Kernel of Doubt: A Neela Durante Mystery

by Hillary Avis

  Neela nodded. “Lisa might not go to jail if the corn doesn’t poison anyone, but she might not anyway. And it’s less risky.”

  Art shook his finger at her. “You. You, you, you. I’m so glad I didn’t have to shoot you after all.”

  Neela grinned at him, and this time it was a real grin. “Me, too!”

  He walked around his desk and offered her his arm. “Shall we? We can grab a late lunch at the Waffle Nook and work out the details for framing Cassie.” She took his elbow, and he patted her hand in a fatherly way as they walked to the elevator. “I’ll let security know on the way out to have your badge ready for work tomorrow. Obviously, Cassie manufactured the whole dispute to force you out of the company.”

  Neela nodded. She relaxed a little when the elevator doors closed. No way he can grab the gun now. She realized she’d been holding her breath and was a little dizzy, so she focused on just breathing as the elevator descended the two floors to the lobby. The doors opened, and as they walked toward the security booth, she felt a rush of joy. Teo was there, his phone to his ear. A Sunflower Springs police officer and Vince Crawford stood next to him. When Teo saw Neela, he lowered the phone, his expression worried.

  “Did you get it? Did you get everything?” Neela asked him hurriedly. Teo nodded.

  “What’s this?” Art asked. “What’s your husband doing here?”

  “Arthur Campbell, you’re under arrest for the murder of Miles Hutto,” Teo said, spinning Art around and clasping handcuffs around his wrists.

  “Neela! Tell him the truth! Tell him about Cassie!”

  Neela watched Art struggle against the handcuffs as the local cop recited the Miranda rights. “I’m sorry, Art.”

  Art jerked his head toward Teo. “She’s just trying to make you look bad, agent—you’ll see. She manufactured this whole thing so you’d arrest the wrong person and be humiliated in front of your colleagues. Wouldn’t be surprised if you lose your badge over this.”

  “Enough, Dr. Campbell. We recorded your confession. Neela had her phone on the whole time. It’s all on tape, so you should really stop talking now. Your lawyer will appreciate it.” Teo nodded to the police officer. “You can take him down to the station.”

  Neela and Teo watched through the sliding glass doors as Art ducked into the back seat of the police cruiser in the parking lot. Beside them, Vince rubbed his shiny scalp and sputtered his lips.

  “What should I do now?”

  “Are you asking me?” Neela turned to him, surprised.

  Vince shrugged. “You’re the most senior employee—assuming HR reinstates you.”

  “Well, they haven’t yet. You should call headquarters and have them sort it out. In the meantime, Cassie Tremblay is probably your best bet.”

  “Seal Dr. Campbell’s office, too,” Teo added. “I’ll be sending out a DALE team to collect evidence this afternoon.” Vince nodded and, still rubbing his head anxiously, headed for the elevator. Teo put his arm around Neela’s shoulders. “Hey—are you OK? You really scared me in there. I never would have let you confront Art if I’d known he’d threaten you like that.”

  His embrace probably didn’t mean anything; it was just a reaction to a stressful situation. Still, she was grateful for his steadying arm. Neela shivered thinking about how narrowly she had escaped. It was only a twist of fate that Miles had taken Art’s bullet the first time—and then she’d voluntarily walked into the same danger. “That’s the last time I investigate a crime! Next time I’ll stay out of the way.”

  Teo laughed and pulled her in for a hug. “Yeah, that’s sounds like you. Relaxing, letting things go, minding your own business.”

  She swatted him playfully. “I’m not that bad, am I?”

  “Never met a problem you didn’t want to solve,” he said, kissing the top of her head and making her scalp tingle. “That’s why you’re so good at what you do. Hey! There’s someone who wants to see you. Come on.” He tugged her toward the parking lot, and she followed him out to his parking spot. In the front seat of his SUV, Molly frantically scrabbled at the partially opened window.

  Neela’s smile was so big that it felt like it might crack her face in two. She unlatched the door, and Molly leaped into her arms. Teo caught Neela as she stumbled backward under the wriggling beagle’s weight, and they landed on the ground, laughing uncontrollably as Molly licked their faces.

