Chicken Caccia-Killer (A Jordan McAllister Mystery) by Liz Lipperman Page B
Authors: Liz Lipperman
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like she was close to committing murder herself.
* * * * *
On the way back to Alex’s house, Natalie begged Jordan not to tell her son about the encounter with Georgette Calabrese. She was afraid if Alex decided to have a chat with her, Georgette might bring up the fact that Natalie was once engaged to Emilio—assuming she even knew about that. It didn’t take much persuasion to get Jordan to agree. Telling Alex would also be confessing they’d been snooping around, and he’d pitch a fit. Both she and Natalie would have to listen to a long lecture about leaving police business to the police.
It was after four when Jordan dropped Natalie off and made it back to her apartment. There was no news about Marco’s death, and Alex and Kate were meeting with Hamilton later that evening to discuss what to do next.
Alex had invited her to stay and have dinner with them, but she’d excused herself, saying she needed to get her notes straight so she could begin her article for Thursday’s Kitchen Kupboard. She was anxious to see what Loretta Moseley had to say in Tuesday’s column, secretly hoping the woman bombed. As much as she wished for a job in the sports department, the culinary reporter gig had proven to be a great second choice for her.
And she would do whatever it took to keep the job, although being related to the editor did give Loretta a huge advantage. Jordan would just have to work harder. She grinned, thinking she had a few tricks up her sleeve, too. She couldn’t wait to see the readers’ reaction to the Italian Cream Cake Pops recipe.
Crap! She’d left so quickly after Natalie and Georgette had verbally attacked each other that she’d forgotten to go back for Carlita’s recipe. Even though she’d promised not to print it until the festival was over, she wanted it in her hands in case Carlita changed her mind about giving it up. Her plan was to write about all the food and tease the readers with the hint that Carlita’s fantastic recipe would be coming out in her column the following week.
There was no way Egan could can her if she had the good people of Ranchero clamoring for her next column.
Halfway home, she decided now was as good a time as any to get the recipe, and she headed over to the fairgrounds. Maybe she’d even get another sample of the sugary treat as a bonus.
Just thinking about the pops made her stomach growl, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since before noon when Alex surprised her with the meatball hoagie. Carlita had mentioned that her sister was famous for her chicken cacciatore and pizza bread. It might be possible to mooch a free sample of that, too. With a little luck, she’d get enough to count as dinner, and she wouldn’t have to stop at Taco Castle on the way home. After splurging on the dress and heels for the party, she shouldn’t spend the extra money.
It was just after six when Jordan pulled into the parking lot for the second time that day. She found a spot closer to the entrance and assumed most of the worker bees had already gone back to their hotel rooms. She hoped Carlita wasn’t one of them. She got out of the car and walked toward the entrance, noticing that the Italian flag balloon flying above the entrance was now flapping at a good clip. At least the wind had cooled things down since her earlier visit, and the breeze felt good.
As luck would have it, she spotted Carlita as soon as she walked through the gate. Waving, she approached the booth.
“There you are. I wondered why you’d run off so quickly,” Carlita said, wiping her hands on the same dirty towel she’d used earlier. “I still have a lot to tell you about my life for the article.”
Oh, great!
Jordan forced herself to smile. “Good. I came back for that as well as the recipe.” She giggled. “I don’t suppose you’d let me have another taste?”
Carlita’s face lit up. “Of course. I want you to rave about them.” She reached under the counter and brought out the
* * * * *
On the way back to Alex’s house, Natalie begged Jordan not to tell her son about the encounter with Georgette Calabrese. She was afraid if Alex decided to have a chat with her, Georgette might bring up the fact that Natalie was once engaged to Emilio—assuming she even knew about that. It didn’t take much persuasion to get Jordan to agree. Telling Alex would also be confessing they’d been snooping around, and he’d pitch a fit. Both she and Natalie would have to listen to a long lecture about leaving police business to the police.
It was after four when Jordan dropped Natalie off and made it back to her apartment. There was no news about Marco’s death, and Alex and Kate were meeting with Hamilton later that evening to discuss what to do next.
Alex had invited her to stay and have dinner with them, but she’d excused herself, saying she needed to get her notes straight so she could begin her article for Thursday’s Kitchen Kupboard. She was anxious to see what Loretta Moseley had to say in Tuesday’s column, secretly hoping the woman bombed. As much as she wished for a job in the sports department, the culinary reporter gig had proven to be a great second choice for her.
And she would do whatever it took to keep the job, although being related to the editor did give Loretta a huge advantage. Jordan would just have to work harder. She grinned, thinking she had a few tricks up her sleeve, too. She couldn’t wait to see the readers’ reaction to the Italian Cream Cake Pops recipe.
Crap! She’d left so quickly after Natalie and Georgette had verbally attacked each other that she’d forgotten to go back for Carlita’s recipe. Even though she’d promised not to print it until the festival was over, she wanted it in her hands in case Carlita changed her mind about giving it up. Her plan was to write about all the food and tease the readers with the hint that Carlita’s fantastic recipe would be coming out in her column the following week.
There was no way Egan could can her if she had the good people of Ranchero clamoring for her next column.
Halfway home, she decided now was as good a time as any to get the recipe, and she headed over to the fairgrounds. Maybe she’d even get another sample of the sugary treat as a bonus.
Just thinking about the pops made her stomach growl, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since before noon when Alex surprised her with the meatball hoagie. Carlita had mentioned that her sister was famous for her chicken cacciatore and pizza bread. It might be possible to mooch a free sample of that, too. With a little luck, she’d get enough to count as dinner, and she wouldn’t have to stop at Taco Castle on the way home. After splurging on the dress and heels for the party, she shouldn’t spend the extra money.
It was just after six when Jordan pulled into the parking lot for the second time that day. She found a spot closer to the entrance and assumed most of the worker bees had already gone back to their hotel rooms. She hoped Carlita wasn’t one of them. She got out of the car and walked toward the entrance, noticing that the Italian flag balloon flying above the entrance was now flapping at a good clip. At least the wind had cooled things down since her earlier visit, and the breeze felt good.
As luck would have it, she spotted Carlita as soon as she walked through the gate. Waving, she approached the booth.
“There you are. I wondered why you’d run off so quickly,” Carlita said, wiping her hands on the same dirty towel she’d used earlier. “I still have a lot to tell you about my life for the article.”
Oh, great!
Jordan forced herself to smile. “Good. I came back for that as well as the recipe.” She giggled. “I don’t suppose you’d let me have another taste?”
Carlita’s face lit up. “Of course. I want you to rave about them.” She reached under the counter and brought out the
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