The Diva Spices It Up

by Krista Davis

  Tilly shrugged. “It could have been about him or her. I didn’t pursue it. She appeared happiest when Wesley and the girls were around, but something was off on that Friday. Sometimes we sense these things but can’t put a finger on the problem.”

  The door knocker sounded at that moment. Tilly excused herself to answer the door.

  Nina leaned over to me. “I love the latte. But do you get the feeling that someone in this household might know more than she’s saying? After all, she’s an actress.”

  “I think it’s odd that Mia didn’t come home. Tilly doesn’t seem too worried about that. I wonder if Mia has done this before.”

  The French door opened, and Tilly walked out followed by Wolf. Daisy jumped to her feet and ran to him.

  “Good morning, ladies. I see you beat me here,” he said as he greeted Daisy.

  “For your information, I baked a cake as part of my job for Tilly and brought some by for her to try.”

  “Maybe you would like a slice?” Tilly moved as fast as Daisy had.

  But one of them had wanted to see him and the other appeared to want to get away from him.

  “Back in a jiffy,” Tilly said brightly.

  Wolf sat down with us. “Has she told you anything I should know?”

  Through the French door, I could see Tilly pick up her phone and make a call. I averted my eyes when she looked out at us.

  “Only a throwaway line about a squirrel. Totally unimportant,” grumbled Nina. “But don’t forget that she’s an actress and can lie convincingly.”

  Wolf tried to hide a smile. “Thank you for that reminder, Nina.” He glanced at our latte mugs on the table. “I hope you won’t mind if I speak with Tilly alone?”

  “We can take a hint. Come on, Nina.” I rose and called Daisy.

  When I walked into the kitchen, I caught Tilly’s fearful expression. “You’re not leaving?”

  “Wolf needs to speak to you privately. Don’t worry, he’s a nice guy.”

  Behind me, Nina added, “Sophie dated him. She should know.”

  Thank you, Nina.

  “That’s reassuring. Sophie is probably very selective about the men she dates. Wesley told me this morning that I shouldn’t speak to the police without our lawyer present. I called him while you were outside with Wolf. He should be here any minute.”

  “Oh? Who’s your lawyer?” asked Nina.

  I braced myself. Please, just don’t let it be—

  “Alex German. Do you know him?” asked Tilly.

  Of course. In a town swimming with lawyers, it had to be the only lawyer in the world whom I had dated.

  Nina burst out laughing.

  “What?” Tilly froze. “Is he the worst lawyer in town?”

  I took a deep breath. I might as well confess before Nina blabbed. “I dated him, too. It’s going to be like a conference of my old beaus here in a few minutes. I believe it’s time for me to take my leave. Thank you for the latte. It was fabulous. I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  I didn’t wait a second longer. I waved at Tilly and hurried Daisy through the house and out the front door.

  Nina was still laughing when she caught up to me. “I didn’t know you could move that fast.”

  “So not funny,” I said drolly. “Let’s cut over this way,” I suggested, turning right blocks sooner than I normally would have.

  “You’re going to run into Alex one of these days,” Nina pointed out.

  “It doesn’t have to be today.” There wasn’t actually a good reason to avoid him. Alex was a genuinely nice guy. I was the one who had broken off the relationship, which, if I thought about it logically, meant I shouldn’t be avoiding him. But I wasn’t ready for that awkward meeting. And I certainly didn’t want to have it with Wolf sitting there watching. The mere thought of that gave me chill bumps.

  “The glamorous social life of the single woman,” Nina quipped. “At least we got some exercise out of it.”

  Nina peeled off at her house after making me promise to phone her the second anything exciting happened. I went home and did something Daisy did every day but I rarely had the opportunity to indulge in: I took a nap. In spite of all the coffee I had consumed, I drifted off and woke in the early afternoon.

  The first thing I thought about was the cookbook and how I should have been working on it instead of snoozing. But that brought me back to Abby. By now Wolf had probably talked to her ex-husband. I wondered if he was a suspect yet.

  Mochie yawned and stretched, and then the little stinker curled up again and went back to sleep. The luxuries of being a cat.

