The Billionaire Chef Read online

  “I have questions for you, both of you. Come to the station when you get a chance and do not even keep anything to yourself. If something goes down, I want to know immediately.”

  “Wow, not exactly following procedure these days, are we?”

  Betts shoved her hands in her pocket and twisted her lip. “When does anything involving you adhere to procedures? I’m giving you leeway because I know you. This department is understaffed and I’m a detective here only because it looks good for Gresham’s image. The tourists like it. Makes them feel safe. Small town detective on hand.” She dropped her head and lifted the top of her shoe up as if studying it before returning her attention to Hannah. “As Gresham’s detective, I’m more about stolen wallets and room break-ins. Not guys flying out windows and mystery men with truth serums. Last murder I worked on was with you. And you solved that one.” She started to leave, but stopped and turned. “This time, though, Starvling, you keep me in the loop and in the clear.” With that, she turned and exited.

  Hymn’s gaze followed the detective until she disappeared out of sight. “There’s a story here. When we get the chance, I want to know.”

  Hannah nodded, but moved up next to Elias. She whispered, “What have you got yourself into?” He groaned and rolled his head to one side, but did not wake. Pulling out her phone, Hannah gave a quick call to Gran. When the elder snoop picked up, Hannah immediately gave a synopsis of what happened to Gran. As Hannah spewed the information out, Gran attempted to intercede at points, but the sleuth cut her off each time. When Hannah came to a pause, Gran managed, “Oh dear. I don’t know how much more of this Janine can take. I swear to you, Hannah, she may go into premature labor.”

  “Well, get her back here before you say anything. At least she’ll be in the hospital. If you run into Wexler, do what you must do, but don’t go with him. And don’t let him take Janine.”

  There was a slight pause before Gran asked, “Do you think he did all this?”

  “I’m not sure. I wouldn’t think so. He was excited about grandchildren and seemed dedicated to Janine, but he did say he was responsible. He didn’t explain before he took off. Could be gambling related.”

  “Or he could be going after them, if he knows who they are. If he knows who, he might try to get revenge, or make a deal.”

  “Either way, he’s handling things wrong. Let’s just hope for his sake, he calms down and clears his head.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Fifteen minutes later, Hannah got a call to come to the ER again. The news about the attempt on Elias, added with that of her father’s sudden departure, did not play well for Janine. After listening for a few moments, Hannah responded to the call. “I’ll be right down.” She made her way over and sat in the chair next to Hymn. As she leaned her head over onto his arm, he waited for her to explain.

  “It’s Janine. They think she has a placental abruption. She had problems before. I’d imagine because she’s carrying twins. But all this, it’s too much.”

  She sighed. “I need to find Johnny. See what’s going on. And to get this all cleared up.”

  “You know this is not your job, right?”

  “Would you let it go?”

  “No, but I had to put it out there. So where do we go from here?”

  “Not a clue. Plenty of people with motives.”

  “Real? Or imagined on your part?” Hymn glanced down at Hannah. “You have a tendency to leap first and worry about landing on the way down.”

  Hannah sighed. Though Hymn’s words almost annoyed her, she still admitted to herself that it was true. “I know, but potential is potential.”

  Hymn ran his hand through her hair. “So break it down. Who has a solid connection? And who doesn’t? Wouldn’t that be a good place to start?”

  Hannah agreed. “Well, Ducky’s always around, especially wherever I seem to be. And he turned up at Elias’ fall site. The money would pay for his school.”

  “Well, being there is good for his job, since he wants to be a chef. You’re beautiful. He’s young. Could be a crush. Does he seem like someone who would know what to do with the truffles? Other than cook them?”

  Hannah sat up and blew out a breath in frustration. “No.” She crossed her arms and leaned back. “Carry on, bubble buster.”

  Hymn smirked. “All right. Next.”

  “Madeline. I’m not sure what her end game is, but she knows things she shouldn’t, like about the twins.”

