Treacherous Tart (3 page)

Maggie went on to explain about Ryan's research, Donald's reputation, and what they feared Donald might have in store for her aunt.

Aunt Clara was silent for a moment. She was clearly mulling over Maggie's words.

“That's crazy.” She sipped her hot cocoa. “Ryan obviously has Donald mixed up with someone else.”

“There are pictures of him. He's infamous. The police can't do anything because there isn't enough proof, but they've questioned him dozens of times. He's been in newspapers across the South.”

“Maggie, you shouldn't dwell on this. There is some kind of mistake. That's why the police can't prove anything.”

“I'm worried about it. I don't want to lose you.”

“You know, many people thought terrible things about you when you came back from New York. They thought you'd embezzled money from the bank you worked for. I always knew it wasn't
true. I'm telling you now that this isn't true about Donald either.”

“But Aunt Clara—”

“Never mind.” Clara's voice was stern. “Eat your pie. We have to get up early tomorrow.”

Her aunt turned around and did something she never did—she went upstairs without saying good night and without waiting for Maggie to finish her cocoa.

She was angry. Maggie put her empty cup in the sink and threw away what was left of the uneaten pie. She'd lost her appetite. Knowing her aunt was mad at her was enough to keep her from enjoying the delicious caramel apple pie.

Maggie had known before she'd said anything that Aunt Clara's feelings would be hurt. How did she expect her to feel? Earlier that evening it had sounded as though her aunt was planning her future with Donald. How would she have felt if her aunt told her that Ryan not only didn't care for her but also planned on killing her?

On the other hand, she had to say
something
. Maggie hoped her aunt would forgive her. Even if she didn't believe Donald was a killer, she hoped the knowledge would make Aunt Clara more cautious around him.

In the meantime, Maggie would keep up her daily, not-so-subtle reminders to Donald that her
aunt wasn't some lonely woman with no one who cared what happened to her. She wished the police would hurry and find some
real
evidence against Donald before this went any further.

Maggie turned off the lights and made sure both doors were locked before she went back upstairs to bed. It was going to be a long day at work tomorrow if Aunt Clara stayed angry with her.

D
espite Maggie's fears,
Aunt Clara was as talkative and happy about getting up and going to work at the pie shop the next day as she ever was.

“I think you forgot to set your alarm again.” She came into Maggie's room, completely dressed, at 4:30 a.m. to remind her that they had to be up by five. “I was up anyway. I thought I'd come in and get you going.”

Maggie gazed bleary-eyed at her old Cinderella alarm clock on the bedside table. “The alarm didn't
have a chance to go off. It's only four thirty-five. It doesn't go off until five.”

“Well, you're up now. Might as well get ready.”

“Thanks.” Maggie fell back on the bed. She remembered times when Aunt Clara had been angry at her when she was growing up. Uncle Fred had been a straightforward person, telling her at once why he was angry. Aunt Clara had been quietly angry. She didn't talk much, and was devious about it—like now.

Maggie was more like her uncle in that regard.

Maggie switched on a small lamp and put on jeans and a white Pie in the Sky T-shirt. She'd purchased some new T-shirts so she could wear a different one each day. Months of wearing the same color with the pie shop logo had begun to grow tiresome.

Maggie entered the kitchen just as the toast popped up. Aunt Clara was humming as she poured orange juice. They'd devised a system between them. Whoever got up first made breakfast. This morning it was pimento cheese on toast. Aunt Clara handed the plastic container of pimento cheese to Maggie along with two slices of golden toast.

“I think we'll have Evie's Elegant Eggnog pie as our pie of the day. I have some whipped cream that I got from Mr. Gino at cost yesterday. We could add a dash of that to make it more festive.”

Maggie yawned. “That sounds good.”

Aunt Clara smiled at her niece. “Did you have
trouble sleeping last night, honey? You look
awful
this morning, bless your heart.”

“Thanks.” Maggie spread a little pimento cheese on her toast. It wasn't her favorite breakfast, even though her aunt's homemade variety was definitely better than the store-bought kind. “I think it was getting up too early.”

“Oh. I thought it might be too much on your mind. Maybe a little guilty conscience?”

“I don't want you to be angry with me over what I said last night.” Maggie hugged her. “I want you to have someone nice in your life. I have some doubts about Donald. Wouldn't you want me to know if there was something unusual about Ryan? Wouldn't you want me to be prepared?”

“I'm not angry.” Her aunt sipped her juice. “I have no doubts about Donald. And if I had any doubts about Ryan, it wouldn't be my place to tell you.”

“Why not? Would you rather Ryan killed me and left me in a trashcan?”

“No. I know in my heart that Ryan is a good person. I don't believe that will happen with Donald either. Are you ready? I'm going to put on my coat.”

Maggie swallowed the rest of her toast and juice before she followed her aunt. She wished she'd had coffee, but they'd given up having coffee at home in the morning since she'd put in the espresso machine at the shop.

“I'm sorry. I knew your feelings would be hurt. I wish I hadn't said anything.”

Aunt Clara sniffed. “That makes two of us.”

The two women headed outside into a light snowfall with their hurt feelings intact. The dark sky was a perfect backdrop for the madly whirling snowflakes, illuminated by the streetlights. Snow already covered the stairs and the large holly berry wreath Maggie and Aunt Clara had hung on the front door.

“Beautiful!” Aunt Clara enjoyed the snow that was falling. “At this rate, we should sell a lot of pie today. There's no point in wasting time thinking about things that don't matter.”

In other words
, Maggie thought,
don't bother thinking about Donald and what he has in mind.
Her aunt's message was loud and clear.

