The Complete Death Du Jour Mystery Collection

by Hillary Avis

  When Kimmy saw her cleaning up the dust pile she’d left behind, she flushed. “Sorry, I’m just so distracted today. Plus, these shoes are killing me.”

  Bethany looked down. Kimmy teetered in pale blue heels that had clusters of rhinestones on the toes. They weren’t exactly the comfortable chef’s clogs that they usually wore to work. “Breaking in the bridalwear?”

  Kimmy nodded. “Maybe if I endure the pain now, they won’t hurt so much at the wedding?”

  “That’s the theory, anyway. I just decided to wear flats when I was at my fitting today.”

  “Oh, you went to Happily Ever After?” Kimmy’s face brightened. “How’s the dress?”

  “Perfect.” Bethany decided to skip over the not-so-perfect part where she fell on her face. “And Milo got his tux—it looks great—and Charley had her outfit tailored, too.”

  “Great.” Kimmy gave a halfhearted smile and returned to her frantic scrubbing while standing on one foot. After a few moments, she switched to the other foot, a twinge of agony flickering across her face.

  Bethany gently took the cloth away from her. “Hey. Go sit down. I’ll finish closing up.”

  “You don’t have to—” Kimmy started to protest, but Bethany shushed her.

  “I know I don’t have to, I want to.”

  Kimmy held onto the counter as she teetered around the end and perched on one of the counter stools.

  “Maybe it’s time to rethink those shoes,” Bethany said, grinning at her. “You don’t want to be uncomfortable for your whole wedding day, do you?”

  Kimmy kicked off the shoes one at a time. “You know what? You’re right. This is ridiculous.” She hopped off the stool, picked up the shoes, and threw them into the trash can.

  Bethany laughed so hard she had to lean on the counter for a minute to recover. “You could have just returned those, you nut.”

  “No way.” Kimmy crossed her arms, grinning in her bare feet. “I’m not going to curse another woman with those things. They should all go in the trash if you ask me. I’m gonna call the store and tell them so.”

  Bethany giggled. “We’ll go find you some flats to wear tomorrow. We can go shoe-shopping and blow off a little steam.”

  Kimmy’s face sobered. “I can’t tomorrow. Too many things on the wedding to-do list.”

  “Like what?”

  “Charley and I are having our cake tasting with Olive! And then I’m getting my hair done so I have time to figure out how to style it before the big day. I have to meet with the florist to design the arrangements...and, you know, come to work.”

  Bethany dropped the cleaning cloth in the sink and came around the counter to give Kimmy a hug. “That’s a lot for one day. Why don’t you let me take some of that off your plate? I can take care of the Railway by myself, no problem. And I can deal with the florist after work if you give some idea of what you want. That way you can just focus on Charley and your hair appointment. No need to worry about anything else.”

  Kimmy sighed with relief. “You’d do that?”

  “Of course! It’s no problem at all.” Bethany was glad to see the worry lines disappear from Kimmy’s forehead. They chatted as they finished their closing tasks before clicking off the lights on their way out.

  “You want me to give you a ride home?” Kimmy asked on the sidewalk outside, as Bethany turned the key in the door.

  She shook her head as she flicked through her keychain and then bent to unlock her bike from the rack. “Nah, I have Daisy. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Her phone buzzed in her purse as she watched Kimmy pull out of the parking lot.

  It was Charley.

  “Guess what—you were right. Simon ID’d his dad. The mummy is Bernard LaFontaine! Way to go, Nancy Drew.”

  Bethany grinned into the phone. “Way to go yourself, Sherlock. I bet you’re glad to have the mystery of the mummy off your hands. Now you can relax and look forward to your wedding!”

  “Yeah, exactly.” Charley’s voice was comfortable and happy. “There’s just one thing, though. I’m escorting Bernard’s body back to the estate to be reinterred tomorrow morning, and I told Milo he could come. Ryan’s going to be there, too, of course, and I can’t play referee between those two while I’m on police business. Do you think you could come with me and keep the peace? It should only take a little while.”