  “You said she was pretty. Maybe the obvious answer is the right one. If he and she were, you know, he might clue her in.”

  “But Elias didn’t know about them yet.”

  “Not that we know of. He could have found out by accident. Overheard Janine talking to the doctor. Called the doctor to check on her and the nurse slips up. Anything’s possible.”

  Hymn’s words stung. She didn’t want to think of Elias as such, even though the possibility had before crossed her mind. Looking over to her friend lying in the bed, still unconscious, made her want to defend him even more. “She never said they had that kind of relationship, but she did lie about the nature of it. Why would she do that?”

  “Seems to me she liked him. Knowing you had a relationship she didn’t, well, it wouldn’t be the first time one woman got jealous of another.”

  Hannah’s body grew tense. Hymn was shooting down her motives faster than she could create them. Though it proved helpful, it still irked her a bit he was beating her at her own game. Recognizing this, Hymn tried to apologize. “Sorry, I’m not trying to pick at you.”

  “No, you’re right. I need this. Carry on, Watson. What about Bigby?”

  “Is he even a suspect? From what I can tell, he’s just guilty of having a job.”

  “On a boat that an attempted murder victim named in his last, true, conscious moments. And what about the break-in on-board? You don’t think there’s a connection between that happening, just before the attempt on Elias?” She glanced over at her friend and bit the corner of her lip. “What if it was him?”

  “I’m not saying no, just that it’s a stretch. Why would he be there? He sure as heck wasn’t stealing pickled beets.”

  “Maybe to look for something, like stolen or smuggled goods. Think about it. Smuggling across borders would be easy in a yacht that travels back and forth across continental lines. It happens all the time as it is.”

  Hymn frowned, but nodded. “Alright, a definite possibility, but would Bigby do that while Vera and Louie are on-board?”

  “If the operation has been in place for some time, how would they know? They wouldn’t be looking and I doubt he would keep them where they were likely to run across…” Hannah’s words trailed off. “Oh,” she added sitting straight. “I think I know part of what Elias was saying.” She stood up and moved to the edge of the man’s bed. “Golly in Dolly.” Turning to Hymn, she said, “Galley in Dahlia.”

  Hymn’s eyes widened, and he bobbed his head in agreement. “It came out slurred. Excellent, Sherlock.” He furrowed his brow before asking, “But why rocks?”

  Hannah began to pace the room, her signature quirk in play. “Diamonds.” She turned to her lawman. “His truffles are his diamonds in the kitchen.”

  “Diamonds are rocks.” Hymn paused to take it in. “Rocks in the galley in Dahlia. Nice, but would whoever did this, and we are just assuming its Bigby, would they be so stupid just to keep them in the kitchen?”

  “Galley.”

  “Galley. Whatever. I mean, think about it. Vera and Louie are both on board. Both are chefs. You’d think they might go in the galley to cook something. Or just even to get a snack. They might run across them. They would recognize what they are. Seems like a huge risk.”

  Hannah moved over to the door and peered out. “True, but this. This is not unrelated. I’d bet good money it wasn’t an indigent looking for alcohol who broke in.” She turned around, leaned against the doorframe, and pointed at Elias. “It was him. He was looking for something.”


  Hymn let out a slow breath. “Look, just to play Devil’s advocate, don’t you think this all seems too… strange? Someone on the Dahlia, best bet being Bigby, just happens to be involved in the smuggling trade. The food smuggling trade. The particular food in question is truffles. A food that happens to connect back to a friend of yours. But the particular vessel used is also connected to you, through Vera and Louie. It all seems too random not to be conspired. Yet, by no means of the imagination am I suggesting Louie and Vera’s involvement. I know stranger things have happened, but we’re missing something here.”

  “I agree. The question is what?” Hannah moved back to sit again next to Hymn. “We need to get Vera and Louie to check out the galley. But make sure they do it together and be careful about it. In the meantime, I need to check out that storage facility to see what exactly he had in there. I’m pretty sure it’s what we think it is. If so, that means Elias was looking for someone else’s goods.”

