Chapter 24
“This is the tastiest spaghetti carbonara I've ever had in my life,” Aaron said, twirling the pasta around his fork and shoveling it into his mouth. “What's your secret?”
“I'm just very generous with the parmesan and bacon,” Hayley said. “Seriously. It's one of the easiest dishes to make.”
She lifted the bottle of Chardonnay and refilled his glass and then handed him a plate with a lone piece of crispy garlic bread.
He waved it away. “No, thanks. I'm getting full and I don't want to leave anything on my plate. I want to wipe it clean.”
There was no danger of that not happening. There were just a few strands of spaghetti and some bacon bits left on it.
Hayley had been surprised when Aaron had called her as she drove home from the stables and told her he was free for dinner.
It was very last minute and he suggested they go out, but Hayley was in the mood to cook for him, and she preferred spending time with him alone at home instead of in a crowded restaurant where they would barely hear each other above the din of the other diners.
She also wanted him relaxed, in a quiet environment, where he might feel comfortable getting off his chest whatever it was that was on his mind.
Aaron set his fork down. “That's it. No more. It was delicious, Hayley.”
“Thank you. Why don't you go into the living room and I'll bring in dessert and coffee and we can have a chat,” she said, starting to clear the table.
“About what?” he asked curiously.
“Whatever it is you want to talk about.”
They had made it through the whole dinner just making small talk. How busy his vet practice had gotten. How he was thinking about bringing in a partner to help alleviate the workload. A little about her appearance on
The Chat
and what a lovely time she had in New York.
A bit about how the kids were doing in their various exciting endeavors, but how she missed them and looked forward to Dustin coming home and Gemma visiting during her next college break.
Aaron seemed to be consciously avoiding what he had begun to say at the restaurant before he was interrupted by Nacho and Red's violent brawl.
She didn't want to pressure him, but she also couldn't take the suspense for much longer.
She had to know.
Her life seemed to be on hold, just waiting for him to work up the courage.
Aaron sighed, wiped the sides of his mouth with a cloth napkin, and set it down on the table. “Okay. I wasn't expecting to do this tonight. I'm not prepared. But I guess now is as good a time as any.”
The doorbell rang.
“You've got to be kidding me,” Hayley groaned.
“Saved by the bell,” Aaron said with a smile.
And he obviously meant it.
Hayley wagged a finger at him. “You're not off the hook. I'm getting rid of whoever that is.”
“I'll go make the coffee,” Aaron said, standing up, a relieved look on his face. He quickly made his escape into the kitchen.
Frustrated, Hayley marched to the front door. She had to slow down halfway there. Her muscles ached and her back was still sore from the fall off the horse earlier that day. She was going to be in pain for some time.
When she reached the door, she flung it open to discover Mona standing on the porch.
At least it looked like Mona.
The woman in front of Hayley was much better dressed. She wore a lavender cashmere sweater and black pants and had a pearl necklace around her neck. If not for the pageboy haircut and the permanent scowl, Hayley might not have recognized her.
“Mona, what on earth . . . ?”
“What? Have I got something on my face?”
“No . . . you look . . . nice.”
“Thank you.”
“And what's that scent? Are you wearing . . . perfume?”
“Yeah. It's Beyoncé Heat. My daughter had some in her room she let me borrow. Smells nice, huh? So are you going to let me come in or what?”
The rehearsed speech Hayley had mentally prepared on her way to answer the door about how this was a bad time was completely lost. She was too stunned by Mona's sharp and attractive appearance to object as her friend pushed her way inside.
“You busy?” Mona said, looking around, noticing the dirty dinner plates Hayley had set back down on the table and the two half-empty wineglasses.
“Kind of. Aaron's here and we were just about toâ”
Aaron walked in from the kitchen with two piping hot cups of coffee.
“Oh, hi, Aaron. Thanks,” Mona said, snatching one of the cups out of his hands so aggressively some coffee almost splashed all over his shirt.
“You're welcome. Good to see you, Mona,” Aaron said.
Of course it was good to see her.
Her arrival was the perfect excuse to avoid proposing to Hayley.
Or dumping her.
At this stage, it was a fifty-fifty chance of going either way.
“Yeah, Aaron. Been a long time. Hayley tells me you've been in hiding. She never sees you. Makes us all wonder what the hell is going on.”
“Mona, did you just drop by to say hello or was there something you wanted?” Hayley interjected, trying to regain control of the conversation.
