Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 04 - Death by Dumplings

by Hope Callaghan

  Andrea stepped over to the wall that divided the kitchen from the library on the other side. “How do you think it would look if I tore this wall down, opened this whole thing up and added a bar area?”

  The kitchen was nice the way it was but opening it up – well that would completely transform the rooms. Make it more modern but still keep a lot of the historic charm. Gloria slowly nodded. “I think that is a great idea. Did you think of that yourself?”

  Andrea patted the flowered wallpaper. “Yep. The contractor told me it’s not a load-bearing wall so they could take it out.”

  “I think you should become an interior designer. That’s what I think!” Gloria said.

  “Really? Because that’s what I was thinking myself. I’m having so much fun and have so many ideas…”

  If this was Andrea’s dream, Gloria was behind her 100%. “Absolutely! In fact, when you’re done with this, I’ll hire you to help me with my place. It needs a bit of sprucing up,” she added.

  “Oh, no, Gloria. I love your farm house just the way it is.” Andrea paused. “I could think of a few small things to make it maybe a little more functional…”

  “Good! Then I’ll be your first customer,” Gloria told her.

  Andrea shook her head. “But I don’t want to charge you. You’ve helped me so much. I would do it as a favor.”

  Gloria shook her head firmly. “No, my dear. We can discuss that down the road if it’s something you decide to do, but even friends need to get paid for their services.” Plus, Gloria thought, if she cashed in those gold coins that she and Margaret and Liz found up in the mountains a few days ago, she’d have plenty of money to pay Andrea…

  “Knock, knock, anyone here?” A male voice echoed from the front of the house.

  “Oh, that must be Justin,” Andrea said. “In here!” she yelled back.

  Gloria’s eyebrows raised. “Justin?”

  Andrea tucked a long strand of blond hair behind her ear. “He asked if he could stop by and see the place…” she mumbled.

  Justin was the mayor’s son. He’d taken a liking to Andrea the first time Gloria brought her to church. Gloria got the impression Andrea wasn’t as keen on him. But maybe things had changed…

  Justin’s tall, lanky frame filled the doorway leading into the kitchen. He was holding a pizza box and a liter of Diet Coke. His eyes lit up when he saw Andrea. It took him a minute or so to realize Gloria was even in the room. “Ahem.”

  That caught his attention. He turned his head, a twinge of color crept into his cheeks. “Hello, Mrs. Rutherford.”

  “Hello Justin.” Gloria turned to Andrea. “I’m going to head on out now…”

  “Would you like to have lunch with us?” Andrea asked.

  Gloria shook her head. “Not this time, dear…” She gave Andrea a small hug, a warm smile in Justin’s direction and headed for the front door.

  As she got in the car, she thought of all that had changed in the past several months. Mostly for the better. Except for Dot. The whole thing was weighing heavy on Gloria’s mind.

  She started the car before glancing down at her cell phone, still resting in the center console. There was one missed call. It was her friend, Ruth. Ruth was head postmaster at the post office in town. She was Belhaven’s unofficial snoop, which worked out quite well for her since half the town stopped by every day to chat.

  There was no message. Gloria could almost guarantee Ruth called to find out what she knew about Dot’s restaurant. She decided not to call her - or anyone else - until she had more information. She didn’t want anyone to think she was gossiping about the terrible incident, especially Dot. Plus, she probably knew more about what happened than anyone else. Besides the police, that is.

  Her plan would’ve worked out great if not for the fact that a bright yellow jeep she didn’t recognize was parked in her driveway when she pulled in. It was her friend, Lucy. “What happened to your convertible?”

  “I traded it in for something more practical.” Lucy patted the hood. “Four wheel drive for the wintry roads!”

  Gloria peeked in the window. “Nice. I like it!” She changed the subject. “You heard about Dot?”

  “Yeah. I drove by there a little while ago. I saw your car parked at the end of the street,” Lucy commented. “Did you talk to Dot?”

  Gloria groaned inwardly. Lucy was in their small group of friends and she and Gloria were close. She nodded. “You want to come in for a cup of coffee?”

