Chapter 8: Nutbust

Exiting the house through one of the rear doors, Phinn located Jake on this warm morning. His partner sat before an empty plate, gesturing at Paisley while pleading his case. Eventually, the pale blonde relented at the insistent young man’s request. Jake’s pleased nod immediately concerned Phinn.

“What’s going on?” he asked, approaching the patio table.

“Paisley agreed to take me into Lumlow for shopping.”

“Is that necessary? I’d hoped a good night of sleep would’ve–”

“We must be prepared!” Jake declared, causing Leighton to shrug.

“If it’s to help Aunt Vonnie, then alright,” the redhead whispered.

"That's the thing; it's not to help us in the way you're thinking," Phinn replied, glancing behind at the second-story windows. He didn't want to clarify further as he was unsure about the other guests' locations. "Look, I don't think you want to take Jake on this–"

“Don’t you dare speak to me! Ever again!” Paisley screeched, jabbing her finger at the teen who’d cum on her skin yesterday. Standing up, the ice queen turned toward Jake. “I need to change. Meet me at my car in precisely twenty-five minutes.”

“Crap! I need to shower first,” Jake announced, downing the rest of his orange juice while standing up.

“Jake, this is a waste of time. We have other–”

“It’s not a waste if we meet…It…in the woods tonight,” the courageous yet superstitious sleuth suggested.

“I doubt you’ll find anything in Lumlow that you want. The town is tiny,” Phinn pointed out.

“Then, we’ll drive to Darlingport!” Jake announced, causing Leighton’s expression to flicker in concern.

"And Paisley will ditch you in Darlingport," Phinn foresaw before giving in slightly as another idea came to him. "Fine. But no matter what, grab us a pair of walkie-talkies. Preferably with earpieces."

“Now you’re on board!” Jake agreed excitedly, slapping Phinn’s back while hurrying inside to shower.

Sitting down in the seat Jake vacated across from Leighton, Phineas waited for Marie to bring him his late breakfast. The redhead glanced at the time on her phone before teasing him about sleeping in.

“Rough night?”

“I can say the same for you and yesterday. How are you feeling?”

“Sore, but sick of sitting in bed.”

“Good. I need to update…Is that one of Flamand’s pendants?” the bespectacled sleuth challenged, leaning in to peer at the new jewelry addition.

“Sadly, it is,” Leighton groaned. “Vonnie insisted I accept it from that man. Just the thought of having it on makes my skin crawl.”

“What’s it supposed to do? Speed up your recovery?”

“Pretty much. Jean-Paul claims that clear quartz is the master healer of crystals,” Leighton began, rolling her eyes. “It will amplify my energy and stimulate my immune system while drawing off negative energy.”

“Well, it sounds like you’ll be raring to go in no time,” Phinn remarked, grinning.

“Don’t start, Farris. Or I’ll line one up for you next. Maybe he has one for deflecting bullets,” Leighton shot back. “What the hell is up with that?”

“Jake tell you?”

“No, Pais did.”

Pausing to thank Marie for the light breakfast she brought him, Phinn launched into a recount of the adventures from last night. The red-haired naturalist shook her head as she heard how easily the two detectives got lost. However, Leighton’s smirking face stiffened when she heard how close her neighbor’s shotgun blast came to hitting her guests.

“My gawd! That doesn’t sound like Frank at all.”

“So he usually doesn’t triple-wrap his chicken coop in barbed wire or add new deadbolts to his doors every few months?” Phinn questioned sarcastically before holding up a finger to keep her from answering. Instead, he listed what Frank called them and what Phinn found in his workshop.

“No way!”

“Here’s a picture I took,” Phinn said, handing over his phone. “That is silver he’s melting into bullets.”

“But why? Frank can’t possibly think…What does he think?” Leighton questioned with a shocked expression.

"Hard to say. Several legendary or mythical beasts are supposedly **** to silver. Jake is certain that we're looking at a werewolf. That's why he has your cousin driving him into Lumlow. He wants to find weapons or items to kill them. Or I assume he'll settle for items to protect himself from one," Phinn revealed.

