by Sandi Scott
It was over.
Detective Luna said, “Come with me, Mr. Johnson,” and led him to a squad car. Another officer went over to Sheila and escorted her to another police car. Ashley could hear her sobbing even through the closed car doors. Detective Luna called back over his shoulder, “Miss Adams, Mr. Brady, there are still a few loose ends that we need to clear up. If you could follow me back to the station to answer some questions, I would appreciate it.”
“Mon Dieu,” Patty spoke up suddenly, and Ashley jumped. She had been so quiet Ashley had forgotten she was even there. “Surely the morning would be better for them to give their statements? I think you know as well as I do, Detective, that there is more to all this than meets the eyes.”
Detective Luna nodded slowly. “Yes, you’re right, Ms. LaFontaine. It would be better to sort out the details later.”
One of the officers put on gloves and closed the door of the SUV and the trunk of Sheila’s Toyota, then put flashing cones near the SUV, still parked in the middle of the street.
Soon, a tow truck would come and take it away.
19
A few weeks later Patty and Ashley sat in Ashley’s kitchen, drinking wine and passing the time waiting for Ryan and Smoke Daddy Lee to finish barbequing so they could all eat. Their contribution to the celebration that was planned was moules marinières—mussels cooked in a white wine broth with shallots—crusty french bread, and a green salad. There was a cherry clafoutis ready for dessert.
Ashley was thrilled that all the money that had disappeared from her account had been refunded by the credit union, although they weren’t able to say for sure who had taken the money. Ashley’s laptop computer was open on the table in front of them, and they were looking at food trucks, getting ideas and seeing what was available.
There was one that had been built into the interior of a city bus that had half the space allocated to a tiny eating area near the front of the bus with kitchen space in the back. It was painted a cheerful robin’s egg blue, refurbished, and even had a neon sign in the window that flashed the words “OPEN FOR BUSINESS”. But it was nail-bitingly expensive, and the bus had been manufactured in the 1960s.
A second one, Ashley’s favorite, was currently in Houston and was much newer. The surfaces were all clean and unscratched on the inside, without a layer of grease coating everything. There was room for both of them to cook and even room for a cast-iron crêpe griddle. Maybe. It, too, was nail-bitingly expensive.
They continued scrolling through food trucks for sale in the area. Ones that were trailers rather than trucks. Ones that were too small for one person to turn around in, let alone two. Ones that were black with grease along the ceiling. Ones that would need their engines rebuilt and that would be a constant worry about breaking down. Ones that clearly weren’t going to be up to code no matter what they did with them. A passenger van that had been turned into an ice cream truck by cutting a hole in the side of the door.
And…
…a red truck with a stylized black crawdad on it and Betty’s Bayou Cuisine printed on the side.
They both gasped and read the description aloud, taking turns with the details: 1995 automatic transmission Chevy Grumman. Truck runs great, clean interior. Used for only two seasons. Size 7’11”H, 15’L, 7’W. Equipment.
“Oh my,” Patty said, chortling. “What goes around comes around, doesn’t it?”
Ryan and Smoke Daddy Lee came in just then, holding smoking platters filled with meat. “All righty folks, dinner is served.” Smoke Daddy looked over Patty’s shoulder. “What are y’all looking at? Ah,” he continued before Patty or Ashley had a chance to say anything, “I’d heard that Betty was getting out of the business permanently. I hadn’t thought about her truck much.”
“I wonder what happened,” Ashley mused. “The police didn’t contact me, not about her, anyway. And I only just got the small claims court suit in.”
“I’m sure she’s pulled something like this before, ma chère.” Patty was nonchalant. “You’re not the first person she’s done wrong to. Does it say anything about the owner? And… I don’t buy for a second that that truck has seen only two seasons. Look at the wear on the wall over there, where that cupboard door hits. That’s a scratch that would take at least five years to make.”
Ashley didn’t know whether she believed Patty—there might be a little righteous snobbery going on—so she started to scroll through the listing anyway.
