For Better or Hearse

by Laura Durham

  “Are you insane?” Kate grabbed me by the shoulders. “This guy is dangerous. He’s already killed three chefs and tried to kill Leatrice.”

  “It’s okay.” I shook loose of her grip. “Reese is meeting me over there. I need you to run things for a few minutes while I’m gone. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  Kate darted her eyes to Nadine, who now wore a beehive and tossed back a glass of champagne in one gulp. Kate’s eyes filled with panic. “It’s too dangerous over there. I’ll go.”

  “Nice try. You’ll be fine here,” I said. “You’ve got Fern to help.”

  Kate looked at Fern, who brandished a brush in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.

  “I’m telling you girls.” He took a swig of champagne. “Sex is the last thing you’ll want on your wedding night. After being on your feet all day and seeing all those people? Not on your life! Take it from an expert.”

  “Right.” Kate raised an eyebrow. “Why was I worried?”

  Chapter 33

  “Where’s Georgia?” I rushed up to the Fairmont’s concierge stand, panting from my dash through the Park Hyatt lobby and across the street. “Has she come in yet?”

  Hugh jumped when he saw me, then straightened his formal concierge jacket. “Take it easy, Annabelle. I know you’re as excited to see her as we all are, but there’s no need to—”

  “I have to find her,” I pleaded. “She could be in danger.”

  Hugh leaned over his desk. “What kind of danger? Are you sure?”

  “I need to find her before she runs into Jean.”

  “Do you mean that Jean had something to do with the murder?” Hugh lowered his voice as a guest walked past us.

  “I think Jean had something to do with all the deaths in the hotel, and I don’t think he’ll be too happy that the person he set up to take the fall for killing Henri is free. If he’s crazy enough to kill three times, then he’s crazy enough to come after Georgia.”

  “That’s such a shame.” Hugh shook his head. “He’s the best pastry chef we’ve had in years. I’m going to miss his chocolate decadence cake.”

  I rolled my eyes. “So have you seen Georgia?”

  “She came in a little while ago, but she was running around saying hi to all the departments.” Hugh smoothed his moustache with his index finger and looked puzzled. “I don’t know where you’ll find her, but wherever you do, Reg won’t be far behind. He’s been following her around like a puppy. Oddly enough, she doesn’t seem to mind him. Jail must have had a profound change on her.”

  “Now that I’d like to see.” I grinned at the thought of Georgia reevaluating her life. “Any idea where I should start looking for her, though? I’m not exactly in the mood for a wild goose chase.”

  Hugh snapped his fingers. “She does have a wedding later today in the Colonnade. I know the tables are down, and Jean was going to start setting up the cake. Apparently it’s six tiers and blue.”

  Blue? Apparently no one wanted a traditional wedding cake anymore.

  “So she might be in the Colonnade with Jean? If the police come, can you tell them where I am?” I didn’t wait for Hugh to answer before turning and hurrying across the lobby. I leapt the two steps into the sunken lobby lounge and ran on tiptoes down the marble hallway to the Colonnade so my heels wouldn’t announce my arrival. I stopped and caught my breath before entering the room.

  The tables were set up and covered with pale blue satin tablecloths, giving the room an icy look. I slowly walked around to where Jean stood with his back to me, assembling a giant blue wedding cake on the baby grand piano. A metal pastry cart on wheels stood beside him with piping tubes and extra bowls of blue icing.

  “I am not fond of spectators while I work.” He gave me a disdainful glance over his shoulder, and then resumed piping a pearl border on the cake.

  I quickly assessed that the pastry cart didn’t hold any knives. “I didn’t come to watch you work. I came to talk to you about the murders.”

  “This again?” He sighed impatiently, but continued his work. “I have told you everything.”

  “You failed to mention that you and your chef buddies conspired to get rid of Henri together, and then you killed off your accomplices.”

  “Absurd,” he spat out. “You think I killed my colleagues? My friends?”

  “Henri wasn’t your friend.”

  He slapped his piping tube down next to the cake. “True enough. His death was well-deserved. But I didn’t do it.”

