“I didn’t think you were,” I say with a note of disappointment. “You’ve been logging into Sugar’s Wi-Fi because you wanted to set her up.” My blood begins to boil. My adrenaline surges. “It was you. How dare you mess with my family.” The overpowering urge to shake her grips me. “You were the one who slipped Verity’s phone into Evie’s purse that night. And then you pretended to be Verity while you slipped her messages, giving her instructions on what to do. Why? Why would you do that to her?”
A car drives up to us a little too quickly and parks in haste just shy of where we’re standing.
“Lemon?” Everett runs out and wraps his arms around me. “What’s going on?”
“I’m fine,” I say, pulling myself out of his grasp. “She did it, Everett. Juliet is the one who’s been texting Evie. She sent those threats.”
She shakes her head. “You have no proof.”
“Lemon?” Everett whispers for my ears only.
I pump a short-lived smile her way. “Your family owns a canning company. Jax Farms. You must know a thing or two about botulism.”
Her mouth falls open as she looks from me to Everett.
“Judge Baxter, I think your wife isn’t feeling well. Maybe you should take her home.”
“I will,” he says, tightening his grip around my waist once again. “Right after I hear what she has to say.” His voice is curt as he gives me a pat. “Go on, Lemon. I’m interested to see how this plays out.”
“Juliet, you wore a red sweater and matching mittens the night Verity was killed.” My voice plumes in a white fog. “It’s because you knew you’d be poisoning her tart, isn’t it? And it was going to prove to be a messy job. No one would notice a raspberry stain on your clothes. You knew raspberry dessert was on order because she was about to debut her song. She was still working with you at the Craft Emporium as tech support, and the two of you did that out of your knit shop in the morning, isn’t that right? I believe that’s exactly what you told me.”
Her chest bounces, but there’s no trace of a smile on her face. “Verity never worked. She simply collected a paycheck toward the end. I was working enough for the both of us.”
“You mean stealing,” I say. “Why do I get the feeling you’re the reason the Craft Emporium is ditching their internet division? They said they were having too many returns.”
“Is that right?” Everett tips his head up a notch. “Juliet, were you making false returns?”
“Hardly.” She gives a weak attempt at laughing it off. “How could I possibly make enough returns to shut down the entire internet division? That’s absurd.”
“No.” Everett shakes his head. “It’s entirely possible. I’ve seen that racket play out in my courtroom a time or two. I remember you telling us that you worked tech support for large accounts. That means you had access to their internal orders. You simply had to create sock puppet accounts that mimicked the end users you were supposed to be helping and then keying in false returns. You made sure the money floated right back to your account. Most likely a safe guarded account that would be impossible to trace back to you. I’ve seen this scam laid out on every level, and each time I’m just as disappointed in the people who delved into it, just like I am now. You’re looking at wire fraud in the least. A felony could be pending, depending on how much you siphoned from them.”
“Is that why you killed Verity?” Another cloud floats from my mouth, along with the question. “She wanted to keep going with the scam? That’s what had Sugar and Chad scratching their heads about why she stayed with the Craft Emporium for so long. She was getting a lot of money, wasn’t she? Just like you were.”
Juliet sniffs hard. “You think you’re so smart. Yes, we were issuing false refunds through spoofer accounts. It was my job to find the cracks in the system. And that’s all I was doing. I was going to report it to management, but Verity needed some extra money, and I thought I’d impress her. She was magnetic, and so very full of life. It felt good to have her as a friend. We did it a few times for kicks. I knew at that point I couldn’t report it. We did it for years.” Her eyes glaze over as she looks to the ground. “And a few weeks ago, I told her that I couldn’t do it anymore. I was getting out. I had purchased the knitting shop. I didn’t want anything to do with the Craft Emporium anymore. But Verity was greedy. She said I had to keep giving her the money or she’d turn me in. Then the unthinkable happened. The Craft Emporium put out a memo regarding fraudulent activity detected. The FBI was about to get involved. Come to find out, it was wire fraud. It’s a felony, all right. I have a life, Lottie.” She shakes her head my way. “I gave Verity a chance the night she died, and she didn’t take it. All I wanted was for her to take a picture of herself in my shop. That would have put me on the map. I wouldn’t have needed a grand opening. Verity had a following like no other.” Her breathing becomes erratic as she slowly backs up toward the driver’s side of her car. “She could have helped me. That would have been fair. But Verity was never about being fair. That’s when I set the plan into motion. And once Verity was too busy struggling for her next breath, I swiped her phone. I planted it in your daughter’s purse. Verity never deserved those people or the power they gave her. I meant it for good, Lottie. It could give a sweet girl like your daughter the boost she needed in life.”
Everett growls, “She didn’t need any help from you.”
Juliet’s lips curve with a malevolent smile. “Yes, well, it served a dual purpose. That way I’d be able to speak directly to the head investigator. Of course, that would be you, Lottie. I wanted to direct your course, steer the investigation, and I did.” She glares my way. “That night you confessed to trashing my store is when I knew you were onto me. I couldn’t risk it. I had to turn up the heat on both the other suspects. It’s also the night your mother said that Evie was turning into a diva. That’s the last thing I wanted for her. I couldn’t bear her turning into a monster like Verity. I tried my best to scare her away from that celebrity lifestyle. I wanted to undo what I had done. I wanted her to dump her social media.”
Everett takes a bold step her way. “You killed a woman and you messed with my daughter. Juliet, I’m placing you under citizen’s arrest. Lay your arms on the back of your car. Don’t let this get ugly.”
“Okay,” she whispers as her hands rise to the sides of her head. Juliet takes a step away from us, then quick as a gazelle bolts into her car.
Everett is on her door and tugging at the handle as she starts up the car with violent force.
“Everett,” I shout just as Carlotta and Teddy barrel this way.
Juliet takes off with a jerk, leaving Everett slipping in the snow, then she does the unthinkable. She spins the car around in haste, and suddenly we’re looking at her headlights.
“Lot Lot!” Carlotta links her arm through mine just as Juliet speeds this way.
My entire life, this baby’s future, zips through my mind in a flash, and in a blink that sweet little furry mammal lets out a harrowing cry as she flies right through the windshield and turns the steering wheel just enough to send Juliet crashing into the nearest car.