No response came from the dumbfounded redhead for nearly ten seconds. Then, Leighton suddenly roared with laughter while throwing her head backward. She continued to laugh even after tears slid down her cheeks.

“Am I correct in taking that as you don’t believe this supernatural beast plagues us?” Phinn inquired.

“I’m…dying because…I’m…picturing Pais…when she finds out what they’re shopping for,” Leighton replied through gasps for air.

“Now, you understand why I think she might ditch him somewhere,” Phinn reminded her of his early concern. However, he also grew serious about the issue. “Look, Jake usually knows better than to believe in this stuff, but it can take some time for him to return to reality.”

“I know. This sounds very familiar. Didn’t he think a ghost haunted Camp Little Weasel?” Leighton asked, trying to recall the details from five years ago.

“He did initially until he realized it was a real person. But for a few days, the leading theory had Camp Little Weasel being the bloody summer camp that inspired Friday the 13th.”

“That’s it! He attacked that one camp counselor who tried to shock us during scary campfire stories,” Leighton remembered, giggling.

“Yeah, add that to the reasons we were told never to return,” Phinn said, recalling the hysteria Jake caused in their bunkhouse.

Over half the kids lived on the edge for several nights anytime they heard the crunch of footsteps going past their cabin. Even more ridiculous to Phinn had been the arguments about whether the real Jason Voorhees wore a burlap sack or the hockey mask.

Grimacing about the difficulties it had been to use the separate bathhouse on those nights, Phinn touched his scalp automatically. Dusty had been fortunate to miss the majority of the panic, but Phinn ended up with a scar on the top of his head after returning from a late-night pee.

As Leighton recalled which girls in her bunkhouse had been freaked out back in the day, Phinn quickly finished his light breakfast. Stacking the dirty dishes together, he asked if she felt well enough to walk to the stables.

Leighton did, but first, she dashed inside to grab a few treats from the kitchen for Queenie. Phinn followed her to bring in his dishes. They managed to avoid too much fussing from Marie before slipping out the side door.

“Now, it’s my turn as a storyteller,” Leighton teased as they crossed the large grassy area. “Jean-Paul went skinny dipping again last night.”

“Did he now? Hmm, this sounds like a regular occurrence.”

“It might be. I only noticed because I had trouble sleeping with my pain and knew what you’d seen the night before. With all that going on, I paid attention when I heard the splash. After that, he swam nearly silently,” Leighton recounted. “He kept at it for probably thirty minutes.”

“What happened when he finished?”

“I can’t say a hundred percent, but it looked like he went in the barn’s direction. I slipped out on the balcony to watch. However, I needed to be careful on Catherine’s end.”

“I had planned on a stakeout last night before we got lost and nearly shot, basically ruined that idea. Observing Flamand and deciphering his actions sounds like a plan for tonight.” Phinn paused as they reached the barn. “You said Flamand sleeps in the old windowless nursery?”

“Technically, he refers to it as his office. Yet, I can’t imagine where else he sleeps. Maybe in the governess’s room next door. It does have a connecting door,” the young woman explained.

“And that room faces the balcony?”

"It does. There is a door that opens onto the outside if I'm guessing your plan correctly. We usually leave the main doors open to let in the breeze. However, there are locked screen doors."

“Locks don’t concern me,” Phinn declared, resuming their walk to the stables.

After reaching the other building, they slipped inside Queenie’s stall. The Appaloosa immediately neighed in happiness as her favorite human wrapped her arms around her neck for a hug. The horse knew something was up as it sniffed the air.

“Oh, you spoiled brat,” the redhead fake-admonished. “I can’t hide a treat from you, can I?”

Queenie whined as Leighton fed her several sugar cubes. Waiting until they finished, Phinn motioned the other teen toward the horse’s side.

“See those marks? I overheard Marie pointing them out to Rafael yesterday. He downplayed them, but I could tell he was concerned. What do they look like to you?”

“Bruises. Did these happen after you ran off, girl?” Leighton asked the horse. “Or did they…”

“Yes, that’s my theory. I think somebody shot at you.”

“Shot at me?! But these aren’t bullet wounds.”

“No, I believe they likely came from an air rifle or BB gun. Depends on what terminology you want to use. I suspect somebody wanted to send a message,” Phinn stated, his words lingering in the air ominously.

