“Carlotta!” Lottie’s eyes bug out before she forces a smile at Evie. “Boobs are not playthings for boys. They’re functional. They’re specifically designed to feed infants. In fact, speaking of which, I sprang a leak two days ago.”
“You sprang a leak?” I ask, not sure what level of terror I should feel over this.
She nods. “Dr. Barnette said not to worry. My milk has just come in early. It’s totally common, but it hasn’t happened since. There’s nothing to worry about, Noah.”
“Uh-huh,” Carlotta muses. “Nothing to worry about, Foxy, because she’s got Sexy to stop up that leak. She’s got a live-in plumber right there in her bedroom. See there? That’s where letting down your guard gets you. You never should have let the two of them cross paths. Word of advice: I’d block Sexy’s number before it’s too late.”
“Duly noted,” I say as I frown over at the self-appointed plumber among us. “Although, in all fairness, Lottie didn’t meet Everett because of me. If I really wanted to unravel the fact they crossed paths, I’d have to arrange for her to never have met her old landlord who dragged her into court to begin with.”
“Eh.” Carlotta’s shoulders jump. “This is Lot Lot we’re talking about. I’m sure she would have landed before a judge sooner or later.”
“Touché.” I nod.
“Touché indeed.” Everett nods along with me.
“Hey.” Lottie swats us both on the arm. “Never mind me or my leaky fun bags. Evie, what does the text say?”
Evie takes a hard breath before handing me her phone. “They’re, like, creepy.” She shudders. “You read them, Uncle Noah.”
A series of messages pop up, and I read the first one.
“The show is over,” I say. “Payment is due.” I exchange a quick glance with Everett and Lottie.
“What’s the next one say?” Lottie pants the words out, and I can tell this is already more than she needs to deal with.
This one is even more cryptic than the last, and I cringe at the thought of having to read it out loud.
“I know where you live,” I say it low. “I know who you care about. Hashtag hot baker, hot judge, hot cop.”
Lottie gasps and Everett’s jaw redefines itself in anger, but my eyes flit right back to the screen at that final message I have zero desire to verbally convey.
Evie nods. “Go on, Uncle Noah.”
“There’s more?” Lottie does her best to peer over, and I pull the phone close.
“There’s one more.” I shoot Everett an unsure look, and his eyes harden over the phone.
Everett is a smart guy. I bet he knows exactly where this is going.
“Don’t just stand there.” Carlotta practically jumps out of her skin. “Read on, Foxy.”
“Okay.” I take a breath. “Last one says, It’s time to stop riding on my coattails. Tell your followers you’re quitting, and encourage them to quit, too. Close this account. Close all of your social media accounts. You’ll have a new brother or sister coming into your life soon. If you care at all about keeping them safe, you’ll do a complete social media shut down tonight. Final warning. I am coming for you. Those who don’t listen, swim in a pool of blood.”
“They threatened the baby.” Lottie’s panting picks up as she grips me by the arm. “Noah, this is dangerous.”
“Duh.” Evie plucks the phone from my hand. “But Verity is dreaming if she thinks I’m quitting social media.” She stalks off to her bedroom with Waffles in tow.
“What do we do?” Lottie wraps her arms around her belly.
“I’ll handle it.” Everett takes a breath.
“Come on, Lot Lot.” Carlotta attempts to navigate Lottie toward the kitchen, but Lottie is proving immoveable. “There’s still a whole other bucket of Pickin’ Lickin’ Chicken left. I’ll even let you have the leg.”
“I’ve lost my appetite,” Lot whispers.
Carlotta huffs, “That’s easy to say after you’ve gulped down two free range chickens all by your lonesome.”
I look to Everett. “How the heck are we going to figure out who’s sending these messages?”
“It’s not Verity,” he says. “I can guarantee you the so-called GPS in that phone isn’t going to coordinate to a grave. Whoever did this, either had access to Verity’s account to begin with or they knew enough about Verity to hack into it.”
“I know all of Lottie’s passwords,” I tell him.
“So do I.” His brows hike a notch.
“Hear that, Lot?” Carlotta elbows her on the arm. “They’ve got your number. They know exactly how to push your buttons. And after listening to Foxy cry about your fun bags, he’d love to have five minutes pushing a few leaky buttons, too.”
“Wait a minute”—Lottie wisely chooses to ignore Carlotta’s remark—“if we go along with that thinking, regarding the passwords, then I bet there’s a very good chance Chad Harris knows how to hack into any of Verity’s social media accounts, and that includes Insta Pictures.”
Everett nods. “We’ll track Chad down tomorrow and make him talk.”
Carlotta turns my way. “What about the social media conglomerate Evie’s got cookin’? You’re not gonna make her shut it down, are ya? She’s been hocking my book and increasing my sixteen through twenty-five-year-old fan base. If she shuts down the Insta show, it’s liable to cost me money.”
Lottie frowns over at her. “It’s liable to cost my baby its life.”
“It’s not costing anyone anything,” I tell them. “Whoever this is, I’m about to shut them down for good. Nobody threatens my family. It’s in my hands.”
“I feel better already.” Carlotta links arms with Lottie and navigates her toward the kitchen. “Come on, Lot. Let’s stuff our pie holes with mashed potatoes and gravy.”
“Sounds good,” Lottie says. “We can pile the mashed potatoes on that chocolate cake from Lava Java.”
“And put the gravy on the brownies,” Carlotta counters.
Lottie pats her on the arm. “Now you’re talking.”
Everett pulls me in by the sweater and glowers my way. “The last time you took things into your own hands it cost me plenty,” he seethes. “Don’t you dare make a move without me. There’s too much riding on the line this time. They could lock me up for a lifetime, but nothing can happen to that baby.”
I nod because he’s right.
“Fine. I won’t make a move without you.” I swipe his hand off my shirt. “I’m sorry I cost you everything.” My head turns toward the kitchen as I watch Lottie as she holds that precious bulge in her stomach, and how I wish I weren’t the one having to leave for the night. “You’ve cost me everything, too.”
I take off and herd away the crowd outside the doors until most of them take off.
Someone in this world is threatening to kill those I love the most.
And chances are they’ve already killed once.
This is one case I need to solve posthaste.