Cast Iron Conviction (The Cast Iron Cooking Mysteries Book 2) (5 page)

“Now we wait,” I said, “but don’t worry, it won’t be long.”

“The other two don’t know what they’re missing,” Misty said as she peered off into the near darkness.

“I hope they come back,” I said. I didn’t want them to miss the experience of tasting what we’d made, even if they had both frustrated me with their earlier attitudes.

“I myself have mixed emotions about it,” Doc Blackberry said with a deep sigh. “Sure, they deserve a taste, but if they fail to return, that means that there’s more for the rest of us.”

I had to laugh. “No worries on that count. There’s more than enough food for all of us.”

Just before the final reveal, Sally rejoined us, looking angry about something.

“Where’s Harriet?” I asked her.

“I have no idea. It’s not my day to watch her.”

I was about to snap back at her despite the fact that she was one of my students when the councilwoman returned too, looking more than a little flushed.

“You’re both just in time,” I said.

Harriet didn’t answer; she just managed a nod.

“Are we ready?” I asked Timothy.

Once again he brushed off the lids with the shovel, and I lifted the first lid I’d removed just twenty minutes earlier. The ribs had transformed in that short time, turning from red into a lovely shade of brown. They fell apart as I poked them with my fork, and after retrieving a green pepper slice, I held it up for everyone to see in the firelight. “It’s perfect,” I said.

“Amazing,” Misty said. “Simply amazing.”

“It’s truly a work of art,” Peggy echoed.

“Enough talk, ladies. Let’s eat,” Doc Blackberry said.

“I’ll grab one oven, Doc, you get one, and I need one of you to bring the third one.”

“I’d do it,” Timothy explained, “but I have to tend to the fire.”

“You don’t get to eat with us after all of the work you just did?” Misty asked with disapproval.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take him a plate later,” I said.

“I bet you will,” Misty said happily.

I just shook my head, but everyone else took notice, though they didn’t comment on it, much to my relief. Peggy grabbed the last Dutch oven with the hot-pad I offered her, and we went back into the Iron. “This time, you can all sit at the counter on the side that you’re used to.”

We put the ovens on trivets, and I quickly set their places. Removing the lids and setting them aside, I was glad that I had an overabundance of the cast iron trivets on hand. I collected them for entertainment, but I rarely found a way to use as many of them as I could at that moment.

Once their plates were all filled, I made a small plate for myself as I watched them eat.

Doc Blackberry’s face lit up after taking his first bite. “This is amazing.”

“It’s unbelievable,” Peggy added.

“I could never do this,” Misty said.

“I suppose it’s okay,” Sally replied.

“It’s tasty,” Harriet said, though it was clear that her heart wasn’t in it. She looked absolutely exhausted, and I wondered about what kind of strain she was under at the moment.

I took a bite and had to agree with everyone except Sally. It was a work of art, and I’d shown them how to do it.

After a while, I asked, “Seconds, Doc?”

“I’d better not,” he said as he pushed his plate away. “Annie, that was worth every cent of the cost of admission.” He turned to the other women and said, “Ladies, it’s been a pleasure.”

Misty asked, “Is that the time? I need to get home.”

“I’ll walk you out,” Peggy said. “Thanks again, Annie. Well done.”

“Thank you,” I said to her softly.

“What for?”

“For helping keep the lions in line.”

“That was nothing. You should try it with a roomful of schoolkids.”

“No, thanks,” I said.

Sally headed for the door, and then she turned to Harriet. “Well? Are you coming?”

“Sure. Okay,” she said.

“Harriet, are you all right?” I asked her.

“No. Yes. I don’t know.” She spoke so softly that I knew that Sally couldn’t hear.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Harriet seemed to consider that for a moment, and then she asked, “What’s the use?”

“Let’s go. I don’t want to walk out into the parking lot alone, and neither do you.”

“Coming,” Harriet said, and then the two women left side by side.

How odd.

There was nothing I could do about it, though. I filled one plate until it was almost overflowing just as Pat walked down the stairs. “Is that for me?”

“Okay. Sure. Why not?” I asked as I thrust it into his hands.

“What’s going on?” Pat asked me. “Who is this really for?”

“It was for Timothy, but I can make him another. After I deliver it, we need to talk.”

“Right back at you. I’ll be right here when you’re through,” he said as he breathed in the delightful aroma on his plate.

At least there was plenty of food left. I made another small plate for me and then a larger one that exceeded even Pat’s, and then I headed out the back door.

The only problem was that the fires were already both out, and apparently Timothy was long gone.

“What’s wrong? Did you get stood up?” Pat asked me teasingly when I walked back inside.

