Black and Blueberry Die (A Fresh-Baked Mystery Book 11) Read online

  “Doing my best,” D’Angelo said as he shook hands. “Right now, it seems like his fate is riding on Mrs. Newsom’s shoulders.”

  Brian looked quizzically at Phyllis. “Is that right?”

  “Yes, I’ve figured out a few things,” Phyllis said. “For example, I know that you and Roxanne went to high school together.”

  “We did?” Brian seemed baffled. “I don’t remember her from back then, and you’d think I would. Maybe we weren’t in the same grade, though. And there were a lot of people at Western Hills. It’s a big school.”

  “You graduated the same year. And you not only knew her, you dated her. The two of you were an item when you were the quarterback and she was captain of the cheerleaders. There’s a yearbook picture to prove it.”

  Brian laughed and shook his head. “Okay, I definitely ought to remember that. But I swear, I don’t. I guess maybe I smoked too much pot back in the old days.” He looked at D’Angelo. “Will I get in trouble for admitting that in front of a lawyer?”

  “I’m not interested in what you smoked,” D’Angelo said. “I’m just trying to find out who killed Roxanne Jackson.”

  “Wait a minute.” Brian was starting to look upset now. “You’re not trying to say that I killed her, are you, Mrs. Newsom? Maybe Roxie and I dated back in high school, but there was nothing going on between us now—”

  “We’re not saying that there was,” Phyllis told him. “And I don’t think you killed Roxanne.”

  “Well, that’s a relief—”

  “D.J. Hutton killed her,” Phyllis said. “Or to use her full name, Desiree Joan Hutton Chilton. But you’re the one who shot her husband Hugh Chilton a couple of nights ago. At the very least, you’ll be charged with conspiracy and attempted murder. If he dies, as is likely, the charge will be murder.”

  “Capital murder,” D’Angelo added, picking up on what was going on well enough to back up Phyllis’s play, even though he didn’t know all the details yet.

  Wide-eyed, Brian looked back and forth between them, then turned his shocked gaze toward Sam. “Mr. Fletcher, you seem like a level-headed guy. You haven’t gone crazy enough to believe all this, have you?”

  Sam shrugged and said, “It all adds up as far as I can see.”

  “Adds up? A friend of mine marries a girl I used to go out with in high school! Things like that probably happen all the time!”

  “They probably do,” Phyllis agreed. “Did you try to start something up with Roxanne again, after all these years?”

  “Hell, no. Even if I’d wanted to, she wouldn’t have had anything to do with it. I found out later she’d hated my guts for a long time.” Brian grimaced as he realized that he’d just admitted recognizing Roxanne after all. In a defensive tone, he went on, “Look, I had no idea she was pregnant back then. She never told me, and she sure as hell never told me about any miscarriage. All that was a long way behind us. We talked about it once and both agreed that for Danny’s sake, we’d just leave the past buried, for good. I even tried not to spend any more time around her than I had to, just to make it easier for her.”

  “But you went with Danny to the salon a couple of times, and one of those times you recognized another old girlfriend: D.J. Hutton. You dated her before you went out with Roxanne. In fact, you dumped her in order to date Roxanne.”

  Brian shrugged. “I’ve always liked to play the field.”

  “No matter who got hurt.”

  “It was just high school romance, for God’s sake! Nobody was supposed to take it seriously.”

  Phyllis said, “But it was different when you and D.J. met again after all this time. It was serious now. The two of you started having an affair. And Roxanne knew about it, probably because D.J.—Desiree—let something slip at the salon sometime. Roxanne knew that Desiree was a trophy wife, had married a man a lot older than her who had a lot of money. Maybe Roxanne and Desiree were friends now—a lot of old grudges tend to fade as the years pass—or maybe they just pretended to be and Desiree was still nursing a lot of anger toward her for taking you away from her. But even if they were friends, Roxanne wouldn’t have let that stand in the way of what she saw as a way out of debt for her and Danny.”

  “She started blackmailing this other girl!” D’Angelo exclaimed as the light dawned for him.

  Brian’s face was more haggard than ever now, but he didn’t say anything.

  Phyllis continued, “Roxanne may have even found out about the plot you and Desiree hatched to murder her husband. She would leave the alarm off, you’d come in and shoot Hugh Chilton, ransack the place, and give her a minor wound to make it look like a botched home invasion. Was there some sort of stringent pre-nup so that Desiree couldn’t get out of the marriage with any money? The police would have suspected her of being involved, of course, but they wouldn’t know anything about you. They wouldn’t be able to tie Desiree in with the person who actually pulled the trigger. It must have seemed like a risk worth running...until Desiree said too much to her old...what’s the word?”

  “Frenemy,” Sam suggested.

  “That’s it. Her old frenemy from high school, who threatened to ruin everything unless she was paid off. Desiree must have decided she wasn’t going to stand for that, so she went to the salon to have it out with Roxanne, and then all that old anger and resentment boiled to the surface, and...”

  “Pow,” D’Angelo said.

