Murder in the Pearl District (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) (2 page)

Kelly and Sophie spent the next
several hours setting the table, arranging the glasses, and selecting various
different wines which they placed on the sideboard, making decisions about
timing, serving, and all of the other things that go into hosting a successful
dinner party.

“Kelly, don’t worry about
doing the dishes tomorrow night. I’d like you to join us when you can. I have
someone coming in early the day after tomorrow to clean up everything. I want
you to just walk away from the inevitable mess that will be in the kitchen.”

“I’d love to meet your
guests, but I’ll have to see how it goes. It’s been my experience that if
anything can go wrong in the kitchen, it probably will. Having said that I’ll
make a promise to you, I’ll do my best to make sure you and Donatella enjoy
your special evening. Speaking of her, I’m very curious about Donatella. I
looked her up on the Internet and browsed through several cookbooks she’s
written, but I didn’t find any personal information about her. Being a close
friend of hers, I’d love for you to tell me a little about her.”

Sophie was quiet for a
moment, evidently deciding how much she should tell Kelly about Donatella.
Finally she spoke, “Dede, that’s what her close friends call her, is a very
private person and with good reason. She was married to a man she loved very
much, but he couldn’t handle her success and divorced her. He married a woman
who is very happy to have the man in the relationship be the center of
attention.

“After the divorce, Dede
borrowed heavily to finance Mangia! Mangia!, and it’s become enormously
successfully.” Sophie took a deep breath and continued, “The tragedy of Dede’s
life is that her daughter by her ex-husband suffers from a severe developmental
disability. She will never be able to live by herself or attend a regular
school. Francesca is fourteen now, but unfortunately she only has the mind of a
three year-old. It is a very sad situation. Her ex-husband has remained a good
father to Francesca, taking her a day or two a week, but he can’t afford to
help with the round the clock nursing care and other things Francesca requires.
She’s a very sweet little girl with the body of a young woman but the mind of a
small child.” She shook her head from side to side with a sad and forlorn look
on her face.

“Francesca is absolutely
the single most important thing in Dede’s life. That is why she works so hard.
She has to pay for all the special care Francesca requires and believe me,
caring for her is enormously expensive. She does not want anyone to know about
Francesca and guards her daughter’s private life like a mother lioness.”

“Well, that certainly
explains why I couldn’t find out anything about her. From the photos I saw,
Donatella is quite beautiful. Is there presently a man in her life?”

“Yes. She has been seeing
Mitch Ramos for a year or so. You’ll meet him tomorrow night. He’s the owner of
the television station that is producing Dede’s show, Dining with Donatella. I
like him, and I think their relationship has become quite serious. She told me
he’s the first man who has shown a willingness to accept Francesca for what she
is. That characteristic is extremely important to Dede. I’ve never had
children, but I can certainly understand her feelings.”

“Something you said
interests me. The man she is seeing is the one who owns the television station
which will produce her new program. How lucky for her!”

“Yes,” Sophie said, “She
had never thought about having a television program even though it seems like
there’s a cooking show being broadcast every time you turn on the television.
When people found out Mitch was seeing Dede, they suggested he hire her to do a
cooking show. That’s how it all came about. Some people think the reason that
Dede started seeing him was so she could get her own cooking show, but that
simply is not true. Chef Pierre DuBois, who owns Le Toque restaurant, has been
telling anyone who will listen that he was the first one to approach Mitch
about a cooking show, but Mitch turned him down and instead, gave the show to
Dede.”

“I’m not familiar with his
name. Is he a well-known chef in the area?”

“Yes, certainly here in
Portland. Obviously he is French, and he is a very good chef. I think the
reason Mitch didn’t have him do the show is that Pierre is very pompous, and
the people who know him well, even his own staff, don’t like him. I hear he has
a very bad temper and is a very jealous person.”

“Well, I’m sure
Donatella’s show will be a huge success, and thanks for telling me about her
daughter. My heart goes out to any parent who has to struggle with raising a
child that suffers from a severe handicap. I’m really looking forward to
meeting her.”