“Jeez, I could’ve been seriously hurt.”

“I would like to search the area near where you were thrown. I’ve studied the pictures you took and think I may have spotted a black blob that could be a person. However, as you can tell by our exploits last night, Jake and I aren’t the best woodsmen.”

“I’ll say,” Leighton chuckled. “I’m not sure if I’m up to it today. Moving around like this is fine, but a long hike–”

“Don’t rush it. Finding anything out there is a long shot,” Phinn reassured her. “I’d rather focus on the possible motives of the guest staying here. Also, I don’t want to explore the forest with Jake until he’s played out his werewolf theory. He thinks it might have startled Queenie. However, I’m almost certain that someone–”

“Jake thinks a werewolf is what caused Queenie to throw me?” Leighton double-checked, cutting off Phinn’s planned question about the cousins’ argument the day they arrived.

“After getting spooked by Frank, Jake thinks those marks on Queenie are bite marks. He was quite worried last night that she might turn into a werehorse. If such a thing actually exists in supernatural lore.”

“Ohmigawd!” Leighton squealed, rubbing Queenie's mane. “Now, I’m worried that Paisley might kill him on their shopping trip.”

“I tried to warn–” Phinn started to say until a loud thud cut him off.

The pair of teens turned to face the stall door before glancing at one another. Nodding, they crept toward the half-door to listen intently for more sounds. When nothing came, Phinn whispered a question about Rafael.

“Can’t be. Today is Raffy’s day for tending to the Carpenters’ horses,” Leighton explained, referring to neighbors several miles past Frank Noonan’s farmhouse.

“Stay here. I’ll check it out,” Phinn whispered. He replayed Karter and Selene’s potentially suspicious trek through the stables yesterday. His gut feeling might have been correct.

Slipping out of the stall, Phinn slowly crept past several more stalls filled with horses. Quick scans didn’t reveal anyone hiding inside. However, as he approached the tack room, the investigator’s ears perked up. He’d heard a loud grunt. Wishing he’d thought to grab a weapon, Phinn moved into the open doorway and abruptly stopped.

During yesterday's examination of the stables, while he waited for his partner's return, Phinn had noticed a saddle sitting on a low table. It appeared to be undergoing some kind of repair. The item had caught his eye, as Phinn still didn't know precisely what had led to Leighton's fall. The possibility of a sabotaged saddle had briefly occurred to him until Jake's account dispelled the notion.

The saddle continued to sit on the low-level table. It also had company, as Adora used it to brace herself. The actress needed the leverage as she leaned forward while Troy held her hips to pound his cock inside his girlfriend from behind.

A highly skilled observer, Phinn took in the scene before his eyes. Adora wore a cute baby blue sundress. Well, 'wore' and 'cute' didn't fit the outfit at the moment. Not with the top unbuttoned in front to reveal her braless breasts or the skirt portion that Troy had flipped over to allow him easier access. The junior investigator only glanced at Troy long enough to wonder if he'd trip over the shorts bunched around his knees.

Once the winner of Best Tits in Hollywood, those same stellar D-cups were now exposed as they repeatedly escaped the sundress’s confines with each thrust from behind. Although not a horny teenager like his partner, Phinn still found himself entranced by the swinging motion of those perfect tits.

“Yes, baby. Fuck me!” Adora screamed between lewd mewls.

“Fuck, yeah! I’m going to make you explode, sexy!” Troy vowed, hammering into his girlfriend as if she were a ragdoll.

“Harder…ugh…fuck me…harder,” Adora whimpered, turning her head to look at her lover.

The move lifted her left hand off the saddle while the slight body twist provided a clearer view of her bouncing breast. After yesterday's suntanning session, Phinn knew the allegations of implants at sixteen were false. But if any doubt had lingered, watching her natural bosom shake, rattle, and roll, thrust a stake through the heart of those deceitful lies.

As Phinn zoomed in on the glistening globes, a tent swiftly erected in his shorts. It gave a finishing twitch when he glanced up to meet Adora’s heated gaze. A wink and lick of her lips let the teen know she didn’t mind a spectator. Phinn gulped at the sizzling expression on the former Dream Lass’s face. This moment was a fantasy come true for his younger self, who had quietly had a crush on her superheroine character.

