by Jessica Beck
I was about to jump toward her when I saw Pat tense.
He was going to try to do the same thing!
I had to stop him, but I didn’t know how.
Fortunately, there was a sudden pounding on the front door behind Robin.
The cold-blooded killer made the mistake of instinctively turning her head toward the sound for a split second.
And that was all we needed.
Chapter 21: Pat
I saw Annie tensing up to leap forward, and I knew that I had to do it before she could. My crazy sister was trying to save me! I appreciated the sentiment, but there was no way I was going to live with the guilt of her sacrificing herself for me.
I started to jump first when I heard someone pounding heavily on the front door of the office.
Robin glanced back for a second, and Annie and I made our moves simultaneously, as though we’d rehearsed it a thousand times before.
She tried to take Robin’s legs out from under her while I went for the gun.
Annie scored a direct hit, but as Robin stumbled back under the impact of my sister’s expert tackle, the gun lowered toward her, and I knew that I wasn’t going to make it in time.
Chapter 22: Annie
I saw the gun coming toward my head, and I knew that Pat and I had mistimed our attack. At least she wouldn’t be able to get us both.
Then Kathleen burst into the room. In a motion that was almost surreal, I saw her point the revolver in her hand directly at Robin’s heart as she shouted, “Drop it. I’ll shoot you in a heartbeat if it’s between you and my family.”
Robin hesitated a moment, and then the gun in her hand fell down onto the carpet beside me.
It was over, and my twin brother and I had somehow both managed to survive it.
“How did you even know where we were?” I asked our older sister once Robin had been cuffed and led away by one of Kathleen’s officers. “Were you following us?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she said with a wry grin. “I had a hunch Robin wasn’t as innocent as she wanted us to believe, so I’ve been tailing her for the past few hours. Imagine my surprise when I saw you two show up at her place earlier.”
“You knew she was one of our suspects,” Pat said.
“Sure, but I didn’t realize how right you were until I saw her follow you soon after you left her house. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where you were all going.”
“If you were there that long, why didn’t you come in sooner?” I asked our older sister. I hadn’t meant to be accusatory, but it must have sounded that way to her.
“Annie, I wasn’t sure what was going on. By the time I figured it out, it was almost too late. I could hear you all talking from outside, but I knew I couldn’t risk just barging in. I cracked the door enough to see her holding a gun on you both through the doorway, but I couldn’t chance a shot going past her and hitting one of you. I figured pounding on the doorframe might distract her enough to give me a free shot. I never dreamed you two would try to tackle her yourselves.”
“In our defense, we didn’t know you were just outside,” I told her. “Thanks for coming to our rescue.”
“I have a hunch you would have been fine without me.”
I remembered how close that gun had come to my head and shuddered. “Trust me, sis, we needed you.”
“Well, it all worked out in the end. Like I said, I heard bits and pieces of it from outside. She was really spying on him at work and at home?”
“Crazy, isn’t it?” Pat asked as he showed her the box he’d found. “We came here looking for something of Jenna’s and ended up catching a killer. Speaking of which,” Pat said as he walked past our sister, went to Robin’s desk, and pulled out the Shred file. Inside, he found something quickly and held it out to Kathleen. “There’s the real will. Annie still gets the property, but Jenna inherits everything else. Timothy’s will, like the note and the list we found, were all forged.”
“Well, well. I wonder if Jenna has any idea of what’s about to happen?”
“Any idea about what?” the woman herself asked as she joined us. “What’s going on?”
“Why are you here?” Pat asked her.
“I decided to come by and find the letters I’d written to Timothy myself.”
“So, you were telling us the truth,” Pat said.
Her lips formed two thin lines before she replied, “Imagine that.”
“No worries,” Kathleen said. “They’re locked up safely in my desk drawer. I figured you’d want to destroy them yourself. Don’t worry, I didn’t read them, at least not after I realized what they were.”
“That’s at least something,” Jenna said. “Thank you for sparing me the embarrassment.”
“There’s more. It turns out that you’re going to be rich,” Kathleen said.
“What are you talking about?” Jenna asked her.
It was clear she had no idea what my big sister meant. It took a few moments for it to sink in, even after she’d read the fine print herself, but once it had, she let the will fall from her hands to the floor. “It doesn’t really matter now, does it?”
“What do you mean? Don’t you want the money?” Kathleen asked her.
“Sure. Why not? You know something? It might be just what I need for a fresh start somewhere else.”
“You’re leaving town?” Pat asked her incredulously.
“Is there any reason I shouldn’t? There’s nothing left for me here. Is there?”
The question hung in the air much longer than it must have felt, until Pat answered softly, “No. I guess not.”
Jenna didn’t even look all that surprised by his response. “Then it’s settled.”
The vet turned and walked out without once asking what we’d all been doing there.
It was the close of not just a chapter but an entire book.
Jenna was moving on, and out of all of our lives, including my brother’s, once and for all.
Chapter 23: Pat
A few days later, things were finally getting back to normal at the Iron, something I was eternally grateful for.
Skip approached me and asked, “Pat, do you have a second?”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I’ve finally got the display just the way I want,” he said. He’d been working on it off and on since I’d given him my approval, and I was eager to see his final version.
It actually turned out to be more than I’d expected. Not satisfied with his display of snowmen and trees alone, Skip had turned one shelf into a virtual winter wonderland. He’d used fake snow, created a rolling hill as a backdrop, and he’d even formed a tableau featuring snowmen and decorated trees spread throughout an idealistic winter scene. “What do you think?”
“It’s almost too pretty to break up and sell,” I told him honestly.
“That’s the beauty of it. We don’t have to.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been making the individual components, but I’ve also done a full display piece that matches this exactly. Think how pretty it will be on people’s mantles, tabletops, even windowsills. Check this out,” he added with a grin as he reached down and flipped on a switch. The entire scene was now bathed in bluish-white LCD light, something that reminded me of snowy winter evenings from my childhood.
