Into the Frying Pan

by Sarah Osborne

  We sat outside as it started to rain. It was a hard rain that felt cleansing, washing away the unbelievable history of classmates I thought I knew. We didn’t speak. Mason let me be and when I sighed, he simply squeezed the arm he held around me, as if to say everything would be all right.

  When the rain let up, we made plans to go to Lurleen’s and pick up the kids. I was finally settled enough to do that, but before we could leave,Mason got a phone call. He checked the number.

  “It’s Officer Barden. You want me to take it or call him back later?”

  “Take it now, please. Can you put him on speaker phone?”

  “I’ll check.”

  Barden agreed to let me listen in.

  “I just finished a preliminary interview with Philip Brockton and Harper Hudson. He acknowledged it was Harper who told him to let Carl do whatever he wanted on the day of the reenactment—she convinced Phil it would sit well with his father.”

  “Did she confess to both murders?” I asked.

  “She did. She admitted to filing down the barrel of the cannon once we agreed to take the death penalty off the table. She couldn’t manage the placement of people around the cannon, but she didn’t care who got killed.”

  “Why not?”

  “It seems most of the men around that cannon had rejected her,” Barden said. “You may understand this better than I do, Dr. Brown. She kept referring to the fact she couldn’t have children, and how that meant she wasn’t marriage material.”

  “I think I do.”

  “How did she manage to get Phil to fire at Ryan?” Mason asked.

  “Not that hard,” Barden said. “She told Phil Ryan would be aiming at him and that he should do the same. She admitted she led Ryan to believe Phil was after her. She suggested Phil needed to be out of the picture in order to leave them in peace and encouraged Ryan to consider using live ammunition. Harper didn’t care who was killed and who was brought up on charges. She’d get rid of both of them one way or another. Ryan apparently couldn’t do it in the end.”

  “Did she show any remorse?” I asked.

  “None. She seemed proud of the fact she pulled it all off like a magic act.”

  “Why did the DA take the death penalty off the table?” Mason asked.

  “I guess he thought a prominent female physician in Atlanta, well connected, wasn’t going to be executed regardless of what she’d done. I had to agree, and it let us get the facts straight. She’s likely to get life without parole, but on the other hand she’s an attractive woman with a good team of lawyers. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”

  “I have another question, Inspector Barden,” I said.

  “Go ahead.”

  “Phil must have realized Harper was framing him.”

  “Dr. Brockton is an odd fellow, if you don’t mind my saying so. He went away with Dr. Hudson at her insistence—wasn’t supposed to tell a soul, which is why Danny didn’t know where he was. He said Harper convinced him she wasn’t the murderer.”

  “How did she do that?”

  “Harper went into a long story about how Sally made her living—by blackmailing people to keep their secrets. Phil knew some of that was true from personal experience.”

  “But why would Sally kill Carl?” I asked.

  “According to Harper, Carl wasn’t willing to protect Sally any more from the charge of embezzlement. Sally had been the mastermind of the operation with Frank and Andy, and Carl supposedly had proof. Sally had no choice but to kill him.”

  “Phil bought all that?” I asked.

  “He said Harper was very persuasive. Maybe it was safer to go along with Harper than to challenge her,” Barden said.

  “He now knows what really happened?” I asked.

  “Yes. But I have to tell you he didn’t show much emotion. He did say he was glad you weren’t harmed.”

  “That would be Phil.”

  Barden hung up.

  Mason turned to me. “That finishes it, doesn’t it?”

  “I wonder if Phil will work for his father now. Will it bother you if he does?”

  Mason shook his head. “No. I think I’m beginning to work through some of my own issues—with your help, and we’ve both seen the kind of man Phil is. I’m not jealous of him anymore.”

  “How could I have been so blind?”

  “You were young, Ditie. You knew the man your father was and you expected other men to be like that.”

  “I did. I always thought Phil chose oncology to help people, but I know now he did it so he could make a good salary through grants and drug studies. It also gave him a chunk of time free for his reenactments. There aren’t many emergencies in research.”

  Mason took my hand and pulled me up from the swing. “Let’s go see your kids. I bet I can talk Danny into grilling some of his famous barbecued chicken. The forensics team will be done in an hour or so, and then we can get your house and our lives back in order.”

  “It’s starting to feel like our house and our kids,” I said, squeezing his hand.

  “I like the sound of that.”

  He looked at me with those soft gray eyes and that generous smile, and I knew I was finally old enough to recognize a good man when I saw one.

  Old Recipes from the North and South

  Deep South Old Fashioned Tea Cakes

  This recipe came from the internet and Divas Can Cook (which is a fantastic website and worth a long visit). The desire to include such a recipe came from the number of friends in the South who talked about their grandmother’s tea cakes. They are not quite a cookie, not quite a biscuit, but always delicious.

