by Hillary Avis
“He said he would have killed Trent himself if someone else hadn’t done it first.”
“Strong words.”
Milo nodded. “Strong motive.”
Bethany absentmindedly grabbed a few of Milo’s remaining fries. “You know, Alex Vadecki has the same motive, if you think about it. He loved Mimi, too. And he obviously knew about the affair before Chuck did. With his temper? Anything could have happened.”
“We need to talk to Alex again,” Milo agreed grimly. Then his face shifted as he looked at her. He reached out and tucked some of her hair up into her bun. “You know, I don’t think I could have done this without you.”
Chapter 15
ALEX EYED BETHANY SUSPICIOUSLY. “What do you want?”
“Maybe we’re just here for lunch,” she said.
He rolled his eyes. “I think not, given your well-known opinion of the Seafood Grotto menu.”
Bethany rolled her eyes. Why is this guy so impossible to deal with? He turns everything into an argument! Well, two could play that game. “The menu’s fine—it’s the recipes that are lacking.”
“Well, the line of people behind you disagrees.” Alex nodded to the row of six or eight customers waiting to place their orders. “How’s business at your little kiosk? Brisk, I hope.”
“You know very well that I don’t have any business, because the station is still closed for the renovation.”
Alex clucked his tongue in mock sympathy. “What a shame. Too bad I don’t have any positions open.”
“Thanks anyway—I’m not looking for a job.” But maybe I should be, since I have no idea how I’m going to pay my half the rent. And Kimmy’s looking for a job, since she’s not exactly rolling in dough right now, either. Bethany sighed.
“Why are you here, not eating and wasting my time?” Alex crossed his arms and looked down at her.
Milo cleared his throat. “Actually, I just wanted to follow up on some details for the food feature.”
Alex raised an eyebrow. “My interest is piqued. Have you heard whether the judges have chosen a winner yet?”
“No, but—”
“Then I’m not interested!” Alex snapped.
Milo set his jaw. “You didn’t let me finish. No, but I’m writing a separate story about Chuck Bolton’s rise to stardom. I found it fascinating that you and so many of your high school classmates have found success in the food industry. Why do you think that is?”
Alex’s whole demeanor shifted. He dropped his hands to his sides and his shoulders relaxed. “I guess it’s because we all competed with each other. When one of us had a talent or interest, the others tried to measure up. Whether it was sports or cooking, we were trying to be the best.”
“Who started cooking first?”
Alex shrugged. “Hard to remember. Maybe Ned? He always made the best lunches.”
Bethany snorted. “I heard he had to bring his lunch, because you stole his lunch money every day.”
Alex looked sheepish and glanced around to make sure none of his customers were eavesdropping on their conversation. He lowered his voice. “I never had money for lunch, and my parents weren’t the type who kept the fridge stocked, you know? Ned was a rich kid like Trent. I knew he could afford it.”
Ugh—sympathy for Alex was not something I was expecting to feel. “Ned says that’s what motivated him to learn how to cook. If you hadn’t stolen his lunch money, he never would have discovered that about himself.”
“Huh. No kidding. Well, I know Chuck started cooking so he could outdo Ned. He’s a competitive dude. And I started cooking so I could impress Mimi—she always thought everything her brother did was the best, and I wanted to show him up. I knew she loved seafood, so that’s what I worked hardest to master, and”—he gestured to the restaurant around them—“this is the result. You could say the Grotto was inspired by my love for her.”
Not sure how I’d feel about being the muse for a mediocre fish-n-chips place, but hey. The guy was baring his soul. Bethany nodded sympathetically. “That’s...touching. I guess you sort of inspired the Ultimate Freakin’ Cook-off—or at least, your lunch money habit did.”
Alex put his hands on his hips as he considered what she said. A slow smile spread across his face. “Huh. I guess I did. Whattaya know.”
“Why didn’t Trent Gallagher learn how to cook?” Milo asked. “Wasn’t he in your group?”
