TWENTY-THREE 

I dropped off the recipe and watched Kim lock it into the safe. She didn’t ask any questions, which I appreciated. It wasn’t my secret to tell, not yet.

When I got to Dolly’s, I left the car running, with the window cracked open and the emergency brake engaged, while I knocked on the door. She must have been ready to go, because only a few seconds later she came outside, fully bundled up, with a big gauzy scarf over her teased-up hair. I took her arm to walk her to the car.

“I’m moving under my own steam again,” she said. “But thanks.” She made it all the way to the front passenger side seat of my car before breaking into that rattly cough, which nevertheless sounded much less wet and intense than it had before. “Let’s get this over with.”

My fearless Dolly was back. I was grateful. When Dolly was brave, it was easy for me to be brave too. “Shall we get some breakfast after the appointment?” I said. “Maybe at Jo-Jo’s?”

“Let’s see what the doc says,” she said, her voice matter-of-fact. “I might not have any appetite once he tells me what the tests showed.”

My stomach did a cannonball into the deep end. No. I wouldn’t think about this until it was forced on me. Not all former smokers developed cancer. “Okay,” I said, and left it at that.

“How’s Russ? Is he doing okay?” The question had to be asked, for the sake of politeness, even though Dolly and I never stood on ceremony. And I didn’t care all that much, honestly.

She tsked. “The usual. He’s his own worst enemy. Still mouthing off to the guards. Watch out.” She pointed ahead.

A big black-and-white cow stood in the road. “That’d be one of the neighbor’s cows. Just pull in here.” She indicated a driveway on our right. “I’ll go let ’em know the cow’s out.” There was a small barn behind the house. Seemed big enough for only a few animals, so this cow probably represented most of the herd.

“You want me to do it?” I wanted to keep Dolly warm and dry.

“Naw. I want to thank her for bringing me a casserole anyway. I’ll be right back.”

While Dolly was inside, I decided to make one of my phone calls. Gladys Mongomery seemed delighted when I told her what I’d found.

“Well, how wonderful! Makes me want to jump on a plane from Florida right now to come and see it. But I’m hosting a dinner party tonight, then we’re all going dancing.”

Gladys was an inspiration. I hoped when I was a senior I would be having half as much fun as she seemed to be. “How do you think that recipe got in the box?” I asked.

“My grandmother was a friend of May Irwin,” Gladys said decisively. “Grandma used to talk about May’s parties, and how the men loved her because of that incredible curvy figure of hers. And how the women loved her because she was so funny and full of life. So it stands to reason May probably gave my grandmother the recipe. How it ended up in an envelope marked ‘Formica Cleaner’? Not a clue. I’m sure I never looked in that envelope. But there are lots of other recipes in there I never looked at either.”

I outlined my plan for Gladys. Technically, it was her recipe, so I needed her permission.

“What a lovely idea! Yes, of course. Handle it however you think best, dear. And say hello to my honorary nephew, Jack Conway, when next you see him.”

Her words brought a little pang to my chest. It had been days since I heard from Jack. I didn’t know what he was doing, or where he was. Nor could I know. My guess was that he was working some kind of undercover operations—I couldn’t think what other kind of job would prevent him from at least talking to me. If he couldn’t be with me.

Gladys must have realized she’d hit a nerve. “Oh, Georgie, I’m so sorry. He’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”

I shook it off. Dolly was stepping off the front porch. “It’s okay, Gladys.” It didn’t actually feel okay. “I’ll let you know when it’s done. And thanks. This is the right thing to do.”

“Of course it is. Bye-bye, dear.” She disconnected.

Dolly opened the door and got in. Her breathing was slightly labored, slightly quicker than it should be. She sat down and buckled herself in. A woman came out of the house, someone I’d never seen before, but I didn’t know everyone in Bonaparte Bay, especially those who lived on the outskirts of town. The cow was heading this way along the side of the road. The woman walked toward it.

“Should we give her a ride?” I wasn’t sure what cow-human protocol was.

“Naw, the car might spook the cow off into the wrong field. Just head back toward my house and we’ll take the long way around.” She leaned back in her seat.

I did as instructed. This direction would take us back toward Silver Lake, then there was a road to the left that would take us back into Bonaparte Bay. Fortunately, we’d left early. I was still hoping for breakfast somewhere.

We passed Old Lady Turnbull’s house. “Any news on Silver Lake?” I asked.

“Deal with the lawyer’s dead, obviously. I heard the son might be interested. Then there’s Murdoch, the builder, still in the running.”

So Ben MacNamara wanted to take over his father’s project? My gut feeling told me he didn’t have the experience or organizational skills required to pull off a job that big. And the other question was whether he had the resources to get it rolling. Presumably his father had—he had all that money from the Bloodworth Trust squirreled away somewhere. And Ben knew something about that, though how much I wasn’t sure. What if he knew about it, but couldn’t access it?

And then there was Steve Murdoch. He could do this project in his sleep, and he stood to make even more money than the MacNamaras did, because he owned a construction company. He’d have to pay Mrs. Turnbull for the land, of course, but he’d only have to pay the cost of materials and his workers, with no upcharge for the design and build. It would be such a shame to mar that beautiful piece of pristine waterfront. But Steve was in the building business. It wasn’t like anyone could tell him not to do his job.

Dolly grew quiet. When I glanced over, I saw that she’d closed her eyes. That was good. She needed all the rest she could get.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived at the medical offices. When the car stopped, she woke up.

“We’re here. You ready?” I asked.

“Let’s get this over with.”