“Wish I thought so. Tell me how it went at the restaurant.”
“It’s a new learning curve for me. Actually, it went well. Mike, there’s something else I need to talk to you about, but before I begin, will you promise me you’ll withhold judgment and trust me when I tell you that I didn’t do anything deliberately to get involved in the investigations of Donatella’s death?”
Mike was quiet for a moment. “Kelly, I have a feeling I am definitely not going to like what you’re about to tell me. Just answer one question for me. Are you safe? Actually, I’ll make it three questions. That was the first one. The second one is I want to know if your gun is with you, and thirdly, is Rebel with you?”
“The answer is yes to all three questions. Mike, you have to believe me when I tell you what happened at the restaurant today was not something I ever expected would occur. I think what I learned may be very important in solving the case and catching Donatella’s killer. I met five people today, and believe it or not, all of them may have had a reason to murder Donatella.”
“I’m sorry. It’s been a long day, and I admit that I’m a little slow on the uptake tonight. I thought you said you met five people today, all who might have had a reason to murder Donatella. You’ll have to excuse me for finding it hard to believe that all five of these people just happened to come to the restaurant and you just happened to find out that they had a motive to kill Donatella? Am I missing something here? Why in the devil do these things happen to you, Kelly? Have you become some type of a murder solving magnet?”
She sighed. “Mike, I know it’s hard to believe, but I really need to hear what you think about what happened today. Could you please just listen to me?”
“Sure, and could you please come home now? Oh, never mind, knowing you, that’s not going to happen. Okay, sweetheart, what have you gotten yourself involved in this time?”
“I’m not sure I like the tone of your voice.”
“I’m not sure I like you being there,” he countered.
She told him everything that had happened during the day and the evening, concluding with Rebel being by her side at the moment and the gun conveniently sitting on the desk in front of her.
“Well, Mrs. Reynolds, I would say you’ve had a very busy day. What do you need from me? Sounds like you’re doing just fine on your own,” he said sarcastically.
“Mike, please don’t be that way. I really want to hear what you think about all of this.”
“Kelly, do you have any idea how much I worry about you? Do you have any idea what I’ll be thinking about when I try and get some sleep tonight, if I even get any sleep at all?”
“I’m sorry. Honest, I’m not in any danger. Could I help it if all these things just kind of happened when these various different people showed up at the restaurant?”
“I won’t even go there,” he said, taking a deep breath. “All right. I know you well enough to know that you’re going to get involved anyway, and in my mind, you already are. Let’s take these people one by one.”
“Mike, could you give me some guidelines on what I should do?”
“My advice is to get in touch with that detective you met at the crime scene, and tell him what you know and come back home. What’s his name?”
“Detective Masters.”
“Well, switching our conversation to your list of possible suspects, didn’t you mention the other night you overheard Donatella and her sous chef having an argument about changing the menu? The first thing that comes to my mind is that it’s very convenient that she’s gone, and now he gets to change the menu with Sophie’s blessing. What’s your gut feeling about him?”
“I like him. Yes, Donatella’s death did provide him with a way to change the menu, but I can’t believe someone would commit murder just so their dishes would be on the menu.”
“Trust me, sweetheart, stranger things have happened.”
“Well, the only reason the changes are going to be made is because the food critic threatened to write a bad review if they weren’t. And don’t forget, Carlotta overheard Donatella threatening to ruin the critic if he gave her restaurant a bad review.”
“Now tell me what you thought about the food critic.”
“He was insufferable. You know, kind of one of those nerdy types who are academics and no one ever liked them until they found some new atom or planet and suddenly everyone thinks they’re great. That was kind of the impression I had of him. A nerd who has somehow made it as a food critic.”
“If Donatella claimed she could ruin his reputation as a food critic and that was his only claim to fame, that might provide a motive, but how do you think she would be able to do that? Sounds like an empty and perhaps desperate thing for her to say unless Donatella had some information about him that would somehow harm him. Almost sounds like a scenario for blackmail.”
“I’m having a hard time thinking of him as a suspect, but theoretically, yes.”
“That’s two down. What about Mitch’s ex-wife?”
“That would be Tina Ramos. She obviously hated Donatella for breaking up her marriage, although from what she said it wasn’t the first time that Mitch had been looking in other places for a little affection. According to the bartenders, she’s got a really bad temper, so it’s possible in a fit of anger she could commit murder. She had a motive, and if she was drunk, she’s a definite possibility.”
“You didn’t care for her, did you?”
“No, but what I saw of her certainly had to be her worst side. Maybe she’s a wonderful person when she’s not drunk, however, from what the bartender told me, that wasn’t the first time they’ve had problems with her.”
“I’d keep her pretty high on the list. And the next one, this Elena Wright?”
“She’s kind of like Bill Hossam, the food critic. Her sense of self-importance is wrapped up in what other people think about her. Evidently the incident with Donatella’s scallops caused her reputation as one of the leading party givers in the Pearl District to suffer a severe blow. I find it hard to think someone would kill over that, but if her reputation as the ‘hostess with the mostest’ was all she had, maybe.”
“You said her father was a lumber baron. I wonder if I can find out anything about him. I’ll look up the name Wright and see what I can come up with.”
