Murder at the Cooking School: Book 7 of the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series
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MURDER AT
THE COOKING SCHOOL
By
Dianne Harman
(A Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series - Book 7)
Copyright © 2015 Dianne Harman
www.dianneharman.com
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form without written permission except for the use of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
Website, Interior & Cover design by Vivek Rajan Vivek
Paperback ISBN: 978-1514851425
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Every time I get a favorable email or someone posts a compliment on my Facebook page, or tells me how much they enjoyed one of my books, I’m thankful and yes, amazed that I’m able to write books that people like to read. I thank you, my loyal readers, for making both the Cedar Bay and the Liz Lucas Cozy Mystery Series so successful. Murder in Cottage #6 was recently named as ‘One of the Top 50 Self-Published Books of 2014 - 2015” by Readfreely, and I’ve been recognized as an Amazon All-Star author for many months because of the popularity of my books. It truly humbles me. None of this would have happened without you!
As always, a deserved shout-out to Vivek Rajan for his ability to turn my book cover requests into brilliant realities and for effortlessly formatting my books.
I’m so lucky to be married to my best friend who takes care of everything around the house, so I can follow my passion – writing. He’s a harsh critic, but because of his attention to detail, he makes me look good. Thanks, Tom!
Lastly, in full disclosure, my husband I were fortunate enough to spend a week at a cooking school in Tuscany several years ago. All of the recipes in this book come from our time there. I’ve used them many times over the years, and I find them every bit as good now as they were when we learned to cook them in Tuscany. My biggest challenge while at the cooking school was figuring out how the chef made everything look so easy. Tuscany is a magical place, but fortunately we didn’t have to deal with a murder.
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
Recipes!
ABOUT DIANNE
CHAPTER 1
Kelly Reynolds, the owner of Kelly’s Koffee Shop, one of the most popular places to eat along the Oregon coast, and her husband, Mike, the Beaver County, Oregon sheriff, were standing in front of the baggage carousel in the Florence, Italy, airport waiting for their luggage.
“Mike, I’m really, really tired, but I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited in my whole life. I can’t wait to see what the cooking school and the castle look like.”
“I’m beat, too,” Mike said. “That layover in Heathrow didn’t help. I’ve never tried to sleep on a short hard surfaced couch in an airport with a gazillion people coming and going, and I want to tell you that it’s not something I want to ever try and do again, but if that’s what was required so we could get away from all we’ve been involved in recently, I guess I’ll have to take it.”
“Well, we’ll probably have to go through Heathrow again on the way back, but for the next few days I’m not going to do anything but cook, drink some wine, and soak up the wonderful Italian ambience. I refuse to think about the murders we’ve had to solve. I’m so sorry your aunt was murdered, but I’d be a liar if I didn’t tell you that I certainly appreciate you being the heir to her estate which made it possible for us to go on a very belated and long overdue honeymoon. Oh, I see our bags.”
A few minutes later they walked through the airport doors and began looking for the white van from the cooking school, pulling their luggage behind them. The instructions the school had sent them indicated that the van would be picking up several people who were arriving around the same time to attend the cooking school. They were told to look for a white van with an Italian flag painted on the side.
“Mike, look over there. That must be it,” Kelly said gesturing towards a white van with the flag of Italy prominently painted on the side. They walked over to it as a large man got out of the driver’s side and took their luggage.
“Benvenuti. Welcome to Italy. My name is Alberto. I will be your driver during your stay at the Castello di Nardo. It will be a one hour drive, so please make yourselves comfortable. The other guests are already in the van. You’re the last ones to arrive.”
They stepped into the van and introduced themselves to the other six cooking school students. Within minutes they were on their way to a long overdue honeymoon and adventure. They never suspected that their romantic cooking school honeymoon in Tuscany would find them yet again in the midst of another murder investigation.
*****
Kelly and Mike spent the one hour drive to the castle looking out the window of the van at the beautiful Italian landscape while Alberto gave a running commentary about what they were seeing. He made several turns off of the superstrada or expressway and eventually turned onto a long driveway dramatically lined with enormous old cypress trees leading up to the impressive Castello di Nardo.
“A crude form of the castle was first built in the Middle Ages,” the affable driver said, “and then during the Renaissance it was completely rebuilt and converted into an aristocratic residence called the Castello di Nardo. It has a private chapel which is situated in a panoramic position on a hilltop slightly above the castle. The property has belonged to the Nardo family for centuries. The state of art cooking school, which you’ll be attending, is located in the castle which is situated in the center of the large estate where the family produces Chianti wine and olive oil which is sold throughout the world.
