Condolence casseroles, p.14
Condolence Casseroles, page 14
part #3 of Red Herring Inn Series
“Bambi, I only got my badge back a few hours ago. Give me a chance to get out in front of this investigation before you start making a fuss.”
“I haven’t even begun to make a fuss, so you’d better get your tail feathers back in the game soon or I’m gonna have you plucked.”
Bambi didn’t even bother acknowledging Q’Bita as she stormed past.
Andy still stood in the hallway looking at her, and Q’Bita felt her cheeks warming.
“Before you start, no, I’m not proud of myself. I know that she’s your past and I’m your future but she just pushes my buttons sometimes and I can’t help myself.”
Q’Bita could see a small smile forming on Andy’s face.
“What are you smirking at?”
“Just thinking how nice it is to have two women fight over me. Feeds the old ego.”
“Speaking of feeding, can we go to dinner now? I’m starving, and I have a bunch of things to tell you.”
“General stuff that can be discussed over bar-b-que, or Nancy Drew stuff that’s going to make me wish I had pie?”
Now it was Q’Bita’s turn to smirk.
“Definitely pie.”
***
Q’Bita and Andy agreed to enjoy their dinner first and talk about the case second. Technically, it was Andy’s suggestion as soon as he discovered the lemon meringue pie on the dessert menu, and Q’Bita didn’t have the heart to challenge him on it.
The food had been amazing, as usual, and she had just finished telling him everything she and Jamie had dug up when her phone buzzed.
“Jamie?” Andy asked.
“Actually, it’s Rene. I’m guessing he got my peace offering.”
“Hey, Rene.”
“Don’t you hey me. If you think that my forgiveness can be bought with a few paltry cookies and some flowers, then you underestimate the depth of my rage. You have wronged me, and while I have no objection to eating my feelings, you are just going to have to try harder. If I were you, I’d start by making sure that the brunch you treat me to tomorrow includes that tropical bread pudding with dark rum caramel sauce that I like. I’d insist that you have it ready for breakfast, but I’ll be too busy being beside myself with grief while your intended hauls my husband off to jail. It will be at least 11 a.m. before I’ve recovered enough to eat. Mango Bellinis would also be a nice touch.”
Q’Bita didn’t get a word in before Rene hung up.
“Guess he’s still mad?” Andy asked.
“Actually, he’s fine. He pretended to be offended while demanding brunch. Letting me feed him is his way of accepting my apology. It’s what we do.”
“Good. I’d hate to have the Scooby Gang break up. I just might need your help solving this case.”
Chapter 18
Early the next morning Andy and Q’Bita made their way to the kitchen to join her family for a breakfast meeting. After the meeting, Andy and Beecher would head to the station, and Beecher would be booked. Q’Bita’s feet felt like they were made of heavy stone as she shuffled toward what she was sure was going to be an unpleasant scene.
She was surprised to hear laughing as they got closer to the kitchen.
“Well, it sounds like business as usual in there. Maybe this won’t be so bad, after all,” Andy said.
“Definitely not what I expected. I’m guessing Rene isn’t here yet.”
Andy held open the door and Q’Bita walked in to find her entire family, as well as Evie, Jamie, and Hadleigh, all huddled together, having coffee and muffins. The conversation ground to an uncomfortable halt as soon as they saw Q’Bita and Andy. Thankfully, her nana broke the silence quickly.
“Good morning, you two. Pull up a stool and get you some breakfast.”
“Q’Bita can have breakfast. Judas Iscariot can just go back in the pantry and get himself cold cereal. These muffins are for family, not traitors.”
“Rene, what have we discussed?”
Q’Bita held her breath as she watched the back-and-forth between her brother and his husband. This was the explosion she’d been expecting—she just hoped it didn’t get too ugly.
“Fine. Andrew, you may partake of a muffin if you wish, but just know that because of your treachery, they were made with hands that will soon be cramped and chaffed from clutching a tear-soaked, 800-thread count Egyptian cotton handkerchief.”
