Fine Dining

by Gale Deitch

  “There you are,” a man growled from the back door, which had been propped open for staff to empty trash or have a smoke in the alley. We all turned to the figure, a gruff older man with a mop of gray hair and a cane.

  He pointed his cane at Micah. “You owe me.”

  “Mr. Benson, what are you doing here? Your store closed hours ago. Come into my office and sit down.” May motioned toward the office, but he plopped into a chair in the corner of the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong, Mr. Benson?” May asked. “What does Micah owe you?”

  “He owes me five hundred dollars, that’s what. Said he was in trouble and needed it right away so’s he wouldn’t get beat up. Seeing as he was your brother, May, I thought he’d be good for it. S’posed to get it back to me a week ago now and I’m still waiting.” He glared at Micah.

  May stood up and turned to her brother. “It’s those goons out there, isn’t it, that you owe money? You been payin’ them off? When I told you not to?”

  Micah put his hands out to her as if pleading. “Sis, please. I was just protectin’ you.”

  Her eyes shone with disappointment. “You got Mr. Benson’s money?”

  Micah looked at the floor and shook his head.

  Without saying a word, May went into the office then returned to the kitchen and handed some bills to Mr. Benson.

  He nodded. “Thank you, May. You’re a real lady. Yes, you are.” He stood up and hobbled out the back door.

  The kitchen was silent again. No sizzling pans, no pots or dishes clanking, no voices calling out orders.

  Gus stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Miss May, Micah owes me money, too.”

  She glared at Micah, and then turned to the head chef. “How much does he owe you, Gus?”

  The brawny man took off his baseball cap, exposing a dark brown buzz cut, and turned to look at Micah. “A hundred.”

  May retrieved the money from her office and handed it to Gus. “Anyone else?” she asked, scanning her staff.

  A timer went off on the oven. No one moved.

  “Then let’s all get back to work. Micah, come outside with me.”

  Micah followed her into the alley.

  She spoke in a hushed voice, but one I could still hear. “I want you out of here now.” Then it began to crescendo. “I want you out of my house, out of my kitchen, out of my restaurant, out of this town.” Now she yelled at the top of her lungs, her voice strangled. “I want you out of my life—forever. I wish you were never born. Now. Get. Out.”

  Tears sprang to my eyes. I knew May loved Micah. He was her only living relative, and even with all his failings, she still believed that one day he would grow up and make something of himself. But seeing her now, disgraced by her brother in front of her staff, her business neighbor, and me, her friend, I knew that all of her hopes and dreams for Micah had disintegrated.

  I didn’t want her to have to face me now in her embarrassment, so I turned to leave. That’s when I discovered Daniel standing in the doorway. I wondered how long he’d been standing there and how much he had heard.

  As we returned to our table, I glanced up at the other diners who seemed to be looking to us for word about the loud ruckus in the kitchen. Daniel put his hand up and nodded, indicating that all was okay and they could return to their meals. The men Micah had spoken to earlier were gone; two young couples now occupied the corner table.

  Daniel signaled Katie for the check. Her entire demeanor had changed, her face drained of all color, her eyes ringed with red. Had she been distressed for May or was she upset that Micah would be leaving town? Either way, I felt bad for her in her sweet innocence. Katie acknowledged Daniel with a nod and stepped into the kitchen.

  And we waited.

  I was anxious to leave so May wouldn’t have to face us. I wanted to speak to Daniel about the gang of extortionists terrorizing local business owners. Most of all, I just wanted to get into bed with him to lie in the comfort of his arms.

  Daniel and I picked at the dish of pralines and sipped our coffee. I folded my napkin and placed it on the table, then took a moment to go to the ladies’ room. When I returned, Daniel shrugged his shoulders and checked his watch.

  Where was Katie with that check?

  Daniel was on the verge of going in search of her when screams emerged from the direction of the kitchen. Muffled at first and then more pronounced, they seeped into the dining room like a noxious gas.

  Daniel sprang from his seat and ran into the kitchen.

  I followed close behind.

