Southern Sass and Killer Cravings

by Kate Young

  SOUTHERN SASS . . . AND MURDER

  “Wake up!” Mama shouted at my ear.

  “I’m tired,” I groaned, rolled over and pulled the blankets over my head.

  “Marygene Francis Brown, I’m not telling you again,” Mama said.

  I jolted upright, suddenly aware my mama meant business. Wait a minute, Mama was dead. I rubbed my face with my hand, feeling the grittiness of dried mascara. “Lord help me, what a nightmare.” Mama was about to bless me out for something or another. In her mind, I had always been guilty of something.

  “This isn’t a dream, child,” Mama flipped on the lamp next to her. She was sitting in the beige Queen Anne chair across the room, wearing her yellow dress with white daisies and matching yellow belt. Her brown hair was curled and styled closed to her head like she always wore it.

  I didn’t speak, completely amazed with how vivid this dream was.

  “I don’t have much time, so I’ll be brief.” That was Mama alright. She was efficient. “There’s going to be a murder at the diner tomorrow.” She leaned forward. “Close for the day.”

  “What? Close the diner?” I covered a yawn with my hand. Am I really seeing this?

  “Listen to me, young lady! Neither you nor your sister needs to go to work tomorrow.” She faded away.

  I blinked hard and stared at the empty chair . . .

  Southern Sass and Killer Cravings

  Kate Young

  KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  SOUTHERN SASS . . . AND MURDER

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Teaser chapter

  KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  119 West 40th Street

  New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2019 Kate Young

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

  If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

  KENSINGTON BOOKS and the K logo are Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

  ISBN: 978-1-4967-2145-7

  Electronic edition:

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4967-2146-4 (e-book)

  ISBN-10: 1-4967-2146-2 (e-book)

  Chapter 1

  My phone rang for the umpteenth time this morning. After a brief glance at my cell, I hit the speaker button on the steering wheel. “Hey, I didn’t get cold feet. I’m doing this.” My lips creased in a grin, proud my tone sounded confident, even to my own ears.

  “I’m so glad to hear it, Marygene.” My friend Yvonne sounded relieved I hadn’t chickened out, that we were both moving back home around the same time. We each had our issues to sort out, but the two of us would feel a bit stronger together.

  “I just passed the Peach Cove welcome sign.” They’d repainted the giant peach since my last trip home for Mama’s funeral two years ago.

  “I’m so jealous. I can’t wait to be welcomed by that glorious peach. Two more days and I’ll be home too. Do me a favor. Roll down the windows so I can hear the wind.” My hair whipped around my face the exact second she said dreamily, “Oh, I can hear it now. Don’t you love that salty air?”

  I sampled the air before agreeing.

  “Hello, my beautiful island,” Yvonne sang. “Do you miss me?”

  A chuckle escaped my lips.

  Yvonne was doing her best to cheer me up. It was working. “You did have a heart-to-heart with Jena Lynn, didn’t you?”

  Returning home with my proverbial tail between my legs was difficult enough, without an extra helping of guilt from my sister, and that was exactly what I’d received when I made the phone call. There was no way I was going to mention or discuss Peter and my messy divorce at that time.

  When I didn’t respond, she continued, “You’re going to have to find out if she signed those papers. In your current situation, you don’t have another option. You need an income stream.”

  I made a noncommittal noise.

  “You’re so stubborn. Listen, I’m at my attorney’s office now. I’ll see you in a couple of days. Maybe less. Be brave.”

  I’d fled Peach Cove only a few short years ago, determined to make a new life for myself in Atlanta. “Established Around 1854, Population 2,003,” the sign now read. The island never changed much. The large number of original settlers migrated from the Carolinas to the small island off the Georgia coast and never left. Once folks were born here, they usually died here.

  Yvonne had moved to the city a year earlier pursuing her interior design degree. In my case, I planned to follow my dream of attending Le Cordon Bleu. Luckily, Nanny had left me a little inheritance that would cover most of my first-year expenses. Yvonne, God bless her, fully aware of the tumultuous relationship Mama and I had, had given me a standing offer of rooming with her and splitting expenses. It worked out that the proximity of her apartment proved convenient for the both of us. A month after my first semester began, I’d secured a job working for a prestigious caterer. During one of those functions is where I’d first met Peter. Little did I know then that he’d turn my life upside down. I’d left the island a naive young woman and returned a little battered yet wiser.

  Jena Lynn had been running our family business since our mother’s passing, and because, in her mind, I had effectively abandoned our inheritance, she was eager to buy me out. When we were younger, she worked tirelessly at perfecting her skills in the kitchen. For me, it had just seemed to come naturally. As you could imagine, that had been a point of contention between us. Now, The Peach Diner was my lifeline.