“Of course not. I must just have misunderstood,” I said as I wrapped Timothy’s plate in aluminum foil and stuck it in the refrigerator. Was he getting cold feet about going out with me tomorrow night, or had something else happened? “How are the ribs?” I asked as I sat beside him and nibbled one myself.

“Tasty, as I knew they would be. Listen, something happened today that I need to talk to you about.”

“Well, apparently I’m free for the rest of the evening, so if you can talk while we’re both eating, then by all means, go right ahead.”

Chapter 8: Pat

I
told Annie everything that had happened after I’d left the Iron, except about my impending date with Jenna. Sure, she was my twin sister, but that didn’t mean that she had to know
everything
about my business. For once, I was keeping my date to myself.

After I finished bringing her up to speed, it was clear that she was just as worried about Albert’s well-being as I was, even though I’d been the one who’d gotten us involved in his situation.

“What are we going to do about him not showing up like that?” Annie asked me.

“What can we do? How do we know that he just didn’t get cold feet and change his mind?”

“Pat, we have to find out if he’s okay, one way or the other.”

I stared at my sister for a moment before I spoke. “Are you sure you’re willing to do that? After all, you didn’t want to get involved in this in the first place, remember?”

“Maybe not, but I’m beginning to see that you were right to offer our help. Albert shouldn’t be doing this alone. It’s too dangerous.”

I grinned at her for a moment. “And it’s not dangerous for us too, if we get involved?”

“At least we’ve got each other,” Annie said. “And the sheriff’s our sister. That can’t hurt, either.” After a brief pause, she added, “As a matter of fact, that’s who we should go talk to first.”

“Do you really think Kathleen is going to help us?” I asked her. Our older sister was overprotective of both of us on her best day. I was pretty sure that neither digging into a murder—no matter how ancient—nor investigating a disappearance that was all too recent would suit her.

“Sure she will, if we handle it just right,” Annie said.

“And how might we go about that?”

“Just leave it to me, little brother,” she answered with a grin.

“You’re a few minutes older than I am, Annie. That doesn’t make you my big sister any more than sitting in a garage makes you a car.”

“I know,” she said with a laugh, “but it’s still fun to tease you about it.”

“Kathleen, we need to talk to you,” Annie said after Kathleen answered our knock at her front door. She was still wearing her uniform, and I wondered if she’d be going back out that evening on duty. I knew that her hours were much worse than ours were, and I didn’t know how she did it.

“What have you two gotten yourselves into this time?” she asked us with a frown.

“Why do you always go there right off the bat?” Annie asked her. “It just so happens that we’re not in any trouble whatsoever this time.”

“That’s good to hear. At least it makes for a nice change of pace. So, is this just a family visit, then?”

“Not exactly,” I said softly. “The truth of the matter is that we need your help with something.”

“I knew it.” I wished that I could dampen her look of superiority, but I couldn’t. “What is it?”

“Albert Yeats is missing,” I said.

“What are you talking about, Pat? I saw you speaking with him myself just this afternoon.”

“You saw that?” I asked. “Why didn’t you join us?”

“You two looked as though you were in deep conversation, about Mitchell’s murder, no doubt. I didn’t want to get involved if I didn’t have to.”

“Kathleen, the reason we’re worried is that he was supposed to meet me this evening at the Iron, only he never showed up,” I explained.

“Given the man’s recent erratic behavior, are you really all that surprised? He’s changed since he went to prison. You’d go broke trying to predict his next move.”

“I know he’s been a little off his game,” I said, “but I can’t believe that he’d stand me up like that. It was important.”

“To him, or to you?” Kathleen asked.

“Give Pat a chance to explain,” Annie said, coming to my defense. I appreciated the gesture, but I doubted that it would help our cause with Kathleen any.

“It’s okay. She has a right to ask,” I told Annie before I turned back to Kathleen. “I told Albert that he was taking an awful chance working alone, and I offered to at least be a sounding board for him about his investigation. He agreed, but I waited two and a half hours for him to show up after he was supposed to be there, but he never made it.”

“Why am I not surprised? He’s been going around town stirring up all kinds of trouble,” Kathleen said. “I have half a mind to arrest him for disturbing the peace.”

“Don’t you think he has a right to try to find out who really killed Mitchell Wells?” Annie asked her. “After all, he paid quite a price for someone else’s mistake.”

“Finding a killer is a job that’s best suited for professionals,” Kathleen said officiously. Was that a dig at us for thinking of ourselves as amateur sleuths?

“Like the last time, you mean?” Annie asked pointedly. Evidently she’d taken the barb personally as well.

This was getting us nowhere. I thought my twin sister had been there to be a peacemaker, but evidently that role was falling squarely on my shoulders again. “We’re getting off topic, ladies. The only thing that matters right now is if Albert Yeats is okay. Kathleen, do you happen to have any idea about where he’s been living since he got back?”