  As I entered the kitchen, tortured cries rang out from the alley. I followed Daniel out the back door. The restaurant staff stood in a ring gazing down at the ground, their shrieks and sobs escaping into the muggy August air.

  “Police,” Daniel pronounced in an authoritative tone as he shouldered his way into the scene.

  I took advantage of the opening he’d created and peered through to see what had happened.

  I gasped.

  A man’s body lay face up, a red stain spreading across his white shirt like a paper towel absorbing a spill. His face was turned away from me, but reflecting from the overhead spotlight on the building, a large diamond sparkled in his left ear. Micah.

  May sat on the ground rocking back and forth, her voice keening, face to the heavens. Her hands were raised high, grasping a chef’s knife dripping with blood.

  Chapter Two

  Daniel eased his way over, stooped next to May and touched her arm. “May, put the knife down,” he crooned in her ear.

  She looked at him, then at her raised hands, a confused expression on her face. She swiveled the hand that held the knife as if seeing it for the first time, and then lowered it slowly, never taking her eyes off of it.

  “Put the knife down,” Daniel repeated in a soft, gentle tone.

  May brought it to the ground in front of her and opened her hand to release it.

  “Good girl.” Daniel took a handkerchief out of his pocket and picked up the knife. Then he looked at me and nodded toward May.

  I knew what he wanted and knelt next to her, putting my arm around her shoulders. “May, honey. Come inside with me.”

  Silent, she didn’t move, but just stared at her brother’s bloody body on the ground in front of her.

  Daniel crouched next to the body and checked the pulse then shook his head.

  May’s face was expressionless, her body motionless, but with my arms still around her I felt the vibration of her trembling. I looked up at Daniel, who was calling for backup. “Give me your jacket,” I said. “I think she’s in shock.”

  I put the jacket around her shoulders. “May? Come inside, honey.” She rose to her feet and let me walk her into the kitchen where I sat her in the chair that had recently been occupied by Mr. Benson. I seated myself beside her.

  Within five minutes, several cruisers had screeched into the alley from both directions, lights flashing, sirens blaring. Officers spilled into the kitchen from the dining room, indicating that other cruisers had pulled up to the front of the restaurant as well.

  Daniel came into the kitchen from the alley, shouting instructions to the uniformed cops. “All staff is to remain for questioning. I want everyone’s prints. What did they see? Who left their stations? Jack,” he said to one of the men. “Did you reach the ME? We need him here pronto to check out the body.”

  “He’s on his way, sir. Be here in ten.”

  “Good. Before any customers leave,” Daniel nodded toward the dining room, “I want every person questioned, table by table. Get names, addresses, and phone numbers in case we need to reach them.”

  That was one of the things I loved about Daniel. He was a take-charge guy.

  The door from the dining room opened, and a woman in a tailored gray suit entered. Statuesque and shapely with strawberry-blonde hair cascading seductively to her shoulders, the woman exuded feminine sensuality. Her turquoise eyes scanned the room then rested on Daniel. She flashed a grin at hi
m. “Dan,” she said. “I got your message.”

  Dan? I didn’t know anyone who called him Dan. Who the heck was this woman?

  Daniel sauntered over to her and nodded. “Thanks for coming, Sherrie. Let me fill you in on all the details so far,” he said, escorting her into the alley to the crime scene.

  Sherrie? I stood motionless for a moment then turned to May. At any other time, she would have had some choice words about the vixen cop who had taken over all Daniel’s attention. But this wasn’t any other time. This was now. And May continued to sit in a mute stupor, staring at nothing, saying nothing. Her trembling seemed to have subsided a little, but I secured Daniel’s jacket more snugly around her shoulders. One of the servers offered her water. I held the glass to her lips, but she only shook her head. At least that was some type of response.

  Watching her, I allowed my mind to go to the place I’d avoided to this point. I couldn’t deny what I’d seen with my own eyes, what everyone had seen—May sitting at her brother’s side, the bloody knife in her hand. Could May really have killed her own brother? Sure, she’d been angry—angrier than I’d ever seen her; but this was Micah, the baby brother she’d always doted on. I couldn’t believe she would ever take his life--or anyone else’s.

