The Death of a Celebrity Chef

by Kee Patterbee

  Hannah noticed that Louie never said the word died or referred to it in any way. He had come to terms with Julia’s death in many ways, but that one final step, that one last admission, kept her alive for him.

  Sitting back down with a tub of cheese in hand, Buster applied a generous amount to his meal. “Women have this ability to change their looks. I never could figure it out.”

  “Jedi mind trick.” Cate raised her eyebrows for emphasis and causing everyone to chuckle. After gulping down another bite of salad, she proceeded. “I got the statements you emailed me, by the way. While you were off and about today, I read them. For the most part, all the alibis seemed air tight, including the staff.”

  Swallowing the last bite of her bread, Hannah both made a statement and broached a question to all. “Well, someone had to do it. Theories?”

  Louie was the first to give an answer, and it did not stray far from the usual.

  “My moneys on Asa. He fought with Julia and left for a mysterious meeting with some unidentified individual. Claims he passed out and never noticed she wasn’t in bed. Plus, it’s a high probability that he had an affair with his niece, for God’s sake. That’s creepy enough. His stories got more holes than Buster’s Swiss cheese there.”

  “Swiss? I thought it was Parmesan?”

  “Check the labels, dude. Anyway, the man’s got enough money to arrange anything, and he’s controlling as all get out.”

  Hannah was willing to consider Louie’s theory, if only to find its flaws. “All right, why? What’s his motivation?”

  The question caught Louie off guard, a symptom of having not thought his theory through. Again, his jealousy was shining through and clouding his judgment.

  “Uh, well, let’s see. If he had an affair, maybe Julia wanted out of the marriage. Maybe he was afraid of a messy, expensive divorce. It would go against his controlling nature…”

  Louie stopped mid-sentence. His sudden halt caused Buster and Cate to follow his gaze to Hannah. “No ring,” she muttered.

  Cate looked at her friend as a look of discovery rolled over her friend’s face. “What?”

  “No ring. She didn’t have a ring on her finger when they found her, get it?”

  Everyone shook their head no. Sighing, Hannah proceeded to explain. “When I read the police report, valuables listed were a necklace with a key, but no ring. No wedding ring.”

  This intrigued Cate. “She would have had a ring, no doubt. Married to a man like Asa, he would have insisted. It would have been a doozy, too. To show status.”

  Louie agreed. “It was huge. I remember there was an article on it at some point, but only about the ring. Something like 21 carats.”

  Hannah leaned back in her chair. “But it wasn’t listed as stolen.”

  “So, she didn’t have it on.” Cate shook her head. “That’s not something you take off and toss into the jewelry box.”

  Buster shrugged. “Unless you’re getting a divorce.”

  “I agree. It may be something else, but given the rumors, the fight, and Asa’s meeting, this is something I need to check into.”

  “See, now that’s what I’m talking about.” Louie’s smug look once again gave up his distaste of Asa.

  “Just because they may have, and I stress may have been getting a divorce, doesn’t mean he murdered his wife. There are plenty of other possibilities.”

  Hannah’s rebuttal stung Louie enough that his aggressive stance came to a screeching halt. He slumped back into his chair in a huff. Satisfied she had backed him down, she continued. “Cate? Best guess.”

  “You got me, equal possibilities all around. Asa would be good for it except for the vindication of every part of his story other than whom he met. Whatever he told the police, they didn’t find it worth mentioning. Even that doesn’t scream murder, just adultery. Jazlyn says she was at a party. A lot of people saw her, but there was a lot of alcohol tossed about. She could have slipped out at any point. And what about Miller? He stopped by and dropped off some stuff, but no one saw him leave. He was out later that night with witnesses, but if he timed it right, there was a small window of opportunity.”

  “What about Vera?” Buster stopped eating. He tapped on the table, emphasizing his point. “She was the only person who heard the fight at the studio? I mean, come on. That place is crawling with people. There’s something she’s not telling us.”

