Finger Lickin' Dead

Table of Contents

 

 

“Sassy.”

“An entertaining read . . . Just like the pork barbeque and spicy corn muffins that fill the bellies of the fictitious patrons of Aunt Pat’s, the Southern flavor is what makes this novel unique. The characters live and breathe on the page, not as stereotypes of Southerners but as colorful personalities that complement the Memphis setting.”

 

“This entertaining regional amateur sleuth gives the audience a taste of living in [Memphis], especially owning a restaurant in a tourist-attraction city . . . With a strong, fully seasoned support cast who enhance the whodunit,
Delicious and Suspicious
is truly scrumptious.”

 

“A saucy Southern mystery!”

—Krista Davis, national bestselling author of
The Diva Cooks a Goose

 

“Don’t let that folksy facade fool you. Lulu Taylor is one intrepid amateur sleuth.”

—Laura Childs,
New York Times
bestselling author of
Scones & Bones

 

“Lulu Taylor serves up the best barbeque in Memphis. Never been to her restaurant, Aunt Pat’s? Well then, pick up a copy of Riley Adams’s enjoyable
Delicious and Suspicious
, slide into a booth, and follow Lulu as she tracks down a killer with the help of her wacky friends and family. You’ll feel transported to Beale Street. Oh, and did I mention the mouthwatering recipes at the end?”

—Julie Hyzy, author of
Buffalo West Wing

 

“Riley Adams’s first book,
Delicious and Suspicious
, adds a dash of Southern humor to a sauté of murder and mayhem that is as good as cold banana pudding on a hot summer day. Lulu Taylor is a hoot! I look forward to reading the next book in the Memphis barbeque series!”

—Joyce Lavene, coauthor of
A Touch of Gold

DELICIOUS AND SUSPICIOUS
FINGER LICKIN’ DEAD

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

 

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

 

FINGER LICKIN’ DEAD

 

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

 

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / June 2011

Copyright © 2011 by Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

All rights reserved.

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eISBN : 978-1-101-52885-3

 

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To my family

My thanks to my editor, Emily Beth Rapoport, for her invaluable help and encouragement.

To my agent, Ellen Pepus, for her solid advice and support.

Hart Johnson for her helpful suggestions.

To Ann and John Haire, my friends in Memphis.

To the staff at Graceland for their help with my research.

Special thanks to my mother, Beth Spann, for being a fantastic and enthusiastic first reader.

To my extended family for all their support.

To the online writing community for the inspiration and advice it provides me.

And thanks so much to my husband, Coleman, and my children, Riley and Elizabeth Ruth, for their constant love and encouragement.

“Somebody,” said Cherry darkly, “should kill that guy.”

“Only as a last resort,” said her good friend Peggy Sue. “Have we exhausted all the other possibilities? Rolled his house with toilet paper? Made prank phone calls? Shaken pepper in his sweet tea?” She gave a lilting laugh.

“I’m not so clear what his punishable offense is,” said Lulu, tilting her head to one side as she pondered and endangering the small bun of white hair at the top of her head. “We don’t like Adam Cawthorn because he’s dating Evelyn? Because he’s too good-looking?”

“Because he’s snarky,” growled Cherry. “Besides, I think he’s taking advantage of Evelyn, who is, as y’all know, one of my favorite people in the world. He’s always asking for a little bit of money here and a little bit there. Besides, he has a weak chin. What good is it if you’ve got looks but a weak chin?”

Lulu considered this. “Still, it doesn’t sound too awful, Cherry. Evelyn’s loaded with money—maybe it doesn’t bother her to share it a little bit. Does he treat her badly?”

“He doesn’t treat her
well
,” said Flo thoughtfully.

“On the upside,” said Lulu, “he sure does eat some barbeque. He’s good for business.” Lulu was the owner of Memphis’s famous Aunt Pat’s Barbeque, right there on Beale Street. As a second-generation owner, she knew by now what made for a good customer. And Adam Cawthorn, despite his shortcomings, had one of the biggest components of a good customer—frequent visits.

