Pancakes & Pandemonium - Culinary Competition Mystery #6

Chapter 25

(Amy)

When Amy returned home, she packed up more of the mini muffins. She didn't want to eat them, as she was apt to do when she was stressed, so she might as well give them to Teresa and Kim. They may have said they simply wanted to see how Amy was doing, but she suspected there was more of a reason for the visit than what they'd told Mr. Conner.

Alex was busy going over details with the contractors, so she set out to visit the Breakfast All Day crew. A quick check on their website showed that they were back to selling their usual menu and currently parked at the Clement Street Market. The indoor market was probably teeming with people picking up supplies to cook dinner now that electricity and other utilities had been restored everywhere in Kellerton. It was a good move on Teresa's part to set up there, as some people would want prepared meals. A great way to make up for some of the business that had been lost over the last week.

The parking lot was crowded and busy at the market. Amy went up and down several aisles before finally finding an open space. As she walked toward the warehouse-turned-market, she located the food truck parked on the street near the side entrance. Four people were in line to place orders and more were standing on the sidewalk nearby waiting for their food when Amy made it to the converted camper. No one seemed to mind the bite of the cold wind.

Kim was at the window. She waved. "Hey! What brings you here?"

Amy held up the bag of muffins. "I heard from my neighbor that you stopped by my house yesterday, so I wanted to see if you needed anything. Plus I made too much in a cooking marathon today to celebrate my electricity coming back on. Thought you guys might like a treat."

"Come on in," Kim said as she tilted her head toward the door at the back of the truck. "We can multitask by cooking and talking at the same time."

Amy made her way to the back side of the truck and climbed aboard. Despite the winter wind, it was downright hot inside courtesy of the big griddle that was filled with breakfast treats. The aromas of sage sausage and maple syrup that had been wafting around outside the truck were so intense inside that it made her stomach growl, even though she wasn't hungry. "It smells extraordinary in here. No wonder you have such a long line of customers."

"It's good to be back in business," Teresa said as she used a long spatula to roll a line of sausage links on the griddle. "I loved helping everybody by delivering soup, but I have bills to pay."

"I can't imagine the economic toll of the storm. I'd say it has to be in the millions of dollars. It's such a relief to have the electricity back on." Amy squeezed behind Kim, who was sitting on a low stool at the order window, and set the bag of muffins on the passenger seat in the truck cab. "I was so happy that I went on a huge grocery shopping trip then did a cooking binge. I'm sure all of the contractors roaming around the house appreciated the free lunch and snacks though."

"I thought you just had a section of fence knocked down by a tree. Did they bring in a big crew to repair that?" Teresa asked.

Amy shook her head. "We had an issue with our propane grill last night. Apparently the tank was leaking. It blew up when my mom tried to light a cigarette near it."

"Oh, no! Is she okay?" Kim asked.

"Miraculously, yes. She is in the hospital because she's pretty banged up, but there were no serious injuries."

Teresa stopped tending the grill and looked at Amy. "I'm sorry to be blunt, but what are you doing here? Are you on your way to the hospital?"

Guilt wrapped around Amy, ensnaring her by the ankles and spiraling up her body like poison ivy. She didn't have a normal relationship with her mother, and that was so hard to explain to people. Carla would be camped out at the hospital if the same thing had happened to Geri. Most likely Teresa and Kim would be too if they were in a similar situation. But she wasn't. She looked down at the rubber mats on the floor and said, "Joe, the man she kept ditching you guys for, is staying with her. She actually moved in with him a few days ago, believe it or not. They sent me away earlier today with orders to deal with the mess at the house, but I think they just wanted to be alone."