One Potato, Two Potato, Dead

by Lynn Cahoon

  “I’m going to put the water on for tea, so come in when you’re done.”

  He flashed a wicked grin. “I suppose that means you’re postponing the bath part of the evening?”

  “Stop it.” She giggled. “Just come in and I’ll see what I can round up for some type of dessert for the evening.”

  “Okay, but I really can’t stay long. I’ve got a meeting with Mildred about Moss Farms tomorrow. Seriously, that woman needs to learn to make some decisions on her own.” He waved her inside. “We’ll talk later. Let me get the horde fed.”

  She put the water on for tea and found some cookies she’d brought home from the restaurant a few days ago. Then she pulled out her planner and looked at her schedule. She was supposed to have Hope on Wednesday, which would give them some time to cook together in her kitchen that night. She might as well enjoy the time and see how Hope was doing in her coursework. She made some notes about next month’s menu and thought that maybe they would work out some recipes together.

  Ian came in and washed his hands. He took the steaming pot off the stove and filled their teacups. “You have any time next week for me?”

  “Did you bring your calendar?” She chose a tea bag and put it into her cup. “I’m booked Wednesday.”

  “I think we could do dinner Tuesday.” He put his choice of tea into his water, then took out his phone. “Yes. Look, there’s three entire hours not filled by something else on my schedule.”

  “And if you’re not tired of me by then, I could come have lunch with you on Wednesday. I’m on Hope patrol that night, so I’ll have to go into town and pick her up from school that afternoon.”

  “Do you really think this is necessary?” He keyed in their dinner date and then set the phone aside.

  “Better safe than sorry.” She shrugged off his look. “I know what your uncle said, but he’s still having her car looked at. If he tells me it’s just old, then we’ll back off.” Maybe.

  “I’m heading back to town. I’ve got a hot date with a washing machine at the laundromat then I’m going over to do some grocery shopping. I know, you’re dying to come along, but honestly, dear, I just don’t think you can stand the excitement.” He kissed her and paused, studying her eyes. “I do appreciate what you did today. I know Maggie feels better having spent some time with you. I’ll set up something else soon.”

  “Not too soon.” She grabbed another cookie. “I know they’re nice people, but I stress out too much thinking about these encounters.”

  After Ian had left, she keyed in Felicia’s number. When her friend answered on the first ring, Angie knew she’d been waiting for the report. “How’s Hope?”

  “Don’t think you can get away with just asking questions. I’ve been dying here.” Felicia laughed. “Hope’s fine. She’s watching cooking shows in the living room. It’s like having you stay over. Anyway, she’s here until tomorrow morning when Nancy comes and gets her for class. Nancy’s mostly doing the pickup and drop-off thing since she’s working that other job.”

  “Tell her I appreciate all she’s doing.” Angie decided to hold back for a while on what Sheriff Brown had said. Hope could stay with them for a few weeks. It wasn’t going to hurt anything.

  “I will. But spill. How did Sunday dinner go?”

  Angie sighed. “It was a total disaster. And not because I was the uncomfortable one. The food, well, let’s just say it was overdone and be nice about it.”

  “She burned dinner? Wow, she must have been more nervous than you were.” Felicia called out to Hope in the next room. “Give me a second, will you?”

  Angie sat listening to dead air when Felicia finally came back on. “I’ve got to go. Hope needs a few things at the store and I don’t want her going alone.”

  “I’ll stop by tomorrow. That way I can vent about the entire day.” Angie said goodbye and looked around the small kitchen. Her chores were done. Ian had left. She’d talked to Felicia. She stood and went over to lock the outside door. Time for that bath she’d promised herself. She grabbed a bottle of wine from the fridge along with a wineglass from the cabinet and started to make her way upstairs.

  Instead, she went to check the other doors on the main floor. They were still locked from when she’d left earlier. Maybe she was just being overly cautious, but she did live alone in the middle of farmland. She tucked a novel under her arm and put her phone in her jeans pocket. Now she could relax.