  “Not alone, at least,” I pressed. “We have evidence that you, Gunter, and Emilio killed Henri together. It was caught on tape.”

  “I heard about the tape.” He turned to face me. “I suppose it was recovered?”

  How did he know about the tape? And how did he know it was missing?

  “The police have it, and it proves that you were involved,” I bluffed. “It’s only a matter of time before they find evidence to link you to Gunter’s and Emilio’s deaths, too.”

  “I don’t have to stand here and be accused of murder.” His eyes flashed. “If you’ll excuse me, my work here is finished.”

  I took a step forward. “I can’t let you go.”

  He turned back slowly, one side of his mouth crooked up in a smile. “And what do you intend to do? Subdue me yourself? Arrest me?”

  The thought of a citizen’s arrest didn’t seem realistic at the moment since Jean had a good fifty pounds advantage over me. He fisted his hands and stepped from behind the pastry cart.

  “Well, no, but…” I stammered.

  “I can handle that part,” Reese said as he strode into the room, several uniformed officers following behind him. “We’re going to need to take you in for questioning regarding the murder of Chef Henri.”

  Jean arched an eyebrow but didn’t move from his spot. An officer grabbed him by the elbow and started to lead him out of the room. He seemed totally uninterested in the process, but his eyes didn’t leave mine.

  “Don’t believe everything you see,” Jean said so quietly that I could barely hear him.

  “You okay?” Reese asked, waving a hand in front of me.

  “I’m fine.” I pulled my eyes away from the chef as the officers escorted him away, and I looked up at Reese. “He never really threatened me. As a matter of fact, he seemed more insulted than angry.”

  “Some people are like that,” Reese said. “Not all murderers are raving lunatics.”

  “Good thing.” I smiled weakly. “I have enough raving lunatics for clients.”

  Reese laughed. “You know you aren’t a typical girl, don’t you?”

  “You mean your blondie doesn’t get involved in murder cases?” I said before I thought better of it.

  He raised an eyebrow at me and held my gaze with his hazel green eyes. “I didn’t know I had a blondie, but no, I don’t know any other women who get involved in murder cases.”

  “Oh.” I felt the heat creeping up my neck. “Well, I don’t go looking for trouble, you know.”

  Reese cocked his head to one side. “That’s still up for debate.”

  “I was only trying to help an old friend who was being framed for murder.” I put my hands on my hips. “Anyone would have done the same thing.”

  Reese studied me for a moment, and then gently brushed a loose hair off my face. “I’m not so sure about that. You have lucky friends.”

  “Thanks.” My mouth went dry and I could feel my heart pounding. I only hoped that Reese couldn’t hear it, too.

  “Now that your friend has been cleared, I hope you’ll stay out of my murder investigations.” He winked at me. “You drive me a little bit crazy.”

  “Oh.” My heart sank. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” Reese leaned in to me and whispered. “It’s not a bad crazy.”

  “Oh.” I tried keep my knees from buckling.

  “There you are,” Richard called as he stomped into the room in jeans and a white button-down. “I’ve been look
ing everywhere for you.”

  Reese straightened up, and I jumped away from him.

  “Richard.” I cleared my throat. “What are you doing here?”

  “Kate has been calling me nonstop.” He waved his cell phone in the air. “Lucky for you I have today off and can swoop in and save the day again.” He paused when he saw Reese. “Well, well, it looks like help already arrived.”

  “Sorry Kate dragged you down here, but everything’s fine,” I explained. “The police just took Jean away.”

  “Kate was babbling about Jean St. Jean and a tape and you being in trouble, but I couldn’t make any sense of it.” Richard crossed his arms in front of him. “So you aren’t in grave danger?”

  I shook my head. “Actually, Jean went pretty quietly.”

  “So I drove down here and valet parked for nothing?” Apparently his mood hadn’t improved since last night.

  “Not for nothing,” I said, my mind racing. “Georgia is out of jail and back at work. Do you want to come find her with me and say hi?”

