Murder at the Cooking School: Book 7 of the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series

by Dianne Harman

  “I know it’s very early in the investigation, and what I’m going to say is extremely simplistic, but it sounds like he would have a very good reason to murder her. I imagine this castle and the land is worth a great deal of money.”

  “Yes, it definitely is. That would be in addition to the thriving olive oil business and the wine that is produced here, both of which are sold world-wide at a substantial profit,” the chief said.

  “Again, I know it’s early in the investigation, but have there been any instances of marital discord? Have there been rumors of either of them having affairs?”

  “You’re right, it is very early in the investigation, but from what the staff has told us, even though the Nardos seemed as different as night and day, he was certainly devoted to her, and there were no outwards signs of marital discord.”

  “The policeman who talked to me mentioned that Signora Nardo was discovered by her maid. Where was Signor Nardo?”

  “In Italy it is very common for people who have been married a long time to have separate bedrooms, if they can afford to do so, and obviously the Nardos could afford to do so. He was in his bedroom having breakfast. From what her maid told me, she takes Signor Nardo his breakfast and the morning papers and then takes Signora Nardo’s to her. Signor Nardo did not find out about the murder until he was told by the castle security guard.”

  “How is he taking her death?” Mike asked.

  “As expected. He’s in shock and can’t believe it. I briefly talked to him, and if it turns out she was murdered, he can’t imagine who might have killed her or who would have any reason to want her dead.”

  “That might be true, but I’ve seen too many wives and husbands over the years put on a very good act when it comes to the death of a spouse. I’m not saying he did it, it’s just always the first place I look when a spouse has been murdered.”

  “In that we are alike. I will be investigating both of their private lives as well as those of the staff here at the castle, but as of right now, there are no suspects. Here’s my card. I’ve written my cell phone number on the back. Please call me if you hear or see anything I should know about.”

  “Something just occurred to me. When we arrived yesterday afternoon, Signora Nardo had two dogs with her. I haven’t seen them this morning. Would they have slept in the room with her?”

  “I wondered about that as well. Every time I have come to the castle her dogs have always been with her. One of them is quite a protector. People in Italy buy the courser breed for just that purpose. They don’t attack unless they are told to by their owner. Many wealthy Italians own them as guard dogs. The other dog is her hunting dog. The Signora was known to be an excellent shot and loved to hunt. Her maid told me that after she retired, one of the staff members always took the dogs to the dog run. The dogs were brought to her room when she had finished breakfast.”

  “So if she was murdered, the dogs would not have been in her room. Seems kind of odd she would own a dog for protection, and yet it wasn’t with her at night. Where are they now?”

  “They’re in the dog run behind the castle. Even though they are both perfectly trained, Signora Nardo knew that Caesar, her courser, terrified a lot of people. To be honest, he terrified me the first time I saw him. He weighs about one hundred fifty pounds and it’s all muscle. When she entertained she often put them in the dog run to put her guests at ease. There is a dog house for each of them in the run. Bruno is her Italian pointer and has a very sweet disposition. I don’t think he’s ever intimidated anyone. Her maid told me that Signora Nardo thought only peasants slept with dogs in their room, and she refused to do what the peasants do. If she was murdered, being a peasant during the nighttime might have saved her life.”

  “I have a guard dog,” Mike said, “and he sleeps with us. Maybe I’m a peasant. Each to his own. I’m sure you’ve considered that her death might have been a suicide.”

  “Yes, of course we’re looking into that possibility, but so far we’ve found nothing to support it. We’ll know more after we get the coroner’s report. Usually when a person commits suicide, they want to punish someone, or there is a history of mental instability. There was no note or anything else to indicate that suicide was the cause of death, and I’ve never heard anything about Signora Nardo being mentally unstable.”

  “Here’s my cell phone number,” Mike said. “If you want me to look into something specifically, feel free to call me. I’m sure things will begin to surface soon.”

