Vegas or Bust: An Aggie Underhill Mystery
Page 15
“Why not?” Linda asked, sharply. “You don’t think he’s my type?”
“I think they’d be perfect for each other,” Roger chuckled.
“Thank you, Roger. So, why didn’t this Paula woman want him?” Linda asked. “What’s wrong with him?”
“She was too pretty for him,” Anita said.
“And too nice,” Betty chimed in.
“Come to think of it, maybe I will get his information for you,” Anita decided. “You’re on My Corner, right?”
Linda’s mouth dropped open to say something, but nothing came out. She wasn’t sure if she’d just been insulted or not.
Aggie looked over at Sarah who was frowning while pulling apart a buttered roll. Aggie felt she’d better intervene to keep Anita and Linda from going at each other’s throats during Sarah’s beautiful Thanksgiving dinner. She didn’t want them to ruin it. It was the least she could do since she’d stuck her daughter with her unbearable houseguests for almost an entire week. Sarah’s hormones were running rampant with her pregnancy and Aggie didn’t want her daughter to lose her cool and flip over the table or something. Not that Sarah generally loses her cool. Well, not until this pregnancy anyway.
“So,” Aggie said, smiling at everyone at the table trying to think of something nice to say. “I’m so thankful that we could all be together for this wonderful dinner. Sarah everything is beautiful!”
“Thanks, Mum,” Sarah said. “I’m thankful that everyone could be here, too.” She was sitting at one end of the table and her husband Everette was sitting at the other end. Aggie was sitting to Sarah’s right and so were both Betty and Anita. Linda, Roger and Shawn sat across from them. Since there wasn’t enough room at the table for everyone, Jill and her new boyfriend, offered to sit in the living room with TV trays in front of the television. Aggie looked over and could see them making out on the couch.
“Why can’t I sit by the TV?” Shawn complained. “I hate sitting at the table!”
“You’re not allowed to eat in there,” Everette stated.
“But I wanna watch cartoons!” he cried. “It’s not fair! They get to sit in there.”
“They’re adults and they’re watching football.”
“They’re not even watching. All they’re doing is wrestling!” Shawn whined.
“Eat your dinner and maybe you can have dessert by the TV,” Sarah quickly suggested, trying to distract Shawn from watching Jill and her boyfriend. “It’ll be a special treat because it’s Thanksgiving.”
Shawn crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. “Hmph! I don’t like turkey. I only like mashed potatoes.”
Sarah threw him a warning look across the table.
“Eat!” Everette said sternly.
“I came up with the perfect name for Sarah’s baby,” Linda said, clapping her hands. “Penelope.”
“Sarah’s letting you name the baby?” Anita gasped.
“We haven’t decided on a name yet,” Sarah stated. “Right, Everette?”
“Huh?” he asked, staring again at the football game. “What?”
“So…” Aggie said, again looking to steer the conversation away from destruction. “How’s everyone?”
“Anita’s glowing,” Roger said, helping himself to some green beans. “Haven’t you noticed?”
“What?” Anita asked. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, pullleeaze,” Roger said, with a nonchalant wave of his hand. “Just because you’ve been quiet about it doesn’t mean that we can’t tell. You’re radiant!”
Betty shot Roger a look. Aggie’s mouth dropped open. She knew exactly what Roger was doing.
“What?” Linda asked. “Why is she glowing? What does that mean? I don’t understand. Did she meet a new man? Oh….Anita, you sly old dog! You’re married, aren’t you?”
“I’m not old!” Anita snapped. “And for your information my skin glows because I take good care of myself. I drink plenty of water.” She eyed the glass of red wine Linda was holding. “And I don’t flood my body with toxins like some people do.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Roger prodded. “According to Betty, you never came back to your room the last couple nights we were in Vegas.”
“Oh!” Linda gasped. “You did meet a man!”
“Roger!” Betty gasped with embarrassment.
Anita’s cheeks flushed. “I was out late with friends. That’s all.”
“Was this friend, George, by any chance?” Roger winked at her.
Anita’s cheeks were burning.
“Who’s George?” Linda asked, noticing Anita’s discomfort. “Is he the new man?”
“A friend!” Anita snapped. “And for your information, Betty was asleep when I came back to the room.”
“Oh, really?” Roger smiled, loving every second of Anita’s discomfort. “So you were out late both nights and woke up early before Betty and made your bed?”
“Yes. That’s right.” Anita cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject. “Aggie,” she said. “How’s Officer Wood?”
“Oh, um, Tom’s fine,” Aggie said, not feeling like talking about it.
“I’m surprised that he’s not here with us? I mean, after that heated discussion you two had, I figured that you’d have made up by now.”
“Tom?” Linda asked, shifting her interest to Aggie. “Who’s Tom?”
“Officer Tom Wood is Aggie’s boyfriend,” Anita stated.
“Aggie has a boyfriend?”
“Don’t sound so surprised!” Aggie snapped at Linda. “Men find me attractive!”
“From the sounds of it, he’s not her boyfriend anymore,” Anita said, tilting her head to the side. She tsk, tsk, tsked.
Aggie was ready to throttle her. She wanted to jump up and say he wasn’t her boyfriend to begin with, but then she’d have to admit to Anita she’d only pretended he was her boyfriend in the past. And then both Anita and Linda would give her a sad kind of look. She hated the pitying look. She glanced over at Sarah whose eyes were about to pop out of her head and then she looked over at Roger who was staring at his food and wrinkling his nose. Everette was ignoring everyone while staring at the football game on the television in the other room.