“Of course there's a reason I'm here. I'm not like Liddy. I don't just drop in unannounced. That's downright rude, if you ask me. You always call first.”
But she hadn't called.
Hayley decided to let that one slide by.
“I'm sure you'll want to hear this one. Rhonda and I got together tonight for dinner. . . .”
“I'm sorry. Rhonda?” Aaron asked.
“Yeah. Rhonda Franklin. I'm sure you've heard of her,” Mona said, annoyed she had to fill in the details for Aaron, who was unfamiliar with the backstory.
“The TV star Rhonda Franklin?”
“Yes! How many frigging Rhonda Franklins do you think there are, Aaron? Anyway, we were having cocktails in her hotel roomâ”
“In her hotel room?” Aaron asked, stupefied.
“Have you been treating a lot of sick parrots at your vet practice lately, Aaron? Because you're starting to sound like one.”
“Forgive me. I'm just a little surprised you spent the evening in Rhonda Franklin's hotel room. Isn't she a . . . ?”
“Lesbian. The word's lesbian. And yes, she is. We decided to dine in her room tonight since the paparazzi was camped outside the hotel and we didn't want to deal with all the cameras flashing and those nasty reporters screaming questions at her all night.”
“It's just that you look so nice, like you were out on a date with your husband tonight.”
“My husband hasn't left the house after the local news since 1998. I don't see what the big deal is. Liddy's always squawking at me to dress better. I just thought I'd make an effort, that's all. And can't a straight woman and a lesbian be friends without them being secret lovers? Rhonda and I are
friends
, okay? Is that against the law now?”
“I totally get it. My apologies. I won't say another word,” Aaron said.
“Mona, I think it's wonderful that you've made a new friend, but I'm just concerned about Rhonda,” Hayley said gently.
“Why?”
“Well, have you made it clear that your friendship is strictly platonic?”
“No, not in so many words. But she knows I'm not gay.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course I'm sure,” Mona screamed before stopping herself and thinking about it. “I mean, pretty sure.”
Hayley folded her arms and stared at Mona.
“Okay, I haven't exactly been up front about not being attracted to her in that way, but I'm having so much fun. She's a real hoot to hang out with, and I'm afraid if she finds out we'll never wind up in the sack together, she'll stop seeing me, and that would really bum me out.”
“You
have
to tell her, Mona,” Hayley said.
“I know. I know. Tonight after we chowed down on room service and were having a nightcap, she put a hand on my knee as she was making a point and left it there, and I was about to say something, but the yelling in the next room started and I got distracted.”
“Who was yelling?”
“That's why I came over here. I knew you'd want to know. I know you're supposed to be the detective around here, Hayley, but you've got to step up your game. I'm the one who has been coming up with all the clues lately. First I see that two-bit floozy sneaking around with the German, and now I overhear a shouting match between her and her hippie boyfriend.”
“Red? They're staying in the room next door?”
“Yeah. Rhonda told me they moved into the hotel to get away from Olivia's husband, Nacho, until the estate is settled and they get the house and can kick him out.”
“Did Red find out she was cheating with Thorsten Brandt?”
“Oh yeah. There was a lot of banging and screaming, and I heard him tell her to get the hell out. They were done, over, kaput! She said she wasn't going anywhere and he threatened to call the cops. When she wouldn't budge, he actually did, and a few minutes later we heard Officer Donnie at the door and there was more yelling and crying. And Officer Donnie said the room was registered to Red so if he wanted her to go she had to go, and she still refused, so he had to escort her out by force. We heard her screaming all the way down the hall until he got her on the elevator and the door closed. And then it got real quiet and the hippie didn't make another sound until I left.”
“Thorsten clearly had an agenda. He wanted Olivia out of the way to clear the path for his expansion plans with the company. He could have been in cahoots with Peggy, who had an influence over Red,” Hayley said.
“Listen, Hayley. I know we were going to have a talk tonight, but I have an early appointment tomorrow and really should go home and get some sleep.”
“No, Aaron, I can call Mona later. . . .”
“It's all good. You stay, Mona. I'll call you tomorrow, Hayley.”
Before Hayley could say another word, Aaron's jacket was in his hand and he was heading out the door past Mona.
“By the way, you look real nice tonight, Mona,” he said, and then he was gone.
“He never said anything about how I look and he was here for two hours,” Hayley said, shaking her head, not sure what to make of his strange behavior.
