Pudding Up With Murder Read online

  “Britt, that’s not necessary.”

  “No resisting. This is a gift of love, and you cannot refuse it.”

  I sighed. Britt and Terry and their wild generosity could sometimes be burdensome.

  She stood up to retrieve the thin package and brought it over to me. “I noticed that you admired this, Lilah, so Terry and I would like you to have it.”

  I stripped away the paper and saw that she was giving me a painting from the gallery. It was the Jerome Merault painting I had loved so much, the one called Summer Walk. In it the man and woman were walking a dog who looked like Mick, and at a glance the couple could have been Parker and I. I already knew that the multitude of colors he had used in this brilliant work would perfectly complement the tones of the room in which we were sitting.

  “Oh, Britt,” I said. “This is—beautiful.” And as I recalled, it was also incredibly expensive.

  She pulled me into a sudden hug. “So are you, Lilah.” She held me at arm’s length and smiled widely. “And clearly you had to have this—it could be you and Jay and Mick, your hero dog.”

  “It really could. Well—thank you so much. I’m going to hang it right there above the fireplace, and I will enjoy it every single day.”

  “I will pass that on to Jerome. Someday you have to meet him. He’s brilliant.”

  “That sounds great,” I said, my eyes drawn back to the people in the painting, and the beautiful world that one man had created with his talented hands.

  • • •

  JENNY BRAIDWELL WAS thrilled with my plans for her wedding shower. Britt had agreed enthusiastically to let us use her lovely home, and she even volunteered to help with decorating. Jenny did indeed choose winter white for the bridesmaids’ dresses, but we were all allowed to choose our own style. Jenny thought this would make it look elegant and layered, rather than pursuing what she called “a cookie-cutter wedding party.”

  I spent some time looking at dresses online while Jay and I were visiting Ellie. Jay was watching football with his brother Eric, so Ellie and I escaped to her office to consider various elegant styles.

  “This off-the-shoulder number would look lovely on you,” Ellie said. “And not too terribly expensive. But you would have to wear your hair up, or we wouldn’t see your shoulders.”

  “Jay doesn’t like it up,” I said.

  She shrugged. “Men don’t, do they? And yet it would look quite elegant—perhaps a French braid or something?”

  “Put that one in the maybe pile,” I said. “Then keep scrolling.”

  We heard a bang outside and I jumped. Ellie looked up vaguely and said, “Oh, that’s just Cash Cantwell. He will always slam that door, as if he couldn’t just close it quietly. He’s probably walking the dogs.”

  “That’s nice—that he’s taking care of them.”

  “They’re nice little dogs. Well trained. Cash is good with them—his father would be proud.”

  “So have you talked to all the children? Are they all doing okay?”

  “I have talked to them all, yes. They come to see Cash frequently, although Prudence and her boyfriend have gone off to the islands somewhere—doesn’t that sound glamorous? Just packing up and going to some exotic locale to get away from it all. I guess you can do that when you’re an artist, and whatever he is.”

  “How about Emma and Tim? Will they go to the islands?”

  “No, but Emma tells me that they just celebrated their fifteenth wedding anniversary, and that Tim bought her a lovely ring and read her a poem that made her cry. He’s quite romantic.”

  “Who is?” Jay said, entering the room with a beer in his hand. “Do I have competition again?”

  “You’ve never had competition and never will,” I offered placidly as he reached my side and put his arm around me. “You are in a class by yourself.”

  Ellie smiled at us. “So sweet together.”

  “We owe it all to you, Ellie,” I joked. “Now finish telling me about the Cantwells.”

  “Hmm? Oh. Well, Emma told me that Owen got a job teaching philosophy in Arizona. He’s very excited about it. And Scott will remain at his law firm; he’s being considered for a partnership.”

  “What about Wade?”

  Ellie shrugged. “The children have surprised everyone—and perhaps themselves—and come out en masse to support him. Their lawyer says that he will do jail time, but that he will certainly make parole with good behavior and the backing of the Cantwell children. Such an odd thing, but sweet, as well. They feel bad for him. Emma says that for all Marcus’s faults, they still know that they were privileged, and that poor Wade was not.”

  “Parents and children,” I said. “A mystery from beginning to end.”

