"She didn't mean it," Sean said.

"Yes, she did," Bernie told him.

"Why isn't she here?" Samantha asked.

"Because she's out in California visiting her daughter," Sean explained.

Mr. McKee interrupted. "Can someone please explain this to me again?" he asked.

"I did," Mrs. McKee said. "Twice."

"I still don't get it," Mr. McKee said.

"It's simple," Mrs. McKee told him.

"Not the way you're telling it," Mr. McKee retorted.

Sean interrupted. "Well, it took me a little while to figure it out too, but I can give it a try if you want."

"I'd be grateful," Mr. McKee said.

"To put it in its simplest terms, Richard and Annabel Colbert were not getting along. They were not getting along for a number of reasons, one of them being Richard's habit of sleeping with every available female he could find. For some reason, Richard's relationship with Joanna was particularly irritating to Annabel, or maybe it was just the excuse she was looking for to untangle herself from Richard. I don't know. In short, she'd had enough and was going to divorce him.

"Now this presented a problem for Richard. For business purposes, Annabel had all the a.s.sets-meaning everything was in her name-and he had all the liabilities."

"Meaning he would lose everything," Mr. McKee said.

Sean nodded. "Indeed he would. While she was at it, Annabel decided to make a clean sweep and get rid of all the dead wood"-Sean bracketed the last phrase with his fingers-"around her. That meant that Joanna would be out on her a.s.s, as well as Ramona, Joyce, and Melissa.

"Somehow or other Joanna found out what Annabel was planning to do. She told Richard. He, in turn, had learned from Barron that his daughter..."

Samantha raised her hand. "He means me."

"We know that, dear," Mrs. McKee said.

Sean coughed and everyone fell silent. "As I was saying," he continued, "he found out that Samantha was back in town. The wheels began to turn. Then one day when he saw Anna coming down the stairs, something clicked. He had the solution to his problem. He was going to kill Annabel in such a way as to make the blame fall on Anna, whom he disliked anyway.

"So he suggested to Joanna that she doctor up the bottle of wine-Trudy's birthday party being a perfect opportunity, in his mind, to shove suspicion onto Anna, which it did. It's certainly what Bernie, Libby, and I thought. And if that didn't work, he had a backup plan. Joanna. She didn't know about the stealth cam. She had no idea. So after Annabel was dead, Richard wasn't going to have to worry about his partner in crime. He could blow her in whenever he wanted. The stealth cam was added insurance. And it would have worked too."

"Except we stole the stealth cam," Brandon said.

"Exactly," Sean said.

"What's going to happen now?" Samantha asked.

"According to Clyde, Richard and Joanna are going to be brought up on murder one charges," Sean said. "Evidently they both ratted each other out. Joanna was particularly incensed when the ADA showed her the pictures."

"So everything worked out fine," Mr. McKee said.

Samantha took a cupcake and plopped it on her plate. "Or as Bill says..."

"Bill?" Bernie asked.

"Duh. As in Bill Shakespeare."

"Naturally," Bernie said.

"What does he say?" Brandon asked.

"All's well that ends well," Bernie and Samantha chorused together.

"A toast," Libby said. "A toast to happy endings."

And they all drank to that. Even Trudy, who had a sip of champagne from Samantha's gla.s.s.

RECIPES.

These two recipes come from Renee Crandell, who runs a dog-grooming place called Best Paw Forward. She is a wonderful lady who does dog rescue work. The appetizer and the birthday cake would be ideal for a dog birthday party. They certainly are a hit with my dogs. The recipes are dedicated to Renee's ba.s.set hound, Edna Jean.

Cheesy Roll Appetizers.

cup grated cheddar cheese cup grated Swiss cheese teaspoon brewer's yeast 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening cup toasted oatmeal Combine the cheeses, brewer's yeast, and shortening. Using plastic wrap, shape the mixture into a log about 1 inch in diameter and 8 inches long. Roll the log in toasted oatmeal. Refrigerate. Slice into half-inch rounds and serve..

A Doggy Birthday Cake.

pound liver.

13-ounce can dog food 2 eggs separated 1 cup flour.

1 teaspoons baking powder 12 ounces low-fat cream cheese Cheez Whiz.

dog treats Preheat oven to 300 degrees and generously grease a 9-inch cake pan. Simmer the liver in a small amount of water until cooked, then cool, and grind in a blender until it's a smooth, soft paste. Mix thoroughly with the canned dog food. Beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the liver mixture. Add the yolks. Gently fold in the flour and baking powder.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and frost with cream cheese. Decorate with Cheez Whiz and dog treats.

Not to be evil or anything, but if you really don't like someone you could serve him or her this as a birthday cake. Just frost with whipped cream and leave off the dog treats and Cheez Whiz.