“Damn, Hayley. I busted up your date. I'm real sorry.”
“It's fine, Mona. I get the feeling he didn't want to have any kind of serious discussion about our relationship.”
“You still think he's going to propose?”
“I don't know. If he was, he obviously chickened out. Or he's having serious second thoughts.”
Chapter 25
Hayley knew Sergio couldn't resist her bacon potato soup. She had also thrown in some crusty bread to dip in it and then drove straight over to the police station.
Sergio wasn't surprised to see her walk through the door bearing comfort food. In fact, he looked as if he had been expecting her.
It was a quiet Sunday night. The station was empty except for Officer Earl, one of Sergio's junior patrolmen, who sat behind his desk pretending to be filing a report, but Hayley could tell he was playing a video game on his computer. Her son, Dustin, had that same focused expression, quick flashes reflecting off his reading glasses, whenever he was wrapped up in
Arkham Knight
, zipping around in the Batmobile and taking down the bad guys.
Sergio waved Hayley into his office and she gave him a quick hug before making a beeline for his desk and unpacking the goodies she had brought.
“Randy said you were working late tonight, so I didn't want you to go hungry,” Hayley said, pulling the lid off her Tupperware container and spooning the soup into a ceramic bowl.
The mouthwatering aroma wafted over to Sergio, who couldn't resist. He sat behind his desk, anxiously waiting to be served.
“Well, wasn't that nice of him. Did he tell you anything else?” Sergio said, eyeing her suspiciously.
“No,” Hayley said innocently, presenting Sergio with her homemade soup.
He scooped up a spoonful and ate it.
His eyes closed.
He was obviously in a state of euphoria.
He savored the taste for a few more seconds before putting his spoon down. “You mean he didn't tell you I arrested Thorsten Brandt tonight?”
“Oh, that. He may have mentioned it. I plumb forgot.”
“I bet you did. You couldn't get over here fast enough, could you?”
“I'll admit I have a passing interest in Mr. Brandt given his connection to Olivia Redmond and the trouble he was having with her and my run-in with him at the Wildwood Stables. But I came here because I love you, Sergio, and I know you work hard, and I just want to make sure you're eating properly. Now, is that a crime?”
“All right. We will pretend that's why you are here and I will tell you why I arrested Mr. Brandt.”
“I assume you found some evidence linking him to Olivia Redmond's murder,” Hayley said, inching closer, curious to know the truth.
“I have come across some evidence. But it does not connect him to Ms. Redmond's murder.”
“Then what did he do?”
“I have cement proofâ”
“Concrete.”
“What?”
“It's âconcrete proof.' Not âcement proof.'”
“Are they not the same thing?”
“Well, yes. But the saying is âconcrete proof.'”
“Why can't you Americans make anything easy? Fine! Concrete proof. I have concrete proof that he put that burr underneath the saddle of the horse that threw you and nearly broke your spine yesterday.”
“What? Did a witness come forward?”
“Better than that. I have digital photos.”
Sergio turned his computer screen around and opened a file. Five rows of very crisp, clear photographs popped up, all of the family of tourists whom Hayley ran into at the Wildwood Stables.
The mother and her two kids.
The dad was obviously the one who took the photos.
In the background of roughly half of them, Hayley could make out Thorsten Brandt approaching Lightning, then clearly wedging the burr beneath the horse's saddle and then casually handing him off to the stable boy, who brought him over to Hayley to ride.
“Oh my God,” Hayley said.
“The daughter uploaded the photos on her iPad when the family returned to the campground where they're staying. She noticed right away, so they called me and came over to show me. I immediately got a warrant and sent Donnie and Earl to pick him up.”
“What did you book him on?”
“Attempted murder. And that's not all. This afternoon a Redmond employee, a whistle-blower, e-mailed a number of documents to the feds. All were very specific examples of Brandt's rampant corruption and questionable business dealings. He was operating a massive embezzlement scheme. He was taking out loans on behalf of Redmond Meats for his expansion plans and transferring the bulk of the money to dummy accounts overseas. He knew once the company's financial officers realized something was wrong, he would be long gone and the company would be forced to file for bankruptcy.”
“Did Olivia discover what he was doing? Is that why he killed her?”
