A Burned Out Baker: Classic Diner Mystery #7 (The Classic Diner Mysteries) (19 page)

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a pitchfork used as a weapon before,” the sheriff said after they took Rob Bester away in the ambulance. The paramedics had been afraid to remove it themselves, so they’d transported the killer with it still stuck in his arm, though it made for a tight fit in the ambulance.

“By the way, we’re going to need that pitchfork back,” Moose said.

Sheriff Croft nodded. “I’ll make a note of it.” He actually jotted something down in his notebook, whether it was pitchfork-related or not I couldn’t say.

“It sounds as though all Mike Jackson is guilty of is being gullible,” the sheriff said. “When he ran, I thought for sure that he was our man.”

“It was a natural enough thing to believe,” I said. It was easy to be magnanimous now that Moose and I had cornered the real killer.

“You weren’t fooled, though,” the sheriff said.

“She might not have been, but I was,” Moose said.

“That’s kind of you to say,” Sheriff Croft said.

“What kills me is that Cliff is going to get away free and clear, even though his actions behind the scenes caused this whole mess in the first place.”

“Don’t worry about Cliff,” the sheriff said. “Do you remember the alibi he had for Barry’s murder?”

“You said that the police in Charlotte had him under surveillance,” I said.

“Well, they caught him doing something nearly as bad as committing murder, so he’s not exactly walking away from this unscathed. Unless I miss my guess, he’s going to jail for a long time. Maybe they’ll even put Rob in the cell with him. That would be interesting, wouldn’t it?”

“Now that they’re both out of my life, I don’t care what happens to them,” I said. “The person I feel most sorry for besides Barry is Sandy Hardesty. She might not be my favorite person in the world, but she lost someone she cared about through no fault of her own.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Sandy,” the sheriff said. “I saw her this afternoon flirting with Luke Yates.”

“He’s old enough to be her father,” I said.

“Grandfather,” Moose corrected me, “but that doesn’t mean anything these days.”

“Are you telling me that if something happened to Martha you’d go find yourself a girl younger than me?” I asked him.

“Victoria, believe me when I say that as much as I love your grandmother, if something were ever to happen to her, that would be the end of it for me.”

“That’s better,” I said, though I wasn’t sure that I completely believed him.

“Well, if you two will excuse me, I’ve got work to do,” Sheriff Croft said. “We’ll need statements from both of you, but that can wait until morning if you’d like.”

“It’s early yet,” I said. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d just as soon get it over with right now.”

“That sounds like a plan to me,” the sheriff said as Greg drove up. Martha was in the front seat with him, and Mom and Dad were riding in back.

“We’ll all be there,” Moose said.

“I figured as much,” the sheriff replied as he shook his head gently. “See you all soon.”

As Sheriff Croft drove off, our family collected Moose and me in a family embrace. Four sets of questions hit us as my grandfather and I tried to answer everyone at once, but I didn’t mind it one bit.

I was happy for the chaos, and being a member of a family where there was so much love.

As we all crammed into Greg’s car and drove to the police station together, I felt bad for Mike Jackson.

He’d lost the last bit of family he’d had, and from now on, he’d be going it all alone, with no one else to share old memories with.

It was, in its own way, a death sentence to his past, and I was happy that mine would never suffer that fate, not unless I lived a very, very long time.

Topless Chicken Surprise

This simple yet delightful recipe became a staple in my household one day when I just didn’t feel like making the crust for my standard chicken potpie. When my family asked me what the meal was called, I came up with the name off the top of my head, and of course, it stuck! This is what I think of as the epitome of hearty diner fare, with all of the homey scents and flavors of a meal that Mom could have served herself.

This meal goes great with mashed potatoes, green beans, and a side of cranberry sauce. If I’m feeling really adventurous, I add stuffing as well. I used to make my own, but the stovetop varieties are so good now that I skip the work and make it instead. No one in my family has complained yet about the substitution. Toast or biscuits also work nicely with this.

Ingredients

1 large packet (about 2 cups) frozen vegetables, your choice (I like the peas, carrots, and green beans)

2 whole chicken breasts, broiled or boiled, pulled or cut into bite-size pieces

Sauce

This is my recipe for a simple white sauce. If you’d like to convert it to a cheese sauce, just add a cup of shredded cheddar cheese at the end, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it for this meal!

6 tablespoons butter,

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1½ cups of whole, 2%, or 1% milk; the richer the better, though

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat the vegetable pack in the microwave per the package directions, and make sure your cooked chicken is warmed throughout if you’ve made it ahead of time and kept it refrigerated. Set these ingredients aside and start on the next step.

Melt the butter in a large skillet on the stovetop at low heat. Once the butter is melted, take the skillet off the heat and slowly add the flour, along with a few dashes of salt and pepper. Stir the mixture thoroughly, then return it to low heat. Continue stirring until the flour is completely incorporated, which takes about a minute.

Next, add about 1/4 of the milk, stirring until the mixture begins to come together. There shouldn’t be any clumps at this point, giving you a smooth, velvety texture throughout.

Next, add the remainder of the milk and turn the heat to high. Now is the time to be vigilant, stirring the mixture constantly as it works toward a boil. When the first bubble appears, remove the skillet from the heat and continue stirring for thirty seconds.

Add the chicken and vegetables to the gravy you’ve just created, stirring it all in to make sure that everything is coated.

The meal is now ready to serve along with the sides you’ve created.

Enjoy!

Feeds 3–5 people, depending on their appetites!

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