by Laura Childs
“True,” said Tidwell, nodding. “But this is your jurisdiction and I never like to tread on anyone’s toes. My office can always negotiate a transfer later.”
“I have to warn you,” said Sheriff Beall, “our jail is pretty bare bones. We’re not exactly set up for the ladies.”
“That settles it,” said Tidwell. “You take her.” He turned to Theodosia and Drayton. “The hour is late. You two need to get back to Charleston.” His voice softened. “Theodosia, you look like you might need medical attention.”
“I’m okay,” she said. “Bruised ribs is all.”
“Better to get an x-ray,” said Tidwell.
“I’ll make sure she gets an x-ray,” said Drayton.
“Of course there’s no way you can drive your vehicle home,” said Tidwell. “Thatpassenger-side door is completely sprung and entirely unsafe.”
“Unless you want to take off both doors and go dune buggy,” said Sheriff Beall.
“No thanks,” said Theodosia. “Not tonight.”
“Tell you what,” said Tidwell, “we’ll call a tow truck and have your Jeep hauled to the sheriff’s impound lot. Tomorrow morning, you can call your insurance agent and get it all sorted out.”
“How are we supposed to get home?” asked Drayton. “Hitchhike with you, I suppose?”
Tidwell cocked a thumb toward Majel’s sports car. “Take the Porsche. Miss Carter won’t be needing it for a good long while.”
“Are you serious?” came Majel’s outraged shriek from the backseat of the sheriff’s cruiser. “That’s my Porsche!” Her fingers grasped the steel mesh that separated the backseat from the front of the car and she rattled it like crazy.
“Enough!” Tidwell snapped. Then he grabbed Majel’s bag, which had been sitting on the back fender of his car, ransacked through it, and pulled out a set of keys. He tossed them to Theodosia. “Have fun. Try not to break any laws.”
A look of surprise lit Theodosia’s face as she caught the keys. “Uh…okay.” She walked back to the Porsche and pulled open the driver’s-side door. Gazed in at the cushy leather seats, burled wood steering wheel, and awhiz-bang control panel that practically rivaled a fighter jet. The car was sleek, elegant, and teched to the max. In other words, expensive.
“Don’t let her drive that car!” came Majel’s muffled squawk. “Excuse me, I’m talking to you people!” Her voice rose in a pitiful shriek. “That’s asixty-five-thousand-dollar auto, if you don’t mind!”
Theodosia smiled to herself as she eased herself into the plush interior. “I don’t mind at all,” she said.
31
“You’re okay to drive?” asked Drayton.
“I’m okay,” said Theodosia. They’d just passed through Parkers Ferry and were headed for Highway 17 and back to Charleston.
“Because I can drive if your ribs are bothering you.”
“Better now,” said Theodosia. She’ddry-swallowed two Motrin tablets and they’d kicked in.
“You’re sure?” said Drayton.
“Have you ever driven a stick shift?” asked Theodosia.
“Excuse me,” said Drayton, “I grew up driving a stick shift. Before you were born.”
Theodosia smiled in the dark. He was probably right. “This is a lovely car, though.”
“Ill-gotten goods,” said Drayton.
Theodosia cruised over a narrow bridge, listening to the boards rattle beneath her tires and thinking about what a nimble, responsive little car this was. Maybe, when it was time for a trade-in…
“What is that irritating rattle?” asked Drayton.
“Not sure,” said Theodosia. There was a rattle, but she’d just assumed it was part and parcel of the car. A result of itssuper-low chassis perhaps? A temperamental exhaust system? Or was the noise coming from inside the car?
“Honestly,” said Drayton, “it’s starting to drive me batty. Does this auto have a loose tailpipe or something?”
Theodosia lifted her foot off the accelerator and let the car coast down the dark road for a good fifty yards. When she’d bled off some of the speed, she turned her head and ventured a quick look in back. What she saw startled her. “Holy smokes, Drayton. It’s the doggone fishbowl!”
Drayton didn’t pick up on her reference at first. “With actual fish?” he asked.
“No, no,” said Theodosia, hitting the gas again and accelerating. “It’s the big glass bowl that’s been sitting in the rotunda at the Gibbes Museum for the past month. You know, the charity bowl, where people make cash donations.”
“Good Lord,” exclaimed Drayton, “Majel was going to abscond with that money, too? Is there no end to the woman’s greed?”
“Apparently not,” said Theodosia. But following on the heels of their outrage was the thought, Now what am I supposed to do with this?
She thought about all the people who’d peeled tens and twenties out of their wallets only to be flimflammed. They’d tossed their money into the fishbowl, confidently expecting it would go to a worthy, worthwhile, aboveboard charity. And it would have all gone to Majel.
So what to do now? How to make it right? Just…give the money back to the museum? Or turn it over to the police? Theodosia figured that was probably the most reasonable course of action. Except for the fact that the money would get counted and cataloged and probably sit in an evidence room for the next ten years, doing no good for anybody at all.
