Once they arrived at the house, the valet, Homer Staples, directed Hannah and Cate out to the formal gardens. Asa was standing on the lawn in a full-length black leather coat, staring out toward the area where Julia had died. As they approached, Hannah saw he appeared to be blinking back tears and held a bottle of some kind in one hand and a glass in the other.
“Mr. Karas,” Hannah said in a soft voice. “Can we talk? It’s important.”
At first, he said nothing. “I should have it removed,” he said. “I never should have brought her here. Big lake. Big man. Big money. Not feeling so big now.” Finishing his drink, he turned his attention to Hannah and Cate. “I’m cold. Let’s go inside.”
When they all were in the living room, Asa collapsed into a chair. “My apologies. I’m not myself, as you can see.” Holding the bottle up, he noticed it was empty, and placed it on the floor beside him. “This business with my niece, and then the museum…” He shook his head. “It’s just all hard to understand.”
Hannah looked into the man’s dark eyes as she sat down in the chair across from him. “I want to help you and the police end this. But I need your help. Are you willing?”
“Yes, I suppose so. I haven’t been able to stop it all myself,” Asa said, readjusting himself in his chair.
“What can you tell me about Julia’s love life before she met you?” Hannah began. “Can you tell us about it?”
Her question surprised Asa, but he answered all the same. “Not much.” His facial expression changed and he said with a shrug, “I’m not the man everyone thinks I am.”
Hannah and Cate waited for an explanation, and after a moment, he gave one.
“I’m a businessman. It’s what I do. What I am good at. I know I am controlling. That’s just part of the game. But when it came to Julia, she had me the moment I laid eyes on her. I didn’t care who she had been with or who she had left in her wake. I never controlled her. She controlled me.”
Hannah evaluated his actions and responses and concluded that he was being forthright. “So you never had her checked out?”
“I never found it necessary. Not that it would have mattered. Even if she had been the wickedest person on the planet, it wouldn’t have mattered. I loved her.”
“Do you at least know who worked with her back when she was fresh out of school and writing recipes?” Cate asked.
“Jack Miller, I suppose.” Asa seemed to drift in and out of thought.
“Did he hire other chefs to assist her in coming up with her recipes?” Hannah pressed him.
Looking confused, Asa replied, “Not that I know of. I know that after he was able to lock her into that repressive contract, he had a say in every aspect of her business affairs. So it’s probable.” He looked up at the large framed painted portrait of Julia hanging above a small table with a large pink vase with a gold rim cap. “My poor love. So naïve. You know, people think she’s buried in the mausoleum.”
Hannah and Cate looked at the capped vase and exchanged looks.
“You mean…” Cate questioned.
“I could never do that to her. Those were not her wishes. I could never deny her anything.” Asa produced a meek smile. “Everything’s coming out now. I guess it doesn’t matter.”
As Asa laid his head back and stared at the ceiling, Hannah could see the pain in his face. All her assessments of the man now needed readjusting. He loved Julia. Every instinct in her body told her so. Still, she needed answers, so she pressed on.
“Perhaps I can ask him myself,” Hannah suggested. “Do you have any idea where I might find him?”
“In Hell, I hope.”
Anger and vehemence laced Asa’s comment. He stood and walked over to the sideboard, picked up a decanter and poured the contents into a small glass. “Drink?” he offered. Both Hannah and Cate declined. Asa then took his glass and drank it in one fell swoop. He then slammed the glass down on the table.
“Honey, I’m afraid Jack won’t be around here today or any other day. I am rid of him.”
“Oh?” Hannah asked puzzled.
“He went off to Nashville sometime last night, before Jazlyn’s accident,” Asa explained. “And he’s never coming back.” He picked up the glass and poured again. “You see, I was right about him. He did have a number in mind all along.”
Hannah and Cate listened to the man’s tirade. She hoped that, between recent events and the alcohol, he would reveal more than his control issues would ordinarily allow.
