Benedict Waffle (The Diner of the Dead Series Book 12)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
BENEDICT WAFFLE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
Benedict
Waffle
Book Twelve
in
The Diner of the Dead Series
By
Carolyn Q. Hunter
Copyright 2017 Summer Prescott Books
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**This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.
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BENEDICT WAFFLE
Book Twelve in The Diner of the Dead Series
CHAPTER 1
* * *
“You’ve just listened to ‘Magic Maker’ by the Highland Witches,” Tommy the Tornado’s voice boomed from the dusty black radio (a relic from Sonja’s high school years) sitting on the counter. “The newest hit from their popular album, Dance Among the Trees.”
It was another beautiful morning in Haunted Falls, and Sonja Reed, the owner of the local Waffle Diner and Eatery, stood at the metal counter in the kitchen mixing a fresh bowl of batter to use for the breakfast rush.
Her best friend and business partner, Alison, sat in the tiny office space with the door open. As she went through piles of receipts and paperwork, she had a huge smile plastered on her face. This was a sure sign to Sonja that her friend was up to something. Honestly, she couldn’t see how anyone could be so incandescently happy while wading through the tedium of business documents.
Ally had something up her sleeve, Sonja just hadn’t figured it out yet.
“What are you so happy about?” she pressed.
Alison didn’t even glance up, but her smile widened. “Oh, nothing,” she lied.
“Come on,” Sonja pleaded, not enjoying being left in the dark.
Her friend only shrugged innocently. “I’m just happy to get some of this paperwork done, finally.”
“Right,” Sonja replied, raising a knowing eyebrow. “Paperwork. It’s the best.” She made sure to speak in as flat and sarcastic a tone as possible.
Alison only nodded.
“We’re going to take a quick commercial break,” Tommy’s voice interjected into the conversation, “but don’t switch the station. After these messages from our sponsors, we’re going to announce the winner of this month’s Hottest Hotels raffle. You and a friend could have a chance to stay at the secluded, and nationally historic, Moon Vail Hotel.”
Tommy’s voice cut out. A familiar, and in Sonja’s opinion annoying, commercial jingle came on the radio.
Reaching over, her hand covered with a fresh dusting of flour, she went to change the station.
“Wait,” Alison exclaimed. “Don’t change it.”
“But I hate this commercial,” Sonja shot back. “Don’t tell me you like it.”
Her friend danced along as if she were really getting into the little song. “It’s catchy,” she admitted, beginning to sing along. “Don’t let a cough come get you, instead chew, chew, chew, and tell that cold to shoo. With Hansel’s Chewable Cough Drops.”
Alison was definitely up to something. No one liked that terrible jingle, let alone sang along with it.
Shrugging, the redheaded chef got back to work, pulling a new order slip off the turnstile.
Now that the craziness of the holidays—and the associated stress of coming up with seasonal waffles for each celebration—was all over, Sonja was determined to return to the roots of her cooking. The waffle was both a simple, yet delicious recipe all on its own. However, the dish wasn’t the only champion of the breakfast table, at least not at her diner.
That was why Sonja decided to create something that highlighted the best elements of the morning meal.
Pouring a helping of waffle batter into the hot iron, she waited patiently for the steam coming out of the sides to dissipate. This was a sure sign that the waffle was done.
While it cooked, she reheated the double boiler on the stove, making sure that there was enough water in the bottom half. Getting out two fresh eggs, she set them on the counter beside the pot.
Noticing that the iron had stopped steaming, she opened the appliance and pulled out the waffle.
Next, she passed the freshly cooked waffle down the counter to Vic, who was in charge of the griddle.
“Another one?” he questioned, surprised by the continuing popularity of the new menu item.
“Yep,” Sonja announced. “Cook it up, please.”
While Vic browned the waffle on the grill, Sonja got to work on the sauce, breaking the two eggs and separating the yolks into the top half of the double boiler. As the eggs began to cook, she added white pepper, lemon juice, a little water, and a dash of Worchester sauce.
Whisking the sauce carefully, she added melted butter a little at a time until it was the exact consistency she wanted.
“This is ready,” Vic called, plating the browned waffle and topping it with freshly cooked, crispy bacon. Next, he set one egg, poached to perfection, out of the boiling pot onto the dish.
Sonja took a ladle full of the hollandaise sauce and poured it over the top, giving it a beautiful, creamy look. Adding a tiny sprig of cilantro on the top, she set the plate in the service window. “Waffle Benedict,” she announced, ringing the bell.
