Finding Floyd (24 page)

"Nope, sure can't." Kyle shook his head. "I
ain't got a clue. Thanks for the breakfast. It was real good."

"Okay, we want you to catch this guy, Chris,"
said Preston. If I think of something else I'll surely let you
know. I've got to get going, or I'll be late for work. I'm thinking
this afternoon, when I get off, maybe I'll ride around out on
Franklin Pike, just to see if something looks like it could be the
place."

"Boone says he's gonna have a couple of the
deputies doing that very same thing today. Hey, you want company,"
asked Kyle. "I'll ride along. Want me to bring my .45 pistol? Just
in case? We might meet up with the kidnapper."

"No Kyle. I don't think that will be
necessary. Let's leave the gun toting to Boone's deputies," said
Preston

"Please don't consider approaching this man.
Don't hesitate to call me or the sheriff's department." Chris left
a generous tip, picked up the check, and headed for the cash
register. Something Kyle had said about the kidnapper still
bothered him, but whatever it was, it continued to elude him.

Outside the restaurant, he told them, "I
really appreciate you two helping me with this investigation.
Please tell Diane that..." He blew out a long breath and shook his
head. "Well, never mind, but thanks again." He turned to leave and
felt a tug on his sleeve.

Preston smiled and handed him a paper bag.
"Here, these ham biscuits and coffee are for you. I felt bad about
Nancy giving you such a lousy breakfast. It ain't usually the way
they treat customers, but seeing as she's kin to Boone and all, you
know how it is. You'll want these, the coffee too, if you're going
to be riding around looking for the suspect today. Good luck."

"Thanks Pres, that's real nice." Chris was
touched by his kindness.

1 small mealy potato

1/2 package dry yeast (1 1/4 teaspoon)

1/4 cup lukewarm potato water

1/2 cup milk

6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon sugar

2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour; plus more as
needed

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup butter, melted

Peel and coarsely chop the potato, cover with
water and cook until soft, about 20 minutes.

Drain the potato and put it through a ricer
or a sieve.

Measure out 1/2 cup potato and 1/4 cup potato
water.

Dissolve the yeast in the water.

Scald the milk. Add the 6 tablespoons butter
and salt. Stir until melted.

Spoon the potato pulp, sugar and warm milk
mixture into a mixing bowl and stir

Add the dissolved yeast.

Stir in the flour, beat well.

Knead the dough well on a lightly floured
surface, about 4 minutes, adding enough flour

to make a medium-stiff dough.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning it
to coat the surface.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

Leave it in a warm spot to rise until the
dough has doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Lift the dough onto a lightly floured surface
and knead for 1 minute.

Roll the dough out 1/2 inch thick and cut
with a 2-inch biscuit cutter.

Dip each biscuit completely in the melted
butter and lay them on a baking sheet.

Lightly cover with plastic wrap and leave in
a warm place until tripled in bulk, about an

hour.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Bake the biscuits until golden brown, about
10 to 15 minutes. Serve at once.

Makes about 2 dozen biscuits.

* To make ham biscuits, slit open biscuits
and fill with Country Ham, sliced as thinly as possible. If
desired, spread with your favorite mustard.

Ralph and Julia looked up from their cooking
as the girls, laughing and talking together, spilled in through the
back door. They'd taken Diane out to a hair salon to see what a
stylist could do with what was left of her hair after removing all
the sticky duct tape.

"Well?" said Diane bracing herself as she
pulled off her hat. "What do you think? I told the stylist to do
what he had to." Her beautiful long hair was gone, replaced by
large soft curls that covered her head. There really hadn't been
another option.

"You look just fine. Don't you worry about a
thing," said Ralph reassuringly. He gave her a bear hug and
growled, "Anybody makes a crack, you send them to see me."

Sniffing and wiping her eye, she gave him a
grateful smile. "Thanks, Ralph."

"She's not sure she likes the short 'do', but
I think she looks cute," said Vicky.

"It's very sweet," added Julia, standing
back, appraising the new look.

Diane sighed. "But I want to look beautiful
and sexy."

"Of course you do!" Theresa agreed. She
lifted the curls and gave them a closer look. "Just let me tame
some of these curls with my blow-dryer. You'll look amazing. Trust
me on this."