  “I’m not sure—I promised Kimmy I’d run the café tomorrow. I don’t think I can get away.”

  “Aw, come on,” Charley begged. “Viv can handle it. She’s done it before.”

  Bethany sighed. “I know, I just promised Kimmy, and I hate to let her down, not when—”

  Charley interrupted. “But this is for Kimmy!”

  “How so?”

  “This means the crime scene tape at the conservatory comes down. The window washing can start so the place will be ready for a wedding in less than two weeks! And I know for a fact there is nothing Kimmy wants more than that.”

  She has a point.

  “Fine,” Bethany said grudgingly. “I’ll go with you tomorrow and keep the boys in line.”

  “Pick you up at eight—and meet me around the corner, OK? I don’t want Kimmy to see me.”

  Why wouldn’t she want Kimmy to see her? Realization dawned on Bethany.

  “Hey wait a minute! Don’t you have a cake tasting to do in the morning? Kimmy said you two had an appointment with Olive.”

  There was grumbling on the other end of the line before Charley spoke. “She knows what I like. I’m sure she can pick some flavors without me.”

  “She’s not going to be happy.”

  “I know.” Charley sighed. “But she’s not going to be happy if I tell her I’m going to bury a dead guy at our wedding venue instead, either.”

  Bethany chuckled. “You better come up with one heck of an excuse, then. And I don’t envy you the task.”

  Chapter 10

  Wednesday

  “DO YOU THINK SHE HAS cold feet?” Kimmy asked worriedly as she rolled croissant dough and twisted it into a perfect crescent. She’d been obsessively making croissants for the last couple of hours and trays of them were lining every available counter space, waiting for their turn in the oven.

  “No, of course not!” Viv scraped the egg whites she’d been beating into a bowl and gently folded them into the batter. “I know for a fact that she can’t wait to get married to you.”

  “Then why did she cancel on me with no warning?!” Kimmy sniffed and grabbed a paper towel to dab the tears from her cheeks before they fell on the croissants.

  Bethany paused her onion-slicing and sighed. “I’m sure she has a good excuse. What’d she say?”

  “Work stuff.” Kimmy shrugged and tossed the crumpled paper towel in the trash. “I don’t know why she can’t make some time for this, though. She’s known about it for weeks!”

  “I’m sure it’s important,” Bethany said reassuringly. Like opening up a crypt to bury a dead guy so you can have a perfect wedding. “Do you think we have enough croissants now?”

  “I guess so.” Kimmy sounded miserable.

  “Why don’t you take a break? Viv and I can get all the rolls in the oven.” Bethany scraped the mountain of chopped onions into a pot to sweat. French onion soup took patience and persistence—not to mention a few tears shed—but the rich flavor was always worth it.

  “Definitely,” Viv echoed.

  Kimmy shook her head. “I can’t sit around...it makes me too anxious. I’ll just”—she looked around frantically—“update the menu board.” She pulled out the step ladder and set to work updating the day’s menu.

  At least it’s keeping her mind off her wedding woes. Bethany stirred the onions absentmindedly, enjoying the fragrant steam emanating from the pot. There was no special skill involved in caramelizing onions except attention to make sure they didn’t brown too quickly or burn, so it was the perfect task for daydreaming.

  “Will you do the tasting with me?” Kimmy aske
d abruptly. “Please? Olive will be here pretty soon.”

  Ugh, I hate saying no to her.

  “Um—I wish I could, but...” Bethany paused, hoping Kimmy would fill in the blank with a plausible excuse. But I can’t.

  “Ryan again?” Kimmy couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice—it was obvious. “You two sure are spending a lot of time together.”

  Nothing like finding a dead guy to bring two people together.

  Bethany nodded, avoiding eye contact so Kimmy wouldn’t guess at her omission.

  “Does this mean Milo’s out of the running?”

  Bethany snapped her head up and saw Kimmy grinning wickedly at her. “No! I mean—I haven’t made any decisions,” she finished lamely.

  “Two dates in two days, though...”

  “Actually,” Bethany said, an idea bubbling to the surface as she stirred the onions. “It’s not a date. Ryan wants to open a café at the Peregrine Museum in the next six months!”

