Getting Skinny (A Chef Landry Mystery)

by Domovitch, Monique

  Dear Nicky,

  I hope you’ve forgiven me my tactless teasing. Am I still invited to your dinner party Sunday?

  Your neighbor,

  Mitchell

  My already good spirits rose even higher. I retrieved a pen from my bag and quickly scribbled a reply.

  How can I stay angry with the man who saved my life?

  See you Sunday at seven.

  Nicky

  Besides, the man had seen my fat ass and wanted me anyway. I marched off to work, almost skipping for joy.

  *

  Saturday morning I woke to the sun streaming in through my bedroom window. A gorgeous day, I thought. Then I remembered I had a million things to do in preparation for the next day’s dinner. Now that it loomed so close, I couldn’t help feeling nervous. What if things went wrong? What if Harry Johnson became violent? A picture of him pulling a knife on me popped into my mind. I quickly brushed it aside. Unless I trapped Harry myself, the police would probably keep me as prime suspect for the rest of my life. I wasn’t about to turn back now.

  I climbed out of bed, pulled on a pair of jeans and a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves. It wasn’t exactly a high-fashion outfit, but I was thrilled nonetheless. The last time I’d worn these jeans, I’d had to pull and tug at the zipper. Today, it zipped effortlessly. I was so happy that I allowed myself a full-length inspection in the closet-door mirror. Jackie watched silently.

  “What’s the matter, Jackie? Are you worried you might not be the prettiest girl around here anymore?” Jackie harrumphed in disgust and trotted away. “Sorry, little girl, but you’re the only fat one in this house now.” From down the hall, I heard a growl.

  I turned to the mirror. I was hardly what anyone would call slender. In fact, by Toni’s modeling standards I’d be considered a plus size. But I didn’t care. I looked good. I still had curves, but now they were in all the right places. I had a waist. It was incredible how fifteen pounds could make such a difference.

  I closed the closet door. “Okay, Jackie. Time for a walk.”

  We strolled around the block, Jackie, of course, refusing to cooperate. She pulled and tugged on the leash until I gave in and went to the park. “I swear, you are testing my patience today. I’m having guests to dinner tomorrow. I have to prepare. We don’t have time to visit your boyfriend.”

  Yap, yap, yap—her way of telling me to quit bitching. I sped up until Jackie’s short legs were hardly more than a blur. Funny how energetic she suddenly became when she sensed the possibility of seeing Charlie.

  Luckily, Charlie was nowhere around—otherwise, getting Jackie out of the park would have been a challenge. I walked her in one end of the park and out the other before she realized we were heading home. She dug in her heels and I dragged her the rest of the way. Sometimes that tiny dog could be so obstinate.

  Inside, Jackie sulked off to her crate while I pulled out my recipe books and listed the ingredients I needed for tomorrow night’s dinner. After reviewing all I had to do, I figured that unless I took a few hours off from work, I would never be ready in time. I picked up the phone, imagining what Toni would say. But to my surprise, she didn’t argue.

  “Don’t worry about it. Take the whole day off if you like,” she said. “Normally I’d say we need you at work, but I know you have a lot riding on tomorrow evening. Charles and I can handle it for one night. Besides, you always put in more than your fair share of work.” True, but all those hours were what had kept me sane over the past month.

  By ten o’clock, I was out of the house and on my way to St. Lawrence Market. With the entire day off, I could afford to take my time, browse through the food stalls and search for just the right ingredients.

  *

  A few hours later, I was hurrying up my walk, loaded with groceries, when I spotted Maria Fernandez next door, sweeping her stoop. The woman had been so kind to help me search for Jackie. That was already a month ago and I’d never really thanked her. I set my bags just inside the door and hurried across the lawn to see her.

  Maria waved my apology away. “Don’t worry about it. I know how busy you are. I was just about to have some tea. Come in, come in. I’ll put on a pot.” She gestured me in. “I saw you taking your little dog for a walk the next day. I was so relieved that you’d found her. Where was she?” I was about to launch in when a stooped, gray-haired woman with a face like a dried apple came limping up behind Maria.

