Murder in the Pearl District (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) (11 page)

“Kelly, there’s a call for
you on line two,” Carlotta said. “Do you want to take it here or in the
office?”

“As loud as it
in here, I better take it in the office. Do you know who’s calling?”

“Yes. He said
it was Detective Masters.”

“Good. I’ve
been wondering why I haven’t heard from him. Please tell him I’ll be with him
in just a minute.”

She walked
down the hall and into the office, looking over at the rear door that led to
the alley to make sure it was double locked. Even though she’d carefully put
all of the receipts for the evening in the floor safe, it still made her
nervous that there was a separate entrance into the office. Carlotta had told
her that Donatella didn’t want the staff to know when she wasn’t on the
premises, so she had a door cut into the wall which gave her direct access to
the alley. That way she could come and go whenever she wanted, and the staff
would never know when she was gone.

Probably
makes a lot of sense, but it makes me nervous. Maybe that comes from being
married to a sheriff. I know some of the things that can happen, and often
they’re not always pleasant.

Rebel walked
over to her as she sat at the desk and put his paw on her lap. Kelly knew that
was his way of letting her know he needed a little reassurance. “It’s okay,
Rebel. We’ll be going home in just a couple of days. One way or the other,
whether I solve this murder or not, we’re going back to Cedar Bay, and it can’t
be soon enough for me. Maybe it’s time I told Detective Masters everything I
know and let him solve the murder. That’s what he’s being paid for.”

She picked up
the phone. “Good evening, Detective. How are you?”

“One hundred
percent better than I’ve been the last couple of days. Sorry I haven’t called,
but I’ve really been sick. I caught some kind of a flu bug from my kids and the
bathroom and I have been best friends ever since I last saw you. I finally felt
well enough to come into the office this evening only to find out there’s been
a rash of homicides in the area, so nothing has been done on the DeLuca murder
case. Makes me crazy, because one of the basic things we’re taught is the first
twenty-four hours are the most important in solving a case like this. The
chances of ever solving it go down every hour after that. So I’m way behind the
eight ball on this one.”

“I’m glad
you’re feeling better. I have to admit I was kind of surprised when I hadn’t
heard from you, but maybe I can help you. I’ve found out a few things I think
you need to know. I wish I could stay and help you on this case, but I have a
feeling I need to get back to Cedar Bay. Do you have a few minutes?”

“Of course.
What have you got for me?”

She spent the
next half hour telling him everything she’d found out, who she felt the
suspects were, what Mike had found out about Elena and Tina, about Nico’s
background, and ended by relating her conversation with Dirk about the
investigation he had conducted at Donatella’s request of Chef DuBois and Bill
Hossam. When she was finished, there was a long silence on the other end of the
line.

“Mrs.
Reynolds, do you have a background in law or police investigative work?”

“No, but my
husband is the sheriff of Beaver County, and I’ve been able to help him solve a
couple of cases. That’s one of the reasons that Sophie, the new owner of
Mangia! Mangia!, wanted me to stay for a few extra days.”

“Your
husband’s a very lucky man to have you help him, if what you’ve told me about
this case is any indication.”

“I don’t think
he’d agree with you. He would prefer it if I never got involved in any of his
cases again, and he certainly wasn’t happy about my involvement in this one,
but things kind of happened, and for better or worse, here I am. As a matter of
fact he made me promise I’d keep Rebel, my ninety-five pound boxer, and my gun
with me at all times.”

“Seems to me
you’ve done a heck of a job identifying the suspects. Let me see if I can sum
it up. I believe you’ve told me about five people who might have had reason to
murder Donatella. At this time I don’t think there’s enough evidence on any of
them to make an arrest. I suppose what I need to do now is see if they have
alibis for where they were between ten and midnight the night she was murdered.
The coroner’s report said Mrs. DeLuca was murdered during that time frame.”

“That would
sound right. I remember when we found her she was wearing the same dress she’d
worn to the dinner party, and she left Mrs. Marchant’s home about 9:30 after
the dinner party.”

