Murder in the Pearl District (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) (8 page)

Later that afternoon Kelly talked to
the newspapers and the television station and made an appointment for them to
interview Nico at ten the next morning. She’d barely hung up the phone when it
rang. “Yes, Carlotta.” She listened for a moment and then said, “Tell her I’ll
be out in a few minutes.”

She dialed the kitchen.
“Nico, this is Kelly. May I speak to Sophie?”

“What’s going on?” Sophie
asked.

“Something I never thought
would happen. Tina Ramos is here and wants to talk to me. Carlotta told me
she’s waiting for me in the reception area, not the bar, and she doesn’t look
like she’s been drinking. Do you know anything about this?”

“Not a thing, but it’s
very interesting. I’ll be curious to hear what she has to say.”

“Me too. I’ll let you know
when I finish talking to her.”

She walked out to the
reception area and saw Tina sitting in one of the large red leather chairs,
waiting for her.

“Good afternoon, Tina.
What can I do for you?”

“If you have a few
minutes, I’d like to talk to you.”

“Certainly, Carlotta, is
it okay if we take the table over by the windows? Would you like a cup of
coffee or iced tea, Tina? I’m having some iced tea.”

“Please, I’ll take the
same.”

“Carlotta, would you order
a glass of iced tea for each of us? Thanks.”

They sat down at the
table, and Kelly paused for a moment to look at Tina. She looked like a
completely different person from the woman Kelly had spoken with yesterday.
Kelly thought she was attractive yesterday, but today she was stunning, her red
hair a perfect contrast to the deep blue silk pantsuit she wore that accented
her eyes.

After the waiter set their
iced teas down in front of each of them, Tina began to speak. “I’d like to
apologize to you for my behavior yesterday. I know it’s not the first time I’ve
had too much to drink here, and I want to assure you it won’t ever happen
again. I’ve made a promise to myself that I will never touch alcohol again.
Obviously, I’m not a person who handles it well, and that’s not who I am at
heart. The last couple of months have been very difficult for me. It seems
everywhere I turned there was a picture of Mitch and Donatella, and everyone
knew he’d left me for her. Frankly, my self-confidence was totally shattered.”

“Yes. I can imagine how
difficult that might be.”     

“Thanks. The thing is,
I’ve finally admitted to myself that it really wasn’t Donatella’s fault. Mitch
cheated on me the whole time we were married. My parents left me a large
inheritance and looking back, I think that may have been the reason he married
me. I believe he left me for Donatella, because he thought she had more money
than me, and he may have been right. Anyway, what I told you yesterday about
him being in financial trouble was true. He desperately needs a hit show or two
to get back the ratings and the advertising dollars his station needs to
survive.”

“I don’t quite know how
something like that works. Would you mind explaining it to me?”

“It’s all about the big
bucks advertising dollars can bring into a station. That’s how the stations
make their money. When a show’s a hit, all the advertisers want to run ads on
it, and the more popular the show is, the more the ads cost. I’m sure you’ve
heard about super bowl ads, how popular they are, and how much they cost. Well,
it’s kind of like that. If you have a hit food show, all the big names in the
food industry want to advertise on it, and then if you can get another hit, it
keeps growing. I think that was what Mitch was banking on. But there’s
something else I just learned within the last hour that I think you should know
about.”

“What’s that?”

“Mitch’s secretary and I
became very good friends over the years. Even when Mitch and I got divorced, it
didn’t change my relationship with Eva. We’re still very close.”

“That’s not unusual.”

“No, I suppose not. She
called me a little while ago, and that’s really why I’m here. I want to warn
you to be careful.”

“Me? Careful? What are you
talking about?”

“According to Eva, Mitch
called Chef Pierre DuBois almost immediately after he found out Donatella had
been murdered and offered him the cooking show.”

“Yes, I heard that last
night. Chef DuBois and Mitch ate a celebration dinner here along with the
chef’s attorney and three other men.”

“Well, from what Eva told
me, it may have been a premature celebration. Mitch heard about the new chef
here, Nico, and that he had developed several new dishes that were going to be
offered today. Eva said Mitch decided to hold off signing the papers hiring
Chef DuBois until he saw what was going to happen here at Mangia! Mangia! In
other words, he wanted to see if he’d made the right choice in hiring Chef
DuBois. Eva said he was thinking that if your new menu was a huge success, it
might be a better business decision for him to hire Nico.”

