Fed Up

by JESSICA; SUSAN CONANT CONANT-PARK

  “Owen!” I yanked him out of the crowd before someone tried to question me about the shooting. “Adrianna is having the baby.”

  “I know she’s having the baby. I can’t very well do it, can I?” Owen looked irritated with the shambles left of his wedding reception.

  “No, dummy. She is having the baby now! Come on. You two have to get out of here and get to the hospital.”

  Owen’s face blanched. “Now? What about the Ritz?”

  “Your wife said the same thing. Come on.”

  I had taken two steps with the stunned Owen behind me when Naomi materialized in front of me. “The baby is coming now! Wonderful! Let me help. I know I can be of assistance in this impending event!”

  “Actually, you can help. Go find Adrianna’s mother, Kitty, and engage her in conversation. Anything will do, but just don’t let her know that her daughter is in labor. Adrianna wants her out of the picture.”

  Naomi nodded in understanding. “Yes, that woman’s aura is filled with negative energy, and she should not come near a woman on the verge of bringing new life into the world.”

  “Stay with her for about ten minutes and then sneak around to the side of the house and take my car. You can drive Owen and Ade to the hospital, and I’ll be there as soon as I can. My keys are in my purse in the kitchen.”

  “Of course. Tell Adrianna to picture a delicate blue iris. Trust me, these imagery techniques work wonders in managing pain.” Naomi rushed off into the crowd calling, “Kitty? Kitty? There you are! Let’s talk about the experiences you’ll have as a mother-in-law and grandmother.”

  “Okay, Owen, Ade is upstairs in the bathroom. I better go talk to the police officers, so just run, and I’ll see you two as soon as I can get out of here.”

  “You want me to go up there alone?” Owen looked petrified.

  “Yes! Stop looking so freaked out! You’re not the one facing hours of painful contractions, so just get yourself together. Go!” I shoved Owen toward the house and approached the group of officers who were busy sorting out who in the hysterical mob knew anything of importance. I located Josh with one of the uniformed cops, a paunchy, mustached man who looked happily surprised to be working on a night when something dramatic had happened in the typically dull suburb of Newton.

  “Here,” Josh said to the officer. “This is Chloe Carter, and I think she has some information.” Josh swung an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in. “Evan and Willie are under arrest, and their parents are already headed down to the station. Can you fill this officer in on what you know about Robin and Nelson? Can you believe that dopey Nelson shot her?” Josh shook his head and pointed to the street. I saw Nelson handcuffed and being led to a cruiser.

  Despite my desire to come off as an insightful crime fighter in my own right, I gave an uncharacteristically terse and abbreviated version of what I knew and what I had overheard. Robin and Leo had staged the shopping trip so that he would be the chosen shopper, and Robin would have an opportunity to poison Francie. I didn’t know whether Leo had known about the murderous part of the plan or not, but I did know that he had failed to mention to anyone that he’d been having an affair with Robin.

  “Is Robin dead?” I asked hesitantly.

  “Nope,” the officer said, running his hand over his mustache. “Not yet. Can’t tell what kind of shape she’s in. Now, miss, let’s go over everything you saw again.”

  Argh! I just wanted to get out of there and get to the hospital. I reminded myself that there was no way I would actually miss the birth, since Ade would presumably be in labor for many hours. But I did want to be there for her during her labor, so I decided the best thing to do was to reiterate my story as thoroughly and patiently as possible and avoid further questions.

  Josh stayed with me until I was done. Then I hurried him into the kitchen. I didn’t want to waste time talking with my family or anyone else right now. “Ade is in labor, so I have to leave in a few minutes. Can you cover for me? They don’t want anyone to know right now since Kitty is a horrid pill, and Owen’s family is a bit busy trying to bail their other two sons out of jail.”

  “Absolutely. How exciting! I bet Ade and Owen are disappointed about not going to the Ritz tonight, though—”

  “Would everyone stop saying that?” Honestly, who gave a rat’s ass about the Ritz when a baby was on the way? “Listen.” I took Josh’s hand. “Robin was seriously unbalanced.”

