The Legend of Tabby Hollow (Whales and Tails Mystery Book 5) (13 page)
Read The Legend of Tabby Hollow (Whales and Tails Mystery Book 5) Online
Authors: Kathi Daley
Lacy bit her lip. “He does need money. I guess I never thought about the person behind the camera. Thanks for the information.”
Lacy raised her gun again.
“You’re still going to shoot me?”
“You know too much. I really am sorry. I quite enjoyed killing Bradley and Cloverdale, but this isn’t going to be nearly as much fun.”
I closed my eyes as Lacy began to pull the trigger. I heard a loud bang, but I still felt alive. I opened my eyes to see Cody rushing toward me. Finn was cuffing Lacy.
“How did you find me?” I asked once Cody let go of me enough so I could breathe.
“I showed up at your place early. I saw the murder board and the notes you’d made. When I realized you were gone I figured you’d done exactly what you did, so I called Finn. We weren’t sure where you’d gone, so we called Tara. She saw your car out her window. She came over here to try to stall Lacy until we could get here. Oh, God, Cait, I thought I’d lost you.”
Cody hugged me again before he led me up the stairs and into Tara’s waiting arms.
“You know, Cody spent fifty bucks trying to win those two pink hippos,” Tara said as we watched him attempt to master the ring toss.
“Oh, at least.”
“It was really sweet of him to offer to win stuffed toys for Serenity and Trinity after Jake won a bear for Destiny.”
“It
was
nice. It’s too bad he’s so incredibly horrible at carnival games,” I added. “I could have won the toys for a couple of bucks each.”
“Please tell me that you aren’t going to point that out when he comes over.”
I just smiled.
“Caitlin Hart, you are truly soulless.”
“I
am
dressed as the devil.”
Cody and I had come to the street festival with Tara and the Paulson girls. Jake had met up with Destiny after we arrived. Siobhan was off somewhere with Finn and Danny was conspicuously absent. I could tell by the look on Tara’s face that she wasn’t pleased by the situation, so I didn’t ask.
“It seems like you and Cody are … well, it just seems as if you are.”
“Sleeping together.”
Tara looked at me and grinned. “You are, aren’t you?”
“I’ll never tell.”
Tara hugged me. “I’m so happy for you guys. You know I’ve been rooting for you to get together. If there’s a couple on earth that’s truly meant for each other it’s the two of you.”
I looked at Cody as he passed the guy yet another twenty. What was he doing? He’d already won the two hippos he was after. He was going to have to take out a mortgage on the paper if he kept this up much longer.
“It seems like Siobhan and Finn might have worked things out,” Tara commented.
“Yeah, I think they have. I guess it’s too early to say for certain whether they’ll be able to get back to where they were before she stomped all over his heart, but it does seem they’ve at least settled into a friendship.”
“Relationships are complicated.” Tara sighed.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Let’s suffice it to say that Danny and I are taking a break from whatever it is we’ve been doing, which never actually has been defined.”
“I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“No, not really.”
Apparently, Cody must have managed to get the right ring on the right peg because Serenity and Trinity were jumping up and down and clapping and screaming when I walked up.
“Cody only needs one more ring to win the monkey,” Trinity shouted across the pavement.
“I think Cody is going to make some little girl a wonderful father,” Tara said.
“Yeah.” I smiled. “I think you’re right.”
“It’s weird, but ever since Destiny moved in with me, I’ve started to think about having kids,” Tara shared. “Not immediately, but sooner rather than later. I guess that’s part of the reason I decided to take a step back from pursuing things with Danny. I’m not sure he’s the settling-down type.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t disagree with you. At least not at this point in his life. I keep half-expecting Danny to take off to Alaska with Aiden one of these summers.”
“For you, my lady.” Cody walked up and very proudly handed me a stuffed monkey. I didn’t have the heart to rib him about the amount of money he’d spent to win it, like I’d planned to.
“Thank you. I love it.” And I really did.
“Where to now?” Cody asked.
“Ice cream,” Serenity suggested.
Cody looked at me.
“I could do ice cream.”
“Ice cream it is.”
Cody took Trinity by the hand. There was no doubt about it; I’d found myself a pretty perfect guy.
When Cody and I returned to my cabin we realized it was time for Ichabod to go home. There was a small part of me that hoped he’d stay, but deep in my heart I knew he wouldn’t. They never did. Ichabod greeted us as we went inside, but then immediately began scratching at the door. When I opened it he walked over to my car and waited patiently for me to let him inside.