Alex grimaced and rocked on his heels. “He hung out with the party crowd, the rich crowd. He thought cooking was stupid when you could just pay somebody else to do it. Actually, he paid Chuck to make his lunches. That’s how he met Mimi.” He stared stubbornly at the floor and didn’t say any more.
“Do you still love her?” Bethany asked. Milo elbowed her in the side, but she ignored him.
Alex nodded, eyes still fixed on the floor. “I’d do anything for her. Heck, the only reason I moved to this stupid town was to be near her. To protect her.”
Milo raised his eyebrows. “Protect her from what?”
Alex turned on him in an instant. “What do you think? From Trent! He never treated her right. I thought—oh, never mind, this is stupid.”
“No, go on,” Bethany said gently. “You were hoping to win her back?”
Alex groaned and rubbed his face in frustration. “I’m not crazy. I just I thought if I was here, she’d come to me if she really needed someone, like a safety net. I’ll always catch her, even if she doesn’t love me back.”
“But would you kill her husband for her—that’s the question.” Milo leveled his gaze at Alex, sizing him up.
“Never.” Alex met Milo’s eyes, his gaze steady and clear. “That would have hurt Mimi more than anything. I’m not a stalker or obsessed or anything. Just...like, if she wants a good fish sandwich, here I am. If she needs a shoulder to cry on someday, here I am.”
“Don’t you think it hurt her when you told Chuck about her husband’s affair?” Bethany asked.
He shook his head vehemently. “When I pieced together Trent’s affair from social media posts, I didn’t know what to do. I thought Chuck would be an ally. Someone who cared as much about Mimi as I did, and would help me figure out what was in her best interest. But it just ticked him off. He pretty much shot the messenger.”
Bethany sighed. “You’re not the one who ended up dead, though.”
Alex’s face creased with a strong emotion—guilt? Fear? Sadness?
“Hey man, thanks for being honest.” Milo stuck out his hand and Alex shook it, then reached out and shook Bethany’s, too.
“I’m glad to get this off my chest,” he said, squeezing her hand gently.
Bethany squeezed back. “Glad we could help.”
As they left, she shook her head. For the first time, she felt like she really understood where Alex was coming from. She actually felt a little bit sorry for him. That wasn’t such a bad thing. It was time she started to forgive Alex for being a crappy boss.
Chapter 16
TUESDAY AFTERNOON
As they unlocked their bikes in the alley, Bethany’s stomach growled audibly, and Milo grinned at her.
“Can I buy you some lunch? It sounds like you could use another burger from Home Plate.”
“Are you just angling for a second date?” she teased.
“Guilty as charged.”
“While my mouth is watering at the memory of those cheeseburgers, I think a murder investigation is more important than my hunger pangs. We should really go update Charley, don’t you think?”
Milo nodded. “Let’s walk and talk,” he said, pushing his bike along the sidewalk. “Maybe we can make sense of all these stories on the way to the police station.”
Bethany nodded and steered her bike in parallel with his. “Honestly, it doesn’t seem like any of them wanted to kill Trent Gallagher. They all had their problems with him, but nobody seems murderous.”
“I agree. The wild card is Monsieur Adrian. Do you think he’s the killer?”
&nbs
p; Bethany shrugged her shoulders. “He definitely didn’t stick around to be questioned. He may not even know that Judge Gallagher died! I mean, assuming he wasn’t the poisoner.”
“He just gave up everything in his life at the drop of a hat, though. Would someone do that who wasn’t guilty of a terrible crime? I can’t imagine just walking away from my career—not for any reason.” Milo bumped his bike down off the curb and paused to wait for a red light.
Bethany studied his face in profile. His jaw was set, and his eyes were narrowed as he watched for the light to change. He must be thinking about what it’d be like to walk away from his life—and the idea definitely didn’t agree with him. Milo was the kind of guy who stuck out his commitments. At least, his commitments to work.
“Maybe you’d feel differently if you had kids.”
Milo jerked his head to look at her. “Why would that change anything?”
“You’re talking like Monsieur Adrian’s whole world was his restaurant. You’re forgetting that he had a husband and children—and he just lost them both. Maybe his restaurant business didn’t have meaning once they were gone. I think he would have left for France regardless of the contest.”
