I barely saw the difference, but that made sense. “So the person either brought it, or they got it at Bobby’s, and if so, they had to go into the kitchen and get it since the dining room wasn’t set, which meant it’s possible one of the two cooks there might remember seeing something.”
“Only if they weren’t the one that killed him, and if it wouldn’t be unusual for the killer to have a knife in their hand.”
“Maybelle.”
“I don’t think I can see that sweet girl doing something so awful.”
“But she had access to the knives, and she said something really strange to me earlier. She said she’d been looking into buying a place, and said she had a partner with something in the works, and then she referenced changing things up at bit.”
“Maybe she’s trying to improve her life or something? Starting a business is a good thing, but it doesn’t make her a killer.”
“But the way she said it, it sounded like she was talking about Hamilton House.”
“Every cook wants their own place. Even the two cooks are talking about getting out on their own, and they had access to the knives.” She busied herself with papers on her desk. “’Sides, like I said before, Bobby wouldn’t never sell the place.”
“Can you get me in front of the cooks?”
She nodded. “One of them is in the kitchen here. He’s helping me out until we can get the restaurant mess figured out. I’ll call the other right quick.”
“You do that, and I’ll talk to suspect number one.” I didn’t think he was an actual suspect, but I felt all investigator-like saying that.
I laid my cards on the table because there wasn’t time to waste. The competition was the next day, and I had a to do list five pages long. “Can you tell me what happened the morning Bobbie was killed?”
He removed the net from his curly brown hair and held it in his hand. “No, ma’am. You don’t leave the kitchen in the morning. It’s against the rules.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Mr. Pruitt, he’s got rules, and one of them is no cooks leave the kitchen in the morning until the prep work is complete.”
“What if you have to use the restroom?”
“We got one back there.”
“Oh. So you’re sure no one left?”
“Yes, ma’am. Well, not the second assistant cooks, but Maybelle, she did. She went to talk to Mr. Pruitt. Said she’d be back right quick.”
“Did you see her leave?”
“Yes, ma’am. Said good luck as she walked out. She was goin’ to talk to him about her decision to enter the competition. I knew he’d fire her, but she didn’t care. Said she’d already had a plan anyway.”
“Did she tell you her plan?”
“Yes, ma’am. She was wantin’ to start her own restaurant. Said she wanted it done by the end of the year.”
“Had she told Bobby?”
He shrugged. “I don’t like getting in nobody’s business if I don’t have to. Gets me in all kinds of hot water when I do.”
I could relate to that. “Did she happen to mention where she wanted to open her place?”
“No, ma’am, but she did say her partner was looking at a location, and she thought she’d get it.”
“Did you notice Maybelle taking anything with her when she went to talk to Bobby?”
He pursed his lips and pushed them to the right side of his face, dragging his eyebrows together at the bridge of his nose. It wasn’t a good look on him. “Can’t say that I did.”
“How did you get along with Bobby Pruitt?”
“I kept to my business and did as I was told. You do that with Mr. Pruitt and he treats you fine.”
The other cook arrived and we had a very similar conversation.
“Well, that didn’t help,” Delphina said.
“It didn’t hurt either. Even the cooks knew Maybelle had plans to open her own place. The first one even said she had a partner looking into it. I need to find out if anyone actually approached Bobby about buying the place. That may be the key to this whole thing. ”
“You know he left everything to me, right?”
“He did?”
She nodded. “Got himself some fancy attorney when his momma died, made sure his arrangements were made ‘cause he said if something happened to him, he didn’t want me having to handle that.”
“And he left you his business? Do you know the attorney’s name?”
“Sure do.” She pulled a card out of her pocket. “Got to call him in a bit about a meetin’ for next week.”
“You should call him and find out if anyone’s made any official offers or if Bobby ever brought them up. Maybelle’s using his recipe in the competition, and she’s looking to open her own place. That’s awfully shady.”
“If she killed Bobby, she won’t get any of that. I’ll make sure of it.”
“So will the judge.”
“Maybe she isn’t as nice as she wants us to think.”
“Desperate people do desperate things.”
__________
Olivia and I stayed up until two o’clock in the morning to get the competition to do list handled. We’d done all the prep work, and all that was left was the contestants checks and making sure everything went as planned. After a few hours of sleep, I got up, showered, and went to get Austin ready for his dad to pick up, something I wasn’t looking forward to, and didn’t know about until Austin told me the night before.
When I tapped on his bedroom door he was awake, packed and ready to go. My heart hurt a little from that, but I was also relieved he’d begun to heal.
Scott came to the door and knocked. I couldn’t recall him ever knocking on my parent’s door, but it wasn’t their door anymore. It was his ex-wife’s. Austin sauntered over to let him in like he wasn’t all that interested, but I knew better.
“Hey Til, how’s it going?”
I’d asked him to stop using his nickname for me, but he hadn’t. I used to love it, but it no longer held the comfort and meaning it once did. “Good. And you?”
He shrugged.
“Oh, I hear congratulations are due. So, yeah, congratulations.”
Austin coughed.
