Murder in the Pearl District (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) Page 12
“Sophie, we can talk tomorrow morning,” Kelly said. “Right now what we both need is sleep, but first I’ve got to call Mike. He’s probably frantic by now.”
“I agree. Sleep well.”
*****
“Thank heavens, you called. Are you all right?” Mike practically shouted into the phone when she called.
“Yes, Rebel and I are fine. It’s over, Mike, and I’m very glad you thought to call Detective Masters. Here’s what happened.” She spent the next few minutes telling him about the chef, Hank, Nico, Mitch and finally the heroics performed by Rebel. “Mike, I’d love to talk longer to you, but I’m so tired I’m going to start babbling if I continue. I’ve got to get some sleep. I love you, and I’ll be home early tomorrow afternoon. I have to attend my last meeting at the restaurant tomorrow morning and then I’ll head for home.”
“Tell you what, I’ll make dinner and get a nice bottle of wine. It’s been beautiful here so there’s a good chance we can eat on the patio. Deal?”
“Yes, sweetheart, that’s a deal.”
CHAPTER 27
The following morning, after the meeting about increasing the staff had ended, Sophie and Kelly walked back to Sophie’s building to get Kelly’s luggage and say goodbye.
“I never like goodbyes, Sophie. I much prefer to say, I hope I’ll see you soon, and I’d like to do just that. Please keep in touch. I’m really interested in hearing about the success of the restaurant and also about you and Hank.”
“Aah, chérie, who knows? I’ll call you in a few days and tell you what’s happening in the district. If you don’t like goodbyes, you probably don’t like to be thanked, either, but I can’t let you leave without thanking you and telling you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. Without you, my new chef and I very well could have been the next victims of Chef DuBois. Listen to me, using words like ‘my new chef.’ It all seems so very strange, but for me life is just an adventure from one day to the next. Drive safely, and I definitely will be calling you. Au revoir.”
“Okay, Rebel, say goodbye to Amelie. We’re off to Cedar Bay.”
She put her bag in the back of the minivan and opened the door for Rebel. As she drove away from Sophie’s building, she saw Sophie waving until she turned the corner. Two hours later she pulled into the driveway of her home in Cedar Bay, the home that had been her parents until they retired and moved to Arizona. She sat in the van and was caught up in a moment of reverie as she looked at the bay shimmering in the early afternoon sunlight.
A moment later the door to the house burst open, and Mike and Lady ran over to the minivan. As soon as she opened the door she was enveloped in a huge bear hug from the burly sheriff. Lady gave her own greeting to Rebel, gently poking at him with her nose as if to say, “Missed you, big guy. Glad you’re home. It was lonesome here without you.”
A few hours later, Rebel woke up, looked at Lady and then down the hall to the closed bedroom door as if to say, “We need to tell them to get up from their nap. It’s time for them to feed us.”
*****
Several days later Kelly had just locked the door at Kelly’s Koffee Shop and was walking to her car in the pier parking lot when her cell phone rang. She looked at the screen and saw the name Sophie Marchant.
“Sophie, how are you? How is Mangia! Mangia!? How is everything in the Pearl District?”
“Chérie, stop,” Sophie said laughing. “I can only answer one question at a time. I’ll start with the restaurant. Nico found out who called Chef DuBois and tipped him off about the meeting in the alley between Mitch and him. It was one of the line cooks, and he fired him on the spot. We’ve hired five new people for the kitchen and seven people for the wait staff. One of them does nothing but handle take-out orders. Believe it or not, we are still as busy as we were when you were here. Actually, we are booked solid for the next few weeks for lunch and dinner. We’ll open up the reservations again in a few weeks or so. Can you believe it?”
“After tasting Nico’s amazing dishes, I’m not the least bit surprised. Donatella sure made a bad business decision by not allowing him to put his dishes on her menu.”
“As to how the Pearl District is doing, it’s fine,” Sophie continued. “What’s interesting is that this morning there was a rave review in the Portland Gazette by Bill Hossam on Mangia! Mangia! After you told me what you found out about him, I’m surprised he can pull off these reviews, but a rave review by him is pretty much gold for a restaurant. Don’t you Americans have some saying about how you can fool someone?”