  Hannah listened. She asked for her friend’s theories, because each offered a unique perspective. This served to freshen her own. “What would she get out of that?”

  “An opportunity. Given the handling of this case, I doubt they did little more than confirm with her roommate that she was home. I bet that if you look hard enough, you might find there were plenty of opportunities to slip out, just like Miller. Who knows? There’s a possibility it was a combo. Asa met Vera. Vera met Miller. Miller met Asa. They all met.”

  “Or Jazlyn could have met with any one of them. Or all of them, as well,” Cate added.

  “Yeah, I suppose.”

  Having finished off most of the food on her plate, Hannah took a few remaining noodles and slipped them under the table. Critic had been waiting for a tidbit, and she rewarded the hound’s patience. He gulped down the treat and accepted her following pat on the head. “Well, that’s enough for me right there,” Hannah emphasized. “I’m stuffed.” Looking to Cate, she queried, “You said all the staff’s alibis were good?”

  “Yeah, they weren’t in-depth statements, by any means, but for the most part, the police ruled them out. It was just the groundskeeper. Peter Grimes, I think his name was. Mr. and Mrs. Staples--”

  “The cook and the valet, right?”

  “Umm hmm, and a day guard named Jonas… darn. Hang on. Let me get my laptop.” Cate rose and disappeared into the other room. Louie and Buster seized the opportunity to refresh everyone’s drinks. Hannah took the opportunity to continue spoiling Critic, who was glad for both the attention and the treats.

  “You’re going to make him fat,” Louie half complained.

  “It’s not just him,” Hannah argued, patting her stomach. Cate reappeared with laptop open and ready, sitting it in front of Hannah.

  “Here.”

  Hannah read the names loud enough for everyone to hear. “Peter Grimes. Leona and Homer Staples. The security guard, Jonas Grumby. That’s pretty much it.” As the group pondered in silence, each had their own thoughts on the situation. Hannah furrowed her brow as usual. “We must be missing something. The staff is straight up.”

  After a moment, Louie looked up. “Well, maybe we are thinking too inside. That its internal.”

  “If you got any ideas, let’s entertain them.”

  “What about Xabiere Dauphin and Timothy Holloway?”

  “The fired chefs?”

  “They did threaten both Julia and Asa.”

  Cate interjected. “The police did question them about the threat before she died. No one filed charges. After, Holloway had already taken a job out of the country. Some fancy hotel in Germany. Dauphin was in the hospital recovering from an accident. He busted himself up in some kind of fall at his apartment.”

  “So, this Xabiere stuck around, even after Asa let him go.”

  “So, it would seem, if you call laid up in the hospital sticking around.”

  Hannah gave a one-corner smile. “I do.”

  Cate shrugged. “All righty.”

  Turning to Buster, Hannah grabbed the end crust from his garlic bread and gave it to Critic. “I take it you called Vera about the date, so she knew not to show.”

  “I did.”

  “Good, I’m glad you got my text. I wasn’t sure you would as I was way out in the boonies,” she laughed. “I’m beat and need to let this all go for a bit. Any agenda for tonight?”

  Louie, who had been looking in the fridge, turned toward the group. In his hands was a huge cake. “Desert! Italian Crème Cake.”

  Hannah, Cate and Buster’s mouths fell open. “Bef
ore I do anything tomorrow,” Hannah confessed, “I’m going for a run.”

  Chapter Ten

  The next morning, Hannah heard someone stirring downstairs and rose to find out whom. Leaving her room, she saw Critic waiting outside her door. He rose to enjoy a few head pats before padding his way down the stairs ahead of Hannah. Entering the kitchen, she saw Cate, who greeted the mastiff. “Well hello, sweet boy.” Next came what Hannah could describe as kissy face gestures and noises, which made her smile. Cate gave her friend her usual morning smile. “Morning, sunshine. Sleep well?”

  Hannah rubbed her eyes. “Did I ever tell you how much I hate you in the morning?”

  “No.”

  Repeating herself, she teased, “I hate you so much in the morning.”

