by Deb Baker
“I met him.”
“I had to sit on his lap before he’d tell us about the neighbors. That’s what held us up.”
“What you’ll do for your job, Cora Mae.”
She beamed.
Another squad car pulled into the driveway and I could see Grandma Johnson in the back. All that was visible was the top of her hat.
The officers got out of their cars.
“They weren’t responding to our call,” Kitty said to Cora Mae. She glanced at me. “Dickey reported his truck stolen and the state troopers were combing the area.”
One of the officers piped up. “We apprehended the car thief at the end of the road,” he said. “I had to handcuff her. She actually tried to resist arrest.” He rubbed his shoulder. “She must have rocks in that purse.”
I covered my mouth to keep from laughing.
“She said she witnessed a shootout. Since one of the truck windows was missing, we thought there might be something to her story.”
“Someone that age…” another officer began. “You’d think she’d be home knitting.”
“No driver’s license either,” the first officer said.
“Runs in the family,” Cora Mae said.
chapter 23
“Blaze helped round them up,” I said to Cora Mae and Kitty after speaking to him on the phone. “They arrested three others beside Latvala and Burnett.” Little Donny and Heather sat at the kitchen table with us, eating leftover pasties. Little Donny’s pasty was drowning in a pool of ketchup.
“Blaze is okay then?” Kitty asked.
“He wouldn’t let the ambulance take him to the hospital,” Heather said.
“He always was a hard-head,” I agreed. “He never gives up. Now he wants to take my fingerprints again because the first set was inconclusive. The case is over, I told him. Forget it.”
“What will happen to all the falcons?” Cora Mae asked.
“I called the wildlife rehabilitation center,” I said. “They sent someone over to try to round them up and help the birds acclimate to the wild. At the very least, they’ll feed them until they learn to hunt.”
Fred sprawled next to the table. Kitty saw me looking down at him.
“We heard the ululating coming from the woods, didn’t we, Cora Mae? And we knew it was Fred.”
“He’s quite the behemoth,” I said, taking up the challenge.
“I signed up for that on-line law school,” Kitty said. “I start next week.”
“Good for you. Now the Trouble Busters have their own legal council.”
Little Donny got up and returned from the cupboard with a bag of sugar doughnuts. We all dug in. Mine was halfway to my mouth when I remembered my promise to give them up if things worked out all right.
I looked around the table at my friends and family and realized how incredibly lucky I was. Not only that, my life was about to get even richer. George would be over later to help me study. That was one promise I planned on keeping, passing the driving test.
I bit into the doughnut.
The thought of George sitting next to me, just the two of us, alone, heads bent over the instruction manual, made me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Maybe it was time to consider taking the next step forward in our relationship.
Life couldn’t be better.
Just then Grandma Johnson shuffled down the hall.
“What’s this?” she demanded. “Some kind of party and I wasn’t invited, as usual?”
“Anything exciting happen today?” I asked her.
“If you want to call attending a funeral for a drunken fool exciting, you go right ahead.”
“Aren’t you going to tell us about your arrest? Blaze said he almost couldn’t get you released.”
“And it’s all your fault,” Grandma said. “Running around with-” She stopped because she realized that the friends she was about to disparage were sitting right at the table. Grandma looked down. “With that big ugly mutt. I’m putting my foot down. It’s either him or me, and that’s that. And I’m telling you another thing…”
The kitchen cleared out quickly after that and I was left standing there alone while Grandma Johnson gave me an earful. Even Fred slunk out when I wasn’t looking.
A few minutes later I heard Little Donny screaming from the garage. “What happened to my car,” he shouted.
I ran for cover.
THE END
NORTH WOODS PASTIES
Pasties (pronounced pass-tees) came to the Upper Peninsula with the coal miners, who ate them for lunch deep underground.
This hearty dish can be found in little shops scattered throughout the U.P. The senior citizens in Stonely make the best I’ve ever had, and after a lot of experimenting, I think I’ve figured it out. They freeze well so make a bunch. Serve plain, with ketchup, or use your imagination.
Makes 6
For pastry
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup butter, cut in pieces
3/4 cup ice water
1 egg
For filling
1 pound coarse ground round
1 pound coarse ground pork
1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
1 cup rutabaga, diced
1 cup potatoes, diced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tablespoon oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Sift 3 cups flour and salt. Cut in butter until coarse like breadcrumbs. Slowly add ice water until the texture of dough. Shape in ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. In large bowl combine all filling ingredients. Grease baking sheet. Dust workspace with remaining flour, divide dough in 6 pieces and roll each into a circle the size of a plate. On half of each pastie, spread 1 cup of filling. Fold over and crimp edges. Place on baking sheet, cut a few slits in each top, brush with egg white, and bake 1 hour.
GRANDMA JOHNSON’S SPAM CASSEROLE
I know Spam isn’t on everyone’s shopping list, and you’re probably snickering right now, but we actually eat the stuff. Here’s Grandma Johnson’s county fair award winner.
2 cups macaroni noodles, cooked
1/2 pound cheddar cheese, cubed
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
2 tablespoons green pepper, chopped
1 can Spam, cubed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup canned peas
3/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and bake for 30 minutes.
CARMEL APPLE PIE
In the early fall, the apple trees droop with the weight of hundreds of firm, ripe apples. That’s when we get out our paper bags and fill them to the brim. Cortlands are my favorite, nice and tart. Try mixing and matching when you make your pies. Cortland, McIntosh, and Jonathan make a tangy, spicy combination that’s perfect for pie.
Makes 1 pie
Buy 9-inch piecrust or make it with the following:
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup shortening
5 tablespoons cold water
For pie filling:
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
6 cups apples, peeled and sliced thin
For topping:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup quick oatmeal
1 stick butter
Final touches:
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
caramel ice cream topping
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and toast pecans on baking sheet for 5 minutes, or until brown, checking and turning often. Put aside for final touches.
Raise oven heat to 375 degrees and make crust. Combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until crumbly and pea-sized. Sprinkle with cold water. Roll out on floured surface and line 9-inch pan.
Prepare filling. Stir all ingredients for pie filling together except apples.
When mixed, add apples and gently fold in. Place in pie pan.
Prepare topping. Combine dry topping ingredients. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle on pie.
Line edges of piecrust with foil. Bake 25 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 30 more minutes or until brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle with toasted pecans and drizzle caramel topping over.
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About the Author
Deb Baker grew up in the Michigan Upper Peninsula with the Finns and Swedes portrayed in Murder Grins and Bears It. She makes her home in Wisconsin now but visits her family “camp” as often as possible. Other stories in the series include Murder Passes the Buck and Murder Talks Turkey.
Discover other titles by Deb Baker at Smashwords.com:
Murder Passes the Buck
Connect with Me Online:
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Table of Contents
Murder Grins and Bears It