2 A Deadly Beef (11 page)

"Is
it really that important?"

Rebecca
nodded.  "If you’re off somewhere else, no matter how
altruistic the reason, it will look as though you are in hiding, but if
you’re here every day at the register where you belong, folks will start
discounting the things they’re hearing from some of the town’s
worst gossips.  At least that’s my theory."

"It’s
not that I disagree with you, but I can’t be two places at once," I
said, "as handy as that might be."

"Could
you possibly let Moose handle the investigation by himself for the next few
days?" she asked, and then we both started laughing at the suggestion.

"As
competent as my grandfather is at many things, subtlety and subterfuge
aren’t two areas of his expertise."

"Hey,
you know that I’m a big fan of the man, but I’m not about to
disagree with you."

"So,
the gist of this conversation is that I should keep on doing exactly what
I’ve been doing up to now," I said with a smile.

"That
about sums it up.  Victoria, I know that I don’t have to tell you
that the quicker you find Wally Bain’s killer, the better it is for you
and your family, even if it means you have to push things a little."

"Would
you care to be any more specific?" I asked.

"Not
if I want to keep my good standing with the court," she replied. 
"Remember, if there’s anything I can do within the limited scope of
my ability to help you, don’t hesitate calling.  I will tell you one
thing.  When this is all over, the two of us need to go out and have a
little fun.  What do you say?  Greg has his poker, but our shopping
time is getting shortchanged by your investigation.  Maybe we can go crazy
and spend the night in Charlotte or Asheville.  We could have a
girl’s mad day away from all of our responsibilities in Jasper
Fork.  What do you say?"

"It
sounds like heaven, actually.  I just hope we can do it sooner rather than
later."  I took a last sip of my tea, and then I noticed a glint in
her eye.  "Rebecca, is there something else you’re not telling
me?"

"What
do you mean?" she asked, the intensity deepening even more.

"I
don’t know what it is," I said, "but I have a hunch that
you’re keeping something from me."

Rebecca
shrugged, and then I could see her trying to fight a smile as she said,
"I don’t want to make too big a deal of it, especially not yet, but
I met somebody recently."

"What’s
his name?" I asked eagerly.  Rebecca had experienced some
notoriously bad luck with men in the past, and I continued to hope that someday
she’d find someone as perfect for her as Greg was for me.

"I’m
not ready to share any more than that just yet.  Let’s give it some
time."

"You’re
being extraordinarily cautious about sharing information," I said with a
slight smile.

"Sorry,
but you know better than anyone else that I’ve built my hopes up too many
times over the years.  For now, let’s just wait and see what
develops."

"It’s
a deal," I said.  "It sounds promising, though."

Rebecca
just grinned as she stood, but it was answer enough for me.

This
could be promising.

After
Rebecca left, I took our dirty dishes to the back. 

Greg
looked up from the grill and said, "Rebecca practically skipped out of
here just now.  What’s going on with that woman?"

"She
might have met someone new," I said, grinning.

"Good
for her," Greg said, turning his attention back to his grill without
another thought about what I’d just said.  For once, I was glad of
the man’s complete lack of curiosity about things outside of his narrow
circle of interest.  One of our friends had once had a baby, and Greg had
taken the telephone call announcing the arrival.  As I’d quizzed him
about the name, sex, and weight of the babe, all he could say was, "I
didn’t think to ask."  I had to call the new father back
myself to get any real information at all. 

Men.

I
loved my husband dearly, but sometimes he drove me absolutely crazy.

To be
fair, I was pretty sure that if he were ever cornered and asked, he’d
most likely say the same thing about me.

I
suppose that was one of the things that made our marriage so much fun. 

Despite
our differences, Greg was just right for me, and I always loved it when he told
me that he felt the same way about me.

Mom’s Potato and Carrot Soup

This is something great to serve the year
round, but we especially love this meal on cool, chilly days when the wind
outside is howling and the temperature is falling.  It’s one of the
joys of comfort food, and this one is on my list of fall-back recipes that my
family embraces.  This soup is easy to make, very inexpensive, and goes
great with toast, crackers, or any hard bread you’d like to serve with
it. 