  “Luckily, Danny came along to take the blame for the murder,” Phyllis said. “You and Desiree held off on your murder plot until a couple of nights ago. She must have gotten spooked when you told her about how I was investigating Roxanne’s death. She wanted her husband dead before anything else could turn up. But it didn’t work out like the two of you planned. Hugh Chilton wounded you, badly enough that you didn’t take the time to finish him off. You couldn’t go to the emergency room or a doctor with a gunshot wound, so you patched it up yourself as best you could and came on to work today so everything would look normal here at the shop. I think the blood must have soaked through the bandage, though. I can see it on your coveralls.”

  Brian looked down sharply at his right side. There was nothing there.

  “Aaaannd that’ll just about do it,” D’Angelo said. “No matter how much you and Mrs. Chilton tried to clean up, I’ll bet you left some DNA on the scene, Flynn, and once we tip them off to check it against yours, that’ll be all they need to arrest you. You think a woman like that’s gonna go to bat for you, pal? She’ll roll over on you so fast it’ll make your head spin. She’ll claim the whole thing was your idea and that she was so scared of you she had to go along with it. She’ll probably even tell the cops it was you who killed Roxanne, not her.”

  Phyllis could tell by the horrified look in Brian’s eyes that he knew D’Angelo was right. His lack of an apparent connection to the Chilton shooting had been the only thing keeping him safe. Once that link was exposed to the police, they would turn up the evidence they needed to convict him.

  With an incoherent yell, Brian suddenly lunged at D’Angelo, swinging the rubber mallet.

  Displaying surprising grace and agility for a man of his size and build, the lawyer ducked under the blow and hooked a hard left into Brian’s side. Brian howled in pain and staggered back a step. Now there really was blood on his coveralls from the damage D’Angelo’s punch had done to the bullet wound.

  Sam had slid over to get behind Brian. He grabbed him in a bear hug, pinning his arms to his sides. D’Angelo got hold of Brian, too, and together they forced him to the cement floor of the repair bay.

  “We’ll hang on to him!” D’Angelo said. “Call 911, Phyllis!”

  “I already am,” she said as she pushed the numbers on her cell phone.

  ••●••

  Sam said, “This girl Desiree, D.J., whatever you call her, she was the one we saw kissin’ Brian the other day?”

  “That’s right,” Phyllis said. She and Sam were back in the living room of her house, where she ha
d just laid out everything for Carolyn and Eve. “I should have recognized her then, and it took me a while to figure out why I didn’t, since I was sitting just a few feet away from her at the beauty salon while I talked to her. But that day, I never saw her without some sort of herbal mask smeared all over her face. It covered up her features enough that when I saw her later, without it and with her hair different, I didn’t know her right away. And I certainly didn’t recognize her as the cheerleader D.J. Hutton from that yearbook photo. Now that I know, I can see the resemblance, but...”

  “What’s going to happen now?” Eve asked. “Are they going to let Danny go?”

  “Mr. D’Angelo has filed a motion to have Danny’s conviction set aside and the charges against him dropped, and as soon as a judge grants that, he’ll be a free man again.” Phyllis paused. “A free man with a murdered wife, a business partner who’s in jail, and the knowledge that the woman he loved turned out to be a blackmailer.” She shook her head. “It’s better than being locked up for a crime he didn’t commit, but it’s not really what you’d call a happy ending for him, either.”

  “Happy endings are overrated,” Carolyn said. “It’s justice that’s important.”

  “Never hurts to have a little bit of both,” Sam said.

  “Why didn’t they just wait to try to murder the woman’s husband?” Carolyn went on. “If they hadn’t done that, you never would have seen that newspaper story and might not have solved the crime.”

  Eve said, “Phyllis would have solved it some other way. I’m sure of that.”

  “I’m not,” Phyllis said with a slight smile. “I had figured out that Roxanne must have been blackmailing someone, and whoever it was, most likely was the killer. Maybe I would have narrowed it down to Desiree Chilton eventually, but who knows? Once Brian told her the case might not be as closed as they thought it was, Desiree panicked. Just like she lost her head and her temper that evening the salon after Roxanne let her in. She lashed out. This time it’s probably going to cost Mrs. Chilton her freedom for the rest of her life.”

  “They’re testifying against each other?” Eve asked.

  “Singin’ like birdies,” Sam said with a grin. “To hear both of them tell it, the other one’s the mastermind. I reckon the cops and the courts will get it all sorted out eventually.” He put his hands on his knees and got ready to push himself up from the sofa. “In the meantime, I got a kindergartner to go pick up. You think when we get back, we could maybe have a slice o’ that pie?”

  Phyllis smiled and said, “I think that could be arranged.”

  Recipes

  Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Mug

  INGREDIENTS

  1 teaspoon coconut oil

  1 egg

  2 tablespoons cream cheese

  2/3 cup instant oatmeal

  3 tablespoons milk

  2 tablespoons maple syrup

  1/2 banana, mashed

  1/4 cup blueberries

  DIRECTIONS

  Mix well in a large 20 oz. mug. Microwave for 2 1/2-3 minutes.