“Okay ladies and gentlemen,” Tommy the Tornado came back on the radio.
“Thank heaven,” Sonja whispered. She hated having to listen to commercials and was ready to get back to the morning music.
“Before we play you the next song, it’s time for,” he paused, playing a synthesized trumpet fanfare noise, “the Hottes
t Hotels giveaway.”
Instantly, Alison perked up, scooting her office chair slightly closer to the open doorway so she could hear.
Sonja looked over at her friend, starting to understand what her friend was acting so goofy about.
“This month’s giveaway features a local favorite, The Moon Vail Hotel, just a forty-minute drive out of our own hometown of Haunted Falls. Set against the backdrop of the mystical mountain tops, this Victorian style hotel offers five-star service in its housekeeping, room service, as well as its famous Cliffside Restaurant. The Moon Vail Hotel is also one of Colorado’s most popular historic landmarks, not only because of its beautiful architecture but also because of its notorious hauntings.”
At that moment, Sonja couldn’t help but pay attention. She was sort of a spiritualist, herself. Over the past year, she had slowly come to find out that she had the ability to see ghosts and communicate with the dead. For a long time she had doubted her own senses, but recently her estranged father had returned and confirmed that spiritualism ran in the family.
Whenever any mention of ghosts or hauntings came up, Sonja couldn’t help but listen in—if nothing else but to learn more about the spirit realm and her own connection to it.
“If you got online and answered yesterday’s trivia question on the radio station’s website, you have a chance to win a five-day trip for you and one friend or family member.”
Alison leaned in even closer, so close that Sonja wondered if she might fall out of her chair.
“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, the moment of truth.” The sound effect of a drum roll led up to the announcement.
Allison’s eyes grew so wide that it looked like they may just pop right out of her head. At the point, Sonja was ninety-nine percent sure that her friend had entered the drawing and was trying to keep it a secret.
“And the winner of the five-day stay at the Moon Vail Hotel is . . .”
Ally inhaled deeply.
“Allison Sorenson!”
“Yes, yes, yes,” she screamed, jumping up from the rolling chair and nearly knocking it over. “I knew it. I knew I would win,” she exclaimed.
“Did something happen?” Vic asked, clearly out of the loop.
“Ally just won a trip,” Sonja informed him with a smile
“That’s wonderful.”
“Congratulations,” Sonja remarked happily, embracing her best friend. “I knew you were up to something this morning.”
“I know,” she beamed. “I didn’t want to say anything until after the drawing.”
“Well, you deserve it. I’m sure you and Alex will enjoy your time away.”
Alex was Alison’s husband. Ally stopped hugging Sonja and pulled back to look her friend in the eye. “Alex isn’t coming with me,” she informed her.
“He’s not?” Sonja asked, a little confused. “I thought you two would love a romantic getaway.”
She shook her head. “No, silly. I’m taking you.”
Sonja stopped cold. “Me? You want to take me?”
“Of course. You promised we would take a girls only trip sometime soon. This is our chance.”
“Ally, I don’t know what to say,” Sonja stumbled over herself a little. She felt sort of bad taking Alex’s wife away on a vacation and leaving him behind to care for little Cyndy—their daughter—on his own. “I don’t know if I can accept.”
“Of course you can,” Alison insisted. “We’ll have a great time.”
Embracing her friend again, Sonja could almost feel the excited energy coming off her.
“Besides. It is haunted, after all.” She waved her arms in the air, imitating a ghost. “I know you love that kind of thing.”
“I wouldn’t say, love,” she admitted. Ally had no idea about Sonja’s supernatural abilities but had gotten hints here and there that she was into the occult.
“But you’re always reading those books about ghosts and the supernatural. I’ve seen you on your breaks.”
“You have?” Sonja groaned, knowing she should have hidden all the books she had borrowed from the library recently.
“You see?” Alison gushed. “It’s perfect!”
“Yeah,” Sonja put on a big smile, a mixture of excitement and reluctance dancing in her belly. The word haunted hung in her mind. “It’ll be perfect.”
CHAPTER 2
* * *
“That’s all I need,” Sonja said to her father for probably the hundredth time since she’d learned about the trip, “another haunted building to explore.”
“Come on, sweetie. It can’t be all that bad,” he encouraged her. “You could look at this as a learning opportunity.”
Sonja picked up the pile of jeans she had folded on the bed and placed them into the suitcase. “An opportunity to learn what?” she protested.
