Plum Deadly (29 page)

“Clara’s Coconut Cream pie,” Maggie announced. “What do you think?”

“I like it. Stay right here a minute.” Aunt Clara hurried into the kitchen and came back with a pie box. “I was thinking the same thing about the deep-dish cherry pie I used to make for your mother. I made one last night while you were out with Ryan.”

Maggie smiled. Would anyone else in the world understand their family’s association with pie? Probably not.

She opened the pie box and looked at the cherry pie inside. “And what are you going to call it?”

“I’m thinking about Delia’s Deep-Dish Cherry pie, in honor of your mother. What do you think?”

Maggie cut a piece of the pie and put it on her plate. “I think I’d better join a gym if I don’t want to gain so much weight that I won’t fit through the front door. Thank you, Aunt Clara.”

P
ie in the
Sky had been closed two days over the weekend for remodeling. Aunt Clara wasn’t happy about it. Maggie felt that there was no other way to get the bulk of the big work done—painting, new light fixtures, tile, and a new counter.

They went in on Monday morning and saw that it had been worth the effort.

The pie shop still smelled of fresh paint and glue, but it looked fantastic. The walls that had been dingy were now a bright, clean white. No spots of missing or peeling paint anywhere.

The new tile was a vivid dark blue for all their Duke fans. It looked so new and clean that Maggie almost hated that customers would come in later and spill coffee on it.

The new blue counter and coffee-cup-shaped lights were everything she’d hoped for. The old tables and chairs would have to do for now. New ones would be delivered Tuesday.

“Oh my stars!” Aunt Clara said when she saw the fresh interior. “It’s wonderful. Well worth the wait. Where did you get those old Blue Devil photos? I love them up there.”

“I got them from Ryan. His dad had taken them for the paper years ago. I have a surprise in the kitchen too.”

Aunt Clara gasped when she went into the kitchen and saw the new, larger oven Maggie had installed while the shop was closed. “Where did you find it?”

“In a supply catalog.” Maggie smiled as her aunt ran her hand lovingly across the ceramic finish. Until now, Aunt Clara had worked with a small oven even older than the refrigerator that had stopped working. “It can bake twelve pies at once.”

“That’s completely amazing. Just think of all we can do with it. You know, I’ve been thinking about introducing a new pie—Killer Key Lime. It would go with the whole theme of our latest publicity. What do you think?”

Maggie mulled it over. “It could work. Knowing what happened here sure hasn’t stopped anyone from coming in.”

“It’s settled then.” Aunt Clara nodded. “We’ll add Delia’s Deep-Dish Cherry, Clara’s Coconut Cream, and Killer Key Lime to the menu. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait to do the lime until Mr. Gino brings supplies this week.”

“Okay. Let’s get started. People must be pie hungry since we’ve been closed.”

Maggie and Aunt Clara worked on dozens of piecrusts since there were no pies made after being shut down. The pie of the day was going to be Delia’s Deep-Dish Cherry, since they’d already purchased supplies for that.

After the pies were set and a dozen were in the oven, Maggie started the coffee and added the new pies to the large, new erasable whiteboard that would carry the menu from now on.

Ryan rapped at the front door about thirty minutes before opening. “Any coffee ready yet? I’ve been up since three a.m. doing research.”

Maggie closed and locked the door again behind him. “Good morning to you too. Yes, there’s coffee and you can have a cup. What are you researching?”

“Hey!” He looked around. “The place looks great! What a difference.” He spread out a notebook on one of the tables. It was filled with old newspaper clippings.

“What’s this?”

“Bad news, I’m afraid. This man.” He pointed to a picture of a handsome older gentleman. “His name is Donald Wickerson. He’s originally from Atlanta. He’s spent the last few years in North Carolina. The last time he visited the Raleigh area, his wife accidentally fell down a flight of stairs and died.”

Maggie looked through the other newspaper articles that highlighted other accidents that had befallen unlucky women married to Donald Wickerson. “So he’s like a black widow, except he’s a man. What do you call that?”

“I call it a killer,” Ryan said. “Six women have died and left him money during his lifetime. I happened to get the scoop that he’s in Durham. That can only mean one thing.”

Maggie nodded. “He’s looking for another wife to kill.”

“Number six died the end of last year in a swimming pool accident.”

“Why haven’t the police arrested him?” she asked.

“He always has an alibi and they can’t pin anything on him. I’m thinking about running a series of articles about this kind of thing—nothing about Wickerson himself, since he’s never been caught. It might be enough to scare him away. Or it might be enough to get the police to look into it. Either way, great newspaper stories.”

