Murder at the Cooking School: Book 7 of the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series

by Dianne Harman

  Angelica thought back to when she’d discovered the receipt in the bathroom wastebasket. She didn’t make a habit of going through the trash, but the small bottle containing her contact lens solution had rolled off the bathroom counter and into the wastebasket. When she put her hand in the wastebasket to retrieve it, a bright yellow piece of paper caught her eye. It was a receipt for a room at the Firenze Albergo, the most expensive hotel in Florence. She stood looking at what some would call “firm evidence” for a long time, knowing her world was about to crash down on her. She couldn’t ignore the situation any longer. With trembling fingers she picked up the phone and called her best friend Nuncia in Florence.

  “Nuncia, it’s Angelica. Do you have a minute? I need to talk to someone.”

  “Of course. What is it?”

  She began to cry and for the first time Angelica completely unburdened herself. She told Nuncia about her suspicions, how her marriage had turned cold, how Giovanni seemed to have lost all interest in her, and her belief that he was having an affair with Tonia Nardo, the owner of the Castello di Nardo.

  “Oh, caro amica, my dear friend, I am so sorry. I have met this Tonia Nardo, and you are so much more of a woman than she is. What is Giovanni thinking? I have heard a term that Americans use when a man does what he is doing. It’s called male menopause. I think that’s what must be happening to Giovanni. Of course there will be no divorce. As strong Catholics, neither one of your families would ever allow it. First of all, before you confront him you must be certain. Several of my friends have used a private investigator they all highly recommend. I kept his name, because you just never know when you might need a good private investigator. His name is Piero. Here’s his number. Call him, and tell him what you have told me. I’m sure he can help. Once you have the facts, you can decide how to proceed with the information. Again, caro amica, I am so sorry. I thought you and Giovanni had the perfect marriage.”

  “So did I, Nuncia, so did I. Thank you for the referral, and I’ll call you after I find something out.”

  *****

  Angelica’s cell phone rang, and she saw Piero’s name on the screen. “Piero, I’ve been waiting for your call. Have you found out anything?”

  “Si, Signora Rizzo. I wish it was good news, but you asked me to find out what I could.”

  Angelica’s heart was thumping wildly, and her knuckles had turned white where she was holding the stem of her wine glass. She took a deep breath and said, “Please, Piero. Tell me everything you found out.”

  “I cannot tell you my sources, but what you told me is true. Your husband and Signora Nardo have been seeing each other for many months. They meet at different hotels in Florence and Siena. Because I was not in their hotel room I can’t say with certainty whether or not they are having physical relations, but then again what else do a man and woman do when they lock themselves in a hotel room for most of the day?

  “I showed their photographs to a number of hotel personnel, and all of them recognized Signora Nardo and your husband as frequent visitors to their hotel. They stay in their hotel room from the time they get to the hotel until around 6:00 p.m. They arrive and leave in separate cars and usually order room service along with a bottle of wine. The room is reserved in his name, and he pays for it. I assume he pays with a business credit card, so the credit card bill would go to his law office, rather than to your home.”

  Angelica looked at her shaking hand and took a sip of wine. She clamped her hand on the stem of the wine glass and said in a high pitched voice that she barely recognized as her own, “Thank you Piero. What do your clients usually do after you give them news like this?”

  “It depends. For some of them, the confirmation is enough. Others decide to take lovers of their own or confront their spouses. Rarely does the information I provide to a client lead to a divorce. Occasionally, people ask other things of me,” he said and paused.

  When he didn’t continue, she said, “Piero, I don’t know what you mean by other things. What else could there be?”

  “Signora, the number I called is your cell phone, is that correct?”

  “Si, but why would that matter?”

  “I want to make sure that what I am about to tell you remains between us and is not traceable,” he said. “Sometimes clients feel if the object of their spouse’s attention is removed, the marriage can be saved.”

  The phone line remained silent for several moments while she digested what Piero had just said, and then Angelica replied. “Piero, I believe I know what you mean. I need to think about the information you’ve given me before I make a decision I might regret. I’ll get back to you later today. If I should decide to do some other thing, as you put it, how much would you charge?”

  “I have an account in the Cayman Islands. I would require that funds in an amount equal to twenty thousand American dollars be transferred to that account.”

