Read Online Death on a Platter by Elaine Viets - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elaine Viets
Ads: Link
River Bluff force.
“Your mom is unstoppable,” Ted said.
“I pity the River Bluff police,” Josie said.
She surveyed the kitchen table, carefully set with the good dishes and cloth napkins. A fat bronze mum floated in a shallow bowl as a centerpiece. Josie hugged her daughter. “Good job on the table. Your new pink jeggings look nice. You’re slender enough to wear them, Amelia.”
“Mel,” her daughter corrected.
Josie also noticed Amelia had attempted to cover the freckles on her nose with Josie’s makeup. She’d talk to her about that later.
Ted set a plate with a grilled filet in front of Josie and said, “Sit down. You must be exhausted.”
“Not too tired to admire this dinner,” Josie said. “It’s like a magazine photo. See how the melted butter drips down the brown skin of the baked potato. The green beans add contrasting color on the blue plate.”
“Red wine or iced tea to complete the picture?” Ted asked.
“Wine,” Josie said as she cut a triangle out of her filet. It was medium rare, just the way she liked it.
Between bites, she told Ted about Clay, Gemma Lynn, Tillie, Lorena, and the other characters in the restaurant drama. She toned down Clay’s affair with Gemma Lynn. Amelia didn’t need to hear every sordid detail.
“Enough about me,” Josie said. “Tell me about your day. What happened at the clinic, Ted?”
“I should talk to the animals,” Ted said. “I don’t do as well with humans. One of my regulars, Ryan, brought in his bichon. Brie is a sweet dog, but she weighs twenty-seven pounds.”
“Isn’t that a little hefty for a bichon?” Josie asked.
“A little? The dog is fat and Ryan knows it. I’ve told him so often he’s sensitive about his dog’s weight. He’s a good owner, except he overfeeds her. He brought in Brie because she had a lump on her thigh. I examined it and said, ‘It’s just a fatty tumor. Nothing to worry about.’
“Ryan looked stricken and said, ‘But she’s on a diet.’ I had to explain that fatty tumors have nothing to do with weight.”
“You must have really scared him,” Josie said.
“I have to,” Ted said. “People think it’s cute to overfeed their pets; then they’re devastated when the poor animals die. They eat and eat until they ruin their health.”
“Sort of like people,” Josie said. “Like this person, anyway. I’ve cleaned up everything on my plate.”
“Good,” Ted said. “You’re not overweight. You need to keep up your strength. I hope you’ve saved room for Mel’s brownies.”
Amelia rewarded him with a dazzling smile for remembering her name.
“No way I’ll miss those,” Josie said.
She made coffee while Amelia dished out the brownies. Josie and Ted said no to vanilla ice cream on the side, but gave Amelia heaping helpings of praise for her baking.
After dinner, Ted and Amelia cleared the table while Josie loaded the dishwasher.
“Are we finished?” Amelia asked, hanging up her dish towel. “I have to do homework and let Harry out of the bathroom.”
“I’m impressed,” Ted said, when she disappeared down the hall. “Mel went straight to her homework after dinner.”
“I suspect she’s really texting her friends,” Josie said. “But she’ll do homework in between. More coffee? More wine?”
“Just coffee,” Ted said.
They settled in on the living room sofa with their cups. Josie rested in the crook of Ted’s arm, sipping her coffee. She felt content.
“This isn’t such a bad day after all,” she said. “Thanks for being so thoughtful.” She kissed his cheek.
He kissed her back, a deeper kiss. Josie glanced down the hall to make sure that Amelia’s bedroom door was shut and settled back into the comfortable couch for more kisses.
“I’m glad you wanted to spend time with me,” Ted said. “Did I ever tell you that white blouses are sexy?”
His fingers were unbuttoning the buttons and he was kissing Josie’s neck when the front door burst
“Your mom is unstoppable,” Ted said.
“I pity the River Bluff police,” Josie said.
She surveyed the kitchen table, carefully set with the good dishes and cloth napkins. A fat bronze mum floated in a shallow bowl as a centerpiece. Josie hugged her daughter. “Good job on the table. Your new pink jeggings look nice. You’re slender enough to wear them, Amelia.”
“Mel,” her daughter corrected.
Josie also noticed Amelia had attempted to cover the freckles on her nose with Josie’s makeup. She’d talk to her about that later.
Ted set a plate with a grilled filet in front of Josie and said, “Sit down. You must be exhausted.”
“Not too tired to admire this dinner,” Josie said. “It’s like a magazine photo. See how the melted butter drips down the brown skin of the baked potato. The green beans add contrasting color on the blue plate.”
“Red wine or iced tea to complete the picture?” Ted asked.
“Wine,” Josie said as she cut a triangle out of her filet. It was medium rare, just the way she liked it.
Between bites, she told Ted about Clay, Gemma Lynn, Tillie, Lorena, and the other characters in the restaurant drama. She toned down Clay’s affair with Gemma Lynn. Amelia didn’t need to hear every sordid detail.
“Enough about me,” Josie said. “Tell me about your day. What happened at the clinic, Ted?”
“I should talk to the animals,” Ted said. “I don’t do as well with humans. One of my regulars, Ryan, brought in his bichon. Brie is a sweet dog, but she weighs twenty-seven pounds.”
“Isn’t that a little hefty for a bichon?” Josie asked.
“A little? The dog is fat and Ryan knows it. I’ve told him so often he’s sensitive about his dog’s weight. He’s a good owner, except he overfeeds her. He brought in Brie because she had a lump on her thigh. I examined it and said, ‘It’s just a fatty tumor. Nothing to worry about.’
“Ryan looked stricken and said, ‘But she’s on a diet.’ I had to explain that fatty tumors have nothing to do with weight.”
“You must have really scared him,” Josie said.
“I have to,” Ted said. “People think it’s cute to overfeed their pets; then they’re devastated when the poor animals die. They eat and eat until they ruin their health.”
“Sort of like people,” Josie said. “Like this person, anyway. I’ve cleaned up everything on my plate.”
“Good,” Ted said. “You’re not overweight. You need to keep up your strength. I hope you’ve saved room for Mel’s brownies.”
Amelia rewarded him with a dazzling smile for remembering her name.
“No way I’ll miss those,” Josie said.
She made coffee while Amelia dished out the brownies. Josie and Ted said no to vanilla ice cream on the side, but gave Amelia heaping helpings of praise for her baking.
After dinner, Ted and Amelia cleared the table while Josie loaded the dishwasher.
“Are we finished?” Amelia asked, hanging up her dish towel. “I have to do homework and let Harry out of the bathroom.”
“I’m impressed,” Ted said, when she disappeared down the hall. “Mel went straight to her homework after dinner.”
“I suspect she’s really texting her friends,” Josie said. “But she’ll do homework in between. More coffee? More wine?”
“Just coffee,” Ted said.
They settled in on the living room sofa with their cups. Josie rested in the crook of Ted’s arm, sipping her coffee. She felt content.
“This isn’t such a bad day after all,” she said. “Thanks for being so thoughtful.” She kissed his cheek.
He kissed her back, a deeper kiss. Josie glanced down the hall to make sure that Amelia’s bedroom door was shut and settled back into the comfortable couch for more kisses.
“I’m glad you wanted to spend time with me,” Ted said. “Did I ever tell you that white blouses are sexy?”
His fingers were unbuttoning the buttons and he was kissing Josie’s neck when the front door burst
Similar Books