  Servings: 24 or so. Depends on how hungry people are.

  Difficulty: This one takes a little skill, time, and practice. The less flour you use, the lighter the tea cakes will be but the more difficult the dough will be to work with. It gets and stays quite sticky.

  Ingredients:

  1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

  1/4 cup butter-flavored shortening (or use lard)

  1 cup granulated sugar

  1 egg, room temperature

  lemon zest from 1 small lemon

  1/2 vanilla bean, scraped, or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract. (It’s fun to scrape a vanilla bean and see all those little dark flecks in your creation, but you can get by with vanilla extract and save yourself a little wear and tear. Also a considerable amount of money—vanilla beans are pricey. Conversion seems to be 1 teaspoon extract for 2 inches of vanilla bean or 3 teaspoons for a typical vanilla bean.)

  2 cups flour

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  1/2 teaspoon salt

  1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

  1/4 cup buttermilk

  Instructions:

  In a large bowl, cream together butter and shortening until creamy.

  Mix in sugar until well combined.

  Mix in egg.

  Mix in lemon zest and vanilla bean or extract. Set aside.

  In a medium bowl, sift together baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

  Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk.

  Turn dough onto a smooth surface and knead until dough is soft. (Dough will be sticky and hard to work with, but try to do this without adding too much flour. The less flour you use, the lighter your tea cake—even if you don’t get to knead as much as you might like)

  Shape into a disk and cover with plastic wrap.

  Refrigerate for 1 hour or freeze for 30 minutes.

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

  Remove dough from fridge and plastic wrap.

  Knead dough to soften it.

  Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. (I roll the dough between parchment paper to preven
t sticking.

  Use a round cookie cutter and cut out circle shapes

  Place cookies on ungreased pan about 2 inches apart. (The dough should be cold when going in the oven, so if need be pop the cut cookies into the fridge to chill again before baking)

  Bake for 8-10 minutes but don’t overbake! They will not get golden on the tops and will continue to cook as they cool.

  Remove from pan and place on cooling rack to finish cooking.

  Once cooled store in an airtight container—if they are not all immediately consumed.

  If you want to know the way to the heart of a Southerner—this recipe may be it. Not easy but worth the effort.

  Captain Sanderson’s Boiled Pork and Bean Soup

  Any time you look for old recipes (Civil War Vintage) this recipe will pop up.

  I’ve started with the original recipe below. It provides a pleasant tasting, authentic soup.

  If you want a little more flavor, as I did, try adding the ingredients below the original list. These were provided by two chefs (Mandy and Paula Haddon) who make the best soup in Falmouth, Massachusetts and own Molly’s Tea Room on Main Street.

  Servings: 8-10

  Difficulty: Moderate (more time-consuming than difficult)

  Ingredients:

  1 pound dried navy beans

  1 pound pork shoulder or butt

  1 onion (diced)

  1 leek (diced)

  1 garlic clove (diced)

  1 sprig thyme

  1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

  2 tablespoons bacon fat.

  Additional ingredients to make the soup more flavorful:

  1 teaspoon dry mustard

  1 tablespoon salt

  1/2 cup molasses added the last 15-20 minutes of cooking (can be added when the pork goes back in)

  Instructions:

  Soak beans overnight in cold water.

  Dice pork into 1-inch pieces (I had the butcher do this for me) and boil in water about 1 hour until tender.

  Save the stock.

  In a soup pot, add bacon fat, onions, garlic and leek. When the onions become translucent (a few minutes) add thyme and vinegar.

  Add soaked navy beans and the pork stock.

  Simmer for 30 minutes, and then add pork back to the pot.

  It was at this point that I added the additional ingredients listed above.

  Cook for 15-20 minutes, until the beans are tender. (My beans needed more cooking time.)

  Season with more salt and pepper as needed and slightly mash the beans

  Serve with cornbread or confederate biscuits.

  Confederate Biscuits

  You will find any number of variations on this simple recipe.

  Servings: 6-12

  Difficulty: Easy

  Ingredients:

  2 cups flour

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  1/4 teaspoon baking soda

  1 teaspoon salt

  6 tablespoons shortening

  2/3 cup buttermilk

  Instructions:

  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

  Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

  Cut in shortening until mixture is the consistency of meal.

  Stir in buttermilk.

  Form mixture into a ball.

  Place on a floured surface and knead a few times.

  Pat out to about 1/4 inch thick.

  Cut with a small biscuit cutter. (The rim of a small glass works fine.)

