Banana Muffins & Mayhem - Culinary Competition Mystery #5

Chapter 23

(Amy)

"So she's going back to the narcotics division," Carla said as she broke a corner off of the hazelnut brownie. "Which is a good move on her part. I don't think the chief was going to keep her in homicide, no matter what. I can't remember ever seeing Bruce so disappointed in someone. He trained her to do better than what she did. Right up until they were called to the apartment after the fight, she insisted that she had no solid leads or suspects."

"I'm sorry that he's upset," Amy said. "I had to tell him about all of the things Foster refused to take into account for whatever reason."

"You and Alex were almost killed. You have every reason to criticize her methods. I guess she had a serious case of second-guessing herself to the point that she basically thought no clues or leads were pertinent, even though many of them were."

The new detective's icy-personality veneer had melted in Charlotte's apartment after the brawl as the connections between murdering mother and her blindly obliging accomplice of a son were explained. Foster began fidgeting more and more as Amy and Geri took turns explaining the puzzle they had solved. She flitted around the apartment looking at pictures and examining stylish knickknacks. When the tag team story came to a conclusion with a recount of the familial smackdown, the detective's pale face was mottled with red blotches. After another officer pulled a rifle out of a closet, Foster bolted out of the apartment. Shepler explained that because the gun was fitted with a silencer, the shot wasn't as loud as a firearm without one. Even if the gunshot had woken anybody up, they most likely had no idea what the sound was. That was why no gunshots were reported the morning that Quantum's motion detectors went off. Amy had watched Alex moving around his office the night she had been on the building's rooftop deck with Geri. It was a straight line from the corner of the roof to his office.

Amy looked out the breakfast nook window at the garage. She didn't have to wonder anymore whether someone had tampered with her beloved Mini or Alex's new, even bigger and burlier, black Jeep. On many days during the time the bomb had been set to detonate, he would've been home enjoying a dinner that Amy had made—just like Charlotte had pointed out. Cooking had changed her life for the better in so many ways, from winning contests to meeting people from around the world through her blog. It was a sour spoonful of irony that not cooking had almost killed them. Ever since Charlotte was arrested, Amy had been on a cooking marathon, which had produced a pile of new recipes. Too bad none of them would ever end up being demonstrated on a TV show. Nigel and Ginny admitted that they were only pretending to find new talent as a way of looking for the murderer because they hadn't had any confidence in Foster's skills either. The home improvement show was as dead as its former host.

"I'm just so happy that life is getting back to normal. Thanks for going with me to get my stitches removed."

"No problem." Carla ran her fingertip around the rim of her glass of iced coffee. "I think it was a sign from the universe that you insisted on having the doctor do it instead of letting me take them out for you."

"It's not that I don't trust you. Because you know I do." Carla had said she could remove the sutures with sterilized cuticle scissors and tweezers. Amy had no doubt that she could, but she had insisted on keeping the appointment with her doctor. "I didn't want the twenty-five-dollar charge for canceling an appointment at the last minute."

Carla leaned forward. "Really? Or did you know about the job opening?"

"I had no idea the nurse was retiring." Amy held up her hands. "Honest. So since you were talking with her and Doctor Hampstead about the job, does this mean you're thinking about going back to work?"

They had chatted with the nurse who ushered Amy to the exam room then got her set up for the stitch removal. Connie mentioned that she was retiring in a month, and the practice was looking for someone to take her place. Amy had almost fallen off the exam table when Carla began asking questions about the nursing position. She didn't even mind that her friend abandoned her to do an impromptu interview with the doctor while an intern removed the stitches.

Carla nodded. "I am. I can't seem to convince myself that I don't miss nursing."

"And working in a doctor's office is much easier and less stressful than an emergency room."

"Exactly. Plus, it's part-time, so I'll still be able to spend plenty of time with Macy."

Amy clapped her hands. "Wonderful! Do you have to go back for another interview or anything?"

She shook her head. "Nope. They've already offered me the job."

"Congratulations!" Amy blinked. The unexpected job was a good thing, but she had heard horror stories of waiting lists to get children into daycare. "But what are you going to do with Macy?"

"I'm not sure. I'll need your help in figuring that out."

"Help—as in you want me to babysit for you?" That would be a recipe for disaster.

"No, I mean help as in asking other parents who you know who their babysitters are." Carla smiled sympathetically. "The job would be infinitely more stressful if I had to push you into something you are uncomfortable with. Coming home to both you and Macy in tears wouldn't make the job worthwhile."

"Did I hear you need a babysitter? I would be happy to do it," Geri said as she walked into the kitchen. She had come to Amy's house to watch Macy while Carla removed the stitches then stayed to babysit while they went to the doctor's office instead.

"But you have a job too, Mom."

Geri sat down on one of the stools beside the kitchen island. She bounced her giggling granddaughter up and down on her knee. "Tommy is going to expand the studio into the space where Charlotte's shop was. She's planning on hiring more employees to help customers paint, while I'm going to just be making the pottery. So I'll have even more flexible hours and can also work after the studio has closed for the night. I moved back here to be close to you and Macy. Please let me take care of her." She raised an eyebrow at Carla. "You know you want to go back to work, and this will make it even less stressful. It's in your nature to help people. Don't fight it."

That was the first Amy had heard of the pottery studio's expansion plans. She didn't have a sibling, so she really couldn't imagine what it would be like for Tommy to know her sister was a cold-blooded killer who also ruined her son's life in a crazy quest for revenge. Over a house. Perhaps closing down the home decorating store was a form of psychological closure. Or a payback.

"Thank you, Mom." Carla smiled. A big, happy smile that Amy hadn't seen in a very long time. "I can't wait to start the new job."