“He would have stuck around a few more days if he thought he was going to win,” Milo said dryly. “Those kids could wait a little longer if a cash prize was involved, you know?”
“Maybe you’re right.”
The light changed, and they pushed their bikes across the street to the police station. Bethany was quiet as they locked up the bikes and made their way to Charley’s office. She couldn’t help being disappointed in Milo’s cynical view of career and family.
Charley met them at the door. “Got anything good?” she asked, leaning on the frame.
“I don’t know if it’s good, but it’s interesting,” Bethany said. Milo already had his notebook out and was flipping through it.
“Come in, come in.” Charley moved out of the doorway and motioned them toward the chairs that faced her desk. She took her seat and got out a voice recorder and set it on the desk. “You don’t mind?”
Milo shook his head. “OK, let’s see. We spoke with Chuck Bolton and his assistant. Turns out that Chuck wasn’t speaking to Trent because he found out that Trent was having an affair.”
“Bolton was angry on behalf of his sister?” Charley asked.
Milo nodded. “He’s very loyal to Mimi, and I don’t think he’s ever really liked Trent Gallagher, not even when they were kids.”
“Do you think that may have been a motive for Chuck to kill his brother-in-law?”
“Could be. It definitely made him angry.”
Charley nodded. “How did he find out about it?”
“Alex Vadecki told him.”
Charley frowned. “How would he know?”
“He’s still in love with Mimi, so apparently he was following both of them on social media, supposedly to make sure she was OK,” Bethany said. “He claims he pieced it together from Trent’s social media comments.”
“Sounds like stalking to me,” Charley said.
Milo nodded. “Maybe. It seemed to me like he was keeping an appropriate distance, but it’s hard to say.”
“He did tell Chuck about the affair rather than going to Mimi herself,” Bethany pointed out. “It would have been creepier if he’d gone to her directly.”
“Maybe he stayed away because he was scared of Trent.” Charley looked thoughtful. “Maybe he wanted Trent out of the way before he approached her.”
“So he killed him?” Bethany glanced at Milo to see what he thought of Charley’s theory. He looked as skeptical as she felt.
Charley nodded. “Or he used Chuck Bolton as his weapon. Primed him with bad information so he’d have a grudge against Trent. How do we know Judge Gallagher even had an affair? Alex ‘pieced it together,’ and Chuck believed him. There’s not even any proof.”
Except Clementine admitted the affair—but only to me. Bethany gritted her teeth. If she revealed Clementine’s secret now, Milo and Charley would know she’d been concealing information from them. That wouldn’t bode well for her relationship with either of them. “Alex seemed credible. He was reluctant to tell us about it.”
Charley pursed her lips. “Probably because he didn’t want to come off as a stalkerish creep.”
“Too late.” Bethany grinned. “No, seriously—he seemed credible. But I guess everyone does—that’s why you haven’t made any arrests yet.”
“Way to build up my confidence,” Charley said wryly.
“Not everyone’s story adds up.” Milo was staring at his notebook. “We’re supposed to believe that Chuck Bolton’s anger resulted in the silent treatment? That’s nuts, right? A guy famous for pounding dudes into a pulp is so furious he stops talking to someone? ‘Oh no, Chuck’s not talking to me’—Trent must have been devastated.”
“Heartbroken.” Bethany grinned. “Well, to be fair, Ned said Judge Gallagher begged to be on the show. For once, he wanted to be associated with Chuck, even if it was just so he could get elected mayor. Maybe Chuck’s best weapon was the silent treatment—that way, Trent would get almost no air time, but Mimi wouldn’t be mad at her brother for refusing to play nice.”
“That’s pretty devious. Do you think Chuck Bolton is that sophisticated?” Charley asked. “He doesn’t seem like a subtle kind of guy to me.”
Bethany shook her head. “I agree. He’s emotional. Reactive. Plus, it can’t be a coincidence that Chuck’s assistant and his brother-in-law were poisoned within days of each other. Maybe it was an accident that Ned was poisoned, but it’s no accident that Ned works so closely with Chuck. Maybe Chuck practiced on Ned, or maybe Ned ingested poison that was intended for Trent Gallagher.”