  Lucy could tell from the frown on Gloria’s face, she was torn on what she should say. “I won’t pry. I know you know something but don’t want to feel like you’re gossiping about Dot,” she said.

  Gloria let out a sigh of relief and hugged her friend. “I appreciate that.”

  “But we can still talk about it?” Lucy asked.

  Gloria nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

  Lucy followed her up the steps. “First, tell me about your trip to the mountains. Margaret said it was quite an adventure.”

  Gloria smiled. “That’s an understatement.” She started a pot of coffee. “You might as well have a seat. You’re not going to believe what happened.”

  Gloria set two cups of coffee and a plate of baked goodies on the table before she filled Lucy in on all the details of the unexpected trip to the mountains. How they finally tracked down Gloria’s sister, Liz, and then found their long-lost relative - Aunt Ethel. The only part she left out was the part about finding the coins. That had to remain a secret until the three women – who made a pact to keep mum about the coins - were all ready to share the news.

  Lucy reached for a key lime tart. She peeled off the paper shell and took a small bite. “You have a long-lost aunt?”

  “Had.” Gloria corrected her.

  After the entire story was told, Lucy shook her bright mop of red curls. “So I missed an awesome adventure…”

  Gloria nodded. “Yep!”

  “That figures! No way could you go anywhere without having something crazy happen to you,” Lucy said. Which reminded her. “You still have your reward money socked away for that cruise next summer?”

  Gloria nodded. It was during Gloria’s last murder investigation, she and Lucy did a late night stakeout at the old Johnson mansion. The stakeout turned into what could possibly be considered a break-in at the old place. Of course, one could argue they didn’t technically break in since the back door was unlocked…

  She and Lucy stumbled upon some stolen money from a bank robbery and returned it to its rightful owner – the bank. There was a reward and each of them ended up with $5,000. They decided to save the money for Lucy’s dream vacation – a cruise - which was still in the planning stages.

  The plan was to surprise their small group of friends – The Garden Girls – with an all-expenses paid cruise. In addition to Lucy and Gloria, there was Margaret, her friend who just returned from the Smoky Mountain trip, Dot and, last but not least, Ruth, the one that ran the post office.

  “Yeah, I stuck mine in a short-term CD. By the time I can cash it in, we’ll be ready to book the cruise,” Gloria added.

  Lucy grabbed a Bavarian cream donut before changing the subject. “What on earth happened over at Dot’s?”

  Lucy nibbled on her donut as Gloria explained how someone died and that the restaurant was shut down pending the investigation. She didn’t mention the poison in the dumplings. After all, that wasn’t confirmed yet. She didn’t want rumors flying around town and Dot find out she was the one who started it.

  Lucy finished the rest of her donut before taking a sip of coffee cup. She set it back down on the table. “We need to pray for her. This is just horrible!”

  Gloria agreed. The two friends bowed their heads and prayed a heartfelt prayer for their dear friend. “Dear Lord, we ask that you help investigators find the reason for the unfortunate incident at Dot’s restaurant this morning and that Dot and Ray are cleared of all charges.” Gloria paused. “And that they can re-open their restaurant because th
ey need the money.”

  Lucy squeezed Gloria’s hand. “Amen!” She stood up. “I gotta get going. My washer’s on the fritz and the repair guy is supposed to show up anytime now.”

  Gloria walked her to the door. She waved good-bye as she watched Lucy make her way to the jeep.

  Back inside, she threw together a quick sandwich for lunch. Puddles and Mally stood side-by-side and watched as Gloria placed slices of carved turkey on the bread.

  “I know, I know, you want a bite.” She grabbed two slices, dropped one in Mally’s dish and the other in Puddles. In one gulp, the pieces were gone.

  She wrapped her sandwich in a paper towel and headed to the living room. She turned the TV to the weather station. It was time to start on the garden and she wanted to make sure frost was out of the ground first.

  She must’ve dozed off because when she woke, late afternoon soap operas were on. Her eyes darted to the clock. It was almost five already!