Andy gave Q’Bita a 'help me' look.
“Rene, it was very nice of you to make breakfast for everyone,” Q’Bita said sweetly.
“I was afraid if I left it up to you, everything would be tainted with the taste of bitter betrayal.”
“Rene. I thought we agreed that you were not going to overreact, and that we were going to be polite and cordial this morning,” Beecher said.
“Okay, fine, we’ll do it your way but I’m still angry at these two, and if this doesn’t all get resolved before lunch, I cannot be responsible for my actions.”
“Now, princess, don't go getting your panties all wadded up. I didn’t come over there this morning just to see your puss,” Evie said.
“Not to make matters worse, but I was kind of wondering why you were here myself. I thought you’d still be at the hospital with Cane,” Andy said.
“Cane’s doing fine, and there’s something he wanted me to tell you, Andy.”
The kitchen suddenly got even quieter than when Q’Bita and Andy had first walked in.
“Cane says that right before he got hit he looked up at the ridgeline to get a sense of where they were and saw Beecher about 200 yards out in front of them. He swears there’s no way Beecher could have been the one to shoot that bolt.”
“Oh, sweet baby Ruth, I—”
“Hush, Rene. Let the grown folk talk.”
“It’s okay, Liddy Lou, Rene’s right; this is good news. If Cane’s willing to give me a sworn statement, I can hold off on taking Beecher in for now,” Andy said.
“For now? What does that mean? Are you saying that Beecher might still be arrested?” Rene asked.
“No, but there’s a bunch of evidence that points to Beecher and I need to figure out why that is.”
“Can’t evidence be wrong?” Hadleigh asked.
“Ya, I suppose it can, but Clarity Fessler is one of the best techs I’ve ever worked with and it’s not like her to be so far off the mark. What she came up with was pretty solid stuff.”
“I thought Clarity was part of the hunt group. If she was there when this happened, can she even legally work the case?” Jamie asked.
“She ended up having to work and didn’t make it to the hunt. I know she was disappointed, but it turned out to be lucky for us, because I wouldn’t want anyone else collecting or handling the evidence in this case,” Andy said.
Andy gave Q’Bita a kiss on top of the head and reached for a muffin.
“Probably best if I just take this to go. I’m going to grab Mikey then head over to the hospital. Tom, can you call Kent Haskell and let him know what’s going on and see if he can stall Judge Tanner until I talk to Cane?”
“What about Beecher?” Rene asked.
Andy stopped part-way to the door and turned back.
“Beecher, I hate to ask, but can you stay put until I get with Judge Tanner?”
Rene reached across the table, picked up another muffin and handed it to Andy.
“Here, take two. They’re small, and the more energy you have the faster this can all be resolved.”
Andy winked at Q’Bita then thanked Rene.
“Don’t think for one second that this means you don’t have to make me brunch, Q’Bita. I realize now that Andy was just doing his job but you had no excuse. Adding copious amounts of bacon to the menu may just absolve you of your crimes against our relationship, and it had better be extra crispy but not blackened.”
“What’s the matter, Queenie, you go something against Cajun food?” Evie taunted.
And just like that, everything seemed to be back to normal, at least for now. Q’Bita only hoped it stayed that way for a few hours.
***
After they’d finished their breakfast and everyone had cleared out of the kitchen, Q’Bita got busy making brunch. Cooking was the one thing that had always soothed her soul. Something about the quiet solitude of an empty kitchen and the rhythmic motion of chopping and slicing just infused her with a sense of calm when everything else around her was in chaos.
She went to the pantry and grabbed dried apricots, papayas, sour cherries and a bottle of Gosling’s Black Seal dark rum. Its hints of vanilla and candied fruit paired well with the tropical flavors in this recipe, and a small shot for the chef was just the little guilty pleasure she needed right now. If a little nip here and there was good enough for Julia Child, it was good enough for her.
