Hope Callaghan - Garden Girls 04 - Death by Dumplings

by Hope Callaghan

  Dot dabbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt. “Thanks, Gloria. I needed to hear that!”

  Gloria closed the Bible and set it back on the stand. She passed the tray of sandwiches to Dot first. Dot grabbed a tuna wedge and roast beef slider before passing the tray to Ruth. After the girls loaded up their lunch plates, they bowed their heads in prayer.

  “Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for this food. We thank you for the time you’ve given us to spend together as friends and we pray, Lord, that you’ll help us clear our dear friend Dot’s name and figure out how that poor man ended up getting poisoned in her restaurant. We say a special prayer for his family.” She finished the prayer with, “Thank you for your son, Jesus, and our salvation. In Jesus name.”

  “Amen,” the group said.

  The girls munched on their sandwiches, each of them declaring them to be the best they’d ever had.

  They chatted about Gloria and Margaret’s trip to the mountains to track down Liz. When Gloria got to the part about Mally getting shot, the dog must’ve heard her name. She wandered out into the kitchen to check for floor scraps and to get a little attention. Mally made her way around the table as each of the girls patted her head and praised her for being such a loyal companion and hero, and for saving Gloria and Margaret’s lives.

  Ruth was the first to ask the question Gloria knew was coming. “So what happened with the treasure? Did you find anything?” All eyes were on Gloria now, including Margaret’s. She remembered their vow to keep silent about the coins until all were in agreement and they were certain the coins were theirs for the keeping.

  She answered as honestly as she could without giving anything away. “We found something but we’re not sure of the value or if we even get to keep what we found.”

  Margaret added. “We decided until we’re certain what we found is ours to keep, we’re keeping a lid on it.”

  That seemed to satisfy the girls’ curiosity. At least for the moment.

  Ruth changed the subject. “It’s almost time to start up with visits to the town’s shut-ins. Since we don’t have anything from our gardens yet, what do you think about taking some baked goods – you know breads, rolls, cakes. Stuff like that…”

  Gloria nodded. They’d slacked off a little through the winter. Partly for lack of people to visit and partly because of bad weather and slippery roads. It was time to start the visits again. “I’ll be happy to bake some bread,” she offered. “Who’s not getting out now?”

  Everyone looked at Ruth. The one person in town who knew what was going on since she ran the post office. On top of that, Ruth made it a point to stick her nose into everyone’s business. At least the ones that would let her.

  “Millie Tate just had a hip replacement. She’s not going to be out too much for quite some time. We should add her to the list for at least the next month.”

  Lucy clucked. “Oh, that poor thing. I remember the day she fell on the ice trying to get to her mailbox this winter. She was out there a good hour before someone drove by and noticed her sprawled out in her driveway!”

  They all agreed Millie was on the list until further notice.

  “Anyone else?” Margaret asked Ruth.

  Ruth grimaced. “There is one more…”

  “Who?” Gloria asked. Whoever it was, Ruth wasn’t too keen on them, judging by the tone of her voice.

  “Judith Arnett,” Ruth said. “She was trying to shoo a stray cat out of her yard and she fell into a hole. She twisted her ankle and is on crutches for the next few days,” she added.

  The room grew silent. It got so quiet, you could’ve heard the crickets chirp.

  Judith Arnett was one of the most unlikeable residents in Belhaven. She and her small band of cronies carried on as if they owned the town. Judith made it her personal mission to start mean, malicious rumors. Her main objective? To ruin innocent people’s lives – and reputations.

  Just last month, she spread a hateful rumor about Gus Smith. Gus and his wife, Mary Beth, owned a small automotive shop on the edge of town. She told anyone that would listen that she caught him drinking out behind his shop during business hours.

  The rumor spread like wildfire and Gus’s business dropped off like a rock. When Mary Beth caught wind of the malicious rumor Judith was spreading, she marched right over to Judith’s place and gave her a piece of her mind!

  Gloria would’ve given anything to have witnessed the exchange. Mary Beth was as sweet as sugar until you crossed her. Then the fiery Italian temper bubbled over and woe to whoever might be on the receiving end of that!

