Murder at the Cabaret
Page 15
Someone really does need a cream puff, Ashley thought. She looked in the bathroom mirror while shaking the lactic acid out of her leg muscles. Who was Colleen talking to and what on earth could be in that email? Ashley knew Colleen’s boss was Bobby McCay, but she couldn’t even begin to guess what kind of secret he had that could be so shocking,nor could Ashley figure out who the man trying to protect Bobby was. It was a mystery, but Ashley saw no reason to poke her nose where it didn’t belong. When she made her way out of the bathroom and down the hallway nearly colliding with Colleen, who was still staring at her phone and pacing, Ashley bit her tongue, smiled and pretended that she hadn’t heard a thing.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m so busy, I don’t know if I’m coming or going.” Colleen didn’t seem to suspect Ashley had overheard the argument. “I talked with the waiters,” she continued. “They’re ready to serve the desserts right after Hope is done.”
“That’s great,” Colleen said with a weak smile. “Thank you.”
Ashley smiled back. “Well, I hope everyone liked our food.”
Colleen nodded but kept glancing at her phone. “Of course they did. You’re a great chef.”
“Are you okay?” Ashley dared to ask.
“Sure. Why?”
“Oh, nothing. You just seem upset or something.”
The women locked eyes with each other for a moment before Colleen revealed a more convincing grin.
“Don’t worry about me, sweetie. It’s just been a long day, and Bobby can be very demanding. Actually—speaking of Bobby—I must go.”
Ashley watched Colleen take off, only to stop and linger by the banquet hall door. Moments later, the lights brightened, signaling the end of the speech. Heads immediately turned to the dessert table, like sharks smelling blood. A crowd formed around the croquembouche, some taking pictures of Ashley’s masterpiece.
She didn’t mind the food photography phenomenon. Patty always said that cuisine’s fleeting nature was what made it such a beautiful art; after painstakingly placing carnation petals and clover blossoms between the spun caramel, Ashley liked knowing that her work would be immortalized before disappearing down those rich gullets forever.
CHAPTER 2
The next day, Ashley pulled in to the back entrance of the Gulf Coast Women’s Club, mentally replaying the highlights of their biggest catering job yet. Her only regret was that she had not seen Ryan again after she tripped over herself and hid in the bathroom; she found herself wishing she could have told him about some of the hilarious kitchen bloopers of the night. The dessert spread had been such a hit that she’d been too distracted with all the compliments to clean up properly, accidentally leaving behind a few baking trays.
She made her way into the kitchen and grabbed the trays. The kitchen door swung open, startling her. All the pans fell out of her grasp and clattered on the floor.
“Ashley? What’re you doing here?”
It was Sheriff Mueller, staring at her with a look of apprehension. Seagrass had always been such a peaceful town, so the odd time something did happen, it could be seen on Old Man Mueller’s face. Also, the fact that he wasn’t at the diner drinking coffee and brushing breakfast crumbs from his grey stubble, like every other morning, meant that something really bad had happened.
“I’m getting my pans. What’s wrong?”
His eyebrows scrunched together, wrinkling his forehead even more.
“You were here for the event last night, and you cooked the food?”
She nodded. “The desserts.”
“Why don’t you come out here with me?”
His tone was serious, but Ashley had always found a southern drawl comforting. She felt that if you had to get bad news, at least it sounded better blanketed with an accent.
A crowd of Seagrass’s small police force was gathered in front of the side hallway, which was blocked off with caution tape.
“We’re waitin’ for the state police to get here for forensics,” Mueller offered, taking a notebook from his pocket. “Would you mind answering a few questions?”
“Uh, what’s this about?” She crossed her arms, wishing that she hadn’t thrown on sweatpants and a Texans jersey.
He sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Colleen Abramson fell ill at the dinner last night. Someone found her in the bathroom this morning—deceased.”
Her mind raced with questions. “Colleen? Dead? I just saw her. Talked with her. I stood right in front of her. How could she suddenly be dead?”
“We don’t know much yet. Bobby says she grew ill near the end of the night and left to go to the bathroom. There was a miscommunication, and everyone at her table assumed that someone else had seen her home.”
“They just left her there?” Ashley’s hand rose to her forehead, “and no one found her till morning?”
“I know. Bobby feels terrible,” the sheriff said, “but by all accounts, it seems it was an honest mistake.”
She felt guilty about her harsh tone, knowing that Mr. McCay would be a million times harder on himself. Her eyes were welling with tears.
“I know this is hard, but there’s some things I need to ask you.” Mueller hesitated. “Please understand, I’ve gotta ask these questions. It’s my job.”