  Jay looked impatient. “I’m tired of hearing the name Cantwell. Mom, can I steal Lilah for a while? I want to make out with her on the couch.”

  Ellie beamed, and I giggled.

  “Of course, Jay. You go kiss your pretty Lilah, and Eric will help me dish up dessert. I have made—once again—a rice pudding casserole.” She said this for the sake of the son who didn’t know our secret and sat one room away. “We have to clear away the unhappy associations with that dish, because it was delicious, and I for one will want to serve it often. Eric has been going after it for an hour now, and even though he tried to cover his tracks, I see the telltale signs of scooping.”

  Eric appeared in the doorway. “It’s awesome, Mom. You should make it all the time.”

  Ellie’s face glowed with pleasure at the compliment, and Jay squeezed my hand.

  • • •

  MUCH TO MY surprise, Wade Glenning’s assistant, Stella, showed up at my door about a week after his arrest. She handed me a package that contained a CD of all the pictures Wade had taken, along with the photos of the ones I had selected. I expressed my surprise at their arrival, and Stella lifted her chin. “Wade said to tell you he’s a man of his word. And that he’s sorry about what happened. He’s not really that kind of guy.”

  I didn’t open the package, but I handed the whole thing to Parker when I saw him next, and he was thrilled with it.

  “Won’t they give us a bad feeling every time we see them?” I asked.

  Jay shook his head. “I’ll only think of you when I look at these. Look how beautiful you are! The guy has a gift.”

  “Well . . . I did pay for them. And they were supposed to be your present, so if you like them—”

  “I do. Thank you,” he said.

  I put my arms around him and tucked my chin on his shoulder. “Do you ever have daydreams of just pulling up stakes and flying out to some tropical island?”

  “Since I met you I have daydreams like that all the time.”

  “Prue Cantwell just did it, with her boyfriend. Maybe we should do it sometime, too.”

  “No maybe about it,” Parker said.

  • • •

  THAT NIGHT JAY Parker stood on a step stool in front of my fireplace, holding up my new painting. “To the right a little. Now up. Yes! Perfect right there. I love it.”

  Parker made a mark with a little pencil he had tucked above his ear. Then he brought the painting down and pounded in a nail. Mick and I watched him as he worked, and I admired the way that he looked in jeans.

  Soon he was lifting the painting again, and he balanced it carefully on the large nail.

  Then he stepped down, and we looked at his handiwork.

  “It works well in this room. The colors are perfect.”

  “And the people could be us, couldn’t they, Jay?”

  He slid an arm around me, and we admired the couple in the purpled twilight, walking their dog to an unknown destination. “They could. So it’s art imitating life.”

  “Or we could imitate our painting, and take Mick for a walk.”

  Parker smiled and looked at
our canine companion, who studied us with a wise expression. “Mick, does that sound good to you? A nice little spring walk in the evening light? And maybe a guy who wants to be painted into the picture permanently?”

  Mick didn’t have to think twice.

  He looked at Jay Parker and nodded.

  Recipes

  Lilah’s Rice Pudding Casserole

  Rice pudding warms the hearts and pleases the taste buds of young and old alike. Try this version on your family and friends.

  INGREDIENTS

  2½ cups rice (uncooked)

  1 teaspoon salt

  4 cups water

  12 eggs

  7 cups milk

  1 teaspoon cinnamon

  1 teaspoon nutmeg

  ¾ cup granulated sugar

  ¼ cup light brown sugar

  1 cup raisins (optional)

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat rice, salt, and water in a large pot until they are close to boiling. Without draining rice, add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Pour into a greased 13 x 9 casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a fork inserted into the center comes out clean.

  This dish can be served warm or cold.

  Some suggested toppings are whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, or maraschino cherries.

  Lilah’s Raspberry-Almond Deep-Dish Coffee Cake

  I first made this dish for my friend Britt, but it was so popular that I’ve made it several times since. Few people can resist the lure of a good coffee cake.

  INGREDIENTS

  1 cup raspberry jam (and some fresh raspberries kept for serving)

  ½ cup light brown sugar

  ⅛ stick of butter, solid

  1 cup flour

  ½ cup sugar

  1 teaspoon baking soda

  ½ teaspoon salt

  ½ stick butter, melted

  2 eggs

  1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  ¼ cup sliced almonds

  GLAZE

  ½ cup powdered sugar

  1–2 teaspoons milk

  ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

  ½ teaspoon raspberry extract

  2 softened pats of butter

  First, grease and flour a square glass casserole dish (or use a larger one, but double ingredients; I use a Pyrex 10 x 15 dish that my mother gave me, but then I double the recipe to feed more people).

