Hot Dish Heaven: A Murder Mystery With Recipes Read Online Free PDF

“I guess it’s hard to wrestle a naked man. Ya just don’t know where to grab. Plus, he kept kickin’ everyone with his pointy-toed boots. But they got him ‘in the end,’ so to speak.” She snickered, and I lost it. “The judge gave him thirty days and ordered him to quit drinkin’, which he did for over six months. But when Samantha disappeared, he went right on back to the bottle.”
    Margie divided a kettle of boiled egg noodles between the two casserole dishes and gently folded the pasta into the meat mixtures. “Will ya grab the shredded cheese from the fridge there?”
    I caught my breath, wiped my eyes, and opened the refrigerator to an array of glass bowls filled with Jell-O in various colors, all covered in plastic wrap. “Where’s the cheese?”
    “On the top shelf, in front, in the Tupperware.”
    I peeked under the lid to make sure I had the right container. Grated mozzarella mixed with Parmesan. Even that smelled good.
    I handed the tub to Margie, and she liberally sprinkled its contents over the hot-dish mixture in each pan. “As soon as I’m done here, I’ve gotta start my Tater-Tot Hot Dish.”
    A smile tugged at my lips. “My mom made Tater-Tot Hot Dish almost every Saturday when I was young. I love it. I made it myself a few times, but it didn’t turn out.”
    Margie appeared bemused. “It’s sorta strange ya do what ya do for a livin’, bein’ you’re such a bad cook and all.” She brushed cheese crumbs from her hands with a couple of claps. “I suppose it just goes to show that God has a sense of humor.”
    “Or simply enjoys messing with me.” And, man, was I right about that, as my trip to Kennedy proved.

Chapter 6
    Margie, why did Ole start drinking again after Samantha disappeared?” I posed the question while watching her place tater tots lengthwise across two casserole dishes filled with a mixture of hamburger and cream soup. I’d tried to convince myself that I’d write a better profile if I knew more about her family, but the truth was I just wanted to hear more about the murder and this town. The people here were different, to put it mildly. But I found them and the murder fascinating. Much more so than hot dish. After all, crime was what real reporters wrote about. “You said Ole left Samantha. That means he must not have loved her anymore, right?”
    Margie sniffed. “I don’t believe he ever did.”
    “If that’s true, what caused him to fall off the wagon when she went missing? Did he feel—”
    She didn’t let me finish. “Ole was a good person. Sometimes, too good. After Samantha vanished, he told me he felt bad that no one in town cared if she was ever found or not.”
    With the back of her hand, she wiped a few strands of hair from her cheek. “That tramp used him, yet he never said an unkind word about her. She wrecked his marriage, but he shouldered all the blame.”
    “Well, he should have shouldered some.”
    “Not necessarily.” Picking up one of the casserole dishes, she again nodded at the wall oven. “When a guy’s in a bad state, like he was, those around him need to be more thoughtful. But Samantha never gave a hoot about anyone ’cept herself.”
    This time I opened the bottom oven door. “Well, Ole shouldn’t have let himself get into a ‘bad state.’”
    Margie slid the dish onto the upper rack. “Yah, he should of asked for help. But that’s not easy to do, especially for a man. That’s why other folks have to be more responsible durin’ those tough times. Like the Lord said, ‘You are your brother’s keeper.’” She placed the second casserole dish on the lower rack. “But it’s also during those tough times that the devil goes to work, and …” I didn’t hear the rest because the casserole dish banged against the oven wall, but I was certain I’d gotten the gist of it anyhow.
    “And Samantha Berg was the devil?”
    She bumped the oven door shut. “Well, she wasn’t an angel, that’s for darn sure. Maybe