The Diva Says Cheesecake!

How early in the day do I need to bake a cheesecake so it will be ready to serve at dinner?

Having a Dinner Party in Las Vegas, Nevada

The day before. Cheesecake takes its time settling to become smooth and creamy. If you slice it too soon, you may find the texture isn’t smooth enough. Always bake it the day before you intend to serve it.

Sophie

Daisy snarled and I screamed, dropping my groceries. He held me tightly against his body with his left arm and pressed something cold against my throat. The scent of menthol permeated the air.

A voice whispered into my ear, “You won’t be as lucky next time. Let it go. Do you hear me? Let Tate’s murder go, or I’ll be back.”

“Sophie?” I heard Francie’s voice next door. “Is everything okay?”

Her voice must have startled him. I felt his arm loosen. In that second, I turned as far as I could and reached for his face, but only succeeded in scratching his left upper arm like an angry cat.

He threw me to the ground. Daisy barked like a crazy dog. I could hear the gate creak open on Francie’s side.

“Get him, Duke! Get him!” yelled Francie.

I groaned and twisted in an effort to see my attacker. He was nothing but a dark silhouette in the night as he ran out my gate. It slammed behind him. The two dogs continued to bark.

I could hear Francie giving my address to someone, the police I presumed. She hurried toward me, wielding a baseball bat in one hand and holding her phone in the other. “The police are on the way. You okay, Sophie?”

“I think so. It’s a good thing you shouted when you did. Did you get a good look at him?”

“Nah. He was wearing one of those pull-on masks. Balaclavas, I believe they’re called. Need a hand getting up?”

If she had been younger, I would have accepted her offer. But there was no point in me pulling her down to the ground with me. “I’m fine.” It wasn’t true. My hands trembled uncontrollably.

Daisy and Duke left the gate, still emitting an occasional yelp like they were cautioning the attacker not to return. They ran to me and licked my face as though they thought they needed to revive me.

I stood up and very nearly fell, thanks to my knees buckling. It wasn’t because I was injured, it was from the shock of being attacked.

“Should I take you to the emergency room?” asked Francie.

“Good heavens, no! I’ll be fine. A little bruised, I imagine, but you came along just in time.”

“What did he want?”

“For me to stop looking into Tate’s murder.”

Francie gasped. “Then it wasn’t Bernie!”

I gazed at my elderly neighbor in the faint light from the house. “Did you really think Bernie murdered Tate?”

“Don’t be silly. Of course not! What I meant was that it proves Bernie didn’t kill anyone. Whoever attacked you doesn’t want you figuring out who really did it.” She raised her forefinger and shook it at me. “I bet it was your attacker who murdered Tate.”

Just then we heard crunching.

Francie grabbed my arm. “What’s that?”

I turned on the light in my phone and pointed it at the gate. No one was there.

“Where are Duke and Daisy?” I asked.

I flashed the light around my backyard. It wasn’t a great flashlight, but it was just enough for us to make out a dark mound in the grass.

Francie clutched my arm as we made our way closer.

Duke and Daisy had swiped a box of graham crackers from the groceries that fell to the ground when I was attacked. They had managed to rip open the box and merrily chomped on their snack.

The relief I felt went a long way toward settling my nerves. I grabbed their plunder so they wouldn’t get tummy aches and we all returned to the house. To be on the safe side, I turned on all the outdoor lights.

“He won’t be back tonight,” murmured Francie.

“Probably not. But it makes me feel a whole lot better to have all the lights on.”

She patted my shoulder.

Francie and I collected the other groceries and carried them into my kitchen. I was relieved to find that the eggs were not in the bags that fell when the guy grabbed me.

I rushed to put the groceries away and pulled out the triple chocolate cheesecake I had baked. Just as I started the kettle for a strong, bracing cup of tea, I saw a police car arrive, along with Wolf’s unmarked vehicle.

Francie smirked at me. “You’re such a lightweight. Nina would be drinking Scotch.”

She was absolutely right. I felt better laughing about it.

“The police are here,” I said.

Francie smiled at me. “Fix your hair.”

“It’s not a date,” I protested.

“Must you fight everything, Sophie? Just fix your hair.”

Francie’s hair usually looked like straw. I would be surprised if she did anything more than run a comb through it. But I took her advice and dashed upstairs to the bathroom.

She was right. Not only was my hair a mess, it had grass in it. As I ran a brush through it, I was horrified to see a bruise developing on my throat. One painfully straight red line, where the attacker had held something against it. A knife maybe?

I shuddered and located the rubbing alcohol. I poured some on a soft cotton swab and pressed it gently against the red line. The intense sting let me know that he had broken the skin.

“Sophie! Wolf is here!”

I walked down the stairs and made every effort to smile and at least act like I wasn’t too concerned.

