The Pub: A Murd*r Mystery © by Peggy Cole Chapter 2

Joe begins to question why she left a steady job at the bank after her new manager pulls sneaky moves with staff assignments.

Joe sat in the tiny office surrounded in a tangle of adding machine tapes. She jumped when someone banged on the door. It was George, the head chef, clicking a pair of tongs.

"Someone's got a boyfriend. Someone's got a boyfriend," he crooned. One hand was hidden behind his bulk which filled the door frame.

He liked ducking into Joe's air-conditioned office to get out of the steaming heat of the kitchen. Right after she'd been hired, she'd learned to steer clear of him. He had an ugly habit of pinching female staff members with his ever-present tongs. That first week, passing his station at the grill, he'd gotten behind her and picked her up bodily, then, pointed her toward the upper cabinets.

"Grab those napkins for me, would ya'?" Snickering, he peeked under her mini-skirt as he held her up. Joe's face flushed while the kitchen staff looked on, saying nothing.

This time he had a legitimate reason for the interruption. He tipped forward daintily like a ballerina, leaned in and set a flower arrangement on her desk. George had on a sneaky smirk when he reached across and snatched the card out of the bouquet. Joe pulled a ruler from under the mountain of paperwork and smacked his hand hard. He dropped the card and winced.

She opened the envelope and read the note. Immediately she picked up the phone and started dialing when her manager's face appeared behind the chef.

"You, OUT!" Jason pointed at the suddenly somber chef, then pointed to the kitchen. There was an awkward dance as George backed out and Joe's manager barged in. The chef shot Joe one more silly grin as the door slammed in his face.

"So, how about it?" Jason asked with a wink. She hung up the phone and turned her attention to her work. He slid smoothly onto the bench across the table. A cold silence filled the room. Unfazed, he stared at the top of her head and began whistling off key.

Jason had been hired to replace Bob, the manager who had hired Joe. Rumors of embezzlement and cooked books had put Joe under scrutiny during the investigation that followed. Thankfully, her friendship with the owner had saved her job.

"I'm sure you had nothing to do with the missing cash, Joe," the owner told her. His fondness for the bookkeeper was no secret. The investigation dragged on.

Dick liked being seen with pretty women who were willing to chauffeur him around in his Maserati. He told her they were checking out the competition when he invited her to join him for dinner at comparable restaurants along the coast. Joe ended up driving back most evenings when he drank too much.

The silent partner from Chicago wasn't nearly as friendly. In fact, he hadn't made up his mind about the bookkeeper and her part in the financial turmoil that followed Bob's abrupt departure.

Joe was busy ordering the week's liquor supply when he showed up unannounced shortly after Bob left. She looked up to see him standing, briefcase in hand, at the open door.

The last time she'd seen Ervin had been when she interviewed for the job. She was glad he left the day-to-day operational decisions to Dick. According to Ervin, all that was about to change. He could be heard around the restaurant blustering about his plans.

"I'm here to get to the bottom of this. This accounting mess will be resolved. Be assured, heads will roll." Employees tried to steer clear of the not-so-silent partner.

Jason spent nearly two weeks during the investigation, back in Jamaica, closing out his affairs before moving to the States and into the condominium that came with his new position. He returned in time to join the staff's as they celebrated the silent partner's departure for Chicago.

The new food and beverage tracking system Ervin had put in place caused confusion and much grumbling from the staff. On the bookkeeping end, Joe was flooded with indecipherable food tickets as staff resisted the new system.

Once Ervin left, Jason changed things back to the old food and beverage codes. That made him an immediate hero of everyone except Joe. She had to deal with the aftermath of returning to the old system. New hires had been trained one way. Now, they had to learn the old method of handling food orders. Registers failed to balance for weeks.

Despite Joe's misgivings about Jason, he could dish out the charm when he wanted to. It was useful for drawing people to him, happy for a round of drinks, the telling of bawdy jokes and a fond slap on the back. But, it didn't take long for him to alienate most of the female staff with his racy innuendos and off-color remarks that annoyed his bookkeeper.

A chopping noise and the aroma of prime rib cooking came in with him as he stepped inside.

"Joey!" He'd only started calling her that after he discovered the name annoyed her. He smirked at her expression when he made his grand entrance.

The phone rang and she picked it up, eager for any kind of diversion.

"Good morning, The Pub. How may I help you?" She turned away from his stare.

"Hey, baby!" It was a familiar sleepy voice. She shuffled through the piles on her desk and opened a random file.

"Yes, I have that file right here," she paused, flipping through some invoices. "Certainly. I can send you an itemized statement."

The door slammed as Jason stormed out.

"But Baby," the voice said. "Don't you recognize my voice? It's meeee!" The caller drew the word out in a whine.

"Of course I do. 'He' was in here."

"Oh. I get it. Meet me for lunch?"

"Noon in the lobby," she said and hung up.

Jason returned holding a page he'd ripped from the bulletin board. He tossed it on the desk where it landed in front of her. The staff schedule had deep lines through the page where he'd  crossed off a few names. Chip, the assistant manager was one of those names.

