by Libby Klein
“Cut the crap, McAllister. Iggy Sharpe already ID’d you for pulling the fire alarm. He said to tell you now you’re even for touching his Skywalker. I don’t even want to know what that means.”
I handed Aunt Ginny a cocoa. “Do we know someone by the name of Iggy Sharpe?”
“Doesn’t ring a bell. Maybe it’s someone from the soup kitchen where we volunteer.”
“You’re probably right. Or the library where we read to the blind.”
“Mmm, true.”
“Fine. Whatever.” Amber sipped her hot cocoa. “While I’m here, I may as well tell you that the DA doesn’t think we have enough evidence to prosecute Blanche Carrigan for the Sea Isle Savings and Loan robbery.”
“I was afraid of that.”
“The crime is too old; the evidence is gone. Without a confession, we have nothing. I’m afraid Mr. McCready’s play is circumstantial at best. But we can bring charges against her for holding you ladies at gunpoint and threatening to kill you and stuff you in a freezer.”
“Well, that is something.”
Amber sipped her hot cocoa again.
Aunt Ginny lifted a plate of cookies. “Care for a nibble?”
Amber made a face like she was wrestling with herself, then she took a cookie and dunked it in her cocoa. “There is one more thing we might pursue.” She popped the cookie in her mouth.
“What’s that?” I asked.
“Fiona Sharpe gave us a wild account of Ms. Carrigan killing her first husband with rat poison. Do you think there’s any weight to that story?”
I thought about what Blanche had told us when we were tied up, about her first husband’s abuse. “I think there’s a very good chance it’s true.”
“Because we could petition to exhume his body and test it for arsenic. That, plus Mrs. Sharpe’s testimony, could bring a conviction for murder in the first.”
“What happens if you test the body and don’t find anything?”
“I cost the county thousands of dollars and look like an idiot.”
“Is that a chance you’re willing to take to put her away?”
Figaro jumped up on the couch between Aunt Ginny and Amber. He gave Amber a case of cat stink-eye.
“Shoo. Go away.”
Figaro turned around and did a full stretch and lifted his tail in Amber’s face. Amber winced, causing Aunt Ginny to giggle. “He really doesn’t like you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“Figaro.” I nudged Fig off the couch. He flopped over and moaned like he’d been shot.
Amber drained her cup and stood up. “That cat’s freaking me out. I gotta go.”
“What are you going to do about Blanche?”
“I don’t know yet. I’ll decide in the morning.”
I walked Amber to the door.
“You know, this is the third time I’ve seen you today because of a crime you’re involved in. I have perps on the street who get in trouble less often than you two. Why is that?”
“A psychic put a curse on me.”
“You can never be serious, can you?” She called over her shoulder, “Stay out of trouble, McAllister.”
I shut the door and joined Aunt Ginny on the couch. Val peeked her head in. “Everything go okay?”
“We’re free for another day.”
She giggled and said good night.
Aunt Ginny and I figured we might as well drink our cocoa since we had it. She took off her earrings and pulled the curlers out of her hair. “You know, I like my life where it is right now. I don’t want to get married again.”
“Are you sure? Maybe six is your lucky number.”
Aunt Ginny threw a pillow at my head. “I like playing the field. My life is so much fun with the girls and coffee dates and salsa dancing and jet skiing. I don’t want to be tied down. I’m having more fun now than I did in my twenties and thirties. You’re still a young woman. You have plenty of time for reckless abandon.”
“I can’t handle reckless abandon. I can’t even handle tempered abandon. I don’t think I can keep up this pace of making desserts for two places plus running the B&B. Something has to go.”
“I hate telling you this, girl. But when the summer comes you’re not going to be able to do anything but the B&B. If we get rid of those bad reviews, that is.”
“I’m on it. Sawyer saved our life on that one. I have a call with Kim’s old boss tomorrow and then I’ll call our lawyer if we can’t get Gigi to take the reviews down.”