That’s right, no good at all.
Theodosia drove the next few miles in silence, thinking, mulling over this latest development. It was warm and humming inside the little leather cocoon with itsnew-car smell. And, pretty soon, Drayton’s head began to nod. Not two minutes later, he slumped halfway down in the passenger seat and began to snore gently.
Theodosia drove through the darkness in silence. Thinking about Majel’s scam, thinking about Parker’s murder. Thinking about how nice it would be to get home. To kiss her dog and crawl into bed. To sleep really late tomorrow. Then cook dinner for Max and tell him all about this. Hopefully share a laugh. Hopefully.
But when the large green sign that said Meeting Street flashed overhead, Theodosia didn’t turn off.
As they crossed over the Cooper River Bridge, Drayton stirred slowly and lifted his head. He blinked a couple of times and said, in a creaky voice, “We’re not going home?”
“Not quite yet,” Theodosia told him. She wore a thin, resolute smile on her face.
“Gotta stop at the emergency room,” he said in a sleepy monotone. “You need to get an x-ray.”
“We will. But first we’re taking a detour. There’s something I have to do.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were in Mount Pleasant, and a few minutes after that the headlights of the Porsche swept the front of a large, dilapidated building. It had probably once been painted white, but now the paint curled away from the boards in long strips. But there were large, overflowing baskets of bougainvilleas, and over the door was a cheery hand-painted sign that read HEARTSONG KIDS CLUB. Theodosia rocked to a stop and carefully scanned the place. Right in the center of the bright red door was a brass mail slot. Perfect.
“What is this place?” asked Drayton. He sounded sleepy and sluggish as he looked around. Then there was a sharp intake of breath as Drayton registered his surprise. “Oh. Is this…are we at Dexter’s clubhouse?”
“That’s right.”
“What are we doing here?” he asked. “Everything looks like it’s locked up tight.”
“I’m going to make an anonymous contribution to a worthwhile charity,” Theodosia told him. She slid out of the car, carefully wiggled her shoulders to get the kinks out, then walked around to the back and jerked open the Porsche’s rear hatch. Then she bent forward and gripped the sides of the glass fishbowl. Slowly, mindful of her aching back, she began to muscle the fishbowl out the back.
When Drayton saw what she was trying to do, he was up and out of the car in a heartbeat. “Give you a hand with that?”
“I’d app
reciate it,” said Theodosia.
Together they grasped the slippery glass bowl andcrab-stepped their way across the dirt parking lot to the front door of the ramshackle clubhouse. A spill of light from a streetlight was their only illumination. The street was deserted, but a dog barked sharply from somewhere down the block. Then, just as fast as it had started up, it quit.
Theodosia bent at the knees, drew a deep breath, and wrested the bowl from Drayton’s grasp. She bobbed her head anxiously toward the front door. “Go over and swing open that metal mail slot, will you?” she asked.
Drayton hastened over to the door. Reaching forward, he pushed the rusted mail slot open. “Now what?”
“I’m going to pour this money in,” she told him.
Drayton looked a little startled. “Really? All of it?”
Theodosia didn’t hesitate. “Every single penny.”
Drayton scrabbled to comply as Theodosia hoisted the enormous glass fishbowl onto her left shoulder, took a few steps forward, then tipped it judiciously. The glass clanked loudly against the front door and the money inside shifted into a frothy puddle of green.
Theodosia strained to tip it a couple more inches. And, just like that, made direct contact with the mail slot.
“Hah!” Drayton cackled.
Theodosia tipped it the last few, final inches. Until, finally, crumpled fives, tens, and even fifties slithered down the sides of the glass bowl and tumbled through the mail slot. A veritable infusion of cash.
It was only after all the money had disappeared through the mail slot and Drayton had let the metal flap bang shut that Theodosia had second thoughts.
“Oh, my gosh,” she said, raking fingers through her thick mane of hair. “Do you think we did the right thing?”
Drayton smiled in the dark, a thin ghost of a smile. “What do you think?”
Theodosia thought about the kids listening to Charlie Parker and Beethoven and traipsing through the museum to stare in awe at ethereal watercolors by Monet. She decided she liked that image. Liked it very much.
“Yes,” Theodosia said, her voice turning suddenly husky, “I’m pretty sure we did the right thing.”
FAVORITE RECIPES FROM
The Indigo Tea Shop
Apple Scones
6 Tbsp. butter
2 cups tart apples, chopped
2 cups flour
⅓ cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. salt
½ cup heavy cream
Sugar to sprinkle on top
PREHEAT the oven to 400 degrees F. Melt 2 Tbsp. of the butter in a frying pan. Add the apples and cook over medium heat, stirring, until they are tender and the moisture from the apples is almost evaporated. Remove from the heat and set aside. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the remaining 4 Tbsp.butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add the heavy cream and apples and mix by hand until the entire mixture holds together in a ball. Place the ball on a floured surface and knead gently five or six times. Pat the dough into a circle 8 to 10 inches in diameter. Sprinkle with sugar, then cut into 12pie-shaped wedges. Transfer to a greased baking sheet and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until the scones turn golden brown. Serve warm with butter, Devonshire cream or whipped cream, and jelly.