“About how ghosts interact with a place,” he offered. “Most ghosts we encounter in this world haven’t fully moved into the realm of the dead, they are staying behind for a reason unknown to us, and when they haunt specific locations, like Moon Vail, it is usually for a very specific reason.”
Sonja shrugged, “I suppose. I just hope that this can be a fun trip for Alison and me and that there won’t be any interruptions like there usually is when we hang out.”
“Well, I’ll keep you in my thoughts,” he nodded.
“Thanks.”
“And how does Frank feel?”
Frank Thompson was Sonja’s boyfriend as well as the sheriff of the small mountain town where they lived. “He’s fine,” she shot back. “Besides, he’s busy with work this week. After all the excitement in town last month, he needs to catch up on some paperwork.” Sonja didn’t tell her father that she felt a little bad about leaving him behind. She and Frank hadn’t had a real date in a few weeks, and their only real quality time spent together was when they were solving a murder.
Haunted Falls was a rash of homicides since Sonja had moved back, and she couldn’t help but feel partially responsible. According to her father, supernatural powers often drew in strange occurrences—meaning that people with a murderous agenda often gravitated toward the town.
Sighing, Sonja shut her suitcase. “Well, I better go pick up Ally.”
“I love you, sweetie. Good luck.”
Sonja shrugged. She was going to need more than luck.
* * *
“This is going to be amazing,” Ally gushed as they drove along the twisted mountain road up toward the Moon Vail Hotel. “They’re putting us in the master suite at the very top of the hotel.”
“Sounds great,” Sonja agreed, attempting to let herself relax and enjoy this trip. She’d decided that even if she saw any ghosts, she’d just treat it as part of the vacation package. After all, a large number of people visited Moon Vail because of its haunted history.
She’d even read a story about a man who’d stayed there for months, hoping to have the chance to encounter a spirit.
“Do you think we’ll see any ghosts?” Alison asked with a broad smile on her face as if she’d just read Sonja’s thoughts. She rubbed her hands together excitedly.
Sonja couldn’t remember the last time she saw her best friend so thrilled and happy about something. She said a silent plea that this “girls only” trip went smoothly. She sincerely wanted to have a good time with Alison.
“I hope so,” Sonja wiggled both eyebrows mysteriously. “Maybe there will be one in our room even.”
Please don’t let there be a ghost in our room, she added silently. The last thing she needed was a jabber mouth ghost, like a gossipy maid or something, keeping her up all night simply because they were excited that someone could see and hear them.
Alison laughed wildly, “Don’t psych me up like that. We’re not even there, yet.”
Glancing out the windshield and up the steep incline, Sonja nodded. “Maybe you spoke too soon. Look.”
Both women stared up the road and saw the hotel come into view. It was quite breathtaking sitting atop the peak—li
ke a crown for the mountain itself.
It’s light blue siding and Victorian style turrets made it look almost like a castle. The wind blew through the nearby pine trees, dashing a series of blanketed gray clouds across the cold sky and making the building look almost as if it were flying.
All it needed now was its own ominous theme song playing as the two women approached in their vehicle.
“Wow, it looks way more amazing than the pictures online,” Alison spoke in a hushed tone, almost as if in respect for the mammoth of a hotel.
Coming around the final bend in the road, they entered a circular driveway that surrounded a lush garden area with multiple levels of plants connected by concrete staircases. The front of the hotel had many windows looking out onto the scenery below, all like half-lidded eyes.
A blonde man in a well-fitted suit stood at the bottom of the stone steps to the front door of the hotel, with perfect posture and hands clasped behind his back.
“Looks like the butler from one of those old mystery movies,” Alison noted with glee.
“He sure does,” Sonja laughed, bringing the van to a stop at the bottom of the steps. The man instantly walked around the vehicle to come to the driver’s side.
“Excuse me? Where are we supposed to park?” Sonja asked.
“Welcome to the Moon Vail Hotel,” the man said without a single beat, “I am your valet for today and would be happy to park the car.”
The sound of the back doors of the van opening made Sonja jump. “Hey,” she shouted, turning in her seat to see who was getting into her vehicle without permission. Two similarly well-dressed men grabbed the luggage from the back.
“Those are the bell boys, Madame,” the valet informed her. “Now, if you would care to step out of the car, I’d be more than happy to park it for you.”
“Is that gonna cost me extra?” Sonja asked, feeling rather uncouth about this whole thing.
“Come on, Sonj’,” Ally encouraged her with a smile. “It’s a fancy hotel. Let’s indulge a little.”