“You will love her.
Everyone does. Her staff idolizes her, and she has fans all over the world. I’m
honored to call her my friend.”

“She’s probably just as
honored to have you host this celebration dinner. I’ll make sure to do you
proud.”

“Kelly, I never doubted
it. That’s why I wanted you and no one else to rescue me when my caterer
cancelled on me.”

“I hope you don’t mind, Kelly, but I
always let Amelie have the run of the house when I’m gone. I have a good
security system, but I think she’s far better than it is.”

            “Rebel will be fine doing
the same. One look at those two dogs, and anyone who might be thinking about
entering this house would back out as fast as they could. I’ll be ready to go
once I feed him and let him out.”

            It was a warm August evening
in Portland as dusk slowly turned to darkness. The streets were filled with
people taking part in the “Gallery Art Walk,” a monthly event when the art
galleries in the Pearl District stayed open until 10:00 and served wine and
cheese to the gallery guests. It had become a very important night to the art
community with many of the galleries making the majority of their monthly sales
on those nights.

            As they crossed the
street, Kelly saw the words “Mangia! Mangia!” written in bold gold letters on a
canopy over the entrance to Donatella’s Italian restaurant. “Mrs. Marchant, I’m
so glad you’re able to join us tonight,” the handsome young Italian doorman
said.

            “I couldn’t ask a friend
of mine to come to Portland without treating her to dinner at Mangia! Mangia!
You know it’s my favorite restaurant.”

            “Mrs. DeLuca is in her
office. I know she’ll want to see you.”

            “Thanks, Tony. I’ll tell
Carlotta to let her know I’m here.”

            As soon as they walked
into the restaurant a beautiful young Italian woman greeted Sophie. “It’s good
to see you, Mrs. Marchant. Please, follow me. I saved your usual table for
you.”

            “Thank you, Carlotta. I’d
like you to meet a friend of mine, Kelly Reynolds. This is her first time
here.”

            “In that case we
definitely want to make her dining experience with us unforgettable. We’ll try
even harder than usual,” Carlotta said, gesturing towards a table located along
the far back wall of the restaurant. As she handed them menus, she said
laughingly, “Mrs. Marchant, I’m probably wasting this menu on you. I’m sure you
could recite it forwards and backwards.”

            “I’m sure I could, but
even so, I still like to look at it. Every time I come here I promise myself
that I will order something new and different, but I never do.”

            “Enjoy. Stefano will be your
waiter tonight. Ah, here he is. I’ll check back with you later, and I’ll let
Mrs. DeLuca know you’ve arrived.”

            When Stefano had left
after taking their wine order, Kelly said, “I’m dying of curiosity. What do you
usually order? It all looks so very, very good.”

            “I think you will find
that everything on the menu is wonderful. Even though I always order the same
thing, I have been known to take a bite or two off of my dinner partner’s
plate, but done so purely in the name of research,” she said laughing. “I can’t
get past the stuffed squash blossoms, clam linguini, the vegetable platter, and
for desert, tiramisu. I know the traditional Italian meal has five courses with
a main course following the pasta course, but my stomach simply can’t take in
that much food. I’ve learned this is perfect for me. And what looks good to
you?”

            “I’m going to have the
bruschetta with sautéed mushrooms and clam linguine. If the vegetable platter
will feed two, I can share it with you, and I’m also going to have the tiramisu.”

            “You won’t be
disappointed, I promise.” She looked up at Stefano as he placed their wine
glasses on the table and they gave him their orders. “Thank you, Stefano.”

            Kelly looked around the
restaurant and found it hard not to compare the warm inviting brick walls, the
gleaming silverware, and the crisp white tablecloths to her small coffee shop
with wood siding located on the pier that jutted out into Cedar Bay. While fine
art from the local galleries in the Pearl District graced the walls of Mangia!
Mangia!, in her coffee shop the only things gracing the walls were historical
photographs of the city’s past. Fresh flowers in crystal vases had been placed
on each table in the restaurant and the soft light given off by the candles on
each table made every woman beautiful and every man handsome.

