The Spia Family Presses On - By Mary Leo Page 0,65
was seeing someone else besides Dickey?”
“That’s what Dickey said, but he didn’t know who. She never told him.”
“As far as I can remember, this never came up in the trial.”
“Dickey said he told his lawyer, but without concrete evidence, it was inadmissible.”
“Then Dickey came back here with the same sort of situation going on. You’re still in love with this Jay-Jay dude, aren’t you?”
Her eyes watered. “I guess so, only honey-bear, I mean Dickey, and I were supposed to announce our engagement last night. He said he had some kind of plan to ferret out Carla’s killer, but then he got a phone call yesterday morning and suddenly he had to meet somebody at Russo’s winery. You know where that is?”
“I do,” I said, my heart in my throat.
I now had verification that Dickey was on that porch with Leo. I wanted to cry, but first I needed to eat. Food seemed like the only thing that might keep me from passing out from all her disturbing information.
“He told me to wait until I heard from him before I drove over, but when I never did, well, you know the rest.”
The driver interrupted our conversation. “Time to go, Miss.”
Jade and I hugged. “Call me when you get to Jay-Jay’s.”
She nodded. I gave her my phone number and she quickly punched it into her keypad, fingers moving at warp speed. I never could do that. Then she turned and boarded the bus.
I gave her a little wave as the bus drove away.
Jade turned out to be a sweet girl. She was going to be sad when she heard about Dickey’s demise. Jade was one of the few people I knew who cared about Dickey, Jade and Maryann and perhaps Aunt Babe.
“What was that all about?” Lisa asked, walking up behind me, right arm in a blue sling.
“I’ll tell you about it over dinner. I’m starving. I’ll cook. Afterward, we have to sneak into a private meeting and try to pick out Carlo Ponti.”
Scallops with Myer Lemon and Fennel Dressing – Level One
3 tbs. Liquirizia from Calabria or any other licorice flavored liquor
3 tbs. Mission EVOO or any mild tasting EVOO
1 large clove of fresh garlic, crushed
Salt and cracked pepper to taste
Hot-pepper EVOO
10 to 16 Scallops
four skewers
Dressing
2 tbs. Myer lemon juice (Myer lemons are sweeter and yield much more juice)
1/4 tsp. grated lemon zest
2 tbs. Champagne Balsamic vinegar or cherry vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/3 cup Mission EVOO (or forgo the lemons and use lemon infused EVOO)
2 tbs. chopped fresh fennel tops
Salt and cracked pepper to taste
To make dressing: Blend the vinegar, lemon juice, zest, and mustard in a bowl. Gradually add the Mission oil until well blended. Add the chopped fennel and salt and pepper to taste, mix again. Breathe in the aroma, relax, breathe, feel the tension leaving your body. Set the mixture aside to allow the flavors to meld.
Blend the Liquirizia, Mission EVOO, garlic, salt, pepper and a drizzle of hot-pepper EVOO in a large bowl. Add the scallops, and work them around so each one is sufficiently coated in the mixture. Refrigerate, covered for thirty minutes.
While that’s marinating, get the grill going and if it’s outdoors, enjoy your surroundings while you wait for the grill to come to life. Take your time. Enjoy the moment. Note: You can also cut the fennel meat in four chunks, coat it in olive oil, (add a little hot-pepper olive oil if you’re feeling daring) cracked pepper and salt to taste, wrap the chunks in foil and bake on the grill until the fennel is tender and almost soft.
30 minutes later: Skewer four scallops so they are lying flat and grill for about one to two minutes on a side making sure they are cooked through, but not dry. Remove them from the grill, de-skewer, and place them on a brightly colored serving plate. Generously drizzle the aromatic beauties with the dressing and serve.
THIRTEEN
Will the Real Mobster Please Stand Up?
Jade phoned a little over an hour later saying she arrived home safe and Jay-Jay had picked her up at the bus drop off. She told me that she and Jay-Jay would stop by to pick up her car in a few days, when she was feeling better. She sounded tired, but happy to be back with her old boyfriend.
I had taken my pain meds so I was feeling a little woozy, and in need of a couple hours of sleep, but sleep would have to wait until after dinner.