Murder on the Half Shell (A Red Carpet Catering Mystery Book 2)

by Shawn Reilly Simmons

  “Yes, well, she would,” Christine said grimly. “I was so upset when I got back to the dorm that night, just humiliated from embarrassment. She was in the common room studying. She put two and two together when I told her a bunch of us had been out with Emilio. Between the wine and just needing to get it off my chest, I just told her that I’d made a move on him.”

  “So after hearing your story, she went out with Emilio too? Did she initiate a relationship with him?”

  “No, as far as I know, they were never alone together. Except maybe in the kitchen. She made up the whole story, took what happened to me and wove her own tale, hoping to get something out of him. Money, I guess.”

  “What are you saying?” Penelope asked, trying to make sense of everything.

  “Summer is a nice girl, but she’s got a ruthless side. I caught her skimming tips during student services one night. She offered to cut me in to keep quiet. I’m ashamed to say I took the money. She did it all the time, and whenever we worked together she’d slip me a wad of bills at the end of the night.”

  All the culinary students at the institute were required to work a daily shift waiting tables at one of the fine dining restaurants sponsored by the school. They learned front of the house skills and also earned tips for spending money. Tips were supposed to be split evenly among everyone on the wait staff working the floor. Holding back tips was against school policy, and could result in a reprimand, or worse, from the dean. Penelope could hear the shame in Christine’s voice. If she felt bad about something relatively minor like skimming tips all these years later, she couldn’t imagine the guilt she must be feeling about the role she played in getting Emilio fired from the institute.

  “I’ve never really gotten over everything that happened…I didn’t tell the whole truth about Emilio. I lied, actually. I was too afraid to go up against Summer. She threatened to tell the dean about the tip money…at the time that seemed like such a big deal, the possibility of getting expelled for a few extra dollars.”

  “Sounds like Summer manipulated you,” Penelope said cautiously. “Doesn’t seem like what happened is your fault.”

  “Well,” Christine said, sighing, “the one thing I can say for myself is I never lied about Emilio directly to the dean. But at that point I’d done enough damage. She used what I told her about Emilio to make her complaint seem more valid, I guess. I ruined his teaching career in one night by confiding in the wrong person. She ran with her own version of the story, and ran him out of town.”

  Penelope shook her head sadly, starring out at the ocean. After a few seconds she said, “So let me get it right. You made a pass at Emilio, which he refused, told Summer about it, and she concocted a story about sleeping with him to further her career?”

  “And to squeeze money out of him and the school. That’s it in a nutshell. She’s on her way to the top…chef de cuisine in Manhattan already, and I heard she’s auditioning for some of those chef competition shows. You haven’t heard the last of Summer Farrington, not by a long shot.”

  “I’m really sorry for all that you went through, Christine. I wish we’d been better friends back in school. Maybe I could have helped,” Penelope said.

  “Well, hopefully me telling you will help him now,” Christine said, her voice trailing off. “If it does, it’s the least I can do, maybe make up for some of it.”

  “I hope so too. Thanks for talking with me, Christine,” Penelope said. “You’ve been very helpful.”

  Christine was silent for a moment and then said, “Can you tell Emilio I’m sorry? I never meant for everything to get so out of control. I was confused and young, missing home.”

  “I’ll be sure to tell him,” Penelope said. “Take care of yourself.”

  Penelope went back inside and related her conversation to Joey.

  “Well, now you have two versions of what may have happened back in school,” Joey said, finishing his wine.

  “I believe Christine’s version of events. It fits better with what I know about Emilio.”

  “These things are hard to call, Penny, like I said before. Without real proof, it’s all hearsay, on everyone’s behalf.”

  They sat for a few minutes in silence and then Penelope said, “Are you okay? You seem a little distant this evening.”

  Joey sighed. “I’m okay. I just started thinking today that maybe I shouldn’t have come down here and bothered you while you’re working. I know you’re busy with your job and your friends.”

  Penelope looked at him and said, “Joey, I’m glad you’re here. I’m sorry today was long and it wasn’t the best day for me, but being here with you now makes it all worth it. I just hope you’re not going to be too bored while I’m working the rest of the week. You can always come down and visit me on the set, but I’ll probably put you to work.”

  Joey smiled, looking a bit more relaxed. “No, I won’t be bored. Are you serious about me coming to cook with you on the set? I make awesome salads.”

  Penelope stood up from her chair and went over to Joey, sitting down on his lap. She draped her arms loosely around his neck and whispered in his ear, “I’ve seen your salads. You could use some professional instruction.”

  Joey snorted laughter. “Oh yeah? What’s wrong with my salads?”

  Penelope laughed and kissed his ear. She sat up and looked at him in the eyes and said, “You have to watch your proportions. Sometimes there’s way too much lettuce and not enough toppings. Or you don’t have a big enough variety of dressings. You have to work on making your salads more balanced. And prettier.”

  Joey shook his head, still laughing. “Okay, I’ll come down to the set and you can show me how to make a salad the right way.”

  “You’re on,” Penelope said, and kissed him.