“What? I thought it was a
done deal, and even if it’s not, I still don’t see how it affects me other than
the restaurant is now owned by a friend of mine, and I’m helping her.”

“Kelly, and I hope you
don’t mind if I call you Kelly, think about it. Everyone knows Chef DuBois has
a temper and that he wanted the cooking show, very, very badly. If the show is
offered to Nico instead, not only is he going to hate Nico, he’ll probably
blame you and the new owner for allowing Nico to put his new dishes on the menu
and making him into an instant star. In other words, the success of Mangia!
Mangia! may be putting you and your friend in jeopardy.”

“I can’t believe what
you’re telling me. New dishes are put on restaurant menus all the time, and no
one threatens anyone over them.”

“It’s a little different
here in the district. Mangia! Mangia! and Le Toque have been rivals for years,
even though one specializes in Italian food, and the other specializes in
French food. Add the television show into the mix along with the ego of Chef
DuBois, and it makes for a situation that could possibly become explosive and
dangerous.”

“That simply amazes me. I
know I live in a small town, but I can’t imagine someone would try to harm us
over a television show.”

“Human nature is always
interesting and none more so than a thwarted chef with a huge ego.”

“Tina, thanks for coming
here and telling me about this. I’m sure returning to the restaurant after the
way you left yesterday was very difficult for you to do, and I want you to know
how much I appreciate it. Would you do me a favor? If you hear anything else,
please give me a call. I really don’t like to think that any one of the three
of us could be in danger, but if you feel we need to be warned, please don’t
hesitate.”

“I’d be happy to, and
thanks for taking the time to talk to me. I imagine seeing me again wasn’t real
high on your list of things you wanted to do. If you’ll excuse me, I want to go
over and apologize to the bartender. Actually, a few apologies over there are
probably long overdue.” She stood up and walked over to the bar.

If what she says is true,
I suppose we could be in danger, even though it still doesn’t make a lot of
sense to me. I wonder if Mike found out anything about the five people on the
list of possible suspects. I probably should give him a call, but first I need
to visit Hank and order the permanent menus.

After Tina left, Kelly collected the
receipts from the bar and the reception desk and went back to the office to put
them in the floor safe she’d found the day before. She knelt down and twirled
the dial. Nothing happened. She tried again with no luck.

Darn. I must have reversed
a couple of numbers. Better get that combination from the envelope the lawyer
left with Sophie and double check the numbers I’m using.

She walked over to the
desk and sat down, took a key from the key ring, and unlocked the center drawer
where she and Sophie had put the envelope for safekeeping the day before. She
took out the slip of paper with the combination written on it and studied it
for a moment, realizing she had reversed the numbers.

I probably should check
and see what else is in the envelope. Maybe Donatella put something in it that
will help me identify the murderer.

She took the contents out
of the envelope and looked at them. The one that caught her attention was a
handwritten note that read, “If anything should happen to me, please contact
Dirk Lewis, a private investigator I hired to investigate Bill Hossam and Chef
DuBois. After I read his report I returned it to him, and he can show it to
you. His card is attached.”

Well that’s interesting. I
probably better call him and see if I can find out what was in the report. We
wondered if she had a premonition that something might happen to her, and I
think this confirms it. Good grief. This guy must be something from the looks
of his business card. It’s not very professional looking. I can’t believe
someone would put this on a business card, “Dirk The Jerk. The One With The
Gun.” Just what I need - one more character to add to the mix.

She picked up the phone
and dialed the number that was on the business card. The phone was answered
immediately by a man who said, “This is Dirk the Jerk. Ain’t no job too big or
too small. What can I do fer ya?”

Kelly sat back in her
chair and looked at the phone.
Donatella hired this guy? I wonder why? 
“My
name is Kelly Reynolds. I’m a friend of the new owner of Mangia! Mangia!
restaurant. The former owner, who I believe was a client of yours, Donatella
DeLuca, gave an envelope to her attorney with your business card in it and
instructions to call you if anything happened to her. Unfortunately Donatella
was murdered yesterday. Her attorney gave the envelope to my friend and me. I
just discovered your business card attached to Donatella’s note.”

