Page 10 of Justice for Daesha

Oh, please, let it be, he murmured in his head. “Do you need to cancel?”

“No! I was just wondering which you preferred, white wine or red?”

“Depends on what I’m eating,” he answered.

She chuckled. “It’s pork, so either is appropriate. You do like pork, right? Oh, yeah, you ate liverwurst. If you’ll eat that, you’ll eat pretty much anything!” she said, laughing.

Amos laughed too. “Now wait a minute! I do have a somewhat-discriminating palate! But you’re right. I love pork. So I’ll go with a red. Got a merlot?”

“I do, a very nice WashingtonState. Sound okay?”

“Sounds great. I’m just walking in the door so I’ll change and be on my way. ETA of maybe forty minutes?”

“Great! I’ll get everything ready and we can eat as soon as you get here. I’m sure you’re hungry. I didn’t even get lunch today, so I’m famished.”

“Yep. Starving. See you in forty.” They hung up and he smiled. Pork. She couldn’t know, but Amos preferred a good pork chop over a beef steak anytime. That made him look forward to the meal. It sounded like she knew what she was doing.

He was back on the road in just a few minutes, headed straight for Shepherdsville. She didn’t live far off I-65, so it wouldn’t take long once he got to the exit. After taking the ramp, he drove past a gas station, some little restaurants and gift shops, and then out past the old Zappos outlet. The countryside was pretty, and he wondered what her house would look like.

The driveway was fairly long, but the house sat in a pretty spot, trees down both sides and around the back. It appeared to be on a good-sized piece of property that went straight back as far as he could see, with a nice-sized barn behind the house and white post-and-rail fencing. Just on the other side of the fence was a small pond, complete with a little bridge over it. He wondered which of the surrounding houses was Matt’s. Two doors down he spotted a Kentucky State Police cruiser, so that mystery was solved quickly.

He closed the JeepLiberty’s door and climbed her front steps. The house was pretty traditional-looking, from its white siding and red shutters to the dormers on the roof and the long, deep rocking-chair porch, complete with rockers he was pretty sure came from CrackerBarrel. It had a two-car attached garage, and he wondered if the car he’d seen was the only one she had. He rang the doorbell, but there was no answer. That was when he smelled it.

Pork. And based on the aroma, he’d say it was cooking on a grill. Curious, he walked around the side of the house and to the back.

Daesha stood on the deck, a curlicue metal rod in one hand and a platter in the other. She had a super serious look on her face, and he watched her, grinning the whole time. Grilling was something the men in his family did, and he wasn’t accustomed to seeing a woman standing over one, but he could tell that grill of hers was well-used. It had scorch marks on the end, and the wooden handles looked well-seasoned with meat grease. He couldn’t help himself?he knew she hadn’t seen him standing there, and the temptation was too great, so he called out, “Hark! The grillmistress!”

She jumped and let out a littleEeep!when she turned. “Amos! I swear, is it your goal in life to scare the total bejesus out of me? Because if so, you’re doing it in style!”

He was almost doubled over with laughter. “No, but I have to admit, Idothink it’s funny! Need some help?”

“Nah. They’re ready to come off. Sorry I didn’t hear you ring the bell. You did ring the bell, right?” she asked, giving him the side-eye.

“Oh, yeah. But I smelled the grill and I knew why you didn’t answer.” Bounding up the deck stairs, he took the platter. “Here. I’ll hold it if you want to take them off.” He watched as she used the curly rod. “What the hell is that thing?”

“It’s called a pig-tail flipper. The point is super sharp. You just stick it in the meat to flip it. Works like a charm.”

“Where’d you get that thing? I’ve never seen one before,” he asked, checking it out. The handle was beautiful wood.

“A coworker does woodturning and he made it for me. If you’d like one, I’ll get him to make you one. For looking at the files, you know,” she tacked on.

“That would be awesome. Yeah, I’d love that. My whole family grills. I’ll gladly buy two more from him, one for Dad and one for Jack. They’d like those as gifts.”

She gave him a wink. “I’ll see what I can do. Here we go.”

What she plopped down on the platter were two of the biggest, thickest, juiciest pork chops Amos had ever seen. “Where in the world did you get these? They look delicious.”

“Butcher shop in Radcliff. He cuts them for me. I wanted some especially nice ones to thank you with. Come on. Everything else is ready.” She led the way and Amos followed, carrying the platter like it held gold, frankincense, and myrrh for the Christ child.

He almost gasped. The house was gorgeous. It had a huge kitchen with beautiful granite countertops, and the island in the middle looked like a piece of fine furniture instead of kitchen cabinetry. It was in an open, great room style, and the living room was right there. He could see an enormous fireplace of stone and big, comfortable furniture. The dining furniture off to one side was pretty too, with a large china cabinet full of all kinds of pieces of dinnerware. Everything was burgundy, brown, and cinnamon colors, and he could practically see a fire roaring in the fireplace on a cold night, smell coffee brewing, and feel a soft blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he reclined on the big brown, red, and cream plaid chaise. The whole place spoke of comfort and coziness. “This is… wow. Your house is beautiful.”

“Thanks. Mom helped me decorate it before she died. I wanted a place that said ‘home’ from the moment I walked in until the moment I walked out. We weren’t professional decorators, but I think I did okay.”

“You did more than okay. It’s amazing. And the furniture… I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Company in NewYork. They custom built everything for me.”

“Two bedrooms?”

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