Death of a Blueberry Tart

by Lee Hollis

  She heard Bruce descending the stairs. He sneezed loudly, causing both Hayley and Sheila to jump. When he reached the bottom and rounded the corner toward the kitchen, he was lugging the cat carrier. Through the wire mesh she could plainly see the wide angry eyes of her cat, Blueberry, glaring at her. He knew something was up but hadn’t figured out what it was yet.

  Bruce opened his mouth and sneezed again, and then grabbed a dish towel off the kitchen counter to wipe his nose. He set the carrier down on the high-top table in the breakfast nook.

  Sheila bent her knees so she was eye to eye with Blueberry, staring at his grumpy face through the carrier. “How about it, Blueberry? Are you ready to go on an adventure with me?”

  “I really appreciate you taking him with you, Sheila,” Bruce said.

  “Consider it my wedding present to you and Hayley,” Sheila said, laughing.

  Hayley chuckled, pretending to be light-hearted about the whole thing, but inside she was full of sadness. It had not been an easy decision. Bruce had dialed back his insistence that she make a Sophie’s choice—the cat went or he did. He knew Blueberry had been around a lot longer than him and he was not about to break his new wife’s heart by getting rid of one of her beloved pets. It had been Hayley’s idea to ask Sheila if she would consider adopting him and taking him home to Florida with her. Sheila at first appeared surprised that Hayley would give him up, but when Hayley explained how miserable Bruce was with his cat allergies, she quickly warmed to the idea. She needed something to dote on, and an ill-tempered blue Persian cat was the perfect solution. Bruce was more than happy to pay the extra hundred and fifty dollars the airline charged to bring the cat carrier on board, and Hayley had already shipped a box of Blueberry’s favorite toys and snacks ahead of time to her mother’s house in order to make the adjustment to his new home easier.

  But now that the day was here, and it was time to say goodbye to Blueberry, she was a blubbering emotional mess. They had never had an easy relationship, not since the day she had decided to take him in after his previous owner, an elderly local woman named Imogen Tubbs, had been hospitalized following a car accident. The first night in Hayley’s house, Blueberry had peed on the living room rug and managed to alienate just about everybody, including Gemma and Dustin, Hayley herself, and especially her dog Leroy, who he habitually terrorized. After Mrs. Tubbs recovered but had to leave town rather unexpectedly, Hayley made the fateful decision to keep Blueberry, for better or worse.

  But she had also made the same vow to Bruce, not that she was comparing her new husband to a fat, cantankerous cat, but she knew what she had to do.

  Hayley slowly approached the carrier and noticed Leroy sitting in the corner of the kitchen near the door to the basement, smiling, almost joyous, as his little mind was processing that his arch nemesis was leaving on a trip somewhere, and he would finally find a little peace. Hayley could only imagine how he would be running in circles, tickled pink, if he actually knew it was permanent and that the moody cat was never coming back. Hayley lowered her face and smiled at Blueberry, her throat catching as she spoke, but determined not to cry again. “You behave and be a good cat for Mom, okay, Blueberry?”

  She knew that was an impossible request, but she didn’t want Sheila realizing the difficulty of the job she was taking on and getting any second thoughts.

  Blueberry just stared blankly at her, nonplussed. For a moment, she expected him to just shrug and say, “Whatever.” But he didn’t. He had his usual look of perpetual annoyance, but she did hear him purring. Talk about a complicated feline. She decided to take the soft purring as a compliment, a clear indication that he might have a soft spot for this woman who had cared for him the past seven years. When she poked her finger through the wire mesh to stroke the top of his head between the ears, he reared back and hissed at her.

  Nope, he was not going to give her the satisfaction.

  He was going to be obstinate until the end.

  Bruce turned to Sheila, his eyes watery and his nose stuffed, and said, “Good luck.”

  Sheila smiled at her new cat through the wire mesh of the carrier. “I have a feeling we’re going to be the best of friends.”

  The front door opened and Carl Flippen ambled inside and headed to the kitchen, where they were all gathered. He pointed at the large baby-blue suitcase next to Sheila. “This the last one?”

  “Yes, thank you, Carl,” Sheila cooed.

  He lifted it effortlessly by the handle and gave Sheila a melt-your-heart smile. “Ready to go?”

  Carl had graciously offered to drive Sheila to the airport. Sheila at first demurred, falsely telling him that Hayley would be happy to give her a ride, but Carl wouldn’t hear of it.

  Sheila slipped her arm through Carl’s free one that wasn’t holding the suitcase. “Carl is going to come visit me in a few months down in Florida.”

  “I booked my ticket this morning,” he said, beaming.

  Sheila looked at him, stunned. “You did?”

  “Yup, and I bought us Disney tickets. I’ve never been and I hear Epcot is a must.”

  “You what?” Sheila said, her mouth dropped open.

  “Three weeks in October!” Carl said.

  Sheila’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Three weeks?”

