A Deadly Slice of Lime: A Key West Culinary Cozy - Book 6 Read online

  “You mean you’re actually going to interact with a computer?” Tiara teased, knowing her mother’s extreme aversion to using technology.

  “Desperate situations call for desperate measures, my dear,” Marilyn replied dryly. “Don’t you have somewhere to be?” she raised her eyebrows, then looked at the door leading out of her office.

  “As a matter of fact, Dad is taking me on a charter fishing trip this afternoon,” her daughter sobered. “I told him that I’d be ready around one o’clock, is that okay?”

  “Of course,” came the automatic reply, followed by an attempt at a smile. “Kelcie and I should be done with baking in an hour or so, and the afternoon traffic on a Tuesday isn’t typically that bad, so I’m sure that we can handle it,” her mother assured her, trying to sound upbeat. “Besides, if I have to sit up at the front counter, I can use the computer up there to do some poking around, and kill two birds with one stone.”

  “You’re sure that you won’t need me?” Tiara asked again.

  “Nope, we’ll manage sweetie,” Marilyn insisted, wondering why her daughter now seemed a bit sad.

  “It’s just…I want to go fishing with Dad, but I’m afraid it’s going to be awkward,” she admitted finally. “Like…I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to him. He’s really just a stranger, so part of me really doesn’t want to go,” she confessed.

  Sensing her daughter’s rare insecurity, she got out of her desk chair and wrapped her in a warm hug. “It’s going to be okay, honey, it really is. You’re a strong, confident, charming young woman – of course your dad wants to get to know you. Don’t let what happened between us cloud your perspective of him, he may be an entirely different person now. Besides, you two always managed to get along well, even when he and I were fighting like cats and dogs. Let him love you however he knows how, and show him what a wonderful person you are,” Marilyn advised, brushing a stray wisp of hair from Tiara’s eyes.

  “You won’t be upset?” she asked.

  Her mother gave her a genuine smile this time. “No, honey, I won’t be upset. Having your father in your life isn’t something that’s going to harm my relationship with you. I love you more than anything, and nothing is going to change that,” she assured her daughter, seeing a measure of relief in the young woman’s eyes. “Now scoot on out of here and let me get my work done,” she said, taking Tiara by the shoulders and marching her out the door.

  “Okay, okay,” she grumbled, laughing at her mother’s antics, which she knew were for her benefit. “But let me know if you find out anything good about Ms. Melman.”

  “You got it,” Marilyn assured her, heading back toward the kitchen as her daughter readied the display cases and front counter for opening.

  **

  Tiara left at noon to go home and get ready for the excursion with her father, and Marilyn watched her leave, feeling a bit melancholy. Her marriage had failed, her daughter was grown and accomplished and amazing, and when she landed her dream job, which, with her qualifications would most likely be sooner rather than later, Marilyn would be alone. While she knew and embraced the fact that this was the nature of life and parenting, she was definitely not looking forward to the day that she would have to watch her only little bird fly away from the nest.

  Shaking herself out of her reverie, she switched on the computer beside the cash register, and took out a notepad on which to make notes if she discovered anything of interest about Elizabeth Melman. When she connected to the internet, she put the elderly woman’s name into the search bar and hit enter. Multiple entries popped up, and she scrolled through, looking for verification that the Elizabeth Melman in the various listings was the same woman who had fallen in her store last week. She was so absorbed in her task that it didn’t even register with her when the bells over the door jangled to let her know that someone had come in the door, so she was startled when she heard a familiar male voice quietly say, “Hello Marilyn.”

  Her heart leapt to her throat, and her stomach roiled dangerously within her when she looked up and saw the athletic and tanned form of her ex-husband standing on the other side of the counter. Hot color flushed her cheeks as she battled the firestorm of feelings that rose up inside at the mere sight of the man who had been her life and her love and had ultimately betrayed her in the worst way possible.

