A Killer Cake (15 page)

“You’re still intimidated by Monica, are you?
She’s perfectly harmless. Actually, I’d say that she’s quite
nice.”

“To you, maybe, but then again, we both know
that she’s not my biggest fan.”

“Moose, is there ever any chance that you’ll
grow up and get over this?” I asked. Monica was perfectly lovely,
but there was something about her that intimidated my grandfather,
and that was something that not many folks could claim.

“I suppose that I could, but then again, what
fun would that be?” he asked as he pulled into the law office’s
parking lot.

I got out, and then I leaned back in before I
shut the door. “I want you to promise that you’ll stay right here
until I get back. No wandering off, and I mean it.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said with the hint of a
smile. “I’ll be here.”

“Good,” I said with a smile. “Thanks for
doing this.”

“Hey, I’ve got nothing to lose by hanging
around,” Moose said, and as I walked toward Monica’s office, I
glanced back and saw that he’d already buried his nose in a
crossword puzzle. My grandfather believed that puzzles kept his
mind alert and agile, and I wasn’t about to dispute it. I liked
them myself.

I pulled open the front door and walked in,
only to find more of a day care than a law office inside. The girl
behind the desk had a baby laid out on a large pad, and she was in
the middle of changing a diaper.

“I’m so sorry,” the girl said, looking quite
flustered. “No one’s due in for an hour. This must look really
bad.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I offered
her my hand without thinking. “You must be Lisa. Monica’s told me
all about you.”

She looked at my hand, and then at hers.
“Honestly, it’s probably better for both of us if we don’t shake
hands.”

I knew that Monica wanted to keep her
secretary no matter what it might cost her, and I wasn’t about to
botch the deal if I could help it. “Is your boss anywhere
around?”

“She’s in court,” Lisa said. “You won’t tell
her that you found us like this, will you? I really need this
job.”

“From what I’ve heard, you both need each
other. Don’t worry about me; your secret is safe.”

“Thanks so much,” Lisa said as she finished
diapering her child. The used diaper went into a discard bucket
with a clever lid on it after she put her baby back in the nearby
crib. I recognized it from the last time I’d been in. Monica had
been assembling it, and now that there was a baby in it, I hoped
that she’d done a good job.

“It’s fine. I’ll talk to her later,” I said
as I started for the door.

“You could always leave her a note, if you’d
like,” Lisa said.

“Just tell her that Victoria came by,” I
answered.

Her face lit up a little at the sound of my
name. “So,
you’re
Victoria. Monica told me that you were
someone worth knowing, and I can see that she was right.”

“It’s kind of her to say so. I happen to
think you’re pretty lucky having a boss like her.”

“Believe me, you’re not telling me anything
that I don’t already know,” Lisa replied. “She was so sweet to hold
my job for me.”

“I have a hunch that it was her
pleasure.”

Lisa smiled as I said it, and then she turned
back to her baby. “Justin, I know that expression on your face. Are
you doing what I think you’re doing? I
just
changed
you.”

I wasn’t about to hang around to find out
just what Justin was up to.

I walked back to the truck, and Moose frowned
as he looked over my shoulder. “What were you expecting to see?” I
asked him as I got in and buckled my seatbelt.

“What I didn’t want to see was your attorney
friend. Did you get a chance to speak with her, Victoria?”

“No, she’s in court,” I said.

As he started off toward the BBQ Pit, Moose
said, “It took you an awfully long time to determine that.”

“I had to wait for her secretary to finish
changing her baby’s diaper before I could ask about Monica,” I
admitted.

“Are you telling me that she’s keeping a baby
in the outer office?”

“Come on, it’s not like it’s some kind of
wild animal,” I said with a smile. “Lots of people have babies in
their offices.”

“Lots? Really?” Moose asked skeptically.

“Okay, maybe not lots, but I’m sure that some
of them do.”

“Fine, some offices have babies in them. Did
the new mommy happen to say when Monica was getting back?”

