Sentenced to Death by Lorna Barrett Read Free Book Online Page B

hadn’t waited for Tricia, as evidenced by the plate covered with whole wheat crumbs that sat on the counter. She’d spread out the manuscript pages of her next cookbook and had been going over them with a red pen.
    Angelica stooped to retrieve something from the little under-the-counter fridge and set the plastic-wrapped plate in front of Tricia.
    “Thanks. Got any soup left?”
    “Sorry, Tommy already cleaned the kitchen. There wasn’t much chicken noodle left, so I think he dumped it.”
    Tricia frowned.
    “Believe me, much as I loved Jake, he thought of himself as a chef, not a short-order cook, and he didn’t do a lot of cleanup. I’m thrilled that Tommy doesn’t mind washing dishes and scrubbing pots.”
    “So you’ve gotten over the Brookville Inn stealing Jake?”
    Angelica scowled. “It wasn’t the Brookville Inn that stole him from me. It was Nigela Racita Associates.”
    “Ah, yes,” Tricia said, and uncovered her lunch, balling up the wrap and setting it aside. “But you said it was a good career move for him.”
    “Of course it was. And I was the first to be served dinner the night he started there. I like to think it was me who set him up for greatness.”
    “Jake? Greatness?”
    Angelica frowned. “Obviously you haven’t eaten at the inn since he took over the kitchen. Their last chef was pretty damn good. Jake is better.”
    “You know I haven’t eaten there lately.”
    “Then I will take you there and treat you. What are you doing tonight?”
    “I don’t know that I want to go out. I think I’d rather stay home and read.”
    “You’ve been doing a little too much of that lately. Pining over Captain Baker maybe?”
    “No! It’s just . . . Deborah’s death has really depressed me. I don’t feel like going out and celebrating—anything. By the way, I loaned out Mr. Everett to Elizabeth for a few days. And Ginny’s upset with me.”
    Angelica blinked. “Because you loaned out Mr. Everett?”
    “No. She thinks I don’t trust her.”
    “Okay, I’m confused.”
    Tricia stabbed a forkful of tuna and related the conversation she’d had with Ginny that morning.
    “You’ve always said she was the best assistant in Stoneham. And if that’s true, doesn’t it seem rather suspicious you haven’t given her more responsibility?” Angelica asked.
    “It isn’t a question of trust—or even responsibility. I’m on the premises most of the day. I don’t stray very far from the store—which is also where I live, I might add. There’s simply been no reason for her to open or close for me.”
    Angelica leveled a narrow gaze at her sister. “You’re a workaholic.”
    “I am not!”
    “You’re worse than Daddy ever was.”
    “That’s not true,” Tricia said, but it did seem to be the one trait she’d inherited from their father.
    “Admit it, you can’t stand to sit still—unless you’ve got a mystery in your hands, and then the world stops. If you ask me, you’ve dug yourself into a rut. If you want to go out with Captain Baker—ask him to take you out, or you invite him to dinner.”
    “You know I can’t cook much of anything.”
    “That’s why the Brookview Inn has a catering menu, dear.”
    “They do? How do you know?”
    “I make it my business to know what every other eatery in the area is serving and what other ventures they’re involved in.”
    That made sense. Tricia took another bite of tuna. Tommy made it differently than Jake. She couldn’t put her finger on just what it was—not so much the taste . . . maybe the texture. There weren’t as many crunchy bits. Yes, Jake had added more diced celery. Tricia had gotten used to it that way and now found she missed it. Not that she’d ever let Tommy—or Angelica—know it.
    Angelica slipped on her reading glasses that had been hanging from a cord on her neck, and turned her attention back to her manuscript. “Have you heard anything else about the crash investigation?”
    “Only that it’ll take