  But after less than ten minutes in the tub, she was antsy. She knew someone had been watching Hope. Someone who had to be connected to Daniel and his whole secret identity thing. But every time she tried to think about who it was, all the roads dead-ended. There was no way that Tanya had killed the guy. And she didn’t think Steve had it in him either. She’d never found the other student who had been obsessed with the professor, according to Barb.

  And maybe she was just too tired to think straight after all of this craziness that had been her life lately. She climbed out of the tub, wrapped herself in her robe, and took the wine and glass back downstairs. Angie was too tired to even think about drinking. She’d fall asleep in the chair if she did.

  She exchanged the wine for a bottle of water and started turning off the lights to head to bed. Tomorrow would come whether or not she was waiting for it, so she might as well be well rested.

  * * * *

  On Monday mornings Angie let the sun awaken her. She used the alarm clock on her phone for workdays, but when she didn’t have to get up early, she liked to let the day start a little slower. She checked her messages and saw Ian had sent one around ten to say good night. She’d been asleep for a few hours by then. No text from Felicia, but since Hope had to be at school around nine, she figured her friend was up and about. She’d grab some breakfast fixings and head into town. She could cook while she talked, which always made her mind more focused anyway.

  After finishing her chores, she packed the items she’d need to make breakfast into her basket and grabbed Dom’s leash. “You want to go see Felicia?”

  The quick bark surprised her, as he didn’t usually respond verbally to her questions. But he liked Felicia, and Angie figured Dom knew what she was saying. Besides, he knew when she picked up the leash that they were going off on some adventure. She glanced at the sky as she loaded everything up into her car and smiled. She ran back inside for the backpack she took with them when they went walking and made sure she had some doggy treats inside. When she tossed it on the floor of the back seat, Dom sniffed the bag. He knew what was up. “We’ll stop at the park for a hike on the way home. You’ve been home alone a lot lately, and I don’t even have Erica around to come entertain you.”

  She’d gotten an email from Erica, who had told her she’d be back in a week but that her grandmother, Mrs. Potter, was staying with her parents for a few months. Angie thought that it might turn into a winter/summer type of arrangement with Mrs. Potter coming back to Idaho to spend the summers and staying with her son the other times. Even though she was happy the family was bonding, she’d miss talking to her. She made a mental note to give Mrs. Potter a call tonight and put it on her weekly list of to-dos for the next couple of months. What had that time management article said? What gets scheduled gets done. She didn’t want to regret not staying in touch.

  By the time she was in River Vista she’d thought through the recipe she wanted to make for Felicia, but she realized she hadn’t let her friend know she was coming. She used her car’s Bluetooth to make the call. When the call was picked up, she said, “Hey, I’m in town and thought I’d make breakfast.”

  “Come in through the front door of the County Seat. Don’t go to the back parking lot.”

  Angie started to ask why but realized Felicia had hung up on her. She glanced at Dom, who watched her from his back seat perch. “Maybe you should stay in the car?”

  The shake of his head made her laugh as she parked
in front of the restaurant. The signage looked good and the outside made her smile. Of course, it needed to be swept clear of leaves again. Felicia had told her she was sweeping off leaves at least a couple of times a week. Maybe they needed to expand the cleaning crew to take care of the outside of the building as well. Or was that a separate landscaping company? She’d have to talk to Felicia.

  After grabbing the basket and putting Dom on his leash, she locked the car. Big-city habit, but she didn’t want to regret not taking the extra second to secure the vehicle. She unlocked and relocked the front door behind her once they were inside. There was enough light from the windows that she didn’t have to flip on the overheads, and they made their way through the too-quiet dining room and into the back, where the stairway would take her to Felicia’s apartment.

  She found her friend at the top of the stairs, looking out the window toward the back parking lot. “What’s going on?”

  “I’m glad you brought Dom. I might just have to use him.” Felicia pointed to the parking lot, where a dark Mercedes sat alone.