  Behind them, Neela heard the sound of the glass doors sliding open.

  “Get a room, you two,” Chalk said.

  Neela flushed. She’d forgotten Chalk had been watching the whole thing on camera from his basement lair. Molly bounded over to Chalk and ran in circles around him, bestowing her wet doggy kisses on him at every opportunity. Chalk stared at his hands, horrified.

  “I read that dogs have fewer germs in their mouths than people do,” Neela said, pushing herself up on her elbows.

  “That—does not make me feel better at all.”

  Teo stood and helped Neela to her feet and then patted his knees. “Here, Moll. Leave the poor guy alone.” He grabbed some alcohol wipes from the evidence kit in his SUV and tossed them to Chalk.

  “My knight in shining armor,” Chalk said dryly, as he ripped open the packets and fastidiously cleaned his hands.

  “Mine, too.” Neela smiled at Teo, hope welling in her heart.

  Teo’s mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me? Without the two of you, an innocent man would have gone to jail and countless more lives would have been lost. I don’t even rate. I’m just lucky to be standing next to you.”

  Neela’s smile spread into a grin. “Now that you mention it—yeah, you are.”

  Epilogue

  One month later

  Neela kicked off her wedge heels and spread her toes in the grass at the edge of Sawtooth Lake.

  “So did DALE figure out where Art got the guns?” Chalk asked, rocking on his heels beside her. He looked particularly sharp in a light-blue linen suit with a fuchsia bow tie.

  “Apparently he stole them from the security armory. That way he didn’t have to try and smuggle them into the building. And he ordered the silencer online and mailed it to himself at work so it wouldn’t set off the metal detectors. It creeps me out that when he bought the silencer, he was thinking of using it on me.”

  “Terrifying,” Chalk agreed.

  Neela shaded her eyes against the setting July sun and looked over at where Orinda was setting up chairs and tables for the reception in a small grove of oak trees. “Think they need help?”

  Chalk shrugged. “Let’s go ask.”

  Neela slipped her shoes back on and teetered across the grass toward the freshly painted Five Daughters Farm food truck. “How’s it going?” she asked.

  Orinda set down a folding chair next to one of the rustic farm tables and pushed the hair off her sweaty forehead. “It’s going. I don’t know why I got stuck with the hard job. Wendy and Dottie are in there tasting the agua fresca, and I get to unload chairs.”

  “People gotta sit somewhere,” Neela said. “What flavors did they make?”

  “Cucumber and cantaloupe. Please, will you help me? People are going to be here any minute.”

  “I’m going to go help with the cold-drink tasting,” Chalk said, fanning himself as he headed for the food truck.

  “Me, too.” Neela picked up the skirt of her pale blue bridesmaid dress and pretended to follow him, but stopped and broke down laughing when she saw Orinda’s face. “Come on. Of course I’ll help.” She and Orinda unfolded the last few chairs and then added a row of mason-jar lanterns and wildflower bouquets down the center of each table. She stepped back to admire their work. “Pretty.”

  Orinda nodded. “Not too shabby for our first try at catering a wedding.”

  “I know, Rindy. You’ve got something really good going on with the food truck. Papa would be so proud. It means a lot to me that you included me in the name and everything.”

  Orinda shrugged. “It’s about all of us. Ev
en Robin’s included, and she’s never around.” Her face darkened.

  “She hasn’t shown up yet?”

  “Not even a call.”

  Neela sighed. “Well, I guess she has to make her own choices.”

  “Hey, no long faces today—this is a celebration!” Teo called, digging his heels into the dirt as Molly dragged him toward the sisters. “I rescued the flower girl before she jumped into the lake, I’ll have you know.”

  Molly grinned up at Neela with her tongue lolling out, her collar of fresh roses and daisies askew. Neela straightened it and patted her on the head. “Just in time for the party. We need to work on your leash manners, young lady.”

  A few cars pulled into the dusty parking area, and Orinda yelped. “I better plug the lights into the generator before I forget.” She jogged behind the food truck and a few moments later, the strings of lights stretched between the oak trees winked on.

