by K. P. Hilton
Betty breathed a sigh of relief and gave a small smile. “All right, Molly, here's the deal. There are two people up front who I'm pretty sure aren't keen on us leaving. I intend to go anyway. Are you with me?”
Molly gave a vigorous nod. “What's your plan?”
“Working on it,” Betty said. “Meantime stay low, keep quiet, and follow me.”
The pair moved quietly to the back of the building where two people were arguing in a sparsely furnished office. Through one of the windows where the boisterous couple were standing, Betty saw Thing 1 having words with Debra Harrington.
Betty didn't see how she and Molly could sneak past the office to the exit without getting caught. She made a decision and hastily outlined it to Molly who reluctantly agreed.
Picking up a three-foot chunk of lumber from a scrap pile of wood, Betty knelt, then crawled to the edge of the door.
She picked up a small piece of rock from the ground and tossed it across the concrete floor. The noise drew attention from the pair inside the office.
The door creaked open. Slowly, Thing 1 stepped out. Betty inhaled sharply and with a forceful blow cracked the man over the head with the board. Thing 1 collapsed onto the ground.
“Run,” she told Molly, in a low raspy voice.
Molly ran. She hit the back door and made it outside.
As she did so, Debra ran out of the office and dove into Betty. The pair wrestled. Debra pounded Betty in the head with a heavy object that almost knocked her into unconsciousness. Just as Betty thought things couldn't get any worse, Thing 2 appeared. He aimed his gun at her head and told Debra to get out of the way.
Well, at least Molly got out, Betty thought. There was a quick burst of gunfire. Betty flinched and snapped her eyes tight. When she opened them, she saw Thing 2 lying on the floor and men in blue flooding the warehouse.
Chapter 18
“What’s for dinner?” Betty asked.
“Wookie steak,” Martin replied.
“Is it any good?”
“It’s a little Chewy.”
“Know what I love about your sense of humor?” Betty asked as she took a sip of wine on the sofa.
“No. What?” Martin said from the kitchen as he continued cooking.
“Sometimes I’m not sure myself.”
“Oh, humorless you are. Sad, I am.”
“Knock it off, Yoda.”
Betty stretched out, drank some more wine, and relaxed in the absence of words for awhile as longtime friends often do. She was still processing all the information she'd picked up since the police had taken Debra Harrington into custody.
Ethan Holt had gone into The Shop on Tuesday during her visit with Ojudh to apply for a job. He'd seen Betty there and had left since he knew she didn't approve of him hanging out with Brianna. He'd driven out to the area where Betty had been taken since he was looking for an inexpensive place for his band to practice. Unfortunately, while Betty was following him, the two thugs in Debra's employ were following her.
Betty had also discovered that the reason for Ethan getting let go at the newspaper was simply because he'd asked for a raise at a time when the bean counters were looking to cut costs. She felt foolish for making multiple assumptions about the young man and was trying to figure out how best to make amends.
“I still find it hard to believe that Debra Harrington killed Toby Sanders simply because he was breaking off their affair,” Martin said.
“Never underestimate the power of emotion,” Betty said. “According to the statement Molly gave the police, he and Debra had been involved with each other for about six months. He'd promised to divorce his wife and move in with her. But as the date approached, he realized he couldn't do it, that he was still in love with his wife.”
“And when he told Debra, she went over the edge.”
“Yes. Apparently, she'd told Toby that she'd messed up the exterior Betty's Cakes shots and needed new ones. They were doing an early interview with a nearby radio station that morning and they'd stopped by the bakery on their way there.”
“Which is where she clubbed him in the back of the head with the tripod from the news van they used for video shoots,” Martin said.
“Yes. She wiped it down, but there were still small traces of blood on it to provide the police with forensic evidence. Shortly after, she called her boss at the newspaper and said Toby had gotten upset over something and taken off on foot.”
“And when Toby told Molly about his affair, she'd gotten upset and sought refuge at Lake Travis.”
“Why there?” Betty asked.
“That was the place where she and Toby went to get away from everything. Apparently, she felt safe there.”
“Which she was. Until Debra's two goons grabbed her. Who were they, anyway?”
“Two brothers on parole who Toby had done a story on awhile back. Roane and Albin McClatchy. Their names were listed on the police report. They needed the money that Debra offered them, though, of course, events didn't turn out as they'd hoped. After seeing both Debra's car and the goons' vehicle at the warehouse, I called the police. If nothing else, the cops could charge the McClatchy brothers with assault from when they attacked me.” Martin rubbed the edge of his face, remembering.
