Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
E ventually, we find ourselves in a cozy corner of Boston Common, nestled beneath a canopy of vivid fall foliage with leaves blazing as bright as bonfires.
We park ourselves on a worn wooden bench with the lunch we picked up from a food truck called the Captain’s Delight—lobster rolls all around.
“To Boston,” Nettie says, hoisting up her roll and the rest of us do the same.
“To Boston in the fall,” I counter.
Bess chuckles. “To Boston surviving Nettie Butterworth!”
“And my wallet is thankful for it, too,” Ransom says as we belt out a cheer and share a laugh.
I take a bite out of my lobster roll and moan. “Boy, is this dreamy.”
“I’ll say.” Wes moans twice as hard. “Do they serve lobster rolls on the ship?”
“I haven’t had one yet,” Nettie says.
“That’s about to change.” Wes points her way.
“A lot of things are about to change,” Bess says, tipping her head at Ransom and me.
“For the better,” he says without skipping a beat and I concur with a nod because my mouth is too filled with lobster to say a single word .
This lobster roll isn’t just dreamy, it’s stuffed to the gills with lobster meat, drizzled in butter, and has that perfect touch of lemon. I already know I’m going to dream of this for the next few years to come.
Soon enough, every last lobster roll has been devoured and we’ve moved on to a box of Boston cream pie donuts. And they are every bit as creamy and dreamy as they sound.
“While you’re adding things to the menu…” Ransom says to Wes while waving his donut at him.
“I’d be a fool not to,” Wes shoots back.
“Why does food always taste better when it’s eaten outside?” Bess wonders aloud as she licks her lips. “Especially in the fall?”
Wes shrugs. “Maybe it’s the ambiance. Or the company.” He grins, taking a bite of his donut.
“Aw, Wes,” Nettie coos. “I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”
“I’m not,” he deadpans. “I just like my donuts with a side of sarcasm.”
“Very funny.” I wrinkle my nose at him. “And speaking of something not so funny”—I say, tapping my knee to Ransom’s—“what do we think about our suspects? We don’t have much of a collection, but I think the ones we have, pack a little punch.”
Nettie shrugs. “Yeah, but can they strangle their way out of a paper bag?”
The entire lot of us groans.
“What?” Nettie sits up. “Did I go too dark?”
“You live in the dark,” Bess says with an incredulous laugh.
“Who do we have?” Wes nods my way.
I think on it a moment. “Josie, Visalia, and Kimball.”
“Josie Coffee is way too clean,” Nettie says immediately. “She obviously did it. No one who is genuinely innocent wears that many feathers. It’s practically a confession.”
I give a little laugh because the woman really does love her feather earrings.
“Maybe so,” Bess says, “But every time I hear her name, I crave a latte.”
“Same,” I say .
“What about Visalia?” Wes asks.
“She was very helpful,” I say. “She’s the one that told me that Josie and Merritt exchanged some heated words. I still don’t know what that was about, but Josie did tell me that she’s the sole breadwinner for her family and that she really appreciated Merritt, especially after she hit it big with her books.”
Ransom nods. “And what did you glean regarding Visalia?”
“Oh, poor thing is still grieving the loss of her parents,” I say, pressing a hand to my chest. “She lost both of them in a year.” I think on it for a second. “And, of course, Kimball told us that odd tidbit about Merritt, regarding the woman.”
“ Ooh .” Nettie sits up straight. “Do tell. I hope it’s a tawdry tale.”
“Merritt wanted it to be,” I say. “She was trying to blackmail Kimball into seducing Visalia.”
Ransom nods. “And when he refused, Merritt threatened to tank the reviews for his restaurants. I’m guessing that would have cut him off at the knees.”
Wes tips his head to the side. “Which means Kimball Spicer has a valid motive.”
“Not just one,” Ransom points out. “He confessed to loving her and she blew him off—heartbreak is messy. And Merritt wasn’t exactly subtle about her rejection.”
“Subtlety is something Merritt didn’t believe in.” I shake my head. “What about Visalia?”
“Maybe she lost her mind because she lost both of her parents so soon,” Bess suggests. “Grief can turn you into an entirely different person and so can the stress of having to deal with closing out their estates.”
“True,” Wes says. “What about Josie? Any motive?”
I blow out a breath. “Visalia did also mention that the argument between Josie and Merritt had something to do with money.”
“Money is a great motive,” Ransom says. “And that brings us to our final suspect.” He lifts his brows my way. “Neelie Holiday.”
“Oh, that’s right.” I close my eyes a moment too long. “Well, she’s forced to sleep with Stanton in order to earn her keep. That alone will drive anyone mad. And let’s not forget that Merritt Garrett wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. If Neelie did it, I say we look the other way.”
“Trixie.” Wes scoffs with a laugh.
“What?” I laugh right back. “She’s growing on me.”
“Like a barnacle on that old shipwreck you left behind,” Nettie says.
“Well, if she is a barnacle, she’s a barnacle by choice,” I tell her.
We wrap it up and begin our trek back to the harbor.
“What do you think?” Bess asks while looking at Ransom and me. “Do you think you’ll solve this case before the ship docks in New York? We’ve got a wedding to focus on.”
“We can only hope,” Ransom says and I gasp. “Regarding solving the case,” the words speed out of him in record time. “Of course, our wedding is going to happen.” He lands a kiss on my cheek. “That’s a promise.”
I wrap my arms around him tight.
“Don’t worry about the case,” Wes says. “We can hand this over to the local authorities when we get back. I want the two of you to go into full wedding mode. In fact, to help you do so, I’m having a ship-wide party on the final night in your honor.”
Ransom casts a wry look his way. “It’s formal night. Formal night is always a ship-wide party.”
“Not like this one,” Wes says, ticking his head to the side. “I’ve given the reins to Elodie.”
“Elodie?” I squawk as visions of that raunchy bachelorette party she threw for me during the last cruise come to mind.
“And Tinsley,” he winces as he says it.
“What?” I squawk again. “The woman hates me.”
He shrugs. “Maybe so, but she insisted on reining Elodie in if need be. I felt that might be prudent.”
“On second thought,” I say. “You made the right call.”
Who would ever think Tinsley would be the right call when it came to hosting a celebration that had anything to do with me?
And who would ever think that both Ransom and I would drop out of the investigation and let the local authorities handle it?
No one.
Because it’s not happening .
If Ransom doesn’t bring that killer to justice before we walk down that aisle, then I’ll have to do it myself.
Who are we kidding? I had planned on doing it myself all along.
And if there is one fatal flaw in our upcoming union, it might be my propensity to do just that.