Food, Family, and Murder

by Patti Benning

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  FOOD, FAMILY, AND MURDER

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  Food,

  Family,

  And

  Murder

  Asheville Cozy Mysteries

  Book Six

  By

  Patti Benning

  Copyright 2018 Summer Prescott Books

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.

  **This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.

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  FOOD,

  FAMILY,

  AND

  MURDER

  Asheville Cozy Mysteries

  Book Six

  CHAPTER ONE

  * * *

  Autumn Roth put her car into park and checked her reflection in the rear-view mirror to make sure that the wind from the open window hadn’t tugged any strands of hair out of her ponytail. It was a pleasantly warm afternoon, and for the first time since starting her job at Asheville Meadows, the local nursing home, she wished that she was anywhere but at work.

  She still loved her job. What she didn't love was the incessant hum and drone of the saws, bulldozers, and sledgehammers that pierced through the kitchen walls. She and the rest of the staff were already heartily sick of the noise, and they still had months of this stretching out in front of them. What must the residents think of it all? She knew it would drive her insane to live next to a construction site day in and day out. Maybe I should buy Uncle Al and Aunt Lucy a pair of earmuffs, she thought.

  Satisfied that her hair was still in place, she grabbed her purse and got out of the car. It was a Tuesday, not a particularly busy day for visitors at the nursing home, but there were a couple of other cars in the parking lot. She recognized Nick's vehicle, as well as the small silver sedan that her coworker, Emily drove. She smiled to herself as she walked up to the door. She liked Emily; the young woman had worked with her at the Green River Grocery before the store closed and was just as much of a help here at the nursing home. It was good to have a familiar face around. As the cook, she didn't spend much time with the rest of the staff, and even though she had been working there for a few months so far, she didn’t feel as though she had gotten to know them very well.

  Well, other than Nick, of course. She had gotten to know the director quite well, in fact. She had been dating him since shortly after Christmas and was gradually becoming more comfortable with the idea of being involved with someone who was technically her boss.

  Sometimes it took her by surprise to remember how differently her life was now than it had been at this time last year. Even though she missed some of her coworkers from the grocery store, all in all, she was much happier now than she had been in the past. Having a job that she was passionate about made all the difference, though she supposed having a wonderful boyfriend didn't hurt either.

  She had enjoyed cooking for as long as she could remember. As a child, her dream had been to open her own restaurant and be the head chef. As an adult, she realized just how much work that was, though the dream of owning a restaurant hadn't completely faded. Working at the nursing home was a close second to being a chef in a nice restaurant, and in some ways, it was better; she had less pressure, the schedule was far less busy, and the clientele was much nicer.

  She pushed open the first set of double doors, then punched in the security code that would unlock the second set. Security had been increased when the construction crew had arrived the week before, and now the code would change twice a week. Nick had given her the new code just last night, and she waited now, as she used it for the first time, hoping that she had gotten it right. The light on the lock turned green, and she opened the door with a sigh of relief. She was certain that one of these days she would get the code wrong and be forced to buzz for entry, and while that wouldn't be the end of the world, it would be embarrassing. She still felt like a little bit of an outsider, and she didn't need anything else to make her stand out apart from the other staff.

  Once inside, she made a beeline for the administration offices, where she hung her purse on a hook and glanced toward Nick’s door, which was shut. A shut door meant that he was either on the phone, in a meeting, or not in his office at all. Either way, she knew that he would come and find her soon. He always seemed to know when she was in the building and made a point of stopping by to say hi to her, even when he was busy with other tasks.

  There was something that she wanted to do before going to the kitchen, and she had arrived a little bit early just to make sure that she would have time for it. Her uncle's birthday wasn't for nearly a month yet, but she had met with her mother just last weekend, and her mother had given a gift to Autumn to give to him; tickets to a baseball game in three weeks’ time. Autumn wanted to give them to him now so that he could look forward to the game. She hoped that her Aunt Lucinda would be healthy enough to go along with him, and she had already called Nick and arranged for herself to have the day off so that she could take them.

  She found her aunt and uncle in their room, a pleasant small apartment that they shared that included a bedroom, a bathroom, a living area, and a small kitchenette with a microwave, a sink, and some cupboards. It was cozy, and the two of them had managed to make it feel like home.

