The Death of a Celebrity Chef Read online

  “You’ve been hot and heavy to implicate Asa all along. A second ago, you as much as did so. Now you say it was Miller. The point is we don’t know what happened yet. Right now, if you go to the police, they may reopen the case, but the outcome will be the same. The difference will be that it will be listed as by accident through a tragic turn of events, or worse, death during a suicide attempt. Imagine what the tabloids and muckrakers will do with that. Is that the legacy you want for Julia?”

  Louie dropped his head and unclenched his fist. His stiffened stance broke down. Hannah walked up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

  “You say this wasn’t Julia. I believe you, I do. But let’s just follow this through, okay?”

  Louie turned and leaned into Hannah. “I am so sorry. So, so, sorry.”

  She could feel warm drops hitting her shoulder, and she wrapped her arms around her new friend. She whispered in his ear, “I promise you, if someone did something to her, we’ll prove it.”

  Chapter Twelve

  The group gathered once again after a much-needed break for everyone to compose themselves. This time, Hannah refocused attention to present evidence and the need to gather more.

  Buster, who had been quiet, interjected. “And do you have an idea where this evidence is going to be?”

  “I’m not sure, but I’ve got a good guess about where to start. That is with the safe.”

  “What do you think is in it?”

  “Again, no idea, but I think there has to be something important. There’s a reason she hid it there and not her office.”

  Louie listened, quite solemn and reflective. “We still need a way to get into it. I doubt they’re going to let us mosey on in with a blow torch, though.”

  Hannah concurred. “If I had the key, we could pull it off the same way as when I found it, maybe even better.”

  “Safe?” Vera questioned.

  “The other day when we were here, I found a hidden compartment in one of the drawers in Julia’s old kitchen set. We made sure no one saw us, but it doesn’t matter because it has a lock. I suspect the key was with Julia when she died, which means Asa now has it.”

  “No, he doesn’t.” All eyes turned to Vera. “I do.” From inside her blouse, she retrieved a thin gold necklace and key and held it forward for everyone to see. “Asa gave it to me. It had no sentimental value to him, so he gave it to me after the funeral.”

  Cate grinned and bobbed her head once at Hannah. “Guess who had no clue about a safe?”

  Hannah reached out and cupped the small key in her hand as she studied it. “Do you think you could loan it to me for a bit?”

  “Of course.” Vera removed the necklace and key. She handed both to Hannah. “Please be careful with it. I know it’s strange, and I’m not sure why, but I feel comforted by it. Even though I know how it came to be with me. Isn’t that silly?”

  “Not at all,” Cate comforted. She pulled out a silver necklace of her own, with a small circle and a small angel pendant and held it for Vera to see. “Not at all.”

  Hannah slipped the item into her jeans pocket. “When’s the broadcast?”

  Louie looked at the beat-up watch on his wrist. “7:00 p.m. In about three hours and twenty minutes. What’s the plan?”

  “Vera, the other day, I don’t recall seeing your office. Where is it?”

  “Second floor above the studios toward the rear.”

  “How many other people work there?”

  “Just myself and Mr. Miller,” Vera explained. “He’s here until the end of the gala. That’s when his contract with Karas Inc. ends. The office had been part of that.”

  “So, Asa’s not keeping him on?”

  “Oh, no, they don’t care for each other.”

  Cate glanced over at Hannah. “This keeps getting better and better.”

  Hannah returned the look with a confident expression. There was no denying the excitement in her voice. In truth, the element of uncertainty was what she loved best when she was neck deep in a mystery. “Is there some way we can stow away in your office until after hours, so we can get to Julia’s studio?”

  “Of course, but it is rather open. It might suit you better to wait in the apartment on the next level up. Jazlyn’s place is up there, but there are two others readied for guests of the show. We could go up to my office and I could slip you up the back stairs. Most everyone will be working the broadcast, including Jazlyn, of course. To my knowledge, the schedule calls for just one guard on duty for the night, so you should be able to move about without any problems.”

