Toasting Up Trouble (A Dinner Club Mystery)

by Linda Wiken

  J.J. smiled and squeezed Skye’s hand.

  “Connor’s going to be late,” Beth explained. “Something came up at the radio station.”

  At the mention of his name, J.J. felt her stomach do that flip-flop again. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him, but since she’d signed him on to be one of the emcees at the casino night, Connor Mac’s name was now synonymous with her fears of a flop. Skye noticed the look on her face and quickly ordered glasses of Shiraz for them both.

  “It might be hard to stay away from talk of the casino night once Connor gets here,” J.J. said, “but I really hope we won’t be discussing it tonight. I really need to think about something else for a while.”

  Skye jumped in. “And I hope you don’t mind my tagging along. I promised her a drink. Or she promised me one. Anyway, we both need it about now.”

  “Happy to have you along, Skye.” Beth grinned as she plopped a brown paper bag on the table. “Well, I thought I’d take advantage of this opportunity to do the reveal for our next supper-club night.” She patted the bag. “It’s this baby right here, and you’ll have to wait until Connor arrives.” She smiled and tilted her glass of wine toward each of them in turn.

  “Yikes. I’ve totally lost track of time,” J.J. admitted. “When’s the next dinner?”

  “Three weeks from this Sunday. And you’d better remember it’s at my house.” Beth tapped the top of the bag again. “I think this will be a surprise and we’ll have lots of fun with it.”

  “Are you insinuating we haven’t been having fun?” Evan asked, a look of affront on his face. J.J. noticed his blue eyes twinkling and she tried to stifle a grin, waiting to see how this would play out.

  Beth looked abashed. “No, of course not. I’d never suggest that.” She leaned forward and squinted at Evan across the table. “Nice one, Evan. You really had me going there for a few seconds.” She started laughing and they all joined in.

  J.J. looked around the table at the four members of the Culinary Capers club. They all took turns hosting the monthly dinner, and that host got to choose a cookbook and the entrée. The others would bring along an accompanying dish, also from that cookbook. Evan had been the one who’d invited her to join, and now, after many months of shared meals and laughter, she considered them all to be close friends. Food could do that.

  “Well, while we’re waiting for Connor, can’t you at least update us on the casino night?” Alison asked. “After all, you know we’ll be there for you in spirit.”

  J.J. thought about it for a moment. I’m just being silly. She nodded. “As you know, it’s the big fund-raiser for People and Causes, and it’s in two weeks on board the Lady of the Lake. That’s the largest cruise boat in the Crowder Sightseeing Line, so you can just imagine how cool that will be. We cast off at six thirty P.M. and return to the dock at one A.M. Besides the roulette wheel, there’ll be blackjack, craps, and three-card poker. We’ll serve a buffet dinner at ten P.M., and there’ll be a great deejay at the back of the boat for those wanting to dance.”

  “Aft,” Connor said, sinking into the chair beside J.J.

  She looked at him.

  “Aft. That’s the back of the boat. Hi, everyone. Sorry I’m late. Glad you didn’t wait for me.” He nodded at the drinks.

  J.J. took over again. “And our celebrity masters of ceremonies are our very own Connor Mac of radio WHMB morning-show fame, and TV personality Miranda Myers, host of Tonight’s Entertainment on WBVT.” She looked at Connor and noticed a flicker pass over his face, almost so fast that she wondered if she’d really seen it. And what had it meant?

  Connor signaled the server and ordered a beer. “No one’s ordered any food yet? Are we doing dinner or what?”

  “It’s my night to cook,” Evan explained, “so I’m not eating. Well, maybe an appetizer.”

  “Okay, then let’s get a variety of small dishes on the table.” Connor signaled the server again and asked for one of each of the four appetizers on the menu. “I hope that’s all right with everyone,” he asked.

  They all nodded and Alison did the equivalent of a shrug with her eyes.

  “Well, I’d like to take over the floor, then, while we’re all waiting,” Beth said in a louder voice. The patio had filled up quickly, and with the music and conversation from other tables, it was getting hard to hear. She stared at Connor. “I’m doing the cookbook reveal tonight.” She pulled a narrow but large book out of the bag. “There’s nothing like a good murder to whet the appetite.”

  Someone gasped. J.J. realized she’d been the culprit, and she suspected that Beth was pleased with the reaction. The others chuckled and gave Beth their full attention.

  “So, my choice for the next Culinary Capers dinner is the Mystery Writers of America Cookbook.” She handed it to Connor, and he started flipping through the pages. “The recipes are contributed by some of the most dangerous crime writers in the country. And I’m hoping they’re all safe to use.”

  She grinned, and J.J. thought it made her look so much younger than her sixty-four years. “I’m really sorry, though, J.J. There are only a few full-page color pictures. I know how much you like those, but I’m hoping you’ll bear with me this one time.”

  J.J. tried to make it look like she was giving her answer a lot of thought. “Okay. But just this once.” She smiled to show she was kidding. Sort of. “Have you chosen an entrée yet?”

  “I have. I’m going to do the Chicken Gabriella, which is contributed by Sara Paretsky, one of my favorite mystery authors. And I thought it might be fun for us to each talk a bit at the dinner about the authors whose recipes we’ve chosen. Maybe, if everyone has the time, we could each read a book written by our author and just say a few words about it, too. I think it would be fun and a bit different. What do you all say?” She looked so expectant, and J.J. knew no one would dare to pan the idea.

  “Great,” Evan chimed in first. “You’re right—it will be fun adding another element, and I put dibs on dessert.”

  “Wow, right in there. We’re taking a big leap here, not having a good look at what’s offered before claiming a dish, but I’ll volunteer for an appetizer,” Alison said, moving aside some glasses to allow the first two dishes they’d ordered to be set on the table. “Over to you, J.J.”

  “Hm. Maybe a side dish.”

  “Do we need two of those?” Connor asked. “I see they have a soups and salads section, also.”

  “I trust your judgment,” Beth answered. “You can let me know what you think after taking a closer look at what’s there.” She glanced around the table. “Thank you. I appreciate you all getting into this. I think it will be memorable and quite delicious.”

  Evan raised his glass in a toast. “Here’s to an evening of mystery!”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Linda Wiken is the author of the national bestselling Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries under the pseudonym Erika Chase, and is the former owner of a mystery bookstore. Visit lindawiken.com.

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