The Death of a Celebrity Chef Page 18

  “Fine, just a poor choice of words, that’s all.”

  Hymn’s eyes darted between the two as he sized up the situation. “I’ve got a lot to do, Mr. Dauphin, so that makes this your lucky night. I’m letting you go without incident, but you will leave, and you will leave now.”

  Xabiere glared a moment more. He huffed and moved past Hannah. Doing so, he mumbled, “She’s mine, and that is all you need to know.” He stomped down the stairs as Rogers and two of his men escorted him from the premises. Cate, who had come to the bottom of the stairs when she heard the commotion, made her way up. “You okay?”

  After assurances she was fine, Hannah gave a brief recounting of Xabiere’s explosion. She also confessed to her intentionally goading him. Hymn contemplated it all. “And what did that accomplish?”

  “Well, for one, we know he has a volatile temper now. And two, he’s willing to act on it.”

  Scratching his chin, Hymn thought for a second. “Okay, but don’t you think there are better ways to get at that information?”

  “Name one.”

  “You could have asked me to do it.”

  Hannah looked him up and down. “Somehow, I doubt he would have reacted the same way, big man.”

  Her point being valid, Hymn did not argue. He just hoped he would get the chance to talk to her about it soon. Glancing back toward the set, he saw the last of the firefighters leaving. The set crew that remained behind were gathering, which he took to mean they were getting ready to leave. “Well, looks like things are about done here. Give me a moment to wrap up, and I’ll give you two a ride home.” He headed back down the stairs, onto the floor, and toward the set crew.

  “Well, while you were playing tough chick, I talked with one of the crew. She said Asa was in Jazlyn’s dressing room about an hour before the show, and they had a huge fight.”

  Interested, Hannah motioned for her to continue as both settled into seats.

  “He demanded that she stay away from Jack and Xabiere. He wanted her to break off all relationships, personal and business, with both men.”

  “How’d she take that?”

  “Not well. She refused, reminding him that she was not Julia, and that he did not own her, body and soul. She was just a face for his show and that her personal affairs were just that. Period.”

  “Anything else?”

  “Toward the end, the girl said she heard Jazlyn crying. She told Asa that she could never have a real relationship because she could never be with the man she was in love with.”

  The last bit of information puzzled Hannah. In the few days, they had known her, she linked Jazlyn in a semi romantic way to at least four men. Jack Miller. Xabiere Dauphin. The unknown male at her apartment when Cate and she retrieved the safe contents. And last but not least, Buster. Jazlyn pursued, used, and discarded men on a nearly day-to-day basis. And she had shown true affection toward only one man. Hannah’s eyes grew wide with realization. “Uncle.”

  Cate frowned. “It’s not like you to give up.”

  “That’s not what I mean. Uncle. She shows true emotion to a single man.”

  Her face twisted with disgust. “You don’t mean that she and Asa were…”

  “No, I don’t think so, but she wanted him. Maybe not in that way. In fact, all the other men are surrogates for what she couldn’t bring herself to do. Be with him.”

  “So, when she said she could never be with the man she loved…”

  “She couldn’t because Asa was her uncle. A relationship she could never consummate, even with Julia dead. A doomed, one sided, Platonic love.”

  The thought made Cate shudder. “I don’t know if I feel sorry for her or disturbed. I am going to take a long shower when I get home though. See if I can wash that image away.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  A few moments later, Hymn motioned for the two he was ready to leave. Along the way home, the three discussed the case in full yet again. Still trying to center in on who had the most to lose and gain by the demise of Julia. There was no consensus the ebb and flow of information pointed in one way or another to all the suspects.

  At present, all agreed on certain things. Passing through Zebulon on the way to Louie’s, Hymn showed frustration. “Miller had covered up the ME’s report out of a misguided suspicion of death by suicide. Asa arranged and paid for it. Asa stood to lose half a fortune if Julia divorced him. He could have arranged for the alteration of reports after killing Julia, if he wanted to cover what he had done. But there was no evidence to prove that theory.”