Distracted by the sexually mesmerizing performance, Phinn didn’t notice Leighton’s growing confusion and gestures from the stall. Nor did he realize that the redhead had slipped out from Queenie’s stall to slowly approach his position. Only after the fourth hiss of his name did Phinn turn his head toward her.

Immediately fearful of being caught, Phinn gestured for Leighton to stay back while shaking his head. With her apparent refusal causing him to insist further with his motions, the teen detective screwed up.

Troy noticed the movement from the side of his eye and exploded. He didn’t explode in the way his hard, fast pistoning might indicate. No, with his slimy dick slipping out of his girlfriend’s wet, clinging pussy, Troy exploded in a rage in Phinn’s direction.

“Fucking spy!”

Lunging in the air, Troy's outstretched arms and cocked fists slammed into the scrawny teen's shoulders. Although not a classic punch, the double blow sent Phinn staggering backward. Before he could recover his balance, the strong, struggling actor grabbed the junior investigator's arm. A vise-like clench on his upper arm sent a burst of excruciating pain up to Phinn's shoulder.

"No one spies on my Adora! No one!"

"Troy! Stop!" Leighton ordered. Attempting to grab his arm, the redhead instead found herself flung to the side.

The effort barely slowed the furious man down. Within seconds, his firm grip spun Phinn around before hurling him across the stables into a support post. More pain shot from the teen’s shoulder as he slumped to the ground.

“You want to take pictures of her? I’ll kill you!” Troy roared, looming menacingly over the sprawled sleuth. Reaching down, he clutched Phinn’s shirt, lifting him slightly off the ground. “You’re dead!”

“Stop that! Troy, fucking stop!”

Suddenly, a little hellion latched onto Troy's back. Wrapping her arms around her boyfriend's head in almost a sleeper hold, Adora continued to order her crazed boyfriend to stop. When her hands covered his eyes, Troy dropped Phinn and staggered to the side.

“He didn’t do anything!” Adora screamed.

Finally, with a moment to breathe, Phinn shifted his body slightly. Sensing barely an opening, Phinn raised and pulled back his leg. Almost like a cocked catapult, the dirty fighter launched his shoe-covered foot directly into Troy’s bare and still engorged dick.

“Eeeeiiiieee!”

As Adora slid down the back of her writhing boyfriend, a riding crop struck the side of Troy’s face. The sharp, stinging slap was enough to cause him to trip over his lowered pants and fall to the ground with a thud.

“What’s wrong with you?” Leighton screeched, raising the short whip in case she needed it again.

“Wait,” Phinn directed as Adora jumped in front of her boyfriend.

“Enough!” the bare-breasted actress ordered, holding the sides of Troy’s head so that she could scream directly at him.

"What…What happened?" Troy asked as if coming out of a rage daze. "Adora! Cover yourself! You're half-naked!"

“That’s what you’re worried about? Moron!” the fiery actress yelled, shoving him.

“Are you alright?” Leighton asked, rushing to Phinn’s side.

“I’m good. Might be catching up to you for bruises,” Phinn remarked, raising his short-sleeved shirt to reveal marks from Troy’s fingers around his upper arm.

“Did I do that? Oh, man, I’m sorry. I don’t—”

“Shut it!” Leighton bellowed. “Pull up your pants and get back to the house.”

The quiet fury in the redhead’s last sentence sent Troy nodding as he complied with pulling his shorts up. However, once he finished, he tried to apologize again halfheartedly.

“I’m really sorry, but you shouldn’t have been watching–”

“Can it, and get back to the house. You heard Leighton,” Adora stated, gesturing for her boyfriend to leave, which he begrudgingly did. After Troy vanished, the busty blonde kneeled to check on the fallen teen. “Are you alright? I’m sooo sorry about him. I don’t know why he did that.”

“He’s overprotective and jealous. You know that, AD,” Leighton responded first.

“You poor thing,” the dirty blonde cooed, pulling Phinn close to her body.

“Jesus, girl! Button your dress up first,” the redhead suggested, noticing how Adora’s move had shoved her bare D-cups into Phinn’s face. “Motorboating the nerd isn’t going to make him feel better.”