“It doesn’t say anything about a police auction, sadly,” Ashley pointed out. “That would have made my day! But it is satisfying to see that she’s getting out of the business.”
“Or trading up to a restaurant,” Patty said.
Ashley put a finger against Patty’s lips. “Shhh. Don’t break my little fantasy to pieces. I say she got what she deserves, and that’s final.”
Patty chuckled. “If you say so.”
Just then Ashley noticed that Ryan and Smoke Daddy were exchanging looks over the top of Patty’s head. “What’s going on? Do you two know something we don’t about Betty and her food truck?” she demanded in a mock-accusatory voice. Wagging her finger at them, she continued, “It’s not nice to keep secrets from your closest friends.”
“Well,” Smoke Daddy started, “we might know something about a police auction with a food truck for sale in it, but if you think the truck might be too old for you …” His voice trailed off as he winked at Ryan.
“Tell us.” Patty jumped up from her chair and grabbed Smoke Daddy Lee by the shirtfront. “If you know something about Betty’s truck and why she is getting out of the business, now would be a good time to tell all—assuming you want to eat tonight, that is.”
“Don’t rush me, woman, I’ll tell this story my way. Let’s eat, and then I’ll dish the dirt on Betty and her truck.”
After their delicious meal was finished and all the dishes were done, the four of them sat in companionable silence, watching the sunset paint the sky with brilliant streaks of red and orange. “So what did happen with Betty?” Ashley turned to Smoke Daddy, “And how about her son, Beau?”
Smoke Daddy Lee settled in more comfortably to the big swing where he and Patty were snuggled together. “After Betty’s little stunt of not paying you, Ashley, I went around to talk to a few of my friends and spread the word that she was not worth doing business with. Turns out that everyone pretty much already knew—she owed most of them money. She probably wasn’t lying when she said she couldn’t pay you—there was a long list of people ahead of you.
Ashley pondered this. “So she just went broke?”
“It’s as simple as that,” Lee said. “And it’s too bad because, personal feelings aside, the woman could make a mean pistollette.”
“Then I say again, all’s well that ends well.” Ashley found herself echoing Patty’s words earlier. She was glad it was all over and things were working out.
Ryan was at her side and they were “officially” dating now, which made her world pretty much complete. Except for one thing.
Turning to Ryan, she said suddenly, “So, what do you think about the trucks?”
Ryan looked back at her teasingly and replied, “No, you first—what do you think about owning a food truck after everything you’ve just heard?”
“I think… I think we’re really close to being able to afford a truck that’s going to bankrupt us by breaking down all the time,” Ashley said.
Patty laughed. “That’s true. What she wants is the second truck that we were looking at.”
They went back to the listing for the second truck. It was expensive. But there was a three-year warranty on the water and electrical systems, a one-year warranty on the refrigeration unit, and even a seven-year warranty on the truck engine.
“How long do you think it’ll take before someone else buys it?” Ashley asked wistfully.
“Who knows? Maybe as long as a week.”
Ashley sighed. “We can’t afford it yet.”
“We c
ould take out a loan.”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it. Betty seems like a cautionary tale about taking on too much debt.”
“We paid off the one we took out to get set up in Fresh Start Kitchens in record time.”
“True, but…”
Patty said, “Have some more wine and think about it. I know we’ve been thinking about it for a long time, but it is a big decision.”
“I’m not ready for a storefront,” Ashley said. “But I feel like I’m outgrowing tents and tables, and unhappy that we can’t take on all the jobs that I want to do.”
“It’s the crêpes, isn’t it?”
“It’s the crêpes,” Ashley admitted. Then she added slyly, “And the pommes frites.”
Patty sighed. “You’re on to me.”
“Do you really want to fry things? The heat, the grease?”
“I do,” Patty said. “I really, really do.”
Ashley repressed a smirk and spoke in a not-so-quiet whisper. “And you’re not going to just up and marry Smoke Daddy Lee so you can take over his trailer?”
