Winner Cake All

by Denise Swanson

  “Why was there short notice?” Frannie joined Dani at the sink and asked, “Was the engagement a surprise and she wanted a party right away?”

  “No.” Dani finished the last sheet pan and wiped her hands on a towel.

  “Then, why?” Frannie persisted as she picked up a large spoon and dried it.

  “Because her original date was the Saturday after Halloween and she didn’t realize that until after she had booked everything.”

  “So?” Frannie frowned, then added, “By the way, we’re back on the record.”

  “I’m not entirely clear. It could have had something to do with her being afraid people would come in costume, or maybe she thought it was unlucky.”

  “It couldn’t have been worse than the day she ended up picking.”

  “True.” Dani rolled her eyes. “However, since Yvette wasn’t clairvoyant, there’s no way she could have known that when she decided.”

  “Maybe she should have spent some of the money earmarked for the party on a psychic,” Frannie said with a serious look on her face.

  Before Dani could respond, the doorbell rang and she realized that she needed to get rid of Frannie before the young woman found out the person at the door was Yvette’s wedding planner.

  “Oops!” Dani snatched the dishcloth from Frannie and said, “That must be my afternoon appointment.” She herded the young woman toward the kitchen exit. “And I really don’t know much else about Yvette.”

  Frannie stopped by the table, picked up her tablet and reporter’s notebook, then raised a brow and said, “Not even that she’s your boyfriend’s ex-wife?”

  Shoot! Dani forced herself to keep her expression impassive.

  “Yes. I knew that, but Spencer’s relationship with Yvette was over long ago.”

  “Still, he would know a lot about her past.” Frannie’s tone was thoughtful.

  “Probably, but I doubt he’d be willing to share any of it with you.”

  “Exactly.” Frannie narrowed her eyes. “And I’d hate to write anything negative about him, but if others talk and he doesn’t…”

  The doorbell rang again and Dani sighed, “Fine. What do you want from me?”

  “Explain the situation to Spencer and get him to meet with me.” Frannie walked to the back door. “You can be there and I promise to only ask reasonable questions.”

  “I’ll try, but no promises.” Dani waved Frannie away and rushed off to let the wedding planner in before Frannie could see her.

  Frannie probably wouldn’t recognize Vicki, but the young woman had a nose for news and just might have looked up pictures of everyone who worked on the engagement party.

  Chapter 15

  As Dani hurried down the hallway clutching the Joubert/Whittaker folder to her chest, she noticed that the floor was scuffed and needed to be polished. Evidently, all the foot traffic from Saturday night had taken a toll on the hardwood finish.

  Glancing around, she noticed the sunlight pouring from the foyer’s windows illuminated the dust on the stairway banister. That needed to be taken care of as well.

  It was a good thing that the girls owed her some time—their rental agreement included a certain number of employee hours. Once they got home from class this afternoon, she’d put them to work cleaning.

  Thinking of her boarders reminded Dani that, with the exception of a brief mention by Starr Sunday as she was hurrying out the door, the girls had acted as if the catastrophe Saturday night hadn’t happed. Dani wasn’t sure if they were really that unaffected by the tragic incident or were choosing to ignore their feelings.

  Maybe she should try to talk to them about it. She certainly was still shaken up.

  Then again, Dani wasn’t a therapist or their mother, so it might be best to let the girls decide when, or if, they wanted to discuss it.

  Dani also hadn’t had a chance to chat with the girls about their love lives. She had no idea if they’d made up with their boyfriends or whether the various problems among the couples still existed. But that should probably be a topic of conversation that only came up if the girls chose to confide in her about it.

  Pushing all those worries out of her mind, Dani opened the door, then just stood and stared at the wedding planner’s changed appearance. Instead of the attractive, put-together, professional woman that Dani remembered, Vicki looked as if she’d just gotten out of the hospital. Or should still be in one.

  The wedding planner’s cheeks were sunken, she had dark circles under eyes, and her fair skin was almost translucent. She wore a track suit rather than an outfit suitable for a professional meeting, and her beautifully manicured nails had been chewed to the quick.

