by Ellen Riggs
“You were there. At Edna’s house,” I said. “I saw the scissors.”
“I did a home visit two weeks ago. Collected the poison from her old medical kit, just like Aggie told me. I was going to slip it to her when I did her perm, but this was easier.”
“Because you could frame the Bridge Buddies.”
“All of them are capable,” she said. “Trust me.”
“But none of them need the money like you and Aggie.”
“My shop is going under and it’s the bridge club’s fault. They’re scaring customers away with their foolishness. They’re like a gang, and Edna was part of that. When Aggie showed up in town and told me about the ring and family jewels that were rightfully hers anyway, we decided to team up. At the last minute Aggie got cold feet and took off.”
“She got cold feet alright,” I said. “You killed the wrong twin.”
The remains of her hair flipped as she uncovered her head to stare at me. “What?”
“Aggie ate the crème brûlée and died a perm-free death.”
“That stupid, greedy sow.” Her eyes shut for a second, and then popped open, glinting evilly in a dusty beam of light from the window overhead. “Then Edna’s alive. To die again.”
She unfurled suddenly, knocked the pole aside and kicked my feet out from under me. Where a hairdresser learned moves like that I didn’t know.
Grabbing the poker, she pressed it to my forehead. “I’ll find Edna and finish my business. She owes me. Now… give me the jewelry. Aggie swore it was in here. I’ve had a heck of a time getting in, between your cameras and the stupid cats dive-bombing me. When I saw you hugging it out with Mandy this morning, I knew you were putting the pieces together. It was now or never.”
I gestured to the bag of wood shavings. “The box is under there.”
She turned to grab it and I rolled, grabbed the shovel, and jumped to my feet. When she turned back, holding the box, we were both armed.
“I’ll kill your dog if you move,” she said. “Nothing would give me more pleasure.” She managed to open the unlocked box while still brandishing the poker. Then she gave a guttural scream of pure rage. “Where is it? The big diamond ring is missing.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Really I don’t.”
“Hold out your hands right now.”
I did as I was told, and she stared at my bare hands.
That brief pause gave Keats his chance to turn into a canine rocket. As always, he nailed his mark. The cats launched again from the shelf a second later. Then the hens whirled up in feathered outrage.
Robbi went down once more, shrieking, and the old love letters flew about the coop, buffeted by wings.
The door opened abruptly and Kellan appeared, larger than life and never so welcome. Within seconds his officers restrained Robbi, and he turned to me.
“Stand down, Ivy,” he said. “I’ve got this.”
Only then did I realize I was still poised to take someone out with the shovel. He had to unfurl my fingers from the handle one by one and remove it with a tug.
He tried to catch me as I dropped to the floor but I wasn’t collapsing, just reaching for Keats. After a few minutes of hugging my dog and whispering sweet nothings in his ear, I peered around. “We’ve got to find that ring, Kellan,” I said. “It means everything to Edna and Merle.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Later, after the Bridge Buddies had scattered for their homes, Jilly and I took Keats for a walk in the meadows. The grass was brown and brittle but the trees were still bright. The color was definitely hanging on longer than usual this year.
“What a relief to see the end of that crew,” Jilly said, pulling a baseball cap over her golden curls. “I bet those ringers will never come near Clover Grove again.”
She looked tired and frazzled, and I knew I looked far worse. I hadn’t even bothered to shower or change yet, and my jacket was liberally sprinkled with chicken poop and feathers. Turns out, a big flock of scared birds could eject a whole lot of guano.
“I’m pretty sure the Bridge Buddies won’t be able to sucker anyone into backing them, no matter how much money they offer.” I looked over at Jilly. “Do you think they’ll badmouth the inn?”
“Are you kidding? With the dirt we have on them, they’ll be as sweet as apple pie to us for the rest of their days.” She grinned at me. “At least to our faces.”
“In other words, we’ve become Edna Evans,” I said. “Keeper of secrets.”
She scrunched her pretty face. “We’re nothing like Edna, no matter how much she’s redeemed herself. She’s not going to turn into a sweet little old lady because of this.”
“Agreed,” I said. “It’s baked into the bone, now. But she’s softening a little. When I spoke to her on the phone, I asked her to give the ring to Merle’s granddaughter, in case she changes her mind about wanting to wear the family ring. Edna didn’t say no.”
“The ring that’s missing in action?” Jilly said.
“It’ll turn up,” I said. “The police are pretty much tearing the coop apart right now to find it. I couldn’t stand to watch. The poor hens are in an uproar and Charlie’s moving them out.”
“How did you finally put the pieces together about Robbi?” Jilly asked.