  “Daniel,” she acknowledged his presence, his name sounding foreign on her lips. She was trying very hard to maintain a neutral expression, despite her extreme displeasure with the fact that he had just popped in on her with no notice or invitation. “Tiara said she was meeting you at the marina at one o’clock,” she said, making a Herculean effort to keep overtones of accusation from her voice.

  He nodded, his blue eyes fixed upon his ex-wife with an expression in them that she couldn’t quite identify. “I know. I just…I wanted to come by to see you. Things didn’t end well between us and I…” he began.

  Marilyn put up a hand to silence him. His very presence was a painful reminder of her shattered illusions, and she refused to rip the scab from those very old wounds. “Don’t,” she commanded softly. “What happened, happened,” she said slowly, averting her eyes so that he wouldn’t see her anguish – she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. “Rehashing things won’t change anything, and frankly, I don’t want to get into it,” she set her jaw, feeling stronger, and met his gaze head on. She’d never had boundaries when they were married, and it felt better than good to be able to assert some with him now.

  “Patricia and I ended things right after you and I got divorced,” he said, ignoring her request.

  “Look,” she interrupted, leveling him with a glare. “I don’t care, okay? I have no interest in hearing about the demise of your love affair. You chose to cheat on me, you chose to not break up with her after I found out about it, and things didn’t work out for you. Sorry, Daniel, you won’t see me shedding any tears for your broken heart,” she spat bitterly. “Why on earth would you come here to tell me that? Are you some kind of sadist or something, because that’s pretty cruel.”

  “No, I don’t want your pity Marilyn,” he replied, jaw muscles twitching. “I’m telling you this because I’m trying to apologize. I regretted the choices that I made, but you ran away before I could even talk to you about it,” he accused. “At least own your part in what happened between us,” his eyes narrowed just the way that they used to when he tried to control and manipulate her every move.

  “My part? My part?” Marilyn was furious. “You were a vicious, tight-fisted control freak who made me feel like I never did anything right. You cheated on me and destroyed what few shreds of self-esteem that I had left, and you have the colossal nerve to tell me to own “my part” of the torturous mess that was our relationship?? You’ve got a lot of nerve, Daniel,” she shook her head in disgust. “Apparently some things never change.”

  “Marilyn,” he uttered angrily, his teeth clenched in a way that brought back far too many memories of painful, belittling fights.

  “Get out of my shop, Daniel,” her tone was quietly ferocious. “And if you ever darken my doorstep again, I’ll call the police,” she promised, seething.

  A vein down the center of her ex-husband’s forehead throbbed as he stared at her, shocked to the core that she had actually stood up to him. He looked as though he was about to say something, then thought better of it, turning on his heel and stalking out the front door, daring to act offended. Marilyn took a deep breath and let it out with a shudder of relief after he’d gone, wrapping her arms around her middle and willing herself not to cry.

  “Ms. Hayes…are you okay?” she heard Kelcie ask softly from the doorway to the kitchen.

  Marilyn turned around, having forgotten that the young woman was in the back putting finishing touches on a batch of tarts. “Yes, Kelcie, I’m fine,” she nodded, sounding shaken. “I’m sorry that you had to hear that,” she said quietly.

  “Sounds to me like divorcing that guy was probably a really go
od idea,” she observed, wide-eyed.

  “In more ways than one, sweetie,” her boss mused, staring blankly at the door through which her ex had just left.

  Chapter 5

  Marilyn was finding it difficult to determine at a glance whether or not the listings that she’d found online for Elizabeth Melman actually pertained to the Elizabeth Melman that she was looking for, and she didn’t feel like spending the time to go through each one to check them out, so, on a hunch, she searched the name of the woman’s attorney instead. On the law firm’s website, there was a link which led to an external source called CaseRecall.com, so she followed the link and entered Elizabeth’s name under the box that said “Plaintiff.” Pages of entries started loading, and Marilyn was shocked to see that Ms. Melman had filed, and won, more than a dozen personal injury lawsuits, having sustained everything from whiplash to a sprained wrist and more. In every instance, she had been the “victim” of some sort of accident at a local business.