  As Dani greeted Vicki and ushered her inside, she quickly revised her plan of holding the meeting in the parlor and guided the wedding planner down the corridor and into the kitchen. This woman needed to be fed.

  Once Dani got Vicki seated, she said, “Would you like something to drink?”

  “Uh…” Vicki shoved her hair off her face. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Not at all.” Dani put the folder she’d been holding on the table, then grabbed the kettle, filled it with water, and put it on the stove to boil. “In fact, I missed lunch.” She mentally crossed her fingers at the fib. “How about we have afternoon tea?”

  “I’m not very hungry.” Vicki shook her head. “I haven’t been since…”

  “Of course,” Dani said. She totally understood that losing someone was hard to handle at the best of times, but Yvette had been young and her death unexpected. “I’ll put a few things out and you can just nibble.”

  Dani quickly put together a platter with finger sandwiches, scones, and petit fours. She brought them to the table along with dishes, napkins, and utensils. Then after preparing a pot of gunpowder green tea, she placed it, cups, a bowl of sugar, a pitcher of cream, and a plate of lemon slices between her chair and Vicki’s.

  Once Dani sat down and poured the tea, she asked, “Have you been home to Chicago?”

  “No.” Vicki added sugar to her cup and stirred. “Mr. Whittaker asked me to stay and work for him. He’s provided a nice condo and had someone in Chicago pack up the things I needed and drive them down to me. I’ve spent the last couple of days trying to settle all the loose ends from the event for him.”

  “How’s Mr. Whittaker holding up?” Dani asked.

  While she waited for an answer, she filled a small dish from the tray and put it in front of the wedding planner. Vicki’s nose twitched as if she’d scented the enticing food. Slowly, she selected a watercress–egg salad sandwich and lifted it to her mouth.

  Before taking a bite, Vicki responded to Dani’s question. “That poor man. As if losing the woman you love isn’t enough, people are attacking him like a flock of vultures. You wouldn’t believe the lawsuits that have already been filed.”

  So the woman at church was right.

  “Oh?” Dani prodded, then sipped her tea.

  “The vendors, the guests, heck, even the videographer has jumped on the bandwagon.” Vicki finished the tiny sandwich and picked up a blueberry scone. “Only you and your servers haven’t come after him.”

  “Well, we weren’t anywhere near the tent when it collapsed,” Dani said happy to see the woman eating. “So no need to worry about us.”

  “That’s good to hear.” Vicki spread lemon curd on her scone. “But I swear some of the people suing weren’t in the tent either.”

  “Really?” Dani wasn’t at all surprised. How many times after a bus or train accident did people try to claim they’d been injured when they hadn’t even been a passenger?

  “Mr. Whittaker’s attorneys and his insurance carrier’s representatives are going over the official video and social media with a fine-tooth comb to weed out the phonies.” Vicki twirled a strand of hair around a finger. “I hope they thr
ow the book at those fakes.”

  Hmm! Dani studied the wedding planner. Was her vehement defense of Franklin Whittaker more than just the response of a loyal employee? Her body language and the way she said his name made Dani wonder if Vicki was in love with the man. If that were the case, Vicki might have seen Yvette as an obstacle to be removed in order for her to pursue a relationship with him. That should be a tidbit Gray would want to hear.

  Tucking that piece of info away in her mental file, the one marked GRAY, Dani watched the wedding planner finish her third scone and lick her fingers. Evidently, once she’d started eating, Vicki’s appetite had returned in full force. She’d polished off what Dani had put out and was eyeing the single cookie remaining on Dani’s plate.

  Finally, as Vicki sipped her second cup of tea, she said, “We’ve looked over your contract and although it doesn’t specify what happens to any unused food, Mr. Whittaker would like an inventory.”

  Dani had suspected that there would need to be some kind of accounting for the remaining ingredients so she’d taken stock of them on Sunday and printed up a list. Flipping open the file, she slid a sheet of paper toward Vicki and kept a duplicate for herself.