Patty slapped her on her shoulder. “You!”
Ashley laughed.
“Of course not,” Patty said. “He’d never share that trailer. Ever.”
“Confirmed,” said Lee who was standing to the side with Ryan, both pretending not to listen.
Ashley laughed even harder. She had tears in her eyes.
“What about you and Ryan?” Patty asked.
Ashley held her hands out. “Oh my gosh, staaahp! We just started dating!” Ashley put her hands up.
“After knowing each other for how long?”
“We’re taking things slow now,” Ashley said. Ryan looked at her and winked.
“Mm-hmm,” Patty said, winking. “Just promise me that you won’t get married just so you can sell pastries out of Ryan’s computer shop.”
“Code’n’Cookies,” Ashley said, in mock seriousness. “It could work.”
“Pixels and Pastries.”
“Networks and, um, I can’t think of anything that starts with an N.”
“Nibbles and Bytes.” Ryan was starting to get into the spirit of things. “I know, how about ‘Hacker Ryan and the Great Ex-Crêpe.’”
“Stop, stop,” Ashley said, laughing helplessly. “No more, please! I think we just need to stay Seagrass Sweets and The Southern Bird.”
“The Southern Bird and Seagrass Sweets.”
Ashley groaned. “If we’re going to argue about this all night, I’m going to need some more dessert.”
* * *
THE END
Letter from the Author
Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this story and will consider writing a review on Amazon.com or lending it to a friend.
* * *
To be the first to know when the next book in the series and other new releases are out, join my email list www.SandiScottBooks.com.
* * *
As a thank you for joining, I will send you the first two books in the series.
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I love to stay in touch with readers and periodically give out free books, advanced copies, and other fun stuff.
Email me at [email protected]
Stay cozy,
* * *
Sandi
Praline Murder: Book 4 in the Seagrass Sweets Cozy Mystery Series.
When a reality television show comes to Seagrass, Ashley and Patty jump at the change to cater to Hollywood. Little did they know, the drama would spill off the screen into their lives.
When one of the reality show’s stars shows up dead in a historic mansion in Seagrass, rumors spread that the old house is haunted and people start to wonder if a ghost could be responsible.
Ashley knows better, but she is distracted by an emergency with Ryan and Dizzy.
She doesn’t know who she can trust anymore and has to solve both mysteries before it’s too late.
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COMING SOON!
VANILLA-SCENTED MADELEINES
Recipe from: King Arthur Flour
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/vanilla-scented-madeleines-recipe
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Ingredients
10 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 drops butter-rum flavor (optional)
1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, sifted or whisked, to aerate
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CHOCOLATE GLAZE
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate
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Instructions
To make the cookies: Melt the butter, then set it aside to cool to room temperature.
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In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the sugar, eggs and salt until they're light yellow and very thick. Stir in the vanilla and butter-rum flavor. Add the flour and melted butter alternately, using a folding motion (be gentle!), so the batter loses as little volume as possible. Refrigerate the batter, covered, for 45 minutes or so, until it's thick.
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Scoop the batter into the lightly greased wells of a standard-size madeleine pan, using 1 slightly rounded tablespoon of batter for each cookie. (If you have only one pan, bake in sequence, keeping the remaining batter refrigerated).
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Bake the madeleines in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 14 minutes, until they're light brown at the edges. Cool in the pan for several minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack.
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Sift a light coating of confectioners' sugar over the madeleines just before serving. Or, dip in chocolate glaze. Store cookies in an airtight container.
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In a small pan, combine the corn syrup, water and sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring until the sugar melts. Remove from the heat, add the chocolate, and let stand for several minutes; then stir until smooth. Reheat as necessary to keep it soft enough for dipping, adding a bit of extra water if needed.
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To glaze madeleines: Gently grasp a madeleine at one end, and dip the other end in the chocolate. Set on a rack (over parchment paper, to catch any drips) until the chocolate hardens.