Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry (33 page)

May waved her soapy hand in the air. “That must have been when I stopped him to help me carry my cooking supplies.”

“Right. He was the person in the jumpsuit and hairnet.”

Skye shook her head. “Only you, Mom, could get someone in the middle of committing multiple murders to stop and do what you wanted.”

May’s smile was smug. “Why didn’t he find Ashley? He ran away as soon as Dante came barreling out of the warehouse.”

“First she got lucky in that the window closed behind her as she fell, so from the outside it still looked locked. Second, Brandon wasn’t aware of the storage basement. The factory had stopped using it before he was born, and the only real
door had been bricked over years ago. And third, he never had a lot of time to search.”

“It is busy around there.” May nodded.

“Yep, and just as he rounded the corner of the building, he caught a glimpse of his brother coming around the opposite side. He barely had time to take off the jumpsuit and hide it behind some boxes before JJ spotted him. Then, once his brother saw him, JJ grabbed Brandon and hustled him back inside the plant because Grandma Sal was looking for him.”

“Didn’t Brandon go back later to look for Ashley?” Frannie asked.

“He couldn’t do much while people were working in the factory. Then he had to be available for the contest, and he was rooming with his brother, who would have wondered where he was if he left in the middle of the night.”

“What I don’t understand is why he didn’t at least dispose of the jumpsuit.” Uncle Charlie frowned. “It was one of the few pieces of physical evidence that tied him to the murder.”

“Remember how windy it was that day?” Skye asked. “It had blown away by the time he was able to get back to pick it up. When I found it later, there were too many people around and he couldn’t do anything about it, except hope it would never be linked to him. But the lab found traces of Dante’s blood type and chocolate similar to the fountain. They’re testing to see if the blood really is Dante’s and if the other DNA on it is Brandon’s, but we know it is.”

May finished the dishes and opened the drain. “What else did he do to interfere with the contest?”

“Three things I know about.” Skye got up and poured herself a glass of Diet Coke. “One, he arranged for Glenda Doozier to take Cherry’s place. He’d heard stories about the Dooziers his whole life, so when he saw she had entered, he figured her family would stir things up during the contest. Second, he made sure she won the special Cherry Alexander Award, counting on her doing something during the ceremony to make the contest look bad.”

“You said there was a third thing?” Justin reminded Skye.

“After the press conference the first day, I overheard two
people talking in the teachers’ lounge, and I finally figured out Brandon might be one of those people, so I had Wally ask him about it. Turns out one of the contestants, Imogene Ingersoll, bribed Brandon to give her all the background info that Fine Foods had gathered on one of the other contestants. He was glad to do it, figuring that if she got caught it would be another black mark for the contest, and the company.”

“Wasn’t Brandon afraid Imogene would take him down with her?” asked Justin.

“I guess he didn’t think his family would believe Imogene over him.” Skye shrugged.

“Imogene Ingersoll was the woman I said looked so familiar.” May wiped her hands on a dishtowel and came over to the table. “I wish I could place her.”

“Hey, I almost forgot.” Skye grabbed her tote from the utility room, where she had left it on top of the dryer. “Here’s a picture of the finalists that was taken during the awards ceremony, and there’s Imogene.” She pointed to a woman standing next to Vince. “Does anyone know her?”

While everyone around the table examined the print, Wally came in from the living room and joined them. “Maybe I do, but I’m not sure.”

“Who do you think it is?” Skye prodded.

“If you visualize her without the glasses and wig, and a little thinner, she’s that woman who impersonated a state police officer when we were investigating the murder of that model last November.” Wally leaned closer to the picture. “Only then she was going by the name Veronica Vale.”

Skye reexamined the photo. “You could be right.” She turned to him, frowning. “How come you recognized her when Mom and I didn’t?”

“I spent a lot more time with her than either of you did,” Wally explained. “You both saw her for at most thirty to forty-five minutes while you were stressed out, while I spent several hours with her.”

“If you’re right, and Imogene is Veronica, that’s pretty creepy.” May made a face. “Why would she turn up again, and with a new name?”

Skye suddenly felt a little light-headed and abruptly sat down. Wally turned to her in concern. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. It’s just that Brandon said that the person whom Imogene/Veronica was asking him about was me. Why would she want to know about me and my family?”

Everyone was silent as they considered Skye’s question. Finally Wally said, “Maybe she had you confused with May. Everyone thought she had the best odds to win, so maybe this woman was trying to get a leg up on the competition.”

“But why pretend to be a police officer and change her name?” Skye shook her head. “I don’t like it. She’s after something. I just wish I knew what it was.”

They all spent the rest of the afternoon and evening trying to figure out who the mysterious woman was and what she wanted. Everyone had a guess, but no one had an answer.

By the time she and Wally left, Skye had a headache and wanted nothing more than to go to bed, even if it was only eight o’clock at night. She said goodnight to him without inviting him in, then fed Bingo and went upstairs.

