“Right down the street at the hospital. Hank’s with her. She’s going to be fine. It’s just like a bad sunburn, Hank said.”
She walked to the door and looked inside. It was a mess. The fire department had sprayed some chemicals and one table was turned over and it looked like the top had been hacked in two. She turned away and went back outside.
Murray tried to put a good spin on it. “I’ve already called the glass people and the insurance company. What with both the kitchen and the dining room affected, I think it’ll take about a week, maybe two, to get everything back together. It could be worse,” he said.
Heaven leaned up against the facade. “Yeah, it could.” She turned to Stuart, who was standing on the sidewalk, looking helpless. “Stuart, I need to apologize to you. Here I’ve been afraid you would put my daughter in harm’s way, and I did that myself. Now go down the street and be with her. Jack,” she called out, “will you please drive Stuart down to the hospital? I’ll be back down there in a bit.”
Stuart gave Heaven a hug. “I do love her,” he said. Jumpin’ Jack stepped up, gave a little wave and motioned for Stuart to follow him.
“Murray, please get rid of all these people. I can’t talk or be nice or even make a sentence. I’ve really done it this time.”
Murray, not usually comfortable with physical contact, gave Heaven a clumsy embrace. “I’m proud of you. You caught the killer.”
“No, she caught me. If Junior hadn’t come down there, it would have been …” Heaven stopped in the middle of the sentence and walked into the smoky dining room. “I’ll wait for the glass people. You can go on home,” she said over her shoulder.
Murray followed her into the café. “We’ll just bring the chairs back in,” he said, trying to sound positive.
Heaven turned to him. “Look what I’ve done to us all. My restaurant is a shambles, we’ll all be out of work for a month, my daughter was almost murdered. This is it. I’ve got to change my life. I’ve got to learn to mind my own business before I ruin everything.” She sat down heavily in a dirty chair, looking around the restaurant, shaking her head. Tears trickled down her cheeks.
“It’s all going to be all right, H. You’ll feel better tomorrow,” Murray said as he turned and went out into the cold air of the first day of a new year.
Table of Contents
Cover
Other Books By This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Part 1 - Miracle Whip Chocolate Cake
Chapter One
Part 2 - Chocolate Bread Pudding
Chapter Two
Part 3 - Flourless Chocolate Soufflé Cake
Chapter Three
Part 4 - Choc-O-Rama Brownies
Chapter Four
Part 5 - Nutella Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chapter Five
Part 6 - Chocolate Truffles
Chapter Six
Part 7 - Chocolate Espresso Pot de Crème
Chapter Seven
Part 8 - Rabbit in Sweet Sour Sauce
Chapter Eight
Part 9 - Chocolate Empanadas
Chapter Nine
Part 10 - Mexican Mole Sauce
Chapter Ten
Part 11 - Chocolate Marshmallow Gingerbread
Chapter Eleven
Part 12 - Chocolate Martini
Chapter Twelve
Part 13 - Vegetarian Chili with Chocolate
Chapter Thirteen
Death is Semisweet Page 18