"Oh, you never know. I think he's enjoying the show," the saucy actress stated, rubbing her tits back and forth across Phinn's cheek before pulling back.

“And also setting him up for another beating from your crazy boyfriend,” Leighton warned. “I like you, AD, but that shit isn’t going to fly around here.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. To both of you,” the former Dream Lass apologized, buttoning her sundress. “I don’t know what triggered Troy. Maybe it’s the failed audition or the paparazzi incident in LA last week. Whatever it is, he’s gotten worse lately.”

“Then, you'd better run after him to make sure he doesn’t lash out at anyone else,” Leighton suggested, which Adora started to do after leaning down to kiss Phinn’s cheek. After apologizing again, the dirty blonde went to follow her boyfriend until Leighton stopped her. “Hey, are you okay? Troy hasn’t…I mean, nothing has happened…you’re safe around him, right?”

“You’re sweet, Leigh, but I’m safe around him,” Adora insisted.

Once the former It Girl left, Leighton helped Phinn to his feet. Then, she slapped the side of his head, causing him to ask what he had done that for.

"Gawd, you basically blew your cover, dumbass. I swear you were half a step away from licking her boobs. I know you don't like Paisley's bullshit, but people think you're gay around here. You want them to learn the truth and ask questions about why you didn't deny it at first?"

“That horse already fled the barn because you left the door open,” Phinn responded.

Standing in the stables, Leighton rolled her eyes at his comment. “What are you talking about?”

“Portia knows.”

“Are you sure?”

“That’s what she said directly into my ear while giving me a handjob yesterday,” Phinn recounted matter-of-factly while peering over his shoulder at his butt. While Leighton gasped, he brushed dirt off his shorts.

“She did what?!”

“Yeah, I sensed something was up with her while I applied sun lotion to her and the others. Portia kept on ratcheting up the heat. She and Adora were topless and gave not a care in the world if I saw them.”

“Fuck! I knew Porty could be slutty, but…Wait, did anyone else see her…”

“Stroke me off? Yep. Everyone except your aunt. I don’t know when Hazel noticed, but Adora practically watched from the start.”

“Did Pais?”

“Oh, yeah. Portia jerked me so that my cum shot onto the ice queen’s back and leg,” Phinn revealed.

“Damn! Well, that explains why she’s been super-bitchy since,” Leighton noted. “However, Portia might think you’re bi or bi-curious. She’s used to every man she meets drooling over her.”

“No, Portia knows. She overheard you and Paisley arguing about it.”

“What?”

“The bigger question is if you mentioned us being detectives during your argument,” Phinn pointed out.

“Absolutely not. I’m certain!” Leighton insisted after Phinn put on a dubious expression. “We only fought over her attitude toward you and Jake, to a lesser extent. Boy, my cousin really despises you.”

“I know. We’ve had a few run-ins with her South High clique over the years,” Phinn said. “We just need to hope that Flamand or his assistant doesn’t get wise to our lies.”

“Well, we’ll have one less problem soon. I’m going to insist that Troy leave,” Leighton disclosed her new idea. “I like AD, but that hothead could’ve seriously hurt you. That’s not to mention his chasing a guy with an axe.”

Phineas took a moment as they left the stables to ponder her solution. As they reached the barn, he told Leighton not to kick Troy out.

“Why not? At this rate, he will hurt someone. I can’t ignore what happened.”

“Don’t ignore, just downplay it,” Phinn suggested. “Look, we don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to our presence here. It’s better for our investigation if we blend into the background. Kicking Troy out will do the opposite.”

“I guess, but you'd better move fast and find dirt on Flamand.”

Returning to the patio, they found that Hazel, Portia, and Yvonne had joined Catherine around the pool. Only the strawberry-blonde aunt didn't wear a bikini. Instead, her lovely sundress flared out as she rushed over to meet her niece.

“Leaping lizards! What happened with Troy?”

“It’s nothing, Aunt Vonnie.”

“Just a misunderstanding,” Phinn stated loudly. “He and Adora got a little frisky, and we caught them. Troy panicked momentarily. It’s not a big deal.”