“I don't know if he killed her. I have no evidence that incriminates him other than he didn't like her and she was refusing to bend to his will. The feds are convinced he's our killer. I am basically holding him until they get here and can question him. I tried getting him to talk to me, but he kept his mouth shut. I don't see him talking to the government guys either. He's already put in a call to a very high-powered lawyer.”
“Can I get some face time with him?”
“You know I can't do that, Hayley. Besides, why would he talk to you? He tried to bump you off on the carriage trails.”
Hayley held up the Tupperware container that had a healthy serving of bacon potato soup left in it. “Maybe he's hungry.”
“You know I am the chief of police and cannot allow a civilian to communicate with a murder suspect.”
“I would never want to get you in any kind of trouble, Sergio. I understand.”
“Although I will tell you I am thirsty and could use a soda. The machine is down the hall. I could be gone for five, maybe ten minutes. No more than ten minutes. And then I will be back here in my office expecting to see you just where I left you.”
Sergio stared at Hayley.
She knew the drill.
He was not willing to give Hayley permission to talk to Brandt in his cell. But he would not be at fault if she took matters in her own hands and did it on her own when he wasn't around. That would absolve him of all responsibility.
“Do you need change for the machine?”
Sergio shoved a hand in his pants pocket and jangled some coins. “I'm all set. I guess I will head to the soda machine now.”
He whistled a tune as he strolled out of the office.
Hayley waited a few seconds and then poked her head out the office door.
The coast was clear.
She dashed down the hall with her Tupperware container to the row of cells in the back of the station.
She found Thorsten Brandt, his shirt open, an untucked T-shirt underneath. A hangdog expression on his face.
He was not happy to be here and he was depressed that his life as he knew it was basically over.
When he saw Hayley, he frowned. “I did not expect to see you here,” he said. “What do you want?”
She handed him the Tupperware container and a plastic spoon through the bars of the cell. “It's my bacon potato soup. Very hardy. Much tastier than the slop they serve here. Enjoy.”
“Is this some kind of incentive for me to bare my soul to you?”
“No. But it is so delicious there's no telling what you might admit.”
“The chief showed me the photos. I know I'm caught red-handed. I never meant to hurt you. I only wanted to scare you. I did not want you exposing my . . . never mind.”
Thorsten took a mouthful of soup and closed his eyes.
He dropped the spoon and began slurping the soup down directly from the Tupperware container until it was all gone.
“I take it you like my soup,” Hayley said.
He shrugged. “It's okay. Could use a little more salt.”
He loved it. He just wasn't about to admit it.
“Did you kill Olivia Redmond, Thorsten?”
He threw the Tupperware to the floor. “No, I did not! And if you say that again, I'll sue for defamation.”
“You're in jail for attempted murder and embezzlement. There's not much left of you to defame.”
“I had nothing to do with Olivia's murder. In fact, I have an airtight alibi. I was whale watching with my secretary, who accompanied me here. I'm sure the crew as well as a few other tourists on the boat remember seeing us. We are probably in some of their pictures. Now, that's all you get. I'm not talking anymore without my lawyer present.”
“Why did you tell me anything? Do you like my soup that much?”
“No. I feel bad about what happened at the stables. I was not thinking clearly. I should not have pulled that stunt. But I panicked. We are done here. Now go, please.”
Hayley nodded and raced back down the hall.
She knew her ten minutes were just about up and she had to get back to Sergio's office before he returned with his can of Dr. Pepper.
Despite him nearly paralyzing her in the park, she suspected Thorsten was telling the truth.
He did not kill Olivia.
She was more useful to him alive. He needed her to still be the face of the company until he was finished bleeding it dry and absconding with millions in company funds.
Someone snapping Olivia's neck in the garden was not a part of his plan.
Island Food & Spirits by Hayley Powell
The other night after getting off the phone with my mother from our biweekly phone call, I got an incredible urge for a Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin. Craving meat after speaking with my mother is a Pavlovian response from childhood. When my brother and I were kids, our mother's idea of meat was a veggie dog or tofu brushed in BBQ sauce and browned on the grill. And everyone knows when you deprive a child of any food their friends are allowed to eat on a regular basis, they just want it more!
When I was around twelve years old I was suddenly introduced to the wonderful world of pork.
My mother worked one week a month at the local retirement community village where she was in charge of collecting the residents' monthly rent. This was a job she absolutely loved and took very seriously. She was very proud of her 100 percent rent collection record each month.
