roof, and both Lily and Suze are here passing those out to anyone who would like them.

  Carlotta is backstage as well, trying to comfort Mayor Nash. He’s been pretty upset that there’s a paternity debate at all when it comes to me, and I feel terrible about it.

  Kit Knickerson has been zooming back and forth like a bolt of lightning, and was as kind as can be once we stepped into the studio this morning. She was talking to Fern Cranston who Cormack is set to interview right after us since Fern’s new book didn’t get the promotional spotlight the way it was supposed to the day Candace was killed. And Woody is here, already barking out orders to those around him—Burt being one of them.

  “I’m so nervous,” I say to Lainey, Meg, and my mother as I press a kiss to Lyla Nell’s sweet head before securing a knit cap over it. The day might be heating up outside these studio walls, but it’s an icebox in here. And no matter how much I move my body, I can’t seem to warm up. We’re standing at the edge of the set while looking out at the sea of people already taking their seats in the audience, and it feels as if we’ve been transported right back to that day of the murder.

  “Keep her in the carrier while she’s sleeping,” I tell my mother as we make the handoff. “And I have three bottles in there, enough for all day. Oh, and I brought a few different outfits for her if she’s too uncomfortable in that frilly dress. The camera is only going to be on her for one second. And please, I don’t care what is happening or if they kick us all out, if Lyla Nell smiles, I want you to bring her to me.” I whimper through that last sentence. “I can’t miss my baby’s first smile! And she’s on the verge, I can feel it,” I wail as tears spring to my eyes.