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  Mix raspberry jam, brown sugar, ⅛ stick of butter, and a teaspoon of flour along with some of the raspberries in a bowl. Keep this handy for later in the recipe.

  Next, find a larger bowl to combine all of the dry ingredients. Mix your melted butter with the eggs and add the teaspoon of vanilla.

  Put half of the batter in your pan. Take your raspberry mixture and carefully spoon it, as evenly as possible, onto the batter. Then put the rest of the batter on top.

  Find your sliced almonds and sprinkle these in a pleasing arrangement across the top of the batter.

  Set your timer for somewhere between 35–40 minutes, but only remove from the oven when a fork inserted into the center of your cake comes out clean.

  Combine glaze ingredients; if they become stiff, add tiny amounts of water or milk until the frosting is the desired consistency.

  Drizzle the glaze over a warm (but not hot) cake.

  Serve with fresh raspberries, whipped cream, a pot of tea or coffee, or all of the above. My brother, Cameron, chooses all of the above.

  Lilah’s Egg and Dill Delight

  This breakfast casserole can serve well as a dip, too! It’s cheesy, delicious, and quite nutritious, especially if you go the low-fat route. My mother always said that spinach was good for the digestion. I don’t know if this is just one of those motherly sayings, but I do know spinach is healthy for a lot of other reasons, and this casserole is filled with the leafy greens. It’s also easy enough to make even when you’re away from home, and even if you’re in a hurry.

  This was featured on one of my Friday segments of Cooking with Angelo, and it got many positive reviews on Angelo’s website. Enjoy!

  INGREDIENTS

  10 eggs

  1 cup cottage cheese (can substitute low-fat, if desired)

  4 ounces cream cheese (low-fat, if desired)

  4 ounces shredded Swiss or Monterey Jack

  1 10-ounce package chopped spinach (buy frozen, then thaw and wring dry)

  2 tablespoons fresh dill weed

  dash black pepper

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  In a large bowl, beat eggs, then add cheeses, spinach, dill weed, pepper, and salt; stir gently into the egg mixture.

  Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

  Set a timer for 45–50 minutes; check the dish when it rings, but don’t stop baking until a fork inserted into the center of the egg mixture comes out clean.

  Serve with a side of toast, bacon, tomatoes, or all of the above! Your diners will ask you for an encore.

  Cameron Drake’s Mushroom Collezione

  My brother, Cameron, gave me this recipe; he said that it is easy enough that bachelors can make it to impress their girlfriends. This is sexist of Cam, since he is suggesting that no men can cook, and that they might use food merely as a lure to get women to eventually cook for them. He should know better, since his own wife, Serafina, cannot cook at all.

  In any case, I ate this at Cam’s house and found it delicious, so I plan to work it into one of my covered-dish recipes soon.

  INGREDIENTS

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 small onion

  2 tablespoons Angelo’s Gourmet olive oil

  1 package presliced mushrooms, fresh

  1 cup chopped prosciutto

  1½ cups heavy cream

  dash pepper

  1 large package uncooked Collezione

  ⅓ cup Parmigiano cheese, fresh, grated

  ½ tablespoon fresh parsley

  Fill a pot to ¾ full of tap water. Add salt; bring to a boil.

  In a separate pan, sauté the chopped onions in olive oil until slightly browned.

  Add the chopped mushrooms to this mixture, and brown lightly. (Note from Cameron: At this point, your wife might appear at your shoulder and try to pour in some Sangiovese. Do not let her. However, if she overpowers you, this can also taste surprisingly good.)

  Add chopped prosciutto and stir in. Add cream to mixture.

  By now your kitchen smells amazing; add salt and pepper to desired taste.

  Your water should now be boiling; add the Collezione.

  When the noodles are al dente, drain them and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add the mixture from your pan and toss together.

  Before serving, add in the cheese and parsley.

  Serves about four people with good appetites.

  Enjoy with a fresh green salad and crusty homemade bread.

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