Ingredients

2 russet baking potatoes, diced, or 8-12
new potatoes, whole (we like Yukon Gold, but red are great, too)

4 large carrots, peeled and chopped, or
10-12 baby carrots, whole

2 cups water (to boil potatoes and carrots)

1 onion, medium, diced

4 Tablespoons Butter

4 Tablespoons Flour, all purpose

1 cup Milk (we use 2% or 1%)

2 Dashes Salt

2 Dashes Pepper

Parmesan cheese, grated, to taste

Directions

In a medium pot, cook the potatoes and
carrots in two cups of water.  After bringing the pot to a boil, simmer on
Low heat for 10-12 minutes, or until a butter knife pierces the vegetables
easily.  While the veggies are cooking, in another pot, melt the butter,
then sauté the diced onion on Medium heat until the onion is
softened.  Turn off the heat, and then add the flour, stirring until
it’s incorporated.  Add ¼ cup of milk to the onion/flour mix
and stir until that’s incorporated as well.  Next, add the rest of
the milk and turn the heat on High, stirring constantly until the sauce
thickens.  This will occur just before the mixture comes to a full boil,
and I usually turn off the heat as the bubbles first appear in the sauce. 
Remove from heat and cover.  Most likely the veggies will be ready now, so
after they are cooked, drain them using a sieve, reserving two cups of the
liquid.  Once the veggies are drained, add them to the pot holding your
sauce and stir.  Coat the veggies with the sauce, and then add
approximately 1/2 to 1 cup of the reserved cooking water and stir that in as
well.  This can be modified to match the level of soupiness you desire,
and sometimes I add more milk to the mix earlier and skip this step entirely
for a more chowder-like consistency.  This soup can sit for up to 90
minutes before serving, but it’s good as soon as the veggies are
incorporated into the sauce and everything’s mixed in together.  Top
each bowl with grated Parmesan cheese, and enjoy!

Chapter 7

I was
still chatting with Greg in the kitchen a few minutes later when Moose came
rushing in.  "Grab your jacket, Victoria.  We need to go, and I
mean right now."

I
pulled my jacket from the hook, and as I put it on, I asked my grandfather,
"Where are we going in such a hurry?"

"I
just got a call from Gracie Winslow at the hospital.  Ron Watkins has been
in an accident."

"Did
something happen to him on Sally’s farm?" I asked.

"No,
that’s the strange part.  Gracie said that he was at Wally’s
doing something for Jan, as a favor.  She didn’t have much time for
details, but she said if we wanted a chance to talk to Ron, this might be our
last opportunity."

"Let’s
go," I said.  Gracie had been my babysitter once upon a time, and I
was surprised that she’d called my grandfather instead of me, but he had
a way about him that made folks want to confide in him, and in a small part, I
had it, too.

Moose
drove faster than he should have, but I still worried that we wouldn’t
make it in time.  What on earth had Ron been doing there that could get
him so seriously hurt?  I knew that farm work was one of the most
dangerous professions there was, but it was still a shock hearing about Ron.

A
question was still churning in the back of my mind, so I asked Moose as he
drove, hoping that it wouldn’t distract him from the road. 
"Why do you think Gracie called you?"

"She
heard we were digging into Wally’s murder," Moose said.

"How
did she happen to hear that?" I asked.

"I
ran into her last night," he said.

This
was getting interesting.  "Was Martha with you at the time?"

He
shook his head.  "No, I was on a walk around the neighborhood by
myself, and Gracie was out walking her dog.  We chatted for not more than
thirty seconds before Hubert caught a scent, and she was gone."

When
we got to the emergency room, I was surprised to find Sheriff Croft waiting in
the hallway outside.

"What
are you two doing here?" he asked.  It was pretty clear that he
wasn’t all that happy to see us.  "I just found out about what
happened to Watkins ten minutes ago."

"You
know how it is.  It’s a small town.  Word gets around,"
Moose said.  "How is Ron doing?"

