The Unkindest Cut - By Honor Hartman Page 0,1

himself around her legs, and she reached down and scratched his head. Sophie had two dogs, Boston terriers, and Olaf loved rubbing himself on her legs. No doubt it drove Mavis and Martha crazy when their mommy came home smelling of cat, and that’s exactly what Olaf intended, I was sure. On the few occasions when my cats and Sophie’s dogs had shared the same space, they had not been happy about it.

‘‘Thank you.’’ Sophie played very well, too, though I didn’t think she worked at it the way I did. Some people are naturally good at many things without a lot of effort, and Sophie was one of those people. If I didn’t love her so much, I could have cheerfully killed her on many occasions.

I glanced at my watch. It was a few minutes past eight thirty. ‘‘How about some coffee?’’ I asked as I led the way downstairs.

‘‘Sounds good,’’ Sophie replied. ‘‘And do you have any of that yummy coffee cake left?’’ Then she sighed. ‘‘I really shouldn’t have any, but it’s so wonderful I simply can’t resist.’’

I laughed as she followed me into the kitchen. ‘‘Yes, I do have some left. I keep telling Marylou she doesn’t have to bring coffee cake all the time, but she never listens to me.’’

‘‘Thank goodness she doesn’t,’’ Sophie said as she helped herself to coffee from the pot on the counter. ‘‘I like being spoiled.’’

I retrieved some dessert plates from the cabinet, cut generous slices of coffee cake for each of us, and set them on the table. I poured myself some coffee and sat down across from Sophie.

‘‘Have you talked to Marylou this morning?’’ Sophie asked as she pinched a piece of coffee cake and popped it into her mouth.

‘‘No,’’ I said, ‘‘but now that her friend is visiting, I’m sure she’s busy with her.’’

Marylou Lockridge, a widow in her mid-sixties, was my neighbor on the other side. In the past few months, since I had moved into this house, Sophie and I had grown very close to Marylou. We shared coffee every morning, usually in my kitchen, since my house was between theirs, and this morning it felt distinctly odd not to have Marylou’s motherly presence at the table with us.

‘‘At least we’ll see her at lunch today,’’ Sophie said. ‘‘I wonder what her friend is like.’’

Marylou had invited us both to lunch today at her house. She wanted us to meet her friend, about whom she had told us next to nothing.

‘‘I’m curious, too,’’ I admitted. ‘‘I wonder why Marylou hasn’t said much about her.’’

‘‘Maybe she simply hasn’t thought about it, not realizing that we’re both dying of curiosity,’’ Sophie said. She ate the last morsel of her coffee cake, even as she gazed longingly at the remaining piece on the counter.

‘‘Go for it,’’ I said, trying not to laugh. ‘‘With your metabolism, you’ll burn it off very quickly.’’

‘‘I suppose,’’ Sophie said, her tone indicating that she actually doubted it. I just rolled my eyes. The girl had the metabolism of a hyperactive chipmunk, and she could eat anything and not gain more than an ounce or two. She got up from her chair and put the last piece of coffee cake on her plate.

I, on the other hand, had only to look at chocolate, and I immediately put on two pounds—despite the fact that I went for an extended walk along the nearby bayou at least five times a week. Make that four, I amended silently, remembering that I had decided to skip my walk this morning in favor of computer bridge.

Sophie broke the piece in two and put half of it on my plate. I sighed. At this rate I never would lose the ten pounds I really ought to shed. Marylou’s coffee cake, like anything she baked, was heavenly and completely irresistible.

‘‘Did Marylou tell you she had a surprise for us?’’

I frowned at Sophie. ‘‘No, I don’t remember her saying anything about a surprise. Did she tell you what it might be?’’

Sophie shrugged. ‘‘I don’t think she actually said ‘surprise,’ come to think of it.’’ She thought for a moment before continuing. ‘‘I think maybe what she really said was she had something she wanted to ask us, and she sounded kind of excited.’’

‘‘And that’s all she said to you?’’

‘‘Yeah,’’ Sophie replied. She finished her last bite of coffee cake.

‘‘Then I guess we’ll just have to wait until lunch to find out,’’ I said. ‘‘She said twelve thirty, didn’t she?’’

Sophie nodded before sipping