Aunt Ginny stretched. “Good.”
“What are you going to do about Royce?”
Aunt Ginny made a face. “I don’t know. What are you going to do about Tim and Gia?”
“I don’t know.”
We both sighed. Aunt Ginny stood up. “Well, I’m done in. I’m going to bed.” She kissed me on the forehead and took the teapot and cookies to the kitchen.
I tamped down the fire and turned out the library light. I was getting the teacups when there was a quiet knock at the door. “Who is it?”
“It’s Tim.”
Tim’s hands were full. He had a purple orchid, a stuffed Garfield, and a bakery box.
“What is all this?” I took the orchid and placed it on the foyer table. Figaro eyed it, calculating the quickest path to destruction.
Tim came in and kissed me. “I left a little early. Chuck has probably burned the kitchen down by now.”
I took the other gifts and gave Tim a hug. “This is so sweet. Thank you.”
“I’ve wanted to see you all day. Are those new earrings?”
“Uh-huh. What’s in the pink box?” I turned on the side table light in the library and we snuggled into the couch.
“Open it.”
I untied the string and opened the flaps. It was a delicate tray of four petits fours. “They’re beautiful.”
“It took me four days to make them. Baking is not my specialty.”
“You made these?”
He grinned. “Yep. I used a gluten-free flour mix like you’re always talking about. The cake is the same, but each one is a different liquor-infused whipped cream. Try one.”
I bit into the pink one. It was filled with chocolate and raspberry cream. “Tim, these are fabulous. You don’t need me. You could easily bake on your own.” I put the petit four back in the box and licked my finger.
His eyes grew serious and he looked at my mouth. I thought maybe I had icing on my face, but he leaned over and kissed me. And kissed me. And kissed me. If my grandmother were alive, she’d be on her way in here with her crocheting right now.
“Poppy, you know I’ve always loved you. I was trying to ask you to be exclusive after the competition. I chickened out because I didn’t think you were going to say yes.”
“Tim, my heart is in two places.”
“I know. But I want to change that. Can’t you see this is our chance? We can finally finish what we started in high school. That reunion brought you back to me and I’m not going to let you go again. I should have come after you twenty-five years ago, before you married John. I was stupid. I’m not going to make that mistake again. I want to be exclusive, go steady, make a commitment to date no one else, whatever you want to call it. I don’t want to share you anymore. Will you be mine and only mine?”
Recipes
Gluten-Free Baby Cakes
Strawberry Muffins with White Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
2½ cups gluten-free flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1½ cups dehydrated or freeze-dried strawberries from two 1-ounce bags
1¼ cups milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
¾ cup coconut oil, measured then melted
1 cup honey
1 teaspoon strawberry extract
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup washed, hulled, chopped fresh strawberries
Pink food coloring (optio
nal)
Sanding sugar (optional)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
Place freeze-dried strawberries in food processor and process until powder. Keep the lid on for a minute to let the dust settle.
In a large bowl, add gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and strawberry powder. Mix to combine.
In a separate bowl, combine milk, eggs, coconut oil, honey, and extract. Whisk to combine.
Add the milk to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. If you want your batter pinker, add a little food coloring until you get the desired shade.
Fold in the chopped strawberries and white chocolate chips.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups to fill the liners. Top each with a sprinkle of colored sanding sugar if desired.
Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean and the tops are nicely browned.
Paleo Stud Muffins
Chocolate Muffins with Strawberries and Chocolate Chips
Ingredients
¾ cup dehydrated or freeze-dried strawberries, ground to powder from a 1-oz. bag
1 cup almond meal
¼ cup cassava flour
¾ cup dehydrated or freeze-dried strawberries, ground to powder from a 1-oz. bag
¼ cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup coconut oil, measure first then melt
½ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs, room temperature so they won’t solidify the coconut oil
1 cup chopped, fresh strawberries
1 cup gluten-free, dairy-free chocolate chips
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with paper liners; set aside.