“Mandy’s hair,” I said. “I realized Robbi had done a home visit on the night Mandy made the crème brûlée. Plus, I’d seen Robbi’s fancy shears at Edna’s place when we broke in, so I knew she could have picked up the poison then.” I kicked at the grass. “I just wish I’d figured it out earlier. She saw me with Mandy and followed me home.”
“Better late than never,” Jilly said. “Who spiked Edna’s driveway with nails?”
“That was Aggie. Kellan thinks she was trying to scare me away from Edna. She was worried we were getting close and I guess she was right.”
“What do you mean?”
“Among the love letters was Edna’s new will. She’d named me as her beneficiary.”
Jilly gasped, and then beamed. “So you really were getting through to her.”
“More likely she wanted to stop Aggie from getting any more of her worldly goods.”
“Or she felt guilty about what happened with Lloyd,” Jilly suggested.
I shrugged. “Either way, I doubt she’ll be vying for best friend status. It’s still Edna. But maybe we’ll see more glimmers of her good side when she gets home.”
“No sugar, no pie,” Jilly said, and we both laughed.
After tossing a stick for Keats, I burst out laughing again. “Kellan’s uniform is a disaster. He’ll probably throw another one out and start fresh.”
“Dating you could get expensive,” she said.
“That reminds me… I’ll need to replace your second favorite sweater. There was an incident at the restaurant.”
Jilly just laughed. “I’m willing to sacrifice a sweater for the cause. Should we invite the guys for leftover pizza tonight?”
“Sure, if we’re awake that long.” I noticed a path into the woods to our right. “That one leads to Edna’s house. Do you mind if we make a pit stop?”
When we got there, two dozen cats scattered from Edna’s front porch like leaves in the wind. Panther, Fleecy and Big Red held their ground.
“Ah, I see,” Jilly said. “You’re checking on the war heroes.”
Keats made a big show of storming around with his tail high but he lacked his usual verve. The big three could tell he was bluffing and didn’t bother moving.
“Hey guys,” I said, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. “Just wanted to say thanks. You really had my back and I appreciated it. Keats did, too, although he won’t admit it.”
They stared at me and then blinked as one. How’d they do that?
“So let me get this right,” Jilly said. “You’re a cat whisperer now, too.”
“Far from it. I don’t even have my learner’s permit for cat. Seems like there’s no end of languages to learn if you want to be a successful
hobby farmer. And country sleuth.”
“If anyone can do it, you can,” Jilly said. “You’re the brightest person I know. With the brightest dog I know.” She looked up at the porch. “And now the brightest cats, too.”
“The cats are Edna’s,” I said. “Although maybe my old barn cats will reconsider now that Keats is simmering down.”
We went around the back of the house and topped up the food and water at the new feeding station I’d set up on the porch, in hopes of luring the cats out of the swamp for easier capture .
“Enjoy your victory feast,” I called, as we headed down the front drive. “Thanks again.”
We walked in companionable silence till we were almost home and then Jilly said, “You should call your mom and tell her what happened.”
I rolled my eyes. “Did you have to go and ruin a perfect moment by bringing up my mom?”
“She came through for you last night, remember? Those ladies were purring like kittens after your mom and Iris spoiled them.” She pondered for a second. “They’re quite talented, you know. Maybe they should take over Robbi’s salon.”
I closed my eyes and Keats gently nudged me away from a deep pothole. “That’s a recipe for trouble, Jilly. Mom can’t hold down a job and they’ll end up embroiled in town politics.”
“Just a thought,” she said. “Do I need to point out that I have a good head for career development?”
“No, but I’d prefer you help me develop some new guests for the inn. Nice ones next time.”
“We’ll brainstorm,” she said. “Tomorrow. For now, how about showers, lunch, a nap and a hot double date… in exactly that order?”
“Heaven,” I said. “Keats, I have bad news. I’m not the only one who needs a shower. You stink of chicken poop and maybe a little nervous cat pee.”
He glared up at me with the full force of his blue eye.
“And now more bad news for Keats,” Jilly said, as we started up the front stairs of the inn.
Lounging comfortably on the porch swing was Big Red, the marmalade cat. He looked very much at home and I suspected he intended to make that arrangement permanent.
“Uh-oh,” I said. “I foresee future turf wars.”
“Make that present,” Jilly said, as Keats charged and Red arched and hissed.
“Boys, enough,” I said. “Jilly and I have earned some downtime. You can pick up where you left off later.”
I opened the front door and both animals proceeded inside, jockeying for position in the doorway. The cat was ahead by a whisker and Keats whined pathetically.