  “I appreciate your willingness to help. Enjoy the cooking school. I’ve heard very good things about it.”

  “Thank you, and I’ll talk to you soon.”

  CHAPTER 9

  As she made her way down the stairs, Kelly heard voices coming from the hallway that led to the kitchen where the cooking classes were being held. She knew she was quite early for the class, but she was nervous and thought getting there a little early would help overcome her nervousness. She hesitated, not wanting to intrude on the conversation. She clearly heard two women speaking in Italian. What surprised her was that she understood almost all of what they were saying.

  When she’d been in school she’d taken several Italian classes, but she hadn’t spoken it for years and had been certain none of it would come back to her. A few weeks before they left for Italy, she’d gone to The Book Nook, the book store her friend Ginger owned, and purchased a couple of books on Italian, hoping to refresh her memory. She thought it would be fun to be able to say a few phrases and maybe understand a word or two. What really surprised her was that it all came back to her. She felt like she was picking up something she’d learned yesterday instead of many years ago.

  Kelly had gone back to the The Book Nook a second time and bought a novel written in Italian, curious if she’d be able to read it. It was as if she was back in school. She read the book from front to back and never questioned a word. She knew the real test would come when she was in Italy and actually heard people speaking Italian. She also knew that seeing something in print and hearing it could be two very different things. She wanted to surprise Mike, so she hadn’t mentioned it to him.

  She stood very still, her curiosity overcoming the rudeness of her eavesdropping. The women were talking about Signora Nardo. “The police don’t know it, but we all do. There were a lot of people who would have liked to see her dead,” one of them said.

  “Well, I’m not going to be the one to tell them, are you?” the second woman asked.

  “No. I don’t want to get involved, plus if one of them killed her, I could be the next one.”

  “It could have been her brother. They’ve fought for years over this property. From what I’ve heard he always felt he should have inherited it, not her. He’s a good-for-nothing, so I’m not surprised her parents gave it to her. Don’t forget about Berto Moretti. My friend tells me he’d give anything if his cooking school was as popular as hers. He has to discount what he charges to get anyone to even attend, because it’s everyone’s second choice. They all want to come to the Castello di Nardo.”

  “What about Giovanni Rizzo. The Signora didn’t think anyone knew about her relationship with him, but everyone did. She told people he was her lawyer, which he was, but that wasn’t all he was. Do you think the Signor knew about them?”

  “I don’t know, but I heard that Signora Rizzo knew. And I know something I don’t think anyone else knows. Signora Nardo met with a man who promised to loan her a lot of money if she would use the castle as collateral. Rosario in the village was here the day he came, and she said he was Mafia from Sicily. Signora Nardo did all the bookkeeping for the two of them, so I don’t think her husband knew they were very badly in debt before she converted the castle into a hotel and started the cooking school.”

  “I don’t know what to think. As cruel as she could be to the people who worked for her, many of the staff members would be more than happy to see her dead. There’s no way she would commit suicide. She thought she was above everyone. She
never would have done that. Her health was good, so I’m convinced she must have been murdered. What else could it be?”

  “Well, I wasn’t the one who killed her. I don’t like being around dead people, and believe me, I’ve seen enough to know I don’t want anything to do with the police. Let’s not speak of this again. I have to go to the kitchen to help Chef Bianchi, and I don’t want to be late. She can be a very demanding chef.”

  “Tell me about it. I’m glad I’m not working in the kitchen with her. I had to do it the last time she taught a cooking school here, and it wasn’t one of my favorite things to do. I’ll stick with cleaning the guests’ rooms. Like you, I won’t be talking about this to anyone.”

  Kelly could tell from their fading voices that the two women were no longer in the hallway. Her heart was beating wildly, and she wondered if she should go back to the room and tell Mike what she’d overheard. The two women had unwittingly provided a lot of information she knew would take Mike and the police chief a long time to find out.

