Party Perils by Patti Benning (reading list txt) 📗

“There’s still some pizza left, if you want some,” Dean said.

“I’m in the mood for something a bit lighter,” Caroline said. “Feel free to help yourself if you want though, Hannah.”

“Thanks, but I’ll eat with you,” Hannah said.

They left the living room, moving into the kitchen, where Caroline looked through the fridge. While she was trying to figure out what to make for dinner, Hannah said, “I should’ve thought to bring the rest of the soup over. There's just enough left for both of us, I think.”

“You made more of the bisque?” Caroline asked with a groan. “That sounds perfect right now.”

“I’m sure we’ll find something good to eat here. What do you have?”

“Go ahead and take a look,” Caroline replied, gesturing toward the fridge. Hannah peered inside, mentally putting together various ingredients.

“We could make some chicken sandwiches,” she said. “Unless you’re saving these chicken breasts for something.”

“I’d originally planned on making chicken Parmesan tonight, but Dave and Rich got those pizzas. A chicken sandwich sounds good.”

They took the chicken breasts out, and while Caroline heated up a pan, Hannah carefully cut the meat into appropriately sized pieces. She seasoned the chicken breasts with olive oil, Italian herbs, and minced garlic and let them marinate for a few minutes while she started washing vegetables.

As soon as Caroline put the first chicken breast in the pan, the meat sizzled and a delicious scent filled the room. Hannah felt her mouth-watering as she sliced a loaf of Italian bread.

“Where's your toaster?”

“We keep it in the cupboard unless we are using it,” she replied, gesturing to the right one. Hannah set it up and plugged it in, popping two of the slices of bread into it. She busied herself with cutting the lettuce, red onions, and tomatoes, then took some mayonnaise out of the fridge to make a garlic aioli.

Before long, they had two sandwiches assembled. Juicy chicken breasts, romaine lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and aioli spread on top, all of it kept together by thick slices of toasted Italian bread. They took the food into the dining room where they sat for their meal.

“Great idea, though it would be even better with your soup as a side.”

“It would, wouldn’t it?” Hannah said. “I hope Lacey is enjoying hers. I feel bad for her, but it seems like she has a lot of support.”

“I hope she gets some answers soon. If something happened to Dean –” Caroline broke off, shaking her head. “I don’t want to think about it.”

“Don’t want to think about what?” Rich asked, poking his head into the dining room. “Dean asked me to see if either of you wanted a beer – I'm grabbing a couple more for the two of us.”

“We were just talking about what happened with Edward,” Caroline said. “And yes, I’ll take one.”

“Me too,” Hannah said. “Thanks.”

Rich left only to return a moment later with opened beers in hand. He handed them over, then leaned against the table. “How is Lacey doing? I haven’t seen her since the funeral.”

“Not great,” Caroline admitted. “She's having a rough time, but that’s to be expected.”

“This might sound like a strange question, but have you seen her with anyone else? Any other men?”

Caroline blinked. “What do you mean? Why would that matter?”

Rich hesitated, then said, “Don't get me wrong, I think Edward and Lacey loved each other, but I think they had problems we weren't aware of. You know how we were both interested in restoring old cars?” He directed this at Caroline, who nodded.

“Yes, the two of you use to talk about them at the dinner parties.”

“Well, he went in with me financially to purchase a couple of them, which we were planning on fixing up and selling, but he asked me not to tell Lacey. He even went so far as to ask me to keep the money in my accounts so she wouldn't find out. I didn’t ask him why, but the fact that he was keeping a few thousand dollars hidden from her made me think that he was expecting troubles down the road. I often wondered if one of them was having an affair. “

The call Hannah had overheard was beginning to make more sense. He must have been talking about the money with his wife. “So, he admitted he was keeping this side venture of his from her?”

“Yes, and now I am wishing I had asked why. I still have a good amount of his money in my account. Legally, not sure what I should be doing with it. I called a lawyer who was going to contact his estate manager, but haven’t heard back yet. I don’t want to give that money to Lacey if Edward had a reason to keep it from her, but I also don’t want to keep it myself without a good reason. It’s a fair amount of money, and it could help a lot with the funeral expenses. “

“Even if they were having marital problems, it’s probably not behind what happened at the dinner party,” Caroline pointed out.

Rich hesitated. “Most homicides are committed by someone close to the victim.”

Caroline stared at him for a moment, aghast. “Are you insinuating that Lacey might have killed him?”

Rich raised his hands. “I’m not trying to point fingers. I'm just saying I'm wondering. Look, none of it makes sense, does it? I know they both had allergies – there is no way she would have left her house without an EpiPen in her purse. But there wasn’t one to be found that night. She was sitting right next to Edward. She could have easily slipped something into his soup without anyone noticing. And she wasn’t crying at the funeral – I didn't see a single tear.”

“Not everyone cries at funerals,” Hannah said, feeling the need to defend Lacey even though she barely knew her. “Everyone handles their grief differently.”

“I know,” Rich said. “I just – I've been having my doubts.”

Caroline nodded tightly. “Well, thanks for telling us.”

He