  Neela watched the sun sinking down over the lake. She looped Molly’s leash over her wrist and the beagle fell obediently in step beside her. “Help me with the lanterns?” she asked Teo, passing him a book of matches. As the guests slowly trickled over from their cars, she and Teo moved quickly down the rows lighting the candles, illuminating the place settings. Occasionally their eyes would meet across the table, and every time, the intensity of his gaze made Neela blush.

  They were just finishing the last table when Cassie walked over in a pale pink sheath dress and matching kitten heels, a huge gardenia pinned in her blonde hair. “Need a hand?”

  Neela shook her head. “You’ve got perfect timing—we’re done.”

  “Everything looks really nice,” Cassie said, and bent to scratch Molly between the ears. “I can’t help but feel pleased seeing your sisters pull this off.”

  “Did you see what they named their truck? Look there, on the fender.” Neela pointed at the pink oval nameplate with curly script: Cassie. “Dottie says you’re the fairy godmother of the whole operation. Good thing you hated me, or I wouldn’t have gotten stuck with you and taken you up to the farm.”

  “I didn’t hate you, exactly,” Cassie said, smiling sadly. “I just didn’t want to work for you.”

  “Speaking of,” Teo broke in. “Are you Neela’s boss yet?”

  “Nope. Headquarters declined my application. Said I needed more leadership experience. Have you heard on yours?”

  Neela shook her head. “Disqualified because of my recent suspension. I guess we’re in for some new blood. We’ll break ’em in gently.” She smiled at Cassie.

  A murmur ran through the gathering crowd and Neela looked over to the parking area just in time to see Demetrius and An-Yi pull up on their red Rally 200 scooter. An-Yi even had a tiny veil attached to her white helmet.

  “I better go fix her hair,” Cassie said apologetically. “That helmet probably crushed it completely.”

  “Can you take Molly so I can go bridesmaid?” Neela asked Teo. He nodded, and Neela handed him the leash and followed Cassie toward the happy couple, who were showing off their rings to their parents and grandparents. She grabbed Chalk’s elbow on the way.

  “You’re touching me,” he said.

  “Yup. Don’t worry, no skin.”

  “OK.” He eyed her skeptically. “I guess I trust you.”

  “You better, after all we’ve been through in the last couple months.”

  They waited until the families dispersed a little to approach the happy couple. An-Yi’s hairdo had been reconstituted into beautiful finger waves, and Demetrius had changed out of the tuxedo he’d worn in the church. Now he had on the same pink bowtie as Chalk, only with a cream linen suit that matched An-Yi’s retro-style dress.

  “Congratulations—I mean it,” Neela said warmly, hugging them both. “I know you’ll be happy for a long, long time and have lots of babies.” Chalk hung back to avoid being hugged and gave them a double thumbs-up.

  An-Yi blushed, hardly taking her eyes off Demetrius. “I know it was fast, but we couldn’t stand waiting anymore, not after we knew what it felt like to be apart.”

  “It would have been faster, but this was the soonest An-Yi’s parents could come from Shanghai,” Demetrius said.

  “It’s perfect. It reminds me a little of my wedding, which was the happiest day I can remember.” Neela glanced over her shoulder to see what Teo was up to. He was standing right where she left him, and both he and Molly were watching her. When he saw Neela looking at him, he winked, and she felt her cheeks redden.

  “Good for you,” Demetrius said, watching her. “And thank you for everything—I’d still be locked up if it weren’t for you. And thanks for being my—”

  “Best man?” Neela finished, twirling in her fancy dress.

  “Best friend,” Demetrius said firmly. “The best friend a guy could have. Both of you.” He nodded to Chalk, who awkwardly gave him another thumbs-up.

  “Chalk, are you crying?” Neela giggled.

  Chalk sniffed and used his pocket square to wipe his eyes. “No, I have oak allergies.”

  “Come on, I want to show you something.” Demetrius put his arm around Neela’s shoulders and drew her toward the area behind the food truck. As they rounded the end of the vehicle, she saw something the size of a large animal covered with a canvas tarp.

  “What is it?”

  Demetrius pulled back the tarp, revealing the swooping lines of a latte-colored scooter with a basket attached to the back. “It’s for you. Just like Rally Sally, since you liked her so much. Annie and I wanted to do something to thank you for getting me out of jail. It’ll get you up to highway speeds so you can use it to commute when the truck is out of commission.”