After changing into her nightshirt, she crawled into the big four-poster and lay staring at the ceiling. Tired as she was, she couldn’t shut off her whirling thoughts. Was Imogene Veronica? Why would she change identities? Why would she want to know about Skye and her family?

A half hour went by, and Skye still couldn’t think of a reason. Another half hour went by and Skye stared at the clock. Something else was bugging her, but what?

Was it that Wally hadn’t had her meet his father when Carson Boyd first came to town? He had explained his reasoning, but did she believe him? Not being introduced to the potential in-laws was a red flag that a guy wasn’t that into you. Was that the case with Wally?

Skye pulled the blanket up over her head. She couldn’t answer either question tonight. She needed to sleep. Everything would look better in the morning.

Try these four “winning” recipes, personally created by Denise Swanson, her friends and family. Denise likes to cook a lot more than Skye does….

Winner of the Healthy Category Monika’s Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Sponge Cake

Optional: 1/2 cup Hershey’s cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Break eggs into a warm mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until thick (several minutes). Gradually add half the sugar and continue beating until the mixture holds together. Sift together flour, cornstarch, remaining sugar, baking powder, xanthan gum, and cocoa, if using. Fold dry mixture into egg mixture. Beat on low speed for one minute.

Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with PAM, then pour in batter.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

Immediately remove cakes from their pans. Cool on a cake rack.
Warning:
Be gentle—cakes break apart easily. When cakes are completely cooled, frost and assemble layers.

Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Frosting

Blend together in a mixer on medium speed:

One stick Nucoa Margarine
^*
and one stick Crisco until fluffy.

Gradually mix in one box (or 1 1b.) confectionary sugar—more as needed to make a fluffy frosting.

Beat in one teaspoon vanilla extract.

Add a few drops of soy milk until frosting is easy to spread.

^*
Xanthan gum is used in gluten-free baking to give the dough or batter a “stickiness” that would otherwise be achieved with the gluten. It is available in health food stores and specialty grocery stores.

^*
Nucoa is the brand name of a margarine that does not contain any milk solids and is thus dairy-free, as well as free of protein and phenylalanine. It is a lactose-free, cholesterol-free margarine that is distributed by GFA Brands, Inc., Cresskill, NJ, and is available at most large grocery stores.

Winner of the Snacks Category

Fiesta italiano Dip

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the sour cream and mayonnaise. Add spinach, artichokes, and seasonings. Mix well. Stir in cheeses. Pour into a medium-sized casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for thirty minutes, or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with room-temperature tomatoes and serve on bread rounds.

Winner of the One-Dish Meals Category May’s Chicken Supreme Casserole

Note: You’ll notice that for purposes of the plot, Skye’s version of this recipe differs slightly from mine, which comes from Grandma Swanson.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients except for the bread crumbs and butter in a large bowl. Pour into a greased casserole dish and refrigerate overnight. Bring back to room temperature before baking. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Combine 1 cup bread crumbs and 1/4 cup melted butter. Sprinkle on top of hot casserole and return to oven for 5 to 10 minutes, until bread crumbs are browned.

Winner of the Special-Occasion Baking Category and the Grand Prize Chocolate Brownie Tiramisu

For the brownies:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt shortening and chocolate together in double boiler. Cool to room temperature. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with a mixer on high speed until light. Stir in sugar, then add chocolate mixture and vanilla. Sift together dry ingredients, then add to batter and mix well. Pour into a greased 9-by-13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the topping:

Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and milk in a 2-quart saucepan until smooth and blended. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. As soon as mixture reaches a boil, remove from heat. Immediately refrigerate until cool.

With an electric mixer, beat whipping cream at high speed until it forms very stiff peaks. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Mix the mascarpone cheese and sugar. Stir in the yolk mixture. Fold in the whipped cream.

Combine the coffee and Godiva liqueur in a large mixing bowl.

To assemble:

Cut brownies into 2-by-½-inch strips. Quickly dip each strip in the coffee mixture and place on the bottom of a 9-by-13 baking dish. Sprinkle with half the semisweet chocolate. Cover with half of the cheese mixture. Add another layer of dipped brownies. Sprinkle with remaining semisweet chocolate and finish with the cheese mixture.

Sift cocoa powder over the top and garnish with chocolate shavings.

Refrigerate overnight for best flavor. Serve in chilled dessert bowls.

O
n Mondays, school psychologist Skye Denison liked to play a game called Name that Disaster as she made the ten-minute drive to work. It consisted of guessing what calamity, catastrophe, or cataclysm would be waiting for her when she arrived.

Skye’s assignment included the elementary, middle, and high schools in Scumble River, Illinois. This meant the crises could vary from an eight-year-old girl scalping a fellow third grader in order to dance the lead in
Rapunzel
, to a thirteen-year-old methamphetamine user who thought he was Superman trying to fly from the roof of the junior high school, to a cheerleader holding her own private sex party for the winning basketball team, or any little mess in between.