  Next thing you knew, Judith was keeping a low profile, avoiding town like the plague. Gloria even heard she was taking her mail into nearby Green Springs just so she didn’t chance another run in with Mary Beth.

  “If you’re going to visit Judith, you can count me out,” Dot announced.

  Dot was never one to judge people – always the first to forgive, even if she’d been wronged. For her to say she wouldn’t visit Judith was a surprise…

  All eyes turned to Dot. She’d been pretty quiet so far. What with everything going on, no one could blame her…

  “I caught her stealing from the restaurant last week and kicked her out,” she told the group.

  This was the first any of them had heard about this. Judith wasn’t the nicest of people – but a thief?

  “She was in for breakfast with a couple of her cronies the other day. After they paid at the cash register, Judith’s friends left but Judith went to use the restroom in the back. I was still behind the cash register when she came out. When she walked by me, I noticed her purse was bulging open and I could see inside.”

  Dot paused.

  Ruth leaned forward. “What’d she take?”

  “Instead of using the restroom, she must’ve snuck into the kitchen. I asked to see what was in her purse. At first she refused but when Ray came over to see what was going on, she changed her mind.”

  “And?” Lucy nudged.

  “She was trying to steal the small Espresso machine from the kitchen.”

  The girls gasped in horror. Judith – a thief?

  “Anyways, I took the machine back and told her she was never to step foot in our restaurant again,” Dot finished.

  “When was that?” Gloria asked.

  Dot paused for a moment as she thought about it. “Just the other day. I think last Saturday.” She shrugged.

  “Right before the poisoning,” Margaret pointed out.

  Lucy looked doubtful. “You don’t think she came back and poisoned your dumplings to get even…”

  “How could she?” Dot wondered. “I banned her from the restaurant.”

  The whole conversation got Gloria to thinking. Dot’s kitchen was in the back. Every time Gloria had ever gone into Dot’s kitchen, the back door was open and the screen door unlocked. With all the ovens and equipment running, the back got hot. And in the warmer months, especially the spring and summer, they left the door open to keep it cool.

  Was it possible someone snuck into the restaurant just long enough to put something in the dumplings and then sneak back out?

  Gloria wasn’t the only one thinking the exact same thing.

  “After you made the dumplings, did you leave the kitchen?” Ruth asked. “You know, run any errands between the time the dumplings were made and the first dish left the kitchen?”

  Dot grew thoughtful. So much had happened and her brain wasn’t functioning too well lately. “I’m not sure…”

  Gloria pulled her chair close to Dot. “Think hard, Dot. This is important.”

  “Well, after I made the chicken and dumplings, I did a quick check of the supply closet. Wednesday after close is our day to refill the salt and pepper shakers and all the other table condiments,” Dot said.

  Her forehead crinkled. Her eyebrows shot up. “Yes! Yes! I did leave the restaurant. Ray was in the front talking to Officer Joe Nelson. We were low on salt and we weren’t getting another deli
very until Friday so I hung up my apron and headed out the front door.” She went on. “I ran down to the Quick Stop grocery on the corner…”

  “So no one was in the back – at least for a few minutes,” Lucy observed.

  Dot shook her head. “No. Both Jennifer and Ray were in the front when I left the restaurant.”

  Gloria tapped the kitchen table top. “Which would give someone enough time to slip in through the back screen door, dump something in the dumplings and then sneak back out without being seen.”

  Gloria grabbed a pad of paper and pen from her junk drawer. She sat back down and scribbled “Suspects” at the top and underlined it.

  She wrote the number “1” and put Judith Arnett’s name beside it. Halfway down the page, she started another line and added, “Witnesses.”

  She turned back to Dot. “Who was in the restaurant Wednesday morning that you remember? I think we should question them.”

  “Officer Nelson because Ray was talking to him. Oh, Andrea was there! She was sitting at a table in the back with a man wearing work boots and construction-type clothes,” Dot said. “She ordered my favorite breakfast. Biscuits and Sausage Gravy,” she added.

  Gloria scribbled furiously. “Anyone else you can remember?”