  I‘ll tell him later. He’s probably still with the police chief, and I really don’t want to be late to the first cooking class, particularly after listening to those two women talk about Chef Bianchi. I wonder what we’ve gotten into here at the Castello di Nardo.

  CHAPTER 10

  Kelly walked into the kitchen where the cooking classes were going to be held and looked around in surprise. She thought she’d be the only one nervous about the cooking classes, but the fact that everyone was there early made her think she wasn’t the only one who was anxious about them. One of the chef’s assistants walked over to Kelly and handed her an apron and a notebook with the recipes they would be making that day with Kelly’s name written on the front of it. Kelly looked at her and assumed she was one of the women Kelly had heard talking a few minutes earlier. She looked around for Mike, but he wasn’t there. Even though she was fifteen minutes early, she was the last one to arrive.

  The class consisted of ten people. She recognized them from dinner last night. There was the couple from Michigan who thought it would be fun to do something together, because they normally took separate vacations. They were already at the castle when the rest of the students had arrived yesterday. At dinner Kelly had learned she liked to shop and he liked to fish. This cooking class vacation was a compromise for both of them. There were four women from Alaska, all of whom were accomplished cooks, at least to hear them talk. The last two members of the group were two men who owned a restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. They wanted to expand the menu in their restaurant so that it included some authentic Italian dishes, as that type of food was becoming very popular in Omaha. She’d talked to all of them last night, and with the exception of the couple from Michigan, all were passionate about their love for food. She was looking forward to getting to know them better.

  “Since everyone is here but Mike Reynolds, I think we’ll begin,” Chef Bianchi said. “Pasta waits for no man, and I would have to say the same about the preparation of food. Anyway, the chief of police told me Mr. Reynolds may be late and probably wouldn’t be attending many of the classes since he was going to be helping the chief. Probably all of you have heard that Signora Nardo died sometime last night or early this morning. As of now the police don’t know what the cause of death was, but I want to assure you that the cooking school will continue as planned. I know Signora Nardo would want us to do that. Please pick a partner and form into groups of two. You will work with different people each day, but I’ve found it makes it easier to have the same pairings for lunch and dinner. Kelly, since your husband isn’t here, I will be your partner.”

  Swell. I could have done without that. The chef and I are going to be partners. In my worst case scenario, I never considered that this might happen.

  “Thank you, Chef. I’ll look forward to learning from you,” Kelly said.

  “I will go to each of your stations,” Chef Bianchi said, “and tell you which dish or dishes I want you to prepare and how far you can go in the preparation of it. The stations have been set up with what you’ll need for your dish. Naturally, finishing touches will be done by the servers and my assistants as needed. The purpose of this school is to familiarize you with Italian cooking. Unlike the French, we are not precise. A dash of this, a little of that, changing out one ingredient for another if it’s in the same family of ingredients. It’s really very simple.

  “All that’s needed for a wonderful Italian meal is an entrée, a salad, a vegetable, and a dessert. Traditionally, the Italian meal consisted of five courses which always began with a pasta course, but recently that has changed, and pasta courses are often considered to be the entrée. We will be preparing all of them. You are welcome to ask me any questions you might have. I will be teaching you how to make things from scratch, such as pasta and bread. I realize many of you work outside of the home and wouldn’t have time to make these on a daily basis, so that’s why conveniences such as packaged pasta, sauces, and other things are readily available. Shortcuts are sometimes necessary, but I caution you to use only the best of ingredients and shortcuts. Don’t waste your time and money on cheap things. The food you serve always reflects the integrity of the ingredients. For example, never cook with a cheap wine. If a wine is good enough to be served at dinner, it should also be the one you use in a recipe. Never settle for second best.”

  She turned to Kelly and lowered her voice. “Kelly, we will be making a classic risotto entrée, which is a dish that Italy is well known for. It is a very difficult dish to make properly, but I have mastered it, and I will show you how, but first I must tell the students what to do. Read the recipe directions and begin to prepare it. I’ll be back to help in a few minutes.”

