Cupcakes and Corpses

by Carole Fowkes

  Finally, we were all herded into the car and were on our way. Aunt Lena insisted on sitting in the back, claiming the front’s bucket seat would further wrinkle her dark crepe dress with its full skirt.

  I volunteered for the front seat and Ed and I began an easy banter. We were sitting at a red light when he asked, “So have you signed the contract for your new office yet?” He chuckled, “Can’t believe you’re going to call the agency DeNardo and Son.”

  Putting on a fake look of outrage I responded, “Charlie’s like a son to me and he did help save me. Who knows if I’d have survived Shotswell’s attack without his help?”

  He chortled, “Guess it’s okay. As long as I don’t have to depend on him signing my checks.” Ed had agreed to be a part time investigator when the DeNardo and Son agency was up and running.

  A short time later, we arrived at the back of the church so Dad wouldn’t be able to see Suzy until she walked down the aisle. But I spotted Corrigan, looking dashingly handsome with his blond hair and his cut-away tux. He was helping my father with his tie so didn’t see me. Whether it was how gorgeous Corrigan looked or seeing my dad dressed for his wedding, I don’t know. But a lump the size of a meatball rose in my throat.

  The wedding, with Father Gilbert presiding, was lovely. The bride and groom looked so happy, even Aunt Lena forgot to worry out loud. Immediately afterwards, there was a small reception at Terrino’s Hall. Although my aunt didn’t cater it, she and Angie had made the cake, a wonderful strawberries and custard affair. Even nicer, all the guests, as favors, received miniature chocolate chip cupcakes with strawberry frosting. I wondered if she had any extras.

  The bride was just about to toss her bouquet when my phone rang. It was the realtor about my bid on the office and I had to take the call.

  Just as well. I’d caught a bouquet at the last wedding and still had no ring on my finger. I slipped into the restroom to hear better.

  “I’m so sorry, Claire. The owner decided to take the office off the market.” The woman on the other end didn’t sound as sorry as I felt. “But we’ll keep looking. We’ll find something in your budget.”

  After accepting, but not believing her words of encouragement, I left the restroom to return to all the smiling faces. But before I could get back into the reception room, Gino stopped me.

  “Nice wedding. Your dad looks real happy.”

  I forced a smile. “Yes they both do. Have you and Betty set a date?”

  He lowered his voice. “That’s what I want to talk to you about.”

  Surely he wouldn’t want me to be his best man. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. it’s just…How would you like to own Francini’s?”

  “What?” Maybe I needed my hearing checked.

  “Betty and me have decided to move to Florida. Miami. I know you been looking for your own agency. Now you don’t have to.”

  I tamped down on any excitement. “But I’ve only got $4,000.” I withheld some for changes I’d need to make.

  He gave a short nod. “That would be all we’d need to get us hitched and down to Miami. What do you say?”

  My voice quivered with excitement. “I’d say, yes.”

  He grabbed my hand and shook it. Then he gave me a quick hug. “Congratulations! You own Francini’s. We can draw up the contract Monday.” He stopped pumping my hand. “Are you changing the name? I’ll take the sign if you are. You never know.”

  I smiled. “Go ahead and take the sign. Now we better get back to the festivities. They’re throwing the bouquet.”

  “Thanks. Betty says she’s not going for the flowers. Says she’ll leave it for the unclaimed women.”

  “Unclaimed? What are we, lost and found items?”

  He shrugged and when he did so, we both heard a roar of laughter followed by cheers.

  We both lit out for the reception room. There was Corrigan, holding both the garter and the bouquet.

  I started to say something, but he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me outside the hall. “I figured I wasn’t taking any chances, so I went for the bouquet too.” He handed the flowers to me.

  My eyes widened and I clutched the flowers tightly as he got down on one knee. His voice cracked, “Claire DeNardo, will you marry me?”

  I threw my arms around his neck and giggled. Between the giggles, I believe I said yes.

  The End

  Recipes…

  Lemon Chicken with Olives and Potatoes

  My mother used to make a dish similar to the following one. When I went on my own, I tweaked it a bit to my taste. Feel free to do your own tweaking.