  The wedding planner took a pen from her purse and ran her finger down the row ticking off items as she read. Dani glanced over and saw that she had put a mark next to the lamb, red snapper, desserts, as well as items that obviously weren’t fresh fruit or produce, like the bottled capers and cans of black olives.

  Looking up, Vicki said, “I assume you froze the meat, fish, and desserts?”

  “Except for a few portions of snapper that my servers and I ate that night.” Dani put a tiny check by those items on her own list. “Oh. And not the bomboloni. They don’t handle freezing very well.”

  “What did you do with the rest?” Vicki asked her pen poised over the paper.

  “Anything that would spoil in a day or two, I donated to the food pantry.” Dani tapped several items. “We’re cooking a meal for those in need tonight, and the menu was planned around those ingredients.”

  “Mr. Whittaker will want a receipt for his taxes with the amount.”

  “Here you go.” Dani had organized that list Sunday before dropping off the food at the pantry on her way to a personal chef job. “Both the director and I have signed it.”

  “Excellent. You seem well prepared,” Vicki said. “Has this happened before?”

  “Not to this extent,” Dani answered cautiously, unwilling to share her other clients’ stories. “But it’s not uncommon to have leftovers.” She shrugged. “As you know, even guests who RSVP their acceptance don’t always show up.”

  “Sure.” Vicki smoothed the sheet of paper in front of her, then took a deep breath and said, “Mr. Whittaker wondered if you would be willing to prepare the unused food for the luncheon he’s hosting after the memorial service.” Before Dani could answer, she hurriedly added, “Of course, he would pay for your time and that of your employees, as well as any ingredients you needed to purchase to complete the dishes.”

  “Does he want the same entrées?” Dani asked. “The desserts are obviously already finished, and depending on the number of people he expects, there might not be a need to substitute something for the bomboloni.”

  “Whatever you want to do with the lamb and fish for the entrées is fine.” Vicki placed her tablet on the table and tapped the screen a couple of times. “We’re planning for two hundred.”

  “That many?” Dani swiftly calculated the portions remaining. “With no appetizers, the entrées will need to be larger.”

  “Personally”—Vicki leaned forward—“I think there will be far fewer.”

  “Why is that?” Dani had a good idea, but wanted to hear the woman’s explanation.

  “Yvette was not well liked.” Vicki’s lips twisted as if she’d drank sour milk. “With her dead, her sycophants will have already moved on to the next big thing. The people who come will only be there for Mr. Whittaker.”

  Again Dani noticed the wedding planner’s voice soften at her boss’s name.

  “Well, I’m sure he has a lot of friends and business associates that will attend to offer him support.” Privately, Dani figured the man probably had his own entourage of parasites.

  “True.” Vicki giggled. “Just the employees and players for the Korn Kings would make up half the number.” She paused. “Or more.”

  “Okay.” Dani started making notes. “I’ll plan for two hundred and supplement the entrée with a hardier side to make up for the lack of appetizers. The cake and pie should be adequate for that number, but I may add ice cream so I can slice the cake into smaller pieces but still have a generous dessert.”

  “Good idea.” Vicki glanced at her watch. “So you can do the memorial luncheon?”

  “As long as I have the slot available.” Dani opened up the calendar app on her cell phone. “What date and time is the service going to happen?”

  “The mayor assured Mr. Whittaker that the body would be released by the end of the week, so we’re planning for the service to be Sunday afternoon at the Pinnacle Country Club.” Vicki looked at Dani. “However, if you’re busy, we can push it out a few days, say Monday or Tuesday.”

  “Nope.” Dani entered the date. “Sunday works for me as long you’re not worried the police might change their mind about the timeline.”

  “The autopsy is obviously already complete since the cops have announced that Ms. Joubert was murdered.” Vicki grimaced. “Why else could they need to keep the body?”

  “Who knows?” Being a huge fan of mystery novels and television police dramas, Dani actually had a couple of ideas, but she didn’t think it was wise to share them with the wedding planner.