“Yes, and he’s probably a good example of the saying which is ‘You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.’ Actually it was one of our presidents who said it, Abraham Lincoln. I had to write a paper on it in a high school history class, and I’ve never forgotten it. Sure seems to apply to him, but I still think someday he’ll write a nasty review for a restaurant, and the owner will have him investigated and then everyone will know what a fraud he is. I’m so glad he gave the restaurant a rave review. That’s fantastic!”
“Detective Masters called me the other day to tell me there’s more than enough evidence to convict Chef DuBois if his case goes to trial. His restaurant, Le Toque, is closed, and I don’t know what will happen to it. The detective said his restaurant staff hated the chef and was terrified of him. Evidently he was physically abusive to some of them and emotionally abusive to all of them. Several of them have come to Mangia! Mangia! looking for work. The detective said the chef was hoping some of his staff would testify in his behalf. I guess he expected them to serve as character witnesses for him, but none of them would.”
“Couldn’t happen to a better person,” Kelly said. “Can’t say I feel too sorry for him.”
“I don’t either. I’m saving the best for last.”
“Well, I hope it’s about you and Hank.”
“It is. I’ve seen him several times since you left Portland. I like him, Kelly, I like him a lot. We’d talked a little bit about art and food before, but now it seems like there’s never enough time to talk about everything we have in common. He told me I have you to thank for that. He said he never would have had the courage to approach me if it hadn’t been for you, so I guess that’s one more thing I have to thank you for. Actually, I pretty much have my life to thank you for, so thank you.”
“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. My mother always used to tell me to bloom where you’re planted,” Kelly said, “and I guess I was planted in the Pearl District and bloomed for you. Maybe that’s a stretch, but you know what I mean.”
“I do, dear friend. I see Nico motioning to me, so I better see what the next kitchen crisis is all about. Thank you again. I’ll be in touch.”
“Give everyone my best, and tell them Rebel and I will come to visit sometime soon.”
“Au revoir.”
Kelly ended the call and smiled peacefully to herself.
Who doesn’t love a happy ending, she thought, and this is about the best ending anyone could ask for.
EPILOGUE
One evening a few weeks after Kelly returned to Cedar Bay, she and Mike were just finishing dinner when her cell phone rang. She looked at the screen and didn’t recognize the number displayed on it.
“Hello, this is Kelly Reynolds,” she said.
“Well, hello there yerself’ lil’ ol’ Ms. Kelly,” a stranger said in an obvious slurred tone of voice. “This here’s yer’ ol’ buddy Dirk the Jerk. You member’ me doncha’? Did that little ol’ report for Donatella DeLuca concernin’ those two scumballs she wanted me to get the goods on. You know, that phony French chef and that food critic guy that was threatnin’ to give her restaurant a bad name.”
“Yes of course Dirk, I remember you. How are you doing tonight? Sounds like maybe you’ve been drinking a little, or, if I’m guessing right, maybe a lot, given the sound of your voice. What can I
do for you, Dirk?”
“Well yer’ right on target about me having a little too much to drink. Got my ol’ friend jack black right here on the table in front of me. Jus’ got through making m’self a brimmer, ya’ know, all the way to the top of the glass and no ice. Goes down real smooth like, ‘specially when you’re in the mood to do some serious celebratin’.
“Anyway, the reason I’m calling ya’ is I was jes’ wonderin’ if you subscribe to the Portland Gazette, cuz if ya’ do, you otta’ take a gander at the lead article that’s gonna’ be in the paper’s weekly food section tomorrow mornin’. Got’s me an inside contact at the paper, and she tipped me off ‘bout what’s gonna be in it.”
“What are you talking about?” Kelly asked.
“Seems like the editor of the paper hisself is gonna ‘nounce that he’s fired their longtime food critic, Bill Hossam, and he’s gonna’ make a public ‘pology fer’ allowin’ Hossam to work for the paper under false pretenses. ‘Cording to the editor, turns out Hossam was a complete phony and had zilch credenshuls or qualific’ whatever the word is.”