  In truth, Hannah admired Cate’s ‘morningness’. She always woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, recalling the words of her friend’s mother. She also looked as if she stepped right out of the salon. “How does anyone look like that before coffee?” she often had complained. “It’s not natural.”

  “Someone needs some coffee.” Cate placed a large, steaming cup before Hannah.

  After a few minutes and a cup later, Hannah was waking. Cate explained to Hannah she had appeared so tired, everyone decided to let her sleep in a bit. Louie and Buster went ahead to the studio where the women were to join them later. Finishing their coffee, each readied for the day. They took the rental car, with Cate driving.

  “So, where to, boss?”

  “I want to talk to the pathologist. I found the address on the net.” Punching the coordinates into the GPS system, Hannah clued Cate in on the pathologist’s name. “Dr. Lin Niu lives at…” Hannah paused when the name of the housing division came up on her screen. She shot Cate a quizzical look. “Interesting, no?”

  “Interesting, yes.” Cate adjusted the mirrors before backing out into the street. “And we are off.”

  When they got to the upscale housing division, Cate turned and stopped before a guard station. A large brick wall entry lined both sides. Above all, in bold French script was Karas Chateau Plantation. A handsome guard approached. Hannah assessed him to be in his thirties. Both women put on their best smile and air of charm.

  “Hello, we are here to see Dr. Niu.” Cate tilted her head to one side.

  At first, the man had a blank, uninterested look on his face. However, after a second of Cate’s smile, and a look at Hannah, who did the same, and added a slow nod for emphasis, he relaxed. He cleared his throat and pulled his pencil down the clipboard. “I’m sorry, but I don’t seem to see any visitors on the list,” he stammered.

  “Oh, it wouldn’t be. We were in town visiting a friend and we thought we’d stop by. Dr. Niu oversaw our internship years ago. It was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing.”

  “Oh, I see. Would you like me to give her a call?”

  “We were kind of hoping to surprise her. Is that possible?”

  The man straightened a little. The uncertainty on his face was plain.

  Cate drew her eyes ever so subtly down the young man’s body and turned away when his eyes caught her.

  The man smiled. “Up to Vines, left onto Kennedy. It is the second house gate on the left.”

  “Thank you ever so much. You’re a doll.”

  The guard motioned back to his station. “I’ll be here if you need me. Just, uh, call or something. All day. I’ll be in there.” Cate gave him a small wave as they pulled off. From the review mirror, she could see the man drag his hand through his thick black hair before heading back inside the small station.

  “You little minx,” Hannah teased. “That was so smooth.”

  “Hey, this girl got it going on. Don’t you forget it.”

  They laughed all the way to Niu’s gate. Stopping before the entry, the size of the home was astounding. It was two stories in general, saffron exterior, with large, ornate white shutters. Four large columns stood at the front entry. There were at least two chimneys. A large garage that could house at least four vehicles stood at an angle to the side. Part of a tennis court showed to the rear of this. The grounds were immaculate, with large, sculpted hedges and a fountain. Red brick lay across the entire drive.

  Cate eyed the residence. “If this is a county medical examiner’s house, sister, I’m taking up with the dead.”

  “Maybe she comes from money.”

  “I wonder if she has any single brothers.”

  “If she is willing to meet us, I’ll ask.”

  Cate hit the buzzer to the gate, and to her surprise, it opened without question. “Trusting.”

  Hannah disagreed. “They just figured if the guard let us through, everything is good.”

  After parking the car and approaching the door, Hannah knocked. Shortly, they stood before a smallish man in his sixties wearing a suit and tie.

  Again, in her most charming voice, Cate announced, “We are here to see Dr. Lin Niu.”

  “May I ask who is calling?”

  “Two former students on a surprise visit.”

  “Wait here, please.” The man encouraged them to step inside before heading down the hall and turning into a room.

  Looking over to Cate, Hannah smiled. “My, my, quite the little undercover investigators we’ve become.”

