Berry the Evidence, page 22
They were about to raise a toast to Book ’Em’s new venture when someone banged on the front door.
“It’s Nancy,” Monica said, rushing to let her mother in.
“Sorry I’m late,” Nancy said as she slipped out of her coat and hung it on the coat rack. “My telephone rang just as I was about to leave.”
“Here you go,” Greg said, handing her a flute of champagne. He raised his own glass. “Here’s to the success of Monica’s Café.”
“Hear, hear,” everyone chanted as they held their glasses aloft.
Nancy put a hand on Monica’s arm. “How was your doctor’s appointment this morning?” she asked in low tones.
“Everything is fine.” Monica couldn’t help smiling. “We heard the heartbeat for the first time.”
Nancy clasped her hands to her chest. “Thank heaven for that. When you told me what happened yesterday, I was terrified that something might go wrong.”
Monica shook her head. “The doctor assured me that everything is perfectly normal and there was no harm done.”
“That’s good news,” Gina, who had been listening, said. She gave Monica a hug.
“How are you feeling?” Monica studied Gina’s face. Color had come back into it, thank goodness, and she seemed none the worse for wear. “You must have been terrified having Lacey kidnap you like that.”
“When I think about how things might have turned out . . .” Nancy pretended to swoon.
Gina patted Nancy’s shoulder. “What’s that saying? All’s well that ends well?”
“It’s almost time,” Greg announced, and everyone turned their attention in his direction. He rubbed his hands together then reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring of keys.
“Time to open up.”
He unlocked the front door to Book ’Em with a flourish and everyone clapped. No sooner had he stepped away than the door opened and the VanVelsen sisters walked in. They pulled off their gloves and hung their matching tweed coats on the coat rack.
“Quite chilly out there, isn’t it?” Hennie said to Monica.
Gerda nodded and smiled at Monica. “How are you feeling, dear?”
“Very well, thank you.” Monica supposed she would have to get used to people asking her how she felt for the remainder of the nine months.
Moments later the door opened again and more people poured into the store. Tempest swept in in a swirl of purple velvet with Bart right behind her, wearing a fresh shirt with his hair still slightly wet and slicked back from his forehead.
He made a beeline for Monica. “Good news,” he said with a smile. “Gus is out of rehab. The doctor said he made an amazingly quick recovery. The old geezer is tough as nails. He should be back in his usual position at the diner within a week or so.”
“That is good news. I’m so happy to hear that.”
“I know he plans to say a special thank-you to you for all you did to raise money for his hospital stay. He was extremely grateful.”
Monica felt herself blush. “It was nothing.” She was relieved when Greg clapped his hands and everyone fell silent.
“Shall we go upstairs for the ribbon cutting?”
A cheer rose from the crowd as they followed him up the spiral staircase to the second floor, where a thick red ribbon was stretched across the opening to Monica’s Café.
At the back of the café, a table was set up with an urn for coffee, hot water for tea and various bite-sized pastries. A waiter in black pants and a pleated white shirt was waiting in the corner with a tray of hors d’oeuvres.
With a theatrical gesture, Greg handed Monica a pair of gold scissors that had been procured especially for the event.
“No, you should be the one . . .” Monica tried to hand the scissors back to Greg.
“It’s your café.” Greg gestured at the name on the wall. “You’re the one who should do the honors.”
Monica could tell it was useless to argue. She felt her face turn pink as she took the scissors, approached the ribbon and briefly closed her eyes. She said a quick prayer, opened her eyes and sliced through the ribbon, which fell to the floor on either side.
Monica’s Café was officially open for business.
Recipe
Cranberry Walnut Muffins
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
1 large egg
¾ cup sugar
½ cup milk (whole or low-fat)
½ plain Greek yogurt (fat-free is fine)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon orange extract (optional)
1½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries
½ cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease muffin tin and set aside.
Melt butter in the microwave and set aside to cool.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a mixing bowl and whisk until mixed.
In another bowl, beat the egg until frothy. Add the sugar, milk, yogurt, vanilla extract, and orange extract, if using.
Slowly add the cooled butter to the egg mixture and whisk until combined.
Add liquid ingredients to dry ingredients and mix. Do not overmix! Gently stir in cranberries and walnuts.
Spoon batter into greased muffin tin and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean.
Books by Peg Cochran
The Cranberry Cove Mysteries
Berried Secrets
Berry the Hatchet
Dead and Berried
Berried at Sea
Berried in the Past
Berried Motives
Berry the Evidence
The Lucille Mysteries
Confession Is Murder
Unholy Matrimony
Hit and Nun
A Room with a Pew
Cannoli to Die For
Farmer’s Daughter Mysteries
No Farm, No Foul
Sowed to Death
Bought the Farm
The Gourmet De-Lite Mysteries
Allergic to Death
Steamed to Death
Iced to Death
Murder, She Reported Mysteries
Murder, She Reported
Murder, She Uncovered
Murder, She Encountered
Writing as Meg London
Murder Unmentionable
Laced with Poison
A Fatal Slip
About the Author
Peg grew up in a New Jersey suburb about twenty-five miles outside of New York City. After college, she moved to the City, where she managed an art gallery owned by the son of the artist Henri Matisse.
After her husband died, Peg remarried and her new husband took a job in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they now live (on exile from New Jersey, as she likes to joke). Somehow Peg managed to segue from the art world to marketing and is now the manager of marketing communications for a company that provides services to seniors.
She is the author of the Cranberry Cove Mysteries, the Lucille Mysteries, the Farmer’s Daughter Mysteries, the Gourmet De-Lite Mysteries, and also, writing as Meg London, the Sweet Nothings Vintage Lingerie series, and as Margaret Loudon, the Open Book series.
Peg has two daughters, a stepdaughter and stepson, andtwo beautiful granddaughters. You can read more at www.pegcochran.com and www.meglondon.com.
Peg Cochran, Berry the Evidence