Charley raised an eyebrow. “He’s callous enough to practice on someone?”
“He definitely doesn’t think much of Ned.” Milo chewed his lower lip. “But maybe he was trying to hurt Trent, and Ned was just collateral damage.”
Bethany frowned. Something about that idea just didn’t add up. “It had to be on purpose, right? I mean, if Chuck was trying to kill Trent? Trent wasn’t even there when Ned got poisoned.”
Milo’s eyes went wide, and he jumped to his feet. “But his rulebook was! And Ned was in charge of the rulebook that day, right?”
Bethany nodded. “He had it out and was checking rules for people at the information meeting. And Judge Gallagher did the same on the day of the cook-off when Monsieur Adrian got caught cheating.” A sick feeling came over her. If I hadn’t exposed Monsieur Adrian, Trent Gallagher might still be alive.
Milo paced back and forth in front of Charley’s desk, his movements becoming more and more animated. “That could explain how they both had contact with the poison. Someone could have poisoned the rulebook, expecting that Judge Gallagher would be the one to handle it, but then Ned stood in for him at the meeting!”
Charley tilted her head to the side, considering. “That could explain Ned’s poisoning. He got a very small dose. Maybe the killer started out by poisoning the rulebook, and then when it didn’t work very well, raised the stakes at the cook-off. Trent Gallagher got a huge dose, though. Ten or twenty times what Ned got. It had to have been ingested.”
Bethany turned to Milo. “I just remembered something. Ned used the rulebook at the cook-off, too, before Judge Gallagher arrived. Remember? He looked up the rules when Garrett and Clementine were arguing about their bread.”
“That’s right!” Milo snapped his fingers. “So the rulebook wasn’t poisoned for the cook-off. It had to have been in the chili.”
“Or in his water or even his spoon,” Bethany mused. “Or even something he touched and then licked his fingers. It’s so frustrating—we’ll probably never know.”
Charley jerked open the drawer of her desk and rummaged through the stacks of paper inside. “It’s in here somewhere,” she muttered. She slammed the drawer shut and jerked open another. “Here it is!” She held up the two
tapes from the TV cameras triumphantly.
Milo stopped his pacing and raised his eyebrows. “Surely you’ve already watched those!”
“Obviously.” Charley rolled her eyes and crossed the room to where a TV was mounted to the wall. “But when Coop and I went through the video, we only watched the camera Ned was holding, focused on the contestants. We were looking to see if they put anything in the judge’s chili. We didn’t watch the other camera, because it only showed the contestants from the back. But it shows the judges and what they were doing. Maybe we missed something.”
Bethany sat forward in her seat and twisted so she could see the screen. Charley slid the first tape into the video player and turned on the TV.
Milo cracked his knuckles. “Here we go.”
The video had no sound, so Bethany watched the judges’ body language closely as Clementine presented her chili. Mayor Strauss’s face was perfectly composed when she tasted it and gave her comments. She could be a chili-eating robot. Without sound, Bethany could see that Chuck was irritated by the mayor’s noncommittal response.
“He thinks he chose the wrong judge,” Milo commented.
Bethany flashed him a smile. Great minds think alike.
“Look!” Charley pointed to the screen. “Look how he’s cringing.”
It was Judge Gallagher’s turn to taste Clementine’s chili. He was looking at Chuck rather than at Clementine as he pushed the bowl away from himself.
“What’s up with that?” Milo mused aloud. “He’s having such a negative reaction, but the other judges don’t seem to care that much. If I was going by their reactions, I’d say it was a forgettable dish. But he really hated it!”
Or he was afraid that Chuck knew he and Clementine were having an affair. Maybe Trent Gallagher was afraid Clementine was going to expose him—or he thought Chuck had set him up.
“I don’t think he even tasted it,” Charley said.
Bethany nodded. “He didn’t. That’s when he said he was afraid of being poisoned.”
Charley wrinkled her forehead. “Why would he say something like that?”