  “Obviously. I’m just glad no one else got hurt tonight.”

  “Yes,” I agreed. “She’s deranged. And she told some horrible lies. Not just to cover up that she had poisoned Francie. Robin even tried to get me to believe things about you.”

  Josh looked quizzically at me.

  I continued. “She had the audacity to try to convince me that you quit your job at Simmer and that Digger was taking over for you.”

  There was an uncomfortably long pause. Robin, I realized, had been telling me the truth.

  “Josh?”

  He sighed and looked around the room. “Yeah, it’s true. That’s why I’ve had so much time off in the past few days. It just got to be too much, Chloe. Gavin is off his rocker, and he’s impossible to work for. I told Digger the job was his if he actually wanted it. I’ve been looking around for other jobs. I have a headhunter named Yvette.” That explained all the phone calls Josh had been getting from a woman. “She actually found me a great job. In Hawaii. A private chef for a family there, Chloe. Great pay and free housing in their guesthouse. And they travel all the time. They said you could come with me, too.” Josh finally looked at me. “I’m flying out of Boston in a few days. What do you say, Chloe? Do you want to move to Hawaii with me? Do you?”

  TWENTY-NINE

  “THIS simply must be the most gorgeous baby in the world.” I gazed down at the newborn I held tightly in my arms. A blanket swaddled the tiny baby, and I could not stop staring at the little one’s perfect features and healthy pink glow. “Patrick, huh? It’s a great name.”

  “Isn’t he perfect?” Adrianna beamed from her hospital bed. “I’d read so many stories about babies coming out with misshapen heads and blotchy faces, so I’d prepared myself that my kid might look awful for the first few days, but Baby Trick is too handsome for words.”

  “Baby Trick?” I giggled.

  “Yeah. Isn’t that cute?” Adrianna’s hair was pulled off her face in a high ponytail. She’d changed out of the unflattering hospital gown into a pair of yellow silk pajamas. Considering that she’d given birth only forty-eight hours ago, she looked spectacular enough to remind me of the celebrities who appeared on the cover of People magazine showing off their newborns.

  By the time I’d finished giving my umpteenth rendition of events to the police officers and detectives on the night of the reception, I’d arrived at the hospital to find Adrianna in full-blown labor. Naomi had stayed with Ade and Owen until I got there and had refrained from scowling when the anesthesiologist had stuck a needle in Ade’s spine to deliver a good dose of medicine. Owen and I had held Adrianna’s hands as she pushed; Owen had managed not to faint, and I had managed not to cry (too much) as baby Patrick entered the world.

  “Thanks for spending so much time with me in the hospital. I can’t wait to get out of here. Owen slept at home last night, but he should be back here in an hour or so to pack us up and take us home. I can’t wait to get Patrick into his new house.” Ade adjusted her pillows and winced, still sore all over from the delivery. “So fill me in on the rest of my reception. I missed all the drama with that nutball, Robin.” Ade stifled a yawn.

  “Robin is still in the hospital. I guess the bullet missed any major organs, and she’ll be facing murder charges when she recovers. Nelson is being charged as an accessory after the fact. It seems that the night of the murder, while we were all on the way to the hospital, he made a copy of the video footage from that day’s filming. All the footage was on a hard drive on his camera, and he transferred a copy to his laptop and was planning
on cutting it to make his own reality episode with the more grisly scenes. And I’m sure he could have sold it for a ton of money, too. With all these weird TV shows and Internet video sites, he might have become a big deal.” I shook my head in disgust. “Speaking of the reality show, that chef who runs Alloy? Marlee? Her restaurant was shut down by the health department late yesterday. One of her employees ratted her out about some serious violations, and the health inspector came out and closed the restaurant for repeated failures to correct critical violations of the State Sanitary Code.”

  Ade wrinkled her face. “Ick. I told you not to eat at that restaurant!”

  “I don’t think anybody will be eating there again.”

