Page 99 of Murder By the Millions

“I can’t figure out why Jason Gardner moved to Bramblewood. The woman he loved was living in Los Angeles.”

“I’d bet his happiest moments were when he was a young boy, and he hoped to rekindle the memory.”

Her insight surprised me, and I recalled Candace talking about Jason being a dreamer when he was a child.

“The tomatoes are ready,” Vanna said. “Want me to grate the cheese?”

“Yes, please.”

I grew quiet as I browned the garlic in oil in a large sauté pan. I added the tomatoes and sauteed them to deglaze the garlic from the bottom of the pan. When the tomatoes were the right texture, I mashed them into a paste and boiled the angel-hair pasta. After rinsing the pasta, I tossed it with the tomato sauce, freshly chopped basil, and half of the Parmesan cheese. When it was ready, I dished up two portions, dusted each with more grated Parmesan, and handed a serving to Vanna. “Taste.”

She did and hummed her approval. “This is simple yet absolutely delicious. I’m hooked.” She polished off her meal, washed both of our plates, and reviewed the orders we needed to prepare. “I’m so nervous,” she mumbled.

“About today’s deliveries?”

“No. Don’t be daft.”

“About theGatsbyparty? Don’t worry.” I swatted the air with a spatula. “You do not have to opine about the story or the overarching theme of trying to achieve the American dream—a dream in which each man or woman should be able to attain greatness, regardless of the circumstances of their birth or position.”

She gawked at me. “That’s the theme?”

“One of them.”

“No. I’m not … I mean, discussing the book doesn’t worry me. It’s … I’m going to the town council meeting tonight and …” She took a deep breath. “Don’t get me wrong. I love working with you. But I would like to grow my business, and the mayor said he’ll introduce me around. He knows all the bigwigs in town. I’ll have to be on my toes.”

“You’ll be great. No one pitchesyoubetter than you.” I smiled. “What’re you wearing?”

She told me.

“You’ll wow them. If for any reason you don’t feel comfortable going alone, ask Tegan to accompany you.”

“Why?”

“You’re always saying you’d like to bond with her. What an ideal time.”

“My sister at a town council meeting? She’d rather die.”

I made deliveries to Ragamuffin, Perfect Brew, and Big Mama’s Diner. Vanna was handling all the deliveries on the east side of town. My last stop was Jukebox Joint. Before entering, I peered in the windows to see if Zach was chatting with his mother. He wasn’t. I didn’t know why I was nervous to run into him, but we still hadn’t resolved our issue. Would we ever? Jenny was over the moon with the sale of the last batch of goodies and asked if I’d ever considered making homemade hamburger buns. I hadn’t and told her I had to pass. Doing sowould be a full-time job. The Joint served over five hundred burgers a day.

At ten, when I arrived at Feast for the Eyes, Tegan was whizzing around like a crazy woman.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Chloe’s running late, and a women’s group wants to hold their book club here today. You won’t believe who the group’s leader is. Last night her ears must have been burning.”

“Who?”

“Shayna Luckenbill.”

“Iggie’s wife?”

“The same.”

“She has never come to Feast for the Eyes in her life. She’s a library person.”

“Yes, well, her house flooded because a pipe burst. The other participants weren’t prepared to hostess. The library has two events and couldn’t accommodate her. She begged and pleaded, saying they absolutely have to discuss Liane Moriarty’sNine Perfect Strangers.‘Have to,’” Tegan said, mimicking a breathless voice when she said the last words. “So I said yes.”

If only the book club leader were Ulla Karlsson, we might have been able to cajole the truth out of her regarding Iggie’s whereabouts Monday night. Shayna, who’d attended an art exhibit, would be useless.