  Hannah agreed and reminded him, “True, but Miller could have used Asa in a similar manner. Playing him for a fool while covering his own actions. Again, there was no evidence to support this.”

  Cate blew out a breath of air. It was clear the overwhelming possibilities frustrated her.

  “We know Jazlyn was in love with Asa, but there was no physical or emotional involvement as such. She may have wanted her aunt dead. It would give her more access to her uncle. But it seems improbable, given that our source overheard her admit she could never bring herself to be with the man.”

  Hannah looked back and across at her two companions. “There is the fact that she didn’t have the physical strength to pull off the necessary trauma that killed Julia.”

  “Neither did Vera.” Cate assumed a smug look. “Even though she had as much motive as the others.”

  Hannah accepted Cate’s unstated apology for earlier getting testy and defensive. In truth, she was glad of the observation. She was not about to bring up the fact Vera had a previous relationship with Xabiere. Also, it had ended in some odd fashion they had yet to determine. Hannah thought the strange air between Xabiere and Vera she observed could be something more. A tag team murder resulted in a soured relationship. But then again, she assessed to herself, Jazlyn herself could have teamed up with one or the other. Heck, anyone could team up with each other. What if they were all in cahoots together?

  “Then there’s this Xabiere character,” Hymn suggested. He was interrupting Hannah’s cascading thoughts, and she was grateful for it. The theories were mounting in her head faster than she could keep up with, and at present, she wanted to reduce this number.

  Cate leaned forward between Hymn and Hannah’s seats. “Well, let’s see. Asa and Julia fired him. He self-reported that he was in love with Jazlyn, but the word obsessed seemed more appropriate to me.”

  Hannah swirled the information around in her mind. “With Julia out of the way, he might have been aiming to assist Jazlyn in her career.”

  “Like some kind of sick love offering? Hmm.” Cate’s face contorted. “This is getting twisted.”

  Hymn glanced over to the girls as he turned into Louie’s drive. “We need to get more on this guy.”

  After everyone had returned to the house, Louie invited Hymn in to continue the conversation. Louie, Vera, and Buster were already there at the kitchen table, discussing the night’s events. Louie did his usual hosting duties, preparing enough late night food fare “for an army” as Cate put it. As everyone noshed, all information was once again circulated and pondered upon.

  While they were deliberating, Hymn’s cell rang. After looking at the caller ID, Hannah noticed he answered as “Officer Miles.” She also observed the information he heard struck him. As he hung up, Hannah expected it had to do with the case and she wasn’t wrong.

  Louie noticed the perturbed look on the lawman’s face. “Something wrong?”

  “Someone vandalized and/or robbed the Karas Museum.”

  The news stunned everyone for a second. Momentarily, Vera managed to break the quiet. “What? When?”

  Hymn shrugged. “Sometime tonight, after the news of Jazlyn hit, if I were to venture a guess. But I’ll know more once I get there.” He glanced over to Hannah. “I have to go.”

  “I’m coming too.” Hannah pushed herself away from the table. “You guys get some rest. I’ll let you know what we find out.” Then, she headed towar
d the front door, picked up her purse, and exited.

  Hymn looked over to the others, mouth open, unsure of what to say. After a pause, he shrugged. “Bye.” He headed toward the front, calling out after Hannah. “Now wait a minute. I’m the officer in charge here…” His voice faded with the slam of the door.

  Buster shoved a piece of food in his mouth. “What just happened?”

  Cate glanced toward the door. “I’d say they are about to have their first discussion on boundaries.”

  Buster guffawed. “He’s gonna lose that discussion.”

  As Hannah and Hymn headed back into Zebulon, they had the discussion Cate predicted. Hymn explained, regardless of all, he was the official officer, and she was just assisting, even though it was her case. Hannah sat quietly, listening to his affirmation of power within their current relationship.

  “So, we are clear on that, right? I’m not trying to be rude, but just to be clear and all. I mean, after all, I’m on the edge here letting you and your friends work the case as is. So, this is just me saying, I’m in charge. Okay?”