Haley’s Butter Cake
1¾ cupsall-purpose flour
½ Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees F. Using an electric mixer and a large bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 9-by-5-inch loaf pan. Bake for approximately 55 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with jam as a teatime sweet or top with berries for a dessert treat.
Peach-Pecan Quick Bread
1 can (16 oz.) sliced peaches
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups flour
¾ cup sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¾ cup pecans, chopped
2 Tbsp. peach preserves
PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees F. Drain the juice from the peaches, reserving ¼ cup juice. Dice enough peaches to make 1 cup, leaving the other peaches in slices. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the remaining sliced peaches, butter, eggs, lemon juice, and the reserved ¼ cup juice. Blend until smooth. Place this mixture in a large bowl and add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix gently. Fold in the diced peaches and chopped nuts. Pour thisbatter into a greased 4-by-8-inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack.
Maple Pecan Butter
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup maple syrup
¾ cup pecans, finely chopped
USING a mixer, beat the butter on medium speed. Gradually beat in the syrup, then add the pecans. Use this butter to top off your scones or muffins!
Caprese Tea Sandwiches
2 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Middle Eastern flatbreads (pita without the pocket)
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
¼ tsp. prepared Italian seasoning
2 Tbsp. vinaigrette
2 cups baby salad greens
8 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 jar pesto sauce
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
PREHEAT the oven to 400 degrees F. Brush the olive oil on the flatbreads, then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning. Place the flatbreads on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven, place the flatbreads on a cutting board, and drizzle with the vinaigrette. Carefully cut each round into 6 wedges. Top 12 of the wedges with a few salad greens and a slice of mozzarella. Spread a small scoop of pesto atop the mozzarella, then add a slice of tomato. Top each sandwich with the remaining wedges, cheese side up. Serve immediately. Yields 12 sandwiches.
Gobbling Goodness Tea Sandwiches
1 loaf French bread
Mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Cooked turkey breast
1 jar cranberry relish
Baby arugula lettuce
SLICE the loaf of French bread and lightly toast it under the broiler. Spread half of the slices with mayonnaise and the other half with Dijon mustard. Top themustard-spread slices with a slice of cooked turkey breast, a spoonful of cranberry relish, and a few leaves of baby arugula lettuce. Top each sandwich with amayonnaise-spread slice and serve.
Sweet Potato Butter
2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
⅛ tsp. ground cloves
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
COMBINE all ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over low heat for approximately 25 minutes, stirring until the mixture is thick and smooth. Perfect on warm biscuits. Or for a nifty sandwich, cut a roll in half, add a slice of pork, and top with sweet potato butter.
Parmesan Crisps
8 oz. Parmesan cheese, shredded
PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then place 1 Tbsp. Parmesan on the baking sheet and gently flatten. Repeat, leaving about 2 inches between each flattened mound. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes, until the edges turn golden brown. Use as toppers for soup or salads.
Charleston Pecan Brownie Bars
1 stick (4 oz.) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1 cup flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
¾ cup chopped pecans
1 cup (8 oz.) semisweet chocolate bits
; PREHEAT the oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together the butter and brown sugar, then beat in the egg. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then stir together. Stir in the nuts and chocolate bits. Spread the batter in a greased and floured 7-by-11-inch pan. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes.
Brie and Fig Tea Sandwiches
1 French baguette
1 wedge Brie cheese, softened to room temperature
1 jar fig spread
SLICE the baguette into thin slices and place on a cookie sheet. Toast lightly under the broiler to create crispycrostini. Spread the crostini with Brie cheese, then top with fig spread. Enjoy!
Honeybee Scones
2 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 egg
¼ cup milk
2 Tbsp. honey
PREHEAT the oven to 400 degrees F. Sift the dry ingredients together, then cut in the butter until the mixture iscrumbly. Mix the egg, milk, and honey, then stir into the flour mixture. Knead gently on a floured surface and pat into a 9-inch circle. Cut into wedges and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until golden. Brush the tops of the scones with more honey while still hot.
TEA TIME TIPS FROM
Laura Childs
Cherry Blossom Tea
When the cherry blossoms bloom in Washington, why not herald the event with your very own cherry blossom tea? Drape your table with a pink tablecloth and add pinknapkins and pink floral dinnerware. Add real or silk cherry blossoms for a centerpiece and use packets of flower seeds as place cards.
Think pink with cream cheese mixed with strawberries to top your scones and tasty crab salad tea sandwiches. Pink macaroons or strawberries dipped in chocolate are greatdesserts, and tea with bits of cherry is a must.
Shakespeare Tea
