Treacherous Tart (32 page)

“What happens now?” Alice asked Maggie in a soft voice. “Are you going to turn me in? My mother doesn't know anything about what I did. She's not responsible.”

“I have a friend with the police. I'm not sure, but I think it would be better for you if you got a lawyer and turned yourself in.”

“I don't know if I can do that.”

Maggie put her hand on Alice's arm and smiled at her. “You can do it. It's for the best. Get it out in
the open, and get past it. I'm sure a jury will be sympathetic when you tell them what you just told me.”

She walked across the gym to the Pie in the Sky table, where her aunt was about to pull out what little hair she had left.

“What in the world took so long?” Aunt Clara changed places with Zack again. “We need pies out of the car. Zack said he'll go get them. He needs the keys. I was beginning to think you weren't coming back.”

Maggie watched Alice walk out of the gym. Lenora was also watching her daughter. When the door closed behind her, Lenora sat down behind her table and cried.

Maggie knew then that Alice had lied to her. Lenora knew what she'd done, though probably not until after the crime had already been committed. Alice was protecting her mother again.

T
hey all supported
one another through the terrible things that had happened before the holiday.

Ryan had gone through the arraignment that day for the homeless man who'd started the fire at the newspaper office. Maggie worked hard to keep him from getting dragged down by what he thought of as an injustice when the man wasn't released.

She also kept smiling for Aunt Clara after Alice's arrest and Lenora's confinement to a psychiatric hospital.

Maggie was happy that she and Aunt Clara had
decided to share Christmas with Ryan and Garrett. Dozens of presents were heaped under the Christmas tree at their house.

Aunt Clara had also invited David because she was worried about him being alone on the holiday. David's parents had made a surprise decision to go on a cruise to the Bahamas over Christmas. No one was more surprised than David.

Maggie was glad that David and Ryan seemed to have resolved their jealousy over her. Ryan and David had nicely refrained from any loaded barbs while they were getting dinner on the table.

Christmas dinner included a roasted turkey (Garrett's favorite), a ham (Ryan's favorite), spaghetti with meatballs (Aunt Clara's choice), and Maggie's favorite—macaroni and cheese. Of course, there were cranberries and two different kinds of stuffing as well as cheese, wine, and homemade bread.

Aunt Clara doted on Garrett—filling his plate and admonishing him to eat more. Maggie believed there was a future between the two, even though her aunt still said he was just a friend.

They moved to dessert (coconut cream and mincemeat pies) and coffee before opening the gifts.

“Is Frank going to ask you to testify against Alice since she confessed to you at the high school?” Ryan asked after the huge dinner. “I heard he found the
gun. I couldn't believe it was constructed by a 3-D printer. That's a first for me to write about. Those are rare. No wonder Frank didn't recognize what it was.”

“It probably wouldn't have happened if some student wasn't playing around with that printer that belonged to the university,” Garrett protested. “Too much time on his hands.”

“Is this my boyfriend asking out of weird curiosity, or the reporter for the
Durham Weekly
who recently moved into one of our shops?” Maggie stared hard at him.

“I'm not sure.” Ryan smiled and adjusted his new glasses for the umpteenth time that evening. He was having a hard time getting used to them. “Maybe that question should wait until tomorrow when I'm setting up my new office in the aforementioned newly leased space.”

“And we're happy to have you there,” Aunt Clara added with a wink at Maggie.

“You're working the day after Christmas?” She kissed him. “I don't see any rush to that response. The paper just came out.”

“You're right.” He put his arm around her as they walked into the parlor, where a fire was blazing in the hearth. “Merry Christmas, Maggie. That's from me. You might get a card from the paper too. I think I sent one here since your aunt is a subscriber.”

David turned back from using the iron poker to stoke the fire. He was roasting chestnuts—or trying to. So far, there were no popping sounds, despite the heat from the flames.

The doorbell rang. Maggie couldn't imagine who would be there that late on Christmas night. She left Ryan in the parlor to answer it.

“Sorry to bother you, Maggie,” their UPS man said with a grin. “I found this at the back of the truck last night. It has your address, but the name on it is Ryan Summerour. I guess someone screwed up. I didn't want someone not getting a gift today. Merry Christmas!”