She would actually prepare a plan of attack and approached her task with a military-like precision and an enthusiasm that I didn't quite understand at such a young age. She seemed to enjoy taking me along with her. It was only later that I realized she had ulterior motives.
Sometimes she would sit me down in the common room. The nice elderly people were so happy to see a lively young child because I reminded them of their own grandchildren. They would always come up and speak to me. Then my mother would suddenly appear out of nowhere right in front of the poor old soul, startling them, with her hand out, unblinking, and request their monthly rent check. Her intended target would begin stammering an excuse about how she had left her wallet in her apartment. That didn't deter my mother. She just placed an arm around her prey and headed her in the direction of her apartment, stuck to her side the whole way.
On a few occasions she would even have me wear my Girl Scout uniform and place me in front of an unsuspecting resident's door as if I was selling cookies, and then she would rap sharply on the door and hang back by the wall. Once the poor senior looked out of his peephole and just saw an adorable young girl in her scout uniform presumably selling cookies, he would then walk right into my mother's ingenious trap. He would open the door and my mother would pounce, like a cat on a mouse. She would casually slip her foot in far enough so the door couldn't be closed and, with a bright smile on her face, say something like, “Mr. Foster, I'm so glad I caught you at home. Would you like to pay your rent?”
What does all this have to do with pork? Well, even though I felt bad being a pawn in my mother's scheme to hold on to her perfect rent collection record, I did find a beacon of shining light at this facility, and it was in the form of the residents' dining hall.
One day after helping my mother catch yet another victim, she sent me off to the residents' dining hall to get a bite to eat, and let me tell you, I never looked back.
It was a beautiful place filled with every imaginable delectable meat dish my young mind could conjure up, and I set out to try every last one of them while my mother was busy working her stealth maneuvers to track down every last senior who owed her money.
It was heaven!
One dish I couldn't get enough of was the Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin. It was divine! And in my young mind, this mouthwatering treat ran circles around my mother's bland, chewy tofu dogs.
But, as they say, all good things must come to an end, and for my mother and me they did rather quickly after one particular incident that may have been over the top even for my mother.
One day at work with my mother, I was just leaving the dining room after gorging on yet another meal of Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin when I heard yelling coming from the residents' common room. I dashed off to see what was going on, arriving in time to see an unconscious woman being wheeled away on a gurney by the EMTs after suffering some kind of malady. My mother, who had apparently jumped up on the gurney and was practically on top of the poor woman, reached into her purse, all the while yelling to all of the stunned residents and staff who were frozen in place, that she knew poor Mrs. Clark would be horrified if her rent had been late while she was in the hospital, and how she wanted to relieve her mind knowing her bills had been paid on time.
That was the end of my mother's job as the rent collector at the senior retirement village. It also meant the end of my meat-eating days in the dining hall. But it was too late to go back to fake meat. I was a goner. And after teaming up with my brother, we staged a revolt. My mother finally gave in and we were officially a family of carnivores.
But that is another story.
So in salute of my happy meat-eating youthful memories, I'm sharing one of my favorite recipes, Easy Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin. I'm also including my mother's favorite cocktailâa Gin Fizz that she always drank as a reward for a job well done after collecting all those rent checks.
Â
Â
Gin Fizz
Â
Ingredients
3 ounces of your favorite gin
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Ice
Seltzer
Add the first four ingredients to a shaker and mix together, then pour into a tall glass. Top with seltzer water and cheers!
Â
Â
Easy Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin
Â
Ingredients
1 pork tenderloin, 1½ pound
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of cayenne (more or less to your taste)
6 slices your favorite bacon (or enough to completely wrap)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
¼ cup mango chutney (or your favorite flavor)
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
Â
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Open the pork loin and make sure you pat it dry; set aside on a cutting board or platter.
Combine the brown sugar, salt, paprika, cayenne in small bowl, then rub the mixture all over the pork tenderloin.
Wrap the bacon around the tenderloin, securing with toothpicks.
Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat until hot in a large cast iron pan and place the bacon-wrapped tenderloin in the pan and sear. Do not try turning to the other side until bacon is nice and dark brown. Cook each side for at least 6 to 8 minutes.
Mix the chutney and mustard in a small bowl and when bacon is done, generously brush the mixture on the top and sides of the tenderloin in the skillet, then transfer the skillet to the oven for about 15 minutes or when a thermometer reads 140 F. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Remove the toothpicks, slice, and eat up!
Note: We like using the leftover chutney in the jar as a dipping sauce.