Traffic was light that morning as they walked the short distance to the pie shop, as Aunt Clara had done for the past forty years. The Duke University campus was in close proximity to the pie shop, although when the old oaks were full of leaves, you could barely make it out. Thousands of pinpoint lights gleamed through the skeletal trees in the winter, and the old chapel tower was visible.

Students from the university usually showed up later in the day to study. Police officers and firefighters always came in for an afternoon slice of pie and hot cup of coffee. Several book clubs met at Pie in the Sky. The shop had a reputation for being clean,
cozy, and comfortable, as well as serving great pie and coffee.

But it was more than that. Aunt Clara and Uncle Fred had always made everyone feel welcome and special when they visited. Maggie hoped she was doing the same now.

“I love this time of year.” Aunt Clara's gloves were covered in snow as she made, and tossed, a snowball. “See how the snow makes everything like a beautiful Christmas village? It's never that way any other time. Even though the flowers are pretty in the spring, it's not as special as it is now.”

Not wanting to continue their argument, Maggie agreed. “I like all the Christmas decorations too. Mr. Farmer at the corner has been using the same Santa, sleigh, and reindeer up on the roof since I was a kid. He must have grandkids that put it all up there now.”

There were other houses with colored lights still glowing softly in the gray morning. Dozens of wreaths with bright red bows hung from windows and doors. The snow swirled around garlands, and tinsel hung from huge old fir trees too, making the holiday scene complete.

“Oh yes. Mike has several grandchildren, and I think one or two great-grandchildren. He has six children of his own. It's to be expected.” Aunt Clara smiled as a few more snowflakes fluttered on her eyelashes. She blinked them quickly, looking childlike in the predawn light.

“That was the only thing that would've made mine and Fred's lives better, you know. We always wanted to have a child. It wasn't to be, however. Lucky for us, we had
you
.”

Maggie smiled. “I'm very happy you and Uncle Fred were there for me. I couldn't have asked for a more loving family.”

Aunt Clara paused to hug Maggie on the wet sidewalk. It was too warm for the snow to stay around for long. The weather forecast had predicted all of it would be gone by noon.

“Let's not fight anymore, okay?” Aunt Clara kissed her cheek. “Things always work themselves out, don't they? Have some faith. Everything will be fine.”

Maggie agreed with her. She wouldn't throw Donald's past into her aunt's face again—at least not unless there was solid evidence to back her up.

They reached the pie shop with its lights twinkling in the dark morning and went inside to get busy. Five days a week, Maggie and Aunt Clara made dozens of pies by hand. In the warmer months, the fluffy, light cream pies like Chocoholic Cream, Clara's Coconut Cream, Popular Peach, and Killer Key Lime were in demand. They were cool and sweet for the customers who came in from the hot street after a long day.

With the holidays and the cooler weather, Fantastic Fig, Pumpkin Pizzazz, Caramel Apple Without
a Stick, and Evie's Elegant Eggnog pies were what the customers craved.

Aunt Clara's Marvelous Mince pie had to be kept in stock too.

She used an old recipe her mother had created with molasses instead of sorghum, and apricot juice instead of beef broth. The pie wasn't so heavy even though it was laden with fresh raisins, apples, oranges, and pineapple.

Maggie hadn't even wanted to taste it—it sounded awful. But from the first bite, she'd loved it.

Aunt Clara would never sell a homemade pie that was more than a day out of the oven. She didn't like the way leftover pie tasted. It was part of the secret to Clara's success and longevity at the shop: everything was as fresh as it tasted.

Maggie didn't know how her aunt had kept up with all the work each day by herself. It was all both of them could do to get everything done. Even without the new customers, Maggie was astonished at how much her aunt had done for so many years.

Of course, that had led to everything else going by the wayside. Maggie hoped that they could manage, between the two of them, to keep the pie shop going and continue improving the house and yard.

Coffee customers always came in first, grabbing a quick cup on the way to work. Maggie had invested in the professional espresso machine with
some of her severance pay. She'd really bought it for herself, but it had become very popular with the customers too.

It took a little more time than the coffee in the pot, but she thought it was so much better, thick and full-flavored. She sighed each time she sat down to drink it. Some customers thumbed their noses at the lattes and preferred the plain coffee. But Maggie relished the thick foam on top of her mocha latte, and she loved the hissing sound of the machine as it steamed the milk.

By six fifteen on that rainy, cold morning, dozens of people had stopped in for a hot cup of coffee and a cheerful “good morning.” Some bought pies, either whole or by the slice, for lunch and later in the day.

By six thirty, fresh pies were coming out of the oven, golden brown and delicious. The heavenly smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, and fruit spread quickly through the shop before it wafted outside. Maggie turned on the Hot Pie Now sign as several of their regular customers came in.

Among them were Raji Singh and his wife, Ahalya, from the Bombay Grill, which was one of four shops in the same shopping strip as Pie in the Sky. Aunt Clara owned the property, and Maggie collected the rent each month. She was better with money and computers than her aunt.

“Good morning!” Raji's usual broad smile spread across his handsome face. “We would like some pie,
please. A slice each of whatever you consider to be holiday pie.”

“I think we'll have some Elegant Eggnog pie ready soon, but it's too hot to serve right now.” Maggie consulted her whiteboard menu at the front of the pie shop. “We have some Pumpkin Pizzazz and definitely some Marvelous Mince. Any of that sound good?”

Ahalya smiled and nodded. “We'll both take a slice of each.” She handed the rent check to Maggie.

“We're experiencing the holidays through food,” Raji explained. “This is our first Christmas in this country. Yesterday we tried these delightful little cookies with colorful sugar sprinkles on them. We've also tried fruitcake this year.”