  Place on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. (You can do this in a cast-iron skillet as well and be even more authentic)

  Cut open and spread with a little butter. (I’d say a lot of butter!)

  Filled Cookies

  This recipe came from a very old recipe card. It turns up everywhere—North and South.

  Servings: 12-20

  Difficulty: Moderate

  Ingredients:

  1 cup sugar

  1 egg

  3 1/2 cups flour

  2 teaspoons cream of tartar

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1/2 cup shortening

  1/2 cup milk

  1 teaspoon vanilla

  Filling:

  1 cup chopped raisins (chopped dates or figs work as well)

  1/2 cup water

  1/2 cup sugar

  1 teaspoon flour

  Instructions:

  Filling

  In a saucepan combine flour and sugar.

  Stir in water until smooth.

  Add raisins.

  Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir and cook for 3 minutes or until thickened.

  Cool.

  Cookie Dough:

  In a large bowl cream sugar and shortening.

  Add egg and beat well.

  Beat in vanilla.

  Combine the flour, cream of tartar, and baking soda.

  Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk.

  Cover and refrigerate until easy to handle.

  On a floured surface, roll out dough into 1/8″ thickness.

  Cut with floured 3″ round cookie cutters. You can make these cookies smaller if you like.

  Spoon 2 teaspoons filling on top of half the circles and top each with another circle.

  Pinch edges together and cut slit in top.

  Place 2″ apart on ungreased baking sheets.

  Bake at 350 degrees for 10–13 minutes or until lightly browned.

  Remove to wire racks to cool.

  Ozark Pudding and Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream

  These two desserts are best served together. Both of these recipes are old and easy.

  Servings: 6-8

  Difficulty: Simple and foolproof

  Ozark Pudding

  Ingredients:

  1 egg

  2/3 cup sugar

  1/3 cup flour

  1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  1 cup raw, peeled, chopped apple

  1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

  Pinch of salt

  1 teaspoon vanilla.

  Instructions:

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Beat egg until thick and lemon colored.

  Beat in sugar.

  Mix together flour, baking powder, pinch of salt and add to sugar and egg mixture.

  Add apples, walnuts, salt and vanilla.

  Bake in buttered pie pan at 350 degrees F. for 30 minutes. (This will not look like a pudding but more like a dry crumble or a golden topped pie)

  Old Fashioned Vanilla Ice Cream

  Ingredients:

  4 cups heavy cream

  3 egg yolks

  3/4 cup granulated sugar

  1 vanilla bean, scraped, or 3 teaspoons vanilla extract.

  Instructions:

  In a medium sauce pan bring the cream, half the sugar to a simmer.

  Remove from heat and add vanilla.

  In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks and remaining sugar until light.

  Slowly add hot cream to egg mixture, 1/4 cup at a time, whisking all the while.

  Return mixture to the sauce pan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

  Refrigerate mixture until cold. Place mixture in an ice cream maker for twenty to twenty-five minutes.

  Classic Skillet Cornbread

  You can find dozens of variations on this recipe. The Southern variety, below, is more crumbly and savory. Northern cornbread is sweeter, more dense, and cakelike. Make your cornbread in a skillet, and people will think you really are a Southern cook.

  Servings:
8

  Difficulty: Easy

  Ingredients:

  1 1/2 cups fine stone-ground yellow cornmeal

  1/4 cup all-purpose flour

  2 teaspoons granulated sugar

  1 teaspoon baking powder

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  1 teaspoon kosher salt

  1 3/4 cups buttermilk

  2 large eggs

  3 tablespoons salted butter

  Instructions:

  Place a 10-inch cast-iron skillet in the oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

  Leave skillet in oven for seven minutes as oven heats.

  Meanwhile, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

  Stir together the buttermilk and eggs in a medium bowl.

  Add butter to the hot skillet and return to oven until butter is melted, about 1 minute.

  Stir buttermilk mixture into cornmeal mixture until just combined.

  Pour melted butter from skillet into cornmeal mixture, and quickly stir to incorporate.

  Pour mixture into hot skillet and immediately place in oven.

  Bake in preheated oven until golden brown and cornbread pulls away from sides of skillet 18-20 minutes.

  Remove from skillet and cool slightly before serving.

  About the Author

  Photo by VagabondView Photography

  Sarah Osborne is the pen name of a native Californian who lived in Atlanta for many years and now practices psychiatry on Cape Cod. She writes cozy mysteries for the same reason she reads them—to find comfort in a sometimes difficult world.

  Into the Frying Pan is the second novel in her Ditie Brown Mystery series.

  She loves to hear from readers and can be reached at doctorosborne.com or visit her Facebook Fan Page at Sarah Osborne, Mystery Author. You may email her at Sarah@doctorosborne.com.