by Vreni Fox
“Wow,” I was surprised by the strength of Sabine’s conviction. “But what about the photographer? The Mayor told me that I still have to follow whatever instructions he has for me.”
“That guy?” Sabine considered my question. “Actually you might be surprised but he has much better taste than his little girlfriend. So far he’s been willing to work with me on the menu. He still wants color but he’s willing to skip the gimmicky stuff. I think we can work with him without sacrificing our integrity.”
I’m not sure I had the kind of integrity that Sabine was talking about but I wasn’t about to argue with her.
“Anyway, I’m revising the entire menu, so maybe that can help you figure out what to do with this cake now that you aren’t required to make some kind of tie dyed abomination. The taco bar and cheese fountain are out. Now I’m thinking fresh river caught local trout with an orange sauce, grass fed scallop of veal with forest mushrooms, and a risotto with a late summer vegetable medley for vegetarians. The menu isn’t set in stone but that’s the direction I’m headed right now, contingent upon availability of ingredients for two hundred guests this late in the planning stages.”
“That all sounds great,” I replied honestly. If I was still welcome at this wedding, I was going to get the fish. “What do you think about a simple white cake with naked frosting and fresh forest fruits? That could be a nice ending to your fresh and local meal.”
“Simple, high quality ingredients are always best,” agreed Sabine.
I didn’t think I’d ever encountered her in such an agreeable state. It was weird. Almost like working with a normal person.
“Thank you for getting rid of this festering wound on the culinary arts.”
Ah. There was the Sabine Natter we all knew and loved.
“As far as I’m concerned,” she continued, “the entire town of Drachenfels owes you a favor for what you did.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“Right. Of course not.” Sabine gave me a pinched smile. “Anyhow, have you met the groom? He’s probably more thrilled than any of us.”
“I have, actually.”
My ears pricked. Viktor Vega was an enigma, and I wanted to know more about him.
“He came into the Zuckerfee and introduced himself. Had a cup of coffee but didn’t seem to have a sweet tooth.”
“I don’t think he’s much of a foodie,” Sabine agreed. “He doesn’t seem to care about the dinner menu either. But no one hated Mandy Unterwegs more than he did. That man is even more disgusted by this social media craze than we are.”
I wouldn’t exactly describe myself as ‘disgusted’ by social media. More just ignorant and uninterested. But I wanted Sabine to continue.
“I don’t know how the Mayor got him on board with this Instagram thing. He absolutely refuses to be photographed. He told Herr Saputra and me that it was for professional reasons.”
“Do you know what Vega’s profession is?” I gave it a shot.
Sabine laughed back at me. “That’s the big question, isn’t it? I’ve been trying to figure that out for weeks. He does something in Munich and he wears a suit all the time. That’s basically all the information I have. He also pays for everything in cash, and he seems to have an endless supply of that. Other than that, the guy is a complete mystery. I didn’t even know that the Mayor was seeing someone new. How long has it been since she lost her last husband?”
“I can’t remember. Maybe a year?” I didn’t think it was actually that long, but I felt bad judging a woman who had been through so much hardship in her personal life.
“Right, a year,” Sabine gave me a look that signified that we both knew it wasn’t that long. “Well, congratulations to her. She can get married every month as far as I care, as long as I don’t have to deal with any more social media schemes. I need to get back to work, but let me know if you need any more advice about what to do with this cake.”
I thanked Sabine for her generous help and hoped that I wouldn’t have to talk to her again anytime soon.
Chapter Seventeen
Now that I had even more evidence that Moritz Mahler was a creep and a weirdo, suddenly my attention had been directed right back to Viktor Vega.
Judging by what Sabine Natter had just shared, Vega had been all over town sharing his dislike for Mandy Unterwegs. I’d be remiss not to follow up on that lead.
I needed to figure out how to investigate him without alerting anyone to my motivations. I sat in my van and racked my brain, trying to come up with reasons to ask about him around town.