“The Castello di Nardo has recently been carefully renovated to make it into a boutique hotel. The architect and builder preserved the original rooms with antique furniture, large 17th century stone fireplaces, and floors made with terra cotta stone and marble. It’s been equipped with every modern convenience such as central heating, Internet connection, satellite TV, and laundry service.
“The garden, which overlooks the valley below, is surrounded by very old trees, and on the large stone terrace there’s an Olympic sized swimming pool with a Roman staircase lined with mosaics, two bathroom/dressing rooms, and plenty of lounging furniture. Next to the pool area is a hydromassage pool with access to a gymnasium and sauna. The entire terrace is lit up at night by large, wrought iron lamps. It’s really quite spectacular,” he said, passing through the entrance gate to the castle and coming to a stop in a large circular driveway.
The door of the castle opened immediately and an imposing, rather unattractive, woman walked out, accompanied by a younger man dressed in a traditional black and white hotel uniform. A huge dog stood on one side of the woman and on the other side was a dog that looked like a hunting dog.
“Buonasera, I am Signora Tonia Nardo. Welcome to my family’s castle, the Castello di Nardo. I hope you enjoy your stay here. Matteo will show you to your rooms. Wine will served in the library at 7:00 p.m., and dinner will be at 8:00. If you need anything, please call the front desk.”
The guests got out of the van and followed Matteo up the stairs while two young men unloaded the luggage and followed them. Kelly and Mike stared at the beautiful 18th and 19th century oil paintings which were casually displayed on the walls of the winding staircase. Matteo showed the guests to their rooms, and as they entered the room where they would be staying while they were at the cooking school, Kelly and Mike both realized a great deal of money had been spent modernizing the castle. Electricity, running water, a flat screen television, and a telephone had all been installed. There was even a place on the desk for recharging cell phones and electronic tablets.
The antique furniture in their room looked like it had been in the castle for many years, if not centuries. Kelly had always enjoyed looking through magazines that featured antiques and stood in the middle of the room admiring the antiques surrounding her. What looked like a period lamp was on the nightstand, and a very old and authentic looking marble bust was prominently displayed on the dresser. If the furniture and furnishings hadn’t been in the castle for centuries, someone had taken a great deal of care decorating it to make sure that both the castle and its rooms looked just as they had so many years ago.
“Oh, Mike, this is absolutely incredible. If the cooking school is half as good as what we’ve seen so far, this is going to be fabulous. Thank you again for coming up with the idea to spend our long delayed honeymoon at a cooking school in Tuscany. I think we’re going to love this!”
“I couldn’t agree more. We have two hours until we’re having wine in the library. Think I’ll try to grab a nap. Want to join me?”
“No. I want to look at this view. I don’t want to waste a minute of our time here. Enjoy your nap, and I’ll wake you in time for wine at 7:00 in the library.”
The room overlooked a broad valley with rolling hills in the distance. Although it was just beginning to get dark, Kelly could easily make out the castle’s vineyards and olive trees. She remembered being told by someone once that it was considered rude to ask how many acres of ranchland or farmland a person owned. Kelly assumed the same was true for vineyards, but she was sure that the Nardo acreage had to be in the many hundreds. It was stunningly beautiful. The paintings and photographs of Tuscany landscapes that she had seen and admired in books and magazines for years were reflected in the beautiful landscape before her as she stood nearly mesmerized, in front of the window admiring the view.
CHAPTER 2
Luisa Bianchi, the chef at the Castello di Nardo cooking school said, “Sal, listen to me. I tell you I heard Tonia talking on the phone with that famous TV chef, Elena Oberti. Even someone like you must have heard of her. Since you don’t do anything all day but lie around the house and watch television, I know you’ve seen her. She has her own cooking show on television. I’m sure Tonia’s going to get rid of me, so she can hire Elena Oberti.”
Luisa’s husband, Salvadore Nardo, the brother of Tonia Nardo, the owner of Castello di Nardo, looked away from the television set and turned to her. “She can’t get rid of you. She knows I’ll tell her husband about the affair she’s been having with Giovanni Rossi. No, that is just not possible. You must have misheard what she said on the phone.”
“Listen to me, you stupid man. No wonder your parents gave her the castle. She is going to fire me, and then what will we do? The only other place I could teach cooking classes is at Berto Moretti’s cooking school on the other side of the village, and he will never hire me. He hates Tonia and everyone who works for her, and if I don’t work, we’ll be out on the street. We have to do something.”
“Luisa, I’ve been thinking,” Salvadore said. “That castle should rightfully be mine. If it was mine you could teach even more cooking classes, and we’d get all the money that the cooking school brings in, not just some of it. I could run the hotel, and you could run the cooking school. I know my parents were always worried that Tonia’s husband would get the castle if something happened to her, but remember I told you before we were married that my mother said they put a clause in their Wills that the castle would revert back to the Nardo family if anything ever happened to her. Guess what? Once my sister Tonia is gone, I’m the only member left of the Nardo family, and we’ll get the castle.”
