Read Online A Steak in Murder by Claudia Bishop - Free Book Online
Authors: Claudia Bishop
Tags: Mystery
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opportunity for Hemlock Falls."
Quill sat. And she learned more about Texas longhorn beef than she had ever wanted to know. That the beef was lower in fat and calories than turkey. That the taste rivaled Black Angus for juiciness and flavor. That Dr. Michael Debakey, famous heart surgeon, believed so strongly in the health benefits of this beef that he had a whole herd at his Texas ranch and very probably refused to eat any other kind of beef, although he, Colonel Calhoun, couldn't tell for certain.
"And now, if you'll bear with me," the colonel said in his high-pitched voice, "I just want you to see a few of the wonderful cattle we have at home on our Oklahoma spread." He flipped open his briefcase, plugged in the little PC he carried there, and asked the mayor to dim the lights.
"Slides," Miriam said in a voice of doom. "A slide show. Oh, my. How . . . interesting. What is it about, exactly?"
"Just a few of the purtiest heifers and bulls you've ever seen, Mrs. Doncaster."
Miriam hesitated.
"It's our civic duty," Quill said in as pious a tone as she could manage, "to see these cows as well as hear about them. Don't you think so, Colonel?" She smiled brightly at Miriam. Unlike the librarian, she didn't mind slide shows a bit. If she had paper and pencil, which she did, she always sketched right through them. Or if sketch ing failed, she napped. She liked naps. She'd perfected the art of napping unobtrusively through a lot of Chamber of Commerce presentations, mostly Harvey Bozzel's.
"Yes, ma'am. Nothing like seeing a copy of the real thing."
Quill considered this statement from several angles and decided not to comment. "I would love to see the cows. We'd all love to see the cows."
"I can see all the damn cows I want right in your front yard, Quill." Miriam's whisper was low but vehement.
"It's not my front yard anymore."
"This first show," the colonel said, his voice pitched slightly higher than before, "is going to show you all how you can make a three hundred percent return on your investment in the Calhoun Cattle Company."
"Three hundred percent?" This from Harvey Bozzel.
"Yessir. The cattle you are about to invest in go for maybe twenty-twenty-five dollars a pound for fillet on the open market And I'm going to show you why."
There was a buzz of excited comment. Quill drew dollar signs on her notepad, then a quick sketch of a sad-eyed brown cow she'd seen in her—rather Marge's— front yard.
"First, I'd like to tell you all about my senior herd sire."
"Beg your pardon, ColoneL" Royal Rossiter's voice was low but respectful. "But it's my senior herd sire. Impressive."
The colonel chuckled ominously. "I bred 'im, Royal."
"And I bought 'im, sir."
The tension in the room thickened.
The colonel breathed through his mouth. "Be that as it may, be that as it may. This is Impressive, and ladies and gentlemen, you can see that he is impressive, if you don't mind my little joke."
The bull that had frightened Quill on the path to the Inn flashed on the screen. A Western stock saddle was strapped to his back, and a familiar figure straddled the bull.
"Impressive was broke to saddle at eighteen months," the colonel said. "And on his back you can see—this picture was taken a couple of years ago—the famous star of stage, screen, and television, Miss Lally Preston."
Lally's blond good looks stared cheerfully from the screen. The bull looked puzzled. "This was right before we were featured on her TV show, The Rusticated Lady." The slide changed to a photo of Lally in her TV kitchen, a large bite of dripping beef on the way to her mouth.
"Ms. Preston featured new ways to cook our beef on her show, and the call-in response was tremendous. Just tremendous. People wanted to know where to get our beef." The slide switched again. This time a young female cow stared out at the audience with sweetly inquiring brown eyes. "This here young lady was turned into the finest burger this side of Texas." The slide switched
Quill sat. And she learned more about Texas longhorn beef than she had ever wanted to know. That the beef was lower in fat and calories than turkey. That the taste rivaled Black Angus for juiciness and flavor. That Dr. Michael Debakey, famous heart surgeon, believed so strongly in the health benefits of this beef that he had a whole herd at his Texas ranch and very probably refused to eat any other kind of beef, although he, Colonel Calhoun, couldn't tell for certain.
"And now, if you'll bear with me," the colonel said in his high-pitched voice, "I just want you to see a few of the wonderful cattle we have at home on our Oklahoma spread." He flipped open his briefcase, plugged in the little PC he carried there, and asked the mayor to dim the lights.
"Slides," Miriam said in a voice of doom. "A slide show. Oh, my. How . . . interesting. What is it about, exactly?"
"Just a few of the purtiest heifers and bulls you've ever seen, Mrs. Doncaster."
Miriam hesitated.
"It's our civic duty," Quill said in as pious a tone as she could manage, "to see these cows as well as hear about them. Don't you think so, Colonel?" She smiled brightly at Miriam. Unlike the librarian, she didn't mind slide shows a bit. If she had paper and pencil, which she did, she always sketched right through them. Or if sketch ing failed, she napped. She liked naps. She'd perfected the art of napping unobtrusively through a lot of Chamber of Commerce presentations, mostly Harvey Bozzel's.
"Yes, ma'am. Nothing like seeing a copy of the real thing."
Quill considered this statement from several angles and decided not to comment. "I would love to see the cows. We'd all love to see the cows."
"I can see all the damn cows I want right in your front yard, Quill." Miriam's whisper was low but vehement.
"It's not my front yard anymore."
"This first show," the colonel said, his voice pitched slightly higher than before, "is going to show you all how you can make a three hundred percent return on your investment in the Calhoun Cattle Company."
"Three hundred percent?" This from Harvey Bozzel.
"Yessir. The cattle you are about to invest in go for maybe twenty-twenty-five dollars a pound for fillet on the open market And I'm going to show you why."
There was a buzz of excited comment. Quill drew dollar signs on her notepad, then a quick sketch of a sad-eyed brown cow she'd seen in her—rather Marge's— front yard.
"First, I'd like to tell you all about my senior herd sire."
"Beg your pardon, ColoneL" Royal Rossiter's voice was low but respectful. "But it's my senior herd sire. Impressive."
The colonel chuckled ominously. "I bred 'im, Royal."
"And I bought 'im, sir."
The tension in the room thickened.
The colonel breathed through his mouth. "Be that as it may, be that as it may. This is Impressive, and ladies and gentlemen, you can see that he is impressive, if you don't mind my little joke."
The bull that had frightened Quill on the path to the Inn flashed on the screen. A Western stock saddle was strapped to his back, and a familiar figure straddled the bull.
"Impressive was broke to saddle at eighteen months," the colonel said. "And on his back you can see—this picture was taken a couple of years ago—the famous star of stage, screen, and television, Miss Lally Preston."
Lally's blond good looks stared cheerfully from the screen. The bull looked puzzled. "This was right before we were featured on her TV show, The Rusticated Lady." The slide changed to a photo of Lally in her TV kitchen, a large bite of dripping beef on the way to her mouth.
"Ms. Preston featured new ways to cook our beef on her show, and the call-in response was tremendous. Just tremendous. People wanted to know where to get our beef." The slide switched again. This time a young female cow stared out at the audience with sweetly inquiring brown eyes. "This here young lady was turned into the finest burger this side of Texas." The slide switched
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