Murder at Veronica's Diner (A Ferrara Family Mystery Book 4) by J.D. Griffo

Author:J.D. Griffo [Griffo, J.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Books
Published: 2020-11-30T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

Una bomba a orologeria.

The inside of Alberta’s kitchen was almost as cramped as the inside of Inez’s cold chamber. A corpse, quite possibly, had more room to stretch its legs. If it could.

As was typical on a Sunday afternoon, the table was filled with plates of food. Alberta’s homemade lasagna, made by following her grandma Marie’s time-honored family recipe, was in the center of the table surrounded by a bowl of fried meatballs, another bowl overflowing with sausage, braciole, and some more meatballs smothered in tomato sauce, an oversized plate of rigatoni—almost al dente, which was Sloan’s preferred way to cook pasta—and two mismatched gravy boats filled to the brim with Alberta’s gravy.

Two snack trays had been propped up against the wall to house the many small bowls and trays of cold cuts, olives, peppers, chunks of provolone cheese, three huge hunks of mozzarella, pickles, and slices of buffalo tomatoes sprinkled with parsley and oregano. There was even a plate of burrata, an Italian cheese that looked like a ball of mozzarella, but was softer and creamier in texture and had more of a buttery taste. Alberta wasn’t a fan and thought it was too milky, but it was Freddy’s new favorite, so she made sure she included it in the gastronomically enticing display.

There were also two pitchers of Red Herrings, various other bottles of soft drinks, and bottles of red and white wine placed wherever there was space on the table or the kitchen counter. Looking around the room, Alberta had no idea where she was going to put the four trays of dessert that were chilling in the refrigerator, but she knew, like every Italian woman has known since she cooked her first meal, she would find room. Food, in an Italian kitchen, would always find a place.

But the kitchen wasn’t only overflowing with mouth-watering dishes; it was jammed with people too.

Alberta, Helen, Joyce, and Jinx were joined by Sloan, Freddie, Vinny, Tambra, and even Father Sal, whom Helen had invited to join them after he presided over morning mass. And, of course, Lola, never one to miss out on a chance to socialize, roamed throughout the kitchen, and between courses was passed around from lap to lap.

It was a joyous, relaxed, and, as expected, loud afternoon filled with laughter and reminiscing and not one mention of murder or dead bodies. Until Vinny and Tambra had to leave to question a possible suspect in the case of an illegal import and export business they helped break. The warehouse was located in Newton, but the driver of one of the vans was caught speeding in Tranquility, which was how the local police force got involved.

Armed with two plastic bags filled with cannolis, anisette cookies, and Helen’s famous Sicilian cassata cake, Vinny and Tambra thanked Alberta for the delicious meal and said their good-byes before leaving.

“Thank God they’re gone,” Jinx exclaimed.

“Jinx! That’s a terrible thing to say,” Alberta admonished.

“It isn’t them, Mrs. Scaglione,” Freddy said. “It’s about the dead body we met last night.

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