Maggie thanked him and gave him a tip and a slice of mince pie. She took the box to Ryan. Everyone was seated in the parlor. She sat beside him on the sofa. “Looks like you get to open the first gift.”

Ryan looked at the box, which was wrapped in red paper. It had no return address. “Is this your way of giving me a surprise gift?”

Maggie laughed. “I'm not that clever.”

“Besides, she'd never expect some poor UPS man to deliver something on Christmas.” Aunt Clara had Fanny and the six kittens on her lap. “Maybe you have a secret admirer. Open it.”

Ryan pulled off the red paper and carefully opened the box. Inside was a doll that looked passably like him, even down to his new glasses. The
curly blond hair looked real, and the blue eyes were brilliant.

There was also a noose around his neck, and a tiny wood stake through his chest.

“Looks like someone doesn't like you, Summer-our,” David said with a laugh.

I
t was a
wonderful and hectic Christmas here, but we enjoyed it. We'll probably make our three new pie recipes until after the first of the year. We occasionally make Pumpkin Pizzazz and Marvelous Mince throughout the year. I'm not sure yet about Evie's Elegant Eggnog pie. I guess we'll see if people ask for it!

• Makes 1 nine-inch piecrust

1 cup vegetable shortening

2 cups flour

1
¹
/
₂
teaspoons salt

1. Chill all mixing utensils and ingredients first.

2. Work the shortening into flour and salt quickly until the particles are as small as possible.

3. Sprinkle in cold water, only enough for the dough to stick together in a ball. It should be dry, not moist. Chill for at least 30 minutes.

4. After the dough is chilled, place it on a pastry board or another flat, nonstick surface. Dust surface lightly with flour. Flatten the dough a little, then use a lightly floured rolling pin to make smooth, even strokes from the center to the edge of the dough.

5. Turn the dough frequently to keep it round. Use an ungreased metal pie pan for flaky crust. Don't turn the crust over when putting it into the pan. Leave rolled side up. Use your fingers to lightly press any cracks in the crust together. Flute crust, if desired.

6. For pies with unbaked fillings, bake the crust at 350 degrees for 10 minutes before adding filling. Otherwise, bake the crust with filling.

Did you know the original “pumpkin pie” consisted of eggs and milk mixed with sweetener and baked on a fire inside a pumpkin shell?

1 fifteen-ounce can of pumpkin

1 fourteen-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¹
/
₂
teaspoon ground ginger

¹
/
₂
teaspoon ground nutmeg

¹
/
₂
teaspoon salt (optional)

1 nine-inch unbaked piecrust

Mix pumpkin, condensed milk, eggs, spices, and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Be sure to cool before you cut!

Our secret ingredient is a whole lemon and juice. Our pie is also a “mock” meat pie, as it doesn't contain beef or pork.

• Makes two pies.

1 cup chopped apples

1 cup raisins

¹
/
₄
cup lemon juice

¹
/
₄
cup orange juice

1 small lemon, peeled and cut into tiny pieces

1 small orange, peeled and cut into small pieces

¹
/
₄
teaspoon salt (optional)

¹
/
₂
teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup white sugar

¹
/
₂
cup molasses (in place of sorghum)

1 cup apricot juice

4 nine-inch unbaked piecrusts

1. Combine all ingredients and fill two unbaked pie shells. Cover with second shells and pinch at edges to seal. Prick several holes in the tops to release steam.

2. Bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees.

This is a nice, light pie that is easy to make!

1 small box vanilla pudding mix, cooked variety

¹
/
₄
teaspoon ground nutmeg

1
¹
/
₂
cups eggnog

2 teaspoons rum (optional)

2 cups heavy cream

1 nine-inch baked piecrust

1. Combine pudding mix, nutmeg, and eggnog. Mix well. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thick. Remove from heat, and stir in rum (optional). Move ingredients to a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate until cold.

2. Whip cream into soft peaks. Remove the cold pudding from the refrigerator and fold in whipped cream. Spoon the mixture into a baked pie shell. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set.

3. Enjoy!

Ellie Grant gets help writing from her cat, Quincy, and her big puppy, Rudi, who she rescued in 2010. She loves writing mysteries but is at home with fantasy, romance, and nonfiction.

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