  Carl nodded, excited. “I was going to stay a month but I just can’t take that much time off from work, at least not yet.”

  Sheila gulped and then said tightly, “I thought we were going to wait until I got home to discuss dates . . .”

  “Why wait? You only live once, right? You still want me to come, don’t you? How else are we going to know if we’re a good fit?”

  “Well, I, um, uh . . .” Sheila stammered.

  Hayley was loving every minute of this.

  “It’s just that . . . I mean . . . what if after a few days we get on each other’s nerves? What will we do the rest of the time?”

  Carl gave her a sweet peck on the cheek. “I think we both know that’s not going to happen.”

  Hayley was growing more fond of Carl with each passing minute. How could she not love a man who made her mother nervous?

  Sheila didn’t know what to say so she just waved at Hayley and Bruce. “Goodbye and thank you for everything. I’ll call you when I get home so you know the plane didn’t crash.”

  “Don’t even say that, Mom!” Hayley cried.

  “If I say it out loud, the opposite will happen,” Sheila said.

  “Where do you hear these things?” Hayley asked, shaking her head.

  Bruce grabbed the handle of the animal carrier. “I’ll help you load up the car, Carl.”

  “Thanks, Bruce,” Carl said.

  As Bruce passed him with the carrier and Hayley watched Blueberry’s final departure for the sunny climes of the east coast of Florida, her eyes welled up with tears again. She was just about to start sobbing when she was startled by another loud sneeze. Only this time it didn’t come from Bruce. It was Carl, who was reaching into his back pocket for a handkerchief.

  “You’re not coming down with a cold are you, Carl?” Sheila asked.

  Carl blew his nose and shook his head. “I don’t think so. Must be an allergy.”

  All eyes focused on the cat carrier Bruce was holding next to Carl. Hayley could see her husband start to panic.

  “You two better get going or you’ll miss your flight! I’ll get the carrier strapped down in the back seat. Say goodbye, Blueberry!”

  Bruce flew out the door with the carrier before anyone had a chance to even suggest that Carl was allergic to Blueberry and Sheila might not be the perfect guardian after all, if things eventually worked out between them.

  Carl shrugged, still blissfully unaware he was allergic to cat dander, and smiled at Hayley. “See you around town.”

  “Bye, Carl.”

  He sneezed again and followed Bruce out the door with Sheila’s suitcase.

  Hayley turned to her mother. “I like him.”

&
nbsp; “It’s not going to last,” Sheila said.

  “Mom! Why do you always do that? Give it a chance . . .”

  She noticed her mother grinning and then it dawned on her. “Oh, wait. I know what you’re doing. ‘If you say it out loud, the opposite will happen!’ Which means you’re hopeful.”

  “I raised such a smart girl,” Sheila said, kissing Hayley and then heading out the door to what Hayley hoped would be, fingers crossed, a bright future.

  Island Food & Spirits BY HAYLEY POWELL

  There has been a lot of major drama happening in our small town over the past few weeks—the shocking and untimely deaths of two residents, the very public arrest of salon owner Julio Garcia and his cousin, not to mention all the canceled hair appointments, and of course, the Golden Girls sleuths finally hanging up their detective shields and going back to their normal lives. Things in my life finally seemed to be settling down.

  Or so I thought.

  Randy and Sergio felt bad that Bruce and I had to postpone our honeymoon cruise to a later unknown date because of the fast unfolding events we had to deal with recently. They were also very much aware that when we took our impromptu wedding vows, we never really had a chance to have any sort of celebration. So out of the goodness of their hearts, the boys decided to throw us a surprise evening wedding barbecue party at their beautiful home on the shore path, with all our friends in attendance along with a couple of extra surprises thrown in for fun.

  With the finicky Maine weather gods providing a beautiful warm summer evening, Randy and Sergio spared no expense when it came to the barbecue, which is one of Bruce’s all-time favorite meals. If he could, Bruce would scarf down barbecue every day if I didn’t change it up with some Italian or Mexican food on occasion.

  Mainely Meat BBQ was called in to cater the whole affair with their delicious pulled pork, sausage baked beans, corn on the cob, and tangy coleslaw. And for dessert, Mona enlisted someone she knew who she considered to be “a baking genius” to provide some delicious blueberry tarts. In fact, a lot of people commented that the tarts even rivaled, perhaps tasted even better than Caskie Lemon-Hogg’s recipe, God rest her soul.

  Which leads me to our next surprise. Apparently, “the baking genius” was my own daughter, Gemma, who with her boyfriend, Conner, had arrived in town a day prior, unbeknownst to me. They had hidden away for the night at Randy and Sergio’s house so they could surprise us at the party!

  Then, of course, there was my favorite boxed wine and Bruce’s preferred canned beers iced down in metal wash tubs. Randy, who always insists on serving a signature cocktail at any party that he hosts, enlisted his friend Dana from college, who also happened to be visiting for the weekend, to whip up her favorite summer cocktail, Thyme for Maine Blueberries. A drink so good Randy said he was going to steal the recipe and serve it at his bar for the rest of the summer.