She diced the dried fruit and gave it a soak in a few tablespoons of the Gosling’s to rehydrate it then went to the walk-in to fetch her wet ingredients. On the way back she pulled the perfectly toasted challah bread out of the oven and sat it on the counter until she was ready to tear it. The key to a perfect bread pudding was in the bread itself. It needed to absorb the custard but still hold its structure, and nothing worked better than challah in Q’Bita’s opinion.
She was mixing the custard when Jamie came back into the kitchen.
“Hey, Q’B-Doll, what’s shaking?”
“Hey, Jamie. Did Hadleigh leave already?”
“Ya, she headed back to the office. She wouldn’t admit it but this whole thing with Beecher had her all worked up. They’re in the middle of negotiating a huge retail deal for the Macie Dixon Line and she’s worried about what will happen if Beecher gets arrested. I guess we all are, really.”
“Well, hopefully it won’t come to that.”
“I hope you’re right, Q’Bita.”
“Okay, I’ve known you long enough to know when you’re up to something. Wanna tell me what you’re up to?”
“Man, you’re good. I’m glad you’re not a cop.”
“No worries there—I could never follow all those rules. Now, spill it.”
“I know that Andy has been pretty good about looking the other way while I do a little hacking here and there, and I don’t want to take advantage of that, but something’s been bothering me since this all started. I kind of need to go behind his back to check into it and I was hoping you’d say it was okay.”
“Jamie, I trust your gut, and as long as it helps clear Beecher, you have my blessing to do whatever you need to do. But do not get caught.”
“Girl, please—”
“Yes, I know, you got skillz. It’s not your skills that worry me, it’s what nana will do to me if you get in trouble again.”
“She’d flay us both.”
“Exactly, so be careful.”
Once Jamie was gone, Q'Bita finished putting together the bread pudding and got it in the oven. She carefully toasted a batch of coconut and made the dark rum caramel sauce then decided to go one step further and make some crème anglaise for added decadence.
She had just pulled the bacon off the griddle when Evie and her nana came into the kitchen.
“Hello, darling. Mind if we make a pot of tea before we head to the hospital?”
“Not at all. Why don’t you two sit down, and I’ll put on the water and grab some cookies?”
“Thank you, Q’Bita. I could use a little comfort cookie before I get back there and have to deal with more of Miss Crystal,” Evie moaned.
“I thought Cane broke things off with her.”
“Oh, he did, but now that she knows her mama ain’t dying and there won’t be no insurance check coming, she’s been back, sniffing around Cane, trying to convince him that baby’s his.”
Q’Bita stopped halfway to the stove and rushed back to the table.
“Evie, did you just say something about an insurance check?”
“Lord, yes, you know how dramatic she and her mama are. Bambi was convinced she was dying of cancer last week, and Crystal had her all but dead and buried. The greedy minx even went to see Bob Franklin to find out how quick she could get her grubby hands on Bambi’s insurance money. Turns out it was nothing more than a bladder infection. I curse the day my Cane ever got involved with that tramp.”
“Damn. That’s what I get for trusting Hilde Sanders.”
“What’s wrong, Q’Bita?” Liddy Lou asked.
“Hilde told me about Crystal’s visit to Bob Franklin. Between that and hearing that Cane had broken things off with her, I jumped to the conclusion that maybe Crystal was somehow behind all this. It made more sense than Beecher being the shooter. I guess I'd better call Andy and let him know that he has one less suspect to present to Judge Tanner.”
Andy took the news better than Q’Bita had anticipated. Cane had given him a full statement that seemed to exonerate Beecher, at least for now, but it still didn’t explain the evidence or point to who the shooter was. Until they resolved that, there was still the possibility that Beecher would get the blame.”
Q’Bita excused herself and went to find Jamie. She found him in the office, hunched over his laptop. He was so focused on what he was doing that he didn’t even know she’d come in.
“What’s so fascinating?”
Jamie jumped and gave her an annoyed look.
“Crap on a cracker, Q’Bita. You scared the hell out of me.”
“I doubt that. There’s probably too much hell in you to ever completely leave your body.”
