The Oldest Sin (39 page)
“The story of his life.”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
“What about Isaac?” said Bram, prying the tennis ball out of Ethel’s mouth.
“You mean how did she poison him? Well, she informed him sometime Wednesday afternoon that if he wanted Hugh’s support in the fight against Howell Purdis, he needed to talk to her. She was the real power behind Hugh’s throne.”
“And he had no trouble believing that?”
“From what Adelle told the police, none. She suggested they meet at Boom Island Park. It was far away from the hotel, easy to find, and provided them with complete anonymity. After he arrived, she joined him in his car with a thermos and some food she was snacking on. Being the polite sort, she offered him some. He was dead in a matter of minutes. She knew Hugh’s laptop computer was the same as Isaac’s, so she’d typed the message onto a disk before she left the hotel. She slipped it into his pocket along with the jewelry she’d taken from Lavinia’s room. Before she left, she grabbed a gun from his glove compartment.”
“The awful thing is,” said Bram, examining the tennis ball for teeth marks, “Adelle might have gotten away with it if it hadn’t been for Morton.”
“That’s true. I guess you could say he saved the day.”
“I think you saved the day, sweetheart,” said Bram, bringing her hand up to his lips. “You were the one who kept pushing to discover the truth. However, I hope this is the last time you’ll get mixed up in anything this dangerous. My nerves can’t take any more of your unpaid detective work.”
“Don’t worry,” said Sophie with a sigh. “I’m just a boring old innkeeper now.”
“Good.”
“You know,” she said, reflecting a moment more. The alcohol had taken the edge off some of her more painful emodons, and yet nothing could dull the enormity of what had happened to her this past week. “These last few days have been the biggest roller-coaster ride I’ve ever been on. From inheriting the hotel, to losing Lavinia, then Isaac, and then Adelle. Cindy nearly jumps off the roof. And finally, to top it off, Rudy’s big announcement.”
“What’s that?”
“He and John are moving in together. They’re planning a commitment ceremony next Christmas.”
Bram tossed the tennis ball in the air. “I know “
“You know?”
“Sure. Rudy tells me lots of things before he tells you. I think he figures if he has me on his team, he’s got a better chance convincing you.”
“Am I that hard to deal with?”
“Your love, and your approval, mean a great deal to him. Sure, he gets nervous sometimes. He’s just a kid.”
“That’s my point.”
“Give him some credit, Soph. He’s got a good head on his shoulders. He’s a lot like you.”
She could hardly argue the point.
Catching Ethel’s attention, Bram bounced the tennis ball a few times in front of her face and then tossed it into the dining room.
Ethel lurched to her feet and glared down at him as if he’d lost his mind.
“You don’t
throw
tennis balls anymore, honey,” said Sophie, giving Ethel’s head a sympathetic pat. “They’re only for chewing, guarding, and falling asleep in front of. Not chasing.”
“Since when?” he said indignandy.
“Since we were at the park two weeks ago. We were playing fetch in the bushes and somehow or other the ball disappeared down a hole. I doubt I will ever be forgiven my cavalier approach to tennis-ball ownership.”
“Life is full of peril.”
Ethel raised her eyes with great dignity and smacked her dps. Her thoughts exactly.
“Well, all I can say is, I hope the worst problems we have in the next few years revolve around lost tennis balls.” Bram drained his martini glass.
“Here’s to that.” Sophie drained hers as well. “I think running this hotel will be a lot of fun.”
“You’re not worried about owning a hotel that has … you know. A curse on it?” he asked.
“Hey. I’d forgotten about that.”
“So had I. Until just this minute.”
She turned to look at him. “I don’t believe in curses.”
He turned to look at her. “Me neither.”
“Howell Purdis doesn’t have the power to curse a hotel.”
“A bed-and-breakfast, maybe, but nothing this large.”
“Well put.”
They stared at each other.
“I wonder how you get a curse removed,” asked Sophie.
Bram thought about it for a moment and then leaped to his feet. “I’ll get the Yellow Pages,” he said, hurrying into the kitchen.
Sophie’s Infamous Cheese Ball
The Original Cheese Ball:
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup minced green top (spring) onions
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Mix all together in a bowl. Shape into a large round ball, or small walnut-sized nuggets, or one long cheese log. Roll in chopped walnuts. Serve with crackers and crudités.
The Olive Cheese Ball:
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
1/2 cup chopped pimento-stuffed (green) olives
1/2 cup chopped black (ripe) olives
Mix all together in a bowl. Shape into large round ball, or small walnut-sized nuggets, or one long cheese log. Roll in chopped almonds.