“I think you mean qualifications.”
“Yep, jes’ like I was sayin’. He ain’t got no qualific’ to be writn’ weekly articles ‘bout restaurants for the Gazette. My friend at the paper said she didn’t know how the editor found out about Mr. Phony Baloney Hossam, but she did say there was a rumor circulatin’ in the newsroom that the editor got some kinda’ ‘nonymous report in the mail about his star food critic, good ol’ Mr. Hossam. Imagin’ that! Wonder who in the world mighta’ done somethin’ nasty like that and gone and spilled the beans on him? Heh, heh, that’s a rich one!
“Well anyway, Ms. Kelly, thought you’d wanna’ know. Have a good night tonight and don’t forget to take a look at the Gazette in the mornin’. As for me, think I’ll have me one more little ol’ taste of honey, my ol’ pal jack black. Nitey-nite,” he said and hung up before Kelly could say a word.
Well, I can’t say I feel sorry for Hossam. He was an evil disgusting man and it looks like he’s going to get what he deserves. I guess the old saying “What goes around comes around,” certainly applies to the situation in which Bill Hossam now finds himself!
*****
Later that evening, after Kelly had told Mike about the phone call and Bill Hossam being fired by the Gazette and exposed as a fraud, he said, “Kelly, remember how we talked about taking a real honeymoon after Jesse’s murder was solved?”
“Sure, but it just never happened. Between your cases, Kelley’s Koffee Shop, and then the murder in the Pearl District, we’ve never had time. Why?”
“I think it’s time we did it. We could both use some time off. I received a call from my Aunt Agnes this afternoon. You may remember me telling you about her. She is my mother’s sister, and when I was a kid I spent a lot of time with her during the summers at her home in Calico Gold, California. She and her husband never had children, and I think I was kind of their surrogate child. The little town is really something. I’ve got great memories of it. It’s nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Central California. There’s quite a little bit of history about the part it played in the Gold Rush.”
“Mike, didn’t you tell me once your aunt owned a big house on a large ranch.”
“Yes, her house is on one hundred acres outside of town. When she and my uncle were younger, they had horses, dogs, cats, goats, and all kinds of animals. Believe me it was a little boy’s paradise. I used to ramble around that big old house and think it must be just about the biggest one in the world. Now that I’m a lot bigger and a lot older, it probably wouldn’t seem that big.”
“What did she have to say?”
“It was kind of interesting. She asked if there was any way you and I could visit her as soon as we could. She couldn’t make it to our wedding, and she’d like to meet you. She said something that was rather cryptic and makes me think I should pay her a visit as soon as possible. She mentioned that maybe I could use some of the skills I’ve learned as a sheriff to help her with a problem she was having. Her husband, my Uncle Jim, passed away nearly twenty years ago, and ever since then she’s lived the life of a lonely widow in that big old house.”
“Did she say what the problem was?”
“No. As I said, it was rather cryptic. Anyway, I thought maybe you and I could drive over there with the dogs and pay her a visit. We could stay for a few days and sort of treat it as a delayed honeymoon. I feel I owe her for all the wonderful times I spent there as a child, and if she’s in trouble, I would never forgive myself if I didn’t go. How does it sound to you if we take a trip down there?”
“Wonderful. I could use some time off from work. From the number of times you’ve mentioned her and the property, I know she’s very dear to you. I agree, you’ll never forgive yourself if you don’t go. Consider it done. Why don’t’ you call her as soon as we figure out when we can go. I’ll call Roxie right now and see if she can cover for me at the coffee shop while we’re gone. She seemed pretty happy with the extra money I paid her when I went to Portland. She mentioned she and her husband could really use it, so I’m sure she’ll be happy to do it. Why don’t you check your schedule and see when you can take off? If it’s a go for both of us, I can be ready day after tomorrow.”
“Lady, you never fail to amaze me. You’ve never even met Aunt Agnes, and you’re ready to drop everything and see if we can help her. No wonder I love you so much.”
