Free Banana Muffins & Mayhem by Janel Gradowski Page A

spring fare. But when comfort food cravings hit, Amy heeded the call. So she and Alex would be having stuffed cabbage roll soup for dinner with her favorite tapioca pudding, flavored with caramely dark brown sugar, for dessert. The quick and easy version of her favorite Polish food had popped into her mind as she drove home from Carla's house. After so many things went wrong at that visit, from reconfirming without a shadow of a doubt that she had zero maternal instincts to finding out that Chuck's former hobby could be currently affecting his life in a very bad way, she craved something good to balance out the not-good parts of the day. And for her, many of the good things in life were food related.
    Amy moved the cutting board covered with chopped cabbage onto the counter beside the stove. She stirred the ground sirloin and onions sizzling in the soup pot. Cooking stimulated all of her senses, from hearing the hiss of the onions crackling in olive oil to seeing the bright-red tomato juice, which would go into the pot next. She adored getting lost in the meal-making process. Meditation was supposed to quiet a person's chattering "monkey" mind. Cooking was her favorite way to settle down her internal chatter—giving the thought monkeys a bunch of bananas to keep them quiet.
    The thump of a car door caught her wandering attention as she scooped rice into a measuring cup. She turned to look out the breakfast nook window. Alex was home from work early. The cooking Zen evaporated. Not only did he rarely arrive home before dinnertime, but she could also see from his expression that he wasn't happy. A scowl traced over his handsome face as he walked up the path to the porch.
    She quickly poured the tomato juice into the pot then stirred in the rice and cabbage. Those were the last ingredients that needed to be added so she could concentrate on her husband and not worry about ruining dinner. The door opened as she was wiping her hands on the blue gingham apron she was wearing. "Hey, honey. You're home from work early."
    He deposited his briefcase on the breakfast nook table and strode across the kitchen. Pogo, their gray fuzz ball of a dog, orbited around him, yipping and squeaking in a canine version of a welcome home greeting. Alex wrapped Amy in a hug and planted a kiss on the top of her head. "I haven't been working for over two hours. Figured I might as well call it a day and come home to see my gorgeous wife."
    Amy tilted her head back and looked into his sky-blue eyes. While she loved the compliments and attention, she had been married to him long enough to realize they were diversions. She focused on what he said first. "Why haven't you been working? What's going on?"
    He smiled, but there was no happiness apparent in his expression. "I've been down at the police station looking at security camera footage taken at The Shamrock Bar. Phoebe Plymouth was there during the time she was supposed to be at the party at Riverbend Café."
    " She was at The Shamrock ?" Amy couldn't quite wrap her mind around that. Her thought monkeys were going crazy, screeching and flinging banana peels. So much for chilling out via making soup. The Shamrock was the poster child for a dive bar, complete with wood paneling walls and scary, sketchy customers. Definitely not trendy, high-end, or chic. "Why? From what I know of her, that seems like one of the last places in town where she would want to hang out."
    A button on the front of Alex's polo shirt brushed Amy's chin as his chest expanded from a deep inhale. He backed away from her and went to his briefcase. As he handed her a piece of paper, he said, "She went there with this guy. He was wearing a Quantum Media shirt."
    Amy's gaze bounced between the logo embroidered on her husband's shirt and the one on the shirt the man was wearing in the grainy photo Alex had given her. They certainly looked like they could be the same. He and the other employees wore the casual shirts when they didn't need to