  I came to a stop at a red light at Cove Square, where most of the businesses in town were situated, including The Peach. Pedestrians, from shoppers to diners to those enjoying the bluegrass bands that set up on the corners to play, filled the square at all hours. Today was no exception. A flash of brilliant red hair to my right drew my attention toward the paved brick crosswalk. A face I’d not seen in years came into view.

  “I can’t believe it!” I cried and laid on my horn.

  A couple of seconds later, my fiery-haired friend, with a personality the size of Texas, waved like a loon before she threw herself against the hood of my car to peer through the windshield. A giant smile spread across her sun-kissed
face, her emerald gaze twinkling. “Marygene! Hell’s bells! It is you!”

  “Betsy! It’s been ages!” I laughed.

  Betsy Myers was a unique character who, by some folks’ standards, was an acquired taste. To her friends, she was larger than life. Boisterous, completely outspoken, with a generous spirit and a heart of gold.

  “How’s things?”

  She huffed. There was always something going on with Betsy. “Long story.” She gestured to her ears.

  I got it, there were nosy people everywhere. I grinned as she practically crawled through the window to give me a hug.

  “Seeing you has made this uncomfortable day bearable,” I said as she carefully extricated herself from the window.

  She glanced at my backseat crammed with clothes, obviously tossed there in a hurried fashion, and scrunched up her face in a distasteful way.

  “Wow! Things didn’t go so well, huh?”

  I shrugged.

  “Men, whatcha going to do?”

  We shared a loaded glance. Men are pigs, our eyes were shouting.

  The truck behind us started honking the horn. The light had changed, and we’d been too preoccupied to notice.

  I waved to Betsy. “I better go. I want to show Jena Lynn I’m raring and ready to work.”

  “Okay. You moving back into your mama’s place?” At my nod, she continued, “Terrific! My shift is about to start. I’ll see you at the diner.” Betsy was a lifer at The Peach, employed at the diner since the day she turned fifteen and begged Mama to hire her. She never gave any inkling she had any intention of ever doing anything other than wait tables. It was good to have reliable help.

  Once parked, I took a couple of deep breaths and checked my reflection in the rearview mirror. The bruise on my neck had nearly faded, thank God. Today was the first day of my new life. Peter Hutchinson will not break me. The night we’d met he’d been so charming, projecting confidence that I’d found so alluring. I’d lost myself in the illusion. Shame consumed me when I recalled my infatuation. What a cliché. Older man finds desperate younger woman who’s struggling to find herself. Younger woman is enthralled by older man and his attentiveness. A few extravagant dates via private jet where he showered me with affection and I fell hard. Only a few short months later, he popped the question. I should have listened to my friends when they cautioned me about how fast things were moving. Yvonne mentioned that Peter isolated me from those I held dearest. I hadn’t seen it. Maybe I hadn’t wanted to see it.

  I got out of the car and gave myself a once-over. My khaki shorts were a little rumpled from the drive, but the peach polo I wore with “The Peach” embroidered above the left breast still fit well. My fake-bake tan gave me a healthy glow. It would be good to have access to the beach again, because tanning beds were a poor substitute for natural vitamin D. As I raised my face toward the sun, I invited the rays to seep into my pores, the warmth healing.

  Okay. One foot in front of the other. I can do this. I tightened my grip on my wristlet and crossed the bricked street.

  The tinkling of the door signaled my arrival in The Peach. With a deep inhale of the married aromas of all the food being either fried, scattered, or smothered was such a comfort. It was as if I’d never left. For the first time, I actually took in my diner. From the age of ten, Mama had Jena Lynn and me wiping down tables and cleaning gum from underneath them. I had worked about every single job in the diner. That I knew it so well brought me an overwhelming sense of calm. It was strange how something you’d run from your entire life could feel like a comfy fit in the end. There was no evidence of my ex here. He’d spent his childhood and teen years in New Jersey. That would account for his lack of manners, my Nanny would have said. God love her, she’d been a Southern snob. Marygene, if a man ain’t Southern born and bred, he ain’t worth spit. In my current predicament, I had to laugh.

  Nanny would have despised Peter. A month into the marriage, I’d discovered he struggled with alcoholism, just like Nanny’s husband had. It was my nanny’s words that came rushing back to me last night. A man that raises a hand to a woman should be DRT (dead right there). God, I missed her. But being inside the diner, I felt like she sort of was here, cheering me on.

  Our diner was decorated in a fifties motif with its black-and-white checkered floor tile that set off the peach vinyl booths and chairs with a white stripe down the center. The long counter, where I’d spent many years of my life doing homework, ran the length of the room and was fitted with eighteen high chairs. The walls were adorned with old photographs of the town and townspeople, with the back wall dedicated to Peach Cove’s high school football team.