“Thanks for coming so quickly, Wolf. Triple chocolate cheesecake and a cup of coffee or tea?”

“It’s almost too pretty to cut,” said Francie.

I had to agree. I had piped whipped cream stars around the top. Francie settled at the banquette in my kitchen.

Wolf did not smile. His eyes studied me, his gaze lingering on my throat. Wong was with him. She glanced at me, but the cheesecake got her attention.

“Where were you attacked?” asked Wolf.

“In the backyard.”

“You’re sure he’s not in the house?”

Francie emitted a little shriek. “Lordie, I hope not!”

“Wong, you take the house,” said Wolf. “I’ll check out the backyard and meet the others in the alley.” He looked from Francie to me. “You two wait here.”

I busied myself in the kitchen, wondering how many people the others might be and if I should prepare tea for them, too. But then I reasoned that they were most likely needed on the streets for other emergencies so I fixed tea for Wolf and Wong, hoping she could stay. The way she had eyed the cheesecake, there was little doubt in my mind that she would not leave without eating a piece.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Sophie! Will you sit down? You’re flitting around the kitchen like a lost hummer bee.”

I stopped in my tracks and realized that I had been trying to push it out of my mind. To minimize what had happened. Someone had threatened me. He had held a knife against my throat, and I had the mark to prove it. A shudder ran through me, top to bottom. I plopped down in a chair at the table, my entire being cold as ice.

“It never occurred to me that he could be in the house,” said Francie.

“He’s not in here,” I assured her. “Even if he ran all the way around to the front, nothing was unlocked. He would have had to sneak in through the back. Besides, don’t you think Daisy or Duke would have noticed someone else in the house?”

She patted her baseball bat. “All the same, I’m sleeping with my trusty Louisville Slugger tonight.”

“Why would he come back to attack you?”

“I saw the man. He doesn’t know that I couldn’t see much, but he knows where I live. Are you going to call Mars?” she asked. “He would come and stay with us.”

I could be obtuse sometimes, but that little slip us made it very clear to me that Francie was afraid to be alone. “How about you come over and stay with me? Daisy and Duke can have a pajama party, and the two of us can watch an old movie.” Probably not Hitchcock, I thought. “Maybe something with Doris Day and Rock Hudson?”

I tried to gather myself enough to make things seem normal to Francie. I brought the mugs of tea to the table and set a small tray in the middle. It contained a sugar bowl, a creamer of milk, and a bowl of lemon slices. I handed Francie napkins, forks, and spoons, and I set four stacked Vietri Incanto Baroque stoneware plates on the table. I had bought them recently at a yard sale because I had fallen in love with the simplicity of the white dishes with architectural curves around the edges that almost made them look squarish.

“You’re just offering that to be nice.”

I sat down and met her eyes. “We both had a shock tonight. I know I’d rather not be alone.”

“Aww, I’m too old. I wouldn’t be any help if he came back.”

“You have a baseball bat,” I teased.

Wong returned to the kitchen. “I’ve searched from the basement up to the attic. I don’t see anybody.”

“Can you stay for a piece of cheesecake?” I handed her a mug of tea.

“You’re not getting rid of me until I get a taste. Triple chocolate? Yum!”

Wolf opened the kitchen door. “No sign of anything or anyone in your backyard or the alley.” He sat down at the banquette. “Tell me what happened. Start with what time it occurred.”

Francie handed him his tea while I sliced the cheesecake and served it.

“It was just after nine o’clock,” said Francie. “I know that for sure because I let Duke out at nine every night. I had just opened the door when I heard Sophie scream.”

Wolf’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Francie.

“You called the police?”

“I did,” said Francie. “I’m not big or strong, but I can dial my phone and call for help.”

“Did you get a good look at this person?”

“It was dark out, but it looked to me like he was dressed in black. Black pants, a black short-sleeved shirt of some kind, maybe like a T-shirt, and a black balaclava. You know, the ski mask that covers everything but the eyes and mouth.”

Wolf turned his attention to me. “What happened?”

“I was bringing in groceries when someone grabbed me from behind. I only saw him from the back when he fled out the gate.”

“Both of you are saying him. You’re certain it was a man?”

“The person was strong. He gripped me around my chest and held me tight. I’m not sure I could have wrested loose. The one thing I noticed was that he reeked of menthol. I didn’t see him coming or know he was there before he grabbed me. I did, however, scratch his upper left arm pretty well.”

“Did he say anything? What about his voice?”

“He whispered. I couldn’t swear to it, but I think it was a man. Maybe some women are able to lower their voices and sound like a man when they whisper?”

“What did he say?”

“That I wouldn’t be as lucky the next time and that I should stop investigating Tate’s murder.”