  Angie angled to the corner of the window and saw Taylor sitting on the steps, his phone in his hands. “What the heck is he doing there?”

  “Waiting for me to change my mind.” Felicia rolled her eyes. “Apparently the boy has come to an epiphany and he’s decided he loves me and can’t live without me.”

  “You think it’s a show?” Angie juggled the basket into her other hand so she could keep a hold of Dom, who’d already gotten bored with the greeting and was pulling to go into the apartment, where Felicia kept a bed on the living room floor for him. “Do you mind if Dom goes in? He’s being a pill.”

  “No problem. I’m done watching him anyway. I turned off my phone after the first ten calls. Now he’s just sitting there until I come out and let him explain. I’ve had enough of his explanations.” She took the basket from Angie. “Ooh, what are we having for breakfast?”

  “I thought I’d try out a casserole or two and see if we could upgrade them. The recipes might just go into the cookbook, but I thought we might do a brunch class at the first of the year. Maybe before Easter?”

  Felicia shut the door and locked it. “I know he can’t get upstairs, but just in case.” She moved toward the kitchen. “Actually, I’ve been thinking about our hours issues. You want to increase staff hours? Why don’t we open early on Sundays? We could nab the church crowd, maybe just have buffet and a few à la carte items, and that way, the staff would get more hours without us opening up another night.”

  “That’s a really good idea.” Angie took the basket from Felicia and started to unpack the contents. Her phone rang. “I wonder who that is?”

  When she answered, Taylor started talking fast. “Don’t hang up. I need to talk to Felicia and she won’t answer. Tell her she needs to talk to me.”

  “Why would I do that, Taylor?” Angie shook her head, holding the phone out so Felicia could hear his ranting as well.

  “Because I was stupid. I can’t believe I just let her walk away.”

  She looked at Felicia, who made a slashing motion with her finger across her neck. “Look, I’ve got to go.”

  “Wait, just do me one favor. Could you ask her who she talked to at the last fund-raiser? I know there were some contacts she made that could be useful.”

  Felicia didn’t wait for Angie to hang up. She pushed the little red button on Angie’s phone and disconnected the call.

  “I swear, if I ever go over the edge again for a guy, you have my permission to lock me in the walk-in until I come to my senses.” She glanced at the supplies. “So, shall we get started?”

  They spent the next two hours playing with a few different recipes, then Felicia got out the planner and they set a date to start offering brunch. “I’ll talk to my servers on Thursday and see who’s interested in additional hours.”

  “I’ll do the same with the kitchen staff. I think this will be a great place to try out new recipes too. Remember, I’m doing a staff challenge for the next few family meals. Did you get into the lineup? Hope’s up first.” Angie held out a plate to Felicia.

  “I know. She told me about what she plans to make. She’s such a sweet kid. It’s a shame she has to feel unsafe with all of this.” Felicia took a heaping spoonful of the three finished dishes, then opened the fridge. “Orange juice?”

  “Sure.” Angie filled her own plate, then sat at the oversized breakfast bar. “According to Sheriff Brown, this might be over sooner rather than later.”

  “Did he find who killed Daniel?” Felica set the filled glasses in front of their plates and sat herself.

  “Not really, but he’s saying that Hope is off the suspect list.” Angie took a bite out of the dish featuring scrambled eggs with locally cured ham and a cream sauce drizzled over the top. “We might just be able to get back to the business of cooking.”

  “With dishes like this, we’re going to rock the Sunday brunch slots.” Felicia dug into her breakfast.

  Angie watched her eat and hoped that her problems with her former boyfriend would disappear as fast as the food.

  Chapter 22

  Angie checked out her schedule first thing Wednesday morning. She had one more day before her workweek started. Dinner last night with Ian had been just what she needed. Calm, easy, and enjoyable. She was in charge of Hope today, but she didn’t have to pick her up in Boise until three. She’d made reservations at Canyon Creek for lunch with Ian at one. By the time they were done eating, it would be almost time to pick up Hope, and if it wasn’t, she could use the time to do a quick stroll around the park on the greenbelt. The weather announcer had talked about snow coming into the valley by the weekend, so this might be her last chance for a quick fall walk.

