by Ginny Gold
“I’ll make sure she gets out safe. Stay in your car with Kyle. Please,” he added for good measure.
Kori had no choice but to obey. She walked slowly back to her car, never taking her eyes off of Peter’s house, hoping to catch a glimpse of any movement inside. The sun had finally set and it was dark enough outside to be able to see into any lit room. The only problem was that there were no lights on. Was anyone even home? Had they used the cars as a way to head off the chase in the wrong direction? Should she go check Joline’s house while the police were here?
No, she was sure Nora was inside with Peter and Ria.
Peter and Ria had to know that the police were here by now but they’d made no move to exit or give up Nora. Kori’s eyes were glued to the front door, which was smashed in when no one answered the knock. That seemed to set the other cops in motion and five more uniforms entered the house through various doors and windows.
Now Kori was really beside herself with panic. What if she’d been wrong about where Nora was? Would they have still stormed into Peter’s house? She didn’t think so. They probably weren’t allowed to do that without a warrant.
Unless, of course, they had one. Maybe Kori underestimated Zach and his department.
It felt like an eternity before she saw any signs of life coming from the house, but finally a light turned on and she could see Nora. Only, she was bound and gagged with a gun to her head. Kyle must have seen her at the same moment because he grabbed Kori’s arm to stay put before she even had a chance to open her door.
“You got them here, let them do their job now,” he said, trying to calm Kori as best he could.
She nodded, and for the millionth time today took deep breaths to slow her speeding pulse. She watched without sound what was going on inside, but didn’t see Lani come from behind and grab Ria’s gun that had been trained on Nora’s head. With a sigh of relief, she watched Ria get cuffed, followed by Peter, and both of them led out of the house while Nora was untied and released into police protection. She was led to the third car and Kori ran to meet her on her way.
“Are you okay?” Kori asked, wrapping her arms around her as Lani let go. She took one look in Nora’s eyes and saw that she was still in shock but would be fine.
Nora slowly nodded, but Kori knew it was more of a reaction to the trauma than a yes to her question. Nora slowly asked, recognition dawning on her face, “How did you know where I was?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. For now, just go with Lani.”
Lani smiled at Kori and she knew that they had resolved whatever difference had been created with Jay’s breakup. She released Nora and let Lani lead her away to the waiting cop car. Then she got in her car, dropped Kyle back at his truck and went to the police station. She had a feeling she was going to have to give a statement. And take Nora home later.
CHAPTER 18
“This sure beats last night,” Kori said, clinking her glass against Nora’s and Zach’s. They were sitting on Nora’s patio a mere twenty-four hours after catching Marty’s killer, Ria. “I still can’t believe Kyle was working for them and didn’t see how it all connected.”
Zach took a sip of his beer before explaining. “Marty had been removed from the books so Kyle never tied his murder to Seeds ‘n More. But there had been plenty of other things going on that were below the belt, and based on both Ria’s confession and Peter’s excuses, Marty was about to go public with what he knew about the company. Apparently they were sourcing seeds from China and claiming they were American grown and organic when they were anything but. And then the financial backhanding would have really done them in.”
Nora chuckled. “I think they ended up doing that well enough themselves with murder and kidnapping on top of everything else.”
Kori turned to Nora, worried about how she was doing. “Are you okay? I can stay again tonight if you want.” Kori had spent last night with Nora, three dogs around for protection, and had only reluctantly gone to work in the morning at Nora’s insistence that she had to get her own work done and that would be her therapy.
“You can stay. I think it’ll help you,” Nora said, laughing. “Zach, why don’t you stay too? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a cop around after all this. And the guest bed hardly ever gets slept in. You guys can have that room.”
Kori saw Zach blush and knew he assumed no one knew about their overnight adventures. Well, some things were always shared between best girl friends, and that was one of them.
“Hey, did you decide who you’re going to hire?” Zach asked, clearly changing the subject.
Kori almost choked on her wine and nodded while coughing. “Yeah. Kiera Bell. It was a tight race, but I know her and she has the skills I’m looking for outside of the kitchen too.”
“What do you mean? What else is she going to be doing?” Nora asked.
“First, getting a logo on all sorts of things; mugs, shirts, napkins—”
“You’ve gotta get them on birdhouses!” Nora nearly shouted.
They all laughed. “Oh yeah? You know someone who’ll make them for me? I’m not so good with tools.”
“I’ll get you started,” Zach offered. “I’ll teach you how to use a screwdriver.”
This sent them all into another round of hysterics and Kori was happy things were back to normal. And even moving forward.
IN THE KITCHEN WITH GINNY GOLD
FINDING THE PERFECT GLUTEN FREE FLOUR
If you’ve ever had one of those cardboard-like crackers that are called gluten free, you know that all gluten free flours are not made the same. I started doing research on different flour options for gluten free baking because my mother-in-law eats gluten free for medical reasons and I love being able to feed everyone good, real food.
What I’ve learned so far:
A single gluten free flour (like potato or chickpea flour) does NOT make a good substitute
It’s the gluten in wheat flour that makes baked goods rise and bread dough stretch
I’ve had the best luck buying pre-made mixes for waffles, pancakes and all purpose flour. I’ve made as-good-as-gluten-full waffles from a mix, as well as a pie crust with gluten free all purpose flour that was a little crumblier than normal, but with a little sugar, was barely detectable as gluten free.
And if you’re hoping to make gluten free bread that rises, xanthan gum is your best friend as a substitute for gluten.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ginny Gold lives in the high Rockies and wouldn’t trade it for the world. She loves anything outdoors—especially skiing, cycling, and gardening, though living at over 9,000 feet does make for a short growing season. You can also find her volunteering with local nonprofits and schools when she’s not cooking up her next cozy mystery for her loyal readers.
BEFORE YOU GO . . .
If you enjoyed this installment of The Early Bird Café Cozy Mystery Series, be sure to join my FREE COZY MYSTERY BOOK CLUB! Be the first to know about new releases, promotions, sales, new recipes, and even be entered to receive advanced reader copies. Join the club here—http://www.ginnygoldbooks.com
OTHER BOOKS BY GINNY GOLD
Rise and Die
Deadly Surprise
Dead and Berried
Smashed Potatoes and Gravy
Gingerdead Man