  “Speaking of closings,” Adrianna started tentatively, “Owen said Simmer is closed. He called the guy who is covering his deliveries this morning and heard that the doors are locked, the lights are out, and no one is returning calls. What’s going on?”

  “Oh. Well . . . it seems that Gavin has a major cocaine problem. Really major. Not only was he using money from the restaurant to fund his habit, but he had become a real ass to work for. A few of the employees staged an intervention, and Gavin is now in rehab. He had to close the restaurant and is selling the business to try to salvage whatever he can financially.” Obviously Digger wasn’t going to be taking over as the executive chef there.

  “What?” Ade’s exhausted eyes widened in shock. “What about Josh? What’s he going to do? Maybe he can get a job with better hours, and you two will get to have a normal relationship. Maybe this will be for the best, Chloe.”

  “Hmm, maybe.” I felt my eyes start to well up. I did not want to have this conversation now. “So, Baby Trick it is.” I gently rubbed Patrick’s soft cheek with my thumb. “I’m in love.”

  “You’re already in love with Josh. But I guess he won’t mind sharing you with my little guy.” Ade rolled over in bed and lay on her side, staring at her child in my arms, her eyes heavy with exhaustion.

  “No, I don’t think Josh will mind. Especially since he’s not here.”

  “I’m sure he’ll come by later.”

  “No, actually. He won’t. He went to Hawaii.” I cleared my throat. “Moved to Hawaii, I should say.”

  Josh’s invitation to move with him had confused me. Adrianna, Owen, and Patrick needed me, and I needed them. And I had my second year of social work school upon me, and I was finally starting to feel connected to the work I was doing. But Hawaii with Josh would be . . . well, Hawaii with Josh. Paradise. Double paradise.

  “Chloe, what are you talking about? What do you mean he—”

  “Ade, I need to talk to you.” My voice shook as I spoke. Patrick’s face became blurry through my tears. “Ade, I don’t know what to do. I just don’t know what to do.”

  RECIPES

  Roasted Rack of Lamb with Grape-Chili Jam and Chèvre Sauce

  Angela McKeller, Cookbook Author and Show Host Atlanta, Georgia www.kickbackkook.com

  Serves 4

  1 rack of lamb, 8 chops

  ½ cup grape jam

  2 serrano peppers, seeds removed and chopped

  ¼ cup red wine vinegar

  ⅛ cup chèvre (goat cheese)

  ⅓ cup sour cream

  Preheat oven to 450°.

  Score the fat on top of lamb meat, making shallow crisscross knife slashes, but do not cut into the meat of the lamb. Cover the ends of the bones with foil to prevent charring. Sear the lamb by placing the rack of lamb in the oven, fat side down, in a shallow baking pan for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 325° and roast according to your preference using the following chart:

  • An additional 15 minutes per pound for medium-rare; meat thermometer should read 145° after resting.

  • An additional 20 minutes per pound for medium; meat thermometer should read 160° after resting.

  • An additional 25 minutes per pound for well-done; meat thermometer should read 170° after resting.

  Remove lamb rack from oven and tent pan with foil to rest for 10 minutes.

  While lamb is resting, combine jam, peppers, and vinegar in a blender and blend well. Transfer jam mixture to a saucepan and warm the sauce over medium-low heat. Do not boil! (That would render a sauce too thick for use.) When sauce begins to produce a light steam, remove from heat.

  In another saucepan, combine chèvre and sour cream over medium heat. Stir well until smooth and then remove from heat.

  Remove the foil from the lamb, place meat on a cutting board, and cut between each chop so that you have 8 individual chops. Place two chops on each plate and top with 3 tablespoons of the grape-chili jam. Drizzle lightly with the chèvre sauce; using a squeeze bottle of some type gives a lovely presentation. Serve with your favorite sides.