  Neela gasped as she trailed her fingers over the sleek chrome details. “I can’t accept this! It’s too much!”

  “Are you kidding me?” As Demetrius turned toward her, Neela could see tears shining in his eyes. “Because of you, I’ll be there when my baby’s born.”

  “OK,” she said, swallowing the lump in her throat. “You still have to teach me how to ride it, though. I don’t want to crash it in a cornfield.”

  A slow smile spread across his face. “Mission accepted.”

  Neela nodded toward the reception, already in full swing. “Go on, this is your party. You don’t want to miss out on the agua fresca.” She watched him rejoin An-Yi and then walk hand-in-hand with her toward the tables where a tempting array of treats were laid out, including heart-shaped sweet potato pies.

  “Nice ride,” Chalk said, sauntering up with a cocktail in hand.

  “Isn’t it? I’m blown away. How did he even get it here?”

  Chalk shined his fingernails on his lapel. “I may have had something to do with that.”

  Impulsively, Neela hugged him, and he didn’t even look too put out about it. “We better get back to the party before people start gossiping.”

  “Do we really have to talk to people?” Chalk asked, looking skeptically at the happy crowd. “My phone doesn’t have reception out here.”

  “Nah, just fill your mouth with food as much as possible, and anytime someone tries to start a conversation, have another drink.”

  “I like your style, Neela Durante.” Chalk straightened his bow tie. “I think I’ll take your advice.” He headed straight for the drinks table, and Neela went to find Teo and Molly, both of whom seemed impatient for her company.

  “Doesn’t this make you think of our wedding?” Teo asked, raising an eyebrow.

  Neela shrugged and tried not to smile. “A little. That was a long time ago, though—I don’t really remember.”

  Teo’s face suddenly became serious. “I’ll remind you, then, if you give me a chance. I don’t have to move back in or anything like that, but let me take you out sometime. Maybe someday I’ll convince you to marry me again—I’m serious, Neela.”

  “Well, technically I still haven’t sent in those papers...” Neela looked up at him, and it seemed as though all the stars in the sky came out in th
at moment. “There’s something about you, Teo Durante, that I just can’t let go.”

  Just then, Chalk returned with a tray of glasses filled with cold, fruity drinks, and Neela took one gratefully.

  Chalk raised his glass. “Cheers to people I actually like!”

  “Cheers to happy endings,” Neela said, as she watched a glowing Demetrius and An-Yi mingle with their guests.

  “To new beginnings,” Teo replied, and gently clinked his glass against hers.

  Behind her, Neela heard a huge splash in Sawtooth Lake.

  “Oh no...” Teo held up his wrist with a dangling, empty leash attached. “Flower girl overboard!”

  Recipes

  Five Daughters Farm Cajeta

  Cajeta is a caramelized goat milk sauce. It’s rich, creamy, and good on just about every dessert (or try it on your oatmeal in the morning!). You can also make this with cow milk instead of goat milk—the cow milk version is known as dulce de leche.

  Use a BIG pot for this so it doesn’t overflow when the milk foams.

  Ingredients:

  4 CUPS GOATS MILK

  1 cup sugar

  1 cinnamon stick

  ½ tsp baking soda dissolved in 1 Tb water

  Half a vanilla bean (optional)

  Instructions:

  IN A SMALL CUP, MIX a little bit of the goat milk with the baking soda, making sure the baking soda is completely dissolved. Set aside.

  Over medium heat, stir together the sugar, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, and remaining milk in a big pot.

  Stir often as you bring the mixture to a simmer.

  Briefly remove the pot from the heat and add in the milk/baking soda mixture. The cajeta will foam up to almost double the volume. When the cajeta stops foaming, return the pot to the heat.

  Simmer until the cajeta has reduced and thickened (about 45–60 minutes for goat milk, slightly longer for cow milk). Stir frequently to prevent scorching. You can tell your cajeta is done when you scrape the bottom of the pot and the cajeta makes a “trail” that stays visible for a full second. It should be sticky and thick like honey.