An Imitation of Murder (Sky High Pies Cozy Mysteries Book 9) (20 page)

CHAPTER
48

I was sitting in a rocking chair on
the front porch at Sky High Pies later that afternoon when Marjean and Daryl
Bixby came around the corner from the side parking area. I got up as they
climbed the steps, greeted them both with a big hug and asked about their new
great-grandchild.

“Best baby ever!” Daryl said,
reaching for his phone. “Want to see the little champ?”

After admiring a dozen photographs
of the sleeping newborn, I offered to escort them inside to a table.

“Oh, that’s not necessary,” Marjean
said. “Daryl can take care of that while you and I have a little chat.”

Daryl scowled at his phone, tapping
the screen repeatedly with one finger.

“Hold your horses,” he said. “There
are a few more shots of the baby.”

Marjean gave her husband a bemused
glance before smiling at me. “You’d think it was the first time he ever saw a
newborn,” she said. “We have photographs of every nurse in the maternity ward,
the cashier in the gift shop and a fellow who got off the elevator on the wrong
floor.”

“So shoot me,” Daryl grumbled. “I
thought he might be the doctor that delivered the bambino.”

“Somebody needs to get their eyes
examined,” Marjean teased. “The man was obviously wearing a UPS uniform.”

“Don’t start with me,” Daryl said
under his breath.

“I won’t, dear,” she replied,
giving him a little pat on the backside. “Why don’t you go and find somewhere
for us to sit? I’ll be right in after I talk to Katie.”

Marjean and I watched as her
husband slowly walked to the door and went inside.

“He’s operating on two hours of
sleep, a couple Tylenol and a pot of coffee,” she said. “I don’t think that
I’ve ever seen him so excited.”

“A great-grandchild is a pretty
major life event,” I said.

She chuckled. “Oh, I know that,
Katie. But Daryl’s usually a lot more reserved. After we saw the baby and went
out to the car, he started bawling like crazy.”

“Oh, that’s kind of sweet.”

She smiled at me. “It was. I mean,
after a hundred years of marriage, I’ve only seen him get weepy a few times
before.”

“When your grandchildren were
born?” I asked.

She laughed and clutched her hands
to her chest. “Oh, absolutely! He cries every time there’s a birth. Our
grandchildren, our own kids, when the neighbor’s hamster had babies.” She
winked and giggled a bit more. “On the outside, my Daryl seems to be as stoic
as they come, but he’s as soft and squishy as a marshmallow on the inside.”

“Well, he’s a charmer,” I said.
“And it’s obvious that he adores you more today than ever.”

She tilted her head to one side.
“You think so?”

I nodded. “Oh, most definitely. The
way he glows when you talk. The way he watches you so closely. And the way he
holds your hand.”

The faint grin on her face
intensified. “Yes, he’s quite something,” she agreed. “And that’s what I wanted
to talk to you about, Katie.”

“About Daryl?”

She smiled again. “His seventieth
birthday is coming up. I wanted to stop by one afternoon next week to discuss
his cake. I also thought you could bring me up to speed on the tourism
committee. Blanche asked me to take June’s place since she’ll be otherwise
engaged for the next twenty years to life.”

“That’s great!” I said, smiling at
the quip. “You’ll be a wonderful addition to the group. When do you want to
come by and talk?”

“Can I call you later?” she asked.
“I’m doing this as a surprise, so I don’t want Daryl to know what I’m up to.”

“Certainly,” I agreed. “Mum’s the
word.”

“Thank you, dear. I’ve been making
plans for the past few weeks.”

“Oh, really? What do you have so
far?”

She snickered mischievously. “Well,
I’ve got a belly dancer coming up from Denver,” she said. “And a Frank Sinatra
impersonator from Vegas.”

“Wow! That’s pretty impressive.
Does Daryl like Sinatra?”

She made a face. “Oh, no! He can’t
stand Ol’ Blue Eyes. But he
loves
belly dancers, so I figured we’d split
the difference. The pretty woman wearing a skimpy costume will be for my
sweetheart, and the handsome hunk crooning “New York, New York” will be for
me!”

We shared a laugh and Marjean
promised to call later in the day to schedule an appointment. As she headed for
the door, I suddenly remembered our unfinished conversation from earlier in the
week regarding her mother’s sage advice about happy marriages.

“Oh, Marjean?”

She stopped and turned. “Yes,
dear?”

“The other day at the drug store,”
I began, “you were going to share your mom’s words of wisdom about wedded
bliss.”

“Oh, that’s right,” she said,
walking back toward me with a wide smile. “Do you want to know now?”