  “I can’t find my glasses,” the old lady said.

  “I’ll find them for you, Mama.” Maria patted the woman on the shoulder. To me, she smiled and said, “Mama is always losing her glasses. I’ll go find them and be right back.”

  I waited in the living room while Maria hurried up the stairs. Her mother stood staring at me through rheumy eyes.

  “Hello. I’m your next-door neighbor.” I extended my hand, but she ignored it and continued to peer at me.

  “Are you the girl I saw stabbing that man a few weeks ago?”

  “What?” I stood slack jawed. “You saw Rob get stabbed?” I asked, regaining my senses.

  “I never sleep. I haven’t slept in years. I just lie awake all night long and wait for morning.”

  Maria walked in and handed her mother her glasses. “Here you go, Mama. Now let’s get you back to your room. It’s time for your nap.”

  “Wait!” I stopped Maria. “Your mother just said she saw Rob get murdered.”

  Maria shook her head and smiled apologetically. “Mama is nearly blind. She couldn’t possibly have seen anything. Mama, why do you say things like that?”

  The old lady scowled. “My eyes aren’t so good but I can hear just fine, and I heard every word those two said.”

  “What did they say?” I asked. “Please, tell me.”

  “Mama, you never told me this.” Maria said, steering her mother to a chair.

  “You never asked,” replied her mother petulantly. “Even when the police came, nobody asked me. It’s like I don’t even exist around here.”

  “Do you remember what they said?” I asked, again, holding my breath.

  “Of course I do. Just because I’m old doesn’t mean I’m senile,” she said, circling a finger around her ear. “I can remember just fine.”

  “What did they say?” I pleaded.

  “I couldn’t make heads or tails of it.” She scrunched up her face. “They were arguing about some kind of medicine. The girl was saying that somebody could die, and the man was saying that he would get caught.”

  “Are you sure it was a girl? Could it have been a man?”

  “I told you. It was a girl,” she snapped back.

  “Did they mention the kind of drug?” I asked, patiently.

  The old woman yawned and continued, as if to herself, “They used plenty of foul language, her as much as him. It was shocking. In my day, a lady never used language like that. A lady was a lady back then.” She looked at Maria. “I’m tired. I want to go to bed now.” The old woman looked at me again, squinting. “Are you sure that wasn’t you?”

  “Yes, I’m sure.”

  Maria walked me to the door. “Some days she’s well, others, she’s…” She tapped her forehead. “She’s tired right now. I’d better let her sleep.”

  food is an important part

  of a balanced diet

  In my kitchen, I played the old woman’s words over as I put away the groceries. It was just as I’d suspected. The motive had been drugs, but the argument had been between a man and a woman. So Harry Johnson was innocent after all. Dammit. I was back at square one…or was I?

  Harry Johnson’s high-pitched voice could have been mistaken for a woman’s. I was already convinced that he was the one who’d ransacked my place. It was so logical, I couldn’t shake the theory. Besides, if he wasn’t the murderer, then who?

  I was putting away the groceries when the doorbell rang. I hurried down the hall, and Toni came sweeping in. “Whoa, you look so skinny in those jeans. Have you been eating?”


  “Of course I have.”

  She struck a model’s stance and pointed a finger at me. “Don’t forget, food is an important part of a healthy diet.”

  I shrugged her concern away. “You won’t believe it.” I told her about running into Maria Fernandez and what her mother had to say. “Have you noticed how high-pitched Harry Johnson’s voice is? Doesn’t it sound like a woman’s?”

  “You’re right,” she agreed.

  “I’ve been thinking about that story of Mrs. Grant’s, how she learned about Rob’s drug problem? I think it might have a bit different from what she told me.”

  Toni’s eyebrows shot up. “You think she lied?”

  “No, I think Harry and Rob pulled a fast one on her.”