“She’s in court, so who knows how long that
might be,” I said. “Most likely, we won’t need her anyway. After
all, we’ve still got our diner sources, don’t we?”

“We do,” Moose said as he pulled into a spot
in front of the BBQ Pit and shut the truck engine off. “Why don’t
you tackle the waitresses, and I’ll handle Charlie.”

“You know that I’m perfectly capable of
questioning the owner myself, don’t you?” I asked.

“We both know that you’re
more
than
capable of it,” Moose said, “but if we want any answers that mean
anything, I’d better be the one asking the questions. Charlie might
tell something to another old coot that he wouldn’t say to a young
gal like you.”

“Are you calling me young just to get your
way?” I asked him with a grin.

“No, not at all. It’s just that when you’re
compared to me or Charlie, you’re
bound
to be the youngest
one in the group.”

“I’ll give you that,” I said. As we walked
in, I spotted Stacy waiting on tables. She was working the room
alone, and I wondered where Josephine had gotten off to. Was she on
break, was this her day off, or had she left the BBQ Pit
altogether? I knew that she and Stacy worked their shifts at the
diner together, though the two women seemed to have trouble getting
along with each other most of the time.

As Moose started for the kitchen to find
Charlie, I walked straight toward Stacy. “Hey there. Long time, no
see,” I said.

“Victoria, what are you doing here?” Stacy
asked with a smile as she balanced a tray overloaded with pulled
pork barbeque, baked beans, hush puppies, and cole slaw. I followed
her to a nearby table, and as she distributed the contents of her
tray, she said to me, “I’m surprised to see you during regular
working hours. Did you close up your diner just to come see
us?”

“My grandmother’s subbing for me on the job
right now,” I said. “Where’s Josephine? She didn’t leave you, did
you?”

“Are you kidding? That woman’s never going to
leave this place. She’s just taking time off to recover from a
little bit of surgery.”

“Is something wrong?” I asked with concern.
While it was true that the woman and I hadn’t gotten along all that
well earlier, I still didn’t wish that kind of problems on her.

“Don’t worry; it’s nothing serious. If you
ask me, she’s milking it for everything it is worth. It’s being all
kinds of overblown around here,” she said loudly enough for Charlie
to hear her in the back with no problem.

“How long will she be out of work?” I
asked.

“Two more days,” Stacy replied. “Listen, I’ve
got another order up, but after that, I’ve got a few minutes, if
you need them.”

“That would be great,” I said.

“Can I bring you anything while you’re
waiting?” she asked me with a mischievous grin. “You know that you
at least want a sampler plate.”

I’d had a sampler before just to be
agreeable, but I’d fallen in love with the Pit’s offerings with
that first bite. “Well, maybe a small one,” I said.

“I’ll have Charlie fix you right up,” she
said.

I knew that I was going to regret the
calories, but what I wouldn’t regret was eating the heavenly food
in the first place. The smoke ring alone on the bark of the
barbeque was enough to make my mouth water, and I found myself
thinking more about the pulled pork than I was about the murder
case. By the time Stacy came back, I was ready to eat the
countertop in front of me.

The first bite was every bit as good as I
remembered it to be, and the sweet tea was sugary enough to set off
alarm bells ringing in my head.

In other words, it was all perfect.

“So, was there a reason you and your
grandfather stopped by?”

“We’re looking for someone,” I said after
biting a hushpuppy in half and feeling the rich cornmeal explode in
my mouth.

“Anybody in particular?” she asked me as she
reached for a pitcher of sweet tea nearby and topped off my glass,
even though I’d had only two sips so far.

“There’s a young woman who lives in town
named Loretta Jenkins. She’s evidently staying with her boyfriend,
but I don’t know his name, or where to find either one of
them.”

“That’s okay,” Stacy said as an angry
expression bloomed on her face. “I know him well enough for both of
us. He happens to be my brother, and if you ask me, the two of them
deserve each other.”