“The lab
report indicated that Donatella’s fingerprints were the only ones on the knife.
Evidently it was her own chef’s knife, but if Nico did it, it probably could
have come from the restaurant, however I’m more inclined to believe it was from
her home.”

“I agree. The
morning we found her Sophie mentioned she thought she’d seen that knife on a
previous occasion in Donatella’s kitchen. Looks like maybe someone wanted to
show the irony of a chef being murdered with a chef’s knife.”

“Thanks for
all your help, Mrs. Reynolds. It would have taken me days to do what you’ve
done in a period of just two short days. Now I need to figure out what to do
next. Do me a favor and give me a call before you leave town, and would you let
Mrs. Marchant know I’ll probably be visiting the restaurant in the next day or
so? By the way, tell your husband I agree with him. I definitely think you
should keep that big boxer and your gun with you. If you were my wife, it would
be the first thing I’d tell you to do.”

“Thanks,
Detective. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I’m glad I
could help you.”

“By the way, I
hear the restaurant is really doing well and there are some killer new dishes
on the menu. Tell Mrs. Marchant I’ll probably schedule my visit around
lunchtime, so I can try them.”

Kelly laughed.
“I’ll tell her to reserve a special place for you, but you better call first.
If today was any indication, there won’t be any walk-in seating for a long
time. I’d hope it would hold true for the foreseeable future, but the public
being as fickle as it is, that probably won’t happen. Good night, Detective.”

After finishing up with
Detective Masters, Kelly returned to the front of the restaurant. There still
wasn’t an empty table in the dining area, and from the loud voices coming from
the bar, she knew the bartenders would shortly have to start refusing service
to a few of the customers. She looked over at the table where Bill Hossam and
his party had been. There was no sign of him, and it looked like the table had
been reset to accommodate new diners.

Will this
day and night never end? I agree with Carlotta. I’ve never been so tired!

She glanced at
her watch and saw that it was already 9:30.
Enough. I need to prepare the
deposit for the pickup tomorrow morning by the armored car service and do some
other paperwork. I probably won’t get out of here for at least another hour.
Wonder how the kitchen staff is holding up.

Kelly walked
to the back of the bar. The bartender handed her a leather pouch with more
receipts for the evening. She picked up a similar one from the reception desk.
“Carlotta, I need to do some paperwork in the office. It looks like that’s the
last of the seating. I just glanced out the window next to the front door, and
I didn’t see a line, so I think the worst is over for tonight. I’d appreciate
it if you could come in about half an hour early tomorrow. You, Sophie, Nico,
and I need to decide what we’re going to do about staffing. See you in the
morning.”

She took the
pouches back to the office and put them in the floor safe, then she walked to
the kitchen. “Nico, where’s Sophie? I wanted to tell her that Carlotta, you,
Sophie, and I need to have a meeting tomorrow morning about staffing. We may
have to start without you if you’re tied up with that television interview.”

“Sophie was
exhausted, so I told her to go home about half an hour ago. I think she
personally chopped a hundred pounds of vegetables. The staff usually does all
the chopping, but it was all they could do to get out the new dishes in a
timely manner. I honestly don’t know what I would have done without her.”

“How are you
and the staff holding up?”

“We’re all
tired. Mitch is scheduled to be here in a few minutes to talk to me about the
television show, but it’s so noisy here in the kitchen I think I’ll have to
meet with him in the alley, right outside the back door to the kitchen. If you
hear voices while you’re working in your office, it will just be us.”

“Good luck.
I’m off to figure out how the restaurant did today and prepare some checks for
Sophie to sign for the vendors, as well as paychecks for the staff. Donatella
kept a big file on both, so I should be able to figure it out.”

“See you
later. I’ll let you know what happens about the show after I talk to Mitch.
Keep your fingers crossed.”

“Will do.”

I just
remembered I promised Mike I’d call him tonight and knowing him, he’ll be
frantic if I don’t. Better get that out of the way before I do anything else.