"He’s
still unconscious," the sheriff said.  "He was working in the
barn and something fell on him from the loft.  According to the doctor, he
took a pretty nasty blow to the head."

"You
must believe that it was intentional," I said, "or you
wouldn’t be here."

"I’m
not sure if it was an accident or not until I talk to him first.  I have a
hunch Ron knows more than he’s been telling me.  I figured that if I
gave him a little time, he’d come clean with me, but I’m afraid that
might have been a mistake."

"Do
you think someone might have been trying to shut him up?" I asked.

"It’s
possible," the sheriff said.

I was
about to ask him something else when his radio came to life.  Sheriff
Croft stepped away so he could have the conversation in private, so I asked
Moose, "What do you make of it?  Was this an accident, or was
someone trying to keep Ron quiet?"

"I
wish I knew," Moose said as he ran a hand through his hair. 
"You said Ron came by the diner this morning, right?"

I
nodded as I explained, "It was pretty clear that he wanted to tell me
something, but when Sheriff Croft showed up unexpectedly, Ron left the diner
abruptly.  The sheriff followed him out in the parking lot, but when he
came back in, he was alone.  I guess Ron got antsy and took off."

"We
need to get in there and talk to him, Victoria," Moose said.

"As
soon as he regains consciousness, we will," I assured him. 
"Until then, though, there’s nothing we can do."

The
sheriff came back into the waiting room and rejoined us.  "I’m
not happy about it, but I’m going to have to leave.  There’s
been a hit-and-run in Laurel Landing, and they need me there.  Are you two
going to hang around here?"

"For
a while, at least," I said.  "Is there something we can do for
you?"

"Yeah,
there is.  I’ll give them orders to let you in if Ron wakes up
before I get back, but there’s one condition you have to agree to first,
or the deal’s off."

"We’ll
do anything," I said.

Moose
frowned.  "Hang on a second, Victoria.  Let’s hear what
the man has to say first before we agree to anything."

"Moose,
you shouldn’t have a problem with this," the sheriff said. 
"If Watkins wakes up, I need to know everything he tells you, and I mean
everything.  There’s no holding out on me. Do you both
understand?"

"We
can do that," Moose said.

"Good. 
I’ve got to run.  Let me know if anything happens."

"We
will," I said as the sheriff hurried out the door.

"You
were being pretty cautious a second ago, weren’t you?" I asked my
grandfather.

"I’ve
learned over the years never to make any promises that I can’t
keep," Moose said.

"I
just hope we get the chance to talk to Ron," I said.  "Until
then, all we can do is wait."

It was
nearly an hour later when Gracie Winslow came out of the emergency room area
and headed straight for us.  Gracie was in her late forties now, but she
still looked much like the teenaged girl she’d once been.  Though
her black hair was now cut short in a bob and she’d added a few wrinkles
that hadn’t been there before, I could still see the girl in her who had
babysat me so long ago.

"You
two can see him now, but just for a minute or two."

"Thanks
for calling us, Gracie," I said.

"You’re
welcome.  Last night Moose told me that you two were digging into what
happened to Wally, so I thought you’d want to know about
this."  Gracie hugged me quickly, and then added, "I wish I
had better news for you.  Ron’s in some real trouble right
now."

"Is
it really that bad?"

"Honestly,
between us, it’s hard to say.  I never would have let you two back
into the ER, even with the sheriff’s instructions, but Ron insists that
he needs to see you, and he’s getting more agitated by the second that he
can’t."

"Why
does he want to see me about?" Moose asked.

"He
doesn’t, at least not specifically, but he’s been asking for Victoria since he woke up," she said.

I
wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but there was no time to consider
it.  "Lead the way, then."

"Okay,
but you can’t upset him, no matter what happens.  Talk softly, and
keep your voices calm, regardless of what Ron tells you.  Can you both
promise to do that?"

"We
can," I said, wondering what I was about to see.

We
followed her through the doors and down the hallway, and she led us into one of
the rooms.  Moose was hanging back a few paces, but he was following
nonetheless.