that she didn’t, though I tried my best not to let my gloating show on my face. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. Gabby, do you have any idea who might have wanted to see Tim dead?”
“You mean besides the three women he was dating? The only other person I can think of might be Orson Blaine. The two of them used to be best friends, but they haven’t been able to stand each other for the past two years. Something happened between them, and I’m willing to wager that it was something big.”
I didn’t know Orson personally, but I’d heard of him a few times over the years.
“Any idea where I might find him?”
Gabby frowned, and then said, “If I had to guess, I’d say he’s hanging out at Go Eats.” I knew the place was a greasy-spoon hole-in-the-wall diner, but I hadn’t eaten there since I was a teenager.
“Thanks for all your help,” I said as I tried to hand the blouse back to her.
She wouldn’t let me. “Take it home, and if you like it, you can pay me tomorrow. If you don’t, bring it by in the morning, but not too early. We all don’t keep your ungodly hours, Suzanne.”
“What can I say? It’s a living,” I said.
After Gabby took the blouse off its hanger and put it in one of her bags for me, I began my walk back to Grace’s to see if she’d finished her telephone calls.
It was a lovely day, the temperature nearing seventy and no clouds in the Carolina Blue sky, but the weather was lost on me. I had other things on my mind. I’d gone into her shop to get Gabby’s thoughts about Tim, but it had quickly turned into more than that. I hadn’t known a great deal about Tim Leander while he was alive, and it appeared that it was going to take his murder for me to discover anything deeper about the handyman I thought I’d known so well over the years. It was difficult reconciling the smiling and competent man I knew with what I was uncovering about him as I dug into his life, but when it came down to it, most folks had their own set of secrets.
And whether I liked it or not, I was going to have start digging into Tim’s to find out who might have wanted to see him dead.
APPLE JUICE DONUTS
You can use apple cider as a substitute in this recipe, but we rarely have it on hand, and there always seems to be apple juice in our fridge. Either way, it makes a tasty donut!
INGREDIENTS
• ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed tight
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• Dash of salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• ½ cup apple juice (or cider, if preferred)
• 2½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
DIRECTIONS
After beating the egg, add the dark brown sugar, butter, and apple juice. Set aside, and in another bowl, sift the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in thirds, mixing thoroughly. Refrigerate the dough 30 minutes, then roll out to ½ to ¼ inch thick. Cut out with donut round and hole cutter, and fry in 375-degree canola oil for 3 to 4 minutes, turning halfway through. Drain on paper towels, then add powdered sugar immediately, or wait until they’re cool and add icing and sprinkles.
Makes 8–10 donuts and holes
CHAPTER 7
Grace was just getting off the telephone when I knocked on her front door. She held up one hand to me, and then said into it, “Meredith, I don’t care why you aren’t in the field today. Just get dressed and start working while you still have a job. I expect you to e-mail me your time sheet at five so I can check it. Are we clear?”
After she hung up, I said, “Wow, you were hard on her.”
Grace frowned. “I should fire her, if you want to know the truth, but I don’t want to have to do all of the HR paperwork. She works when she feels like it, which wouldn’t be a problem if she felt like it more often than she does. I thought I was a slacker at times, but that woman doesn’t get out
“You mean besides the three women he was dating? The only other person I can think of might be Orson Blaine. The two of them used to be best friends, but they haven’t been able to stand each other for the past two years. Something happened between them, and I’m willing to wager that it was something big.”
I didn’t know Orson personally, but I’d heard of him a few times over the years.
“Any idea where I might find him?”
Gabby frowned, and then said, “If I had to guess, I’d say he’s hanging out at Go Eats.” I knew the place was a greasy-spoon hole-in-the-wall diner, but I hadn’t eaten there since I was a teenager.
“Thanks for all your help,” I said as I tried to hand the blouse back to her.
She wouldn’t let me. “Take it home, and if you like it, you can pay me tomorrow. If you don’t, bring it by in the morning, but not too early. We all don’t keep your ungodly hours, Suzanne.”
“What can I say? It’s a living,” I said.
After Gabby took the blouse off its hanger and put it in one of her bags for me, I began my walk back to Grace’s to see if she’d finished her telephone calls.
It was a lovely day, the temperature nearing seventy and no clouds in the Carolina Blue sky, but the weather was lost on me. I had other things on my mind. I’d gone into her shop to get Gabby’s thoughts about Tim, but it had quickly turned into more than that. I hadn’t known a great deal about Tim Leander while he was alive, and it appeared that it was going to take his murder for me to discover anything deeper about the handyman I thought I’d known so well over the years. It was difficult reconciling the smiling and competent man I knew with what I was uncovering about him as I dug into his life, but when it came down to it, most folks had their own set of secrets.
And whether I liked it or not, I was going to have start digging into Tim’s to find out who might have wanted to see him dead.
APPLE JUICE DONUTS
You can use apple cider as a substitute in this recipe, but we rarely have it on hand, and there always seems to be apple juice in our fridge. Either way, it makes a tasty donut!
INGREDIENTS
• ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed tight
• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• Dash of salt
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• ½ cup apple juice (or cider, if preferred)
• 2½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
DIRECTIONS
After beating the egg, add the dark brown sugar, butter, and apple juice. Set aside, and in another bowl, sift the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in thirds, mixing thoroughly. Refrigerate the dough 30 minutes, then roll out to ½ to ¼ inch thick. Cut out with donut round and hole cutter, and fry in 375-degree canola oil for 3 to 4 minutes, turning halfway through. Drain on paper towels, then add powdered sugar immediately, or wait until they’re cool and add icing and sprinkles.
Makes 8–10 donuts and holes
CHAPTER 7
Grace was just getting off the telephone when I knocked on her front door. She held up one hand to me, and then said into it, “Meredith, I don’t care why you aren’t in the field today. Just get dressed and start working while you still have a job. I expect you to e-mail me your time sheet at five so I can check it. Are we clear?”
After she hung up, I said, “Wow, you were hard on her.”
Grace frowned. “I should fire her, if you want to know the truth, but I don’t want to have to do all of the HR paperwork. She works when she feels like it, which wouldn’t be a problem if she felt like it more often than she does. I thought I was a slacker at times, but that woman doesn’t get out
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