Diane sighed. "Thanks guys. I know it'll grow
back. I'm very lucky it's just my hair and nothing worse
happened."

"Thank the good Lord for that," said Julia
reaching for the big potholders that hung by the stove. "Oh.
Theresa. Your mother called twice while you were gone. She's seems
very anxious to speak with you."

"Oh madonne!" Theresa gestured rudely and
moaned. "When will that woman let me breathe? You would think this
was the most important wedding ever planned. Every tiny little
thing, she's gotta call. This morning it was the glasses. She was
worried the restaurant didn't have enough champagne glasses to
match the wine glasses. Daddy had to buy all new so they would
match. Yesterday it was the ribbon for the invitations. I love my
mother, but she's making me crazy, that woman!"

While she railed, Julia opened the oven door
and removed a large muffin tin, filling the kitchen with a
delicious aroma. She tipped out the muffins and began arranging
them along with a variety of other baked goods spread out to cool
on the counter. "What was wrong with the ribbon?" asked Vicky.

Theresa chuckled. "They substituted shell
pink for the soft pink she'd ordered."

"But I thought you liked the shell pink?"
said Vicky. "The soft pink didn't look quite as nice with the
paper."

Theresa laughed. "That's why we chose
it."

Vicky shook her head. "I don't get it."

"We kind of work around Ma. She changes her
mind, one day to the next. The people printing the invitations know
what I want, no matter what Ma says."

Diane went over to where Julia was working
and inhaled deeply, "It smells wonderful in here."

Julia smiled. "I made some of my
chocolate-chocolate chip muffins. I thought you all might be hungry
when you got back."

"Wow! These are awesome, Julia," breathed
Diane, leaning over the steaming pile and inhaling. "Warm
chocolate."

"Go ahead and have one."

"Thanks." She bit into the muffin and moaned,
"Ummm, comfort food."

"Hey! I'm hungry too!" Vicky joined her,
indulging in the soft muffin, studded with melted chocolate
chips.

Theresa crossed the kitchen, rat-tatting in
her tiny red sling-backs, to where Ralph had something mysterious
simmering away in a large pot. She peeked under the lid. Vicky's
beautiful little Italian cousin was always looking for new dishes
to serve in her family's restaurant's. "Oh my god! Ralph! Isn't
this your delicious New England Clam Chowder?"

"Well...yeah." Ralph grinned at her, pleased
that she'd remembered. "It's always better the next day, so I made
it ahead for tomorrow. Julia says, being Saturday, we'll probably
have a dozen people at least for breakfast, maybe hanging around
through lunch."

"So you're serving lunch now?" Theresa asked.
"That's a great idea.

"People gotta eat, don't they? Besides, Julia
says Sandy's parents used to serve meals all week on season. The
guys mentioned that you're all going downtown to hear that
Bluegrass music tonight and might want to eat there, so I, well,
Julia and I, wanted to make something quick and easy for this
afternoon, in case you wanted a little snack. Julia's gonna make
one of her southern specialties, skillet cornbread, to serve with
the soup."

"Can I help with anything?"

"No. Thanks anyway, but everything's under
control here." Ralph looked across the room and suggested, "Why
don't you ladies go relax in the other room by the fire. I got
something special cooked up for you to try."

"I hope it's food," laughed Vicky. "We didn't
stop for lunch."

Theresa's phone began to softly trill the
opening notes of The Tarantella, the popular Italian wedding song.
When she saw her cousin's look, she sighed and admitted, "Yeah Vic,
I turned my phone back on."

"Tell Aunt Rose I love her."

"Excuse me, I gotta take this." Theresa
rolled her eyes as she answered, "Ma? Yeah, I'm right here. Yeah.
Victoria's right here. She sends her love. Yeah. Okay. What?" She
gave a little wave and nodding at her phone, drifted into the
living room.

As the others began to follow, Ralph caught
Diane's eye and motioned her over. "Honey, the short hair really
does do something for you. I'm not just saying that. You're a
beautiful girl."