“Never could say ‘no’ to a man in a sheriff’s uniform,” she said laughing. “Calico Gold here we come!”
Recipes!
There's a surprise following the recipes.
CHEF NICO’S LASAGNA (For the Home Cook)
Meat Sauce Ingredients:
1 pound Italian sausage (mild flavor)
½ pound ground beef
1 box mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 tsp. salt
½ tbsp. ground pepper
1 tbsp. dry Italian seasoning
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes
6 cups marinara sauce (you can use prepared type in jar, about 1 ½ jars)
2 tbsp. water, more as necessary
Ricotta Cheese Mixture & Pasta Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 lbs. ricotta cheese
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. salt plus salt for pasta water
¼ tsp. ground pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
16 oz. pkg. lasagna noodles
8 oz. diced mozzarella cheese (for topping at end of assembly)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese (for topping at end of assembly)
Meat Sauce Directions:
Over medium heat cook sausage and ground beef in large frying pan until brown and crumbly. Cook mushrooms in separate small frying pan until they give off water and add to meat sauce. Add salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Add marinara sauce and water to meat mixture. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 1 hour. Add more water as necessary if mixture becomes too thick. Using a small spoon, skim excess fat off surface of mixture.
Ricotta Cheese Mixture & Pasta Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, beat eggs. Stir in ricotta cheese, 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese, and 2/3 cup parmesan cheese. Add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
In pasta pan or large pan bring salted water to boil (should be about as salty as ocean water.) Boil lasagna noodles for approximately 15-20 minutes. Noodles are done when firm to the bite. Drain and immediately place in a bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking.
Assembly of Lasagna Directions:
Use a 10” x 15” Pyrex baking dish.
Preliminary Note: There will be 3 layers of noodles. Lay 1st layer longways in the dish, the 2nd layer crossways, and the 3rd layer longways. Remove noodles from cold water, dry off, and place in dish as directed below. Best to count the number of noodles available for asse
mbly and divide by 3 so you don’t run out of noodles when you get to the last layer!
Assembly: (1) Spread ¼ of meat sauce in bottom of dish. (2) Top with 1/3 of noodles (longways). (3) Spread ½ of ricotta cheese mixture over noodles. (4) Spread ¼ meat sauce over ricotta cheese mixture. (5) Top with 1/3 of noodles (crossways). (6) Spread remaining ½ ricotta cheese mixture over the noodles. (7) Spread ¼ meat sauce over ricotta cheese mixture. (8) Spread last 1/3 noodles (longways) over meat sauce. (9) Spread remaining ¼ meat sauce over noodles. (10) Sprinkle meat sauce with 8 oz. diced mozzarella cheese and ½ cup grated parmesan cheese.
Cover assembled casserole with aluminum foil and place on cookie sheet to catch any spills. Bake 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake until top is golden brown and bubbling, about 30–35 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
Enjoy!
NICO’S SEAFOOD BUCATINI (For the Home Cook)
Ingredients:
2 lbs. Manila clams
16 oz. bag frozen seafood mixture (you can usually get this in the frozen section of the supermarket); usually contains scallops, mussels, small shrimp, etc.
6 large precooked shrimp, tail on
2 cups marinara sauce
6 garlic cloves, diced
3 large green onions, diced (bulb portion only)
1 med. onion, diced
1 tbsp. red pepper flakes
1 tbsp. saffron threads (I know they’re expensive, but they keep forever!)
1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
3 cups white wine
2 tbsp. chopped parsley for garnish
1 box bucatini pasta
Water for pasta and clams
Directions:
Sauce: Sauté diced garlic 3 minutes in olive oil in large frying pan over medium heat. Add diced onion and cook 3 minutes. Add diced green onion and cook one minute. Add 1 cup white wine, red pepper flakes, thyme and saffron, seafood mixture, and large shrimp. Combine gently and cook until shrimp turn pink. Add marinara sauce and stir. You can add wine as needed to keep sauce from becoming too thick. Keep warm in pan until ready to serve.