“Yeah, I’ve been wonderin’
how long it was gonna be before someone called me. Don’t take a whole lot of
smarts to figure out that one of them guys I investigated probably offed her.”

“I really don’t know what
you’re talking about. Could you meet with me this afternoon and tell me what
this all about?

“Sure, doll, happy to.
Let’s make it at 4:00. Donatella paid me some major dinero to get the goods on
those two guys. I’ll bring my report with me. Gotta sign off now. Got a hot
little chick in the other room who wants me to get the goods on her husband.
Thinks he’s seein’ some blonde bimbo stripper who works in a ber-le-q on the
south side of town, but lookin’ at her, he’d have to be crazy to be lookin’ fer
it elsewhere. See ya’ later.”

Donatella and this guy?
From what I’ve heard about Donatella I would have thought she would have hired
the most sophisticated private investigator available. Well, I’ve got other
things to do at the moment, like get the receipts in the safe now that I have
the right combination.

She walked back to the
kitchen. “Nico, Sophie, these new dishes have turned out to be so successful
I’m going to order permanent new menus from Hank. How many do you think I
should get?”

“Ask Carlotta. She’s
probably a better judge of that than either one of us,” Nico said.

“By the way, Kelly,” Sophie
said, “I just made Nico the chef of Mangia! Mangia! He’s going to make a
decision in the next day or two about who he wants to have as his sous chef. I
think people will automatically assume he is the chef after they eat the new
dishes. Just decided to beat them to it.”

“I couldn’t agree more
with your decision. Nico, congratulations. You deserve it.”

“Thanks. I feel like I’ve
stepped into some type of a surreal world. Sophie, I haven’t even had a chance
to tell you. While you were in the office a little while ago, I had a call from
Mitch Ramos. He wants to talk to me about possibly starring in a cooking show
for his television station. Please pinch me and tell me all of this is really
happening.”

That’s exactly what Tina
predicted was going to happen,
Kelly thought
. Wonder if Chef DuBois knows?

“By the way, Nico, I
scheduled an interview for you with the television station at 10:00 tomorrow
morning here at the restaurant. Did you set up a time to meet with Mitch?”

“Yes, he’s going to come
to the restaurant tonight around 9:30. I told him I could probably take some
time to talk to him because it usually slows way down by then, particularly on
a weeknight.”

“That’s great. I’ll be
curious to see what happens. Have you ever thought about doing a television
show?”

“In my dreams! Like I
said, I need to be pinched and have someone tell me I’m not dreaming. He’s even
come up with a name for the show – The Best of Chef Bassi. What do you think?”

“I like it. Okay, I’ll ask
Carlotta how many menus I should order, and then we’re off to Hanks’s. I’ll be
back shortly. Rebel, come.”

On their way to Hank’s,
Rebel stopped at the dog park and looked pleadingly at Kelly. “Sorry, boy. Not
this time. I’ve got a lot to do today, and Hank’s Print Shop is a high priority.
Please try not to make me feel so guilty.”

As if he understood her,
he nuzzled her knee and started walking towards Hank’s. When Kelly opened the
door of the print shop, she stood and spent several minutes once again admiring
the art on the walls and the beautiful rugs on the floors. A few minutes later
Hank walked out from the back room.

“Good afternoon, Kelly.
There’s quite a buzz going on in the district about the new menu being served
at Mangia! Mangia! and the sous chef, Nico.”

“Actually he was just
promoted to chef based on the reports we got from the diners who sampled his
debut dishes at lunch. It’s was quite exciting. Who knows? We may just be able
to pull this off and save Donatella’s restaurant. Don’t you think that will be
wonderful?”

Kelly noticed that Hank
seemed somewhat nervous and was avoiding eye contact with her. He kept shifting
his weight from one foot to the other while she was speaking to him. “Hank, is
something wrong? Your body language is telling me you don’t quite seem like the
man I talked to yesterday.”

He looked up, took a deep
breath, and began to speak. “Kelly, I don’t like to speak ill of the dead, and
I’ve been struggling with whether or not I should tell you something, but there
are a couple of things I think you need to know. Why don’t you have a seat on
the couch? I’ll get us some iced tea, and we can talk.”