“Honey, go say goodbye to Cooper. He’ll be lost without you.” He hurried out, knowing a talk he didn’t want to be a part of was coming.
I leaned against the kitchen counter, and Scott walked toward me. “I was going to tell you.”
I stepped out of his path and crossed over to the other side of the kitchen. “I’m fine, really.”
“Still, I should have said something.”
“Listen, here’s the thing. Austin is going out on a limb here, spending time with you. He wanted to stay for the barbecue competition this weekend. It’s a big event here, and all his friends are going.”
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
“No, you wouldn’t have. Interesting timing though on your part. You’re supposed to see him twice a month, and then when you don’t, and suddenly decide you want to see him, what’s he supposed to do, say no?”
He didn’t have a reply.
“Just do me a favor, either be in or out of his life, but not both. He’s a kid. He doesn’t need that.”
“I know.”
“And he’s really excited to be your best man, so treat him like you would someone in that position, someone like Steve—” I stopped myself. Steve was his best man in our wedding. Steve, the guy that stopped being friends with Scott after he found out about his affair. I liked Steve.
“Til—”
“Please don’t call me that. It makes me ill.”
“Okay, Ti—Chantilly, I’m sorry, okay? I’m intent on doing better, and I will. If you want, we’ll stay in town this weekend so he can hang out with his friends at the competition. I can get a hotel.”
I almost considered that, but the teeny part of bitterness still lingering, a bitterness I wasn’t aware of until that moment, smacked me upside the head. “No, no, no. The last thing I ne
ed is to feel uncomfortable because you’re here.” I instantly hated myself for that. “Wait.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “This isn’t about me, and it’s not my call. It’s Austin’s.” I called our son back into the kitchen.
“Yeah?”
“Dad has an idea.”
He was so excited he actually showed emotion. “Yeah, for sure. We’re staying.”
“Great, then it’s settled.”
“You’d better check on hotels quick. This is a big thing, and I don’t know if there’s anything available.”
“I’m on it.” Scott smiled at me and then at Austin. “Let’s get outta here, kiddo. Looks like your mom’s got a lot on her plate, and we don’t want to be in the way.”
Austin waved, but I reached out, grabbed his shirt by the shoulder, and pulled him into a hug. “Let your momma kiss you, you big dork.” I smothered the top of his head with kisses. It was all I could do not to squeeze him tight and keep him as close to me as possible and as far away from the person that broke our hearts.
But if my son could start to forgive his father, I needed to woman up and do it, too.
__________
I PULLED INTO THE PARKING lot at the fields and into the first spot designated for competition staff. Many of the competitors were already there, and the field smelled like I was starving, even though I wasn’t.
I found Olivia at the judges’ quarters and set my things on a small table. She handed me a clipboard. “Hopefully you’re rested because it’s going to be a busy morning. You’ve got to inspect each of the contestants booths and make sure everything is up to par with the rules.” She flipped over the first page. “Here they are in case you need them. There aren’t a lot, but there’s a lot of competitors, so we can split the work. I’ll take the back half and you hit the front? Sound good?”
I scanned the contestant map. “Sure, but I want these three in your section.” I pointed to Rashid’s, Julia and Jesse’s and Maybelle’s booths.
“Yes, ma’am.”
I reviewed the rules, noting that each contestant could only have two coolers, two smokers, seven forks, and seven knives. “Who made these rules?”
“I don’t know, but they’ve been this way as long as I can remember.”
“Some of them are outdated, and others are ridiculous. We’ll have to review these for next year. I see a lot of changes in this thing.” I mumbled a few ideas out loud as I got busy.
Rashid had a small crowd of people in his booth, but to make sure everything was up to par, I needed them out. He understood, and out they went, except they all watched with curiosity and concern as I examined his ten by ten booth.
I went to open a cooler, but he stopped me. “No, no. You mustn’t open that. It contains our special ingredient for the barbecue. Nobody can know.”
“Rashid, I have to check everything. I’m sorry, but it’s the rules of the competition. If I don’t, and you’ve got something in here that doesn’t meet the rules, you could be eliminated from the competition.”
Panic took over his face. “But it is our secret recipe. We do not share that. What can I do?” He bounced on his toes. “I do not know how to handle this. I am very worried.”
“Rashid,” I spoke softly, hoping it would calm him. “I won’t tell anyone your secret ingredient. I promise.”
“No, no. This is what happens. This is why I was so angry at Mr. Pruitt. I just don’t know.”
“You told Bobby Pruitt your recipe?”
“No, no. I did not. He came into my restaurant when I was not there, and he saw, and he threatened to report me to the city council, he said that people would not want to eat my food. He promised to put me out of business.”
My eyes widened. “Is there something dangerous in your recipe?”
“No, no. It is a family recipe. It is years old. Many years. We do not want it out to the public for it will be copied and no longer special.”
“I promise you I will not share your recipe with a soul. You have my word.”
He rushed over to an older woman and whispered in her ear. She nodded and then hugged him.
“I cannot reveal the recipe. It is sacred. We will be forever ruined.”
I leaned against his large folding table. “This is why you went to talk to Bobby, isn’t it? He found out your secret ingredient and threatened to tell, didn’t he?”