  “How is this possible?” Marilyn murmured aloud, scanning the various cases for details, and seeing evidence photos depicting Elizabeth as the victim, wearing neck braces, slings, casts, and even being moved about in a wheelchair.

  “Ms. Hayes…I finished the tarts. Do you want me to take over up here?” Kelcie called from the doorway of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel.

  “No, I’ve got this,” her boss replied, tearing her eyes from the screen. “We’re not busy today, why don’t you go ahead and take off early. I’ll clock you out at your normal time.”

  “Really?” the young woman was delighted at the prospect of leaving early and still getting paid for her entire shift.

  “Yep, I’m good here. Go have fun,” Marilyn smiled, noting how Kelcie had brightened at her suggestion.

  “Yes ma’am, thank you,” she called over her shoulder, untying her apron on the way back to the kitchen.

  Marilyn continued to scroll through court cases involving Elizabeth Melman, and again didn’t hear the door when a man about her age entered.

  “Well, it’s no wonder this place isn’t taken care of properly,” the man sneered. “You’re so busy playing on your computer that you ignore your customers when they come into the store.” He was dark-haired and pale, wearing long pants and a button-down shirt, which made him a bit of an anomaly on the island, where most of the patrons were tanned and sported swimsuits or shorts.

  Marilyn looked up, confused, wondering who this man was and what on earth he was talking about. “Excuse me?” she said, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.

  “What a dump,” he made a face, looking around at her brightly-painted, cozy little shop.

  “Look here, I don’t know who you think you are…” she stood, astounded at the pasty stranger’s rudeness.

  “I’m Melvin Bland, Elizabeth Melman’s nephew, that’s who, and what you did to my aunt because of your carelessness is completely unacceptable,” the man’s face reddened and he looked as though he might have an apoplectic fit on the spot.

  “Well, Mr. Bland, you can just take your bad attitude and rude manner back out the way that you came, and don’t come back until you’ve decided to behave properly,” Marilyn’s eyes flashed fire.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hang around in this dump for any longer than absolutely necessary,” he sniffed. “I just had to come see how bad this place was for myself,” he gazed around, hands on hips.

  “Get. Out.” Marilyn ordered, pointing at the door, ready to come out from behind the desk to escort him out if necessary.

  “I’ll see you in court,” he grinned smugly, showing a mouth full of yellow and partially rotted teeth. He sauntered toward the door, leaving a cloud of cheap cologne in his wake.

  “Unbelievable,” she muttered, shaking her head as he took his own sweet time in exiting the shop. While she stood there, hands on hips, staring out the front door after the man, another person entered the shop, but this time it was a pleasantly familiar face.

  “Hey Trudy,” Marilyn smiled a greeting at the owner of Trudy’s diner. She’d known Trudy practically since she moved to Key West. The diner owner purchased her desserts exclusively from Marilyn, swearing that she’d never tasted better Key Lime pie in her life.

  “Hey Marilyn,” the rough-hewn, hard-working woman with calloused hands and a gentle heart replied. “That tourist looks like he’s in serious need of some Florida sunshine,” the stout, grey-haired woman commented, glancing down the street as Melvin Bland ambled to his ancient grey sedan.

  “Oh, honey, he’s no tourist,” Marilyn said, her words dripping distaste. She explained what had happened with Elizabeth’s fall and her nephew’s visit. Trudy listened attentively, a strange look coming over her face when she mentioned Elizabeth’s name.

  “What is it?” Marilyn asked, concerned at her expression.

  “Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news,” Trudy began. “But somehow Litigation Lizzie set her sights on you this time,” she sighed, shaking her head.

  “Litigation Lizzie?” she was puzzled. “What are you talking about?”

  “That old broad makes her living by collecting insurance settlements from local businesses after faking an injury. Most owners realize that it’s just easier and far cheaper to settle than it is to fight her in court, so when they get a letter from her attorney, they make an offer and she walks away with huge sums of money,” the diner owner explained.

  “Are you kidding me? That’s awful,” Marilyn exclaimed, aghast. “I saw a bunch of info about her on the internet. Has she ever done this to you?” she asked.

