The Diva Says Cheesecake!

I baked a cheesecake to enter in the County Fair but it cracked! Is there any way to patch it?

Desperate in Fair Bluff, North Carolina

Dear Desperate,

It’s very common for cheesecakes to crack. It will still taste good. You can disguise the crack with an artful dollop of whipped cream. If your cheesecake is Oreo or some other cookie, then decorate it with cookies over the crack. If it’s a fruit cheesecake, pile berries over the crack. Good luck!

Bernie looked me straight in the eyes. “I have not! I would never lie to you. I have no secrets. You know me better than anyone except Mars. Well, I might lie about a gift. You know, the good kind of secret.”

“Really?” I sat down and bit into one of the sweet, pillowy doughnuts. It was so good. But Bernie wasn’t buying me off with these doughnuts, even if they were unbelievably fresh. “You said you didn’t know the beautiful, tall woman.”

Bernie froze. “What makes you think I know her?”

“Oh, for pity’s sake, Bernie. Even Daisy saw you two together behind The Laughing Hound.”

“I see.” He quietly poured hot water over tea in two mugs. After doctoring them with milk and sugar, he brought them to the table and sat down. “I wish I could tell you. For her safety, I can’t reveal anything, not even her name. But I told Wolf. It’s a complicated situation. This is one time you have to trust me, Soph.”

“That’s asking an awful lot after you lied to me.”

He ran an uncomfortable hand through his hair, ruffling it. “You do believe that I did not murder Tate, don’t you?”

I nodded and finished my doughnut. Even though he wouldn’t tell me who she was, it didn’t change what I knew of him. He was a great guy. However, that didn’t prevent me from taking advantage of the situation. I asked what we had all wondered. “Who is the mysterious absentee owner of The Laughing Hound?”

Bernie winced. “I knew you would ask eventually. It’s in a corporate name, but it belongs to me.”

I honestly had not expected that! I must have shown my astonishment because he continued.

“When my mum’s third husband died, he left everything to me. He had no children of his own, and we were quite close. He’s the one who raised me. He was more of a parent to me than my own mum.”

“And the mansion?”

Bernie’s eyes met mine. “That belongs to me, too. I knew the house pretty well after the decorating competition. They dropped the price and I thought it was a good opportunity. Never really thought I’d stay there because it’s so big, but it’s home now.”

“Bernie, why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because I didn’t want anything to change. I just wanted to be me. Not some fat cat that everyone kissed up to. I watched a couple of Mum’s husbands fritter away everything they had. I didn’t want that to happen to me. I thought it best to keep quiet about it. You’d be surprised how many people assume that I own the restaurant.”

No wonder he didn’t have trouble coughing up money for bail. “I guess Mars knows?”

Bernie grinned. “I blew it when I bought my one and only big extravagance.”

“Allow me to guess. That gigantic TV with the two extra screens and speakers.”

Bernie laughed. “I didn’t want him yelling at me about saving my money every time I bought something nice, like the car.” He grinned and held up a finger, “But it was used!”

I gazed at him in his worn jeans and simple button-down shirt. I admired him for taking his windfall in stride and being so sensible about it. It was up to him to choose when and if he wanted to reveal his private business. “I’ll keep it under my hat.”

“Thanks, Soph. You’re the best. How about I bring dinner tonight? We’ll get the gang together and catch up on developments in the case?”

“Sounds great. By the way, did you receive your invitation to the Hollingsworth-Smythe Fourth of July bash?”

He scowled at me. “How do you know about that?”

“I’m in charge of it. And Mrs. Hollingsworth-Smythe specifically asked me to make sure that you attend. It seems her daughter Dodie has her eyes on you.”

Bernie turned slightly green. “She has told me at great length about her long-suffering husband. It’s kind of humorous, actually, because the former husband is now a regular at the bar and very pleased to be rid of Dodie and her mom.”

“Does that mean you won’t come?”

“I wouldn’t do it for anyone else but you.”

He stood up and I followed him to the door. “I’ll tell you all about the tall woman as soon as I can. I promise.” He leaned over and pecked my cheek.

I closed the door behind him and locked it, pondering lies and secrets. Maybe there were valid reasons for keeping things quiet. I knew I didn’t tell everything. And I truly did trust Bernie.

Trying to put Bernie, Pierce, and my attacker out of my mind, I forced myself to concentrate on the upcoming Fourth of July event. Fortunately, all seemed to be running on schedule for that.

By four o’clock, it wasn’t really cool enough to walk Daisy but I was restless. Leaving her at home in the cool house, I retraced what I thought had been Tate’s steps the night he died. I strolled over to Blackwell’s Tavern. Would he have left through the front door or the back? I gazed around the front door. It was surprisingly busy even at that time of day, with diners coming and going. Not to mention the people who were picking up takeout meals. I decided he probably left through the back door and walked around the block.

The alley looked different loaded with parked cars. A large white van had stopped in the middle of the alley near the entrance to Blackwell’s. The back doors were open. As I approached it, I stopped in my tracks.

Fortunately, I didn’t think I had been seen yet, so I dodged behind a car and watched as Marsha flirted with a man I did not know. Could that be Eli? He had beautifully bronzed skin and dreamy brown eyes. He laughed at something she said and softly cupped her face in his hand. The next thing I knew, they were kissing.

That wasn’t a timid we-just-met kiss! I felt a little creepy watching them. Hunched over like a rat, I prepared to scuttle out of the alley the way I had come in.

I heard something behind me but before I turned, a hand covered my mouth. “I have had about enough of you,” a woman’s voice whispered in my ear.