  Kimmy almost fell off the ladder. “He wants you to run it!?”

  “He wants us to run it,” Bethany corrected. “We’re partners, remember?”

  Kimmy turned around and sat down on top of the ladder. “Oh, wow, that’s amazing! Should I come, too?”

  No, no, definitely not. Bethany’s perfect excuse was falling apart. How could she explain a business meeting that didn’t include her business partner? She scrambled to come up with an explanation.

  “Um, this is just really preliminary, looking at the kitchen and stuff. Plus, don’t you have your tasting with Olive?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Kimmy said unhappily. “And I have my hair appointment after that.”

  I hope she doesn’t think I’m trying to cut her out of the deal.

  “I’ll bring all the paperwork back with me and we can go over it, and then we’ll have a real meeting where we hash out concept and menu,” Bethany assured her. She paused her stirring to rest her shoulder for a minute. “Don’t worry, you’ll have a hundred percent creative control.”

  “I’m not worried about that. If you’re at a meeting and I’m getting my hair done, who’s running the Railway? How are we ever going to run two restaurants when we can’t even run one?”

  “What am I, a potato?” Viv asked, drying her hands on her apron. “I don’t need a babysitter—I can run the counter just fine once we have all the prep done.”

  Kimmy’s chin wobbled and she looked like she was going to burst into tears. She held out her arms to Viv, and Viv laughed as she embraced her future sister-in-law.

  “I’ll take care of you, Kimmers, don’t worry. Come on down off that ladder. You’re a bride, today, not a baker.” Viv took Kimmy over to a table and made her a cup of tea.

  Bethany grinned. Whatever mistakes they’d made opening up the Railway, hiring Viv wasn’t one of them. That girl had saved them twice in as many days. It’d be a sad day when she graduated from college and left them behind for a career in the hotel industry.

  The onions were perfectly tender and evenly caramelized. Time to turn these babies into soup. She slowly poured a couple gallons of beef stock into the pot and finished it with some Worcestershire sauce. Now it just needed to simmer for a couple hours and it’d be perfect.

  The early commuters began to file in. Viv left Kimmy’s side and began slinging coffee and croissants behind the counter, and Bethany joined her, greeting the regulars and filling orders with a smile. In between customers, she explained the lunch menu to Viv.

  “The sandwich today is super simple, just roast beef on a baguette with mustard and a slice of Swiss. Then you finish it in the oven. Same for the soup, OK? Cheese on top of the bowl, toast in the oven until it’s bubbly.”

  Viv nodded. “Ah, cool. So I can finish soups and sandwiches at the same time!”

  Bethany nodded. “Exactly.”

  “Clever.” Viv grinned at her. “It’s almost like you know what you’re doing.”

  Bethany swatted her arm playfully. “OK, smart mouth. I’m going to go find Charley.” The instant she said Charley’s name, she realized her mistake and clapped her hand over her mouth.

  Viv raised an eyebrow. “I thought you had a date with Ryan.”

  “A business meeting,” Bethany corrected, lowering her voice. “Don’t tell Kimmy I’m meeting Charley. I’m helping her with—her work thing. Ryan will be there, so I wasn’t exactly lying. Just don’t mention it, please? I don’t want to worry Kimmy any more than I have to.”

  Viv rolled her eyes. “OK, fine, whatever. I don’t want to be involved in Charley’s drama.”

  “Thanks—you’re getting promoted!” Bethany took off her apron and hung it up, grabbed her purse, and headed for the door.

  “Promoted to what?!” Viv called after her.

  Bethany shrugged, grinning. “Make something up!”

  On the way out, Bethany saw Olive struggling down the sidewalk carrying a stack of cake boxes, so she stopped and held the door for her.

  “Hi, hon!” Olive beamed. “Are you going to help our lovebirds pick out their cake?”

  Bethany shook her head. “No, I’m meeting up with Ryan, so I can’t stay.”