It wasn’t exactly easy to devise a cover when half the people in Drachenfels thought that I might be guilty of murdering his photographer. Or, if not specifically the photographer, his wedding’s aesthetic director? I wasn’t quite sure what Mandy’s official title was.
I tried to think of who might have run into him and my attention turned back to the list I had stolen from Moritz. These were all business owners who Mandy had tried to extort. So, it goes to follow, they had something to do with the wedding. Plus, if I was going to try to claim that I gathered this information on my own, I was going to have to visit all of these people anyways.
I took a look at the list, which contained about a dozen people. I had already spoken to Natter and Saputra. What reason would I have for visiting a perfumer, a leatherworker, an outdoors outfitter, a florist…
A gift. I could talk to all of these people about the Mayor and Vega under the guise of shopping for a wedding gift. It was kind of a silly ruse, and stretched credibility, but I could see no other way. Plus, I would eventually have to get them a gift if everything proceeded as planned anyway.
I decided not to waste another day. The wedding was approaching, the Munich police were closing in on me, and my business was dying. The sooner this murder could be solved and we could all move on with our lives, the better.
My best approach, I decided, was to start on one end of Main Street and work my way down. Fortunately for me, Drachenfels only had one commercial street. That made visiting every single business in town relatively straightforward and easy.
My first stop was a small gift shop that sold local delicacies like honey and preserves. It had been owned and run by a friendly little granny called Ingrid since before I was born. As far as I knew, she was the only person in Drachenfels older than Conrad.
The bell on the door rang as I entered and my nose was immediately greeted by the scent of stewing peaches.
“Hello dear,” I heard from the kitchen in the back. “I’ll be right with you.”
Ingrid made all of her own preserves and I often treated myself to one of her delicious spreads. I especially liked the savory ones, like caramelized onion, tomato and hot chili, or spicy curried mango. They went great on crackers with cheese.
“Good morning, Ingrid,” I greeted the elderly woman as she emerged from her kitchen wearing a rose print apron. “How are you today?”
“Busy as always,” Ingrid responded. “At my age I have to stay active. I’m afraid that if my joints start to stiffen, I’ll never be able to loosen them up again.” Ingrid laughed at her own joke and I wondered how old she really was. She looked exactly the same as I had always remembered her looking, which is to say ancient.
“So what can I do for you today?” she asked, joining me in her shop.
This was my first effort at an undercover investigation and I was nervous. I didn’t want to blow it and make Ingrid suspicious. Out of all of my neighbors, however, she was probably the kindest and least likely to give me a hard time. That’s the main reason I decided to start with her. I’d just get a little practice digging for info before I approached anyone less agreeable.
“Well,” I started, “I was in the market for a wedding gift. For the Mayor.”
“A wedding gift,” Ingrid repeated. “I think I can help you. Maybe something like a gift basket?”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
Ingrid led me to the ba
skets and I examined them, trying to choose something that was large enough to be an appropriate wedding gift for the most important person in town but not so large that I would blow my budget. I had some cash in my wallet, but not a ton, and I was definitely on a budget now that my business was dying.
I settled on a medium sized red basket, hoped that I could fill it at least part way with decorative flowers, and followed as Ingrid led me around, showing me various bottles of sweet and savory spreads.
“Ingrid,” I tried to ask casually, “have you met the new groom? I mean, maybe he and the Mayor stopped in and had some particular favorites for me to add to the basket.” I didn’t want to blow my cover.
“Well, the Mayor likes the gooseberry jam,” Ingrid replied. “But no, I haven’t ever met her new beau. In fact, I don’t know a thing about him. Must be a nice boy if the Mayor chose him though,” Ingrid chuckled to herself as though she knew something nobody else knew. “Surely the Mayor wouldn’t get involved with anyone who didn’t fit right in here in Drachenfels. Wouldn’t bring home a troublemaker. No,” Ingrid’s eyes lit up, “that girl knows exactly what she’s doing. “Now,” Ingrid led me to the assorted spicy chutneys, “how about some of this pineapple chili I just made? It’s a new recipe that I’m just trying out.”