“Oh, at first, I let him be. I considered that Julia needed him for some sort of support and besides, he had that damn contract. I knew he wanted her. But she rebuffed him. Again and again. Then something changed. He started rumors that Jazlyn and I were carrying on. Then he made the whole thing public. I underestimated what a bastard he could be.” Asa downed another glass and stood silent for a moment. He seemed to shudder, as if throwing off a bad feeling. “Then he tried his hand with Jazlyn. Some sort of revenge. I’m still not sure if I was his intended target or Julia. Maybe he was just trying to keep his finger in the pie. Going around my back, trying to get her to sign his contract. It would have been just like it was with Julia. When I finally found out about it all, I went to the rehearsal, and we got into a fight. It ended when he named his figure!”
Hannah considered for a second what her next move should be. She decided to push at him, to see his reaction, when she told of Miller’s confession. “The police questioned him about his part in paying off the medical examiner. Also about any others who handled your wife’s toxicology results. He will have to answer for his part in that.”
He leveled his eyes on Hannah. Cate and she waited for what seemed like an eternity for him to say something. “I suppose I’ll have to answer for that as well.”
“He said he was protecting her reputation.”
Asa half laughed. “Protecting his investment, maybe. He never wanted her. He wanted what she had.”
“Why’d you do it then?” Cate interposed.
“Because of the rumor he started, Julia went into a deep depression. She moved into the studio apartment and treated me like a pariah. I pleaded with her to trust me. Swore that the rumors were not true. She rejected everyone. Jack thought by starting them, he would drive a wedge between Julia and me and then he could step in. He half succeeded.”
Asa rubbed his eyes. Walking back over to the sideboard, he considered another drink as he ran his fingers around the rim of the glass. He pushed it away, returned to his chair and plopped down. Hannah could tell that all the alcohol was working on him. It would just be a matter of time before he gave into it and fell asleep.
“The one person she would have anything to do with was Vera. They were close, you know.
“We’ve heard,” Cate acknowledged.
“Is that why you named Jazlyn Julia’s successor and not Vera?”
Asa closed his eyes and swallowed. “Yes. The one thing I ever did deny her. And I did it after she was gone so she wouldn’t see it. How pathetic is that?” He produced a fake smile. “Not going to get that husband of the year award, I guess.”
The fact that he could not hurt Julia, even in death, suggested that Asa was not responsible for her death. If he had harmed her, it seemed to Hannah that he could not have handled what he had done. As a man who was always in control, such an outcome would have driven him over the edge. Even now, he could not handle what little act of vengeance he had taken.
“Did you know about the pills?”
“I learned of them through my accountant. He saw the expenditures and thought I should know. When I asked her about them, she said she needed them to sleep. She never slept well, but in recent months, it seemed to be worse.” Asa let out of long, sorrowful sigh. “I never thought she would overdose on the damn things.”
“That’s just it, she didn’t.”
Upon this, Asa sat up. “She had barbiturates in her system. The evidence was in the original report. She was wandering outside in a drug-induced sta
te, fell into the post, then the water, and drowned. Jack came to me about it. He suspected something would show up.”
“Why is that?” Cate probed.
“Because she had been acting so strange the few months before the accident, even before the rumors. Something was bothering her. He figured that the stress of the show was getting to her and that she was taking something for it. Of course, he kept me out of the loop while she was alive. But when she died, he needed help covering it all up. So he came to me for enough money to pay off the medical examiner. The stupid man left a paper trail a mile long. So I had to step in and clean it up myself to preserve my precious wife’s name.”
For a few seconds, Hannah struggled to find a way to say what was necessary. There was no predicting Asa’s reaction to what she was about to reveal. In the end, she chose to put it forth as simply and succinctly as possible. “It wasn’t the drugs that killed her. And she didn’t drown. She died from a blow to the head. She was dead before she ever hit the water. Were you not so consumed in grief and blinded by Miller’s careless actions, the examiner might have realized that. But in the rush to cover up the fact that she had drugs in her system, explainable drugs, the ME overlooked this fact.”
