Fudge Brownies & Murder - Culinary Competition Mystery #4

Chapter 17

(Amy)

"I've gotten lucky the last few days. Carla takes a nap every afternoon now, so I've been able to get her phone easily. I've called all of her friends and coworkers. The shower's on for Tuesday night at the townhouse. I hope we can pull it off," Geri said as she refolded the super-soft gray fleece blanket and slipped it back into a shopping bag. She twisted in her seat to place the present on top of all of the other packages on the back seat of the Mini. "We won't be able to decorate anywhere except the nursery, but I've found a couple games I can set up without her knowing. I just want to make sure you can handle the food for about a dozen people. If I cook anything more than my own lunch, she'll know something is up. Bruce had a heart-to-heart conversation with me. He doesn't even want me to cook any Meatless Monday meals from now on. I didn't think I was that bad of a cook."

"You aren't." Amy shook her head as she steered Mimi onto the frozen dirt road. "He's just a meat-and-potatoes instead of lentils-and-chickpeas kind of guy. Don't take it personally."

Geri flapped her hand. "I don't offend easily. Everybody can do their own thing. Except for my daughter. She cannot go without a baby shower."

The collection of rattles, wooden blocks, and learning toys sounded like a preschool percussion section as the car bounced over the cement hard ruts in the rural road. Amy said, "Momma, not momma-to-be, knows best."

"Absolutely! You are such a sweetheart to help put this crazy, last-minute shower together. I'm so glad my daughter has you for a friend."

"This is nothing compared to planning the entire wedding in three weeks. I would do anything for Carla. She's like the sister I never had."

"I'd be proud to call you my honorary daughter."

The sentiment settled in Amy's heart, filling up a tiny bit of the void her alcoholic mess of a mother had hollowed out. They drove in silence for a few minutes as Amy concentrated on steering around the frozen puddles that were bigger than the Mini. No wonder Buck had a pickup. Once the road to his house was covered in snow, it would be impassable for anything other than a four-wheel drive.

Amy went from a snail's pace to a complete stop when she spotted a patch of red in the grayness of the hibernating forest to her left. She glanced at the GPS app on her phone that she had silenced so she could talk to Geri. The driveway to Buck and Esther Mae's house was right around a sharp hairpin curve. She could see the barn he used as a shop through the trees. As Amy lifted her foot off the brake pedal, another splotch of color caught her attention. Black. In the shape of a big lifted pickup truck near the side door of the house.

She stomped on the brake pedal, slammed the gear shift into reverse, and sped backward until the car was beside a dense clump of pine trees. "What's going on?" Geri asked as she whipped her head from side to side.

"Harlan's truck is parked by the back door of the house."

Geri shook her head. "I'm sorry. I've never been good at remembering names. I don't know who you're talking about."

"The guy who threw the Coke bomb at us."

"Ooooh...what do you think is going on?"

Amy punched the release button on her seat belt buckle. "I'm not sure, but I'm going to see if I can find out. Can you come around and sit in the driver's seat, in case we need to make a quick getaway? Anybody in the house won't be able to see the car behind these trees. I'm going to sneak through the woods to get a better look at the situation."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

She pointed at her gray coat then at the lime-green one Geri was wearing. "I'm wearing better winter forest camouflage. I'll be okay. I've done this kind of thing before."