The Date-Nut Cheese Ball:
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese
1 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup crushed pineapple (remove as much juice as possible)
Mix all together in a bowl. Shape into large round ball, or small walnut-sized nuggets, or one long cheese log. Roll in chopped pecans.
Bunny’s Favorite Chicken-Stuffed Mushrooms
The chicken salad:
3 cups chopped roasted chicken, white meat only fa cup chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sweet red seedless grapes, slivered or chopped
1/8 cup chopped green top (spring) onions
1 tsp. Hidden Valley Ranch Buttermilk Recipe Ranch Salad Dressing Mix (dry)
Mayonnaise
Mix ingredients in a bowl and add enough of your favorite mayonnaise to bind all together. Some may like more mayo, some less. The amount is up to you. Prepare at least a dozen large stuffable mushrooms by removing the stems and cleaning out the interior carefully with a spoon. Heap the chicken salad onto the prepared mushroom and sprinkle with paprika and fresh chopped parsley. Can be prepared several hours ahead and refrigerated until ready to serve.
Tahtinen Family Cold Torsk Salad, Northern Minnesota Style
1 16-oz. fillet of torsk (or cello cod) baked, cooled, and flaked
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup green top (spring) onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped watermelon pickle with juice
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Mayonnaise
Mix ingredients together in a bowl and add enough mayonnaise to bind (can use low-calorie mayo). Chill at least three hours to blend flavors. Serve salad in a large bowl decorated with lemon sdces and fresh parsley. The Tahtinen famdy often served this on hot summer nights accompanied by dark pumpernickel crackers and ice-cold beer.
Spinach & Boursin Cheese in Phyllo
2 10-oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry of liquid
1 5.2-oz. Boursin cheese 1/2 cup chopped parsley 1 egg, raw
1/4 cup chopped green top (spring) onions
Fresh ground pepper
Mix ingredients together in a bowl.
Thaw one package of phyllo dough. Use according to package directions. Cut dough into two sections. Place a rounded tablespoon of the spinach mixture at the bottom. Brush thin sheet of phydo with butter. Fold both sides over the center. Brush with butter again. Roll into cylinders. Brush the outside of the rolls with butter.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve hot with mustard dill sauce if desired.
Mustard Dill Sauce
1 cup sour cream (or low-fat sour cream
1 1/4 cup stone-ground mustard
1 tsp. dried dill weed
Mix together and chill.
Oriental Chicken Salad
For the dressing, combine and mix well:
3 T. sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 T. white-wine vinegar
3 T. water
1 T. sesame oil
2 T. light soy sauce
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
For the salad:
1 3-oz. package Ramen soup noodles, uncooked
4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
2 T. thinly sliced green top (spring) onions
2 cups cooked shredded chicken (1 whole breast)
1 1/2 cups toasted, slivered almonds
2 cups pea pods, blanched 1/2 cup shredded carrots
3oz. rice (Mai Fun) noodle/oil
Open Ramen noodles and save envelope of seasoning for a future use. Marinate the noodles in the dressing until tender (about 2 hours). In the meantime, combine the cabbage with die onion, carrots, chicken, and almonds in a bowl. When noodles are tender, pour noodles and dressing over salad and mix together. Place in the center of a decorative plate. Arrange pea pods around the edge.
Heat oil until hot. Toss rice noodles into oil a litde at a time until puffed and light. Remove with slotted spoon to paper towel. Crumble and spread over salad.
Milk-Chocolate Raspberry-Jam Torte
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
4 eggs, separated 1 cup sugar
1/4 lb. milk chocolate
1 cup cake flour
1/4 cup soft raspberry jam
Icing:
1/4 cup milk chocolate
2 T. butter
Cream butter and sugar together. Add yolks one at a time. Beat until light. Melt chocolate in a double boiler. Cool slightly. Add to egg mixture. Add flour. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into batter. Pour into greased and floured 8- or 9-inch spring-form pan. Bake approximately 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool. Frost top with soft jam. Melt chocolate and butter in top of double boiler. Frost over jam. Decorate with whipped cream.
Ellen Hart is the author of twenty-six crime novels in two different series. She is a five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Mystery, a three-time winner of the Minnesota Book Award for Best Popular Fiction, a three-time winner of the Golden Crown Literary Award, a recipient of the Alice B Medal, and was made an official GLBT Literary Saint at the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival in New Orleans in 2005. In 2010, Ellen received the GCLS Trailblazer Award for lifetime achievement in the field of lesbian literature.
Entertainment Weekly
named her one of the “101 Movers and Shakers in the Gay Entertainment Industry.” For the past fourteen years, Ellen has taught “An Introduction to Writing the Modern Mystery” through the The Loft Literary Center, the largest independent writing community in the nation.
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or [email protected].