“You said earlier that Debra had gone to see someone at a local Texas Health & Life Insurance agency,” Betty said. “What was that about?”
“I'm not positive, but I think Debra at least suspected that Toby might stay with his wife. As a sort of consolation prize for herself, she took out a life insurance policy on him, but forged his signature on the paperwork. Somebody along the way got suspicious and flagged the policy for review before the payout was authorized.”
Martin pulled the casserole from the oven and served up portions for himself and Betty. He placed the bread he'd brought along with a vegetable dish on the table and the two sat and ate.
After several bites Martin said, “I'm glad you finally got the wiring problem resolved. How'd that come about?”
Betty rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh. “John Able from the county office called. Seems that one of the new hires mistakenly identified the building I'm in as having wiring that's not up to code. In actuality, the building a block over was the one that needs upgrading.”
Betty nibbled on some of the artisan bread that Martin had made.
“At least Stella's cake will be ready in time for the store's opening on Monday,” she said. “With everything else going on, I almost forgot I have a cake to make for someone's wedding.”
"You worry too much," Martin said.
"I tend to think I worry just the right amount. Not too much, not too little. I'm like Goldilocks in that respect."
Martin let out a hearty laugh.
Betty looked off into the distance. “I do wish, though, that I'd done things differently with Brianna when she was growing up. Her personality's so differently from that of her sister.”
Martin poured himself a few more ounces of wine. "Let me tell you a story."
"Does it have a happy ending?" Betty asked.
"It's about two men from long ago who lived in Africa."
"I prefer the one that starts with, A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, but I promise to listen carefully."
"One day an African prince walks outside and stares into the darkening sky. 'I'd planned on hunting today,' he tells his aide. 'The coming rains will ruin my plans.'
"'Who's to say?' the aide tells his prince. 'Life is full of surprises. Let's wait and see what happens.' Sure enough, the rain comes and lasts for days. The villagers collect enough water to last them through a drought that continues throughout the summer.
"Time passes. Soon it is spring and one morning the young prince goes off on a hunt. His escort, who was supposed to be in the lead and clearing the way of errant animals, gets distracted. A monkey drops down from one of the trees and bites off one of the prince's fingers. The prince is infuriated and has his aide thrown into prison.
"Upon returning to his village, the prince is so happy to be alive that he grants amnesty to all prisoners, including his former aide. He even apologizes for having him jailed to begin with.
"'Ah, but my prince. Had I not been in prison, I would have been killed and eaten along with the others. So, really, who's to say?'"
"Nice story,” Betty said. “I'm a big fan of Africa. The Lion King, in fact, is one of my favorite animated movies. I'm fuzzy, though, on what your overall point is and how it pertains to me."
Martin leaned in close and said, “If you're paddling upstream in a canoe and a wheel falls off, how many pancakes fit in a doghouse?”
Betty blinked. “What?”
“None. Because ice cream doesn't have bones.”
“I don't understand.”
“An honest bit of nonsense. We'll talk about it at a future time.” The pair finished eating, Martin brought out a coffee cake for dessert.
“It's not as good as some of the ones you make, but I think you'll find it tasty,” he said.
“It looks delicious,” Betty replied.
The pair sat, ate, and visited for a spell longer, each glad to have good company to spend time with.
Betty's Banana Cupcakes
Ingredients:
All-purpose flour (2 cups)
Baking soda (2 teaspoons)
Bananas (3), mashed up good
Buttermilk (3 tablespoons)
Eggs (2), beaten
Vegetable oil (¾ cup)
White sugar (1 cup)
(Optional) Cream cheese icing, or vanilla glaze
* * *
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees (F) for at least 10 minutes. Grease 12 muffin cups, or place cupcake liners in muffin pan.
2. Lightly mix bananas and white sugar in a bowl until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Stir in vegetable oil until well blended. Add in flour, baking soda, and buttermilk. Mix well. Pour batter into muffin cups.
3. Bake for 20 minutes. Check to see if done (oven temperatures vary – you may need to cook for an additional 5-7 minutes). After they've cooled eat as is or, if preferred, add cheese icing or vanilla glaze to tops of cupcakes.
About the Author
If you enjoyed Real Women Eat Cake, please consider writing a short review on Amazon. Many people base their buying decisions on what others are saying about a story.
Other books in the series:
Cake and Taxes (Yellow Rose Mystery series, Book 2)
Bossy Cakes (Yellow Rose Mystery series, Book 3)
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