  Hymn moved forward and spun his chair to face Hannah. “You find what he was after and we may be able to trace them back to who put them there.” He motioned toward Elias. “They’re at the top of my list of who put him here.”

  Hannah agreed. “Still doesn’t explain Johnny or the elusive Mr. Grimm.”

  Hymn leaned forward to meet the sleuth half way for a kiss. “One step at a time, Sherlock. One step at a time.”

  Hymn agreed to stay with Elias while Hannah made her way down to talk with Gran and Papa Jay about Janine. Before leaving, she attempted to reach Vera and Louie. She left a message on Vera’s phone. Upon reaching Louie, she explained to him what was going on, but swore him to an oath about not doing an onboard search on his own.

  “Well, I’m back on board with Critic. The whole crew is here right now anyway,” the writer explained. “If I did anything other than open that jar of pickled beets, someone would be watching me. But when Vera gets here, we can take over the galley for the evening. We’ll make dinner for the crew for the night. I’ll let you know if we find anything.” Before hanging up, Hannah assured him that his daughter, and he were safe as long as they did not act suspicious.

  “I’ll be back up in a little bit.” Hannah gave Hymn a kiss and headed out.

  Once she was with Gran and Papa Jay, she went over the recent events. In the middle of the conversation, a phone rang. Everyone looked to the bag Gran held. It was Janine’s. Hannah opened it, pulled out Janine’s phone, and answered.

  “Hello?”

  For a moment, there was silence, and then she heard Wexler on the other end. “Who is this?”

  “Johnny? This is Hannah. You need to come back.”

  “Where’s Janine?”

  “There’s been a complication. You need to come back. She needs you.”

  “I can’t yet. I have got to take care of this first.”

  Hannah could hear the tension in his voice. It was at near panic level. Under those conditions, she knew she had little chance of talking him into returning. Needing to rein the situation in and get control, she fell back on her training in negotiation. The steps came pouring into her mind. First, listen.

  “You need to take care of this. Okay. Got it.”

  “They’ve already tried twice with Elias. Janine will be next.”

  Second, empathize.

  “I understand. Elias is your Son-in-Law. Janine’s your daughter. She’s carrying your grandchildren. Anyone would want to protect them, no matter what.”

  Third, Establish rapport.

  “I get it, Johnny, I do. I’d do anything to protect my family. My loved ones. I don’t know you yet, but I know Janine. I can see she loves you. Trusts you. Relies on you.”

  There was another pause as Hannah waited for his response. She knew she had to get him to think of her as being on his side. At this point, she could not push, only wait. After a few seconds more, she heard him sigh. She moved to the next phase. Four, influence.

  “What exactly do you have to do, Johnny? Maybe I can help.”

  “They said not to involve the police.”

  “I’m not the police, not anymore, but I think like them. So, I can help.”

  “I…” Wexler’s words faded out. Hearing this, the sleuth knew she had to act or lose the situation.

  “Look, the phone’s not safe, and you don’t need to be out and about because the police are looking for you. We need to talk, but someplace safe. Would you be willing to do that?”

  Another pause and Wexler agreed. “All right, but just you though. No one else.”

  “Okay, that’s fine. I promise, just me. Now, where to meet?”

  Hannah suggested they meet back at the hotel, but in the festival area. She would make her way to one of the rear rooms where judges meet and unlock the exit. The advantage was, she explained, that while the police would likely look at the hotel, they would not look within the festival itself. Wexler agreed, and the time was set for an hour later.

  Hannah explained the rendezvous plans with her grandparents and then put in a call to Hymn. She then called for the hotel shuttle and headed downstairs. Ducky, of course, Hannah noted as she climbed into the shuttle.

  “How is Mr. Babel?” the driver inquired.

  “Recovering, but still out. He may be so for some time.”