  “If that’s all.” Vicki checked her watch again and stood. “You can call me when you have the contract ready for signature.”

  Dani got to her feet too. “I’ll have it ready by tomorrow morning.” She escorted the wedding planner out of the kitchen. “My fees will be double, as once more it is a last-minute booking. And like before, with such short notice, I’ll need payment in full with the signed contract. I’ll subtract the portions my employees and I ate from the total.”

  “Don’t be silly. It’s understood that the catering staff will be fed.” Vicki stopped in the foyer. “It is a pleasure working with you again, even under these circumstances.”

  “You as well.” Dani shook Vicki’s hand, then as she opened the front door for her guest, she said, “Please extend my sympathy to Mr. Whittaker.”

  “What do you mean?” For a nanosecond, Vicki appeared confused.

  “For his loss.” Dani prompted the woman. “You know, of his fiancée.”

  “Right. Sorry about that.” Vicki’s expression smoothed. “Between the sharks suing us, and the cops harassing us, so much has happened over the weekend, it took me a moment to remember.”

  “Oh.” Dani noted that the woman said us, not me or him, then she kept her tone casual and asked, “Have the police questioned you?”

  Vicki snapped, “Three freaking times. Do they think our answers will change?”

  “They probably hope to catch you or Mr. Whittaker in an inconsistency,” Dani said, then asked, “What kind of things are they asking you?”

  “Oh, you know.” Vicki shrugged. “Where was I when the tent came down? What did I see once it had collapsed? Was there any reason I wanted to see Ms. Joubert dead? Did I know anyone who did?”

  “Where were you when it happened?” Dani blurted out before she thought better.

  “I was over by the piano, talking to the pianist.” Vicki gave Dani an odd look. “You saw me when you rescued her.”

  “No. Remember, I was on my way toward her. You were already crawling toward an exit.” Dani shrugged. “I couldn’t see where you were before I ran into you because it was so dark.”

 
“That’s what I told the cops.” Vicki stepped over the threshold. “But they sure didn’t seem to believe me. I wish they’d been there, trapped like a fish in a net, and seen how they would’ve reacted.”

  “Yeah.” Dani agreed. “Me too, and they didn’t seem too happy with my answers either,” she said, omitting the fact that once Gray questioned her, the other police officers had backed off. “I should have used the flashlight app on my cell phone but I didn’t think about it.”

  “My phone was back at the head table.” Vicki took a few steps onto the porch. “And I sprained my knee when a chair slammed into me.”

  “Is it okay now?” Dani felt bad that she hadn’t asked earlier how the wedding planner had fared being caught in the disaster.

  “As long as I have the brace, it’s not too bad.” Vicki indicated her sweatpants. “Which is why I’m stuck wearing these.”

  “Were you able to tell the police about anyone who wanted Yvette dead?”

  “I gave them a list.” Vicki’s smile was cold. “A long, long list.”

  Chapter 16

  After checking her cell phone and dealing with the voicemails and texts, Dani settled down to plan the menu for the memorial dinner. Although Yvette’s funeral luncheon wasn’t a pleasant occasion to cater, as she worked, Dani couldn’t keep a tiny smile off her face.

  Spencer’s message agreeing to help out at the food pantry meal warmed her heart. He’d said that spending time with her was what mattered, not where they were or what they were doing. Being together was what counted.

  An hour later, when the doorbell rang, Dani had just finished placing an order for the ingredients that she would need to supplement the unused food from the engagement party. She considered ignoring whoever was pressing the button. There wasn’t anyone she particularly wanted to see at the moment, at least no one who didn’t either have a key or who wouldn’t come to the back entrance.

  Still, although clients rarely stopped by without an appointment, she wasn’t in a financial position to risk losing a booking. She really needed to look into one of those doorbells with a camera so she could see who was ringing and decide whether to answer it or pretend no one was home. If they were under a hundred bucks and she could install it herself, she was getting one next week.