"What's this?" Joe asked.

"You've been promoted."

"But, what about Chip?"

"Oh, that's your first assignment. You get to tell him he's fired."

"What if I don't want the job?"

He grinned and pointed. "There's the door."

Mrs. Smith's Pie Crust Recipe

This favorite recipe for 2 pie crusts was taught in my Home Economics class way back when. 

Mrs. Smith, my high school home economics teacher, shared a recipe that's come in handy many times over the years. Little did she know that decades later, I'd be posting her tried-and-true recipe for egg pastry for other home cooks to try.

Whether you're an experienced baker or trying this for the first time, you can master this easy, tasty recipe with great results.

Check the price of fresh or frozen pies at the grocery store and it just makes sense to make them yourself. You'll have the satisfaction of saving money and impressing your family with a homemade treat.

Equipment You'll Need:

• Large mixing bowl
• Sifter (optional)
• Two knives and a fork
• Dry measuring cups
• A Liquid measuring cup
• Measuring spoons
• Rolling pin
• Deep dish pie pan eight or nine inches

Ingredients: (This makes 2 Pie Crusts)

• 3 cups of All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt
• 1/2 cup Crisco solid vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup butter, unsalted
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon of vinegar
• 1/2 cup of ice water
• 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour for dusting the pastry board

Instructions:

1. Gather your ingredients so you know you have everything you need.
2. Measure out 3 cups of flour then sift the measured quantity over the mixing bowl. Add the salt and blend the mix together with a whisk.
3. Add 1/2 cup of vegetable shortening to the flour mixture. Blend the shortening into the flour using two knives in a crosswise fashion.
4. Cut the butter into smaller pieces and repeat the cutting-in process until the flour mixture looks like cornmeal.
5. Beat the egg slightly and add 1 teaspoon of vinegar and 1/2 cup of ice-cold water.
6. Pour the egg liquid into the flour mix, blending lightly with a fork, stirring just until the dough holds together in a loose ball.
7. Divide the dough into two portions. Wrap one half in cellophane and refrigerate if making a one crust pie.
8. Roll out the other dough ball on a floured surface until it's about 1/4 inch thick and one inch larger than the edge of the pie dish
9. Transfer the dough to the pie dish using a spatula to fold the edges inward, then lift the dough to the pie dish and carefully unfold

Cutting in the shortening

Cutting the butter into smaller squares first makes it easier to blend into the flour mixture. Continue to use the knives to cut crosswise until the butter is blended and the mixture looks like corn meal. The butter could be put into the freezer until firm and shredded into the mix to make the blending easier.

Slightly beat one egg in a liquid measuring cup. Add one teaspoon of vinegar and the iced water.

Stir this mixture only until a soft ball forms and the flour holds together. Too much mixing can cause the dough to be tough. 

Divide the dough in half. While working on the first half, put the other half into cellophane and refrigerate.

Roll each portion out to 1/4 inch to an 1/8 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface.

The second half of the dough may be refrigerated for use in the next 2–3 days. Allow it to come nearly to room temperature before rolling it out after refrigerating.

Moving the pie crust into the pie dish

Fold the dough over onto itself and again. Use a spatula to lift the dough into the pan.

Unfold gently and fit the edges into the shape of the pan.

Follow this YouTube video of me cutting the edges, folding them under and shaping a fluted crust.

Finishing the pie crust

1. Roll out the dough to about an inch larger than the outside edge of the pie dish.
2. Use a spatula to fold the dough over on itself. Fold the dough over again before trying to move it.
3. Transfer the pie crust to the pie dish using the spatula and gently unfold it.
4. Trim the outside of the crust leaving about 1/2 inch of dough beyond the edge of the dish.
5. Fold under the excess dough to form a ridge around the outside edge.
6. To flute the pie crust, use two fingers of one hand and push between the two fingers with your other thumb or index finger. Press gently to form ridges along the entire outer edge (see video above).

Protect the edges from over-browning by using a two inch strip of aluminum foil around the edge. Pour the filling into the crust and bake according to directions for a one-crust pie.

How to make the aluminum foil strip for the crust.

1. Tear off one long strip of aluminum foil and cut it into three equal strips lengthwise.
2. Fold the short edges together to join two long pieces, then add a third piece. Seal the seams by folding the edges over a couple of times and crimp the edges to hold the seam.
3. Wrap the long strip of foil around the outer edge of the prepared pie crust.
4. Seal the final edge of the foil together around the pie pan after cutting off any excess length of the foil.
5. Bend the foil to form a protective rim in order to keep the pie crust edges from turning too brown.
6. Fill with your favorite fruit or mixture and bake according to directions for the type of pie.

This is Aunt Jessie's Chocolate Cream Pie (Recipe on this blog)

Baking a crust for a pudding or cream type pie:

To make a baked crust for pudding type pies, prick the sides and bottom of the crust with a fork, then bake at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown.

For pumpkin or custard pies that need to be baked, do not prick the crust. Add the ingredients and bake according to the recipe directions.

Making a pie crust from scratch takes a little bit of patience and some practice, but it really can be fun and rewarding.