“Hi Mike.
Sorry to call so late, but it’s really been a zoo around here. I can’t remember
being this tired, but I have some good news. Detective Masters called. He’s
been really sick and off work for the last couple of days, and that’s why he
hasn’t called. I wondered why I hadn’t heard from him. He was very frustrated
that nothing had been done on the case while he was gone. Evidently there were
several other homicides in Portland, and since he was out sick, no one worked
on the DeLuca murder case. I’m ready to come back home to Cedar Bay, so I told
him everything I knew. I hope you don’t mind, but it doesn’t make any sense for
me to stay here any longer.”

“Are you
kidding? That’s the first thing you’ve said in a long time that I totally agree
with. Believe me, Lady and I will be more than happy to have you back home.”

“Sorry, Mike,
I didn’t hear you. I’ve got to go. I hear a lot of yelling going on in the
alley outside my office door, and I’ve got to check it out.”

Rebel heard
the noise too and was already standing by the rear door that led to the alley,
hackles raised, growling, and looking at Kelly as she reached for her gun and
threw open the door leading to the alley.

Chef Pierre
DuBois was standing in the alley with a wide-eyed half-crazed look on his face.
He was holding a small pistol in his hand. The big dog acted from instinct. No
command was needed or given. The moment the door swung open he instantly
assessed the situation and lunged at Chef DuBois, biting the lower pant leg of
his black and white checked chef’s pants and forcing him to stagger backwards,
nearly knocking him to the ground. At almost the same moment Hank appeared out
of nowhere, wrapped one arm around Pierre’s throat, and with his other hand,
knocked the pistol out of his hand.

“Get him off,
get him off of me! I hate dogs! Get him off!” Pierre yelled.

Kelly trained
her gun on Pierre. “Chef, you’ve got a lot of explaining to do. If you don’t
answer my questions, I’ll tell the dog to attack, and I promise you he’ll tear
your leg off before he’s finished with you. Do I make myself clear?”

Everyone
started talking at once. “Nico and I were just standing here in the alley
talking and he…” Mitch said. “He said he was going to kill me,” Nico said in a
halting voice with fear written all over his face. “Get the dog off…” Pierre
screamed.

“Everyone be
quiet. Rebel, on guard! Chef, I’m not releasing him until everyone has had a
chance to talk.”

“Kelly,” Mitch
said, “the chef walked up to us, and I never suspected a thing was wrong until
I saw the gun in his hand. I asked him what was going on. He told me he was
going to kill Nico just like he killed Donatella. He said if he couldn’t have
the television show, no one else was going to have it.”

Nico
interrupted, “It was like something out of a scary movie. He was talking like a
totally deranged person and in a voice with no trace of a French accent about
how he’d always hated Donatella and her restaurant. He said one of the staff
here at Mangia! Mangia! had called him and tipped him off that Mitch and I were
meeting in the alley, and that it was a good thing he paid some of my staff to
keep him informed.”

“Chef, answer
this question or the dog will do whatever it wants to you. Believe me, if I
give the attack command, you won’t live to see tomorrow. Did you kill Donatella
DeLuca?”

“Get the dog
off, he’s about ready to bite me! I can feel his teeth on my leg. Get him off
me. Please! I’ll tell you what you want, just get him off of me.”

“I think I
asked you a question. I’d like the answer.”

“Yes. I killed
her,” the chef said in a high-pitched quivering voice. “She threatened to tell
everyone I wasn’t French, and then on top of that she got the television show.
Yes, I did it, and she deserved it. She was a cruel, mean, conniving woman who
was always out to get me.”

“Rebel, stand
down. Hank, why in the world are you here? I don’t understand.”

Hank had
released the choke hold he had on Pierre but was carefully watching every move
that Pierre made, which wasn’t much with Rebel standing just inches from him
and staring at him in an obviously agitated state. He looked over at Kelly and
said, “I live above my print shop, which as you know is just a few doors down
the street from Mangia! Mangia! Every night I do some breathing exercises and
open the window that looks out over the alley. I noticed someone wearing white
and sneaking down the alley, trying to stay in the shadows. I realized it was
Chef DuBois in his white jacket walking towards Mangia! Mangia!