  Chapter 25

  Penelope and Joey strolled down the beach towards his cabin. When they passed the marina Penelope turned and said, “I’m going to get my bag off the boat. My laptop is in there and I have to do a few things for work when we get to your place. Do you still have to pick up your suitcase?”

  “No, I stopped by earlier and got it,” Joey said, squeezing her hand in his.

  They walked leisurely down the dock, their hands linked at the fingers. It was dark at the dock; the lantern posts at each slip were old and didn’t throw off much light. Suddenly out of the darkness they heard a voice.

  “You better watch yourself, poking around in peoples’ business. Some folks don’t like it when you bring up the past, little lady,” a gravelly voice said from the shadows. Penelope and Joey stopped short and turned towards the slip. The two old fishermen were on their dock, one of them smoking a cigar that partially lit his stubble-sheathed chin when he inhaled.

  “Excuse me?” Penelope said. “Are you talking to me?”

  “No, I’m talking to your boyfriend,” the fisherman said. “One of them, anyway.” They both snickered laughter, slapping their thighs with hands that weren’t holding beer cans.

  Joey stiffened next to her and said, “Have a good night, old timer.” He tightened his grip on Penelope’s hand and pulled her toward the Isn’t She Lovely.

  “Oh, we’ll have a good night, all right. You do the same.” The sound of their laughter followed Penelope and Joey down the dock.

  When they reached the boat, Penelope rolled her eyes at Joey and shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea what that guy is talking about. Sorry. I swear neither one of them has ever said a word to any of us.”

  Joey glanced at her, looking annoyed. “They’re a couple of old drunks. Forget it. Let’s just get your stuff and get out of here.”

  Penelope picked up the white phone next to the glass doors of the boat and rang for the captain, who came up to let her in.

  “I’ll wait for you out here,” Joey said, stepping back onto the deck.

&nbs
p; Penelope entered the salon and headed quickly down the spiral stairs. After she’d retrieved her clothes and laptop and emerged from the boat, she saw Joey was staring towards the old fishermen, their faint conversation and laughter floating on the air towards them.

  “You okay?” Penelope asked.

  “Yeah,” Joey said, snapping back to focus. “You ready?”

  “I am,” Penelope said, holding up her overnight bag. Joey took it from her and slung it over his shoulder and they walked back towards the beach.

  When they passed by the old men they fell silent, snickering under their breath. Suddenly one of them said, “There they go, Wainright. I tell you, I will never understand girls. Just as mean to each other as anyone can be.”

  Penelope stopped abruptly and turned towards the fishermen. She took a step closer and squinted at them in the dark, digging in her memory for where she’d heard the name. “Wainright…were you a teacher back in the sixties?”

  The fisherman beamed, revealing a row of clean white teeth. His friend laughed too, but his dental habits must have been lacking because he had a few open spots on the top row. “Yes, I was…taught English and History for twenty years over there.” He waved in the general direction of the school complex.

  “I saw your picture in a yearbook over at the Inn,” Penelope said.

  Mr. Wainright laughed, rocking back and forth in his ancient deck chair.

  “Yep, Betty Jeanne was always the sentimental one, hanging on to our history for us.”

  “Betty Jeanne?” Penelope asked. “Jeanne is Elizabeth Haverford? I thought that was an older sister or something.”

  “Nope, that’s Betty Jeanne. She goes by Jeanne now, of course; it’s much more elegant. Jeanne does worry about being elegant. She used to say Betty Jeanne made her sound like she should be slinging beers in a bar in Texas. I always thought it had a nice ring, in a country music kind of way,” Mr. Wainright said. “Well, now I guess I know what she meant.” He snickered along with his fishing partner.

  “So you guys, what? Decided to retire together to this dock? Spend the rest of your days drunk out in the sun?” Joey asked, still sounding annoyed.

  “Yeah, son. What’s it to you?” the other man asked, spraying hoarse laughter.

  “Mr. Wainright,” Penelope said, “you knew Jeanne and Rose and Josephine in high school, right?”

  “And Henny, yes,” he said, nodding agreeably.

  “And they were all friends?” Penelope asked.

  “Yes. Best friends,” he replied. “Until they graduated.”

  “Penny, let’s get out of here,” Joey said, grabbing her hand. “It’s getting late.”

  Penelope pulled her hand away from Joey and said, “What happened after graduation? They weren’t friends anymore?”

  “It’s hard to be best friends your whole life. Especially girls like that,” Mr. Wainright said cryptically.

  “What do you mean, girls like that?” Penelope asked.

  “The popular ones. Something always comes along to break them up. I’ve seen it a hundred times. There was this one group of girls, back in ’73…”

  His voice trailed off in Penelope’s ear and she noticed Joey had started walking away from her towards the shore. She turned and followed him away from the drunk old men.

  Chapter 26

  “Let’s stop at Sackler’s on the way. I want to get some eggs for the morning,” Joey said. His mood had lightened since they’d left the dock.

  They arrived at Sackler’s right before closing. Bradley was up front, restocking candy in the checkout aisle. Joey headed to the dairy section while Penelope waited for him at the register.

  “Hey, Bradley,” Penelope said.