  Bacon Tomato Pie

  INGREDIENTS

  PIE CRUST

  1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

  1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces

  4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

  1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

  3 to 4 Tbsp. ice-cold water

  FILLING

  2 pounds tomatoes, thinly sliced

  1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided

  4-6 slices bacon (reserve 1 tablespoon bacon grease)

  1 onion, chopped

  1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided

  1/2 cup assorted chopped fresh herbs (such as chives, parsley, and basil)

  1 cup fresh spinach leaves

  1/2 cup freshly grated Gruyère cheese

  1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

  1/4 cup cream cheese

  DIRECTIONS

  Pie crust: With a pastry blender, cut shortening and butter into the flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Gradually add 3 tablespoons ice-cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and process until dough forms a ball and leaves sides of bowl, add 1 more tablespoon water, if necessary. Shape dough into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap, and chill 30 minutes.

  Unwrap dough, and place on a lightly floured surface; sprinkle lightly with flour. Roll dough to 1/8-inch thickness.

  Preheat oven to 425°F. Press dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim dough 1 inch larger than diameter of pie plate; fold overhanging dough under itself along rim of pie plate. Chill 30 minutes or until firm.

  Line the dough with parchment paper or foil. Fill the parchment or foil with pie weights, uncooked rice or dried beans. Place on baking sheet.

  Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper or foil. Bake 5 minutes or until browned. Cool completely on baking sheet on a wire rack (about 30 minutes). Reduce oven temperature to 350°F.

  Filling: Place tomatoes in a single layer on paper towels; sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt. Let stand 15 minutes.

  Sauté onion and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper in hot bacon grease in a skillet over medium heat until onion is tender.

  Start with a layer of spinach leaves on the bottom of the pie crust. Remove any big stems. Pat tomatoes dry with a paper towel. Layer tomatoes, onion, and herbs in prepared crust, lightly seasoning each layer with pepper. Crumble the bacon and sprinkle on the last layer. Stir together grated cheeses and cream cheese; spread over pie.

  Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until lightly browned, shielding edges with foil to prevent excessive browning. Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.

  Makes 6 to 8 servings

  Spinach Salad

  INGREDIENTS

  1 10 oz. bag baby spinach (washed)

  1/3 cup sweetened dried cranberries

  1/4 cup chopped walnuts

  2 pears peeled and chopped

  1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles

  4 tablespoons coconut oil

  2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

  1 teaspoon sugar

  DIRECTIONS

  Wash and dry the spinach. Add spinach and next 4 ingredients, and toss gently.

  In a small bowl combine coconut oil, lime juice and sugar, stirring well. Add oil mixture to salad; toss to coat.

  Serves 4-6

  Chicken Stuffed Jalapeño Poppers

  INGREDIENTS

  4 slices cooked bacon crumbled

  6 skinless chicken breast

  8 ounces cream cheese, softened

  1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

  2-3 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped

  1 green onion, finely chopped

  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat oven to 425°F degrees.

  Split each chicken breast down the middle, but not all the way through.

  In a bowl, mix the bacon, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, peppers and green onion.

  Spoon about 1/6th of the mixture into each breast.

  Bake 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven, until bubbly and lightly browned.

  Serves 6

  Avocado Salad

  INGREDIENTS

  2 cups cherry tomatoes, split in half

  2 cucumbers, sliced

  1/2 red onion, sliced

  2 avocados - peeled, pitted and diced

  8 ounces mozzarella cheese half inch cubes

  1/4 cup basil, chopped *

  2 tablespoons olive oil

  2 tablespoons lemon juice

  DIRECTIONS

  Put tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, avocado, mozzarella, and basil into a large salad bowl.

  Drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Toss gently to combine. Just before serving, toss with 1/2 tsp sea salt and ⅛ tsp black pepper.

  Serves 4-6

  * You can use cilantro instead of basil.

  Chocolate Cherry Slab Pie

  INGREDIENTS

  FILLING

  3 pounds cherries

  1 cup s
ugar

  3 tablespoons cornstarch

  1.5 cups chocolate chips

  CRUST

  8 cups flour

  1 cup sugar

  2 teaspoons salt

  1 pound cold unsalted butter (4 sticks)

  3 eggs

  1/2 cup cold water

  Heavy cream or egg wash, for brushing the crust

  Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)

  DIRECTIONS

  Preheat the oven to 400°F. Butter one 13 x 18-inch sheet pan. Set aside another to use as a template.

  Filling: Put the cherries in a large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch until well combined. Add the sugar mixture to the cherries and gently toss. Set aside.

  Crust: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut sticks of chilled butter into pieces. With a pastry blender, cut in butter, working until mixture resembles coarse meal.

  In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the cold water. Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture, then pour the egg mixture into the well. Working from the center out, combine the egg and flour mixtures until the dough holds together. If necessary, adjust by adding a little additional flour or cold water if the dough is too sticky or not holding together.

  Divide the dough into two balls, one almost twice the size of the other.

  On a large floured surface, roll out the larger portion of dough to an 18 x 22-inch rectangle (roll it out slightly larger, then trim the edges straight to the correct dimensions). Dust the dough with flour a few times while rolling out to keep the dough from sticking.