  “Do you want to talk about it, May? What happened out there?”

  She turned to me, her moist eyes bewildered and pleading, and shook her head.

  Daniel came back into the kitchen with the lady cop. She’d unbuttoned her jacket exposing the ruffles on her pink silk blouse that heaved with every breath.

  Daniel brought her over to me and I stood up. “Trudie Fine, this is Sergeant Sherrie Flowers. She’ll be helping with the case.”

  Sergeant Flowers stuck out her hand to me and I shook it, trying to match her firm grip.

  “How is she?” Daniel asked, gesturing toward May.

  “I think she’s definitely in shock,” I said. “She needs medical attention.”

  He nodded and radioed for an EMT. “For now they’ll attend to May, but she needs to stay here until we can question her.”

  I glanced at the blankness in her face, her lifeless eyes, and rigid posture and wondered how such a perfect evening could have deteriorated into this horrific nightmare.

  “We’ll use the office,” Daniel said as he and she-cop Sherrie disappeared inside and closed the door. After a few moments, the door opened and restaurant staff were admitted one-by-one for questioning. Occasionally, when Daniel emerged from the office, he would glance over at May and me with an unreadable expression. I wondered if he was concerned about May or about me.

  The cloying odors of partially-cooked meals, red snapper that had been sautéing in butter, Brussels sprouts charring on the grill, torched crème brule, all hung in the air. So I was relieved when the EMTs arrived and, after taking May’s vitals, helped her into the ladies’ room, laid her on the chaise lounge, and covered her with a blanket. I continued to try to speak with May, but she sat silent. Thank goodness I was here to give her support.

  I really wanted to talk to Daniel, not just to get his take on all of this, but to find out more about that female cop and why she had been called in on this case. Not that he would tell me anything in the middle of an investigation. Everything had to go by the book with Daniel. I thought about the month before, when Daniel had arrested my partner Zach for the murder of our client. During the investigation, as the attraction between us had grown stronger, Daniel would not jeopardize the case by allowing himself to sleep with me. He’d felt guilty enough about the times we did spend together, intimate or not.

  Two hours had passed since the horrifying discovery of Micah’s body. Finally, when all the staff had been released and only May remained, Daniel and Sherrie came into the ladies’ room. “Trudie, we need to speak with May now.”

  “Okay. But she hasn’t uttered a word yet,” I whispered. I sat where I was, waiting for their first question.

  “Alone, Trudie. We need to speak to her alone.” He stood, waiting.

  I looked from Daniel to Sherry and back. “Oh. Okay.” I got up from my chair and ambled into the dining room to wait, wondering how the hominy Daniel thought he would get May to answer his questions.

  An officer sat at a table writing notes in a book. Other than that, the dining room was unoccupied. I’d been sitting for so long with May that I was restless. I wandered from table to table, examining the food that remained on the plates, all these wonderful uneaten dishes, now wasted.

  When I reached the table where Daniel and I had been sitting, I spotted the platter with May’s delicious pralines, several still untouched. I popped one into my mouth, savoring the crunch of buttery pecans, the chewy caramel and the crumbles of brown sugar. I wondered when May would ever recover enough to cook again.

  Finally, the three of them emerged, May’s hands cuffed behind her back. Daniel led her through the dining room toward the front door while Sergeant Flowers recited her Miranda rights. May’s expression was blank, her head down.

  I scurried over to them. “Daniel, what are you doing?”

  He glanced up at me and shook his head, she-cop Sherrie continuing her statement, “…Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law…You have the right to an attorney…”

  “Daniel, where are you taking her? You can’t do this. May didn’t kill him. She couldn’t have killed her brother. Daniel, no.”

  Sergeant Flowers glanced from me to Daniel, but continued speaking. “…If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”

  “Stop.” I stood in front of May and Sergeant Flowers and Daniel, holding my hand against his chest. An officer behind them took a step toward me, but Daniel signaled him to stop.