  “Judith’s husband, Carl, was in there with Al Dickerson.”

  Ruth changed the subject. “Did you hear about the new restaurant that opened in Lakeville a week or so ago?”

  “You mean Pasta Amore?” Gloria asked.

  Lucy nodded. “Someone mentioned it to me the other day. That they have authentic Italian food.” She remembered poor Dot. “I’m sure Dot’s food is a hundred times better than that place,” she added

  Dot’s face fell. “So that’s where everybody’s eating now that my place is closed.”

  Margaret tapped her fingers on the side of her forehead. “Maybe it’s them and they tried to sabotage Dot’s place,” she said.

  Gloria grabbed the pitcher off the counter and refilled the glasses of tea. “That’s what I was thinking. But they’re only open for dinner and Dot’s is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

  “But maybe they plan on expanding their hours,” Ruth argued.

  Gloria set the pitcher of tea back on the counter. “We need to look into that.”

  Ruth glanced at her watch. “I gotta get back to work. My lunch break’s almost over.” She grabbed a couple sugar cookies and her purse before heading to the door. “I’ll keep my ear to the ground, you know, see if anyone’s talking.” She looked over at Dot. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get to the bottom of this no matter what!” she promised.

  With that, Ruth bolted out the door and hustled to her van. Gloria watched as she peeled out of the driveway toward town. She glanced at the clock. Ruth had one minute left before the post office was supposed to open back up. Judging by the way she tore out of the drive, she might just make it!

  “Are you going to check out the new restaurant?” Lucy wondered.

  Gloria turned to Dot. “You want to take a ride over there? See what we can find out?” She didn’t dare tell Dot that she and Paul went there the other night for dinner. It almost seemed like a betrayal to admit she had.

  “I-I guess so…” Dot said. She looked at Margaret and Lucy.

  Margaret shook her head. “As much as I’d like to, I have a meeting with a financial adviser after this.” She gave Gloria a quick look. A look that meant Margaret was meeting with an adviser to discuss what they could do with any windfall they might come into if the coins turned out to be as valuable as everyone thought.

  Gloria nodded. “Margaret’s out then.” She turned to Lucy. “You want to come along?”

  Lucy grabbed a Butterscotch Parfait, stuck a spoon in the cup and scooped out a large spoonful of sweet creaminess. She popped it in her mouth thoughtfully. “Mmm. This is so good!”

  She scooped out another mound before she glanced at the clock on the wall. “I have to be back by four. Bill’s taking me to the gun range for shooting practice.”

  Gloria stuck her hand on her hip. “As much skeet shooting, squirrel hunting and other creature killings you two do, I would think you’d be a pro by now.”

  Lucy stuck the spoon in her mouth and shook her head. “Nope. I’m not very good at all,” she admitted.

  “Maybe next time, then.” Gloria said. “Are you up for it, Dot?”

  “You really should go,” Margaret urged her. “It’s not good for you to stay shut up in that house 24 hours a day.”

  Dot grabbed a parfait cup and then reached for a cookie. She dipped the cookie in the pudding and took a big bite. She chewed on it for a long moment. “Yeah. I guess I should. If we don’t figure out who put poison in the pot - who will?”

  Gloria covered the leftover sandwiches and shoved them in the fridge along with the remaining butterscotch desserts before she grabbed her purse and headed to the door.

  Mally heard the jingle of Gloria’s keys and followed her to the door. Gloria bent down. “Sorry girl. We have to go without you this time. I’m pretty sure a fancy Italian restaurant isn’t going to allow dogs inside.”

  Mally dropped her head and slunk over to her bed in the corner. She gave Gloria a sad face before she flopped down on the bed and closed her eyes.

  Lucy patted Gloria’s arm. “She’ll be okay. I think you’ve spoiled that dog rotten.”

  Gloria sighed. It was true. But she spoiled Mally in a good way. After all, what was wrong with the dog wanting to be with her?

  She gave Mally one last glance before she followed the girls outside and shut the door.

  Margaret tied the bright blue scarf around her head and followed Lucy to the jeep. “Keep us posted if you manage to find any good clues.”

