Charlotte Brevik knows how to make a girl feel
at home. The retired-nurse/sheriff’s wife fills Lola Wicks with chicken and dumplings swamped in peppery
gravy, homemade bread, and creamy casserole of butterbeans she grew and
canned herself. A hearty meal to warm a soul in a brutal climate, especially
when that soul was just beaten up and left for dead in a snow-covered bar
parking lot.
Not that said beating was enough to deter
news reporter Lola from pursuing her story; before winding up at the Breviks’
for recovery fuel, Lola takes the time to throw back some tequila and question
the guy (Ralph) who pulled her out of the snow about the recent string of
vanished girls.
Now, don’t be thinking this Ralph is some
sort of knight-in-shining-armor love interest for Lola; despite Lola’s
condition and the circumstances that makes their paths cross that night, he
still tries to cop a feel at the bar. And he’s actually quite far down the list
of local creeps if we were to rank them on offensiveness! Yup, between the
strip clubs and the man camp, Lola will need many more home-cooked dinners to sustain
her through this investigation. ;)