Free Evil Eclairs by Jessica Beck Page B

fleas off a dog.”
    “He picked you up, fed you, and brought you back home. That’s a date in my book.”
    “I still don’t think it counts, but even if it did, do you know how many second or third dates I’ve been on in the past two years?”
    I tried to think of all the men Grace had dated in the past, and while I knew there’d been a healthy number of potential suitors, she hadn’t really connected with anyone in quite some time. “I didn’t realize,” I said. “I’m sorry if I keep throwing Jake in your face.”
    “That’s not what I meant,” she said. “All I’m saying is that it must be nice to be you right now.”
    “Besides the whole murder-pointing-to-me situation, you mean?”
    “Besides that,” she acknowledged with a slight smile.
    “It would be even better if Jake lived here in April Springs.”
    “Be careful what you wish for,” Grace said as she continued to scan her share of the papers we’d retrieved. “If he moved to town, you might get sick of him, seeing him all the time.”
    “I’ll take that chance,” I said.
    “But do you think he ever will?” Grace asked.
    At least a part of my mind heard her. The other segment was focused on the document I’d just pulled out of the stack.
    We might have just caught a break in finding out who killed Lester Moorefield, if the clue in my hand meant what I thought it did.

 
    APPLE FRITTERS
    These fritters are delightful, especially when they’ve had a chance to cool a little. We have them with a touch of powdered sugar, but some folks like to add a little apple butter for a double whammy!
    INGREDIENTS
    • ¾ cup all purpose flour
    • ¼ cup sugar (white)
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
    • 1 ⁄ 3 cup milk (2% or whole)
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1 egg, beaten
    • ½ cup chopped apple (something tart; I like Granny Smiths for this)
    DIRECTIONS
    Heat canola oil for frying to 360 degrees while you mix the batter. Sift the dry ingredients, then stir in milk and beaten egg. Fold in chopped apple, and then take a teaspoon of batter and rake it into the fryer with another spoon. If the dough doesn’t rise soon, gently nudge it with a chopstick, being careful not to splatter oil. After two minutes, check, and then flip, frying for another minute on the other side. These times may vary given too many factors to count, so keep a close eye on the fritters.
    Makes about a dozen small fritters.

 
    CHAPTER 6
    “What did you find, Suzanne?”
    “What makes you think I uncovered anything?” I asked as I continued staring at the paper in my hand.
    “I know you better than that. You look as though you’ve just been slapped.”
    “Take a look at this,” I said as I handed her the paper I’d found. The document itself had been an internal memo about the station’s next on-air promotion, but it was what Lester had written on the side that had caught my attention.
    “Be careful digging into Lacy Newman’s history. Don’t turn your back on her, and never forget that no matter how sweet she might look, she’s a killer. If she’s done it once, she can do it again.”
    The paper nearly fluttered out of Grace’s hand to the floor. “He finally lost his mind, didn’t he?”
    “What do you mean?”
    Grace looked at me as if I were the one who’d slipped out of my ties to reality. “We’re talking about Lacy Newman, the same woman who volunteers with the Scouts and cooks at the soup kitchen when she’s not working? Do you honestly think under any circumstances that she could be a killer?”
    “I don’t know,” I said. Everything Grace said was true. I knew Lacy pretty well. We’d been assigned as a team in the park cleanup sweep the year before, and I’d found her charming, funny, and the least likely person I’d ever met in my life to be a killer. “Why would he just make this up?”
    “You knew Lester. He loved fabricating stories to get people’s attention.”
    “He did, I know,” I said as I took