  Swell, just swell. A classic risotto. I’ve never made a risotto in my life. Why couldn’t it be something with Nutella? I’ve pretty much mastered anything with Nutella. I mean what’s not to like about chocolate and hazelnut? I will never forgive Mike for not being here. I might not even tell him about the conversation I overheard. That would serve him right for making me have to partner with Chef Bianchi.

  She leafed through her book of recipes and found the one for the mushroom risotto. She read it through and started by putting the dried mushrooms in warm water. Then, according to the directions, she peeled and finely diced an onion. She was assembling the ingredients for the stock when Chef Bianchi returned.

  “Good. I see you’re soaking the mushrooms, and you’ve peeled and diced the onion. You can go ahead and make the stock. It has to boil for an hour, and then it needs to be refrigerated. We will serve the risotto at dinner this evening. I would like you to be a server tonight, so you can follow the recipe from beginning to end. I noticed on your application that you own a coffee shop. This might be a dish you could serve there. Please continue. I have to see how the other students are doing.”

  Kelly followed the directions and brought the broth to a boil. When an hour had gone by, she very carefully took a sieve and removed the vegetables. Once again, she brought it to a boil and cooked it until it was reduced by half. Chef Bianchi returned several times and finally said, “That looks good. As I mentioned earlier, it has to be refrigerated until we’re ready to use it in the final preparation of the risotto. Lunch will be served shortly. Why don’t you join your husband on the porch? I saw him talking to the wine steward a few minutes ago. I wonder if he’s found anything out about Signora Nardo’s death.”

  “I have no idea, but Mike is very good at solving crimes. Did you know the Signora well?”

  “I have known her and her husband for many years, but I can’t say she was a friend of mine. She was not a woman who had many friends. Although I travel throughout Italy, I consider the little village down the road my home, and I live there when I’m not teaching. One hears many things in a small village like mine, and there has been a lot of talk about the Signora and Giovanni Rizzo. His wife is a good friend of mine. We went to school together and have remained friends ever since. She has suspec
ted for some time that the Signora and Giovanni were lovers, but I don’t know. I shouldn’t be telling you this, but you’re very easy to talk to, and ever since I heard about her death this morning, I wondered if Signor Nardo had found out about the affair and killed her.”

  “Thank you, but I can’t believe it was Signor Nardo. He seems like such a nice man, even though they did seem very different from each other.” Kelly said. “By the way, I really enjoyed this morning’s session. I am embarrassed to tell you this, but I have never made risotto. It’s one of those dishes I’ve always heard is very hard to cook properly.”

  “It is, but as I said earlier, I’ve mastered it. You’ll put the finishing touches on it before dinner tonight and from now on, you’ll be able to easily make it.”

  “I hope so, because I love to eat it. Last night you mentioned that in addition to the excursion to the Mercato, we would have the opportunity to visit an olive oil factory and grove. I’ve never seen how olive oil is made, and I would be very interested in seeing it.”

  “Alberto will be driving us there tomorrow afternoon following lunch. Actually, you’ll have a chance to meet my friend Angelica Rizzo then. She and her husband, the lawyer, are the ones who own the olive grove we will be visiting.”

  “I remember last night hearing that there is an olive grove on this estate that produces olive oil which is sold throughout the world. I’m surprised we’re going elsewhere.”

  “The Nardo grove is quite small in comparison to the Rizzo grove. The one on the Rizzo’s land is one of the largest in the world. It’s only a few kilometers from here to their estate. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. Excuse me, but I need to make sure that everyone is getting close to finishing what needed to be done for lunch and dinner. See you later.”

  Well, she actually seems pretty nice, Kelly thought as she walked out to the porch. I know the two women I overheard spoke disparagingly about her, but so far she’s been very gracious to me. I didn’t hear her tell anyone they were stupid or that something had been done totally wrong. Of course she may have a public persona and a private persona. I’m glad she suggested I join Mike on the porch. It will give me time to tell him what I overheard.