Murder at the Big T Lodge: A Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery by Dianne Harman

additional $2.00 tax and what would happen
after it was passed. The author theorized that it might be the end of the
tobacco industry in the United States. Would Mac feel threatened enough to take
matters in his own hands? Maybe.
    Liz, that’s
all I could find, but think there’s plenty of meat there for you to chew on. If
anything else comes up, I’ll let you know. If you find out something about
Cassie Sowers, I’d like to know.
    As always, be
careful and give my best to Roger.”
    Liz looked at
her watch and saw that she’d spent over an hour reading and thinking about
Sean’s email. She decided to go down to the kitchen and see if Chef Jackson would
be willing to tell her how to make the pecan pie they had last night for
dessert. While she was there she could see what was for lunch and then she
wanted to go to Riley and talk to Cindy Lou.

CHAPTER 23
                                                 
    Liz and Sam walked down
the stairs, but as he had been trained to do, Sam laid down in front of the
open door to the kitchen. “Good afternoon, Chef. I’m wondering if you have a
couple of minutes to talk to me.”
    “I need to
take a break so, yes, I can certainly make time for you. Are you having any luck
discovering what happened to Milt Huston? And secondly, may I interest you in
some lunch and a glass of wine?”
    “Lunch sounds
wonderful. What fabulous thing have you come up with today?”
    “There was
some leftover ham from a dinner I made last week. I froze it and then defrosted
it today. This is a new dish for me, so you can test it. I plan on making a
panini type of sandwich with the ham, an Asian sweet sour sauce, grilled
onions, and brie cheese. How does that sound to you?”
    “Since my
mouth is already watering, it’s telling me it sounds divine. Sounds like an
interesting combination of flavors. What type of bread do you plan on using?”
Liz asked.
    “I thought it
would go well on rye bread. I’ll make the sandwiches for us, and then I’d
really like your opinion.”
    Liz sat down
at the counter while he assembled them. “Chef Jackson, I have a number of
questions for you. First, I’d like to know if there is any way you could tell
me how to make the pecan pie we had for dinner last night. I’m a good cook, but
pies don’t seem to like me. Do you have any tips?”
    He turned away
from the range where he was grilling the sandwiches and said, “Liz, I can’t
tell you how many people have said that to me. Actually, I got the recipe from
someone who had tried for years to make a good pie, and the recipe spells it
out with all the tips you’ll ever need for getting the crust perfect. I’ll make
a copy of it for you. It explains everything far better than my words could
ever do. Would that be all right with you?”
    “That would be
more than all right. My husband told me if I could learn to make that pie he
would be happy for the rest of his life, or it certainly sounded that way to
me.”
    “Not a
problem,” he said as he plated the sandwiches and reached into the refrigerator
for two fruit compotes. “Thought we needed something to cut the heaviness of
the sandwich, and I think fruit will go well with them. And of course we need a
glass of wine to launch the inauguration of my new sandwich.”
    “What ae you
serving me today?” she asked.
    “I thought
this pinot noir would go well with it. It’s a light red wine and not too heavy.
Try it and see what you think.”
    A few moments
later she said, “The sandwich is fantastic. I’ve never had anything quite like
this and I agree, this wine complements it perfectly. I definitely think you
should serve this as a meal, although I know the guides prepare meals tableside
for lunch, and the guests probably don’t want a sandwich for dinner. I’ll just
consider myself very lucky for not going hunting. Thank you so much. It’s
definitely something I’ll make for my husband when we get back to