  “I suppose so,” he grumbled. “So the trip won’t have been a total loss.”

  I turned to Reese. “I’d better go.”

  “I’m going to tie up a few loose ends around here, and then head back to the station,” Reese said. “I’m glad things turned out well for you and for Georgia.”

  “Me, too.” I nodded. I wanted to say something else, but I could feel Richard’s eyes on me. “See you later.”

  “Count on it.” Reese winked almost imperceptibly before he strode out of the room.

  Richard raised his eyebrows. “I’m not even going to comment on that.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said in my most innocent voice.

  Richard shook a finger at me. “What’s that saying about burning the candle at both ends, or is it playing both ends against the middle?”

  “Now you sound like Kate.” I started to walk out of the Colonnade. “And I still have no idea what you’re referring to.”

  “Don’t think I haven’t noticed your little flirtation with tattoo boy.” Richard followed me. “Although I’ve had the good taste to overlook it.”

  “You’re overreacting, as usual.”

  Richard gasped and stopped in his tracks. “I never overreact.”

  Classic. Before I could respond, my cell phone began singing, and I reached into my pocket to retrieve it. I looked on the caller ID before answering.

  “Hi, Kate,” I said as I flipped it open. “Everything’s fine. They took Jean away for questioning.”

  “That’s a relief,” Kate said over a cacophony of women’s voices in the background.

  I kept walking through the lobby. “How’s everything going over there?”

  “Everything was fine until Nadine started rearranging her bouquet and made Mack cry. He and Buster went to repair the damage she did, and I ordered more champagne.”

  “Good work, Kate. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” I started up the staircase to the executive offices. “Richard and I are going to say hi to Georgia really fast.”

  “Okay, but if you see Darcy, don’t mention the news about Jean.”

  “Why not?” I stopped on the landing and waited for Richard to catch up.

  “You’re not going to believe this, but I just overheard the catering assistants here gossiping about a big secret Darcy’s been keeping from everyone at the Fairmont,” Kate said. “She and Jean were dating.”

  Chapter 34

  “Darcy and Jean?” I almost stumbled up a step. “Are you sure?”

  Richard caught me by the elbow. “What about them?”

  “That’s what the girls over here said,” Kate assured me over the phone. “It seems like Darcy went to a lot of trouble to make sure no one at the Fairmont found out.”

  “I’m sure,” I said. “The management isn’t fond of employees dating. That’s a recipe for early unemployment.”

  “Who’s dating?” Richard hissed, jogging up the steps to keep up with me.

  “Hold on,” I whispered and pointed to the phone. “It’s Kate.”

  “Exactly,” Kate said. “I don’t blame her for keeping it quiet, especially knowing what Mr. Elliot can be like. Too bad for Darcy her boyfriend turned out to be a dud.”

  I laughed. “I’d say that being a serial killer makes you a bit more than a dud in the boyfriend rating system.”

  “Kate’s dating a serial killer?” Richard clasped his hand over his mouth.

  “Hey, with some of the guys I’ve gone out with lately, that’d be an improvement,” Kate said.

  I shook my head at Richard. “No, Darcy.”

  “Don’t mention anything to Darcy,” Kate reminded me. “It might be a touchy subject.”

  “Got it. I’ll see you in a few.” I dropped the phone back in my jacket as we reached the top of the stairs.

  “Kate’s dating Darcy or Darcy’s dating a serial killer?” Richard’s voice went up a few octaves.

  I grabbed Richard by the shoulders. “Keep it down. We don’t want the whole lobby to know.” I glanced at the bustling hotel beneath us. “Darcy’s dating Jean, and Jean just got hauled away for the three murders.”

  “Oh.” Richard pulled himself away from me. “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?”

  “Sorry.” I offered a slightly sarcastic apology. “But don’t say anything about Jean if we see Darcy. I don’t want to cause a scene.”

  Richard made signs of locking his mouth and throwing away the key. “You know me. Discretion is my middle name.”

