“Lemon?” Everett looks incensed and yet slightly amused—just slightly. “You were instructed not to form an opinion until you have all of the evidence. I’d hold onto your judgment until the end, and I wouldn’t share it with anyone. We should most definitely change the subject.”
“Sorry.” My shoulders bounce. “But it’s not like I’m a professional juror.”
“That’s the whole point, Lot.” Carlotta swishes her pickle spear in the ranch dressing. “They’re not looking for pros. They’re looking for everyday people to make the call.”
“She’s right,” Everett is quick to point out. “And you make a great juror. I’ll choose to strike this conversation from my memory, as should you.”
“Everett.” A tiny laugh strums from me. “I’m not a robot. And neither are any of the jurors. When you strike a motion in the courtroom, we still remember it. I mean, we’re not trying to be disobedient, but you don’t really think we’re going to ignore it, do you?”
“Yes.” His eyes widen a notch as he inches back. “When I give a direct order, I expect people to listen.”
“Oh wow.” Noah chuckles as he snaps up a cube of cheese. “This is getting good.”
Carlotta elbows him. “And we’ve got box seats, Foxy.”
Noah’s dimples dip in. “Nothing but the best.”
“Stop,” I say, glowering at the two of them. “Everett knows I don’t take direct orders from him.”
“Lemon.” His lips flicker at the tips because it just so happens I’ve been known to take more than a few. “In my courtroom, I’m afraid you, just like everyone else, will have to adhere to my rules.”
Noah shakes his head, a laugh caught in his throat. “This is it, Lot. He’s showing his true colors. I’ll be honest, I didn’t think I’d get a chance to witness it. Don’t worry, Lottie. I can have your marriage dissolved in a vat of legal acid in less than a month. You and the cats can move in with me. The baby is mine anyway.”
I shoot Noah a look that is far more affect than a cease and desist.
“Everett”—I clear my throat—“I respect you both in and out of the courtroom. It’s just that we’re having dinner and the case came up. The other jurors are probably talking about it, too. I mean, did you hear that first witness?” I glance to Carlotta and Noah. “He was the victim’s best friend, and he painted him out to be a real hero. But when Fiona got up there and grilled him about the Elite Entourage, boy, did he change his tune.”
“Fiona Dagmeyer?” Noah muses as he looks to his old stepbrother. “It’s like old home week for you. But then, you’ve probably slept with every female defense attorney, not to mention the hot deputy DAs.”
“Not true.” Everett lowers his chin. “Not all.”
“But I’m betting most.” I wink over at him.
Carlotta snaps her fingers. “Elite Entourage. Now there’s a name we haven’t heard in a while. We need to find a way to get back in their good graces.”
“We do not need to get into their good graces. They’re glorified prostitutes,” I tell her. “And there might be more juice in the case. I have a feeling Fiona is just getting started. I’ll let you know what I glean.”
Everett’s eyes grow wild once again. “Lemon,” he says my name so fast it’s alarming. “I’m the judge in the case. And as a juror in my courtroom, I can find a way to silence you.”
A husky laugh belts from Carlotta as she wags the pickle in my face, and Noah groans at the sight.
“I’m with Everett.” Noah blows out a breath. “I vote we change the subject. You’ve got a doctor’s appointment later this week, Lot. I’m hoping for another ultrasound. What do you think it is? A boy or a girl? I’m betting you have an inkling.”
“I think it’s a”—a blonde ditz walking this way catches my attention—“Cormack?”
“Mmm, no thanks,” Noah says. “Don’t have one of those.”
Everett takes a breath. “Unfortunately we’re about to.”
Cormack gives a scrutinizing look to the crowd before she spots us and trots on over in her sky-high heels. Her blonde curls bob like springs over her shoulders, and that short silver dress is refracting the light with all of the charm of a nuclear detonation.
“Big Boss!” She steals a chair from the table next to us just as a man with a goatee was about to sit in it. “Isn’t this exciting? I just spoke to Lorena Lazzari, and she pointed me right in this direction to hunt down the killer.” She shoots a sour look my way. “I’d tell you who my suspect is, but Lucille here is liable to cramp my criminal stopping style.” She paws at Noah’s arm. “This night has the potential to be downright dangerous. I won’t lie, No-No. I feel a heck of a lot safer now that I know you’re here to make the arrest. We make quite the team, don’t we?”
“No-No?” I muse as Noah squeezes his eyes shut a moment. I think I prefer Big Boss.
“Cormack, you’re right.” He sighs. “This night does have the potential to be downright dangerous. And that’s why both you and Lottie need to stay put right here. If anyone questions this guy, it’s going to be me.”
A squeaking noise emits from her, and judging by the look on her face, she doesn’t plan on staying put for long.
She glances over to Everett. “Essex.” She frowns. “It’s nice seeing you as always. I suppose you take the same Neanderthal position as your brother.”
“We’re not brothers,” he’s quick to correct. “And I don’t agree with him on a lot of things, with the exception of this topic.” He looks my way. “Neither of you should be hunting down a dangerous mobster. This guy comes from another state altogether. He’s already on the edge from hanging out in hostile enemy territory. And he’s probably trigger-happy. Things can go sideways pretty darn quick. And if he did kill Flo, he’s not going to look too kindly on anyone who’s looking to turn him in to the sheriff’s department. So for the sake of the three of you—and I’m counting the unwilling participant in all of this, the baby—I implore you not to do it.”
“Lottie Lemon!” Flo trots over, clip-clopping in her stilettos as if she had to, her dark crunchy hair bobbing back and forth. “I got him, and he’s alone!” She waves me over, and I quickly jump out of my seat.
“Where is he?” I give a quick look around as she points to a white leather sofa near the back where the pink and blue lights swirl just past the dance floor.
Both Carlotta and Cormack trot up next to me like a pair of unwanted bookends.
Carlotta chuckles. “You should have seen the look on Sexy’s face when you bolted right after he gave his trigger-happy speech. Don’t worry. I told him God tests us all in different ways and it takes an unruly woman like you to test a man like him. Foxy’s trying to convince him to leave you by the wayside and to go find a woman he can control with his gavel.”
I roll my eyes at that one just as Cormack jabs me on the arm with her elbow.