“Sure. He’s staying on his cousin Bryce’s land.”

“What do you mean? Is he camping out?” I asked her.

“No, Bryce has a little play cabin on his property that his kids used to use when they were younger. Evidently Albert has been staying up there.”

“His own cousin won’t let him sleep in the house?” I asked, surprised by the news.

“Don’t jump to any conclusions, Pat. Evidently Bryce tried to give him a spare bedroom, but Albert couldn’t stand being in the house with other people. He opted to sleep out in the cabin by himself. It was his choice.”

“How do you know all that?” Annie asked her.

“Hey, I’m the sheriff, remember? It’s my job to know what’s going on in Maple Crest, and I take it seriously.”

“Have you discussed anything with Albert?” I asked her.

“Do you mean about where he’s living?”

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about,” I said. “I mean regarding his murder investigation.”

To my surprise, my older sister nodded. “I tried to. I told him that he was going about it all wrong, that I’d be willing to revisit the case myself with him, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He said that he wanted to do it all himself, not that I listened to him. It’s my job to investigate every open murder case, and Mitchell Wells’s is active again. I spent all afternoon going through my predecessor’s files about the case, and I can see some solid leads that were pretty much ignored before.”

“Like what?” I asked her. Maybe we’d be able to get some help from her after all.

“You know I can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.”

“Seriously? The case was closed ten years ago. If we’d asked you last week, you would have been a lot more open with us,” Annie protested.

“That was before the state reversed itself,” Kathleen reminded her.

“So, you won’t help us at all?” I asked her.

“Let’s find Albert first, and then we can discuss what I will and will not tell you two delinquents about what happened ten years ago.”

“You know, it wasn’t true when you called us that when we were kids, and it isn’t true now,” I said.

“I know,” she said with a sigh. “I just wish the two of you would try to make my life a little easier instead of harder for once.”

“What fun would that be?” Annie asked. “So, should we all take your patrol car?”

Kathleen shook her head. “This isn’t exactly official police business. Why don’t you drive us, Pat?”

“What’s wrong with me driving?” Annie asked. “Besides the fact that it’s not my car and all.”

“To tell you the truth, I’d like to get where we’re going in one piece, if it’s all the same to you.”

Kathleen stopped off at her squad car to collect a high-powered and heavy-duty flashlight. She’d strapped on her firearm inside, and Annie had asked, “How about us? Do we get weapons, too?”

“What do you think?” Kathleen asked dryly.

“Hey, I can make the request, can’t I?”

“You can, and I have just as much right to turn you down.”

We got into the car, and I turned to my older sister, who had taken the passenger seat beside me, putting Annie in back.

“Well, what are we waiting for?” Kathleen asked.

“A destination might be nice,” I said with a soft smile. “Are we going to Bryce’s, or is there somewhere else you’d rather look first?”

“Oh. Sorry. Let’s head for Bryce’s place and see if Albert’s there.”

After getting permission from the owner to check on his cousin, we approached the play cabin in back of the lot, calling out Albert’s name as we neared the front door. “Albert? Are you there?” Kathleen called out in the darkness. I was glad that she’d brought her flashlight with her. Wherever the beam touched leapt into light, and I could easily believe that it would be pretty blinding if it hit your eyes directly after being accustomed to the darkness, but then again, that might have been the plan all along.

There was no answer at the makeshift door.

“Albert, it’s us, Pat and Annie,” I said loudly.

“I already announced our presence,” Kathleen said shortly as she turned the beam in my direction.

“Maybe as a law enforcement officer, but he knows us to be his friends,” I said. That wasn’t entirely true, but at least he didn’t have any reason to hold any animosity toward my twin and me.

“Maybe so, but it’s a moot point. He’s still not answering.”

Our older sister started walking closer to the door, speaking loudly as she approached. “Albert, if you’re there, I’m coming in.”

Annie looked at me as Kathleen began her final approach. “Should we follow her?”

“What’s stopping us?” I asked.

As we joined our older sister, Kathleen played the flashlight’s beam over the inside of the cabin once she cautiously opened the door.

“Is he in there?” I asked her anxiously.

“Don’t come any closer,” Kathleen said as she shone the light at us where we were standing a few steps back.

“Why not? What’s wrong?” I asked her. “Do you see him?”

“He’s dead, Pat,” Kathleen said, and then she got on her radio and called for backup.

It appeared that whoever Albert had been after had decided that he’d gotten as close as he was ever going to.

The killer must have thought that the threat to their freedom had ended, but they didn’t know my twin and me.

As far as we were concerned, the hunt had just begun.