“Very funny. I’m working here, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“That’s why I’m here. Evie just blew Crystal off the suspect list. I need you to focus everything you've got on Hank Morgan. If he isn’t our guy, then we need to start considering the thought that Cane wasn’t the target and Put was. I pray we don’t have to go down that road, because I can’t imagine how long that suspect list would be, and it would put Beecher right back at the top of the list.”
“As usual, I’m already a step ahead of you. I think I found something that might help with that, but your luv chicken isn’t going to like it.”
Jamie turned his laptop around so Q’Bita could see the screen. On it was an article about the man that Put had turned in to the EPA for taking bribes. At the top was a picture of the man and his wife and daughter walking into court for his hearing.
“I’m not sure I understand how this helps, Jamie.”
“Q’Bita, look closely at the picture. Does the daughter look familiar to you at all?”
Q’Bita pinched the screen to enlarge the picture and gasped.
“Oh my God, it looks like Clarity Fessler.”
“Bingo. Her real name is Clarity Conrad. Fessler is her mother’s maiden name.”
“Before I call Andy, are you one hundred percent sure about this, Jamie?”
“Two hundred percent sure. I felt like something was off since the beginning, when she was able to find all that evidence pointing to Beecher in less than a day. She claims to have talked to a company in Utah that gave her purchase info. It just didn’t add up. Utah is three hours behind us, and she knew this by 9 a.m. our time. No way she talked to someone on the phone. That means she either hacked their records or she lied. I checked. No one hacked their records; I’d be able to tell.”
Q’Bita grabbed her cell phone and called Andy. He was a little argumentative at first but came around eventually. He told her to keep a lid on this until he figured out what to do.
The next few hours were sheer torture. She hated keeping secrets from her family and almost blurted out everything during brunch but managed to somehow get through it. When Andy finally arrived back at the Red Herring, it was almost dinner time and he looked exhausted.
“I know you’re chomping at the bit to know what happened but can it wait until I’ve had a slice of pie and a beer?”
“Wow, pie and beer? This must be a hell of a story.”
Q’Bita had been keeping a chocolate stout ice box pie on reserve for a special occasion but this seemed like the right time to pull it out. She cut the pie in fourths and pulled two ice-cold beers from the walk-in. She stuck a fork in one of the slices and set it down in front of Andy, along with one of the beers.
He polished off the first slice and half the beer without looking up then let out a less than graceful burp.
“Man, today sucked. Y’all will be glad to know that all charges against Beecher have been dropped. Orvis and I confronted Clarity and she broke down and admitted everything. She never meant to hurt Cane; she was aiming for Put. I just can’t believe this is how it all turned out. She seemed like such a smart kid, with her whole life in front of her.”
Q’Bita stayed quiet and let Andy talk.
“I know that what she did was wrong, and innocent people got hurt, but I still can’t help feeling sorry for her.”
“Maybe it’s because you see yourself in her, Andy.”
“Q’Bita, don’t be ridiculous. I might lose my temper once in a while but I’d never try to kill anyone.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. I just mean that you understand what it’s like to have a parent taken from you and to want justice for what happened. That kind of hurt either breaks you or makes you stronger. The two of you took different paths down the same road.”
Andy was quiet for a minute and then drained the last of his beer.
“I see what you’re saying and I appreciate it. You’re a smart woman, and I’m glad you and I found each other on that road.”
Q’Bita reached out and squeezed Andy’s hand.
“Me too.”
She let Andy finish another slice of pie while she grabbed him another beer. When she got back she could hear Rene and Beecher coming across the driveway. Andy looked up at her and smiled.
“I guess we’d better tell everyone the good news… but I’m not sharing this pie.”
Epilogue
Two days later everything was mostly back to normal. Rene and Evie were bickering over some soap opera while her nana ignored them both and did most of the prep work for that night’s class. Q’Bita was going over the reservations for the following week with Jamie and was happy to see they had a full inn, which meant Alain would either need to find somewhere else to stay or remain in the barn until he returned to France.
