Assault and Batter(58)

She must have heard a hint of humor in my voice, despite my best efforts to hide it. “That’s enough of that, young lady.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I said. “Grace and I will be there.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to it.”

After we hung up, Grace asked, “Did I just accept a dinner invitation without knowing it?”

“You did,” I said. “Is that okay?”

“It’s fantastic,” Grace said, “as long as your mother’s cooking.”

“Hey, I’m a good cook, too,” I said.

“As good as your mother?”

I just shook my head. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind who the superior chef was in my family. Grace tapped my arm as I drove home. When I turned toward her, she said, “Suzanne, nobody makes a donut as good as you do.”

“You know what? I’ll take it.”

“You should. Did she tell you what we’re having?”

“It’s going to be a surprise, I guess,” I said.

“Ordinarily I’m not a big fan of surprises, but in this case, I’ll make an exception,” Grace replied with a smile. She was as fond of my mother’s cooking as I was.

“Wow, that smells amazing,” I told Momma as Grace and I walked into the kitchen. “I love your lasagna.”

“That’s good, because, as usual, I made much too much,” she said as she smiled at the comment. My mother was an excellent cook, but she was so much more than that. She was a shrewd businesswoman who owned properties and businesses I didn’t even know about. To say that she kept her financial affairs secret would be the understatement of the century. Given how much she was probably worth, it still amazed me that we still lived in our charming little cottage on the edge of April Springs’ park. The cottage had sentimental value to both of us, though. Built by our family long ago, it was where she had lived with my father and me, and that made it priceless in both our points of view.

“You can never make too much lasagna,” Grace said with a twinkle in her eye.

“I’m glad you feel that way, because I’m sending some home with you tonight.”

“You don’t have to twist my arm,” Grace said.

“There’ll still be enough for us to have leftovers though, right?” I asked.

Momma patted my shoulder. “Never fear, Suzanne. Our freezer is full as it is.”

“But not with lasagna,” I said. “Did you make cheddar-chive loaf, too?” I asked as I spotted the dark brown loaves on the cooling rack. Momma had taken a basic recipe and modified it to yield the most savory bread imaginable, filled with sharp cheddar cheese, fresh green scallions, and just the right amount of thyme and other spices. It was great fresh out of the oven with butter melting into the crevasses of the bread, but it was at its best after it had cooled and was toasted, at least in my opinion.

“I made it this morning,” Momma said. “I’ll toast a batch of it as soon as the lasagna is nearly ready.”

“Is there anything that we can do?” Grace asked.

“Thanks, but I’ve got it covered. We’ve got twenty minutes before the lasagna is ready, so if you two would like to sit out on the porch and enjoy this glorious weather we’re having, that’s fine by me.”

“Thanks, Momma,” I said as I kissed her cheek. Grace buzzed the other one, and Momma smiled.

“Off with you now,” she said playfully, and Grace and I took her advice and retreated to the porch.

“We are going to feast like royalty tonight,” Grace said once she was situated on the porch swing.

“We do most nights around here,” I admitted as I grabbed one of the rocking chairs. That was what I loved about our porch. It was wide enough to hold a party on and always offered protection from the elements. As a child, I could remember curling up on the swing wrapped in a blanket and watching it snow.

“So, what’s our plan of attack with our remaining suspects?” Grace asked me.

“We can’t just keep questioning them and hope that somebody breaks,” I said after some thought. “That’s not going to work anymore.”

“What else did you have in mind?”

“Grace, you know I hate to do it because it can be scary-dangerous, but I don’t think we have any other options left. We have to set a trap for our killer.”

Grace took that in, and then she asked, “I can see your point, but what are we going to use as bait?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it? I don’t really want to use anybody else if we can help it. It’s not fair to ask someone else to assume a risk that we’re not willing to take ourselves.”