  She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

  “I’m going to call her right now.” I picked up the phone and dialed. “Hello, Mrs. Grant, this is Nicky.” After a few words of polite conversation, I explained the reason for my call. “Do you remember when you told me that Harry Johnson once caught Rob stealing painkillers from the hospital?” Mrs. Grant mmm-hmm’d in acknowledgement. “This might sound like an odd request, but would you mind describing the scene to me? I have an idea about who killed Rob and I just want to check something first.”

  As soon as I’d said that, I immediately regretted it. Mrs. Grant was now frantic.

  “No, I haven’t heard anything new,” I told her regretfully. “If I do, you’ll be the first to know, I promise.” I listened for a few minutes. “I see…Yes…I understand.” After she finished, I thanked her and hung up.

  I turned to Toni. “Turns out, when Rob lived with his mother—”

  “Rob always lived with his mother. And you know what I say about a grown man who never moves out of his mommy’s house…”

  “He wasn’t living with her anymore. He had his own place over the garage.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Oh, give me a break.”

  “Anyway, when Mrs. Grant came home one day, she heard Rob yelling. She hurried upstairs and walked in on him arguing furiously with—guess who?—Harry Johnson. And the bed was littered with pill bottles—dozens of them.”

  Toni nodded, knowingly. “And Harry came up with the story that he was busting Rob.”

  “That’s right. Here’s what I think. If those two were involved with some kind of drug scheme together, Rob couldn’t very well contradict Harry without admitting to criminal activity.”

  Toni’s eyebrows shot up. “That makes perfect sense. What are you waiting for? This is the plausible explanation we’ve been searching for. Call Steve.”

  “I don’t know.” I sighed. “You know what the cops are like. They probably won’t do a thing about it. And if we tell Steve, he’ll want me to cancel the dinner.”

  “You’ve got a point,” she said, looking disappointed.

  “I’m not about to pull out now. I have a gut feeling my plan will work. I’ll get Harry to incriminate himself somehow and I’ll bring that creep down.” I glanced at my watch. “In the meantime, I have a dinner party to prepare.”

  Toni followed me to the kitchen where I resumed putting away the groceries. “So you’re determined to go through with it?”

  “You bet.”

  “Good girl,” she said, watching me set the fruit on the counter. “Mmm, papaya and mango, what are you making?”

  “Tropical fruit salsa.” I folded my recyclable shopping bag and stuffed it in my purse. How about you come back later and give me a hand?”

  “If it’s quiet at work, I will.”

  “The way business has picked up, I’d better not count on it,” I said, chuckling.

  A few minutes later she left and I busied myself polishing until everything sparkled.

  I was just about to start preparing the food when the doorbell rang. My heart did its usual plunge, the way it did whenever I imagined the cops behind the door. But to my surprise, it was Toni.

  “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at work?” I asked, leading the way to the kitchen.

  “Charles called in a favor with a couple of his friends and they’re helping out for a couple of hours. I’ll be back there before it gets busy. So I’m all yours until six.

  “In that case, here, you can give me a hand.” I picked up a papaya and tossed it to her.

  She caught it in midair. “What do you want me to do?”

  I placed the cutting board on the table and handed her a knife. “Chop.”

  “Don’t you have a food processor?”

  I shook my head.

  Toni examined her manicure and grimaced. “You really have it in for my nails, don’t you?” To her credit, she helped herself to one of my aprons and set to work. “Mitchell will be so impressed with your cooking.” She sing-sang Mitchell’s name, but I didn’t rise to the bait. For once, my cheeks maintained their regular color. Toni continued chopping, then stopped and studied me again, this time with criticism in her eyes. “I hope you’re going to wear makeup.”

  I knew I lacked the girly-girl skills that Toni used to reel in her men. I decided to take advice rather than offense. “I did look good when you did my makeup, didn’t I?” I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not even sure I have the right cosmetics.”

  “Anything you need, I’ll lend you.” She paused, her knife in midair. “Go check right now. Better yet, bring down your bag and I’ll go through it myself.”

