James studied the cookie on his plate, recalling how robust Paulette had seemed. “I still don’t understand how eating some cake batter could have proved to be fatal. Was her immune system that weak?”
“It wasn’t the cake batter,” Lucy responded solemnly. “It was all the eggnog she drank over the course of the day. Willow told us that Paulette never bought pre-made eggnog. She mixed her own from an old family recipe. Milla probably has it in her recipe box; it calls for half a dozen raw eggs per quart. Having made a gallon, Paulette ingested at least a dozen tainted eggs.”
“Wow,” Gillian breathed. “I wonder what brand they were. They simply could not have been organic. Must have been grocery-store eggs well past their expiration date. Our local farmers keep very hygienic chicken coops. I know, because I’ve toured their farms.”
Lucy shifted in her seat. “Wherever they came from, the ruling is still accidental death. Paulette can be buried now, and the Martin family can move on with their lives.” She smiled at James. “Jackson and Milla can have closure on this tragedy and finally reschedule their wedding. Isn’t that great?” As the supper club members smiled in relief on Milla’s behalf, Lucy collected several plates and carried them into the kitchen with James trailing on her heels.
“Are you really satisfied with those findings?” he whispered to her as she began to wash dishes.
Lucy handed him a towel and a dripping dish, indicating that he should make himself useful as they talked. “I don’t know, James. The factors involved seem so bizarre that it makes me suspicious. If someone knew Paulette loved eggnog, they could have deliberately poisoned her.”
“But that’s assuming the killer also knew she had cancer. It’s unusual for people to die from salmonella, right? And where would a person get infected eggs?”
Instead of answering, Lucy frowned and began to attack a layer of hardened jambalaya residue clinging to the rim of one of Bennett’s bowls. “I guess I just don’t like to be proved wrong,” she finally murmured. “But for Milla’s sake, and yours, I’m glad the facts have made it clear that this isn’t a murder investigation after all.” Passing him the clean bowl, her sudsy fingertips lingered on his dry ones. “Tell Milla to call me if she has any unanswered questions. I’m always available,” she added with a smile.
“Thank you,” James returned the smile. “I’m glad we can put this whole thing behind us and focus on more positive things. Now let’s leave these dishes for one of those long commercial breaks. I want to watch Bennett answer every question one last time before he does it on live television tomorrow night and comes back to Quincy’s Gap a very rich man.” He pulled Lucy into the living room and sat down on the couch next to Bennett. Giving his friend an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder, James said, “The whole town will come together to watch their favorite postal carrier on TV, I’m closing on my house in a few days, and my parents can finally tie the knot. And here I thought January was a dreary month!”
When James and Milla arrived at Dolly’s Diner the next evening, they were alarmed to see that there were only a handful of cars in the parking lot. It was a miserably cold evening, and one of the Valley’s sharp winds was doing its best to keep everyone indoors. Once the sun had set, the thick darkness had amplified the chill in the air. By suppertime, the thermometer had dropped below the freezing mark.
James gazed up at the clear, high stars and exhaled in angry surprise. Surveying the parking lot once more, he kicked at a loose stone. “How could people be so fickle?”
“It is horrible out tonight,” Milla said with a shiver, her breath fogging around her face. She then pointed at the front door of the diner. “What does that bright orange sign say?”
Huddling against the wind, James walked rapidly up to the sign, scanned it quickly, and beamed. “They’ve relocated to the firehouse! They must be expecting a bigger crowd than I’d imagined!”
Excitedly, James helped Milla back into the Bronco and, after cranking the heater to full blast, pulled out of the parking lot and headed north.
Glancing over at Milla, James realized that he was delighted to have her with him. He knew that she’d have preferred to be watching Bennett from the comfort of their den, decked out in flannel pajamas and a warm cotton robe. Instead, she had chosen to accompany James and show her love and support for one of his closest friends. He suddenly felt guilty for encouraging Milla to come. After all, she had spent the day listening to Lucy explain the details of Paulette’s death, placing phone calls to members of her family, and making funeral arrangements. None of those events were easily dealt with, and James could only imagine how worn out his future stepmother must be.
“I meant to call from work and ask you how your conversations with Chase, Chloe, and Aunt Wheezie went,” James said as he stopped for a red light.
Milla looked pained. “Chase was less than helpful about the funeral. He said Paulette left no instructions in her will except that she wanted to be cremated. But I already knew that. I wanted to find out where to lay her to rest, but Chase told me he was too busy to talk about the topic and he didn’t offer to share in a cent of the expenses either!”
“What a jackass,” James muttered darkly. “And Chloe?”
“Whined about the cost of airfare until I told her I’d take care of it. Wheezie was the worst, I’m afraid. Claimed she’d love to dance on Patty’s grave.” Milla sighed heavily. “Some family I’ve got. Without you and Jackson, I’d surely go crazy!” She shook her head. “Patty and her eggnog. She’s loved the stuff since we were little girls. Mrs. D. gave her that recipe when Patty first started visiting her house. She had shoeboxes stuffed full of recipes, Patty said. Enough to fill a hundred cookbooks. I wonder what she thought about Patty becoming a famous baker.”
“Do you know if Mrs. D. is still in Natchez?” James asked as he parked on the side of the firehouse. “Maybe you could tell her about Paulette. It might help you let go of some of your grief.”
Milla grew thoughtful. “I’ll ask Wheezie to look her up. The whole clan will be back this weekend, Lord help us. But I don’t want to think about such an unpleasant subject. Let’s go in and watch your friend show the world that country folk’s wits can be sharp as sickles!”
James was shocked at the number of people already gathered within the fire station’s garage. The engines had been parked outside and the volunteer firemen were scurrying around the large space, erecting folding tables and chairs as Dolly and Clint set out enormous platters of sandwiches, condiments, a bowl of pickle spears, and snack-sized bags of potato chips.
“Come on over and help yourselves!” Dolly called out to them and then paused to mop her pink cheeks with a napkin. “Clint’s too busy messin’ with that fancy TV to even say howdy.”
Plucking a chicken salad sandwich from the platter, James ignored the chips and selected two pickle spears instead. “Did you make all of these sandwiches, Dolly?”
Dolly nodded and put her hands on her wide hips, glancing at the buffet with pride. “There wasn’t a soul I talked to over the last few days that didn’t mention comin’ to watch our boy win this game show. By today, Clint and I reckoned we couldn’t fit that kind of crowd in our place, so we called the Chief and he told us to move the whole circus over here. This is simple fare, I know, and I’ll just pass a hat once everybody’s settled in chairs with their supper to cover our food costs.”
As James and Milla ate, Gillian, Lindy, and Lucy arrived. They took seats next to James, carrying pimento cheese, tuna salad, and ham and cheddar sandwiches. The firemen passed out cups of sweet tea and coffee as Clint wheeled out his new flat-screen television on a rolling cart. Passing an extension cord to one of the firemen, Clint directed the remote control at the screen and gave his wife a flirtatious wink. The townsfolk cheered and clapped as the screen sprang to life. Clint immediately muted the volume of a commercial touting the effectiveness of a male enhancement drug, but not before several of the older women let loose one or two harmless remarks at Clint’s expense.