“Have you eaten, dear?” Lily asked.
“No, not yet.”
“I’ll just pop next door and get you something and be right back, shall I? Now you and Ella both have had an exciting day, so just relax.”
She left and he turned to look at me. “I should have gone with her and saved her the trip back. You must be tired.”
“Not as tired as you. So tell me. Did you really get her confession?”
“Yep, signed, sealed and delivered. She admitted trying to run you down too. She didn’t at first, but Tom showed her the CCTV footage and she caved. She said she’d heard you’d been asking about her. She’s a pretty paranoid person.”
“She even came to my house.”
“With the cat—which, you’ll be happy to know, has an owner. She trapped the poor thing in her garage for a couple of days and then brought it to you. She said she wanted it to be in bad shape, like a stray.” He shook his head. “Disturbed woman. The boys next door to her will be so happy. They’ve been looking for her everywhere. Put up posters and everything. By the way, the cat’s name is Patty.”
I laughed and shook my head. “Patty?”
“As in Peppermint Patty? Because she’s black and white. It seems the boys’ grandfather liked the ‘Peanuts’ cartoons.”
“I love it. Well, I’ll be sure and take Patty home tomorrow. I’m thrilled she’s found her way home.”
“I knew you would be.” He smiled and reached over to take my hand. “I was so scared when I pulled up in the car park outside the clinic and saw that silver car. We were on our way to Katie’s mother’s house. The clinic she worked with had emailed us her schedule, and we passed by the clinic on the way and saw your car and Elaine’s…with the temporary tire. My heart skipped a few beats, I have to tell you.”
“Because…because we’re such good friends?”
He looked directly into my eyes then and his thumb rubbed a little circle on my hand. “I think we both know we’re much more than that, don’t we?”
I gave him a smile then that made him blink. “Yes, Sergeant O’Leary. So much more.”
The End
RECIPE
GOLDEN & CRISPY FRENCH TOAST
INGREDIENTS
375 ml (1 ½ cup) milk
5 eggs
10 ml (1 tbsp) vanilla extract
pinch of salt
8-10 slices white bread
75 ml (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
Powdered sugar and cinnamon for dusting
INSTRUCTIONS
In a large bowl, combine the milk, eggs and vanilla with a whisk.
Place a non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. Melt 1 tbsp of butter, each time you will fry the toasts. I use skillet big enough to place at least 3 toasts.
Dip the bread slices, one at a time, in the egg mixture, letting them soak a bit.
Brown for about 2 minutes per side, turning with a spatula.
Dust with mixture of powdered sugar and cinnamon, (I usually mix 4 Tbsp of powdered sugar and 1 tsp of cinnamon).
Top with your choice of berries. Serve warm with cup of coffee or tea.
The End
Welcome to Adlebury, where village life can be downright deadly!
Veterinarian Petronella Knight seems to have it all: a job she loves, good friends, and patients who adore her. But when she gets into an argument with dog breeder Gladys Harrington, and she finds the woman dead, she also finds herself accused of murder. Ella will need all her friends, including the village’s new and very handsome American policeman, and all her sharpest sleuthing skills to figure out who murdered the dog breeder before another dead body pops up.
Paws for Murder contains one enthusiastic amateur detective with a penchant for rescuing animals, a guard duck called George, a large amount of homemade gooseberry wine, and a very confused American who has never met an English village quite like this one.
You’d be Barking Mad to pass this one by!
Murder, Mayhem, and Bonny Baby contests? – It must be another Barking Mad Mystery Story.
It’s the Adlebury Spring Fete, which means balloons, baked goods—and a dead body. Of course, veterinary surgeon Petronella Knight and the handsome American police sergeant Garrett O’Leary have to work together to discover why someone would want to resort to murder, even if it does seem that nearly everyone in the village hated the odious dead man.
Tempers rise along with Nan’s fresh bread. Swords are drawn, and the battle that commences isn’t just the one staged by the local English civil war society.
Can Ella and Garrett catch the killer before another victim falls? Or will it be dog eat dog until the last slice of prize-winning pie is gone?
About The Author
Scarlett English is a crazy cat lady—or actually, make that dog lady—who likes solving murders. Much to her chagrin, the police have never consulted her on their cases, which is no doubt why there seems to be so much unsolved crime, surprisingly enough, in the small English village where she lives. Armed with curiosity, a penchant for taking in strays, a love of homemade wine and a good gossip, she puts her detecting talents to good use murdering her imaginary friends, and solving the cases one story at a time.
Paws and Effect Page 16