The junior investigator hadn’t noticed Adora come outside while he downplayed the attack. Her mouth dropped open in surprise.

“My goodness! Honey, you need to keep that stuff in private. In the bedroom,” Yvonne said, whispering the last part to the younger actress. “With doors shut and shades pulled down.”

“Right. I’m sorry. I, um, guess we got carried away,” Adora said, her apology seemingly to Yvonne, but her words were meant for Phineas.

“I’ll bet that was quite a show to stumble on,” Cat commented.

“Indeed. What part did you like best, Phinny?” Portia teased.

Phinn didn’t need to be a detective to know the manipulative brunette meant body parts. Portia appears to be an increasing complication in this case. Maybe it's time to tell Jake about the handjob. That might send him her way. She's a busty beauty. Jake will love the chance to sleep with her.

Everyone settled in, with Phinn and Leighton sitting under a patio table's umbrella. The shade felt nice while Adora stripped down to a skimpy bikini to join Catherine, Hazel, and Portia in sunbathing. Marie brought out several pitchers of lemonade and a carrot cake that she'd baked the previous day.

Word spread that Karter had gone off on his own for another hike while Jean-Paul Flamand meditated in the ballroom. Nobody mentioned Selene, but Benji appeared with a hardcover novel. With a friendly wave, he sat at another table, under an umbrella that provided shade, to read his book.

“Now that Adora and Benjamin are here, I can pass on the gossip my manager told me earlier,” Catherine began.

“That’s why you hogged the phone before,” Portia noted.

“Dear, one must keep an ear to the ground back home,” Cat replied. “And that damn echo makes it hard to hear the details the first time.”

The older actress went on to repeat the latest happenings in Hollywood. She updated them on directorial changes: which directors had signed on to a film, which had dropped out, and who was rumored to be circling a high-profile project. Then, she passed on the same info for acting roles. Several disappointed or annoyed groans followed from Adora and Benji.

Cat revealed that she had also called a good friend, which led to a lot of gossip about their personal lives. She rattled off who was sleeping with whom, along with the same about cheating and new relationships.

“Hell, no. There is no way Honey Cantrell is screwing Dirk Braddock. She’d never stoop that low,” Adora declared, shaking her head.

“Believe me, hun. They were seen falling into the same hotel room with hands everywhere,” Cat insisted. “It’s from a reliable source.”

“I agree with Adora. That doesn’t sound like Honey,” Benji said, looking up from his book.

Phinn hoped they would finish any argument about Honey Cantrell before Jake returned. His best friend would take anything about one of his Hollywood crushes personally. And Honey rated high enough in Jake's mind for him to watch her horror films, which he rarely liked. They didn't need another distraction during this case.

“I save the biggest, juiciest shocker for last,” Cat foreshadowed. “Austin Slater is going to be announced as the new Riker Malone.”

“What?!” Adora exclaimed.

“No way,” Hazel said, finally joining the conversation. “Austin could never handle an action role as big as that.”

“It’s happening,” Catherine insisted, taking a bite of carrot cake.

“A shame. He’s not a good person,” Benji said, more to himself than anyone.

“This is bad. Really bad,” Adora fretted, checking the house over her shoulder.

“How come?” Portia asked.

“Austin and Troy started together on Hotel Xanadu,” the dirty blonde revealed about the soap opera. “Watching Austin’s career grow has been hard on him. They had a competition for screen time early on. I don’t know how he’s going to react to Austin landing a life-changing franchise role.”

“That’s the breaks,” Cat said, stopping to cough. “Luck…can never…be…”

Her coughs increased in frequency and intensity.

“You okay? Wash that cake down with this,” Hazel offered, handing the older woman a glass of lemonade.

“Is she **** on it?” Portia questioned, glancing at the cake near her. It didn’t seem like a chokeable food.

Suddenly, the golden blonde clutched her throat while she started to wheeze. Panicking, she searched her surroundings with terror in her eyes. Lunging forward toward a table, Catherine met Selene instead.

“Great Scott!” Yvonne exclaimed.

“Stand back. She’s having an episode,” the raven-haired woman proclaimed before raising her voice. “Master Flamand, come quick! Ms. Dall needs you. Master Flamand!”