  He looked up at her and said, “Hi, Miss Sutherland.” His eyes were red and his shoulders slumped under his Sackler’s Market t-shirt.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  Bradley shrugged his shoulders and murmured, “Not really.”

  “What’s going on?” Penelope asked, taking a step towards him.

  Bradley hesitated, then told her in a rush, “Sabena Lambert died today. We were friends.”

  “Bradley, I’m so sorry,” Penelope said. “I knew her too.”

  Bradley nodded, sighing gruffly. “I wish I could have done something to help her.”

  “How well did you know her?” Penelope asked, then suddenly something snapped into place for her. “Bradley, was she your girlfriend?”

  Bradley’s eyes snapped up to hers quickly and the word “No” died on his lips. Then he began to nod, and he turned away from Penelope.

  She placed a hand on his shoulder and felt it stiffen beneath his t-shirt. “I saw part of your baseball jersey in her room, along with some ripped-up pictures,” Penelope said gently.

  Bradley nodded and regained some composure. “We dated in secret. My mom knew from the start, but Sabena wasn’t allowed.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled through some pictures, stepping closer to Penelope so they could both see.

  “Stop,” Penelope said. “Go back one?”

  Bradley scrolled back and Penelope saw the whole image of the beach picture she’d seen in the box. In this version Bradley sat next to Sabena, and it was his finger underneath her bathing suit strap. “I saw that one in her room.”

  Bradley continued to thumb through the pictures, some of him in uniform, lots of them at school or on the beach together. “I loved her. But we broke up.”

  Penelope looked at the side of his face and saw genuine anguish in his expression. “What happened?” she asked quietly.

  “I got the scholarship. I’m going to be so far away, really soon. Bean had two more years of high school…my mom didn’t think it was fair to keep her from dating other people that whole time. And she said I’d want to see other people too. But…” He broke off, confused. “Bean didn’t want to go to college. She was staying here. That doesn’t fit in with my plans. She flipped out on me when I sent in my acceptance.”

  “I saw some college entrance information in her room,” Penelope said hesitantly.

  Bradley looked at her with surprise. “News to me,” he said with a touch of bitterness. “She always said she wouldn’t leave her mom all alone on the island like everyone else did.”

  “I can’t imagine someone at that age realizes how big that kind of decision is. Do you know how her mom felt about it?”

  Bradley shook his head quickly. “Oh no, we weren’t allowed to act like we knew each other around her mom. They live in a different reality from the rest of us over there.”

  “Penelope, I was thinking about you today,” Henny said, walking up quickly from the back of the store. Bradley tucked his phone back into his pocket. “Do you want me to make another shrimp order for you?”

  “Yes, thank you. I almost forgot. Today was crazy. Henny,” Penelope said, “have you heard of anyone not being happy about the new restaurant?”

  Henny thought for a moment and said, “No, but I have heard some grumbling about the new chef in town. I heard he wants to import all his seafood down in New Orleans, something about maintaining the authentic local flavor of his restaurants.”

  “Really,” Penelope said. “How do the fishermen feel about that?”

  Henny put her fists on her hips over her apron strings. “They don’t like it one bit. They were thinking they were going to get all this extra business. Well, maybe they will after all. This Babineau character might just realize after a while it makes more sense to source his ingredients locally.”

  “I’m sure if you talked to him he’d understand. I can’t imagine he’d want to deal with all of those long-distance shipments,” Penelope said.

  “Exactly. And things around here have a way of not working out for people who don’t stick to the island rules,”
Henny said, lowering her voice.

  Bradley ducked away towards the back of the store. Joey wandered up with a basket full of groceries. They paid and said goodbye, Henny locking the door behind them.

  As they walked in the dark to the cabin Penelope said, “Bradley and Sabena were dating but they broke up when he got a scholarship to college,” Penelope said.

  “That’s a shame. He must be feeling terrible about her passing away,” Joey said.

  “I know. That’s a big burden of guilt to be carrying around at his age.”

  “He didn’t cause what happened, Penny,” Joey said.

  “True. But I’m sure that doesn’t make what happened any easier for him to deal with.”

  Chapter 27

  The next morning on the set, Penelope and her crew sped through breakfast and were cleaning up in preparation for lunch when Shane came down to talk to Penelope.

  “Penelope, I’m sorry I acted like such an ass yesterday,” Shane said, his blue eyes peering out from under his baseball cap. “You’re not easily replaceable like I said you were. You’re a valuable asset to our team. I appreciate everything you do for everyone. Okay? So, I’m sorry.”

  Penelope folded her arms across her chest and said, “Okay, thank you. Apology accepted.”

  Shane turned on his heel and started to walk away.

  “Shane, wait,” Penelope said.

  “What?” he asked testily, turning back around.

  “It’s none of my business, but—”

  “If you have to start by saying that, then you might want to reconsider the next thing you say to me,” Shane warned.

  “But,” Penelope said, pressing forward, “you’re putting your relationship with Emilio in jeopardy with the attention you’re paying to his wife.”

  Shane snorted a laugh. “You’re right. It is none of your business.”