Jilly and I looked at each other and laughed again.
“Beautiful night,” Kellan said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders as we stared up at the moon from the backyard. “But it was even nicer by the fire. Wasn’t it?”
“Nature needs to take its course,” I said, as Keats nosed around the lawn, seemingly in no hurry to do his business.
“You fed that dog a fair bit of steamed broccoli. Do you think that was wise?” Kellan asked.
“I do,” I said. “I think it was wise indeed.”
“The air was a little ripe in the family room. That’s all I’m saying.” He shrugged. “I guess you know what’s best for a dog’s innards.”
I looked up at Big Red, who was sitting above us on the back deck. “You could hurry things along if you tried,” I said.
The cat gave an elaborate yawn and then flitted down the stairs. He tiptoed across the wet grass and then, when he was just a few feet behind Keats, arched his back and spit.
Keats leapt into the air and took off, and the cat chased him. Suddenly Keats remembered his heritage and turned back, circling and looping. Every time he got within range the cat would take a crazy leap in another direction.
“That was a little mean,” Kellan said, shaking his head over their antics. “Doesn’t Keats deserve a quiet night after his heroics this morning?”
“Now he can have it because nature is taking its course. He’s motion activated, you see.” I pulled a couple of poop bags out of my pocket and walked over to the dog. “Can you shine your light right here?”
“Me? What? No! It’s disgusting.”
“Kellan! Who’s the fearsome chief of police now?”
“I’ve suffered enough poop today.” But he held his breath and did as I asked. “What on earth is that?”
I stooped and scooped very carefully. “That, my friend, is a three-carat antique diamond ring. In the middle of the scuffle with Robbi, I felt Keats snatch it off my ring finger. Later I realized he must have swallowed the evidence to keep it safe. I’ve been waiting all day to be proven right.”
Kellan shook his head, clearly impressed. Revolted, yet impressed. “That dog continues to surprise me.”
“Me too,” I said. “Would you like to deliver this treasure to Edna and surprise her?”
He gasped for air. “You can do the honors. May I suggest you restore it to its original sparkle first? Edna may not be able to handle that.”
“I firmly believe that woman could survive anything,” I said. “But yeah, I’ll buff it up nicely and then drive her over to give it to her old beau’s granddaughter. The bride need never know where it’s been.”
He walked me back to the house, keeping more of a distance. “So you tried the ring on, did you?”
My face heated up and I was grateful for the darkness. “Just for a second. It was way too fancy for a farmer, that’s for sure.”
“I don’t know about that,” Kellan said, opening the door with a slight bow. “You and your prize mutt here deserve nothing but the finest.”
As we all settled again by the hearth, I looked around and then shook my head in disbelief. Jilly had certainly been right about the complexities of our new life, but now, with one hand in Kellan’s and the other touching Keats’ soft ears, my heart filled with a deep contentment I’d never truly known before. In this moment, surrounded by my nearest and dearest, life felt delightfully simple.
What’s next in Clover Grove?
Fur flies as local cats start vanishing. Then the town’s busiest—and most cantankerous—cat-sitter gets her final cut in the Galloway sisters’ new salon. Are the two incidents linked? Can Keats and his feline rival make peace in time to claw their way out of a twisty mystery that puts the entire family in deep peril? Find out by preordering Till the Cat Lady Sings.
Have you tried out my other lighthearted mystery series for animal-lovers? The pen name may be different, but the laughs, zany antics and sweet dogs are all there in abundance! I offer the prequel, Ready or Not in Dog Town, free to newsletter subscribers. You can sign up here. It’s also available on Amazon.
Mandy’s Frozen Lemon Dazzle Cake
Ingredients
2 packages of ladyfinger cookies
5 eggs, separated
¾ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1¼ cup of sugar
Rind of one lemon, grated finely
2 cups of whipping cream
4 tbsp icing sugar
Dash of cream of tartar
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Directions
Butter a 10-inch springform pan. Line bottom and sides with ladyfinger cookies.
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In a heavy saucepan, beat 5 egg yolks and 2 eggs whites until thick (keeping whites of three eggs aside). Add lemon juice, rind and sugar. Cook over low heat until thickened.
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Cool lemon mixture completely. Whip the heavy cream and then fold into the lemon curd. Pour into the prepared pan. Cover tightly and freeze at least six hours, preferably overnight.
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The next day, beat the remaining three egg whites with icing sugar and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Spread over frozen torte.
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Place under the broiler and watch like a hawk until slightly browned. Cool for a few minutes, and then return to freezer until ready to serve. Defrost at least an hour before serving.
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br /> Serves 10-12.