"Oh Ralph, thank you. I'm so glad you decided
to come here. Everybody misses you in Pippin's Grove." She gave the
big man another hug. Sniffling a little, she dabbed at her eyes.
"You know," she said, lowering her voice. "I think Julia's glad
you're here too."

"Ah, go on. Get outta here." He actually
blushed, from his neck, all the way to the top of his bullet shaped
bald head.

Diane trailed after the others and slipped
into her favorite recliner.

Theresa was pacing the floor and nodding her
head. "Okay, Ma. Sounds good. You do whatever. I'm sure it'll be
fine." There was a pause. "I'm sure John will love it too. Okay,
bye. I love you too. Okay, bye bye."

Vicky tossed a few sticks of wood on the fire
and stirred the coals. "What was the matter this time?"

"She had to decide on the wedding cake
fillings by this afternoon. She wanted to know if we wanted
strawberry or chocolate rum, so she decided on the strawberry in a
white cake."

Vicky looked at her and frowned. "Didn't you
and John decide on alternating tiers of dark chocolate with almond
filling and golden vanilla with lemon butter? I thought it was such
a great idea having two flavors. People always like having a
choice."

Theresa grinned. "John and I made all these
decisions weeks ago. We left strict instructions with everyone to
ignore my mom during these last weeks before the wedding."

"Why would you do such a thing to your poor
mother?" Vicky was shocked. "Aunt Rose is doing so much to make
sure this wedding is perfect."

"Vic, my mother has been planning my wedding
since the day the doctor smacked my bottom and said 'It's a girl!'
She's so wound up she can't remember what she's decided one day to
the next." She plopped down on the sofa and let out a sigh.

"So you're what? Cutting her out?"

"No, not really. She was right there with us
when John and I made all our decisions. We drove Ma around and did
it all together. We were all done weeks ago."

"So, what happened?"

"She started calling up our venders and
changing things. At first we thought, 'What the hell.' but after a
while, John took charge, stepped in and put everything in writing.
Now, I just agree to whatever she says. We're happy. She's happy.
Most of all, our venders are happy. They were starting to get a
little pissed, with ma changing things all the time."

"Well, I guess whatever works," said Vicky
doubtfully. "But what happens on your wedding day? When she finds
out."

"Don't worry, Vic. My mother is so thrilled
that I'm getting married and she loves John so much, she won't even
notice. I think she's already decided on the names of our first
four children. I gotta say, John is really patient with Ma. You
know, on the outside he's the big tough guy, little rough on the
edges, but inside, he's as sweet and soft as a marshmallow."

When they all laughed, Theresa just stared
soberly. "Seriously. You don't know my mother. She called the
church and reserved the date when I not only wasn't engaged; John
and I weren't even speaking to each other."

Julia looked startled. "Oh my. I see. So,
when is the wedding dear?"

"Beginning of June. Two months of craziness
to go."

"I'm sure it will be lovely," said Julia.

Diane popped the last of her muffin in her
mouth and asked, "Have you heard anything? Did they arrest that
horrible man yet?"

"Horrible man? You mean that bastard, Agent
Chris Owen?" quipped Theresa.

Julia gave the younger women an indulgent
smile before answering. "I don't believe so. Sheriff Boone called
me this morning and promised to let us know immediately when they
find him. The entire force is out searching for this Toricello
person, including the state police."

"Whatta ya gonna do?" Theresa flopped down on
the couch next to Vicky. "Stop worrying you guys. The cops will get
him. How far could he get?" She poked her cousin. Hey. What's Ralph
got for us?"

"I hope it's something to eat! I'm still
hungry." Diane leaned back, closed her eyes and as soon as she did
cell phones around the room began to ping. She reached for her own
and was alarmed when she read the text. She asked, "Julia, did you
see what Sandy says about her mother?"

"Oh dear! The poor dear." murmured Julia as
they stared at the texts, tapping in their responses.

"What's the matter?" asked Theresa.

"Yes. It's just terrible." Julia shook her
head.

"What?" Vicky wanted to know. "What's
terrible?"

"It's Sandy," said Diane. "Whatever that flu
virus was that went through the cruise ship must have been awful.
She says her mom is in the hospital now on an IV because she can't
keep anything down."