Pancakes & Pandemonium - Culinary Competition Mystery #6

Chapter 11

(Amy)

The next morning, as they sat in the almost-comfortably warm, sunshine-filled breakfast nook, Amy and Alex discussed what they had learned from Tyler and Jolie. Since the eggs were all gone, Amy had made cheesy polenta for breakfast. All of the stores in Kellerton were closed. She had heard that piece of news multiple times from several different people at Riverbend. Instead of making the trip to a community that had electricity, she was saving time by taking the opportunity to use up what was in her fridge and pantry. The polenta was slightly unusual fare for the first meal of the day, but they were enjoying the savory porridge laced with sharp cheddar cheese and smoked paprika.

"If Milo was Catherine's boyfriend, why would he kill her?" Amy asked.

"Possible boyfriend." Alex waved around a spoonful of the golden polenta. "Why would Catherine keep the relationship from her daughter? What would be a reason to keep it secret?"

"Maybe one of them is—or was—involved with someone else, and they didn't want anyone to know they were cheating with each other."

Alex tilted his head to the side. "That would be a good reason to hide the affair. Not sure if it's enough for someone to commit murder though. There are other, less deadly, ways to deal with infidelity. Although if he has a temper as bad as Jolie says he does, maybe it was a crime of passion."

"Why are you worrying about who killed Catherine?" her mother asked as she shuffled toward the breakfast nook. Her damaged, overprocessed hair had turned into a crown of tangles overnight. She scowled at the pot that was sitting on a trivet in the middle of the table and stuck her tongue out. "And what is that?"

"That is polenta with cheddar cheese," Amy answered. She drummed her fingers on her thigh for a few seconds to come up with a good answer to the first question. "As far as why we're talking about Catherine's killer...well...I've helped solve quite a few murders in the past. Since the police force is at a disadvantage with the chaos happening everywhere from the storm, I thought I might be able to help the detective uncover some clues." She looked her mother in the eye. "And clear you from the suspect list in the process."

"You help catch killers? Why? Whatever happened to minding your own business?"

Amy slowly exhaled through her nose. Nobody was ever safe from her mother's belittling comments—not even her own daughter. What if a strained relationship between Catherine and Jolie was the reason behind the elder woman's secret affair?

"Well? Why do you do it?"

The question brought Amy's thoughts back to the present and her mother's inquiry. "Because sometimes I'm privy to information that the detectives wouldn't easily find out themselves. At other times, I've known the people who were suspects, and I didn't think they could actually commit murder."

Except it was different this time. Amy truly didn't know whether her own mother was capable of killing someone. How pathetic was that? Their relationship had always been so distant that neither of them knew much about the other one's life. The only way she could ease her mind would be to find evidence that pointed at whoever was coldhearted enough to stab Catherine in the neck and leave her to die, alone, in the storm. And hope her own mother wasn't that cruel.

Over an hour later, they arrived at Riverbend. Amy had heard that teens were notoriously difficult to get moving in the morning. It seemed as though her mother had regressed to a grumpy seventeen-year-old as she got ready—even though it was her idea to accompany them downtown. Every task, such as brushing her teeth and getting dressed, was done slowly and with copious amounts of complaining. The experience confirmed to Amy that she just wasn't destined to be a parent. How would she handle an attitude like that every day for years with a child? Not very well.