  “Gotta do something with all the trouble you’re going to get us into.”

  A short while later, the man appeared again in the hall. He motioned them down and into a large open room with lots of light. Hannah and Cate stood before a small woman with short dark hair. She sat in a large overstuffed chair. When she looked up, she had Asian features and wore thick, dark-rimmed glasses. Her face was taut, and she rose upon seeing the two women. The man announced, “Dr. Niu, two former students.” He turned and exited. Niu walked over to the women, her eyes darting between the two. She stared at them with suspicion. “I don’t know you.”

  Hannah chose not to carry on with any pretense. “No, I am here on behalf of the family of Julia Karas. Questions have arisen in the circumstance of her death, about the autopsy and toxicology report, in particular.”

  The small woman lifted her glasses to peer at the two through the bi-focal bottom part of the lenses. She growled an answer. “Who sent you?”

  Hannah noticed an immediate tremor in the physician began with the mention of the Karas name and the incident in question.

  “A witness has come forward that will reopen the case and we are looking for signs of a homicide. We need to find out more about your report so that we can--”

  Niu cut Hannah off midstream and glared at them both. “I closed that case a year ago. There’s no reason to bring it back up again. The family--”

  “Wants answers now,” Hannah returned in a forceful tone.

  “They’re in the report.”

  “Not all.”

  “What are you suggesting? Are you accusing me of something?”

  Hannah shot Cate a look of confidence. She had hinted and the woman before them had fallen for it. Her reaction told Hannah there was more to the examiner’s report than she reported. Otherwise, she would have denied it rather than question what her adversaries knew.

  She reached up and snatched the glasses from her face. “Get out!” she demanded. “GET OUT!”

  By this time, the woman was thrusting her arm toward the door as she shook. Hannah had upset her on an unexpected level, which suited her purposes. “Fine, we’ll go, but before we do, consider this. I’m not an officer of the law. I represent a third party. Now, you can work with me and maybe we can help each other out. I’m not opposed to working something out. But once I leave these grounds, if we haven’t come to any type of understanding, my first stop will be to the police. It’s up to you.” Hannah produced a business card and placed it on a sideboard table.

  The woman continued glaring with rage. Her body twitched and her breathing was audible. “Damn it. Damn it,” she echoed, mumbling.

  Hannah motioned to Cate for the two to leave, but stoppe
d one last time. She looked around the room. “You know what I find interesting? You. Living here in this mansion in Karas Chateau Plantations. I’ll be sure and mention that to the police. They’ll want to follow up, no doubt. Questions will arise about the finances and your salary as a county medical examiner. What does that pay, sixty, maybe seventy thousand a year?”

  As Hannah watched, Niu’s face was changing from one of anger to one of concern. Her mouth fell open and Hannah could sense she was on the right line of questions. So, she continued. “You’ve been on the back side of an investigation, so you know what it’s like with people crawling through your life. Uncovering every little secret, scrutinizing, judging, and given that this was THE Julia Karas, beloved by all, it might even warrant a federal investigation. You remember when she was the White House guest chef for the Queen’s visit, Cate?”

  “Sure do. That was something. Bet she made some friends.”

  “Oh, she did. The President came to her funeral. I’m willing to bet that if the word gets out that this wasn’t an accident, but murder, there will be an investigation. A huge, invasive one. So, you think of that, Doctor. You can talk to me or air everything out in the court of public opinion. It’s up to you.” Looking to Cate, she assumed a smug face. “You have my number, but don’t wait too long. The police station is only three miles down the way.”

  Before the two had made it through the door, Niu called out. “Wait.” The two turned to stare at her as she took a breath. “Did Mr. Miller send you?”

  Neither answered.

  Niu glance down at the floor. She fidgeted in a noticeable agitation. She looked up at the women standing before her and sized them up. She was looking for a way out. Thinking over her situation, it was obvious when she gave up. Her only choice was to cooperate. “I should have known this would come back on me. I had an honest career right up until that time.”