  She jumped out of the chair and headed to the bathroom. Paul would be here in less than an hour to pick her up for their dinner date! She jumped in the shower and lathered her hair with her favorite scented shampoo of orange blossoms. Her mind wandered to Dot as she spritzed on perfume. She wondered how she and Ray were holding up. She made a mental note to check on them after she finished getting ready.

  She also wondered if Paul would be able tell her anything about the case. After all, he was part of the Montbay Sheriff’s Department and his unit handled a lot of the investigations. It couldn’t hurt to ask…

  She let Mally out before she stepped back inside the kitchen and picked up the phone. She dialed Dot’s home number. Ray picked up. “Hello?” he answered in a hushed tone.

  “Hi, Ray, It’s Gloria. I was just calling to see how you and Dot are holding up,” she said.

  Ray let out a long sigh. “I’m okay but I’m worried about Dot.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of,” Gloria fretted. She knew her friend was the ultimate worrywart. “I’m having dinner with Paul tonight. I’ll see if he has any information he can tell me about the investigation.”

  “We’d really appreciate, that Gloria.” Ray paused. “Thank you for being such a good friend.”

  He lowered his voice again. “Seems like not everyone in Belhaven is such a loyal friend. You won’t believe some of the phone calls we’ve gotten here at the house.” He sounded down-in-the-dumps. Gloria’s heart went out to him. “People can be so ruthless and cruel. Even so-called friends.”

  It saddened Ray to hear some of the comments. The thoughtless remarks about how they would never eat in their restaurant again because they’d be too worried about getting poisoned. Or others who told him they’d gotten sick eating in the restaurant but never had the nerve to tell them. But looking back maybe they should have. How the poor man might still be alive if they’d just spoken up.

  Just the thought of the callous comments made him angry and bitter inside. He was glad Dot was still in bed. It would’ve destroyed her…

  “Keep your chin up, Ray,” Gloria encouraged. “We’ll get through this and if there’s anything I can do to help…”

  Ray cut her off. “Maybe you can do a little poking around, see if you can get to the bottom of this….”

  Gloria had thought about it herself. She just didn’t want to stick her nose in where it didn’t belong. But if Ray was asking her…

  “I’d be happy to see what I can find out,” she said. “If you really want me to,” she added.

  Ray was relieved. That was exactly what he wanted. If anyone in this town could figure out what happened to Dot’s dumplings, it was Gloria. “You more than have my permission.”

  Gloria glanced out the window. She watched as Paul pulled in the drive. “Look, Paul’s here. I’ve got to go, but I’ll get started on this first thing in the morning,” she promised.

  She hung up the phone and made her way to the door. Her heart skipped a beat as she watched the tall, handsome man – her man – make his way up the porch steps. Gloria’s hand flew to her chest when she spotted the bouquet of spring flowers he was carrying.

  She flung the door open and met him by the steps. He opened his arms wide and Gloria stepped in close. His arms closed around her. She shut her eyes and breathed him in. It was in that exact moment she realized just how much she missed him and how much he meant to her.

  When she pulled away, there were tears in her eyes.

  “I hope you’re crying because you’re happy to see me,” he joked.

  She half-hiccupped as she nodded her head. “Of course!”

  “These are for you!” He held out the flowers. Gloria wrapped her hand around the stems. There were not only roses, but her absolute favorite flower – Yellow Daisies.

  “Did you know daisies are my favorite?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, but I know you love yellow and I noticed a small patch growing in the corner of the garden so I figured you must at least like them a little.”

  That had to be a bit of the detective in him. Taking in small details and cataloging them in his brain. “Well, they are my favorite and they’re beautiful,” she exclaimed.

  He trailed along behind her as she made her way back inside. She pulled an antique vase from the cupboard and arranged the flowers so the roses were in the center and the daisies lined the outside. She set them in the center of the table before turning to Puddles, who was hovering nearby. “Don’t you dare nibble on these flowers,” she warned.

  Puddles answered her by rubbing against her legs and meowing loudly. Paul bent down and scratched his ears. He lifted his head and gazed at Gloria. “I heard about Dot’s place. What a shame.”