“I think it’s time,” I said to Cody. “Would you like to come with me?”
“Sure. Where are we going?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure Ichabod will show us the way.”
“Show us the way? How?”
I smiled. “You’ll see.”
Cody and I drove through town. A lot of the locals had strung orange and white lights and decorated their yards with scarecrows and sheets formed like ghosts. Almost every porch had a jack-o’-lantern, and a few houses had gone all out with dry ice, cemeteries, and killer zombies at the door.
We followed Ichabod’s directions through town and north. Eventually, he had us pull off onto a narrow drive that we followed to the end. The house was small and old but well-kept. I let Ichabod out of the car and walked up to the door with him.
I knocked and an old man answered.
“Well, I’ll be.” He looked down at Ichabod.
The cat walked into the house and trotted down the hall.
“I take it Ichabod is your cat?” I asked, just to be sure.
“I guess he is now.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“My grandson Billy is sick. Leukemia. He’s responding to the treatment, but his spirits are diminished after so much suffering. He was very disappointed he couldn’t go trick-or-treating with the other kids, but his energy is low and I didn’t want him to overdo it. I heard him saying his prayers after I put him to bed. He asked God to bring Halloween to him. He specifically asked for a Halloween cat. And the next thing I know, there’s a Halloween kitty on my doorstep.”
I was sure I was going to cry.
“Ichabod is a very special cat,” I said to the old man. “I can assure you that if Ichabod is here to help Billy, he’ll be feeling better in no time.”
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The
Legend of Tabby Hollow
Recipes by Kathi
Pumpkin Scones
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Pizza Rolls
Italian Beef Sandwiches
Berry Cornmeal Scones—submitted by Taryn Lee
Irish Soda Bread—submitted by Vivian Shane
Vegetarian Cheese Strata Casserole—submitted by Kay Tbee
Sweet and Sour Cabbage—submitted by Joyce Aiken
Zucchini Casserole—submitted by Janel Flynn
4½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup packed brown sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup cold butter
2 eggs
1¼ cups canned pumpkin
½ cup milk
Glaze:
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
3 tbs. milk
¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, pumpkin, and milk. Stir into dry ingredients until just moistened.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10 times. Divide dough in half. Pat each portion into an 8-inch circle; cut each into eight wedges. Separate wedges and place 1 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Brush with milk and sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees for 12–15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks; cool for 10 minutes. Combine the glaze ingredients; drizzle over scones. Serve warm.
Yield: 16 scones
1 box graham cracker crust (follow directions on box to make 9 x 13 pan)
(Note: I have made crust from chocolate crumbs as well)
4 pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1½ cups sugar
16-oz. pumpkin
¾ cup whipping cream
3 tbs. flour
½ tsp. nutmeg
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. ground cloves
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. vanilla
6 eggs
Beat together cream cheese and sugar. Add pumpkin, whipping cream, flour, spices, and vanilla. Mix. Add 4 whole eggs plus 2 egg yolks.
Pour over prepared graham cracker crust. Bake at 325 degrees until toothpick comes out clean (about an hour). Refrigerate.
Topping:
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
3 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbs. vegetable oil
1 cup caramel topping
Just before serving, sprinkle pecans over top of cheesecake. Melt chocolate and oil in microwave (about 1 minute; stir every 15 seconds).
Drizzle over pecans.
Drizzle caramel over that.
1 loaf frozen bread, thawed
½ cup grated mozzarella cheese
½ cup grated Cheddar cheese
4 oz. pepperoni (or other pizza topping)
3 tbs. butter, melted
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Roll the loaf of bread so it’s flat. Place mozzarella cheese, Cheddar cheese, and pepperoni in center. (I often use additional cheese and pepperoni and add black olive slices.) Fold in both ends of loaf and then roll so that seam is on the bottom.
Slice rolls into 12 pieces and place in greased 9 x 13 baking pan.
Brush butter over the top of each roll. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Let rise until double in size. Bake at 375 degrees for 15–20 minutes.
Serve with ranch or blue cheese dressing for dipping.
1 boneless chuck roast (3–4 lbs.), trimmed of fat and cut in half
1 cup water
3 tbs. dried basil
3 tbs. dried oregano
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 cup mozzarella, grated
Italian rolls (or other rolls)
Place roast in slow cooker. Add water and spices. Pour soup over top. Cover and cook 7–8 hours.
Shred meat and spoon onto Italian rolls.
Sprinkle mozzarella over the top.
Broil until cheese is golden.