  “Sounds perfect. We’ll need to get going soon, though.”

  “You want us to come with you?” Louie appeared somewhat anxious.

  Hannah shook her head. “We got this covered, big man. Besides, if we all disappear, someone might smell something.”

  Louie held out his cell phone for Hannah to see. “Okay, but be safe. If you need me, for anything, call. I’ll be there in an Alabama hot shoe second.”

  “Will do,” Hannah confirmed as she patted his upper arm and exited the vehicle with Cate and Vera in tow.

  Making their way to the studio, Vera, Cate, and Hannah entered the lobby. They moved past the guard who looked up to see Vera. He nodded in recognition.

  “We’ll take the elevator.” Vera lead the other two inside the doors of the main floor.

  When the elevator opened on the second floor leading to Vera’s office, all three stepped off. Vera led them to a large office with glass walls and a large, neat desk. Two chairs rested in front. Each was spaced and angled with deliberate intent. “Few people come here,” Hannah clicked off to herself. All of a sudden, a sound caused her to glance down the hall. She witnessed Jazlyn, Asa, and Miller exiting another office.

  Vera stiffened and her jaw clenched. “Oh, dear.”

  As the others approached, Hannah could read the tension in all three. Asa had a lock-jawed expression while Jack frowned hard. Jazlyn walked between the two and paced herself to keep the two at bay from each other. Hannah noticed she leaned more toward Miller’s personal space. If she were right in reading the situation, Asa was unhappy with Jazlyn’s leanings. Miller was unhappy with Asa’s presence. Jazlyn was unhappy having to negotiate peace between the two. Hannah felt a little guilt for enjoying her predicament.

  “Just act normal,” Hannah encouraged both her companions.

  “Afternoon, Mr. Karas, Mr. Miller, Jazlyn.” Vera smiled as she came face to face with the group.

  “Vera.” Asa returned the smile as he glanced over at Hannah and Cate. “Ladies.”

  “Sir,” both Hannah and Cate responded.

  “Will you be joining us for the broadcast?”

  Hannah responded, “I’m afraid I must decline. As soon as we pick up some materials from Ms. Bessinger here, I’ll be in lockdown mode. The company I’m working for needs an overview report by midnight, and I’ve got a ton of work to do. I’ll have to settle for recording it.”

  “What is it you do, if I might be so bold?”

  “I’m a culinary consultant. I travel around the world and set up menus, suggest recipes and such. At present, I’m working with a southern cuisine oriented enterprise. Given your late wife’s skill in the area, Zebulon and Karas Inc. seemed like the place to start.”

  “I see.” Casting his eyes over to Cate, a spark of recognition came to his face. “Haven’t we met?”

  “Yes, sir. Ms. Karas here introduced us the other day near your office.”

  “She is with Food Critic, Uncle Asa,” Jazlyn cut in.

  “Yes, I remember now, and you work with each other?”

  Hannah bobbed her head a bit. “Sort of. I made arrangements to work out of Food Critic’s RV. A friend owed me a favor.”

  “I’m just an intern working for the man.” Cate drew up her most charming smile.

  Turning once again to Hannah, Asa smiled a most brilliant smile. She understood how he used charm to bring women to their knees.
r />   “I didn’t realize that you had culinary experience. I’m reorganizing the company, and I’m interested in your services.” Although she had no interest in anything he was offering, Hannah played along with his game. It was clear to her he was suspect of Cate and her presence. She wanted to see how far her instincts could get her. Therefore, she listened to his spiel. “My late wife had a talent for picking our menus and recipes. With her gone, I find there is a need to fill. While Jazlyn here is an amazing talent, her schedule with the new show’s set up will keep her quite busy. Can you give Vera your card so that we might speak to you going forward?”

  “Thank you for your kind offer, but I’m not going to be available much longer. I’m retiring from all this glamor and settling into a restaurant of my own.”

  “I’m sure you can at least discuss options with us?” he persisted.