  Gloria nodded. “It’s just terrible. Poor Dot. She’s taking this hard.”

  “I’m sure she is,” Paul replied. “Right now, investigators don’t have much to go on.”

  Gloria grabbed a light jacket off the hook by the door. Paul held the door for Gloria as she stepped onto the porch. She handed him her keys and waited as he locked up.

  “There’s a new restaurant I thought we could try. It’s not too far from here and everyone I’ve talked to that’s been there is giving it rave reviews.”

  A new restaurant – one that Gloria knew nothing about it? She really was out of the loop! “What’s the name?”

  “Pasta Amore on Lakeshore Boulevard,” he answered. “In Lakeville.”

  Lakeville was another small town but bigger than Belhaven. It’s where Gloria’s children went to school after they closed the small elementary down in Belhaven.

  “Sounds perfect. I love Italian,” Gloria said.

  The two chatted easily as they drove to the restaurant. Most of the trip was spent telling Paul about her adventure in the mountains. When she got to the part where the three girls ended up in jail overnight, Paul started to say something but quickly closed his mouth.

  Gloria held up her hand. “I know, I know. You told me someday I’d end up in jail.” She grinned. “I have to say, it really wasn’t that bad.”

  She finished the rest of her story. The only part she left out was the part about the coins the girls found. She felt a twinge of guilt for not telling all but remembered her vow to Margaret and Liz. And it wasn’t like she was lying. She just wasn’t telling him that part. At least not yet.

  Although it was a weeknight, the restaurant parking lot was full. Maybe it was because a lot of people from Belhaven decided to drive to Lakeville for dinner since Dot’s wasn’t open. A wave of guilt washed over her, like she was betraying her friend for eating somewhere else…

  A thought occurred to her. She and Paul were almost to the door when she stopped. “How long did you say this restaurant’s been open now?”

  He shrugged. “Not long. Maybe a week?” It dawned on him where this was going. “You don’t think someone sabotaged Dot’s…” But it was a thought. A brand new restaurant opens, not far from a competitor. And a very popular one at that. Could someone be ruthless enough to pois
on an innocent person just to shut Dot’s down and take out the competition?

  “Nothing should be ruled out,” Gloria decided. This was the perfect place to start her investigation. The first thing she planned on finding out was who owned Pasta Amore.

  Gloria’s detective radar shot up as she stepped inside and scanned the room. A few of the faces were familiar. Regulars at Dot’s.

  The hostess led them to a small corner table. The smell of freshly baked bread wafted through the air.

  They each ordered a glass of wine and sipped it as they studied the menu. Gloria tried to stay focused on the menu but her attention strayed towards the swinging doors that led to the kitchen. If only she could find a way to get back there…

  When the waitress returned, Gloria turned her attention. “What a lovely restaurant,” she complimented.

  The girl smiled. “Thank you. We opened a few days ago.”

  “Wow! And this place is already packed!” She looked around. “The food must be to die for.”

  Paul gave her a hard look. She smiled innocently before placing her order. “I’ll have the baked lasagna, please.”

  Paul ordered a sampler trio and handed the menu back to the waitress. After she walked away, he turned to study her. “You’re not going to start tonight, are you?” But it was wasted breath. Gloria was already in sleuth mode.

  She lowered her gaze. This was their date! She forced herself to push the investigation to the back burner.

  For a while it worked. Their dinner arrived and everything looked delicious. Gloria’s mouth began to water as she lifted a forkful of pasta to her lips. The lasagna sauce had just the right amount of tang and plenty of gooey cheese loaded on top. Just the way she liked it.

  She didn’t want to like this place, but she did. If not for Dot’s, she would definitely come back here again. When the waitress arrived to pick up their dirty plates, Gloria spoke up. “This lasagna was delicious. My compliments to the chef!”

  The girl smiled as she juggled the dirty plates. “I’ll be sure to pass your praise on…”

  “Who’s the chef? The owner?” Gloria asked. She just couldn’t help herself. She had to know who owned the place.