MOM’S HOMEMADE CHICKEN POT PIE

We love this pot pie, and serve it
year-round. It’s especially nice when you have leftover chicken, or
turkey, for that matter. I used to make my own crusts, and you can
still do that if you’d like to, but this is a go-to meal when I
don’t feel like going to much fuss. It might be noted that we also
enjoy the tang of cranberry sauce with this meal. Don’t worry, the
canned variety is just fine. A side of butter beans are the final
touch in our household, but feel free to skip them entirely, since
there are already plenty of yummy veggies in the pie itself.

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons butter, unsalted

4 Tablespoons flour, all purpose,
unbleached

2 dashes table salt

2 dashes pepper

1 ¼ cups milk (2% or 1%)

mixed vegetables, frozen mix (12 to 19 oz)
(We like the blend with corn, peas, carrots, and green beans, but
the size depends on your pie dish and how much veggies your family
likes)

1 pie crust, from the frozen section for a
quick meal, or made from scratch if you’re feeling adventurous.

For scratch crusts only:

1/3 cup lard

1 cup flour, unbleached all purpose

1 dash salt

3-4 Tablespoons water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Next, in a large pan, melt the butter over
low heat. While the butter is melting, defrost the veggies in the
microwave, and if you’re using a store-bought crust, let that rest
on the counter at room temperature now. When the butter is melted,
remove the pan from the heat and add the flour, salt, and pepper,
mixing it all together until it’s incorporated. Put the pan back on
low heat and cook this flour/butter mixture for 2-3 minutes,
stirring repeatedly. Next, add enough milk (3-4 Tablespoons) to the
pan to make a smooth mixture. Stir this constantly, still on low
heat. When the mixture is smooth, add the rest of the milk and turn
the heat to high, stirring constantly. When the first bubble forms,
remove your pan from the heat altogether and continue stirring. Add
your frozen veggies now, mix them all in thoroughly, and then
transfer the mixture into an 8 or 9 inch pie pan. Cover it with a
store-bought crust (or the handmade one you made ahead of time),
pinching the edges and cutting slits in the top of the crust to let
steam escape during the baking process. Gently wash the top with
egg white for a shinier crust if desired before it goes into the
oven.

Bake in the 425 degree F oven for 25-35
minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Take out and
serve!

Author’s Note:

Sometimes I like to make smaller one-serving
portions using bowls that are oven-safe. These can be festive
during the holidays, when I also tend to get a little fancier with
the crusts, making lattice patterns or cutting out sections of the
dough with small cookie cutters before baking.

Handmade Crust Directions (optional)

In a small bowl, work the lard into the
flour/salt mixture with a fork until you form pea-sized pellets.
Next, sprinkle in water, one tablespoon at a time, and work that
into the pastry. Add more water in one teaspoon increments until
the mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl and the flour is
incorporated into the dough. Be careful not to add too much water
too quickly, or you’ll have a gooey mess on your hands. When you’re
happy with the results, form the pastry into a ball, flatten it
with a rolling pin to ¼ to ½ inch thickness, and then proceed with
the directions listed above.

Chapter 11

“Don’t you and your brother get along?” I
asked Stacy.

“He’s a bum, a drunk, and an ex-con who uses
people and throws them away like they’re soiled paper towels,” she
said. “The second he got out of prison, he and Loretta got
together, even though I warned her that she was ruining her life.
She says she loves him, and she must if she’s willing to put up
with what she has for his sake.”

“Why was he in prison, if you don’t mind me
asking?”

“I don’t mind a bit. I washed my hands of him
well before that happened. Steve gets mean when he’s drinking, and
a man was foolish enough to cross him when he had a full load on.
Steve beat him up pretty good, and it took three cops to pull him
off. He was sentenced to nine years in prison for aggravated
assault and a bunch of other charges, and we all kind of got used
to the peace and quiet around here. Then they decided that he was a
model prisoner, and it wouldn’t hurt to let him out early. He
served seventeen months of a nine-year sentence. That’s early, all
right. He keeps saying that he’s changed, but I’ll believe it when
I see it.”

“Do you happen to know where he is right
now?” I asked.