  I dashed upstairs. In the bathroom, I rummaged under the sink, retrieved my cherry-red bag and brought it back to the kitchen. “Here it is.”

  Toni wiped her hands and I took over the chopping while she sorted through my makeup.

  “Most of this is junk,” she declared, throwing items into a growing pile in the center of the table. “A few are fine, but wrong for your coloring.” She made a second pile. I could hardly believe how much makeup that bag contained. There were dozens of items I had never even used. “These are nice,” she said, pointing to a miniscule pile. “Hold on, what’s this?”

  I glanced up. “That looks like…” I gasped. “I don’t believe it! It’s—it’s…how the hell did that…?” A memory came flashing back. I took the plastic bottle and examined it, then shook it. It rattled. I twisted off the top and dropped the contents onto my open palm—at least a dozen white tablets.

  Toni’s voice snapped me out of my trance. “What are they?” she asked from over my shoulder.

  I held up the bottle. “I do believe it’s evidence. This is one of the pill bottles from Rob’s bag.”

  “You’ve had this the whole time?”

  “I had no idea.” I explained about dropping the brown leather bag the afternoon of Rob’s party. “There were pill bottles all over the floor. It was just after you told me that the lemon curd was ruined. I wanted to get to the restaurant as fast as I could. I was about to leave when I found one last bottle and threw it under the vanity, into what I thought was Rob’s bag. I must have thrown it into mine by mistake.”

  She picked one up gingerly and looked at it. “They don’t look like vitamin pills to me. Do you realize what this means? Nicky, you could be cleared.”

  I nodded, stunned. “Maybe. But I still want Harry to confess. I may be paranoid, but at this point, I’m not taking any chances. For all we know, the police will find a way to use this against me.”

  “After all they put you through, I can’t say that I blame you. But why don’t you talk to Steven about it?”

  For some reason, Toni seemed bent on getting me to call her ex. I considered it. “I’d rather not. He’ll try to talk me into going to the cops.” Shivers ran up and down my spine. “We have to be careful who we tell. This is just the kind of thing that could earn me a Chroma through the heart.”

  We both were quiet. Toni broke the eerie silence. “We need to find out what kind of pills these are.”

  “I—I’m not sure. If we talk to someone, we have to make sure it’s someone we trust.” The solution came to me. “I know. I’ll ask Janice.”

&nb
sp; I hurried to the living room and picked up the phone.

  “Hi, Nicky,” Janice said. “Speak of the devil. I was just about to call you. I really hate to do this to you—I know it’s last minute, but Simon has just come down with the worst case of the flu. We won’t be able to make it tomorrow.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Without Janice and Simon to lighten the mood, dinner would be tense. I’d be stuck with the Harrises and Harry Johnson. Luckily Mitchell, Gordon Page and Kim would be here. “I was looking forward to seeing you.”

  “How many people are coming?” she asked. “And what’s on the menu?”

  “I was planning for eight. I guess we’ll be six, now. As for the menu, you could say I’ll be serving a healthy dose of whodunit. I think I’ve just solved Rob’s murder. This nightmare is just about over.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “A witness has just turned up. And if that’s not enough, I also I found a bottle of pills.”

  “A bottle of pills? Some kind of drug?”

  “That’s what I need to find out. I hate to ask you this, but could I drop by for a minute? I’d like you to take a look at them. Maybe you can tell me what they are.”

  Janice was silent for a moment. “I don’t know. Simon is so sick. I’ll tell you what. I have to pick up a prescription for him in a little while. I’ll try to swing by at the same time.”

  “That would be great.”

  “So you still plan on confronting him tomorrow? It sounds so dangerous, Nicky.”

  “I don’t care. I want to make sure the police believe me.”

  Janice was quiet and, when she spoke, I could hear the concern in her voice. “I don’t know if this is such a good idea. If we’re right about the man, he’s killed twice already. We don’t know what he’s capable of.”

  “Don’t worry. There will be half a dozen people here. He won’t be able to do a thing.”