A Second Helping of Murder and Recipes: A Hot Dish Heaven Mystery by Jeanne Cooney Page B

to use special garbage bags or simply didn’t care. But either way he failed to put his garbage in the official orange bag, so his trash didn’t get picked up. It was left at the curb, and some dog got in it, and he had to clean up the mess. Which made him madder than a wet hen. So he went on over to the city office and accused Janice of never explainin’ about the official bags.” She took a break but only long enough for a deep breath. “Personally I find that hard to believe considerin’ how seriously she takes that aspect of her job.”
    Another deep breath. “Ya know, Dinky told me he actually turned sideways along the door frame to keep Janice and Raleigh from seein’ him.” She borrowed one of the snorts I’d been saving up. “Like that would make a difference.” She added to me alone, “If ya remember, Dinky and his brother are each the size of a Mack truck.” She paused, peering over her shoulder, as if checking the time.
    “And?” Barbie prompted.
    “And . . .” Margie repeated, visibly struggling to recount exactly where she’d left off. “Oh, yah . . . Raleigh called Janice some God-awful names. But she just hollered back, ‘Are ya always a pain in the ass, Raleigh, or is today a special occasion?’” Margie rubbed her large, rough hands. “Oh, that Janice can be a real wise alec. And even though I think she’s pretty darn funny, not everybody agrees. Nope, some folks don’t get her sense of humor at all. And I’ll admit, it’s an acquired taste. Still, Raleigh went too far. He actually threatened her. And that’s when Dinky walked in.”
    Margie crossed her arms and tucked them under her breasts. “Raleigh left right away then. And when Dinky asked Janice if she was okay, she told him that Raleigh didn’t scare her one iota. She said, if need be, she’d take care of him for good.” Margie allowed us to consider that remark for an extra moment. “Dinky told me that in spite of Janice bein’ small, he had no doubt she’d do it too. He saw it in her eyes.”
    “Margie, do you really believe Janice would kill Raleigh Cummings over garbage bags?” Barbie drew in her thick lips and bit down. I got the sense she was doing her best to stifle a giggle.
    “Accordin’ to Dinky,” Margie answered, “there was a bunch of trash dumped on the steps of the city office on Wednesday mornin’.” She stopped for a beat. “Yeah, that would of been yesterday.” She allowed another beat to pass. “Dinky didn’t see it himself because he was in the field. But Biggie saw it and told him about it.” She glanced at me. “Biggie was workin’ the day shift, so he didn’t start till noon.”
    “And?” Barbie tapped her index finger on the counter. Once more she appeared to be urging Margie along. Or perhaps she was trying to keep her on point. Either way I figured she didn’t stand much of a chance.
    “And,” Margie repeated, “guess who was cleanin’ up the mess?” She answered herself in the same breath, “One very angry Janice Ferguson.”
    “Hmm.” Barbie’s expression was an odd mix of humor and impatience, as if she didn’t know whether to laugh at what Margie had told her or dismiss it as so much malarkey. “I don’t know. You got your information from Dinky Donaldson, not an especially credible source. And while Janice may not be the most principled person in the world, I don’t believe she’d kill over garbage bags.”
    “I’m not sayin’ she did. In fact, I’m prayin’ she didn’t. I like her, and we need her on our curlin’ team this winter.” Again, to me, she explained, “We have a pretty good shot at goin’ far this year. But only if Janice is on board. She may be small, but she’s as strong as an ox. And by golly, she can sweep a rock like nobody’s business.” She turned back to Barbie. “I’m just repeatin’ what I was told.”
    Barbie tapped the tips of her short fingernails against her dark red lips. “Do you really think she’d be strong