Jeanne Glidewell - Lexie Starr 03 - Haunted (31 page)

“Me neither. They’re hardly ‘parents of the year’ material. Mr. Hobbs also admitted to stalking you. The fact you were so adamant about talking to Sidney concerned him. He thought that investigative reporters were often more determined and diligent about rooting out the truth than the detectives. I’m not even going to ask you how and when you became an investigative reporter. I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Probably best not to,” I agreed.

“Anyway, Hobbs said he sent Sidney and her best friend down to Kansas City on a shopping spree the day of the murder to provide his daughter with a verifiable alibi, and also to ensure he could get to Walter while the boy was alone.”

“Is Jeffrey Hobbs a diabetic?” Stone asked.

“Jeffrey is an internist in St. Joseph,” Wyatt continued. “He has a private practice there. That’s why he knows about insulin and hypoglycemic coma, and also why he has access to insulin. He makes good money for his family, and they live in the upper-crust part of town here in Rockdale, in the new Walnut Ridge Estates subdivision.”

“So Jeffrey—Dr. Hobbs, I should say—wanted his daughter to marry a doctor like him?” I asked.

“Or a surgeon, a lawyer, or even the CEO of a large firm. He just wanted Sidney to be able to continue to live in the manner she was accustomed to,” Wyatt said. “He said he felt desperate, knowing Sidney was in love with Walter, and not knowing how he could legally prevent her from marrying him. His biggest fear, he said, was that they’d run off and elope. He felt he had to do whatever he could to prevent Sidney from marrying Walter. He couldn’t stand the thought of a common man in a blue-collar job being his son-in-law. The only certain way he could come up with to get rid of Walter was to kill him, in order to assure marriage to him was no longer an option for his daughter.”

“I guess he accomplished his goal,” I said. “Sidney will never marry Walter now. Instead she’ll see her father spend the rest of his life in prison, and know it was he who killed the love of her life. What a sad story. She’ll really be devastated now. She’s lost both her boyfriend and her father. I assume she knew nothing about her dad killing Walter, did she?” I asked.

“Oh, no, and neither did his wife. She was as flabbergasted as Sidney was when the detectives went over to inform them of Jeffrey’s arrest,” Wyatt replied. “What a shame. It’s so awful for the two of them.”

“Yeah, it really is a shame,” Stone said. “And Walter seemed like such a nice and thoughtful young man. I would have been proud to call him my son-in-law.”

“He was a young man who wanted to spend his life helping others,” I added. “I don’t think he cared at all about having a lot of material things, and I seriously doubt Sidney did either, or she wouldn’t have fallen in love with a man of his convictions.”

“Speaking of helping others and getting married, Lexie, have you considered my suggestion from the other day?” Stone asked.

I didn’t know if he was proposing marriage, or just asking me to move in with him full-time at the inn, but either way, I told him I would be thrilled to make the Alexandria Inn my new home. I could no longer imagine my life without Stone in it. I would put my house in Shawnee on the market in the near future and begin selling and/or transferring all my belongings. I knew Wendy would also be relieved to see me become a permanent resident at the Alexandria Inn.

“Oh, well, it’s about time. I’m thrilled for the two of you,” Wyatt said. “And, Lexie, I probably don’t even have to tell you this, but a newspaper reporter was interviewing the chief when I left the police station yesterday, and your name will be all over the front page of the
Rockdale Gazette
, and probably multiple other newspapers tomorrow morning. Kind of like it was last year after you helped solve the murder case involving Veronica’s father.”

“I was afraid of that,” I said.

“Me too,” Stone agreed. “But something tells me it is something I better get used to.”

The End

Want more from Jeanne Glidewell?

Page forward for Recipes from HAUNTED

followed by an excerpt from

WITH THIS RING

A Lexie Starr Mystery

Book Four

Recipes

Frightening Fingers and Blood

2 cups brain matter (or substitute with shredded white cheddar cheese at room temperature)

1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (can use more if you want spicier)

1 jar of purchased salsa or roasted red pepper dip

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Pulse in your food processor butter, cheese, flour, salt, and cayenne until it comes together and forms a soft dough. Remove the dough from the food processor and put in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Once removed from the refrigerator, scoop out mixture with a medium cookie scoop or a couple of tablespoons. Take each scoop and hand roll into the shape of a finger and make sure to use a fork to lightly score the knuckles. Bake for approximately 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly brown. If any of the fingers break they are still yummy finger pieces so don’t waste them. Cool and enjoy. Tray these fingers with a big bowl of salsa or roasted red pepper dip (blood) in the center of the tray for dipping.

Red-Deviled Eye of Newt

1 dozen eyes of newt (or substitute with hard-boiled, shelled eggs)

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon relish

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sweet pickle juice

Small jar green olives with pimentos

1 tablespoon red food coloring

1 cup white vinegar

1/2 cup warm water

Slice eggs in half so that that each egg piece is round and not oval. Scoop out the yellow to mix in a separate bowl and flake the yoke with a fork and add in the mayo, relish, salt, and pickle juice. Stir and refrigerate mixture until the eggs are ready to fill.

To dye the egg whites, first cut a small piece of the rounded bottom of each egg to make a flat part so the egg will sit flat and not roll. Next mix 1 cup vinegar, 1 tablespoon red food coloring, and 1/2 cup warm water, and pour in a shallow pie plate. Place egg halves down into the mixture with the flat base side of the eggs not getting in the dye if you can help it. Let this sit for about 10 minutes and then using gloves, take the red egg eyes out of the mixture and dry right side up resting the flat base side on paper towels until ready to fill.

Using a pastry bag, fill each red egg side with the chilled eye mixture and top each egg with a green olive with pimento pushed slightly inside the filling for stability.

Chill until ready to serve.

Chocolate Tarantula Spiders

1 (6-ounce) package dark chocolate chips or semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup Red Hots (or other small red candies for the eyes)

2 cups hair of the dog (or substitute with crispy chow mein noodles)

Place the chocolate chips in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave on high for approximately 1 minute. Stir and melt more if the chocolate isn’t smooth. Then add in the chow mein noodles until they are all coated, being careful not to crush the noodles.

Drop heaping tablespoons of the mixture onto rolled-out waxed paper into small mounds. Leave a few noodles in the bowl for the legs. Next add these noodles with your fingers to create spider legs off the sides of each mound. Press in the Red Hot candies or other red candies to create eyes.

Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes and enjoy.

Bleeding Heart Fudge

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup (5-ounce can) evaporated milk

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups miniature marshmallows

1 package cinnamon baking chips (10 ounces)

1 bag cinnamon imperial candy (9 ounces)

1/2 teaspoon warlock blood or cinnamon oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with waxed paper. Combine sugar, evaporated milk, all but 1/4 cup of cinnamon imperials, butter, and salt in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until cinnamon imperials are melted and mixture is smooth.

Stir in cinnamon chips, vanilla, cinnamon oil, and marshmallows and mix thoroughly. Pour into prepared baking pan and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of cinnamon imperials. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan and remove wax paper. Cut into pieces.

Page forward and continue your journey

with an excerpt from

WITH THIS RING

A Lexie Starr Mystery

Book Four