Read Online Final Fondue (A Five-Ingredient Mystery) by Maya Corrigan - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Maya Corrigan
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department is in good hands with Earl Yardley. See you later.” Mom hung up.
Val sighed. Twenty-four hours ago, the food for her booth had been her major concern and Granddad’s guests a minor matter. Now, one of those guests was dead. A murderer was at large. Another guest, or even Val herself, might be the next victim. Her grandfather was playing sleuth. And to cap it off, her mother was coming. What else could go wrong?
Chapter 6
Val usually anticipated her mother’s visits with mixed feelings. Nothing mixed about her feelings this time. Mom couldn’t have picked a worse time to come.
Val returned to the dining room but didn’t sit down. “Does anyone want anything else?”
Jennifer and Sarina shook their heads. Noah patted his stomach and said, “Not me. Great breakfast.”
Val beckoned to her grandfather. They went outside to the front porch.
He joined her on the glider. “Who was on the phone?”
“Mom.” Val recounted the phone conversation. “I broke the news about the murder.”
Granddad groaned. “I’m always glad to see her, but any other weekend would have been better. Just don’t tell her we’re working on solving the murder, or she’ll buy me a ticket to Florida and you one to New York.”
Not the right time for Val to tell Granddad that she might buy her own ticket to the city and go back to her old job. “Mom says she’ll stay at a hotel if—”
“I’d hate for her to do that. The police should be done poking around your room by the time she gets here. Your mother can take that room.”
“You don’t mind her staying here with a possible murderer in the house? Does she get RoboFido as a guard dog?”
“She gets better than that. I’ll put a sturdy bolt on the door. Anyway, let’s not jump to the conclusion that someone in the house killed that poor girl. The murderer could have come from the outside.”
Val rocked the glider. “Who’s your candidate? Sarina’s homicidal maniac?”
Granddad cupped his hand around his mouth and leaned toward Val. “The groom. Yesterday, when Jennifer brought him into the dining room, you were on the phone. Fawn was outside smoking. He asked where she was. I wonder if something was going on between him and her.”
“Just because he asked for her?”
“The man had dinner with his fiancée and then left her for the rest of the evening. Why? Where did he go?”
Good question, but not evidence of wrongdoing. “He didn’t necessarily come here to lie in wait for Fawn and kill her. If his Washington law firm is anything like Tony’s New York firm, Payton could have had to work on a case even on a Friday night.”
“If Payton’s anything like Tony, he could have cheated on his fiancée when he was supposedly working late.”
“Thanks for reminding me, Granddad.” She stood up. “I have to go to the café to get the food ready for the booth today. Bethany’s meeting me there to help.”
“And who’s gonna help me clean up after breakfast?”
She grinned at him. “Why don’t you ask Sarina?”
“Because she’d bite my head off.”
* * *
On the way to the café, Val picked up large bags of ice for the coolers she would take to the booth. It was almost nine by the time she pulled into the parking lot of the Bayport Racket and Fitness Club. Normally, the café opened at eight, but this weekend it was closed because of the festival.
She went inside the club and paused before entering the Cool Down Café. Small and utilitarian with its granite eating bar and handful of bistro tables, the café was the opposite of Granddad’s Victorian house overstuffed with books, family photos, and soft furniture. But she felt at home in both places. One balanced the other. During her last few years in New York, she’d had Tony to come home to. If she went back there now, she might end up working constantly and losing the balance in her life.
From outside the café alcove, Val could see her weekend assistant and tennis teammate,
Val sighed. Twenty-four hours ago, the food for her booth had been her major concern and Granddad’s guests a minor matter. Now, one of those guests was dead. A murderer was at large. Another guest, or even Val herself, might be the next victim. Her grandfather was playing sleuth. And to cap it off, her mother was coming. What else could go wrong?
Chapter 6
Val usually anticipated her mother’s visits with mixed feelings. Nothing mixed about her feelings this time. Mom couldn’t have picked a worse time to come.
Val returned to the dining room but didn’t sit down. “Does anyone want anything else?”
Jennifer and Sarina shook their heads. Noah patted his stomach and said, “Not me. Great breakfast.”
Val beckoned to her grandfather. They went outside to the front porch.
He joined her on the glider. “Who was on the phone?”
“Mom.” Val recounted the phone conversation. “I broke the news about the murder.”
Granddad groaned. “I’m always glad to see her, but any other weekend would have been better. Just don’t tell her we’re working on solving the murder, or she’ll buy me a ticket to Florida and you one to New York.”
Not the right time for Val to tell Granddad that she might buy her own ticket to the city and go back to her old job. “Mom says she’ll stay at a hotel if—”
“I’d hate for her to do that. The police should be done poking around your room by the time she gets here. Your mother can take that room.”
“You don’t mind her staying here with a possible murderer in the house? Does she get RoboFido as a guard dog?”
“She gets better than that. I’ll put a sturdy bolt on the door. Anyway, let’s not jump to the conclusion that someone in the house killed that poor girl. The murderer could have come from the outside.”
Val rocked the glider. “Who’s your candidate? Sarina’s homicidal maniac?”
Granddad cupped his hand around his mouth and leaned toward Val. “The groom. Yesterday, when Jennifer brought him into the dining room, you were on the phone. Fawn was outside smoking. He asked where she was. I wonder if something was going on between him and her.”
“Just because he asked for her?”
“The man had dinner with his fiancée and then left her for the rest of the evening. Why? Where did he go?”
Good question, but not evidence of wrongdoing. “He didn’t necessarily come here to lie in wait for Fawn and kill her. If his Washington law firm is anything like Tony’s New York firm, Payton could have had to work on a case even on a Friday night.”
“If Payton’s anything like Tony, he could have cheated on his fiancée when he was supposedly working late.”
“Thanks for reminding me, Granddad.” She stood up. “I have to go to the café to get the food ready for the booth today. Bethany’s meeting me there to help.”
“And who’s gonna help me clean up after breakfast?”
She grinned at him. “Why don’t you ask Sarina?”
“Because she’d bite my head off.”
* * *
On the way to the café, Val picked up large bags of ice for the coolers she would take to the booth. It was almost nine by the time she pulled into the parking lot of the Bayport Racket and Fitness Club. Normally, the café opened at eight, but this weekend it was closed because of the festival.
She went inside the club and paused before entering the Cool Down Café. Small and utilitarian with its granite eating bar and handful of bistro tables, the café was the opposite of Granddad’s Victorian house overstuffed with books, family photos, and soft furniture. But she felt at home in both places. One balanced the other. During her last few years in New York, she’d had Tony to come home to. If she went back there now, she might end up working constantly and losing the balance in her life.
From outside the café alcove, Val could see her weekend assistant and tennis teammate,
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