  I took my notes from the morning and a recipe from Abby’s stack and retreated to my tiny home office. Following Abby’s format, I wrote out the recipe and added as though I were Tilly:

  After I tried a pumpkin latte, I couldn’t get enough of them. I whip up this version when my girlfriends come over for a midmorning gabfest. Cold fall days are the perfect time to serve it with a slice of Grandma Peggy’s Pumpkin Bundt Cake and enjoy the company of friends.

  I printed it out and carried it into the kitchen to add to the stack. That done, I put the kettle on for tea.

  The two recipes I made from Tilly’s collection had been delicious. I grabbed a notepad and jotted a reminder to ask her if the cake had turned out to her liking. If it had, then the next steps would be to add the remaining recipes, organize them all, and come up with more notes as though Tilly had written them herself so the cookbook would feel authentically hers. That didn’t seem so difficult. There was probably a story behind most of the recipes, and that was what would make the cookbook special to her fans.

  The only thing that disturbed me were those silly codes. I would have to come to terms with the fact that Abby was gone and I would never know what they meant. But I had become obsessed with them.

  I browsed through the recipes for a dish to take to Eunice. Tilly’s Shortcut Chicken and Dumplings sounded interesting. Plus, it made a good amount, so Eunice could reheat leftovers another night. Tilly’s recipe used leftover rotisserie chicken, which I didn’t have on hand. I did have a whole chicken, though. I popped it into my Instant Pot to cook and wasted the next hour browsing bathroom ideas on Pinterest.

  When the chicken had cooled a bit, I chopped up the meat and added thyme, sage, and minced garlic. Tilly used a lot of butter in her dumplings. She was a true Southern cook. I made them her way and dropped them into the liquid, then slid the pot into the oven and let it all bake for twenty minutes.

  When I removed the lid, a fabulous aroma wafted out. I ladled most of the dish into an oven-to-table microwave-safe bowl to make things easy for Eunice. I packed it into a bag along with a third of the cake I had baked. Daisy eagerly waited at the door for me to help her into her halter.

  I locked up, and we walked toward Eunice’s house. It was early for dinner, but she could stash it in the fridge and warm it up when she was ready to eat. On King Street, I saw the man who had pulled a soda can out of the trash. He was on the opposite side of the street. There was no reason for him to remember me, of course, yet I felt certain he noticed me. I was sorely tempted to follow him to find out what he was up to, but he was probably just going about his business.

  I knocked on Eunice’s door but didn’t hear the thump-thump of her cane as she made her way to open it. To my total surprise, my neighbor Francie opened the door. Daisy, who was usually very polite, barged inside to greet her pal Duke, Francie’s golden retriever.

  Francie had spent a lot of years birding and gardening in the sun, which had left her with a road map of lines in her face. I thought she was slightly younger than Eunice, but Eunice’s unlined skin helped her appear more youthful.

  “I’m so glad Eunice called you.”

  “Called me?” Francie frowned. “I saw her house on the news because of the murder next door and thought I’d better check on her.”

  “I’m glad you did. I brought her some chicken and dumplings to try. And a little pumpkin cake for dess
ert. There’s enough for two.”

  Francie smiled at me and whispered, “I had no idea she was having trouble getting around. This house has a lot of stairs. If I wanted to take her somewhere, I think both of us would fall just trying to get her out of the house.”

  “Maybe it’s time for her to move to an apartment?”

  “Lord have mercy! Don’t mention that to her. She nearly threw me out of the house for suggesting it. I’m going to call a contractor and see what we can do. She’s bound and determined to stay here.”

  “That’s very thoughtful of you. Let me know if I can help.” I stepped inside.

  “Is it Wolf?” called Eunice.

  “Nope. It’s just Sophie. I brought dinner for you and Francie.”

  Eunice leaned forward in her lounger. “How lovely! I need to move a chair to the front window. I’m missing all the action. Francie said she saw Wolf outside. I thought he might drop by to give us an update on Abby.”