  At the mention of Ryan’s name, Olive beamed even more brightly. She had a soft spot for him because of his volunteer work down at the shelter. Olive was actually the one who’d convinced Bethany to start making soup there on Saturday nights and introduced her to Ryan in the first place. “Oh, give him a kiss for me!”

  Bethany blushed. “It’s not like that. It’s a business meeting—sort of,” she finished lamely. “How’s Garrett doing?”

  “You know, I think when they killed that cancer, they killed some of his grumpy along with it. When I left home, he was whistling, if you can believe that!” Olive shifted the load in her hands and nearly dropped the whole stack.

  Bethany reached out a hand and balanced the cake boxes. “I’m so happy to hear that. Listen, I don’t mean to keep you. Kimmy is waiting and she’s having a hard time with all the wedding stress. I’m starting to get worried about her, to be honest.”

  Olive clucked sympathetically. “Happens to every bride. Nothing a little cake can’t cure. I’ll take good care of her, I promise. Go on now—and don’t forget to kiss that prince!”

  Blushing furiously, Bethany headed around the corner, not to her waiting prince, but to Charley.

  Chapter 11

  AT THE LA FONTAINE estate, Charley parked in the small pull-out by the stone chapel. The moment she turned off the car, the clouds overhead unleashed a torrent of rain and the wind whipped the branches of the trees along the drive.

  “Good graveyard weather,” Charley said, grinning.

  “Where is everybody?” Bethany could see only a plain black car parked ahead of them. “Are we the only ones?”

  “No—the family is meeting us here, and the morgue van is due any minute with the body. Let’s make a run for it.” Charley opened the car door, held a newspaper over her head, and dashed for the chapel doors.

  Bethany took a deep breath and followed, holding her hood up so the wind wouldn’t push it back down. She shook off as much of the water as possible on the small porch and then pushed her way inside. To her surprise, the chapel was milling with people, all of whom she recognized. Ryan flashed her a grin and Milo waved as they headed toward her. She saw Simon there—he glanced up at them from where he was sitting on a bench and chatting with Lucien—and Ernesto was leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.

  Makes sense that they’d be here; they’re practically family to the LaFontaines. Lucien and Ernesto have known Bernard for decades. But what about Bernard’s actual family? What about his wife?

  “Was Bella LaFontaine notified?” Bethany asked Charley. Ryan appeared by her elbow and she smiled up at him until Milo appeared at her other elbow, nudging her until she gave him the same favor.

  Phew, this was going to be a morning, all right.

  Charley nodded. “We left a message with the convent, anyway.�
��

  “It’s a long international trip—there’s no way she could make it on such short notice,” Ryan said.

  Simon joined their group, apparently having overheard their topic of conversation. He sniffed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she shows. Her one year is up. She may already have been on her way when you called. Nothing attracts Bella like the prospect of money. It’s the only reason she’d come back here.”

  Beside them, Ernesto stiffened. “That’s not the only reason she’s come back. She loves it here.”

  Simon laughed humorlessly. “You must be kidding. She never loved my father.”

  “I know she loved the estate,” Ernesto said stubbornly. “I don’t know about their relationship, but we worked on the gardens together, and I know how much she loved it. She’d never leave the estate unless she was forced.” He spoke the last words bitterly and his level glare clearly spelled out that he intended them as a jibe at Simon for selling the place.

  But Bella agreed to the sale. So she must not be as sentimental about the place as Ernesto thinks she is.

  Simon narrowed his eyes. “Yes, you worked very closely with her, didn’t you?”

  Did he mean what it sounded like he meant? Was Ernesto the reason that Bella joined a convent rather than attempt celibacy here at home?

  Milo elbowed her. He seemed to be thinking the same thing she was.

  The conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the morgue van. Charley held the door open for the stretcher. Bethany braced herself, less than eager to see a mummy with his bandages removed, but thankfully the morgue had shrouded him in a simple muslin bag so they were spared the gruesome details. Everyone in the room was somber as Ryan, Lucien, Simon, and Ernesto each took a corner of the stone coffin’s lid and heaved it to the side.

  “Put it back!” Ryan spoke sharply. The other three men obeyed, sliding the lid back into place. They all looked shaken.