  As the shuttle pulled out, Hannah glanced back. A police patrol unit followed suit. Not unexpected, she commented to herself. Though Betts agreed to give her leeway, she in no way trusted the detective. To her mind, it was more probable than not Betts would have her followed. The vehicle that followed behind proved Hannah correct with each passing mile.

  Hannah chatted with Ducky along the way. She was careful not to reveal anything. The ever-curious chef-wannabe never asked direct questions. Yet Hannah took notice of certain well placed words and phrases that made her suspect he was after something. She always answered with a smile though in the vaguest terms she could conceive.

  Once they arrived at the hotel, Hannah asked Ducky for a favor.

  “I’m trying to avoid a journalist who is insisting on an interview. I just don’t have time right now. Don’t the service elevators lead to the event area?”

  “They do.”

  “Do you think there is any way I could use the service elevator to the floors to get down quicker and avoid where she camps out in the lobby?”

  Ducky agreed. He reached in his pocket and produced a key card. “Take mine. I’ll tell them I left it at home and use one of the master keys.”

  Taking the key, Hannah looked it over. “I don’t want to get you in any trouble.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. Happens all the time. People leave them at home. Lose them.”

  Hannah exited the vehicle. She played the part of avoiding journalist by glancing through the lobby entrance. After a moment, she turned toward Ducky and gave a thumbs up. He returned the same as she made her way inside. She waited long enough to spot whoever was following her. The second Brandon brother, she said to herself. Acting as if nothing were wrong, she made her way over to the elevators. As she boarded the car, she caught a glimpse of the officer watching. She grinned, as her planned took form.

  When she stepped off the elevator, Hannah made her way to her room. Once inside, she checked the clock and waited. She had twenty-five minutes until the scheduled meeting time. That would give Officer Brandon, downstairs, time enough to settle in and relax. This gave the sleuth the best opportunity to escape his watch.

  At around seven minutes till meeting time, Hannah exited her room. She checked to make sure the officer had not come to her floor. Finding he had not, she then proceeded to the service elevators. Within a moment, she headed down, avoiding the lobby altogether. She made her way to the agreed meeting room and opened the door. Wexler stood waiting. She urged him in and offered a chair opposite herself. For a moment, neither spoke a word. Then she informed him of the graveness of Janine’s condition.

  “So you can see why we need to get this sorted out. Janine n
eeds you and thus, the whole great escape thing, made things worse. Now, what’s going on? Why’d you run?”

  Wexler rubbed his hand across the top of his bald head. “Because of Janine.” He looked at Hannah with pleading eyes. “Elias asked me to come along, which was not the usual case. But this time, he said he was working on something big. He needed more than just his case. The one he carries his truffles in matches his luggage.” Wexler indicated a general size matching thoseDucky gave before. “We get along well enough, but I’ve had some problems,” He stared at the floor. “I’m addicted to gambling.” He looked up at Hannah with mournful eyes. “I have to admit that it’s part of the deal. Odd, but it helps.”

  Hannah gave a reassuring and sympathetic smile, but said nothing. Wexler continued.

  “After we got here and settled in, I told them I wanted to go out for a bit, just to look around. Janine was just about tuckered out, so Elias agreed. He’d stay with the case. The thing is, I wasn’t just out looking. I was going to a meeting. I got the number from my group sponsor back home and he arranged for me to meet up. Right now, I’m going as often as I can. Three, four times a week. Believe me, I need it. I didn’t want Janine to know, so I kept it to myself.”

  As she watched Wexler explain himself, Hannah assessed his body movements and gestures. She also studied his pupils and tonal inflections. She looked for any signs that he might be lying. So far, just the truth, she confirmed.

  “After the meeting, this guy comes to me. He says he’s a fan from back in the day and asks me if I want to grab something to eat. I called Elias, he says fine. They’re ordering in, so we go. We’re having a hot dog down by the shore, then he goes all dark on me. He says he knows what I’m doing there and then makes me an offer.”