Rats! My first lead was a bust. Either Ingrid really didn’t know anything about Vega, or else her lips were sealed. At least, judging by the way she talked to me, I could trust her not to say anything about me to the cops. I paid for my exorbitantly expensive spreads and looked forward to eating them myself later, kind of like a consolation prize.
Next up was Cora’s, the perfumerie. Cora, like Eno Saputra, was a transplant to Drachenfels. She joined us from Paris, where her family had created and sold enchanted perfumes, presumably for centuries. I knew very little about her background or how she ended up on a mountain in the middle of nowhere, but I liked Cora a lot and I trusted her.
“Cora?” I asked, entering her shop. “Are you open?”
“Oui, Mademoiselle,” Cora looked up from a fashion magazine that she had been reading behind the counter. “Sorry. It’s been such a slow day. I haven’t sold a single bottle today.”
“You too, eh?” I nodded in commiseration. “Business has been slow for me too. I don’t know what it is… I think this murder has everyone on edge.”
“Maybe,” Cora nodded. “Most of my business is usually with our guests here in Drachenfels. I think we just haven’t been seeing the numbers we’re used to.”
That made sense to me. As much as I loved Cora’s perfumes, there were only so many bottles of luxury high end enchanted fragrances that I could buy for myself every year.
I decided to cut the charade and speak to Cora frankly.
“Cora, I wanted to ask you… have you ever met the Mayor’s new fiancé?”
“Yes, unfortunately,” Cora cringed. “He came in here and introduced himself to me. I don’t know what to say about him. I take it that you met him too?”
“Yeah,” I recalled my first impressions of Vega. “I think I may have had a similar experience with him as you.”
“Kind of seemed to me like a… smooth guy.”
“Right. A smooth guy.”
We both took a moment to stare out the window. Neither of us wanted to gossip about or disparage the Mayor’s new husband, but it was clear to me that Cora thought he was a sleaze too.
“Listen, Cora, do you know anything at all about this guy?”
“Only that he works in Munich. I hadn’t even heard of the Mayor dating someone until I heard about this wedding. I have no idea how long she’s known him or where they met or even what it is that he does in Munich. He did mention that he planned to relocate to Drachenfels, so whatever he does must be something he can do remotely. Or else he plans to commute?”
“No one seems to know anything at all about him. He just appeared in the Mayor’s life out of nowhere and now they’re getting married. And the wedding was supposed to attract a new generation of tourists to Drachenfels.”
“Oh,” Cora brightened up as though she had just remembered something. “And he didn’t seem to get along with the Mayor’s family. You know about that poor girl, I’m sure you do of course because you found her, but anyhow when he did come by my shop he mentioned her. The two of them didn’t seem to get along. I mean, she was also a very… challenging customer. But he seemed to despise her.”
“I got the same impression,” I concurred. “He mentioned that he didn’t like to be photographed. I wonder what kind of job he has that prevents him from being photographed?”
“I have no idea. I’m not really interested in following the intrigues of our dear Mayor’s love life. I just want to sit in my shop and create perfumes that bring magic and wonder into people’s lives. I’m not a detective.”
“I understand exactly how you feel. I wish that everything could go back to the way it was before Mandy Unterwegs came into our lives.”
“You’re telling me. She also visited my shop… the girl needed ‘samples’ in order to create an accurate post for her Instagram page. I don’t even have an Instagram page. She made her way through my shop dropping half a dozen full sized bottles of perfume into her handbag, which I’m pretty sure that she stole from Martin. She wanted fragrance that would bring her fame, money, protection from her enemies, and physical beauty. She wasn’t interested in friendship or love though.”
“I’m somehow not surprised.”