  “How could I forget?” I pushed open the glass door to the catering and sales offices. The secretary who sat at the front desk was gone, so I peeked around the doorway to the back offices.

  Richard crept close behind me. “Do you know where Georgia’s office is or are we going to wander aimlessly?”

  “It’s right down here on the left. She has a window over the alley.”

  “Pretty.”

  We walked through the maze of gray fabric cubicles that took up the majority of the floor space. It was eerily quiet since most of the sales staff had left for the weekend and only catering staff with events remained. I heard a soft humming as we reached Georgia’s office door.

  “Annabelle.” Darcy poked her head over the cubicle divider across from Georgia’s office. “What are you doing here?”

  Richard shrieked and almost leapt into my arms, then glared at Darcy. “Don’t jump out at people like that. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

  “We stopped by to welcome Georgia back to work,” I explained, prying Richard off me.

  Darcy came around the divider. “I’m not sure if she wants to be disturbed….”

  “They aren’t disturbing me.” Georgia threw open the door to her office. Her emerald green wrap top draped open, showing the edge of her black lace bra; her hot pink lipstick was smeared; and her hair looked like it had been through a wind tunnel. Reg sat in the chair behind her, wearing equal amounts of pink lipstick and a stunned expression.

  “Good Lord.” Richard averted his eyes.

  “Isn’t it wonderful, Annabelle?” Georgia pulled me in to her office, tugging her blouse closed an inch. “It took being arrested for me to realize that what I’ve really been looking for has been right under my nose all this time.”

  “That’s wonderful.” I took a step back into the hall. “But we don’t want to interrupt anything.”

  “Nonsense.” Georgia threw an arm around my shoulders, causing her shirt to fall open even more. “I have you to thank for everything. Reg told me how you questioned everyone and almost got in trouble with our GM.”

  “I’m glad everything turned out okay.” I looked at Reg, and then nudged her. “Or should I say better than okay?”

  “Can you believe he’s had feelings for me for all these years and I never knew it?” Georgia whispered to me, and then blew a kiss to Reg.

  “We’re all happy you’re out,” I said. “Richa
rd helped us with the investigation, too, you know.”

  Richard tried to look at Georgia without dropping his eyes to her cleavage. “Hotel catering would have been dreadfully dull without you, darling.”

  “I’m lucky to have such great friends.” Georgia’s eyes filled with tears. “And a great assistant, too. Darcy kept the place running while I was away. My office was spotless, and she even caught up with my proposals.”

  Darcy blushed and shook her head. “I’m relieved you’re back. I don’t think I could have done your job for one more day, and especially not today’s wedding.”

  Reg stood up and looked at his watch. “That reminds me, I have to start the setup in the Colonnade.”

  Georgia stuck her lower lip out in a pout, and then turned to us. “Let me walk him to the door, then I’ll come back and we can catch up. Make yourself comfortable in my office.”

  Richard swished past Reg and lowered himself into a chair. “Take your time, honey.”

  “I’m going to get back to work,” Darcy said, stepping back toward her cubicle. “We have a few last minute changes to tonight’s wedding timing.”

  I joined Richard in Georgia’s office and walked around her desk to look out the window. It was open all the way and a breeze fluttered in, although the smell from the alley Dumpster below wasn’t exactly refreshing. I pressed my nose against the screen so I could look straight down. Employee parking, loading dock, Dumpsters. Not the greatest view, but it beat a cubicle.

  “Not a bad office. I like the color.” Richard waved a hand at the soft green paint that covered the walls. He craned his neck to look at the shelves behind him that held wedding books, leftover unity candles, cake knives, and stacks of yarmulkes. “She’s stocked up, huh?”

  I sat down in Georgia’s swivel chair. “Next time I’ll know where to come when a client forgets the unity candle.”

  “Speaking of ceremonies, don’t you have one to get to?”

  “I still have time. They should still be doing pictures right now.” I spun around in the chair. “Anyway, Kate can handle it for a few more minutes.”

  Richard held up a hand for me to be quiet. “Is someone humming the theme song from ‘Bewitched’?”