  “I don’t travel, Mr. Karas.”

  “Did I say travel, Miss… I’m sorry, I didn’t get your last name?”

  “Starvling, sir.”

  “We live in a digital world, Ms. Starvling. I am quite sure that physical presence holds no barriers to the willing, and I assure you, I can make it well worth your time.”

  “You don’t even know if I’m good.”

  Asa tapped his finger against his head. “First impressions are always the best. You are young enough to be successful at something few conquer, enough so to allow you to retire at an age when others wonder where their future lies. Now you want to open the kind of restaurant that meets your requirements. You are unique. A go-getter who will settle for nothing less than absolute perfection. Otherwise, you would stop and watch the broadcast, but it’s more important for you to please your client. Not for their sake, but for yours.”

  Asa reached up and ran his finger along the brim of her hat. “And you have style, if not a flair for the dramatic. An asset in your line of work. Am I correct?”

  Hannah remained quiet for a second. Instead, she finished ticking off additions to her Asa mental file. Intelligent. Determined. Deductive. Probing. Manipulative. Untrustworthy. The last one was her second impression of Asa. “Pretty much,” she confessed.

  “Then we’ll talk?”

  “As you wish.”

  As the personal conversation ended, the groups parted ways. Hannah watched as Asa, Jazlyn and Miller disappeared into the elevator.

  “What the…” Cate exclaimed.

  “Later.” Looking around, though she saw no cameras, she whispered, “Audio is easy to hide and more likely to be where cameras are not.” The three entered Vera’s office and chatted about nothing for the next hour.

  From Vera’s office, Hannah could see the parking lot and knew when most of the cars had left. By around 5:20, the majority had exited. “I think it’s time,” she announced. With that, Vera led the way up to the apartments. She chose the one further from Jazlyn’s for the women to hide out in. After letting them in, Hannah suggested Vera go back down to the lobby to make an appearance without her guests. “They’ll think we left sometime during the afternoon exodus,” Hannah explained. “When you’re done, go back to your apartment and wait for my call.”

  “Good luck.” A look of concern came to Vera. “Please be safe.” With that, she departed.

  In the meantime, Hannah and Cate waited in the plush, furnished apartment.

  Cate looked to her friend. “So, what was all that with Asa earlier?”

  “I think he wants to get closer to me to analyze the situation. He first meets me with his dead wife’s long lost friend. Then he sees me with her protégé. We share a common background. If he’s the control freak we think he is, he not only wants to know what I’m up to, he’s got to. It’s an obsession.”

  “We still have no idea what this is all about, do we?”

  “No, all we have are suspects, theories, and a confirmed cover up. Frustrating.”

  Around 5:40, someone entered from the elevator. The undeniable voice of Jazlyn and that of another male could be heard. As far as Hannah could tell, it was neither Asa nor Miller.

  Cate rolled her eyes and whispered, “She’s got more studs than a horse farm.”

  The comment almost made Hannah laugh out loud, but she aborted the noise by biting her own tongue. Ten minutes later, Jazlyn and her companion left.

  “Ten minutes?” Cate with sarcasm. “Just ten?”

  Hannah punched her in the arm. “You’re incorrigible.”

  At 6:55, Hannah decided the time had come to get to Julia’s old kitchen set to try the key. “If you’re going to back out, now’s the time. Speak now or forever hold your peace.”

  “No comment.”

  “By a technicality, that’s speaking.”

  “Just get on with it.”

  As they made their way down the stairwell, checking for cameras, Hannah was thinking over the case. Since she was working in an unofficial capacity, if she found evidence, she would need someone to turn it over to. The problem was how to find someone at the local police department. Either Miller or Asa bought off the former county medical examiner, perhaps both. Who else on the force might be part of this? Having met Alexander Borg, whom she trusted, she could turn to him to recommend a reliable officer still working.