Shaken from his shock, Benji leaped out of his chair. He rushed over toward a side table where the women had placed their bags. Grabbing the correct one, he dumped its contents onto the cement patio. Frantically, he searched for a specific item as Catherine tumbled dizzily to the patio.

“Mr. Biddle, control yourself!” Selene ordered.

“Out of the way!” Benji counter-ordered after finding the item. He attempted to reach Catherine, but Selene blocked him.

“Stop this nonsense. Master Flamand will arrive and deal with this episode. It’s not your–”

“It’s not an episode!” Benji yelled, pushing the alabaster-skinned woman out of the way. “It’s her peanut allergy.”

“Ohmigawd!” Adora screamed.

“She’s going into shock!” Portia shouted, jumping up and pointing at the older woman. Nobody paid any attention to her bare breasts shaking freely. “Someone, do something!”

“Call 9-1-1!” Benji ordered, flipping the colored cap open.

Leighton nodded as she rushed inside the house. Her aunt covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.

As the frightened onlookers watched, the ex-child actor swung the EpiPen toward Catherine’s outer thigh. Pushing until he heard a click, Benji waited several seconds for the injection to finish before removing the life-saving device. With a relieved sigh, he fell backward onto his butt.

“Is she okay?” Adora questioned with a horrified face.

“Let me see. Master Flamand will want–”

“Stay back,” Benji ordered, showing rare determination as he blocked Selene with his arm. “Catherine needs air. Don’t touch her.”

“The nerve on you!” the raven-haired assistant hissed.

“Poppycock!” Yvonne reacted, glaring at the woman.

“Selene, what has happened? Come here and tell me,” Jean-Paul called out from the ballroom door.

“Give me one of those pillows,” Benji asked, causing Hazel to hand one over.

“Is Cat going to live?” Adora repeated.

“Damn right. The kid saved her,” Portia praised.

"What I injected–which I can't remember what it's called–is only a temporary solution. Catherine needs to be treated at a hospital for whatever caused the allergic reaction," Benji explained as he gently propped the older woman's head onto the pillow. She smiled weakly at him for his help, but couldn't speak yet.

“How do you know this?” Hazel asked, awed by his action.

“We had a very special episode back in the day. I had to save one of Albie’s classmates from a scenario like this,” Benji recounted about his former television show.

“But how did you know that Cat is allergic?” Portia questioned.

“She mentioned it once, maybe twice. Marie reassured her that peanuts are not kept in this house,” Benji recalled.

“Some must have gotten mixed in,” Hazel speculated.

“You remembered what Cat said once or twice and did that?” Portia challenged, seemingly noticing the former child actor for the first time.

"Yeah. I guess it crossed my mind that I needed to know. And I'm only a year younger than you, if that," Benji pointed out.

“Stars and garters! Marie would never bring peanuts into our home,” Yvonne insisted.

“Maybe she used walnuts or pecans for the carrot cake. My grandma does. Or she didn’t check the ingredients,” Hazel suggested, wishing for an answer.

“No, I have a nephew who’s allergic to peanuts. We never bring them into this house,” Yvonne repeated.

“Someone with a peanut allergy is not always allergic to other nuts. There are differences,” Phinn stated, finally joining the conversation. He recalled the difference from a fellow mystery-solving group’s **** case that involved pecans.

“I didn’t add anything different,” Marie insisted, rushing outside. “Catherine has had that same carrot cake twice before.”

“Catherine should not go to the hospital alone,” Jean-Paul declared, announcing his return. “I will have Sel–”

“I can go,” Benji offered. “She might be there for a couple of days.”

“Me too,” Hazel added, already standing up. “I’ll hurry and pack a bag. Can I get you anything?”

“Are you sure? I can go with her,” Adora said.

Benji and Hazel assured her they didn’t mind before the former told the latter where to find a travel bag and to grab any shirt she saw in his room. As they discussed the details, Phinn watched as Catherine reached out to clasp her rescuer’s wrist as a gentle thank you.

Two seemingly random accidents in two days. Or are they random or an accident? Jake had better hurry his butt back before we end up with a real body and not a fairy tale.