“It’s the best thing you’ve ever done,” I said as I patted him on the back.
“Really? Do you mean that?”
“I do,” I said. “In fact, I want to cancel my earlier order.” Before he could misunderstand my intent, I added quickly, “I want three of the new sets; one for Annie, one for Kathleen, and one to keep for myself.”
“You’ve got it, boss,” he said happily. “I can’t wait for the first snowfall.”
“I don’t know. I’m happy with today, and the hope there will be a tomorrow on its heels. Everything else is just icing on the cake, as far as I’m concerned.”
As Skip went up front to wait on a customer, I glanced back at Annie, happily working the grill. Knowing how close we’d come to losing everything, it gave me a renewed sense of appreciation for every day that we had and a desire to get every ounce of life out of every moment.
Maybe I’d even have that long-overdue chat with Molly about seeing if we could try again.
But not today.
Today was fine, just the way it was.
Recipes
Artisan Bread Baked in a Cast Iron Dutch Oven
I was amazed by how wonderful this bread recipe turned out the very first time I tried it. Since I always play with everything I make in the kitchen, always searching for that perfect combination, I’ve reworked this half a dozen times until I am quite pleased with the results. It’s easy to make (not a no-knead but a little knead), doesn’t take many ingredients, and results in a delightful bread that you’ll swear was created by a master baker! As an added bonus, the house smells wonderful all day. This method steams the bread as it bakes, resulting in a crispy crust and an interior that is reminiscent of sourdough with its delightful tenderness! Try this one. You won’t be disappointed! If you like white bread, just use all regular bread flour (1½ cups) and omit the wheat entirely!
Note: The recipe can be doubled without a problem, but now that our nest is empty, we’re happy with a loaf made for just two people, which is what is presented here.
Ingredients
1 cup bread flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1⁄4 teaspoon yeast (I use regular yeast, not rapid rise, for this recipe)
3/4 cup water (heated to 110 degrees F)
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, add the bread flour, wheat flour, salt, and yeast and stir together well. Next, heat the water until it is approximately 110 degrees F. In my microwave, it’s 32 seconds on high, but your mileage may vary. Add the hot water to the mix, stirring it well until it is mostly incorporated. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead about fifteen times. The dough will be warm and sticky, but that’s as it should be at this point. Next, place the dough in a bowl sprayed with nonstick vegetable spray, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for three hours. When that time is up, place your cast iron Dutch oven in a cold oven and raise the temperature to 450 degrees F. Give it half an hour to allow the cast iron to reach the desired temperature as well, which takes a little longer than the oven itself. As the cast iron is preheating, place the dough on the floured surface and knead five or six times for good measure. Cover with the bowl it rose in and wait. Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven after the half hour is up, remove the lid, spray the bottom with nonstick vegetable spray, and turn to your dough. Make three cuts across the top to allow expansion, then flour your hands and drop the dough directly into the hot Dutch oven. Replace the cover and put the entire thing back into the oven. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, then remove the lid only! Allow the bread to brown in the open Dutch oven for 5 to 8 minutes until golden brown and crispy. Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!
Serves two people, with a little left over if neither one of you is too greedy!
Pumpkin Waffles
We love pumpkin waffles at our house, no matter what time of year it might be. They are rich and hearty, tasty, and truly delightful. Enhancing a box waffle mix, we like to add pumpkin, extra eggs, vanilla, and instant oats to create a breakfast that really sticks with you. I often make a double batch, and if there are any left, they freeze great. I double wrap them to protect them from freezer burn, and when I’m ready for a waffle or two, I simply pop them in the toaster, still frozen, and soon I have a wonderful breakfast delight that I consider homemade despite starting with a boxed mix! We started out making pumpkin pancakes and decided one day to try it with our waffle mix, with outstanding success!
Ingredients
3 cups waffle mix
3 eggs, beaten
1 cup water
1 cup canned pumpkin
2/3 cup quick oats (raw)
1⁄4 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions
Turn on your waffle iron, or set an old-fashioned one on your burner to preheat, spraying with nonstick vegetable spray first. In a large bowl, combine the waffle mix, eggs, water, pumpkin, oats, canola oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg, mixing just until everything is incorporated. Set the mix aside for 2 to 3 minutes, and then add ½ to ¾ cup of the mixture at a time to the heated iron. Cook for 3½ to 4 minutes, or until they reach a rich pumpkin gold, and serve. These are tasty plain but really soar when coupled with butter and syrup.
Makes four to six waffles, depending on the amount of batter you drop each time.
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Other Books by Jessica Beck
The Donut Mysteries
Glazed Murder
Fatally Frosted
Sinister Sprinkles
Evil Éclairs
Tragic Toppings
Killer Crullers
Drop Dead Chocolate
Powdered Peril
Illegally Iced
Deadly Donuts
Assault and Batter
Sweet Suspects
Deep Fried Homicide
Custard Crime
Lemon Larceny
Bad Bites
Old Fashioned Crooks
Dangerous Dough
Troubled Treats
Sugar Coated Sins
Criminal Crumbs
Vanilla Vices
Raspberry Revenge
Fugitive Filling
Devil’s Food Defense
Pumpkin Pleas
The Classic Diner Mysteries
A Chili Death
A Deadly Beef
A Killer Cake
A Baked Ham
A Bad Egg
A Real Pickle
A Burned Biscuit
The Ghost Cat Cozy Mysteries
Ghost Cat: Midnight Paws
Ghost Cat 2: Bid for Midnight
The Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries
Cast Iron Will
Cast Iron Conviction
Cast Iron Alibi
Cast Iron Motive
Cast Iron Suspicion