Ashley wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Okay.”
“Now, by all accounts, Colleen was a healthy young lady, but who knows, it coulda been a heart attack or something.” He placed his hand on her shoulder again. “Still, I gotta ask. You made the dessert, right?”
“What?” Ashley was confused by the question. What did she have to do with any of this?
Mueller grimaced. “They said all Colleen had to eat was dessert. And then—well, she got sick. I need to know what ingredients were in the cream puffs, and you need to confirm that you used proper food safety protocol to make them.”
“What kind of question is that?” She could feel the heat rising up her chest into her neck. “Of course I did. I am trained by a world-renowned chef, you know. She’s the best in the business.”
She knew that it wasn’t Mueller’s fault, yet she couldn’t help raising her voice. It didn’t matter how good the food was; any murmurs of a sick guest could cripple a catering business, not to mention a baker’s reputation. She took a deep breath.
“What I mean—what I mean is that my food safety standards are among the highest you’ll find.”
“Even so,” said Mueller, “I just need to get this information in order to rule it out.”
Ashley rattled off the recipe from memory. “Flour, eggs, butter, sugar—” You couldn’t get any more basic than the standard pastry and cream filling recipe. The decorative flowers came from an organic grower, free of all pesticides and herbicides, and double washed with her own hands. It couldn’t be her fault, could it?
“Did anyone else get sick? If it was only Colleen, it must have been something she’d had before.”
“Darlin’, I know, but we’ve got to rule out something contaminating the portion Colleen ate,” Mueller said.
“Poisoning. You’re talking about straight-up poisoning someone,” Ashley said. “I don’t make those kinds of mistakes, especially not with a partner like Patty, who’s always gone above and beyond food safety standards.”
If you enjoyed this preview of Cream Puff Murder, check your local ebook retailer where it is free right now.
Recipe: Chocolate Coco Raspberry Fudge
Ingredients
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup Coco Treasure Organics Coconut Nectar Syrup
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup grass-fed chocolate protein powder
½ cup fresh raspberries
½ cup Coco Treasure Organics Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
Preparation
Put the honey and coconut oil in a medium-sized bowl. Let them melt in the microwave.
While waiting for them to melt, put the raspberries in another bowl and mash them with a
fork. Be careful not to pulverize them. We need them in chunks.
Once the oil and honey are melted, slowly add in the raspberries you mashed. And then, add the unsweetened cocoa powder, chocolate protein powder, and the vanilla extract. Stir until combined.
Prepare a baking dish by lining it with parchment paper.
Pour the batter into the pan and freeze for an hour until it hardens.
Cut into your preferred sizes and shapes.
Serve and enjoy!
Recipe from Foodista.com
Recipe: Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
Ingredients
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sugar
3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
Streusel:
2 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted
½ cup pecans, chopped
½ cup butter, melted
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9x13” pan with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla and milk. Sift in the sugar, 3 cups flour, baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon and salt. Stir just until combined. Place half of the batter into the pan.
In a medium mixing bowl, prepare streusel by combining the brown sugar, cinnamon, 1 tablespoon flour, 2 tablespoons butter and pecans. Sprinkle half of the streusel mixture over the batter in the pan. Top with remaining batter and then place remaining streusel on top. Drizzle with ½ cup melted butter. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.
Recipe from Foodista.com
Recipe: A Tropical Paleo Cake
Ingredients
For the Batter:
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup fresh coconut milk
¼ cup maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup Coco Treasure Organics Extra Virgin Coconut Oil melted
¾ cup Coco Treasure Organics Coconut Flour
2 tablespoons coconut flakes
2 egg whites
3 whole eggs
For the Icing:
¼ cup diced pineapple
¼ cup arrowroot powder
2 tablespoons Coco Treasure Organics Coconut Sugar
2 cups coconut cream
Preparations
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, egg whites, whole eggs, and vanilla.
Slowly fold the wet ingredients into the dry ones. After which, add the coconut flakes.
Line a baking pan with parchment paper. It is ideal to grease it with coconut oil before pouring the batter. That way, the cake won’t stick to the pan.
Then, bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until it becomes slightly brown or when a toothpick comes out clean when inserted. Set aside.
While waiting for the cake, prepare the icing. In a mixing bowl, combine the coconut sugar, arrowroot powder, and the coconut cream. You can do it by hand or using an electric mixer. Put the mixture in the fridge for 30 minutes to thicken.
Once the cake is baked and the icing is ready, ice the cake with the icing. Finally, top with the coconut flakes and diced pineapple.
Serve!
RECIPE FROM Foodista