S'mores

Gus hands me a marshmallow as Annabeth and I watch the crackling fire, spit and cackle in front of us. Small dancing wisps of smoke rise into the black sky as the firepit keeps us warm against the bite of cold surrounding our semicircle. I pierce the gooey marshmallow with my sharpened stick and dangle it over the flames. I hear Annabeth shimmy a graham cracker from the plastic sleeve and our faces glow orange as we stare at our blackening marshmallows.

Gus's loud voice slices through the silence as he says, "I still can't believe someone was murdered practically in our backyard. And someone we know!"

I nod without looking to him and reply, "I think that's what all of Hollis has been thinking about since they found her."

"I still can't believe LulaButt. That woman is classless," Annabeth says with a click of her tongue. I watch as she pulls her marshmallow away from the flame and gingerly slides it onto a stack of graham crackers and chocolate. She takes a large bite and sticky white residue sticks to the sides of her lips as she crunches her s'more.

"I ain't all that surprised. The woman will stop at nothin' to stay relevant," Gus says as he checks his own stick.

"Have you told her anything yet?" Annabeth asks me and I shake my head no. I flip my stick over to blacken the other side and reply, "Ryan is hesitant to tell her anything. I don't blame him."

"You know she'll tell anyone who'll listen that you threatened Poppy. She'll make a mountain outta a molehill," Gus says.

"I know. That's why she needs to stay quiet. The police need to stay focused on who actually killed her and not get distracted by LulaBelle and her big mouth," I say as I finally slide my marshmallow off my stick onto my own stack of graham crackers and chocolate.

I'm enjoying my warm chocolaty gooeyness as Annabeth asks, "Speaking of, who do you think did it? We know it's not you or Jackson. All of her friends don't have the muscle mass to take anyone out with a swing of a golf club."

"I'm goin' with a bookie of some sort. I betcha she was tryin' to help with her parent's financial mess and got caught up in a bad deal," Gus says and I nod in agreement. I slide another marshmallow onto my stick and reply, "I'm going with that theory too. Poppy could have sassed the wrong mobster and he took her out."

"Mobster? Bookie? Really?" Annabeth asks but both Gus and I shrug. We all know we are grasping at straws here.

"Maybe she owed someone money and because of her financial mess, she couldn't pay up? Maybe she wasn't trying to get money from someone but paying money to someone," Annabeth suggests and I nod at the possibility.

We are all still staring at the fire as it pops and cackles against our silent thoughts.

"What will happen with the Historical Society? Wasn't Poppy overlooking a several thousand-dollar restoration project?" Annabeth asks and I look at her.

"I guess the duties will go to the Vice President, even though Lulabelle has already started bossing the crew around."

"You should see if anyone knows anything from there. Who knows if she confided in anyone from the society?" Annabeth suggests and it's not a bad idea. Maybe she told Lucy or someone where she was headed after our meeting a few days ago.

"Maybe I'll call Lucy tomorrow and see if we will be hosting a meeting any time soon, see if she has heard anything or knows anything," I say as I prepare my next s'more. Gus is sucking the sticky marshmallow off his fingers as he says, "I think y'all should let pretty boy do his job. I'm thinkin' he ain't gonna like it if Sawyer decides to play detective."

I sigh knowing he's right. I know I need to let Ryan figure everything out with the police. I look back at Gus and Annabeth as I say, "I'll tell him to call Lucy if he hasn't already."

We all go quiet again and I am ready to think of anything else that isn't so morbid. My thoughts have been consumed with Poppy and her lifeless eyes since I found her. She's even been appearing in my dreams. I need to distract myself from these depressing thoughts and vivid images.

I look between Gus and Annabeth, who are also deep in thought and wonder if they need a distraction too. I exhale loudly before saying, "We need a change in subject."

"I could use a distraction from the thought of murderers," Annabeth says grimly.

"Alright, well...what else is new?" Gus asks us but Annabeth and I just glance to each other. I try to think about what was going on before the Poppy news and reply, "Well since I am not trying to break up Jackson and Poppy anymore, maybe I can use my free time to break up Margot and Austin."

Annabeth flicks her gaze over to me and wickedly says, "I could probably help you devise a plan."

I grin back to Annabeth knowing Margot is a sore subject for her too. Austin told Annabeth for years that he'd never date a Hollis girl seriously and now he's parading Margot all around town. Annabeth had to swallow the fact that Austin would in fact date a Hollis girl, it just wouldn't be her.

"Why y'all hatin' on Margot?" Gus asks and both Annabeth and I slowly turn our gaze to stare at him. He laughs and then shrugs

"I see what he sees in 'er."

Annabeth throws a marshmallow at Gus and he giggles his boyish giggle. I roll my eyes and reply, "Trust me, I think Austin only sees her glorious set of bouncy boobs too."

"She really is horrible," Annabeth says and I catch her eyes narrowing at Gus as he throws his hands up in surrender.

"Whitney Carmichael was my best friend, Scarlett Hemming was almost my mother-in-law and y'all know my mother, Delilah Sweeney. I am used to surrounding myself with highfalutin types that think they're perfect but Margot takes the cake," I joke. "She looks perfect and acts like a delicate flower that only Austin can handle. He waits on her hand and foot and it makes me sick."

"I saw him holding her purse and shopping bags as she wandered around Blush ya know?" Annabeth says with a smirk and I roll my eyes. Who would have thought Austin the slut would be whipped by one of the Hamilton sisters?

"You want a distraction? Maybe we can play a prank on her next time she's over at your mama's house," Annabeth giddily says and she laughs as she watches my eyes light up in agreement. Gus scoots forward in his Adirondack chair and looks to us.

"Y'all be nice."

I shake my head.

"I've never been nice, Gus." I flick my gaze to Annabeth and add, "I'm always down for a good prank."

"We gotta think of something that won't have Mrs. Sweeney beatin' you with a belt if she finds out," Annabeth says as she touches her chin with her fingers.

"Yeah, my mother worships Margot. Her prayers were more than answered with that girl," I say with my tone laced in disgust.

"Maybe we can just scare her a bit. Do something silly," I suggest and Annabeth is tucked into her chair deep in thought. I know she would love to prank Margot- put all of her disappointed feelings about Austin into something that would make her feel better. I watch as a light bulb flickers on in her head and she bolts upright in her chair.

"I know what would scare Austin!"

Gus and I look to her as she taps her fingers together like an evil genius.

"We could leave a pregnancy test in an upstairs bathroom at your house! Have your mother find it!"

I laugh and then shake my head.

"They would assume it's mine and then my mother would really beat me with a belt."

"What if we left it at Ryan and Austin's house? Ryan would know it's not yours and Austin would get a nice jolt to his heart," Annabeth says smugly.

"Y'all are mean is what ya are. You're going to kill your brother," Gus says but Annabeth just continues to giggle.

"Margot would just deny it once Austin confronts her though," I say but she quickly shrugs.

"It will still make him poop his pants. And if he shows Ryan after Margot denies it, it will be a negative test so he won't care."

"Ryan and I haven't done the deed since before he left back to South Carolina, so he knows there's no way it could be mine," I say, possibly agreeing to Annabeth's awful prank. I watch as she rubs her hands together and I know she wants this. I wanted to get a little dig in but Annabeth is out for blood. Gus just shakes his head and I know I should take the wind out of her sails now.

"I'm stayin' out of this mischief," he says and we both laugh. Annabeth eyes me as she says, "Ryan and Austin are gone, so we need to get to work before they get home."

"You really want to do this?" I ask her, knowing there is a better prank out there that would satisfy her rejection.

She nods.

"Yes. I do. Get your sweater on. We have a man to startle."