  “Sure,” Hannah answered in a droned-out tone as Hymn pulled into the museum parking lot. Lost in thought, she took note of the police car, fire truck, and ambulance. She opened the door and stepped out of his car while putting on her hat.

  He sighed. “Are you even listening to me?”

  “Uh huh,” Hannah half responded. She walked toward the museum entrance where, once again, Officer Pepper stood guard.

  Just inside, Hannah and Hymn met Dr. Steven Shields, the museum curator. Hannah assessed him as he led them to a specific part of the small museum. Late fifties, early sixties. Glasses. Gray hair and beard. Average build. Average height and weight for a man of his age. Well spoken. Open, though at present upset. As a suspect, she dismissed him.

  “The damaged area is specific.” Upon entering, the curator pointed to a seated man wearing a guard’s uniform. He chatted with another Zebulon officer, one Mobley Glenn, whom Hannah had encountered that night at the studio. She put him in his thirties, red hair, average build and height. The guard was older, maybe in his seventies, thin, small, glasses, balding, as Hannah noted him. A small cut was visible on his head, and two paramedics attended him. “Boris was on duty when he heard a crash. He came in and was hit in the back of the head. When he came to, he called 911 and then me. I’ve called Mr. Karas, just so you know.”

  Taking care while walking around the room, Hannah surveyed the damage. Glass lay everywhere from several smashed cases. Some of Julia’s cooking tools were scattered along the floor. Several pictures sprayed with pink paint lay strewn about.

  “This appears to be random, but….” Hymn trailed off.

  Hannah completed his thought. “Almost too much so. Check this out.” Hymn joined her as she pointed to all the damaged photos. “What do you see?”

  Hymn studied the photos. “Pink. Unusual color choice for vandalism. Black, red, yellow, are the colors of choice in most such cases.”

  “It was Julia’s favorite.”

  “Hmm.” Hymn continued to study the scene, attempting to discern what Hannah already had. After a second, he caught on. Of the damaged photographs, those of Julia and Vera’s image remained intact. Whoever vandalized the museum, marred photos of guests, Asa, Miller, and anyone else.

  Hymn glanced to Hannah. “Intentional or psychological?”

  “Hard to say, but there’s something to it, don’t you think?”

  Hymn agreed.

  Hannah directed her attention to Shields. “Do you have any idea of what’s missing?”

  Shields peered around the room. “Just one thing that I can see so far.” His voice reeked of irritation. “The wedding rings.”

  “The rings?” Hannah blurted out stunned. “Those things were worth a small fortune, weren’t they?”

  The intensity in Hannah’s voice took Shields aback. “Yes, the real ones.”

  Hymn shot Hannah a puzzled look. She returned it before peering at Shields. “Real ones?”

  “This is, as you can see, a small museum. The Karas’ rings are worth a small fortune. We don’t quite have the security needed to display the real items and keep them safe, so Mr. Karas supplied us with mock-ups of the originals. They were gold plated with glass cuts. They were even displayed as such.”

  Shields walked over to the broken display case and pointed to a small plastic placard. Hannah and Hymn joined him to see that it read, Model of Karas Wedding Ring Set. Below this was a description of the original ring’s properties.

  “Who steals fake rings?” Hymn inquired.

  “A fan?” offered Shields.

  Hannah glanced around the room at the damage. She studied the now pink painted photos and the placard. “A fan. Yes, but not the kind you’re thinking of.” Looking up, she smiled. “Thank you.” She headed for the door once again, lost in her contemplations. Hymn informed the other officers to take pictures, and dust for prints before following after Hannah. He found her outside standing next to his car, staring up at the night sky.

  Hymn approached so as not to startle her. “Something on your mind?”

  Hannah turned back and smiled. “Always.” There was a slight pause as she emphasized her thoughts by tapping in the air with a pointed finger. “The rings. The photos. This isn’t just some fan on a freak out or some kids being stupid. This is personal.”

  “I agree, but to what does it all point?”

  “Well, let’s work it. Asa gains nothing by this.”

  “Nor does Miller.”

  “Vera and Louie are together with my friends.”