  She knocked on the door and pushed it open when she heard the muffled “Come in!” Her uncle rose from his seat, smiling.

  “Autumn, it's nice to see you,” he said. “Your Aunt Lucy and I were just about to make our way down to the common area. We were hoping to catch you coming in.”

  “I can walk you down there on my way to the kitchen,” she offered. “I don't have long, but I wanted to visit you first. I have something from my mom for you.”

  “Really?” Her uncle looked pleasantly su
rprised. His sister didn't visit very often, and Autumn knew that he often felt as if she had forgotten them. Autumn knew that her mother didn't mean it personally. She just got… busy. She didn't visit Autumn very much either, and while their relationship was strained, Autumn was beginning to realize that her mother was the way that she was, and it had nothing to do with the rest of her family.

  “Yes, I think you'll like it. It's an early birthday gift.” She handed over the envelope and watched as the older man opened it, leaning heavily on his crutch. He had lost a leg years ago but managed to get around pretty well on his own, usually refusing help from others even when it would have made his life easier.

  “Wow,” he said, letting out a low whistle. “She's outdone herself this time. Thanks, Autumn. Tell her that I'm really looking forward to this. Actually, I'll tell her myself. I'll give her a call this evening.”

  “I'm sure she'll be happy to hear from you,” Autumn said. “Are you ready to go down to the common area? I should be getting started on lunch.”

  “Just a second,” her uncle said. He put the tickets away and carefully stashed the envelope in the cupboard above the microwave, then turned to his wife and began telling her quietly about the baseball game they would be attending as he undid the locks on her wheelchair and pushed her forward, leaning heavily on the handles. Autumn took over as soon as he got her aunt’s chair out of the corner, and they walked down to the common area together.

  Nick was already there. She made sure that her aunt's wheelchair was safely parked next to her uncle's favorite comfortable armchair and gave both of them a quick hug before turning to the director, who had been chatting with a couple of the residents. He smiled and waved to her, then excused himself from the conversation so he could come over and say hello.

  “It's good to see you,” he said. “I thought we might have scared you away, with all the commotion.”

  “I thought about buying some earplugs, but then I might miss the oven beeping at me.”

  “It's going to be a long summer,” he admitted. “It will be worth it when it's done, though.”

  She nodded. The construction crew was adding an entire new wing to the nursing home, which would allow them to take in more residents. She was excited to see what the new wing would offer and knew that a lot of the current residents were as well. The more independent ones would be moving there once the construction was complete, leaving the rooms closer to the dining room and common area available for the residents who had limited mobility or more severe needs.

  “Still, I'll be glad to have this coming weekend off,” Nick said. “That reminds me…” He hesitated, and Autumn was surprised when she realized that he looked nervous. “I'm having a family get together over the weekend. Would you like to come with me?”

  Autumn couldn't help it; she smiled. She and Nick had been taking their relationship slowly, and she thought that the fact that he wanted her to meet his family could only be a good sign. A weekend spent getting to know the people that Nick was closest with… it sounded good to her.

  “I would love to,” she said.

  “Okay. Good.” He smiled back. “I'll make sure you have Monday off, as well. We're going to do a big brunch before everyone goes home. Thanks, Autumn. I'm looking forward to introducing you to everyone.”

  “And I'm looking forward to meeting everyone,” she said truthfully. “Now, I'd better get to work. Lunch isn't going to cook itself.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  * * *

  On Saturday morning, Autumn woke up early; a habit that she had been developing ever since she started working at Asheville Meadows. With breakfast at seven, she often had to be there by six, which meant waking up at a quarter past five at the latest. Even though she didn't work on weekends, the habit stuck with her, and she had found herself naturally waking up earlier and earlier. Frankie, who was usually eager to get the day started, had turned out not to be a huge fan of Autumn's new habit. The little cairn terrier blinked at her from her nest in the blankets and tucked her nose under her tail, trying to get back to sleep. Autumn smiled fondly at the little dog and slipped out of the bedroom, shutting the lights off. If Frankie wanted to sleep for another hour or so until the sun was well and truly up, Autumn wouldn't be the one to stop her.