The next recipe is my son, Noah's, favorite birthday cake. He's been eating it since he was six. The genoise recipe comes from Paula Peck's Art of Baking.

Noah's Strawberry Shortcake.

6 large eggs.

1 cup sugar 1 cup sifted flour.

cup sweet b.u.t.ter melted and clarified 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

Topping.

2 pints strawberries.

Powdered sugar Lemon juice.

2 pints heavy cream 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Strawberry jam or Grand Marnier Finely chopped pistachios.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. b.u.t.ter and lightly flour two 9-inch layer-cake pans.

Put the eggs and sugar in a large bowl. Stir until they are combined. Set the bowl over a saucepan containing 1 to 2 inches of hot water. Water in the saucepan should not touch the bowl, nor should it be allowed to boil. Place the saucepan over heat for 5 to 10 minutes or until the eggs are lukewarm. Stir four or five times to prevent them from cooking at the bottom of the bowl.

When the eggs feel lukewarm to your finger and look like a bright yellow syrup, remove the bowl from the heat. Begin to beat, preferably with an electric mixer. Beat at high speed for 10 to 15 minutes, sc.r.a.ping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula when necessary, until the mixture becomes light and fluffy and has increased in volume to almost three times its bulk. The mixture will look like whipped cream.

Sprinkle a little flour at a time on top of the egg mixture and fold in with a rubber spatula. Use a gentle motion. Then add the b.u.t.ter and vanilla using the same technique. Be careful not to overmix.

Pour the batter into pans and place in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes or until the tops spring back when touched. Cool on racks.

Rinse and hull 2 pints of strawberries. Put 10 large ones aside for the top of the cake. Take the others, slice, and put in a bowl. Add powdered sugar according to taste-probably 1 or 2 tablespoons-and add about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Allow to macerate.

Whip 2 pints of heavy cream. Then add 3 tablespoons of powdered sugar (or more if desired) and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Remove the first cake layer from the pan and put on a serving plate. Thinly spread 2 teaspoons of melted strawberry jam on the cake or sprinkle 2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier on the cake or do the same with the juice that has acc.u.mulated at the bottom of the bowl of strawberries. Spread a thick layer of whipped cream on the cake and put the strawberries over that. Then add the top layer. Frost with the rest of the whipped cream. Take the reserve strawberries, dehull, glaze them with melted strawberry jam, and arrange on top of the cake. Decorate the sides of the cake with finely chopped pistachios. Serve and enjoy.

The following recipe comes from my good friend and neighbor April Grover. It was her daughter Rachel's favorite birthday cake. She believes it originally came from the back of the package of Baker's German Sweet Chocolate.

Ten-Minute German Sweet Chocolate Cream Pie.

4 ounces Baker's German Sweet Chocolate.

1/3 cup milk 2 tablespoons sugar (optional) 3-ounce package softened cream cheese 8 ounces Cool Whip Chocolate wafers For the crust, place chocolate wafers in an 8-inch pie tin.

Over low heat, heat the chocolate in 2 tablespoons of milk until the chocolate is melted. Beat the sugar into the cream cheese. Add the remaining milk and chocolate. Beat until smooth. Fold the chocolate mixture into the Cool Whip. Stir until combined. Spoon into the crust. Freeze for 4 hours or until firm. Garnish with chocolate curls, strawberries, or whatever you desire.

This cake comes from another good friend and neighbor, Sarah Saulson. It was her favorite birthday cake when she was growing up.

Mother's Milk Chocolate Cake.

2 cups sugar.

3 tablespoons water 2 squares melted unsweetened chocolate cup softened b.u.t.ter or margarine.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 eggs separated 2 cups sifted cake flour 1 teaspoon cream of tartar.

teaspoon baking soda teaspoon salt 1 cup milk Standard thickened custard filling from Joy of Cooking.

Chocolate Cream-Cheese Frosting.

cup softened b.u.t.ter or margarine.

8 ounces softened cream cheese 3 squares melted unsweetened chocolate.

Dash salt 3 cups confectioners' sugar 1/3 cup light cream.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract Cream b.u.t.ter or margarine. Add the next three ingredients and blend. Add the sugar mixture alternately with the cream, beating thoroughly. Add the vanilla. Set aside.

Add cup of the sugar and the water to the chocolate. Cream the b.u.t.ter or margarine well. Add the remaining 2 cups of sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, then the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate mixture and blend. Add the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the milk, beating until smooth. Fold in egg whites, beaten until stiff but not dry. Pour into three round 9-inch or four round 8-inch layer pans lined on the bottom with greased waxed paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 to 50 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Then turn out onto racks to cool. Remove the paper. Put the custard filling between the layers and spread top and sides with the chocolate cream-cheese frosting.

Books by Isis Crawford.

A CATERED MURDER.