“Tom had to work,” Aggie finally said. She remembered how upset he was at her for following the kidnappers. She was so thankful to him for making sure the police got to her in time, but he didn’t want to hear her excuse for following them and it broke her heart. That night, when Sarah had called her cell phone while she was peeking in the kidnappers’ motel window, it was because Aggie had accidentally texted her the photograph of the license plate number. Sarah didn’t understand why her mother would wake her up by sending her that photo causing her cell phone to ring in the middle of the night. Worried about her mother’s safety, she’d decided to call to check on her.
When Aggie had accidentally put Sarah on speaker phone; and Sarah had heard the voice of an angry man, and then Aggie had mentioned Tom’s name, she knew her mother was in trouble. Once disconnected, Sarah immediately called Tom and texted him the photo. Tom had already been awakened by Betty. She had called and woke him up when she learned that Aggie had taken off in her car after the kidnappers. Right away, Tom began making phone calls to the Las Vegas police and pulled a few strings. Because of the angle of the photo that Aggie took of the license plate, a partial name of the motel was in view on the sign. The police recognized the sign with the burnt out ‘m’ and knew exactly where the motel was located. Per Tom’s persistence, and the fact that they’d received a 911 call moments before from Aggie’s phone number that Tom gave them, they sent out a couple of guys to check it out.
“That’s too bad,” Anita said, clucking her tongue. “It seems as if he always has to work.”
Aggie balled her hands up into tight fists and clenched her jaw. She was having a hard time keeping her cool. Betty placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
“Tom has always been such
a good boyfriend,” Betty said, smiling, coming to her friend’s aid. “It’s a shame none of you have experienced a relationship as loving as theirs. They don’t need to be together all the time to show it. Aggie’s so lucky!”
“Thank you, Betty,” Aggie whispered.
“My husband Albert and I have that sort of relationship!” Anita beamed. “What about you, Linda?”
“I’m in-between husbands,” she said. “I’m not in a relationship right now.”
Anita shook her head. “That’s a pity. It looks like your daughter’s in one though,” she said, smirking.
Linda rolled her eyes. Jill and her new boyfriend were still glued together at the lips in front of the TV. “That’s coming to an end soon.”
“Really?” Anita asked. “Looks like it’s just beginning to me. Pretty hot and steamy.”
“We’re flying back to London. I’ve come to the realization that Jill has a better chance of finding a suitor back home than here in California. They’re all kinds of freaks about. It’s not a good environment for her. We’re leaving Monday.”
“I’m leaving Monday, too!” Anita said. “Maybe we can share a cab to the airport? Are you flying out of San Diego or Orange County?”
Aggie grinned. She wished they were both leaving tomorrow morning, but Monday would work just fine. As long as they were leaving and not planning to stay with her, she was happy. Who was she to complain? This was the best Thanksgiving news she could’ve ever wished for. “Who’s ready for some pie?”
“I am!” Shawn shouted with glee as he flung his turkey under the table to his dog, a Springer Spaniel named Freckles. “This is the best Thanksgiving ever!”
Aggie agreed. There was only one thing that could make it better. Just then music poured from her phone and it began to dance about in her pocketbook on the kitchen counter. Aggie hopped up from the table and raced to the kitchen. After a moment or two of searching the depths of her giant purse, Aggie found it. Just when she thought her life couldn’t get any better, the screen flashed a photo of a handsome face. It was Officer Tom Wood. Aggie smiled.
Aggie’s Jell-O Salad
1 large box of Lime Jell-O or 2 small boxes
1 large bowl
1 large glass casserole dish
1 large can of Crushed Pineapple
1 8oz package of Cream Cheese softened
½ of 8 oz container of Cool Whip
Mix Jell-O as directed on the box with hot water and then cold water in a large bowl and put into the refrigerator to chill.
Keep checking on the Jell-O to make sure it doesn’t set. As soon as the surface of the Jell-O looks to be slightly hardening, remove it from the refrigerator.
Open can of crushed pineapple and drain. Add the pineapple to the bowl of Jell-O and mix with a blender.
Slice up the Cream Cheese into chunks and add it to the Jell-O and gently blend leaving small chunks.
Add ½ the container of Cool Whip into the Jell-O. Mix until it’s blended in.
Pour Jell-O from the bowl into the glass casserole dish. Let the Jell-O Salad harden overnight.
Aggie’s Gluten Free Stuffing
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 cup chopped onion (medium onion)
½ cup chopped celery (add more if desired)
2 cups peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples (3 small apples)
2 cups gluten free chicken or turkey stock (1/2 of 32 oz box) 2 boxes of gluten free waffles; toasted and cubed (Use cinnamon waffles for extra flavor)
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Pour into a greased casserole dish and cover. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and bake for 10 minutes to brown.
About the author
Michelle Ann Hollstein currently resides in Southern California with her husband, a United States Marine, two wonderful children and her two dogs, Dougaland Sasha. She obtained her degree in Art Studio with a concentration in painting from the California State University of Sacramento and enjoys partaking in creative projects.
She’s the author of the quirky and comical Ms. Aggie Underhill Mystery series as well as the Fantasy Trilogy, The Niberia Chronicles. She’s also the author of a brand new Paranormal Mystery series written under the name Michelle Matkins.
You can visit her website at www.MichelleAnnHollstein.com to read chapters from her books and view book trailers.
Ms. Aggie Underhill Mysteries (In Order)
Deadly Withdrawal
Something’s Fishy in Palm Springs
Maid in Heaven
A Hardboiled Murder
One Hell of a Cruise
A Prickly Situation
Vegas or Bust
The Niberia Chronicles
Niberia
Ashes to Diamonds
Hidden Identity
Written under the name Michelle Matkins
Awakened Within, A Lost Souls Novel
Beautiful Beginnings, A Lost Souls Novel