  8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

  Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

  3 tablespoons olive oil

  2-4 garlic cloves, smashed

  1 large yellow or white onion, sliced thinly

  4 medium potatoes cut into 1” pieces

  2 tablespoons fresh oregano

  2 lemons, thinly sliced, seeds removed

  1 large sprig rosemary

  1 tablespoon fresh thyme

  1 1/3 cups chicken stock

  1 cup pitted green and kalamata olives

  1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel and season liberally on both sides.

  In a large ovenproof pan or Dutch oven large enough to hold all thighs in a single layer, heat the oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the chicken, skin side down and sear until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and flip the chicken over. Cook until the garlic is a little brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and garlic from the pan and set aside.

  Add onions to the pan and sauté 1 to 2 minutes.

  Add potatoes, olives, garlic, oregano, and thyme. Stir to combine. Cook and stir occasionally for 4 to 5 minutes.

  Sprinkle flour over the onions and potatoes and stir.

  Pour in chicken stock and stir. Nestle the chicken thighs into the pan and tuck the lemon slices among the chicken and vegetables. Add the rosemary sprig.

  Cover the pan and bake 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the chicken is cooked through. Remove the rosemary stem.

  And for dessert, a spin on Aunt Lena’s cupcakes…

  Strawberry Filled Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

  I like these cupcakes plain but if I’m in a calories-don’t-matter mood, I top the baked beauties with the strawberry frosting included at the end of this recipe. Make the filling first so it has time to cool completely.

  Filling:

  1 cup water

  2 ½ cups frozen strawberries, thawed and cut into bite sized pieces

  3 tablespoons cornstarch

  ¾ cups granulated sugar

  Whisk water and cornstarch together.

  Stir in strawberries and sugar.

  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until thick, about 10 minutes.

  Cupcake:

  1/3 cup butter (room temperature)

  1 cup granulated sugar

  1 large egg (room temperature)

  2 cups cake flour

  ½ teaspoon salt

  2 ½ teaspoons baking powder

  ¾ cups whole milk

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  1 cup mini chocolate chips

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the cupcake pan with cupcake liners.

  In a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.

  Add the egg and beat again.

  In separate bowl, mix flour, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

  In another bowl, mix milk, oil and vanilla.

  Alternate the dry ingredients with the wet ones in the butter-sugar-egg mixture. Beat thoroughly after each addition.

  Fold in chocolate chips.

  Fill cupcake liners 1/3 full. Add 1 tablespoon of the strawberry mixture, topping that with another dollop of batter until the liner is 2/3 full.

  Bake 20-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out
clean from center of the cupcake.

  Strawberry Frosting (Optional):

  1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

  ¼ cup butter, room temperature

  ½ granulated sugar

  1 cup strawberries, chopped

  1 tablespoon lemon juice

  In electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.

  Gradually add in sugar until mix is again smooth.

  Add strawberries and lemon juice. Beat until everything is combined.

  Spread on cupcakes

  Terrified Detective Series

  From Plateful of Murder: Claire DeNardo is scared of a lot of things. Ordinary objects like roller coasters and men's hairpieces make her knees knock loud enough to be a band's rhythm section. Unfortunately, the only job Claire can find is working for her Uncle Gino in his seedy detective agency. Until now, her cases have all be middle-aged men with trophy wives who needed watching. But when Gino retires and leaves her in charge, Claire gets swept up in a murder case despite her fears. Both the client who hired her and the handsome police detective want her off the case. When the wrong person is charged, it's up to the terrified detective to summon all the courage she can to find the true killer.

  Acknowledgements

  First, I want to thank my husband, Greg, for his great ideas and willingness to listen to me when I needed to talk through some of the book’s scenes. I’m eternally grateful to Joanne for her encouragement and faith in me, as well as her patient reading and re-reading of my script. Nikki was a great help with her advice, knowledge, support, and candidness. Rae-Dawn and Patience lent their expertise to my efforts. My appreciation also goes out to Nancy for her editing skills. Finally, an enormous thank you goes to Kathleen for her assistance, ideas, cover design, and amazing talent. She made the publishing of this book and all the other Terrified Detective novels possible.

  Dear Reader,

  If you enjoyed this book, please recommend it to a friend. Even lend your copy to them!

  Reviews are always welcome. They help other readers discover your favorite books. If you do write one for The Terrified Detective series, please let Carole know. She’d like to thank you personally. Her email is:cmsldfowkes@gmail.com

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