“I saw
something glinting in his hand and thought it looked like a gun. I don’t think
I even had a rational thought after that, I just reacted. I was afraid
something bad was going to happen to Sophie. I ran down the stairs and into the
alley. I’ve had a lot of martial arts training, and I can follow almost anyone
without them knowing I’m right behind them. I followed him and listened to him
scream at Nico that he was going to kill him. I was afraid if he sensed I was
behind him, he would fire the gun out of a reflex action and kill Nico or
Mitch. Fortunately your dog attacked when you threw open the door, and it
provided an opening for me to get my arm around his neck and make him drop the
gun he had in his hand.”

Kelly and the
men were suddenly aware of police cars coming towards them from both ends of
the alley. Within seconds, Detective Masters was standing next to Kelly. “Kelly,
I’ll take over. I assume this is Chef DuBois,” he said, motioning toward the
chef who was wearing his chef’s uniform. “Since you’ve got your gun pointed at
him, my guess is that you may have just made my life a little easier by solving
the DeLuca murder case. Might I be right?”

“Yes, you’re
absolutely correct. He just admitted he killed Donatella, and he was going to
kill Nico. We all heard him say it.” Rebel stood next to Kelly, still growling.
She put her hand on his head, letting him know she wasn’t in danger. He stopped
growling but backed up against her leg as close as he could get.

Detective
Masters looked at Chef DuBois and said, “Chef, where you’re going you won’t
need those fancy checked pants, so that big piece missing out of the bottom of
your pant leg isn’t going to be a big deal. Kelly, I’ve worked with police dogs
for years, and it looks like a dog took a large bite out of the chef’s pants.
Did your dog do that?”

“Yes, that’s
right, but you told me you weren’t going to come to the restaurant for a day or
two. Why did you show up now, and why did you come to the alley?”

“That sheriff
you’re married to called me as soon as you hung up on him. He asked me to check
on you and said you heard yelling coming from the alley. I was on my way to Le Toque
to talk to Chef DuBois anyway, so I was very close. From the looks of things,
seems like you handled everything on your own.” He turned to Mitch, Nico, and
Hank. “I need to take a statement from each of you. Give me a minute, and I’ll
get back to you.”

He directed
two of the policemen who were with him to handcuff the chef. After he was
handcuffed they put Chef DuBois in the back seat of the police car, and it
pulled away.

“They’re
taking him to the station and booking him for murder and attempted murder. I
see a lot of people working in the kitchen. Is there somewhere other than in
the alley where I can talk to all of you?”

“Let’s go into
the office. It’s quieter there and we’ll have some privacy. We still have a lot
of diners and people at the bar in the front of the restaurant, so I don’t want
to take you in there,” Kelly said

Forty-five
minutes later Detective Masters closed his notebook and said, “Sounds like
you’ve told me everything. I’m sure you’re all exhausted after a day like
today. Go home and get some sleep. I have your contact information if I need to
speak further with you and thanks for all your help. I need to go to the
station and make a report, but if you think of anything else, give me a call.”

“Nico, I’ll
call you tomorrow about the show. Think about the offer and see if it’s
something you’d like to do,” Mitch said as he walked out of the office and down
the hall to the front of the restaurant where the valet had parked his car.

“Are you all
right, Nico? I can’t think of a more stressful day,” Kelly asked.

“I’m fine, but
I sure want to find out who called Chef DuBois and told him Mitch was here. I
told the staff I was meeting him in the alley, because it was too noisy in the
kitchen. I have no idea who did it, but it darn near cost me my life. Make no
mistake, that person will be gone by tomorrow.”

“I understand,
but you might want to wait a day. This has to be one of the most grueling days
you’ve ever spent, and that’s something you might be able to put off.”

“Don’t think
so,” he said grimly as he walked out the door in the direction of the kitchen.