  I hurried into the kitchen and removed the contents from my bag. “If Francie will dish out the food, I’d be happy to track down Wolf for you.”

  Francie wasted no time. “Go, go, go! Before he takes off!”

  I left Daisy with Duke and rushed back through the living room and out the front door. Wolf’s car was parked across the street. On a hunch, I opened the gate to the passage along the side of the house and walked to Abby’s patio.

  Wolf stood in the middle of the patio, staring at the spot where the cat collar had hung in the bushes.

  “Wondering why someone tossed the cat collar up there?” I asked.

  “You noticed that, too? Cats get stuck on all kinds of things, but those branches don’t look strong enough to hold a cat.”

  “That’s what Nina and I thought.”

  “I’m glad to see you. I was planning to stop by.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “That would depend on your definition of okay.” Wolf faced me and looked me in the eyes. “Turns out the woman in the freezer isn’t Abby.”

  Chapter 11

  Dear Sophie,

  My family loves chicken and dumplings. But everyone complains about my recipe because the dumplings aren’t biscuit-y like my grandmother’s version. She’s gone now, and all I have is a list of the ingredients. She kept the instructions in her head. What am I doing wrong?

  Frustrated Cook in Chicken Creek, Alaska

  Dear Frustrated Cook,

  Instead of the conventional method of steaming the dumplings on the stove top, try baking them in your oven. Maybe that’s Grandma’s missing trick.

  Sophie

  I blinked at Wolf. “What? How is that possible? Who is it?”

  “I don’t know the answer to either of those questions. I’ve been asking myself the same thing since we found out. We were operating under the assumption that Abby was a nice woman who met a terrible fate for reasons unknown. I’ve been talking to people who knew her and trying to figure out who had a beef with her. But this changes everything. It throws all our theories in the air again.”

  “Do you think Abby murdered the woman in the freezer?” I asked.

  Wolf took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to think. I’ve got one unidentified dead woman, one missing woman, and one cat collar way up higher than it should be. What are you doing here, anyway?”

  “The two sleuths next door sent me to find you. They’re eager for an update. But I don’t think they were expecting this.”

  Wolf nodded. “No one was. Who is the second sleuth?”

  “Francie Vanderhoosen.”

  Wolf smiled. “Come on, let’s fill them in. It will be on the evening news, but they’ll feel special hearing about it early.”

  If I had known there would be four of us, I would have brought more food. When we walked into the house, Francie and Eunice were eating, with both dogs shamelessly watching and hoping for a bite.

  “I found Wolf, and he has big news.”

  Both of them stared at Wolf expectantly but continued eating their dinners.

  “The body in the freezer isn’t Abby Bergeron,” said Wolf.

  Eunice and Francie stopped eating. There was a long moment of silence before they peppered him with questions.

  “How do you know?”

  “Does that mean Abby is alive?”

  I longed to add my own questions, but I figured he’d get around to answering them if we gave him a chance.

  Wolf sat down. “We brought Abby’s ex-husband in to identify the body.”

  “I could have done that for you,” Eunice said. “I know what she looks like.”

  “That might have been preferable. It was a very difficult moment for him. He clearly dreaded it. And then when it turned out it wasn’t Abby after all, you can imagine his joy. But that was tempered with guilt because you don’t really want to be happy about anyone being dead. Even if she is a stranger.”

  Eunice slapped a hand against her chest. “The divorce was hard on Abby. She never said a mean word about him. From what she said, he seemed like a decent fellow.”

  “Then who was in the freezer?” asked Francie.

  Wolf held up his open palms. “We don’t know yet for sure. Abby’s husband, Benton, didn’t recognize her.”

  “No purse or identification?” asked Eunice.

  “Her pockets were empty, and the only other things in the freezer were frozen foods. No purse, no phone.”

  “Will they be releasing a photo?” asked Eunice. “Maybe someone in town will know who she is.”

  “It will be a drawing,” said Wolf. “A photograph would be too graphic. It should be on the local news tonight.”

  Eunice’s eyes narrowed. “That’s the strangest thing. Do you think someone kidnapped Abby and killed this other woman?”