  “Trudie. Don’t get in the way. We need to do this.”

  “I know it looks bad, but I don’t think May could have killed her brother. Daniel, please.”

  He frowned at me and put his hand on my cheek. His eyes were intense, and I knew there was no changing his mind. “Then she’ll be proven innocent. Here are the keys to my car. I’ll meet you at home later.”

  “But where are you taking her? I want to go with her. Can’t you see she’s in shock?”

  “We’re taking her into custody. For now she’ll be evaluated in the psych ward. She’ll be safe and well-cared for. I’ll make sure of it. Go home, Trudie.”

  I looked at May, still silent and blank-faced, and stood aside to let them pass. Yes, she needed help; help that I couldn’t give her. I followed them out the door and watched as the officer put her into the back of the cruiser and Sergeant Flowers opened the car door and sat behind the wheel.

  Daniel walked me to his car and helped me into the driver’s seat, waiting until I adjusted the seat and mirrors, buckled myself in and locked the doors.

  I opened the window. “Who is she?” I asked, gesturing my head back in Sergeant Flowers’ direction. “And why is she working on the case with you?”

  “I can’t handle this case myself. First of all, I’m off duty tonight. Second, it’s a conflict of interest. May is our friend. I’m too close to be objective. Sherrie just happened to be the senior officer on duty. So she’s my partner on the case.”

  “Sherrie, is it? Your partner? You’ve known her a long time, I guess?”

  Daniel grinned at me. “Yes, we’ve both been at this station for about eight years. Worked on some cases together. Do I detect some jealousy here, Miss Fine?”

  “Jealousy. Hah! I just think May would be in better care if you were in charge of the case.”

  “Don’t worry, Trudie. I’ll watch out for her.” He lifted my chin to kiss me, but I turned away. He’d allowed my dear friend May to be arrested. He was partnering with this she-cop, Sherrie Flowers. Right now, I had no inclination to kiss him.

  I watched in the rear-view mirror as he walked back to the police cruiser and got into the passenger seat next to Sherrie.

  I’d considered going home to my parents’ house
, but it was late and I didn’t want to wake them. At Daniel’s house, I changed into a cotton nightshirt and got into bed. How could this happen? How could someone as kind and nurturing as May be arrested for murdering her own brother? I wasn’t tired at all, so I got up and started pacing. I needed to tell someone, talk to someone. Zach. I needed to talk to Zach, my best friend. He would give me some perspective on this and a shoulder to lean on since protocol meant that Daniel’s shoulder wouldn’t be available.

  I looked at the clock, surprised that it was barely midnight. It seemed like we’d been at the restaurant for days. I dialed Zach’s home number, but there was no answer. I dialed his cell, and after a few rings, he picked up.

  Of course it was late, but Zachary Cohen and I had known each other, and been inseparable, since childhood and were now partners at our catering company, A Fine Fix. So our antennae often scented out each other’s problems. We had an uncanny telepathy between us, a little like identical twins.

  “Trudie, what’s wrong?”

  “May’s been arrested.” I sighed and released my breath.

  “What? Our May? Maybelline? Why was she arrested?”

  “They say she killed her brother, Micah. Oh Zach, Daniel and I were having a beautiful, romantic dinner at Maybelline’s, and all of a sudden there’s all this screaming and Micah’s lying dead and bloody in the alley behind the restaurant.”

  There was a pause. “And why would they think May did it?”

  I hesitated. “She was sitting on the ground next to him with a bloody knife in her hand.” Hearing myself say it out loud, the reality of the situation came crashing down on me. I plopped onto the bed and hugged Daniel’s pillow to my chest.

  “Well. That sounds pretty incriminating, doesn’t it?” Zach said this quietly, probably afraid of my reaction.

  “I guess it does. But Zach, you know May. She’s a kind, sweet soul. And she loved her brother. Sure, he was a freeloader and a manipulator and brought trouble wherever he went. Sure, she was really angry at him. But she wouldn’t kill him.” Would she? I thought.