  “Jazlyn’s in the hospital.”

  Both woman and man smirked. Although they had worked through the list together, Hannah was sure they came to the same conclusion. The most logical conclusion. “Xabiere.”

  Although pleased with their deduction, she still found herself troubled by one remaining fact. “We still don’t have proof.” Frustration almost dripped from her words.

  Hymn grinned. “Then let’s go get it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  After Hymn dropped her off, Hannah made her way into Louie’s and found her friends still discussing the possibilities of the case. Her exhausted look led Louie to insist she head up to bed. “You can clue us in tomorrow morning,” he suggested. She agreed, made her way upstairs and collapsed into her bed.

  The next morning, Hannah made her way downstairs in her usual disheveled pre-coffee state. As she plodded into the kitchen, Critic jumped up from his place by the door to leap onto her, almost knocking her down. Licks and tail wagging kept everyone laughing as breakfast plates were set on the table.

  “If you ever want to rid yourself of this love puppy, I’ll take him in a hot second,” Hannah contended as she avoided Critic’s tongue.

  Handing her a cup of coffee, Louie cracked a smile. “If I go before him, I’ll put you down as an adoptive parent, but for now, I can’t live without my buddy.”

  As the two settled into chairs at the table, Louie added, “I just got off the phone with Vera. Jazlyn is going to be okay. She’s a bit shaken, as you can imagine. Otherwise, she’ll be out in a day or so, maybe even today.”

  Louie shot Hannah a troubled look. “Are you any closer to finding out who killed Julia?”

  Nodding, Hannah reached over and put her hand over Louie’s. “I think we are.”

  Louie rolled his lips in.

  Cate interceded, “Who?”

  Glancing around to everyone first, Hannah came back to peer at Louie. “Xabiere.”

  Over the next half hour, as Buster and Cate served breakfast, Hannah explained everything that happened at the museum.

  “So, it came to mind that Asa or Miller had nothing to gain by destroying the museum and stealing the rings. Vera was with you and Jazlyn was in the hospital,” Hannah concluded after she swallowed down the last of her coffee. “You made these sausages yourself?”.

  Louie smiled a bit. “I’ll give you the rec
ipe.” He thought for a second. “But wasn’t he in the hospital the night Julia died?”

  “Hymn and I discussed this on the way home last night. He pointed out Xabiere was in for observation for a concussion. It’s not like he couldn’t have gotten up and left at some point, just to make his way back later. Zebulon Memorial is just about seven minutes from the Karas’ house.”

  Cate twirled her fork around in her eggs, lifted them a bit, and studied it. “Like you said though, no proof, so now what?”

  “We find it. The best way to prove or disprove Hymn’s theory is by checking the medical records.”

  Cate scooped up another bite, again looking it over, before taking it in. “And how do you propose we do that? They’ll be on the hospital’s mainframe, if not in some archival room. Limited access.”

  “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

  Buster looked up from his meal and met Hannah’s eyes. “Oh, hell no! The last time you said that we…”

  “Let’s not talk about it, okay?” Hannah remembered. “That’s for another time.” She rolled her empty cup around between her hands and furrowed her brow. “We’ll find a way. We always do.”

  Buster assumed a puzzled look. “Why do you think he did it? Revenge? Julia gave him everything. Shouldn’t he have gone after Asa?”

  There was a brief moment of silence as everyone thought the questions through. Hannah rose with a coffee cup in hand. “Well, we are just going to have to find the answers and make the connection.” After pouring herself a cup, she held the pot up. “Anyone?” While refreshing Buster and Cate’s cup, she noticed Louie’s’ contemplative look. “Louie?”

  “I think I can help with that connection.” He rose from his place and heading out the kitchen door toward his office. Curious, Cate, Buster, and Hannah followed.

  Once in the office, they found Louie dragging out one of the boxes containing materials about Julia. He removed the lid and started digging, explaining as he went along. “It’s in here somewhere.” Everyone watched as he pulled out items and quickly scanned them. Hannah noticed he paused on photos in particular.