  Yummy food, tasty cocktails, and close friends all gathered at a gorgeous home on the water. What more could anyone ask for?

  Well, that’s when Randy announced an extra special guest would be attending. A world-famous performer who happened to be a dear old friend of mine was in Portland for a concert. Randy had just called him up and asked him to surprise me and Bruce by showing up at the party. Not only did he accept and break speed records from Portland to Bar Harbor to be there on time, he also offered to be the evening’s entertainment and sing for us! Out came Wade Springer, my favorite country singer of all time! Wade and I had met a few years back when he was performing in Bar Harbor and I was hired to cater his meals. We also had managed to get caught up in a murder investigation! But what I prefer to remember about that time together was the blossoming love connection between us, which had caused me a few heart palpitations. But a full-blown romance was not to be. And I got the guy of my dreams in the end anyway when I married Bruce. Wade and I, however, remained good friends and occasionally email back and forth or jump on the phone for a few minutes during holidays.

  Well, suffice it to say, the party guests went wild when Wade hopped in front of the microphone and belted out one of his top-ten country hits.

  The night was perfect except for one tiny detail.

  The guests of honor were a no-show.

  That’s right. Randy waited until the last moment after all the party plans were in place to call Bruce and me to invite us over for “a simple cocktail on the front porch.” Unfortunately, earlier in the day Bruce and I had the crazy idea of getting away for the night, just the two of us. So we packed an overnight bag, called Randy’s cell and left a message when he didn’t answer that we would be over sometime the next day to visit with Dana, and headed up to Bangor for a night of gambling at the Hollywood Casino.

  It was the first time in history that I convinced Bruce that we should go “off the grid” as they say and turn off our cell phones so we would not be disturbed. On our way home the next morning was when we finally turned them back on and heard all of our missed messages from the frantic hosts demanding to know where we were and why we weren’t answering our phones! It turned out Randy had not heard my previous voicemail message until after the party because he had put his phone away in the house and he had been using Sergio’s to call us nine times.

  I must admit my heart skipped a beat when I listened to the last message and heard that deep, slow, Southern drawl I knew belonged to Wade Springer. Wade had said he was sorry to have missed me and my new husband, but the next time he was in our neck of the woods, he would be sure to stop by to say hello. However, he would definitely call first and give plenty of notice as he laughed that deep, intoxicating, manly laugh. Is anyone else feeling a little hot right now?

  Well, at least everyone had a great time, and I must say, even though Bruce and I apparently missed the party of the summer, we did enjoy our uninterrupted night alone together in Bangor.

  The bonus was when Gemma brought over a plate of blueberry tarts that she had set aside for us, and Conner made Dana’s cocktail recipe for us all to enjoy when we finally arrived home.

  It’s still blueberry season, so I definitely want to share Gemma’s delicious blueberry tart recipe and Dana’s Thyme for Maine Blueberries Cocktail.

  THYME FOR MAINE BLUEBERRIES COCKTAIL

  INGREDIENTS

  ¾ ounce blueberry-thyme syrup

  Lemon zest from half a lemon

  ¾ ounce lemon juice

  2½ ounces gin

  3 dashes Angostura bitters

  Soda water

  Ice

  In a cocktail shaker add all the above ingredients except the soda and ice. Shake until well blended and pour into cocktail glass with ice and add a splash or two of soda.

  BLUEBERRY-THYME SYRUP

  INGREDIENTS

  1 cup wild Maine blueberries

  1 cup sugar

  1 cup water

  2 tablespoons corn syrup

  3 sprigs thyme

  Add all the ingredients to a saucepan and bring to a boil, then simmer for three minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool in the pan. Pour through a strainer, pressing the blueberries to get all the syrup and juice. Store in the fridge.

  GEMMA’S SUMMER BLUEBERRY TART

  CRUST

  INGREDIENTS

  1 cup all-purpose flour

  2 tablespoons sugar

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  ½ cup cold butter cut in small cubes

  1 tablespoon vinegar

  In a bowl combine flour, sugar, and salt; cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or clean fingers until mixture is crumbly. Add the vinegar and mix it in with a fork. Press the mixture into a lightly greased 9-inch tart pan and set aside.

  FILLING

  INGREDIENTS

  4 cups fresh blueberries

  ⅔ cup sugar

  2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

  ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

  Pour two cups of the blueberries into a bowl and lightly mash with a fork. Combine the sugar, flou
r, cinnamon, and nutmeg and mix into the mashed blueberries. Spread mixture evenly into tart crust and sprinkle one cup of the remaining blueberries over the top.

  Place filled tart pan on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes until crust is brown and filling is bubbly.

  Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. When cool add remaining one cup of blueberries to top of tart. Slice, serve and enjoy!