  She felt a flutter of nerves in her stomach as she began making coffee. Today was the day. The day that she was going to meet Nick's family. She told herself that it was ridiculous that she felt anxious about it; he had already met most of her family, after all. Still, it seemed like an important step. She liked him, quite a bit, and was worried that she might mess something up. What if they don't like me? She thought. What if they don't think I'm good enough for him?

  She froze in the middle of reaching for her favorite mug. She realized that she hadn't even thought until then about what they would think of Nick dating somebody who was working for him. What if they thought that she was just fishing for a higher salary or promotion? She wondered what Nick had told his family about their relationship so far.

  This morning is going to last forever, she thought. Nick wasn't picking her up until eleven, which meant that she had quite a few hours to kill before leaving for the family reunion. Suddenly the thought of spending the next few hours pacing around the house, working herself up into a frenzy was unbearable. Leaving the mug where it was, she tiptoed into her room and grabbed her cell phone, sending a quick text out to two of her best friends; Alicia and Bonnie. If anyone could help her feel better, it was them.

  “I don’t know that I’ve ever been to your house quite so early,” Alicia said not long later as she barged in through the front door. “And I thought that I was a morning person.”

  “I’ve started to like waking up before the sun,” Autumn said. “I enjoy having a few extra hours in the day. Right now, though, I'm wishing that I had slept in. I'm driving myself crazy, thinking about this family reunion of Nick’s.”

  “Why?” her friend asked. “I mean, I don't understand why you're so worried about it. Nick likes you, obviously. His family will like you, too.”

  “All his family will know about me is what he tells them,” Autumn pointed out. “And I'm sure all they know right now is that I have red hair, and I work at the nursing home. I'm worried they aren’t going to like the fact that I work for him.”

  “That's silly,” Alicia said. “This is Nick's family, remember? I'm sure they're all perfectly nice, just like he is. And you're the only one who has ever cared that he’s your boss. It's not like you're a normal staff member, anyway. All you do is show up there to make meals. You're kind of like… a contract worker, or something.”

  “I guess,” Autumn said, feeling only marginally better.

  “Well, there is a solution if you're going to keep feeling this way.”

  “What?”

  “Quit and find another job. Work in a restaurant.”

  Autumn sighed. “I don't know if I'd enjoy working in a restaurant, at least not one as fast-paced as –”

  The doorbell rang, sending Frankie, who had gotten up only a few minutes ago when Alicia got there, into a fit of barking. Autumn got up and pulled the front door open to find her friend, Bonnie, standing on the step. Bonnie was a shy, brown-haired woman who worked in the mayor's office, who had started a friendship with Alicia and Autumn only a couple of months before. Autumn had come to trust the woman, and liked her quite a bit. She often brought a perspective to the table that neither Autumn nor Alicia had, and was the most thoughtful out of the three of them.

  “Come on in,” Autumn said, maneuvering to keep Frankie from dashing out the door. “There's coffee, and if you haven't eaten yet, I think I've got some oatmeal somewhere.”

  “I brought muffins,” Bonnie said, holding up a paper bag. “And I got my own coffee, but I finished it already. I always stop at the café in the morning when I leave the house.”

  “I wish I passed it on the way to work,” Autumn sighed, shutting the door behind her friend. “I love
their coffee.”

  Frankie was dancing around with excitement by then. Bonnie ignored her until she put the bag of muffins on the counter, then bent down to pet the little dog.

  “I got something for you, too,” she crooned. “The café has started making dog cookies. I'll give it to you now if your mom says you can have it.”

  “Go ahead,” Autumn said, smiling. “It will make her day.”

  She watched as Bonnie reached into the bag and pulled out a bone shaped cookie. She handed over to the little dog, who took it greedily and dashed away to eat it.

  “They said it's made with all human grade ingredients. One of us could probably eat it, but apparently, it tastes like chicken.”

  After that, she handed out the muffins. Autumn took her cinnamon muffin and cut it in half to spread butter over it. She bit into it, closing her eyes at the warm, sweet cinnamon flavor. Her friends were starting to make her feel better, and she felt a rush of gratitude.

  “Thanks for coming over, you two. I'm sorry that I was freaking out earlier. I guess… I'm just still not sure what Nick thinks of our relationship.”