If Onions Could Spring Leeks (25 page)

“That is a beautiful mirror,” Cliff said from over my shoulder.

I wasn't sure why my dad had decided to put it up in the house, but it looked great in the spot he'd chosen—on the wall, right between some sliding glass doors that separated the dining room and the outside back patio.

“It is,” I said.

“It's got an antique feel about. Mysterious. I like it,” he said as he put his arms around me.

I nodded and leaned into his chest. “I agree.”

“Teddy sent me in with the specific question as to whether you want a hamburger or two hot dogs. He said you never eat just one. I did not know that about you,” Cliff said.

“He's right. I always thought that two hot dogs were equal to one hamburger. However, I'm really hungry. I'd like one hamburger and one hot dog.”

“Sounds perfect.”

The mysteries had been solved for a week now, and my parents had invited us all over for a barbecue, which meant that Teddy would man the grill. He was the best at it. Jake had joined us. So had Opie, and, so far, she and I had gotten along fairly well.

Lynn had, in fact, paid Derek's wives to marry him and try to have a child with him. The five of the ex-wives had gotten together not too long ago and concocted a blackmail scheme. They'd gone to Lynn and told her that she needed to keep paying them or they'd tell Derek what she'd done, and they knew she couldn't bear for Derek to know. She paid the blackmail for some time, but one of the ex-wives, Gina, the one I'd never talked to at the post office, told Derek about his mother's involvement when he confronted her about her lavish post-marriage lifestyle. Derek had been devastated and was going to expose his mother—for her wife-paying scheme as well as the amount of money she'd received from Broken Rope from her lawsuit. She had moved the money to somewhere other than the United States, an offshore account, I'd heard, though I still didn't quite understand what that meant, so the people of Broken Rope wouldn't ever know what she took from them.

I remembered the strong onion scent as I left the school the day I was hit in the head. At the time I was in a hurry so I didn't pay it any attention, but looking back I realized that I smelled it at probably the exact time Derek was killed. It might not have meant much, but it was interesting to me, and made me realize that I could never just ignore a strong, insistent smell.

The big piece that everyone had been missing had simply
been Lynn's personality. She'd lived in Broken Rope all her life and had made it her business to complain about almost everyone and everything. She knew that if everyone knew the amount of money she'd received from the city's coffers, they'd think she didn't have a right to complain about anything. She would have had to change her ways—and potentially share the money to help fix the objects of her complaints. Not her style. And, then when she so desperately wanted a grandchild and she knew that no one would marry Derek on their own, she used her money—and somehow found five women to take the bait. Even with the facts out in the open, the story was still hard to believe.

The ex-wives actually weren't afraid of Lynn. They were afraid of their scheme being exposed. They almost had me. Almost. They were in for some legal trouble, but blackmail wasn't as bad as murder, and attempted murder. Though I didn't think Lynn meant to kill me by hitting me with the wrench, she sure had wanted me dead on the train tracks. I couldn't tell anyone about that, but I didn't argue the attempted-murder charge. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. Cliff was going to make sure Lynn paid for her crimes.

Lynn had stolen the wrench from Roy's toolbox, during the Monday-morning meeting at the cooking school. I'd seen Roy looking at the toolbox. Apparently he'd been looking for the wrench he was sure was inside it.

By stealing the wrench and killing Derek in the barn, Lynn thought Roy would be the main suspect. She'd never known that though Cliff and Jim were actually considering him, he'd never really made it high on the suspect list.

But neither had Lynn. Mothers aren't supposed to kill their sons.

The last week had been pretty terrific for Cliff and me. He'd had some time off and our previous conversations about the weird thing that was the third party in our relationship had changed his mood substantially. He was no longer wary or suspicious. He still wasn't ready for the details, but he had completely accepted the fact that I wasn't cheating on him. Well, not really. He was at least okay with the otherworldly cheating, thinking it could never be a real threat.

I still didn't completely understand why Jerome could only visit via others this time around. It must have had something to do with Derek, but I had nothing to substantiate that, and I really hoped I never would. I didn't need to ever see Derek again. I wondered if I'd ever really see Jerome again, or perhaps he'd transitioned to only visiting via other bodies now.

Jake and I had talked about how we were going to tell Mariah the truth about her ancestor. We couldn't
not
tell her, but we hadn't formulated a plan yet. Another trip to Frankland was in our future. I wanted to check the pictures of Justice again, too. I wondered if the cowboy-hat swirls would still be there. And, of course, Jake and I both wondered if the accidental pond with the small fish was still there, but we weren't sure we'd exit the freeway to take a close look.

As we stood together a moment, looking at my dad's mirror, Cliff kissed the top of my ear and pulled me closer.

“Oh, please, must you two always be so in love?” Jake came in through the sliding glass doors.

“Yes,” Cliff and I answered together.

“All right. If you insist.”

Jake smiled at me and squeezed my arm before walking
around us and toward the kitchen. If Cliff thought his behavior was odd, he didn't say anything.

Jake and I had had many conversations about me kissing everyone, about me kissing him. Mostly, we laughed, but he made sure I knew that he knew who those kisses had been meant for and that I probably still had some issues to work through. I didn't argue.

Gram was at the barbecue, too. Her nightmares were totally gone, and she was extremely grateful that the mysteries and murders had been solved.