I nodded. “Yes, please. I’m just
curious.”

She reached over and squeezed my
hand. “Well, my dear mama always told me that you need three things for a happy
marriage,” Marjean said. “Communication and compromise were the first two. Can
you guess the third?”

I shrugged. “Separate checking
accounts?”

Marjean smiled. “Oh, heavens no,
Katie! Besides communication and compromise, my mama always said the third
thing was the ability to never get tired of the first two!”

Nana
Reed’s Sky High Recipes

Sweet & Spicy Muffins

Ingredients

For the muffins

2 sweet potatoes

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon lime zest

1 cup chopped pecans

For the topping

3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).

2. Prepare 12 standard muffin cups: lightly grease with
butter or nonstick cooking spray.

3. Peel and slice sweet potatoes; cook in boiling water for
15 to 20 minutes.

4. When potatoes are tender, remove from heat, drain well
and mash until fluffy.

5. Place mashed potatoes in a bowl and set aside to cool.

6. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg,
baking powder, salt, chili powder and cayenne pepper.

7. In another bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil, milk and lime
zest.

8. Add sweet potatoes to wet ingredients and beat until
completely blended.

9. Combine dry ingredients with potato mixture, stirring
until fully incorporated.

10. Fold in chopped pecans.

11. Fill prepared muffin cups to the 3/4 mark.

12. Combine cinnamon and sugar for the topping and dust muffins.

13. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

14. Remove from oven and cool thoroughly on wire racks.

Chocolate Almond Biscotti

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 teaspoons pure almond extract

3 large eggs

3 egg yolks

1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped roasted almonds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).

2. Prepare two baking sheets: lightly grease or line with
parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cocoa
powder and salt.

4. In a second bowl, blend sugar, butter, almond extract,
eggs and yolks until smooth.

5. Combine wet and dry ingredients to form dough.

6. Slowly fold chocolate chips and chopped almonds into
dough, mixing just long enough to fully incorporate all ingredients.

7. Divide dough into two equal portions, roll on marble
pastry board or countertop and shape into logs approximately 3/4-inch thick.

8. Place dough on prepared sheets and bake for 20 to 25
minutes.

9. Cool on wire rack for 20 minutes.

10. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees F (148 degrees C).

11. Cut logs into 1/2-inch diagonal slices with serrated knife.

12. Return to prepared sheets and bake for 15 to 18 minutes
until crisp and dry.

13. Cool completely before storing in airtight container.

Peanut Butter Chocolate
Pie

Ingredients

For the crust

2 cups Dutch Chocolate Crisp crumbs (see next recipe)

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

For the filling

3 cups heavy cream

1 cup marshmallow cream

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup chopped peanuts

3 ounces finely chopped semisweet chocolate

3 ounces finely chopped dark chocolate

1/2 cup Dutch Chocolate Crisp crumbs

Directions

1. Place rack
in center position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).

2. Lightly grease 9-inch pie pan.

3.
For the crust
, combine cookie crumbs, melted
butter and sugar in mixing bowl.

4. Press mixture into pie pan.

5. Bake until firm, approximately 10 to 12 minutes.

6. Place pie pan on wire rack to cool.

7.
For the filling
, whip 1-1/2 cups heavy cream until
soft peaks form. Blend in marshmallow cream and peanut butter.

8. Spread mixture into pie crust and top with peanuts and
chocolate cookie crumbs.

9. Chill in refrigerator until firm.

10.
Before serving
, whip 1-1/2 cups heavy cream until
soft peaks form. Spread on pie and garnish with chopped semisweet and dark
chocolate pieces.

Dutch Chocolate Crisp
Cookies

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven
to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C).

2. Prepare two baking sheets: lightly grease or line with
parchment paper.

3. Cream butter, white sugar, dark brown sugar and vanilla
extract in mixing bowl.

4. Use separate bowl to combine flour, Dutch process cocoa
powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

5. Whisk and sift dry ingredients to remove cocoa powder
lumps.

6. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, blending
until thoroughly combined.

7. Pour milk into dough, mixing until completely
incorporated.

8. On marble pastry board or similar surface, divide dough
before rolling into two logs that are 1 to 1-1/2 inch thick.

9. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two
hours.

10. Cut dough into 1/8-inch thick slices.

11. Place slices on baking sheets with 1-inch gap between
each.

12. Bake for 7 minutes.

13. Rearrange baking sheets in oven: rotate and switch from
top to bottom racks.

14. Bake for 3 minutes.

15. Remove from oven and cool thoroughly on wire rack.

snickered and giggled a bit more.
, not the United Nations.ns.