Murder Follows Money Read Online Free PDF Page B

snippet from my lengthy list of instructions. “If that’s okay, Ruth.”
    “Ruth? It’s Naomi.” She gave me a look of disgust.
    “Oh, right. I’m sure I can remember that.”
    Naomi sailed from the room, and Kim collapsed in nervous giggles. “You dare,” she said. “She’ll just get angry.” She shivered. “She’s really mean when she’s angry."
    “She’s your aunt. You probably know.”
    “It’s gotten worse the past couple of years. I think she’s having that change of life thing.” Kim piled the lime slices into a little container, popped on the lid, and put it in the refrigerator drawer. “She just lets herself be swept away with it, like she did in the limo.”
    “She seems over it now.”
    Kim shivered. “Yeah. It blows over, and she doesn’t even remember the things she said. My mom says we have to make allowances, but it creeps me out.”
    “No kidding. Especially if she regularly goes around accusing people of murder.”
    “She didn’t exactly—”
    “She implied that Hannah caused her husband’s death.” I looked at Kim. “Do you know if that’s possible?”
    She looked uneasy. “I don’t know. He died last year. I didn’t really pay much attention, though I heard Naomi tell my mom it was something he ate. She said it in a meaning kind of way, you know?”
    “Well, I doubt there’s anything to it. And we have work to do.” I dug the schedule out of my knapsack. As I’d hoped, the phone numbers of our destinations were there. “Listen, let me see if my idea about the food for the TV show works.” I looked at the kitchen clock; twenty minutes until the interview, and we hadn’t begun to be ready for the TV appearance. “If it does, can you carry the load until I see how the interview goes? I’m supposed to be sort of monitoring it and keeping it smooth.”
    “Poor you.” Kim patted my arm. “I will be happy to prep the food. Much less hassle than what you’ll be doing. It’s just that there is a lot to do. I have to get all the ingredients prepped for both demonstrations, plus assemble a huevos rancheros casserole so it can cook while Hannah’s showing how to make one. And I have to get that crepe batter made right away or it won’t work.”
    “That should be under control. The bellhop will bring milk and eggs and butter.”
    I punched in the number of the contact person at FanciFoods Marketplace. “I’m calling on behalf of Hannah Couch,” I said sweetly when he came on the line. “We’re just checking to make sure everything is in order for this evening.”
    “Oh, yes. We’ve had a tremendous response, and are sure to have a standing-room-only crowd,” he assured me.
    “She’ll be preparing huevos rancheros .”
    “Marvelous,” he gushed. “That will be wonderful. What equipment should I collect?”
    This was a stumper. I tried to think of the most indispensable piece of equipment Drake used in his gourmet forays. “We’ll bring cookware and the like,” I said, looking at Kim. She nodded encouragingly. “But there is something you could help us with. Of course, we want to prepare the dish ahead of time as much as possible, plus we’re doing a cooking demonstration on Live at Five , and what with the interviews, I just don’t have time to do the shopping. Could you all send over a few things? We’ll be sure to give you and the event tonight a plug on Live at Five .”
    “Well, sure,” he said. “What do you need?”
    I ran down the list Hannah had rattled off in the limo, with Kim making a couple of whispered suggestions, and the man assured me he would personally pick out the produce and have our order delivered pronto. “As our thank-you gift to Hannah,” he assured me. “In half an hour. No problem.”
    I hung up the phone and took a deep breath. “At least that went right.”
    “Good going.” Kim looked at me in awe. “You said you’d never done this before?”
    “Never before, never again,” I muttered. “Okay, I have to