“No,
he’s
not good for business,” said Cherry. “
Evelyn
is. She’s the one shelling out the money for him to eat here. And think about it—he’s separated from his wife. He’s been running around on
her
, so why wouldn’t he be doing the same with Evelyn? Besides, she’s already been married to him once before. Clearly that didn’t work out so well, so why try for mistake number two?”

“Heads up, y’all—Evelyn’s coming over,” hissed Jeanne, looking across the restaurant’s crowded dining room.

Lulu thought for the hundredth time how lucky she was to have such a great group of regulars at her restaurant. These ladies, who were some of her favorite guests at Aunt Pat’s Barbeque, were dubbed the Graces by everyone because they were docents at Graceland. They were colorful, fun—and loyal, thought Lulu as she watched them struggle to be supportive of Evelyn.

The Graces and Lulu looked like butter wouldn’t melt in their mouth by the time Evelyn got up to their booth. But Evelyn wouldn’t have noticed if they’d all been wagging their tongues about her right when she walked up. She was sitting high up on cloud nine. Lulu frequently reflected that it was a good thing Evelyn was so nice; she wouldn’t have been tolerable otherwise, with her good looks, good luck, and boatload of money. Most of the Graces were happy members of the Fabulous Fifties club, but Evelyn hadn’t quite joined yet. Peggy Sue was already part of the Sassy Sixties—which Lulu had belonged to for quite a while.

Evelyn plopped down in the wooden booth right next to Lulu and impulsively gave her a hug and a smile that lit up the room. “I am
so
glad to see y’all! Isn’t it a gorgeous day?”

No, thought Lulu. Actually, it was a pretty miserable day outside, unless you were partial to torrential rain. But she smiled and nodded.

Evelyn realized her error and gave an out-of-character giggle. “Whoops! My bad—it’s pouring, isn’t it? Well, we do need the rain. Sometimes that’s the best kind of weather to get—one with lots of rain in it.”

“Where,” asked Flo in a dry voice, “is Adam?”

“Nearby, of course. I want to keep him as close as possible. He’ll be over in a minute—he just popped into the men’s room. Can you believe I had him all to myself—that I was
married
to him—and then let him go? I must have been nuts.”

And this, thought Lulu, is how history rewrites itself.

Cherry, though, seemed less interested in the sunshine and roses version of the story. “Wasn’t Adam the husband who splashed his money all over Memphis? Who said ugly things about you behind your back to his friends? Who tried to make you feel lower than a lizard’s belly?” She tapped her glass of sweet tea against the red and white checkered tablecloth with every point.

Evelyn frowned as if considering these allegations carefully. “I don’t believe Adam
is
that husband, Cherry, no. I believe you’ve gotten him mixed up with another husband.”

Being Southern ladies, no one mentioned Evelyn’s excessive number of ex-husbands. It wouldn’t be seemly. Evelyn, though, felt free to mention that fact herself with no compunction.

“And here comes trouble now,” said Cherry. But she said it enough under her breath that only Lulu could hear it. Lulu winked at her.

Adam Cawthorn was a nice-looking man, thought Lulu. If you were to describe him to somebody, you would use only the finest adjectives—broad shoulders; thick, blond hair; perfect teeth. But there was something that definitely didn’t ring true with Adam. That perfect smile was just a little bit spiteful. Maybe that was it.

He certainly seemed pleasant enough today, though. He walked over to the booth and greeted Lulu and the Graces. “Honey, did you order me up some red beans and rice?” he asked Evelyn.

She nodded eagerly. “I sure did. It should be coming soon.” She turned to Lulu and said, “Adam just loves those red beans and rice.” Her eyes shone like a teenager in puppy love. “And he’s a real food expert. Did you know that he used to own a restaurant?”