  Dot and Gloria watched Lucy’s Jeep roar out of the driveway before climbing into Anabelle.

  The drive to Lakeville took a quick half an hour. On the way, Dot and Gloria talked about the weather. Their grandkids. Anything but the murder.

  As they got close to town, Gloria had a thought. “Maybe we should talk to Jennifer. You know, find out if she noticed anything odd or anyone unusual lurking around the other morning.”

  Dot planned on it. She just didn’t have it in her to call her yet. With the restaurant shut down, there was a chance that Jennifer was going to quit anyways. Who would want to work for someone that poisoned people? “Yeah, I guess so.”

  Gloria glanced at Dot. “Leave it to me,” Gloria said. “I’ll get ahold of her.”

  Dot was relieved. “Could you?” Tears welled up in her eyes. She wiped them away with the back of her hand. “I don’t know what to say to her. Or anyone else.”

  It was the least Gloria could do for her friend. “I’ll call her tomorrow,” she promised.

  The restaurant was in downtown Lakeville, right off the main road. They slowed as they passed by the front. The new owners had done a nice job of remodeling the place. It was originally built as a boarding house for the men who built the railroad that ran through town.

  For years it sat vacant until a local resident decided to fix it up and turn it into a drugstore. It stayed that way until the owner retired. The owner’s children weren’t the least bit interested in living in Lakeville and once again, the place sat vacant for a long time. Until a few months ago when the mysterious new owners from Chicago remodeled it and turned it into the restaurant.

  Gloria pulled into an empty spot in front of the building. Her heart sank as she read the sign. They didn’t open for another hour!

  Dot was disappointed. “I guess we should’ve called first.”

  Gloria shook her head. “Let’s head around back. I’m sure someone’s inside getting ready for the dinner rush.”

  The girls climbed out of the car, walked around the side of the building and headed for the alley in the rear. Three vehicles were parked off to the side and one of them was a shiny, new SUV with an Illinois license plate.

  Gloria slipped her glasses on. She
grabbed her phone from her purse and switched it to camera mode. She stepped close to the SUV and leaned forward to snap a picture of the license plate. Now maybe she could track down the restaurant owner!

  Dot took a step towards her. “What are you doing?” she whispered loudly.

  Just then the back door of the restaurant swung open. A short, dark-haired man stepped onto the stoop. “What’s going on back here?” he demanded.

  Gloria jerked up. The pocket of her sweater caught on the trailer hitch. She tried to yank it free but the sweater refused to budge. Her head bobbed up and down as she tried in vain to pull herself free.

  The man must’ve wondered what in the world was going on. He hopped off the steps and made his way to the back of the vehicle. At that precise moment, Gloria’s sweater decided to rip free. She stumbled backwards and landed on her rear, the cell phone still clutched in the palm of her hand.

  Dot reached down and helped Gloria to her feet. “We here – uh – admiring…” Her voice trailed off.

  She tried again. “We were admiring the color of the building and I, uh. I was telling my friend Gloria here, that I wanted to paint my house this color.”

  Dot stopped and gave Gloria a hard stare. “So – uhmm, she offered to take a picture. That’s when she dropped her phone.”

  The man gave them an odd look, then shrugged his shoulders.

  Gloria quickly changed the subject. “The new owners did a nice job remodeling the old place,” she said.

  The man smiled. “Thanks.” He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the restaurant. “My wife and I’ve been working on it now for a couple months.”

  “You’re only open for dinner?” Dot blurted out.

  “We have been, but starting Saturday we’ll be open for breakfast and lunch, too. Other than a fast food joint down the road, we’re the only restaurant in the area,” he explained.

  Dot started to tell him that “no they weren’t” but bit her tongue instead. She didn’t want him to know who she was. Now that he was closer, she got a good look at this face. He looked familiar. Like she’d see him somewhere before…

  Gloria could tell Dot wanted to say something. Probably something she’d regret. She grabbed Dot’s hand and started to pull her away. “We’ll have to come back and try it.” She gave a small wave before whirling around and walking off.