  “Heck no,” Trudy shook her head. “I testified against her at one of the trials because I had witnessed her walking around without crutches, so I snapped a picture of it on my cell phone. She threatened me, and I got a restraining order. The old crone can’t come within five hundred feet of my house or business,” she finished, folding her arms and pursing her lips.

  “What a mess,” Marilyn sighed. “What should I do?”

  “Well, first I’d recommend boxing up some of those amazing pies for your good buddy Trudy,” her friend joked. “Then, if it was me…I think I’d be tempted to follow the old biddy for a bit and catch her in the act of not being hurt,” she suggested with a shrug. “It’ll take a little time, but it might pay off well in the end.”

  Marilyn nodded, mechanically reaching into the display case for the pies, and loading them into boxes while forming a plan in her mind. She got Trudy’s order taken care of, thankful that it was closing time when the diner owner left. She turned over the sign that said Open and switched off the lights after packing the leftover pies and goodies into coolers to take to the homeless shelter and children’s home. Lugging the larger of the two coolers through the kitchen and out the back door, she gasped and nearly dropped it when she opened the back door that led to the parking lot and almost ran into her neighbor.

  “Oh, geez, Tim!” she exclaimed, annoyed. “What are you doing lurking around out here?” she demanded.

  “She went with two older men this time,” he peered at her, fish-eyed behind his glasses.

  “I know, Tim,” Marilyn replied with a sigh. “I told you already, Tiara’s father is in town…wait…did you say two men?” she asked, putting the cooler in the trunk of her car.

  Tim nodded. “One from before, and another one,” he confirmed, frowning. “She didn’t look happy when she came back,” his voice was ominous.

  “Came back? She’s back already?” She looked at her watch, seeing that it was only five o’clock. If Tiara’s father had met her at the marina at one, they couldn’t have had a very long trip, which could mean that something negative had happened. Now worried about her daughter, Marilyn pondered whether she should still stop by and drop off the donation pies, or if she should just stock her freezer at home. Torn, she decided to go ahead and quickly make the donations and then go straight home to see what had happened between Tiara and her dad.

  For the fi
rst time practically since she’d known him, Marilyn regarded her neighbor with a measure of gratitude. “Thanks for letting me know, Tim. I’ll take care of her when I get home,” she said, hurrying inside for the smaller cooler.

  Chapter 6

  “It wasn’t a big deal, Mom,” Tiara sighed, pushing a slice of succulent pot roast around on her plate, making designs in the rich brown gravy.

  “Young lady, it is a very big deal to have a man twice your age hitting on you,” Marilyn shot back, livid. Apparently, the friend with whom Daniel was vacationing had taken quite a liking to her daughter.

  “He didn’t mean anything by it, and he wasn’t even good at flirting,” the young woman rolled her eyes. “Can we just drop it, Mom? Please? You’re making me lose my appetite,” she put her fork down on her plate and raised her eyebrows. “I handled it, the captain of the boat put him in his place, and that’s the end of it. I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay?”

  “Fine, but if I ever see your father…”

  “Mom, stop!” Tiara protested.

  “Fine, fine,” Marilyn raised her hands in surrender, her disapproval evident in her face as she twirled a bite of garlic mashed potatoes artfully onto the end of her fork, making the savory treat look like the frosting that she used on her cupcakes before popping it into her mouth.

  “So, what did you find out about Ms. Melman today?” Tiara asked, deliberately changing the subject.

  Marilyn related what she’d found online, as well as what Trudy had told her, causing the young woman to shake her head in disbelief.

  “That sucks,” her daughter proclaimed, spearing a sautéed mushroom. Her mother had made all of her favorites for dinner when she’d heard what had happened on the fishing trip.

  “Language,” she chastised mildly, receiving the expected eye-roll from the young woman sitting across from her in sweatpants and an old college t-shirt.

  “So, what are you going to do?” Tiara asked, ignoring her mother’s reproach and finally eating in earnest.