“Oh,” I thought of something else that I wanted to ask Cora. “Did Vega buy anything from you? He bought a pastry from me but didn’t touch it.”
“Yes, as a matter of fact,” Cora remembered. “That was a bit weird too. He said that he wanted a special perfume for the Mayor. You’d think he wanted something romantic or sexy, right? For his beautiful blushing bride? Well, you would be wrong. He wanted a fragrance that would soothe a bad temper. I guess we aren’t the only ones stressing out about this wedding.”
I had to laugh to myself. I certainly hoped that the Mayor used that fragrance, liberally. She had a tendency to get very animated when something wasn’t going her way.
“Well, thanks Cora. Can you please let me know if you hear anything else about the wedding, the Mayor’s new husband, the investigation… any of it?”
“Of course, Cherie. Please take care of yourself. And take this, as a little gift from me.” Cora produced a tiny vial of golden liquid from behind the counter. “It’s a protection fragrance. Just in case.”
I thanked Cora again for the help and the gift and applied a generous drop to my wrists before even leaving the store.
Chapter Eighteen
Outside the air was fresh and the sun was shining but I felt a grey cloud hanging over my head. Despite the beautiful day, I was beset by a heavy sense of dread. So far my investigations hadn’t turned up any new leads or evidence.
I contemplated continuing my journey up Main Street, but my gift basket of preserves was growing heavy in my arms and I wanted to stop for lunch anyways. I headed up the street to my own shop and let myself in, leaving the door unlocked behind me. I technically wasn’t open on Mondays, but no one was buying from me anyways lately so I didn’t think it would even matter.
I popped open my refrigerator and helped myself to a few chunks of cheese that I kept on hand. I had a nice aged gouda, some extra sharp cheddar, and a soft brie. I found a sleeve of crackers and set to work making myself a little platter of cheeses and chutneys, experimenting with flavor combinations that were sweet, spicy, sour, and creamy.
My entire life might be falling apart but that didn’t mean that I had to eat like it was the end of days.
I tucked into my little meal and savored the rich flavors of Ingrid’s preserves. The woman sure knew what to do with a tomato. Sweet, tart fruit exploded in my mouth and complimented the cheddar I had imported from Ireland. I drizzled local wild flower honey onto a bite of brie and let that combination melt slowly on my tastebuds.
As usual, a good meal rose my spirits. After taming the growling beast in my belly, I set myself back to my task. If I couldn’t get any dirt on Vega from my neighbors, I’d consult the other source of information that I had on hand… the internet.
It wasn’t often that I used my old desktop for anything other than administrative tasks for my bakery. I kept my accounting on the computer, of course, and I also planned orders and scheduled my baking.
I very rarely visited the internet; I had no reason to and I generally wasn’t very interested in stuff like social media. My entire social and familial circle lived in town and I still read the paper edition of our local newspaper.
I knew how to use the internet in the most basic sense, but I was hardly a world class internet detective. Nevertheless, I fired up my machine and logged on.
Viktor Vega was quite an unusual name. I entered it into a search engine and waited for results. I assumed that anything that popped up would probably be my Viktor Vega, because really, how many could there possibly be in the world?
As it turned out, more than I expected. I found a Viktor Vega who worked as a DJ in night clubs in New York. This was definitely not my guy; he was much younger. Then I found a champion show dog named Viktor Vega. Obviously not the Mayor’s new man, but this dog did have dozens and dozens of search results. There was a professional wrestler named Viktor Vega, not my guy.
Finally, I found a Viktor Vega who was involved in some weapons smuggling deal in an old newspaper. This Viktor Vega was promising… he was affiliated with organized crime and I could certainly understand why someone like that wouldn’t want to have his private life broadcast to the public over Instagram.
No dice. This Viktor Vega was a Tunisian guy living under a pseudonym. I was pretty sure that our Viktor Vega was not Tunisian.
Then I remembered… Vega had handed me his business card.