  Early-season snow never stayed long, but the chill that came with the white stuff would stay until spring decided to arrive. She and Dom would have to trade the hilly hiking trails for the more leisurely ones on the valley floor at the park. She should be working on a marketing plan for the restaurant’s brunch expansion, but she just felt like playing hooky today.

  Dom watched her from his bed. Sometimes she thought he could feel the energy come off her as she contemplated taking a hike. She checked her email—nothing urgent—then shut down the laptop. She’d work on the marketing plan on Sunday morning. Which would give her another excuse why she couldn’t attend services with Ian. It wasn’t exactly lying, more like creative planning.

  She grabbed the hiking backpack and filled it with two bottles of water from the fridge. She had started using refillable bottles since her well water had tested clean and pure. Besides, she like the taste of the well water better than the bottled water she bought in bulk. She threw in a bottle of room temperature water for Dom and grabbed his leash. She didn’t even have to ask, he was sitting at the door when she turned around.

  As they were nearing the top, her phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID. “Felicia, what’s going on?”

  “I called to see if you’d done the marketing plan.”

  Of course she had. Angie couldn’t get away with anything under her partner’s watchful eye. “No, and you caught me skipping out on the chore. I thought Dom and I might get just a few more hikes, so we’re out at Celebration Park. And when I get back, I’m having lunch in Boise with Ian.”

  “No rush, I was just going to see if you needed some brainstorming. But since you’re off playing, I might just put in my yoga CD. I’ve been having problems concentrating. Especially since Taylor is calling every hour.”

  “He’ll get the hint. Just don’t pick up the phone.” Angie sat on a bench the park had installed near the top of the hill. Dom sat on her foot, watching for stray rabbits. “I’ll stop by after I pick up Hope. We can go grab some dinner together.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Felicia said her goodbyes and Angie rubbed the top of Dom’s head. “See, we needed this hi
ke because I’m going out to eat for lunch and dinner. And you know I can’t just order a salad.”

  He woofed once, then stood and went to mark his territory on the side of the path. Angie took a sip of water, then returned to her hike.

  She cut her timing close but she’d be able to grab a quick shower as soon as she got home. She changed into clean jeans and a cute sweater, and then gave Dom a quick hug. “I’ll see you later. Maybe I’ll bring over both Felicia and Hope tonight so we’ll have a lot of company.”

  Dom went over and made three circles, then plopped into his bed. Angie thought the message was clear. All he wanted right now was a nap. And Angie’s talking was disturbing his sleep time.

  She checked her tote and made sure she had her phone, then started to head to the car. The phone rang and Angie was surprised to see Hope’s name on the caller ID. “Hey, don’t tell me you’re already done with classes.”

  “Actually yeah. Nancy’s here and she says she’ll take me into River Vista. I’d like to go work on my recipe in the kitchen, if you don’t mind.”

  “Sure. Felicia will be there, but if you can’t get her to come down, Nancy has a key. Just make sure you lock up once you’re inside the back door.”

  “Thanks. If this goes well, we’ll have dinner ready by the time you come to get me.” Hope sounded better than she had in days. More confident.

  “Anyway, I’m meeting Ian for lunch. I’ll probably be at the County Seat around three, three thirty?” She grabbed her keys out of her tote and went to the door. Locking it behind her, she left the house and headed to the car. “I’ll call you if I’m going to be later than that.”

  Angie made another call, and when she got voice mail, she left Felicia a message about Hope being in the kitchen. She was starting to feel like maybe they were overreacting about Hope’s safety. “One more week.” She made a pledge as she drove into Boise. She’d keep up the precautions for one more week. Feeling comfortable with the decision, she turned up the tunes and sang along the rest of the way into town.