Asa sat mouth agape in disbelief. “Then who are you suggesting did this?”
“I have an idea that it’s the same person who tried to hurt Jazlyn. Take a look at this.” Hannah pulled the two photos from earlier out of her purse.
Asa scanned the pictures. His eyes narrowed and his face masked rage. “Xabiere Dauphin. Just much younger.” He turned the wedding photo over and read the inscription. “Do you recognize the handwriting?” Asa’s eyes focused, despite the alcohol running through his system. “No. But I can assure you, it’s not Julia’s, if that is what you are asking.” He looked down once more at the writing as he gestured to imitate a pen or pencil. “She had the most perfect handwriting I have ever seen. Smooth, flowing. Readable. Not like this at all. But you already know this. Is it Xabiere’s?”
“I think so. But his name isn’t Xabiere Dauphin. It’s William Barton. And he’s not French. He’s a mimic. And it appears he had a relationship with Julia before you.”
“And now it appears he has turned his attention to your niece, Jazlyn,” Cate added.
Asa looked up at his two guests. “Jazlyn and I were arguing last night, as well. I accused her…” He looked away for a brief few seconds before coming back to the ladies. “I accused her of a great many things, one was having an affair with both Miller and Xabiere.”
“How’d that work out for you?” Cate inquired in a knowing voice.
“She defended herself.” Asa replied. “She admitted having relationships with both, but they were…just physical. Nothing beyond that.”
“The other day, Xabiere was acting territorial with your niece,” Hannah cut in. “I heard him threaten her in a way. That she would be his one-day or something of that nature. Did she ever say anything about that to you?”
Asa narrowed his eyes. “No. But it’s not surprising. He was always enamored with her. You know, for a time, he was even fascinated with my Julia.” He tapped at the photo. “Now I know why. Regardless, I had to set him straight at one point.”
This new information caught Hannah’s attention. “How did he react?”
A bemused expression ran across Asa’s face, and he gave a sarcastic laugh. “He threatened me. And Julia. So I let him go.”
Hannah became engrossed. She cocked her head, and things began to click in her mind. “I thought you fired Holloway and him for leaking secrets?”
“That was my excuse to Julia.”
The women watched as Asa slipped off into audible contemplation, never looking at them. “Julia made odd choices. Even after twenty-one years of marriage, there were times when I just couldn’t fathom her motives. Xabiere was an ass to end all asses. But she saw something in the man that no one else could. So she took him in. Like a stray dog or a lost puppy. Same with Holloway and Vera.”
“Like a stray dog or lost puppy,” Hannah considered Asa’s words to herself. She mulled over the idea as he rambled on for a moment more. She came to the conclusion that Julia took in strays and orphans because she felt guilt over adopting out Vera. Xabiere and perhaps even Holloway were psychological substitutes. “They were her penance,” she concluded. “Why’d you hire him back, after you had let him go?”
“In part, because my niece insisted. And because he provided evidence that Holloway was the one who had sold out our secrets. And I guess because Julia would have wanted me to. It’s been a year. The restaurant had a sudden opening. He was available. It just sort of fell into place.” Seeing the look on Hannah and Cate’s faces, Asa said. “Cranston left town without notice. Is it possible he…?”
Hannah said nothing but just scrutinized Asa. She wondered if he was ready for her final revelation. “It’s possible. Both your wife and this Cranston fellow.”
This new information shook Asa. He looked at the photo of their wedding, studying Julia’s image, that of himself, and that of Xabiere. Then he gazed at the urn on a pedestal. Hannah and Cate could see he was struggling to find meaning. And she dreaded what would come next. “But for what reason?”
“Like you, and every other man in her life, he was in love with Julia. And he may or may not have found out about Vera.”
Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Asa rose from his chair. “Vera? What does she have to do with this?” “You replaced Vera with Jazlyn. But your wife had a will created that would, in the event of her demise, give Vera her part of your combined estate. It also names her heir to her show.”