Place freeze-dried strawberries in food processor and process until powder. Keep the lid on for a minute to let the dust settle.
In a medium bowl, combine almond flour, cassava flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda. Mix together and set aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk together coconut oil, honey, vanilla extract, and eggs.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
Fold in chopped strawberries and chocolate chips.
Spoon batter evenly into your paper liners. Smooth out if you want rounded tops.
Paleo muffins usually look exactly the same when they come out as when they went in.
Bake for 18–20 minutes or until the center is set.
Gluten-Free Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Ingredients
For the streusel topping
1 cup coconut sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup gluten-free flour blend
½ cup almond meal
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted
For the filling
1 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the cake
2¾ cups gluten-free flour blend
1 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1¼ cups almond milk
¾ cup butter
1½ cups coconut sugar
⅓ cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¾ cup sour cream
3 large eggs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease or line with parchment a 9x13 pan.
To make the streusel topping
Combine coconut sugar, salt, gluten-free flour, almond meal, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, cutting through the mixture until well combined. Set aside.
For the filling
Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set it aside.
For the cake
In a large bowl, combine gluten-free flour, almond meal, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix together and set aside.
Beat together the butter, sugar, honey, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add sour cream. Mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the almond milk, beating gently to combine.
Spread half the batter into the prepared pan, spreading all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the filling evenly on the batter. Spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Gently run a butter knife through the pan to swirl the filling into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Don’t combine filling and batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter.
Next, sprinkle the topping over the batter.
Bake until golden brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 60 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting.
Paleo Carrot Cake Muffins with Rum Raisins
Ingredients
1½ cups golden raisins
Enough rum to cover, about 1 cup
1½ cups shredded carrot, about 3 medium carrots
2 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon ginger
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
3 eggs, room temperature
½ cup honey
¼ cup almond oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Juice from the orange, about ¼ cup
¼ cup chopped walnuts
Raisins rehydrated in first step
Directions
In a glass bowl, pour rum over raisins. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes. Let sit.
Peel and grate carrots.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with parchment lines or spray with coconut spray.
In a large bowl, add the almond flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and grated orange peel.
In another large bowl, add eggs, honey, almond oil, vanilla extract, and orange juice.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together. Add the shredded carrots, rum raisins, and chopped walnuts. Combine and scoop into liners.
Bake for 25–28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
For the oatmeal cookie base
1 cup Craisins
Enough cranberry juice to cover them (about 2–3 cups)
1 cup coconut sugar
3 cups gluten-free oats
1 cup almond meal
½ cup cassava flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
2 sticks butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup honey
For the orange cream cheese frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1½ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon fiori di Sicilia extract or orange flower water
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
½ cup Craisins
Directions
For the cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper or spray with coconut spray.
In a glass bowl, pour enough cranberry juice over 1 cup Craisins to cover them. Cover the bowl with plastic and microwave for 3 minutes. Let sit.
In a large bowl, add all coconut sugar, oats, almond meal, cassava flour, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Mix well.
Add the melted butter to the honey and eggs and mix into the dry ingredients. Press half of the mixed crust to the bottom of the pan.
Drain Craisins. Add the rehydrated Craisins o
n top of the layer of crust. Top with remaining crust and spread over to cover the berries.
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool
For the orange cream cheese frosting
Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 1 teaspoon fiori di Sicilia extract or orange flower water and orange peel and mix well. Frost bars when cool. Sprinkle with chopped Craisins. Cut into squares—or triangles if you want to imitate a popular coffee chain.
Gluten-Free Apple Pie Crumb Muffins
Ingredients
For the filling
2½ cups chopped apples
½ cup coconut sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ginger
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 tablespoon butter for cooking
For the topping
½ cup gluten-free flour
½ cup almond meal
½ cup coconut sugar
6 tablespoon melted butter
For the muffin batter
2 cups gluten-free flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 large eggs
1 cup honey
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup coconut oil