           
Even with all of this,
I still have a better feeling for my coffee shop and the people who come there.
I know them all, and I deeply care about them. They’re like family to me. From
the looks of the people in here, they probably wouldn’t feel at home and enjoy
Kelly’s Koffee Shop. Their loss. I have to admit that while this is lovely, I’m
homesick for Kelly’s Koffee Shop.

            They were halfway through
the antipasto when a beautiful dark-haired woman who Kelly recognized from her
photos as Donatella DeLuca approached their table. “Sophie, how good to see
you.” Sophie stood up and they exchanged the traditional European cheek kisses.
Donatella turned to Kelly. “You must be Kelly Reynolds. Sophie speaks so highly
of you, and I appreciate your coming to Portland to help Sophie out. I’m really
looking forward to tomorrow’s dinner,” she said in a soft voice with a
noticeable Italian accent.

            “Mrs. DeLuca, it’s a
pleasure to meet you,” Kelly said, extending her hand. “I’m one of your biggest
fans. I have all of your cookbooks and use them frequently in my coffee shop. I
realize my little coffee shop in Cedar Bay is nothing like this large and
beautiful restaurant, but many of your recipes have found their way onto my
menu.”

            “Good food is good food
no matter where it is served. I would love to stay and talk, but I’m having a
few issues in the kitchen that require my attention.
Buon appetito,
and
I’ll see you at 6:00 tomorrow evening.”

            “I can’t imagine trying
to run a restaurant like this. I know how much it requires just to run my
coffee shop. Not only is this much bigger, but I don’t have to deal with fine
dining, wine, and a large number of employees. I’m sure there are also guests
who probably consider themselves to be far more important than the ones I serve
in our small town.”

            “Yes, that is true. Dede
has told me just when she gets the kitchen help all working as a team, there
will be a problem with a supplier or a guest or someone who has had too much
wine and needs to feel important by finding fault with a bartender or server.
She said it’s always something, and yet even with all of that, there is very
little turnover among her staff. I recognize almost everyone, and I believe
that says something about the owner.”

            They ate the rest of
their dinner and talked of this and that. The busboy had just cleared their
table when Stefano placed a limoncello drink in front of each of them.
“Compliments of Mrs. DeLuca. This is a digestif drink that is traditionally
served after an Italian meal. It is Mrs. DeLuca’s favorite.”

            “Thank you. It looks
wonderful. And I must tell you the clam linguine was probably the best I have
ever had,” Kelly said. When Stefano had left the table she said, “Sophie, I
need to use the restroom. Where would I find it?”

            “It’s down that hall past
the kitchen. At the end take a right. You can’t miss it.”

            Kelly stood up and began
walking down the hall. When she was halfway down it, she heard raised voices
coming from behind the door that led to the kitchen. She recognized Donatella’s
voice speaking in an obviously angry tone of voice. “I don’t care what you
think. That is not how I want that dish cooked. I will not have my dishes
changed or altered in any way, shape, or form. If you want to stay on as sous
chef in my restaurant, you will cook the dishes exactly as I tell you, not how
you think they should be cooked. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

            “Is that a threat? Are
you telling me that if I don’t cook something your way, you’ll fire me?”

            “Take it however you
want, but I will tell you this, if you want to continue your position as the
sous chef at Mangia! Mangia! you will cook every dish exactly as I want it
cooked. I don’t want to have this discussion again.” Her voice faded as she
evidently walked away.

            Kelly then heard the
muffled words
“Ti odio”
angrily repeated several times by the person who
had been speaking with Donatella. She had no idea what the words meant, but
from the man’s tone of voice, she knew they weren’t words of love or
friendship. Although Sophie had told her everyone loved Donatella, from what
she had just overheard it seemed like there was one person who didn’t.