Asa stopped dead in his tracks. He glared at both women. “I have our will. We built it together. Agreed upon it. In the event of her death, if I am living, I am the beneficiary. If we are both gone, the majority goes to her charity.”
“And what about Jazlyn?”
Asa produced an uneasy look. “She gets a reasonable trust, the show, and the restaurant. We had no children, and she is the closest thing to one I have.”
Hannah braced herself. She was about to drop a bomb on Asa, one that could send him in any number of emotional directions. For such a controlling man, he was about to find out that, in reality, he was not at all as such.
“Not for Julia,” Hannah said in a blunt, solid voice.
Both women watched as the man’s face began to turn red. Asa was losing his temper. He was just about to erupt and managed, “What are you talking about?” in a loud, angry tone.
“Julia had a child. Years ago, before you met.”
Asa’s posture collapsed. His face shown of disbelief, brow furrowed deep, and mouth agape. “You’re lying.”
“Vera,” Hannah added, providing context.
“No.”
“She had a DNA test done and a new will drawn up to reflect the results.”
“We’ve seen it ourselves,” Cate interceded.
Asa searched for words but found none. He moved back to his chair and collapsed in it. For a moment, he glanced about the room wearing a wild expression. Hannah considered it to be the response of a man overwhelmed. After a few seconds, he asked, “DNA. Against who? Miller or Xabiere?”
“Louie Woolridge.”
The last bit of information was enough to send Asa reeling. “Woolridge?” He shook his head. “None of this is making any sense.”
Hannah noticed the color draining from Asa’s face and his breathing increase. Then he reached up and grabbed his arm, clutching it with the other hand. He let out a moan and slid to the floor. Hannah rushed over to roll him over, and looked at Cate. “On it,” her friend replied without even hearing the request.
Chapter 26
Hannah and Cate looked on as paramedics loaded Asa onto the ambulance. Homer Staples climbed in back, as well. His wife, Leona, exited into the house to follow after in their personal car.
“Well,” Cate stated, “that didn’t go as planned.”
Hann
ah dusted off her hat. “No, but it gives us an opportunity.” Placing it on her head, she looked at Cate and said, “It’s all starting to come together. Now, come on. Let’s go get the final piece.”
As she and Cate drove to the hospital, Hannah obsessed over the current state of the case.
“Xabiere. He’s responsible for all this. He called Julia the night she died and lured her out. He’s the one who attacked the house. And he’s suspect in Cranston’s sudden ‘departure’.” Hannah gestured, giving the quote sign with her first two fingers of both hands. “Hym’s trying to get a subpoena for his phone records. But that will take some time.”
“So what are we fixing to do?” Cate asked as they pulled into the parking lot of Zebulon Memorial Hospital. “As if I don’t know already.”
Hannah sighed. “We’re going to get the records we need.”
Shaking her head in doubt, Cate clarified, “So, just to be clear. We’re running with Prince Handsome’s theory that Xabiere left the hospital and killed Julia. He then drug her to the gazebo, slammed her head into the post, before he threw her in the water. After that, he returned here undetected between nurse rounds? And now we are going to break into the hospital records and get the proof? This rather than get a subpoena for them along with the ones for the phone.”
Hannah smirked as she opened the car door and got out. Once again putting on her hat, she ran her pinched index and thumb around the rim. “Yup,” she said and slammed the door shut. “Don’t forget your laptop.”
“You are such a drama queen.” Cate picked up the laptop and stepped out of the car ,mumbling. “And we are so going to prison. Had to read detective novels all those summers with her, didn’t you Cate. Couldn’t just get her to read teen romances, could you,” she scolded herself.
“Have a little faith,” Hannah chided. “We’re close. Look. As I see it, Julia rebuffed Xabiere. When he couldn’t have her, he tried to replace her with Vera, her second. But Jazlyn replaced Vera, making her next up. This all goes back to his obsession. His total fixation on Julia.”
The Chef at the Water's Edge Page 20