“I hope that helps,” she added. “What’s his type?”

“Usually wealthy, widowed business owners who are unlucky enough to have come to his attention. The more successful, the better.”

Maggie heard the back door to the pie shop open and close. Aunt Clara rarely used that entrance because of the sticky door. Not having very good memories of the back door, she went toward the kitchen.

Before she could see what was going on, Aunt Clara, her pretty pink face smiling, walked into the front of the shop. There was a tall, broad-shouldered older man in an expensive suit on her arm.

“Maggie, Ryan, I’d like you to meet someone I met at the library a few weeks ago. This is Donald Wickerson. He’s a book lover and a pie aficionado. How could anyone ask for more?”

N
ow that everything
has settled down at Pie in the Sky, Aunt Clara and I will be working on our newest pie recipes for the shop. We’ll also be baking the old favorites: Lotsa Lemon Meringue, Delia’s Deep-Dish Cherry, and Clara’s Coconut Custard.

We’ll make all three of these pies with our family’s secret recipe for the best piecrust.

Enjoy!

—Maggie

Be sure to chill all mixing utensils and ingredients first.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1
¹
/
₂
teaspoons salt

1 cup vegetable shortening

1. Stir flour and salt together, then quickly work shortening into the mixture until the particles are as small as BBs.

2. Sprinkle in a sparse amount of cold water, only enough until the dough sticks together in a ball. It should be dry, not moist. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. After dough is chilled, place it on a pastry board or other flat, nonstick surface. Dust surface lightly with flour. Flatten the dough a little, then use a lightly floured rolling pin to make smooth, even strokes from the center to the edge of the dough.

4. Turn the dough frequently to keep it round. Use an ungreased 9-inch metal pie pan for flaky crust. Don’t turn the crust over when putting it into the pan. Leave rolled side up. Use your fingers to lightly press together any cracks in the crust. Flute crust, if desired.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for about 5 minutes before adding cold, unbaked filling. Refrigerate at once. Otherwise bake with filling according to type and recipe. Precooked fruit requires less time than raw fruit.

• Makes one 9-inch piecrust

This recipe is an old favorite.

One baked 9-inch pie shell

1 cup plus 4 tablespoons sugar (or alternate sweetener)

¹
/
₄
cup cornstarch

1 cup boiling water

3 eggs, separated

1 tablespoon butter, salted or unsalted

Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

¹
/
₄
teaspoon cream of tartar

1. In the top part of a medium-size double boiler, mix 1 cup sugar and cornstarch.

2. Add boiling water slowly and cook on low heat, stirring constantly.

3. Beat egg yolks slightly. Add yolks and butter slowly to mixture in pot.

4. Cook until thick, stirring constantly.

5. Add lemon rind and juice then let cool.

Meringue

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until frothy. Mix in 4 tablespoons of the sugar. Continue beating until stiff.

3. Put lemon mixture into the baked pie shell. Swirl meringue over the top into peaks.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 to 10 minutes, or until meringue is slightly golden.

• Makes one 9-inch pie

You will need two unbaked 9-inch piecrusts for this one. Use fresh cherries when you can. Or you may use one can of cherry pie filling. Adjust baking time accordingly.

1 pound tart red cherries, pitted

¹
/
₂
cup cherry juice

6 tablespoons sugar or alternate sweetener

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¹
/
₂
teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Mix pitted cherries with juice, sugar, cornstarch, and salt.

3. Place one of the unbaked piecrusts into an ungreased 9-inch metal pie pan.

4. Pour the cherry mixture into the piecrust and dot with butter, salted or unsalted

5. Cover with the second piecrust. Make slashes in it so steam can escape.

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until crust turns golden brown.

• Makes one 9-inch pie

3 eggs, separated

¹
/
₂
cup sugar or alternate sweetener

2 cups scalded milk

¹
/
₂
teaspoon salt

²
/
₃
cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened

1 9-inch unbaked piecrust

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Beat egg yolks with the sugar.

3. Gradually add the milk, salt, and coconut, stirring gently until well mixed.

4. Beat the egg whites until stiff and add these to the egg yolk and milk mixture.

5. Fill the uncooked pie shell and bake for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. Filling is done when it is firm.

• Makes one 9-inch pie

ELLIE GRANT
is a pseudonym for husband and wife authors who get help writing from their cat, Quincy, and their big rescue puppy, Rudy. They live in North Carolina with their family. Visit them on the web at
www.elliegrant.net
.