“Of course I remember that. You’ve told me enough times.”
“I know, but until now it wasn’t all that important. Everything seemed to be going along fine. You worked at the castle teaching cooking, and I was able to stay in the house and take care of my medical condition.”
“Sal, I would hardly call having a sore back from time to time a medical condition that keeps you from working. You have a degree in engineering, and you could find work without any problem.”
“That’s easy for you to say, but when you’re an engineer oftentimes you’re required to climb up into buildings and do other strenuous physical things. You know I can’t do anything like that, because it might make my back worse than it already is.”
“What you mean is that you wouldn’t be able to drink grappa all day if you had a job. Sal, we need to do something. The only reason I agreed to marry you was that you told me someday we’d live in the Castello di Nardo.” She looked around at the small dingy room of their tiny house. “This sure doesn’t look like any castle to me.”
“Yeah, well you told me you were going to be a famous chef, and to my knowledge, the only place you’ve ever cooked is in my family’s castle, and that was only because I blackmailed my sister and got her to hire you.”
Luisa sat down heavily at the foot of the couch where Sal was laying. She reached over and pushed the mute button on the television remote and said through the tears that were now streaming down her face, “Sal, we have to do something, now. Seriously, we’ll be out on the street if your sister hires a new chef. If you’re unwilling to do anything, maybe it’s time for me to take action.”
“What are you talking about? My sister wouldn’t dare get rid of you. I don’t think she loves her husband, but I sure don’t think she’d want to be divorced either, and I don’t see Giovanni Rizzo leaving his beautiful wife to marry my ugly sister. If she fires you, and if her husband finds out she’s having an affair, he might leave her. So if both you and her husband are gone, she’d be all alone with no one to help run the cooking school. That’s what I meant when I said she’d never fire you.”
“I don’t necessarily agree with you, but here’s something I’ve been thinking about for some time. You need to get rid of your sister. If something happened to her, you’d be the sole and rightful heir to the castle, and our lives would forever change for the better. Things happen around castles. People take falls. Old buildings crumble for no reason and crush someone. When a woman or a man is out hunting, sometimes they’re accidentally shot by another hunter, and often no one knows who shot them.”
“Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting?”
“Let’s put it this way. If you don’t take care of this situation within forty-eight hours, I will. Am I making myself clear?”
“Yeah, I get it. Now go get me some more grappa. I need to come up with a plan.”
“Feel free to come up with one, because if you don’t I’ll put mine into effect. We belong in that castle, and I intend to be there very soon, one way or another.”
CHAPTER 3
It was a warm sunny afternoon on the outskirts of the little Italian village where Angelica Rizzo and her husband, Giovanni, lived amidst thei
r groves of olive trees. She sat on the patio and enjoyed a chilled glass of white wine while she nibbled on some salami and bread which had been baked that morning by her cook. The setting was idyllic with the bright warm sun making the leaves on the olive trees even greener, if that was possible. She looked out at the spotlessly maintained olive groves where workers walked the rows daily to keep them free from weeds. If olive groves were ever in a contest for being perfectly cared for, the Rizzo groves would easily win.
Giovanni had told her he’d be late for dinner, because a client of his needed to see him about some legal problems he was having. Even though Giovanni had been a successful attorney for many years, he never used to let clients interfere with the time he considered sacred, the time he spent with his wife. She shook her head in frustration.
I know he’s having an affair. Too many of my friends have hinted at it for it not to be true. I’ve tried to ignore the innuendos, but even though I’m dying inside, I’ll never give anyone the satisfaction of thinking I know what they’re talking about. I can just imagine what they must be saying. Probably that I’m stupid or blind. I’m sure I’m the laughingstock of the village, a pitiful version of the village idiot.
I didn’t want to think the rumors were true, but after finding the receipt for the hotel in Florence, I couldn’t ignore the situation any longer. I had to talk to someone, so I told my friend Luisa, the chef at Castello di Nardo. She patted my hand and told me Signora Nardo was gone from the castle on the same day as the date on the receipt. She’d told the staff that she had business in Florence. Right. She had business in Florence all right. Business with my husband.
She must be the reason Giovanni hasn’t come to my bed for many months. I’m much prettier than she is, and people always tell me how warm and real I am. She’s a cold domineering woman. I don’t know what he sees in her. He never asks me anymore about what I did during the day or what I think about something. I’m glad I hired Piero to follow him and tell me if he’s having an affair with Tonia Nardo. I wish Piero would call. I don’t think I can go on like this much longer. I hired him a week ago, and surely he’s found out something by now.