He nodded over and over. “Yes, yes. I begged him to let it be. My grandmother, she is at unrest now because of it. I cannot lose now. I must win so her soul can be at peace.”
I blew a hair away from my chin. “You didn’t make amends, did you?”
Sweat pooled on his temples. “I did not murder Mr. Pruitt, Miss. Adair. I did not. I am not a violent man. When he threatened me again, I left. That is why I was there for only five minutes.” He buried his face into his hands. “I should not have lied. It is not my personal nature. I am sorry.”
“Things are tense right now, but it’ll be okay. I promise you no one will know your secret recipe, but I do have to take a look inside that cooler or I’ll have to disqualify you. Please help me here.”
His eyes shifted between me and his small crowd of helpers. An older woman smiled and nodded once. He breathed a heavy sigh. “Yes, it is okay. I trust you.”
“Thank you.”
He opened the cooler and revealed his secret recipe ingredient.
Creamy peanut butter, at least twenty-five jars of the stuff.
I nodded, and he closed the lid quickly. I reviewed the rest of his space, noting that the knives he had near his smoker had brown blades with intricate carvings on them. I counted seven, and I picked one up and admired the carvings.
“My great-great grandfather made those. They’re all I use to cook.” He gently removed the knife from my hand. Rashid’s fingers were long and thin, just like the rest of his body, but they were also damaged. I watched as he struggled to hold the knife steady. He forced his bent knuckles, riddled with large knots sticking out on both sides, to fold over the handle. His hand shook like my father’s had.
“Rashid, do you have Parkinson’s?”
He placed the knife on the small counter next to the smoker. “I am afraid so, but I am doing well.”
“My father had it, too. I noticed your hands shaking.”
He sighed. “It is hard. I am weaker now, but still able to work, and that is good. My son will take over for me when I cannot.”
“But you want to find a larger location for your restaurant?”
He nodded. “Yes, yes. For my son. He is very strong, and has very large plans for the future. I would like to help him while I am still able.”
“You’re a good man, Rashid.”
I believed him. There was no way a thin man with shaky hands could overcome Bobby Pruitt. Just no way.
I offered him my well wishes and good luck for the competition, then headed to Maybelle’s booth.
She gladly let me check her booth and chitchatted like nothing had happened, saying she was excited to move forward with her life.
Lonna Appleton came by and hugged her, completely disregarding me.
“Congratulations, Maybelle. I’m so excited for us,” she said.
“Oh, I am just tickled pink. Things are finally falling into place, now that I’m out from Bobby Pruitt’s wrath.”
I glanced up from checking the two coolers behind her smoker. “Which recipe are you using?”
Lonna stuck her nose where it didn’t belong. “What does that matter?”
“Because the rules say the recipe can’t be one of a former contestant, and Maybelle mentioned she wanted to use Bobby’s.”
“Well, I don’t see why she can’t now that he’s dead. I’m sure he’d appreciate it. It would be like she was honoring him.”
Maybe Lonna had a friend after all? I rolled my eyes. “Lonna, we have rules, and they don’t really concern you.”
“Well, of course they do. This is my business partner right here.”
I blin
ked. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Oh, she mustn’t have said anything yet, but we’re going into business together. Opening a restaurant, and we’ve got the perfect location in mind.”
Maybelle beamed with excited me. “We sure do, partner. Lonna has been pressing me to move on with my life and start my own business for some time. She finally convinced me, with the help of Bobby firing me, of course.”
A location? Was she talking about Hamilton House? She couldn’t have leased it, not yet. Delphina would have known. “That’s great. But I’m afraid you still can’t use his recipe.”
“Oh, I’m not. I gave up that thought immediately after I said it. I want to build my reputation as the best barbecue in town, not copy his.”
“And things are finally falling into place,” Lonna said. “Because of my hard work.”
Maybelle nodded and hugged Lonna’s waist, squeezing her face into Lonna’s arm. “She’s the best.”
I smiled and got back to business as the two of them whispered about their new adventure. Sitting in a plastic shopping bag on the ground near the smoker was a set of knives. Ones exactly like the one Delphina showed me. “How many of those do you have? You’re only allowed seven.”
She stepped over and emptied the bag. “One, two, three—” she moved each one as she said a number. “four, five, six, seven. Didn’t break the rule.”
No, but the knives looked just like I’d expected, even with the slightly curved and sharper blade.
Rashid was off my list, but Maybelle was still tops on it.
Jesse wasn’t at the Lye’s booth, but Julia was again getting everything set up. The smoker was up and running, and from the smell of it, something yummy was smoking inside it.
Of all the smells, I had to admit theirs was the best. I didn’t know what they did with the meat, but whatever it was, it made my mouth water.
“I’m here to check on your booth, just make sure everything’s up to par.”
“You won’t find any problems,” she said. She stepped outside of the booth. “Go ahead.”
“I’m surprised Jesse isn’t here. We’ll be open to the public in a few hours.” I checked the coolers and under their work table.
“He just needed to run and pick up something.”
Get Up and Ghost Page 15