“Mike, I knew I could count on you. Thank you so much for helping Sophie and me.”
“I still think it should be Detective Masters who’s helping you and vice-versa. This is way out of my jurisdiction.”
“Mike, one thing Sophie mentioned about Chef DuBois was that the accent he placed on some of the French words he used was incorrect. She wonders if he really is French. I did not like that smarmy man. It literally made my skin crawl when he kissed my hand. It was disgusting. I wonder if he could be a complete fake.”
“May have disgusted you, but that doesn’t mean he’s a murderer.”
“I know, but the whole television thing smells. First of all he tries to get a show, but Mitch gives the show to Donatella. Then I find out Mitch’s television station is in financial trouble, and he calls the chef the morning the woman he loved was murdered and offers the television show to him? Doesn’t sound like a very honorable man to me. I don’t like the whole television thing, and I don’t like either man.”
“Lady, I think you’ve done enough for today. Turn off that wonderfully inquisitive brain of yours and get some sleep. Tomorrow may be another zoo at the restaurant and you also have the new menu to deal with. I’ll be curious to see how that goes. I have a little time free in the morning, so I can do some research before I have to attend some meetings I have scheduled. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll run a check on all these people. I’ve written their names down while you were talking. Maybe there’s something in one of their backgrounds that will give us some type of insight into whether or not they could be the murderer.”
“Give us some type of insight, us?” she asked.
“Just a phrase,
Kelly. Just a phrase. I’ll call you when I know something. And Kelly, this is from Lady, keep the gun on you at all times and Rebel with you. Hear me? Deal?”
“Yes, sir, Sheriff Mike, I promise I will. Deal.”
“Kelly, we both know your promises leave something to be desired. How about if you don’t keep the promise, you will do all of the dishes, housework, and whatever else I may have in mind,” he said laughing.
“I don’t know whether I should look forward to that or fear it,” she answered.
“Take your pick. Goodnight, sweetheart.”
“Goodnight. I love you.”
CHAPTER 16
When Kelly, Sophie, and Rebel arrived at the restaurant at 10:00 the next morning it was a scene of utter chaos. Nico was trying to get everything ready for the new menu which was to be introduced at lunch. The requested food had been delivered and boxes were stacked on the floor just inside the back door. The kitchen staff was frantically trying put everything away in its proper place before the first diners arrived.
“Nico, did you see the Portland Gazette this morning?” Sophie asked as she began to chop the mound of fresh mushrooms he put in front of her. Kelly watched, impressed by knife skills she didn’t know Sophie possessed.
“No, I barely slept trying to wrap my mind around everything that needed to be done today.”
“Well, there was a long eulogy to Donatella and at the end the article mentioned that Mangia! Mangia! was under new ownership and a new menu would be debuted at lunch today. I wonder how they found out. Neither Kelly nor I called them.”
“That’s all we need, a big crowd of hungry diners all ordering the same thing. I’d like to have some time to experiment with the new dishes and try to get them tweaked to perfection. It will be hard to do if everyone is ordering the same dish. I ordered more food than I thought we’d need, but if what you’re telling me is true, this could be a disaster. I don’t usually let much get to me, but I have to admit I’m a nervous wreck about how these new dishes are going to be received by our customers. If they don’t like them, it will not only mean the death of the restaurant, it will be the death of my professional career.”
Kelly walked over to him and put her hand on his arm. “Nico, I watched you work all day yesterday, and you’re an excellent chef. I know a little about food, and your new menu items are some of the most inventive creations I’ve ever seen. Just wait. By tonight you’ll be the toast of the Pearl District.”
He grimaced and looked at her. “Easy for you to say. You’ll be going back to your restaurant in Cedar Bay.”
“That I will, but I’ll be checking in with Sophie. I can’t walk away from here and not know what’s going to happen. What can I do to help?”
“You can dice these green onions,” he said, putting a huge pile on the chopping block. With that Kelly rolled up her sleeves, put on an apron, and started chopping.
At 11:15, Carlotta called the kitchen and Nico took the call. Kelly and Sophie saw him visibly pale while he listened to her. “Thanks, I hope so,” he said as he hung up. He turned towards them. “A line of diners has formed in front of the restaurant. She said most of them want to try the new dishes.” He yelled to the kitchen staff. “Make more pies, start boiling the noodles, get to your stations. The battle is about to start, and we need to be ready for the onslaught.”
Kelly took off her apron. “If it’s going to be that busy, I better go out front and help Carlotta.”
The restaurant doors opened promptly at 11:30, and no one working at the restaurant even had time to stop for a sip of water until it finally slowed down around 1:30. Kelly walked into the kitchen holding several sheets of notepaper. “Nico, can you take a break for a moment? I want to read a few things to you,” she said grinning.