  Dodging cameras like pros, the two made their way down to the level housing Julia’s old set. The entire floor was dark, except for the light pouring in from the stairwells they had utilized. They could just make out the security cameras. Once they had the timing of the movement down, they began their attempt. They crept along the walls, shifting positions to avoid camera angles. Finding spots where the coverage was weak proved to be a great relief for both women.

  Reaching Julia’s old studio, they slipped into the pitch-black room. The whole enterprise was intriguing and frightening to both women. On the one hand, the darkness assured no camera visibility. On the other, it made things more worrisome. A sudden burst of light from the small flashlights they brought along might activate them, giving the two away.

  After a second of whispered discussion, both agreed on a course of action. They would feel their way over to the set and try to do the deed blind as it were. Much to Hannah’s surprise, it took just a few minutes to complete the feat. The real struggle came with getting the key in the lock, and for a moment, there was some concern it might not be the right one. However, after Hannah failed to get it to work, Cate took a final shot and managed to work the case open. Feeling around inside the box, Hannah came up with a single item, a large envelope. She passed it over to Cate, closed the safe, replaced the utensil organizer, and closed the drawer. Thereafter, they made their way out the door again. They retraced their steps out and back up to the apartment. Although the whole affair had taken just twenty minutes to finish, it felt like hours. Now, they had to face their next big challenge. Escaping.

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Hannah and Cate slipped back into the apartment, it was just 7:32 p.m. From their discussion with Vera earlier, they knew there would be just one security guard for the evening. The studios were not Fort Knox, and Zebulon was not located in some high-risk city like New York. In fact, Vera had mentioned underemployment of the studio security staff. No one had ever broken into the studio. She was not even sure if anyone had ever tried. All Asa’s precautions were to meet his overreaching control issues. Thus, the exit strategy was simple. After giving Vera a call, she in turn would phone the guard at the front desk. Asking him to check her office to see if she had left her home keys there. Vera knew from the pre-show prep plans the on duty guard for the night was Malcolm Bernard. She also knew he would perform, without question, any tasks she asked of him. It seemed that, like all men, Bernard was not immune to the effects of a crush. The routine route for checking the studio as well as the location of Vera’s office meant he would take the foremost stairwell. Hannah and Cate, in turn, would take the rear stairwell and exit as the two passed on opposite sides of the building. The front lobby door would be open for runners making their way fr
om the broadcast area to the equipment rooms in the studios. Everyone else would be at the event, in most part at the insistence of Asa. It was another show of his control, power, and status.

  The plan went almost perfectly. There was a slight moment of pause as one of the runners entered the lobby just as Hannah and Cate were exiting. Nevertheless, after holding the door for them, he darted on in, passing the guard desk, and disappeared into the back. He never questioned their presence. Once they were out of the building, Hannah grinned. “Act like you belong and you do.”

  They made their way down to the event area some half mile by foot, arriving just about the time the broadcast was wrapping up. They avoided the crowd, made their way back to the RV, and slipped inside.

  “How’d it go?” Buster called.

  “Buster! You scared me!” Cate cried out. “Why aren’t you with Louie?”

  “I think he wanted to be alone.”

  Hannah lifted a brow and twisted her lip, “In a crowd?”

  “Sounds more like someone didn’t want to see someone else,” Cate teased.

  Buster shrugged, half admitting it as truth. “Well?”

  Hannah lifted the envelope.

  “That’s it?”

  “Yup.”

  Buster shifted with anticipation. “Well, what’s in it?”

  Hannah looked at Cate before she glanced back to Buster. “That’s for Vera to find out. We’re taking it over to her now. Stay here with Louie. When he gets back, tell him we’ll be back later.” Hannah could tell Buster would rather come along. His curiosity was getting the better of him. She felt if there was something upsetting in the contents of the envelope, it might be better coming from her and Cate. And she did not want to further upset Louie. His earlier outburst had proven to her that the details of the case were a strain on him. So, Buster could keep him in check while the girls handled the possibilities.

  Hannah gathered up her things as Cate did the same. “Don’t worry. We’ll fill you in on the details. I promise.”