Third Strike (27 page)

I told her that the ME was holding his body, and I gave her a number to call. And I told her that Larry's will bequeathed everything to her, or if she'd pre-deceased him, to his two children equally, and that I'd handle the legal end of it if she wanted.

She smiled and said she'd appreciate it.

I told her that two real estate appraisers had estimated the market value of his seven acres in Menemsha at around two and a half million dollars and that Larry's five pigs and eleven hens and one mostly basset hound were being cared for by Sedona Blaisdell, and I gave her Sedona's phone number in Menemsha.

Marcia thought she'd sell the property. She could use the money to pay for Blake's and Summer's college expenses, and their graduate school, too, if that's what they wanted to do. She'd give the animals to Sedona Blaisdell if she wanted them.

Then while we sipped iced tea, we talked about Larry, our memories of him. Marcia said she supposed she'd never really stopped loving him.

Now, with the kids off to school, she was alone. She had a vegetable garden and some good neighbors and plenty of books, and she guessed she was beginning to figure out what Larry was seeking down there in Menemsha.

“It's really what we all want,” she said. “Robert Frost called a poem ‘a momentary stay against confusion.' That's about the most we can hope for out of life, isn't it? A good poem?”

I nodded. “If we're lucky, if it is a good poem, and a good life, it begins ‘in delight and ends in wisdom.'”

“Also Frost,” said Marcia.

I nodded, finished my iced tea, glanced at my watch, and stood up. “I better get going,” I said. “Long drive.”

She followed me to my car, and when I held out my hand to her, she ignored it and hugged me.

Then I got in my car and pointed it south, to my home in Boston, to Evie, and to my own stay against confusion, however momentary it might turn out to be.

B
RADY
C
OYNE'S
S
LOW
-C
OOKED
B
RUNSWICK
C
HILI

Brunswick stew originated in the Appalachian south around two hundred years ago. Its main ingredient was squirrel, but it became a catch-all for whatever kinds of meat happened to be available—chicken, pork, beef, raccoon, deer, opossum, bear, turkey, partridge—and local vegetables such as okra, corn, and various kinds of beans. Bubbling over campfire coals in a big cast-iron kettle, Brunswick stew was a favorite of hunters and trappers as well as big families on small budgets.

Brady originated his variation, Brunswick Chili, one autumn several years ago when his freezer accumulated gifts from several hunting friends—ground elk, venison scraps, moose steaks, and rabbit. It's also good with store-bought stew beef (chuck) and pork rib meat (include the fat) in combination (or not) with ground beef and pork. The spirit of Brunswick stew encourages infinite variations depending on what's handy, so sometimes Brady adds corn or substitutes limas or chickpeas for kidney beans, and if he happens to have a couple of leftover andouille sausages in the fridge, he cuts them into pieces and throws 'em in as well.

He prepares it in the morning, lets it simmer in his slow cooker all day, and serves it with biscuits or French bread, a green salad, and mugs of a local micro-brewed lager.

J.W. concedes that it is delish.

6 pounds available meat in any combination, cut into small (½-inch or smaller) cubes

1 cup all-purpose flour, plus flour for dredging

2 tablespoons (approximately) chili powder, for dredging and to taste

1 tablespoon (approximately) paprika, for dredging and to taste

1 tablespoon (approximately) cumin, for dredging and to taste

Olive oil

2 large yellow onions, quartered and sliced, plus 1 large yellow onion, slivered, as garnish

8 cloves garlic, diced

1 green pepper, diced

2 (16-ounce) cans black beans, drained

1 (16-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained

2 large cans diced tomatoes or 8 plum tomatoes, quartered

1 cup red wine or beer

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Shredded Cheddar cheese, as garnish

1. Dredge the meat cubes with flour, chili powder, paprika, and cumin, brown on all sides in olive oil in a hot skillet, then dump into your slow cooker along with all the cooking juices.
   
2. Combine the quartered and sliced onion, garlic, and green pepper, and sauté in the olive oil in the skillet until the onion is transparent. Add to the meat in the slow cooker.
   
3. Empty the drained cans of beans and the diced tomatoes into the slow cooker.
   
4. Add the beer or wine and the Worcestershire.
   
5. Add the chili powder, paprika, and cumin to taste.
   
6. Stir and mingle all the ingredients, cover, and let the slow cooker, on its lowest setting, do its thing for 8 to 10 hours while you go fishing.
   
7. Serve in bowls and sprinkle the shredded cheese and slivered onion on top.
   

Serves 8.

M
EDALLIONS OF
B
EEF IN
C
OGNAC
C
REAM

A simple, elegant recipe. The steaks ooze flavor and melt in your mouth. You can substitute sirloin tips for the tenderloins and use half-and-half instead of the cream, but don't leave out the cognac!

4 (4 ounces each) beef tenderloin steaks

Salt and cracked pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 shallots or 1 small onion, chopped

¼ cup cognac

½ cup whipping cream

Fresh parsley, as garnish

1. Sprinkle the steaks with salt and pepper. Combine the oil and butter in a large skillet and heat over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the steaks and cook 5 minutes on each side. Remove the steaks to a serving platter and keep warm.
   
2. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from the skillet. Sauté the shallots in the drippings until tender. Add the cognac and cook over medium heat, deglazing the skillet by scraping the particles that cling to the bottom. Gradually stir in the whipping cream and cook until heated. Pour the sauce over the steaks and garnish with the parsley.
   

Serves 4.

The late P
HILIP
R. C
RAIG
was the author of nineteen novels in the Martha's Vineyard Mystery series. A professor emeritus of English at Wheelock College in Boston, he loved the Vineyard and lived there year-round with his wife, Shirley.

W
ILLIAM
G. T
APPLY
is the author of more than thirty books, twenty-one of which are Brady Coyne mysteries. He has also written several books about fishing and the great outdoors, and he is a contributing editor for
Field and Stream
and a columnist for
American Angler.
A professor of English at Clark University in Worcester, he lives with his wife, novelist Vicki Stiefel, in Hancock, New Hampshire.