by Cathy Tully
“Pilar told me that Anita used to spend a lot of time here when she was establishing her restaurant,” Susannah said. “She thought there must have been a man in her life, but Anita never spoke of one. I suppose a mother knows.”
“Maybe she never got over Billy.” Andrea sighed. “How romantic.”
“Never got over being run-out on, is what I think,” Bitsy said, tapping Andrea on the shoulder. “You read too many of them romance novels. Abandoned, pregnant, and without a job is not romantic.”
“Whatever their initial relationship was, I believe Anita began to blackmail him,” Susannah said, thinking aloud. “Not that I excuse him, but when he had me in the Wing Shack, at one point he sounded inconsolable. Anita must have backed him into a corner financially.”
“Correct,” the detective said. “Marcie started an audit of the Wing Shack’s accounts, and Billy decided it was time to take some huge risks. He claims at first he just wanted to make Anita ill. Get her off his back, as he put it.”
“How did he decide to poison her?” It was Keith’s turn to ask a question, and he pulled Tina in so close that she had to wedge her chin over his forearm to hear the answer.
“He wanted to prove that he was a better chef than she was. He kept gloating that she never suspected anything was wrong with her tea. Apparently, he loved to garden and has quite a green thumb. No one gave a second thought to his selections for his flower garden.”
“Who would ever suspect something like that?” Larraine said, shaking her head.
“I did suspect poison, but it turns out I suspected the wrong person.” She turned to Susannah and offered her hand. “I want to offer my apology, and I hope we can get past this.”
Susannah studied her angular gray eyes before taking her hand and shaking it. Now maybe things can get back to normal. “You owe me one,” she said, smiling. “Now come on in and have some dessert.”
“Yeah,” Bitsy smiled. “Try some of Miss Larraine’s cobbler. She puts the peach in Peach Grove.”
Roman chuckled and gave Bitsy a tap. She jumped, bumping into Tina and Keith, which started everyone laughing. Susannah stood back and watched the group escort Detective Withers to the kitchen. It was good to have family.
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If you enjoyed Dr. Shine Cracks the Case, you'll love Susannah Shines Through. This prequel novella tells the story of how Dr. Susannah Shine met BFF Bitsy Long.
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GLUTEN-FREE RECIPES
Huevos Rancheros Susannah
1 Tablespoon avocado oil or coconut oil
4 large eggs
4 corn tortillas
¼ onion, chopped
1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 avocado, sliced
Salsa (homemade or store bought)
Sea salt
Hot sauce (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
In a large skillet, sauté the onion in the oil of your choice. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, chili powder, and sea salt.
Add the black beans and mix well. Create 4 wells in the mixture with a spoon and crack eggs into the wells. Cook eggs until whites are firm and yolks are runny.
Plate on tostadas and cover with salsa. Add hot sauce and sour cream.
Gluten-Free Flaxseed Crackers
1 cup flaxseeds
3 Tablespoons chia seeds
1 cup water
3 Tablespoons sunflower seeds
3 Tablespoons pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder (optional)
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a 9x13 baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, soak flax and chia seeds in water for 15–20 minutes. After soaking, the mixture should be slightly gelatinous. Add pumpkin and sunflower seeds and mix well. Add salt and garlic powder or other seasonings to taste.
Turn the mixture onto the parchment paper and use the back of a spoon or spatula to flatten it down and smooth it out evenly across the baking sheet. This will take several minutes.
Place the tray on the bottom rack of the oven for 90 minutes. Remove the tray and turn the mixture. If it has sufficiently “dried,” it will peel off the parchment paper easily and you should be able to flip it over in one piece.
If you want your crackers to come out in even pieces, score the cracker dough now with a sharp knife.
Place the tray back in the oven for another 90 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it cool inside the oven. Once cooled, remove from the oven and break into pieces.
Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins
2 cups almond flour
3 eggs
⅓ cup raw honey
½ teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 Tablespoons coconut oil or ghee, melted
1 cup fresh blueberries
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine almond flour, baking soda, and sea salt.
In a separate bowl, combine eggs, honey, vanilla and coconut oil/ghee.
Combine both mixtures together. Once well incorporated, add blueberries and mix.
Fill a muffin pan with liners. Fill each liner with batter. Bake in oven for 15–20 minutes.
*Healthy Baking Tips
Gluten-free baking flour is available and can be used in place of the almond flour.
Gluten-free baked goods may rise a little less than what you might expect, so don’t omit the whole eggs, as they will help make your muffins fluffier.
Raw honey is thicker than regular honey and usually easier to measure. Put a dab of your coconut oil or ghee in the measuring cup, and the honey will release much easier.
Coconut oil and ghee are solid at room temperature. You can bring your eggs to room temperature to prevent the melted coconut oil from clumping when added to refrigerated eggs, but in the end it will melt again as soon as it’s put in the oven.
About the Author
Cathy Tully is the pen name for EC Tully, a small town chiropractor who loves to read, garden, and be bossed around by her 3 rescue cats.