Death of a Pumpkin Carver by Lee Hollis Read Free Book Online

with a flourish, I whipped off the Batman mask to reveal Timmy Jenkins, who was clutching Danny’s pant leg, frightened over all the crazy adults waving their arms and yelling nonsense.
    Danny’s mouth dropped open. I almost felt a bit sorry for him when I saw the light dawn in his eyes and he realized what had happened.
    But not enough to let him off the hook.
    I berated him for a full three minutes before I heard Mona chuckling, followed by Liddy, and then we were all laughing at the absurdity of the situation.
    Everyone but Ted and Carol Jenkins. They failed to see the humor at all. They scooped up little Timmy and charged out of the house, slamming the door so hard the windows rattled.
    Danny joined in, howling, until I reminded him that we would be discussing his irresponsibility after the kids went to bed. He bowed his head and slinked out of the room. Luckily, Dustin survived this little drama. We didn’t see much of the Jenkins family after that. I overheard someone say at the Shop ’n Save they had moved to the big city of Boston where it was safer and more civilized.
    Oh well.
    Of course, taking a trip down memory lane always works up a hearty appetite. So thankfully I had my bread pudding fresh out of the oven, not to mention a delicious, soothing cocktail to wash it down with, so bottoms up, everybody!
    Â 
    Pumpkin Bread Pudding
    Ingredients
6 cups cubed stale French bread
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
3 eggs
1 16-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup raisins
    Â 
    Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix your bread cubes with the milk and cream and set aside to let the bread absorb the milk mixture.
    In another bowl beat your eggs then blend in the pumpkin puree, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Pour the pumpkin mixture and raisins over the bread mixture and gently combine by stirring.
    Pour into a greased 13x9 baking pan and bake one hour or until pudding is firm when a butter knife comes out clean and top is golden brown.
    Remove and let cool 30 minutes. Get out some bowls, scoop some in, and enjoy.
    Â 
    Pumpkin Pie Martini
    Ingredients
2 ounces RumChata cream liqueur
1 ounce vanilla vodka
1 ounce pumpkin liqueur
Pinch of ground cinnamon for garnish
    Â 
    Pour all of your liquid ingredients into an ice-filled cocktail shaker and shake well.
    Strain into a chilled martini glass and sprinkle a pinch of cinnamon on top if desired.

Chapter 8
    Hayley was annoyed by the fact that when she went online to research Halloween costumes for women all the descriptions included the words “sexy” or “sultry.”
    The men’s costumes glaringly did not.
    Sexy nurse.
    Sultry Egyptian goddess.
    Sexy police officer.
    Sultry dreamy genie.
    It was insulting.
    But she didn’t have time to spend ranting on her soapbox because she had to come up with an idea and fast.
    Her solution was simple.
    Princess Leia.
    Not sexy Princess Leia.
    Just Princess Leia.
    She had a white floor-length dress and a belt that she could tie around it.
    She had a pair of white boots from Disco Night at the Masonic Hall last summer.
    She had a wig she could fashion with side buns.
    And Dustin had a plastic ray gun in his toy collection she could borrow.
    Done.
    Problem solved.
    She wasn’t enthusiastic about going to Mary Leighton’s annual pre-Halloween party that night. She just wanted to stay home and watch TV, but Liddy was adamant that she get out of the house and go and just enjoy herself.
    And to insure that Hayley didn’t try to back out with some lame excuse, Liddy and her boyfriend, local attorney Sonny Rivers, who was roughly half Liddy’s age although she would never admit it, showed up to escort her.
    Hayley hated the idea of being a third wheel, but Liddy was simply not taking no for an answer.
    When she descended the stairs in her Princess Leia costume, Liddy and Sonny applauded