I'd invited Roy, Todd, April, and even Paul. Paul had declined. So had Todd and April. Apparently they had a date—with each other. I almost applauded when April told me as much on the phone. Apparently there had been nothing strange at all about Todd retrieving a tool that had fallen off the back of a Trigger. It hadn't been a wrench, though, it had been a screwdriver. Derek and April had never gone out, and Lynn had never tried to arrange anything with her.

Roy had joined us, too, and was in the back, working on an idea to make the umbrella over my parents' patio table go up and down easier. I was sure he'd figure it out. I was excited to hear that he and the woman he'd met online were going to meet in person in one week. We were all thrilled for him and Gram was giving him extra private cooking lessons. He was turning into quite the foodie. I'd already bought him some new clothes, but I hadn't told him about them yet. I was still working on the best way to approach the subject of his lacking wardrobe.

“Hey,” Cliff said softly.

“Yes?” I said just as softly.

“I want you to think about something.”

“Okay.”

“Start putting a little thought into us getting married. You'll need some time to let the idea soak in so I'm bringing it up now. But there just might be a proposal in your near future. Maybe.”

I pulled away, turned around, and looked at Cliff. This was not a huge surprise. He and I had been destined to marry since we were in high school, or so everyone thought.

But it was still a shocking moment. “Really?” I said, not able to keep from smiling.

“Well, this isn't official yet. Just think about it. I want you to be sure.”

I nodded, but I couldn't find the words to go with the swell in my chest.

Cliff laughed and then kissed my forehead. “You seem agreeable, but your eyes tell me you are scared to death. We'll go slow, Isabelle, I promise. I'll go tell Teddy what you want to eat.”

Isabelle? He never called me Isabelle.

I watched him exit back out the sliding glass doors and tried to figure out what I was feeling.

Happiness? Fear? Anxiety at the idea of commitment? Loving the idea of starting my own family? Worried about what Jerome would feel and think? Yep, all that, but other than the Jerome part, the rest of my emotions were probably pretty normal.

I looked in the mirror. I inspected it. I bored my eyes into it.

“You there?” I whispered.

No one answered.

“What's up?” Jake said, as he emerged from the kitchen.

“Nothing,” I said.

“Beautiful mirror,” he said. “Help me get this stuff out to the patio. You take the ketchup and mustard. I'll get the rest.”

I grabbed the bottles and glanced into the glass one more time before I followed Jake out to the patio.

All that was there was me, and I was
smiling.

33 ounces whole-kernel corn, either thawed or fresh

2 large tomatoes, diced

1 large sweet onion, cut into thin strips

4 green onions, chopped

1 bunch cilantro, minced

Juice of 2 limes

¹
/
₃
cup rice vinegar

salt, to taste

Mix all of the ingredients together, adding the vinegar and salt last. Cover and chill for an hour. Serve.

Serves 8 to 12

1 medium head of cauliflower

4 cups water

1 cup sour cream, halved

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated and halved

1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds, halved

Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Separate the cauliflower into flowerets. Heat the water to boiling, then add a pinch of salt and the cauliflower. Cook for ten to twelve minutes until tender. Drain. Place half of cauliflower in a 1-
¹
/
₂
quart casserole dish. Season with salt and pepper. Spread half of the sour cream, half of the cheese, and half of the sesame seeds over the cauliflower. Repeat layers. Bake 15 minutes or until cheese melts.

Serves 6

2 cups cooked white rice

3 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped broccoli, cooked and drained

1 can (10-
³
/
₄
ounces) cream of mushroom soup

1 can (8 ounces) sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 can (8 ounces) bamboo shoots, drained

1 jar (8 ounces) Cheez Whiz (yep, Cheez Whiz)

¹
/
₂
cup butter, melted

8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated

1 jar (2 ounces) pimientos, drained

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Combine all ingredients except cheddar cheese and pimientos. Pour into a greased three-quart casserole dish. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and pimientos over the top. Bake 30 to 40 minutes.

Serves 8-10

¹
/
₃
cup white vinegar

¹
/
₂
cup sugar

¹
/
₂
teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon whole cloves

3 sticks cinnamon

1 tablespoon celery seed

¹
/
₂
cup water

3 or 4 cans (fifteen ounces each) asparagus spears, drained

In a saucepan, combine all ingredients except asparagus spears, and bring to a boil. Place asparagus in a shallow casserole dish and pour marinade over them. Cover and refrigerate 24 to 48 hours. Drain and discard marinade, and serve asparagus.

Serves 8 to 10

1 large onion, cut into ¼ inch rings

1
¹
/
₂
cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt

1 egg

1 cup or so milk

³
/
₄
cup dry breadcrumbs

Salt to taste

1 quart or so vegetable oil for frying

Heat the oil in a deep-fryer to 350˚F.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and Lawry's salt.

Dip the onion rings into the flour mixture and set aside.

Whisk the egg and milk and then add to the flour mixture.

Dip the rings into the mixture again and set on a wire rack so the excess drips off the rings.

Place the breadcrumbs on a plate or flat surface. Place the dipped rings in the crumbs, coating as thoroughly as possible, and then shake off excess.

Deep fry the rings a few at a time for 2 to 3 minutes. Place on paper towels to drain. Salt to taste. Serve.

Serves
3