Just Desserts by Mary Daheim

Author:Mary Daheim [Daheim, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2010-03-22T04:00:00+00:00

ELEVEN

TEN MINUTES LATER, a much-chagrined Otto returned to the house. Joe had all but resorted to physical force in prying Otto off the stretcher. Oriana had played her part to the hilt, a regal Isolde flinging herself on her Tristan; Harvey had threatened to sue; and Gwen had succumbed to hysterics. But Joe prevailed, much to the entertainment of the neighbors, including the Rankers and Gertrude, who watched the latest incident from the front yard. Dooley strolled by, making a halfhearted attempt to conceal himself behind the maple tree’s massive trunk.

“Wow,” he said to Judith, as Otto was finally hauled back inside, “you sure have a lot of excitement around here! It’s better than the movies!”

“I may end up with the only X-rated B&B in town,” Judith muttered. “‘X’ as in ‘ex-owner.’” She gestured discreetly at Lance who was following Mavis back inside the house. “There’s your mystery man from last night. He hurt his knee playing for the Hollywood Stars. Remember the team?”

But Dooley was obviously remembering something else. “That’s not the dude I saw.”

“What?” Judith stared at Dooley, then at Lance’s back. “It has to be!”

“Uh-uh.” Dooley was emphatic. “It was that one, over there.” He nodded toward the ambulance where Dash was comforting a still-hysterical Gwen. “They’re both tall, sure, but the football guy is broader. I don’t make mistakes like that. I’m learning to be a trained observer.” He spoke with pride, his voice cracking in the process.

Judith didn’t doubt him. Maybe Dash had walked funny because it had been cold outside and he wasn’t wearing socks. Obviously, the back yard had been a crowded place. She wondered how Lance and his business associates had avoided running into Dash and whoever he had been meeting in the dark. But she had to put the question aside for the moment. Otto might be a pain, but he was still a guest. With a weary tread, Judith climbed the four steps to the front porch and went back into the house.

Otto was holding court in the living room, protesting police brutality with as much vigor as Mavis had exhibited the previous night. Not only did he demand to be visited by his personal physician and his attorney, but insisted on breaking into Judith’s liquor supply. His ruse might have been in vain, but he wasn’t surrendering without a struggle.

“While Otto gets blotto, let’s check out those magazines downstairs,” Judith said to Renie. “Joe just told me he’s got some information coming up from L.A. any minute.”

“The hit-and-run and the amnesia story?” Renie asked as they descended to the basement.

“I guess.” Judith flipped on the light switch, revealing a new gas furnace, the laundry area with a hamper full of linens, boxes marked Christmas Decorations, Easter baskets—the whole gamut of life and times in a family home combined with a business enterprise. Judith kept the various kinds of outdated reading material in three cartons next to the freezer. She dug down deep, then shook her head. “These are Mike’s old car magazines and SportsIllustrateds.

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