“I decided I’d ask several of the diners who ordered the new dishes if they would mind writing a comment about their meal. Here are a few samples of what they said.” She began to read, “I’ve never eaten anything like this. It was absolutely wonderful and delicious. The seafood bucatini was without a doubt the best thing I’ve ever had. I wasn’t planning on it, but I’ve decided to come back tonight for dinner, and although I’d like to order the lasagna, I don’t think I can get past the perfect combination of seafood, herbs, and spices served over the bucatini. Done this way, it’s just like my mother used to make pasta. My taste buds are screaming, ‘Have it again.’ Here’s one for the lasagna. Chef Nico’s lasagna has set a new benchmark for the popular dish. Rich in cheese, noodles, and a meaty sauce, there’s a perfect blending of spices and rich marinara sauce. My stomach is very, very happy. It is simply the best I’ve ever had.”
Nico was standing stone still, a shocked look on his face. Then a smile slowly started to appear at the corners of his mouth and quickly spread into a broad grin across his entire face. “Does this mean we did it?”
“No, it means you did it. Here’s one for the frozen key lime pie. The customer wrote that combining the ingredients in the traditional South Florida key lime pie with slivered almonds to give the dish a quasi-Italian feel was sheer genius and resulted in the perfect way to end an Italian meal. Those are just a couple of the numerous favorable comments you received. Congratulations, Nico.”
He leaned heavily against the kitchen’s central stainless steel counter. “All my life I’ve lived to hear words like that about my cooking. This is a dream come true. I wish Nonna was alive. She’d be so proud that her cooking was making her grandson famous.”
Sophie was quickly beginning to fit into her new role as the owner of Mangia! Mangia! “Okay gang, let’s get back to work. If we were that busy for lunch, and no one knew what was going to be on the new menu, I can’t begin to imagine what dinner will be like.”
A short time later the house phone rang, and Kelly answered it. “Yes, Carlotta, I’ll return the calls from the office. Please write down the phone numbers and bring them to me.” She turned to Nico and Sophie, “The word’s out. Two newspapers have called about the new menu, and one of the television stations wants to interview Nico. I’ll talk to them and set it up. What’s a good time for you, Nico?”
“Tomorrow morning. I’d be too tired when we finish tonight, and there’s too much to do right now. Wow, I can’t believe this.”
CHAPTER 17
Later that afternoon Kelly talked to the newspapers and the television station and made an appointment for them to interview Nico at ten the next morning. She’d barely hung up the phone when it rang. “Yes, Carlotta.” She listened for a moment and then said, “Tell her I’ll be out in a few minutes.”
She dialed the kitchen. “Nico, this is Kelly. May I speak to Sophie?”
“What’s going on?” Sophie asked.
“Something I never thought would happen. Tina Ramos is here and wants to talk to me. Carlotta told me she’s waiting for me in the reception area, not the bar, and she doesn’t look like she’s been drinking. Do you know anything about this?”
“Not a thing, but it’s very interesting. I’ll be curious to hear what she has to say.”
“Me too. I’ll let you know when I finish talking to her.”
She walked out to the reception area and saw Tina sitting in one of the large red leather chairs, waiting for her.
“Good afternoon, Tina. What can I do for you?”
“If you have a few minutes, I’d like to talk to you.”
“Certainly, Carlotta, is it okay if we take the table over by the windows? Would you like a cup of coffee or iced tea, Tina? I’m having some iced tea.”
“Please, I’ll take the same.”
“Carlotta, would you order a glass of iced tea for each of us? Thanks.”
They sat down at the table, and Kelly paused for a moment to look at Tina. She looked like a completely different person from the woman Kelly had spoken with yesterday. Kelly thought she was attractive yesterday, but today she was stunning, her red hair a perfect contrast to the deep blue silk pantsuit she wore that accented her eyes.<
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After the waiter set their iced teas down in front of each of them, Tina began to speak. “I’d like to apologize to you for my behavior yesterday. I know it’s not the first time I’ve had too much to drink here, and I want to assure you it won’t ever happen again. I’ve made a promise to myself that I will never touch alcohol again. Obviously, I’m not a person who handles it well, and that’s not who I am at heart. The last couple of months have been very difficult for me. It seems everywhere I turned there was a picture of Mitch and Donatella, and everyone knew he’d left me for her. Frankly, my self-confidence was totally shattered.”
“Yes. I can imagine how difficult that might be.”
“Thanks. The thing is, I’ve finally admitted to myself that it really wasn’t Donatella’s fault. Mitch cheated on me the whole time we were married. My parents left me a large inheritance and looking back, I think that may have been the reason he married me. I believe he left me for Donatella, because he thought she had more money than me, and he may have been right. Anyway, what I told you yesterday about him being in financial trouble was true. He desperately needs a hit show or two to get back the ratings and the advertising dollars his station needs to survive.”
“I don’t quite know how something like that works. Would you mind explaining it to me?”
“It’s all about the big bucks advertising dollars can bring into a station. That’s how the stations make their money. When a show’s a hit, all the advertisers want to run ads on it, and the more popular the show is, the more the ads cost. I’m sure you’ve heard about super bowl ads, how popular they are, and how much they cost. Well, it’s kind of like that. If you have a hit food show, all the big names in the food industry want to advertise on it, and then if you can get another hit, it keeps growing. I think that was what Mitch was banking on. But there’s something else I just learned within the last hour that I think you should know about.”
“What’s that?”
Murder in the Pearl District (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) Page 7
