Neelam, Deirdre, Elizabeth, and I went into the kitchen to get all of the food set up. Janey and Phil set the table in the dining room. Everyone took plates from the dining room table and helped themselves to the food in the kitchen. Neelam and Dinesh had cooked up a storm. The kitchen table was totally covered with dishes. There were a variety of vegetarian dishes: curried garbanzo beans, mixed vegetable curry, Punjab eggplant. And three meat dishes: chicken in ginger sauce, chicken biryani, butter chicken. The dinner was complete with fragrant fried rice and homemade naan.
I looked in amazement at this feast. Janey wanted to sit next to Neelam. Her dad was on her other side. All was quiet for a few minutes while everyone indulged in the excellent Indian meal. I later found out there was also dessert.
I listened to the conversations around me. The only loved ones missing were our sons and their partners. I smiled thinking about Andrew and Will, Rose and Frances and wished they could have been here. The circle would have then been complete. And soon our family would become even larger with a baby grandchild.
Phil was telling Mike, John, and Dinesh about his plans of which guitars he planned to make after graduation. The first two would be for Andy and Will and also one for the baby, and then he would make Mike’s, no charge, of course. It was impossible to put a charge on a labor of love.
Janey mentioned to Neelam about the bake sale at school she was sponsoring to help them rebuild. I heard Neelam tell her, “You’ve already given us such a wonderful gift through your speech.”
Elizabeth and Deirdre described to Neelam the beautifully colored baby sleepers they had bought. Once the sex of the baby was known, they would be going out again to buy outfits. They said I should come along. I smiled, thinking, well, I am the grandmother. I’m glad they thought of including me.
Once dessert was presented, Neelam had made pistachio halva and fritters and fragrant syrup, the conversation turned back to the fire.
Solving arson could get pretty scientific. I had been frustrated that I wasn’t able to do more in solving the case scientifically, and I had been thinking about this for quite some time. It would have benefited to have some formal training in solving the ginseng conspiracy and the Christmas tea murder. Even the death the night of the Fourth of July might have been seen as murder rather than a suicide earlier. And it did seem like Sudbury Falls was a town of vice and intrigue, unlike what Phil had mentioned when we first moved here when I was working on the ginseng conspiracy. If we were going to remain in Sudbury Falls, I wanted to be better able to deal with this sunny-on-the-outside, perilous-on-the-inside little town.
When there was a lull in the conversation, I cleared my throat and announced, “This past week I met with a counselor at the college.” I glanced over at Phil. “I’ve decided to go back to school to take forensic science classes. I’m going to register for Fall Semester.”
All was silent for a few moments until Deirdre declared, “Now nothing will get past our Kay.”
“Nothing at all,” Elizabeth added.
I looked over at Phil again. He didn’t look too pleased.
“Kay, just think, we could collaborate on a book. You’d be a resource of information, an adviser, a professional consultant for my murder mystery.” Elizabeth took a deep breath.
With each noun Elizabeth spouted out, Phil’s face grew redder.
Standing up, I went over to him and slipped my arm through his. “It’s going to be fine. This is something I’d really like to do. Just like you wanted to handcraft guitars.” I planted a kiss on his cheek.
“Yes!” Janey said loudly. “This is so exciting!”
You could tell her brain was already working in overtime.
A Kay Driscoll Mystery
The Ginseng Conspiracy
Murder comes to town and so does Kay Driscoll, whose tenacious nature tells her city officials are attempting a cover-up and she must expose the truth.
Murder Under the Tree
During the season of peace on earth, good will to men, Kay uncovers sinister plots of corruption at a retirement home, while investigating the suspicious death of a beloved caretaker.
Murder by Fireworks
An obnoxious member of Kay’s book club is found dead on the beach. When Kay investigates, she discovers that the death, covered-up to look like suicide, was in fact murder.
About the Author
Susan's town in northern Wisconsin was an inspiration for the quaint setting of her Kay Driscoll novels. Like Kay Driscoll in her cozy mysteries, The Ginseng Conspiracy, Murder Under the Tree, and Murder by Fireworks, Paradise Can Be Murder, Susan is a retired nurse who volunteers at her local free clinic. She lives with her husband, William, and has two sons, Peter and David.
An avid reader of mysteries, she is a member of Sisters in Crime, Inc. and the Wisconsin Writers Association. Her published works include: The Ginseng Conspiracy (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 1), Murder Under the Tree (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 2), Murder by Fireworks (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 3), Paradise Can Be Murder (A Kay Driscoll Mystery Book 4), A Manhattan Murder Mystery (An Irina Curtius Mystery).
When not writing, Susan loves to travel, bicycle, kayak, and create culinary magic in her kitchen. She works in stained-glass, daydreams in her organic garden, stays up late reading mysteries, and eats lots of chocolate.
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