  Spinach and Artichoke Eggs Benedict with Spicy Hollandaise Served with Rosemary, Garlic, and Onion Breakfast Potatoes

  Angela McKeller

  Serves 8

  Eggs Benedict

  1 8-oz. pkg. frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and

  well-drained

  1 14-oz. can quartered artichoke hearts, drained

  and chopped

  ½ tbsp. minced garlic

  2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated

  1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

  1 cup sour cream

  ⅛ cup mayonnaise

  8 large croissants, halved and toasted

  16 poached eggs

  Preheat oven to 350°.

  Combine first 7 ingredients. Bake in a ceramic or glass oven-safe dish until completely melted into the consistency of a dip. Spread each half of croissant with a heaping tablespoon of spread. Top each croissant half with a poached egg and top with 2 tablespoons hollandaise sauce (recipe follows).

  Hollandaise Sauce

  12 egg yolks

  4 tbsp. butter

  1½ tsp. lemon juice

  Tabasco or Crystal Hot Sauce

  Beat egg yolks together. Melt butter in a double boiler (water softly boiling) with lemon juice. When melted, slowly add egg yolks (equivalent of about one yolk at a time) so as not to scramble the eggs. Stir constantly until very hot and serve. Add salt to taste if needed. Give a quick dash of hot sauce on the finished dish for visual presentation and a bit of a kick.

  Breakfast Potatoes

  1½ lbs. red-skinned potatoes, well-rinsed, cubed with

  skin on, and placed in a zipper baggie

  2-3 tbsp. olive oil (more if needed)

  3 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

  1 tsp. minced garlic

  1 sweet yellow onion, finely chopped

  Preheat oven to 400°.

  Place all of the ingredients in the baggie with the potatoes. Shake very well to coat potatoes with the other ingredients. Place on large cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Do not layer or pile the potatoes; have one even layer. Bake for 45 minutes or until brown and crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. If they don’t brown enough during baking, use a kitchen torch for a few seconds over the potatoes just until they are crispy and browned, and serve with Benedict.

  Pumpkin Stew in a Pumpkin

  Anne and Michel Devrient

  Semur-en-Auxois, France

  Serves 4-6

  1 medium sugar pumpkin

  1 large onion, diced

  3 tbsp. unsalted butter

  2 cups fresh bread cubes, cut into 1” cubes from

  a French loaf

  2 garlic cloves, minced

  3 cups mixed fresh mushrooms (button, portobello,

  chanterelle, oyster) cleaned, stems removed, sliced ¼“

  thick

  Salt and pepper to taste

  3 cups Gruyère cheese, grated

  4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled

  1 container (7-8 oz.) crème fraîche or ½ pint

  heavy cream

  Preheat oven to 200°.

  Cut the top off of the pumpkin as you would if you were going to carve it for Halloween. Scrape out the seeds and loose pulp, being
careful not to remove the pumpkin flesh itself, since pumpkin is the basic flavoring of this dish. Save the top of the pumpkin, which will be placed back on during cooking.

  In a large skillet, sauté the onions and 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat for a few minutes, and then add the fresh croutons and toss. Stir and cook the croutons for another few minutes and then add the garlic. Toss the mixture and cook until the croutons begin to brown. Add more butter as needed to keep the mixture from drying out. Set aside.

  In a separate pan, sauté 1 tablespoon of butter with the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have released their juices and begun to reabsorb them. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

  To assemble the pumpkin for cooking, put in layers of the bread mixture followed by a dash of salt and pepper, then a layer of the grated cheese, a layer of mushrooms, a bit of the crumbled bacon, and a thin layer of crème fraîche or heavy cream. Keep layering until the pumpkin is filled. End with a layer of cheese.

  Put the pumpkin lid back on. Set the filled pumpkin in a casserole dish that will support its sides. Fill a roasting pan with 2 inches of water, and place the pumpkin, in its casserole dish, in the water. Bake for about 3 hours, checking from time to time, until the pumpkin pulp is getting soft enough to spoon up.

  To serve, gently remove the pumpkin from the water bath and place on a large platter. Scrape out some of the pumpkin flesh with a large, sturdy spoon as you dish out each bowl.

  Salad with Maple Syrup Vinaigrette