Read Online Pie A La Murder by Melinda Wells - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Melinda Wells
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limousine. After weighing her options, finally she said, “Yes. Coffee.”
When I opened the door, Tuffy gave us his whole-body wag.
My unexpected guest looked at him in a way that suggested she regarded Tuffy as worthy of her attention. “A standard poodle,” she observed. “They’re actually German dogs, not French as everyone thinks.”
“Not everyone,” I said briskly. “Please come this way.”
Tuffy preceded us down the hall. Despite my best efforts to have her go next, she gestured impatiently for me to lead off. I don’t consider my back view to be my best feature. All the way to the kitchen I was very conscious that Tanis was assessing me critically.
In the kitchen, I said, “Sit down while I make the coffee. It won’t take long. I have some sour cream pecan coffee cake. Would you like a piece?”
“No, thank you. I don’t eat sweets.”
She sat, and placed the laptop on the chair beside her. I didn’t know whether she was afraid I was going to snatch it from her if she put it on the table, or if she didn’t want to look at the thing. Probably some of both.
I took two china cups and saucers from the cupboard, cloth napkins from a drawer, and spoons from the chest that held the sterling silver place settings that had been a wedding gift from my parents, and put everything on a tray.
“Do you live here alone?” she asked.
“No.” I spooned ground coffe into the machine. “A young woman friend lives here, too. Eileen O’Hara.”
“Ah.” Her tone was ambiguous. I couldn’t decipher its meaning.
“Eileen is only four years older than Celeste. We’re partners in a small business that she runs. Eileen and Celeste might like each other.”
She ignored that and said, “I gather that you’re seeing Nico.”
Nico?
“Yes,” I said.
“He looks wonderful. But then he always did. He’s a few pounds heavier than when we were together, but Celeste tells me you cook. I didn’t leave Nico because he wasn’t terribly attractive and superb in bed.”
Ouch. She opened that door, so I kept my voice level and asked, “Why did you leave him?”
“I wanted a different kind of life.”
“But why in the world did you keep him away from his daughter all those years?”
“Frankly, I didn’t want to see Nico and be tempted to fall into bed and return to a dull life I didn’t enjoy.” A brief smile curved her lips. “At least I didn’t enjoy life with him when I was standing up and fully dressed.” Then the smile was gone. “Looking back, I suppose that was selfish of me.”
“You suppose ? Not being able to see his daughter broke his heart,” I said.
That didn’t seem to faze her. She went on as though I hadn’t spoken.
“I was young and I wanted excitement. Naïvely, I thought a reporter’s job was glamorous, that we’d be traveling all over the world having adventures. But it wasn’t like that. He wrote articles, and didn’t get to go any farther away than San Francisco. I was so disillusioned that I had intended to leave him sooner, but then I found out I was pregnant. I thought perhaps motherhood would make me feel differently, but it didn’t.”
The coffee was ready. I brought the tray with the cups, coffee, and a little crystal bowl of artificial sweeteners to the table and sat down opposite her.
She put one packet of sweetener into her coffee. After taking a sip, she said, “I was planning to go back to Vienna tomorrow, but then I saw”—she nodded toward the pink laptop on the chair beside her—“that.”
“Did Celeste show it to you?”
“No. She was out driving her new car. She’d left the computer in my suite so I could use it to send an e-mail to my houseman. Just as I was about to, I saw a message come in with the subject line ‘photo proofs,’ so I opened it. I was horrified. Even worse, I was afraid my fiancé, who was standing there with me, was going to have a heart attack.”
Tanis put down her coffee cup. “What influence do you have
When I opened the door, Tuffy gave us his whole-body wag.
My unexpected guest looked at him in a way that suggested she regarded Tuffy as worthy of her attention. “A standard poodle,” she observed. “They’re actually German dogs, not French as everyone thinks.”
“Not everyone,” I said briskly. “Please come this way.”
Tuffy preceded us down the hall. Despite my best efforts to have her go next, she gestured impatiently for me to lead off. I don’t consider my back view to be my best feature. All the way to the kitchen I was very conscious that Tanis was assessing me critically.
In the kitchen, I said, “Sit down while I make the coffee. It won’t take long. I have some sour cream pecan coffee cake. Would you like a piece?”
“No, thank you. I don’t eat sweets.”
She sat, and placed the laptop on the chair beside her. I didn’t know whether she was afraid I was going to snatch it from her if she put it on the table, or if she didn’t want to look at the thing. Probably some of both.
I took two china cups and saucers from the cupboard, cloth napkins from a drawer, and spoons from the chest that held the sterling silver place settings that had been a wedding gift from my parents, and put everything on a tray.
“Do you live here alone?” she asked.
“No.” I spooned ground coffe into the machine. “A young woman friend lives here, too. Eileen O’Hara.”
“Ah.” Her tone was ambiguous. I couldn’t decipher its meaning.
“Eileen is only four years older than Celeste. We’re partners in a small business that she runs. Eileen and Celeste might like each other.”
She ignored that and said, “I gather that you’re seeing Nico.”
Nico?
“Yes,” I said.
“He looks wonderful. But then he always did. He’s a few pounds heavier than when we were together, but Celeste tells me you cook. I didn’t leave Nico because he wasn’t terribly attractive and superb in bed.”
Ouch. She opened that door, so I kept my voice level and asked, “Why did you leave him?”
“I wanted a different kind of life.”
“But why in the world did you keep him away from his daughter all those years?”
“Frankly, I didn’t want to see Nico and be tempted to fall into bed and return to a dull life I didn’t enjoy.” A brief smile curved her lips. “At least I didn’t enjoy life with him when I was standing up and fully dressed.” Then the smile was gone. “Looking back, I suppose that was selfish of me.”
“You suppose ? Not being able to see his daughter broke his heart,” I said.
That didn’t seem to faze her. She went on as though I hadn’t spoken.
“I was young and I wanted excitement. Naïvely, I thought a reporter’s job was glamorous, that we’d be traveling all over the world having adventures. But it wasn’t like that. He wrote articles, and didn’t get to go any farther away than San Francisco. I was so disillusioned that I had intended to leave him sooner, but then I found out I was pregnant. I thought perhaps motherhood would make me feel differently, but it didn’t.”
The coffee was ready. I brought the tray with the cups, coffee, and a little crystal bowl of artificial sweeteners to the table and sat down opposite her.
She put one packet of sweetener into her coffee. After taking a sip, she said, “I was planning to go back to Vienna tomorrow, but then I saw”—she nodded toward the pink laptop on the chair beside her—“that.”
“Did Celeste show it to you?”
“No. She was out driving her new car. She’d left the computer in my suite so I could use it to send an e-mail to my houseman. Just as I was about to, I saw a message come in with the subject line ‘photo proofs,’ so I opened it. I was horrified. Even worse, I was afraid my fiancé, who was standing there with me, was going to have a heart attack.”
Tanis put down her coffee cup. “What influence do you have
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