  It was interesting to me that Eunice jumped to the idea that Abby had been kidnapped, when my first thought was that Abby had killed the unidentified woman and made a run for it. There were a lot of possibilities. But I hadn’t known Abby, and Eunice knew her well.

  Wolf shrugged. “I have to be honest with you. Anything is possible. All we know is that a woman was in Abby’s freezer and no one knows where Abby is. Eunice, did Abby give you any indication that she planned to go away? Did she say anything about a trip she wanted to take? A sick relative she planned to visit?”

  Eunice answered quickly. “She most certainly did not. Listen here, Wolf, something untoward has happened to Abby. There is no way she would have let her cat run around loose in Old Town. No way! Abby is a decent and responsible woman.”

  “Could the woman in the freezer have been Abby’s cat sitter?” I asked. “Maybe she had to go away in a hurry and Oliver got out when the cat sitter was murdered.”

  Wolf gazed at me in shock. “I have considered a lot of scenarios, but that’s one I hadn’t thought of.”

  “Eunice, maybe Duke and I should stay with you for a while,” said Francie. “Something very strange is going on in the house next door.”

  “Nonsense! Whatever horrible thing happened there has already taken place and I didn’t even know about it. I am quite safe here, Francie,” Eunice said emphatically.

  Francie shot me a knowing look. “We’ll talk after these two leave, Eunice.”

  I took that as a cue that it was time to go. Motioning to Wolf, I said, “Ladies, have a good evening. And call me if you need anything.”

  Wolf rose. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. And let me know if either of you recognize our victim from the sketch they’ll show on the news.”

  I called Daisy, who reluctantly left Duke and accompanied me to the door. When we were outside, I asked Wolf, “How did the woman in the freezer die?”

  “I don’t have the autopsy reports yet. They’re waiting for her to thaw. There wasn’t anything immediately obvious like a bloody stab wound. But she was kind of, um, folded up, so it was hard to see if she had injuries.”

  “I guess you’re searching for Abby?”

  “Naturally
.”

  “What do you think happened to her? Could she be the killer, or did she run away to save herself?”

  “We sprayed luminol and found some blood spatter. At this point, all we know is that it doesn’t match Abby or the woman in the freezer.”

  “A third person was there?” I reeled at the thought.

  “Looks like it.”

  “So Abby and the third person might have run off after committing murder.”

  Wolf grunted. “At this point, anything is possible.”

  “Wolf, the other day I saw a guy grab a soda can from a municipal trash can. It was the strangest thing. It was like he’d planned it and had done it before. He even stuck his tie in his mouth first.”

  “I gather he didn’t appear to be a hungry vagrant?”

  “No. He was well dressed. Typical Old Town style.”

  Wolf chuckled. “Sounds like a dead drop. If you saw it happen, he’s not very good at it. It’s a classic spy move to pass on information.”

  I knew CIA headquarters was only miles from Old Town as the crow flies, but I had never given it much thought. It felt sort of invasive to know spies were among us. Like someone had broken into my sweet, safe city.

  My expression must have revealed my discomfort because Wolf said, “It was probably a training run. It’s nothing to worry about.”

  I wasn’t so sure about that. “I think it’s creepy. It’s like something sinister is going on in our streets!”

  Wolf turned and looked at Abby’s house. “Not as sinister as what went on in there.”

  He was right, of course. I shuddered to imagine what the poor woman in the freezer had gone through. “Abby quit her job on Friday. Her cat turned up at Eunice’s around then, too. Do you think that’s when it all happened?”

  Wolf rubbed his chin. “That’s a good bet. At this point we don’t know much. I hope the autopsy will reveal something helpful.”

  He hopped into his car and drove off. As Daisy and I walked home, I pondered whether to bring a dish to Natasha’s party.

  She wanted to impress her new half sister, but I was very familiar with Natasha’s insistence on serving trendy food. There would be no elegant chicken breasts or delicious simple salad at her dinner table. I could only hope she had gotten over her hot pepper stage. Even though she had said not to bring anything, I thought it wise and also very polite to bring a dish to her party.