Kelly sat down on the
brown suede couch, thinking that this had to be the only print shop in the
world that had a suede couch in the reception area. A moment later, Hank walked
back into the room with two glasses of iced tea.

“Hank, you certainly have
a good eye for decorating. I told you this yesterday, but this reception area
really is one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.”

“Thanks. Not too many
people know I majored in art in college, but I just didn’t have the fire in my
belly to make it in the art world. I guess you could say I’m compensating by
surrounding myself with art.”

“Actually, it seems to me
the printing business and the things you design are a form of art, maybe just
not what you had in mind years ago.”

“I’d never thought about
it like that. You may be right.”

“So what do you want to
talk to me about? You’ve really aroused my curiosity.”

“Like I said, I really
don’t like to speak ill of the dead, but Donatella was not quite the person the
paper and some of her fans might think she was. She and I had a good
relationship, as I told you yesterday, but over time I learned she had a
controlling dark side she kept hidden from most people. Let me tell you a
little story.”

“I’m all ears. Please,
tell me everything. The more I learn the more I can help Sophie make a go of
the restaurant.”

“As you probably know by
now, those of us who live and work in the Pearl District are part of a pretty
tight knit community. We all try to watch out for each other and help each
other’s businesses. Donatella didn’t like to play that way. About a year ago a
young Mexican couple moved here from Tucson and opened a gourmet taco shop a
few doors down the street. It was take-out food only, and there wasn’t any
seating. They were two of the nicest people I’ve ever met and were so proud of
their little shop. In a short time it became quite popular – kind of a ‘go-to’
place for the shop owners and people who wanted a really authentic taco. They
specialized in seafood and fish tacos and they were delicious. Many people who
are on the go all the time don’t want to spend the time or the money to eat in
a restaurant, so lots of people started eating there.

“Everything was fine for
the first couple of months, but when the shop became more and more popular
Donatella became obsessed with the thought that it was providing unwanted
competition for her restaurant. It really wasn’t competition for Mangia!
Mangia!, it was simply a little upscale taco shop where you could get a quick
bite to eat. Donatella hired a private investigator and found out the husband
was in the United States illegally. She threatened to go to the immigration
authorities if they didn’t close the shop and leave town. She told them she
would pay them some money, a great deal of money given their limited resources,
if they would close the shop. The reason I know this is the young couple and I
had become friends. One day they unexpectedly came to say goodbye to me. I
couldn’t understand why they would close the shop and leave, because it was
really doing well. That’s when they told me about Donatella’s threat. I told
them there was nothing I could do to help them, but I remember them saying that
Donatella was giving them a large financial gift. Personally, I’d call it
blackmail or a bribe, not a gift.”

“Yes, you’re right, Hank.
That’s a side of Donatella I haven’t heard about. What happened?”

“They took the money,
closed the shop, and moved back to Tucson. They were from families who were
very poor, and I’m sure the money was a big help to them. I get an email from
them once in a while, but that’s it. The whole experience left a bitter taste
in my mouth. I don’t think Donatella ever knew that I knew why they’d closed
their taco shop. She told everyone that they hadn’t been able to make it
because Mangia! Mangia! was so much better.”

Kelly sat back on the
couch. “Wow! That’s about one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard. What are
they doing now?”

“In their last email Maria
told me she was a waitress in a Mexican restaurant, and her husband was working
there as a dishwasher. So much for the American dream.”

She was silent for several
minutes, lost in thought. “Hank, why did you decide to tell me about the young
couple?”

“I called the restaurant
this morning and spoke with Sophie. As you know, I’ve worked with her several
times when she’s hosted dinner parties in her home. I wanted to wish her good
luck with the new menu. She told me you were visiting and had agreed to stay on
for a few days after Donatella’s murder. She said you had been successful in
solving several murder cases in Cedar Bay, and that she had asked you to see if
you could find out who murdered Donatella.”

“Yes, but since the young
couple is now in Tucson, clearly, they aren’t suspects.”

He got up and walked over
to the window where he stood silently for several long moments, and then in a
halting voice he said, “There’s someone else who hated Donatella.”