  My sister, Jena Lynn, walked out of the bakery side of the kitchen located behind the grill line. She lifted the glass dome lid and began stacking peach rolls neatly on the decorative white display plate. I gave her a weak smile. My sister’s light brown bob was tucked neatly behind her ears, and she had a light dusting of color across her cheeks.

  “Want a glass of peach tea?” She gave me a tentative smile that didn’t quite meet her amber eyes.

  “Yes, please.”

  My half-brother, Sam, peeked through the service window, spatula in hand. I waved. Both of us had inherited our father’s gray-blue eyes and easily tanned skin. Over the years Sam and I had sort of settled into an awkward brother-sister relationship. The sibling rivalry we had down, the close connection part, not so much. Maybe that could change.

  I was on my way to round the counter to greet my brother properly, when Betsy lumbered into the diner. “Gawd, it’s hotter than Hades today.” She was fanning herself with an old magazine. She greeted a couple of customers on her way over to me. “Y’all, ain’t it great to have our girl back home?”

  Several customers nodded and smiled. Their welcome was appreciated.

  “Sorry I wasn’t here to be your buffer. I had to run into the pharmacy. Was it awkward with Jena Lynn?”

  “Sort of.”

  “I wish you’d told me sooner about that SOB.” I opened my mouth to respond but she cut me off. “I hate it, but I get it. I’m just glad you called me yesterday and I’m here for you now. It’ll get better.” A lump developed in my throat as I fought emotion. She smiled, understanding shining through her eyes. “Well, your hair looks fab. Those highlights really add dimension.” She ran her fingers through my shoulder-length layered cut. “Not that your blond locks weren’t already the envy of the island.”

  I’d spent a fortune on the highlights and style in one last-ditch effort to hold on to the mirage of the life I was living. “Thanks.”

  “We need to have a wine-and-dine night, to catch up on all things on the island. Bet you could use one.”

  “Right you are, Bets,” I said as Jena Lynn deposited a glass of peach tea on the counter and I took up purchase of a free stool next to old Mr. Ledbetter, followed by a healthy sip from the glass. Sweet but not too sweet, with a perfect amount of peach flavor. Tasted like home.

  “Good?” Betsy tied on her apron.

  “Delicious,” I groaned and grinned.

  Mr. Ledbetter patted my hand. “I bet Jena Lynn is glad to have you back. Those peach rolls of hers sure could use some pop.”

  “I told you I was still tweaking the recipe.” Jena Lynn’s mouth contorted in a disapproving grimace.

  “Well, they smell wonderful from here,” I said placatingly, not wanting to remind her of any old competitions between us.

  Unfazed by her admonishment, he held up his mug. Obligingly, she refilled it. Betsy took the sugar caddy in front of him and replaced the missing packets. She eyed me with amusement as he pointed to the framed newspaper print on the wall.

  “You haven’t changed a bit,” Mr. Ledbetter’s smirk caused his sagging dimples to deepen.

  Betsy hooted with laughter, and I gave them a wry smile. It was known around the island that I had the gift of an expert’s palate. It was true I could tell you what was missing from a recipe or what needed to be adjusted that woul
d send the dish right over the top. If a dish needed a dash of this or a dessert called for a hint of zest or perhaps a splash of vanilla, I was your gal. In my junior high years, like a lot of kids, I had gone through an awkward chubby phase. Fortunately for them, most pubescents aren’t subjected to having those years captured and published by their hometown’s paper and then framed in the family diner. I cringed at the image of my face, round as a MoonPie, grinning while taking a large bite of Mama’s blueberry cobbler and captioned beneath the picture, “The Peach’s secret weapon Marygene Brown will never allow a dessert to be served without her stamp of approval.” Ugh. Next to that little gem was another framed print of me. My arms were thrown around Alex Myers, then captain of the football team. I’d been wearing his letterman’s jacket and we were in the lip lock of the century.

  “Well, we’ve had perfectly ripe peaches in abundance since the Fowlers took over the McKenna orchards, year before last.” My sister saved me from the moment of embarrassment. “We’ve started selling preserves by the jar. Oh, that reminds me. I’ve been working on a new berry crumb bar recipe. Something about it isn’t quite right. I’d love to get your opinion on it.”

  “Of course. I’m here to help.” I meant it.

  “You get that order straightened out?” Betsy asked Jena Lynn as she began wiping down the laminated menus.

  With a roll of her eyes, Jena Lynn nodded, “They’re sending a rush order. Cami in the order department claims they received a call from me canceling the order yesterday.”

  The loud rumbling of a tow truck pulling up in front of the diner diverted our attention.

  “What’s going on?” Jena leaned over the counter, attempting to gain a better view.

  “I don’t know.” I got up to investigate with Betsy and my sister on my heels.

  The bluegrass bands were in full swing as I charged out onto the sidewalk. The usual crowd appeared to be enjoying the music. They clapped and tapped their feet to the beat. All were witness to the tow truck loading up my Prius!