  “Thank you. No matter what I decide to do, I’ll call you later.” She ended the call and poured herself another glass of wine, remembering the trust fund her parents had left her when they had died several years earlier. She’d never used it, because Giovanni made a very good living as a lawyer. They also had a nice source of income from the olive oil business which Giovanni had told her was thriving.

  What better way to spend my inheritance than to once and for all get rid of the object of my husband’s affection? I’d also probably be doing the community a service as well. I have heard talk that she is very cruel to her staff and has hurt a number of people, personally and financially.

  She picked up the phone and pressed in Piero’s telephone number.

  “Piero, it’s Angelica Rizzo…”

  CHAPTER 4

  Tonia Nardo put a tip in the young hotel valet’s hand while he held the Alfa Romeo car door open for her. She waved to Giovanni who was in the car behind her and drove away from the Firenza Aberigo, easily entering the flow of traffic as she began the one hour drive back to the Castello di Nardo. In a few days a new cooking class would start, and she needed to make sure everything was ready.

  She knew she was jeopardizing everything by continuing to meet Giovanni in hotels in Florence and Siena, but she couldn’t help herself. Simply stated, she was madly in love with him. She lived for what he said and did to her during their private moments in the hotel rooms. For the first time in her life, a man made her feel wanted. She was very aware she wasn’t the type of woman that men preferred. She was certain the only reason her husband, Stefano, had married her was because she had inherited the castle and its adjoining lands from her parents, who at the same time had cut her brother, Salvadore, out of their Wills. Stefano had even taken her surname, Nardo, as his.

  Tonia was overly tall for a woman and very slender. Her figure, if you could call it that, was practically non-existent and was matched by her nearly flat chest. She painfully remembered being called “horseface” when she was in school. Tonia had never recovered from the acne she’d had as a teenager, and her face was permanently scarred. She lacked the grace and feminine characteristics that seemed to be the birthright of other women, so her social graces were considered rough and coarse by those who knew her. Some said she was tone deaf, socially. Even with all of that, for the last year Giovanni Rizzo had declared his undying love for her, and she was eternally grateful for it.

  It’s so very complicated, she thought as she drove back to the castle. He tells me how much he loves me, yet he is a very strong Catholic, as is his wife, Angelica. He tells me he wants to be with me all the time, but I know he’ll never divorce her. I don’t see how it will end. I suppose if I wasn’t married, there’s a chance he might leave Angelica, but I wonder. He’s resolved all of the legal and financial problems I was having, and he tells me I’m through with those. He says if I deed the castle over to him, there would be no way that Stefano could ever get it. That would be true even if I died or divorced Stefano. Although legally it would be the property of Giovanni, he assures me it would only be fo
r my protection, and he would never do anything without my consent.

  I’ve thought about his proposal for a long time, and I think that’s what I’m going to do. With the cooking school and the hotel I’ve made enough money to pay the back taxes, and the government has taken their lien off of the property. I won’t even have to do business with that shady man who said he would be willing to lend me the money if I would use the castle as collateral. He didn’t tell me who he worked for, but I knew. It’s common knowledge that the Mafia looks for people who are in financial trouble, offering to help them, and then they end up taking their property. No, if I deed the castle and its lands over to Giovanni, I will never have to do business with the Mafia.

  Lost in reverie, Tonia almost ignored the ringing of her hands-free car phone. She looked at the monitor and saw that it was Stefano, her husband.

  “Yes, Stefano, what is it?”

  “I was getting concerned that you’d forgotten we have a dinner engagement tonight. We are due at the Bianchi’s vineyard for a wine-tasting and dinner at eight o’clock. I’m just calling to remind you.”

  “Stefano, I haven’t forgotten. I’ll be there in just a few minutes, and I promise you we won’t be late. You don’t need to worry about it.”

  “I’m not worried about it, but I certainly don’t want to do anything to upset our relationship with them. Their wine is some of the best in Italy, and it’s always a favorite with the students who attend our cooking schools.”

  “I’m well aware of what our students like. That’s the reason the cooking school has become so popular. Please make sure that Matteo feeds Bruno and Caesar. That’s one less thing I’ll have to do when I get home.”

  “Certainly. Where were you today?”

  “Florence. I needed to add some extra things to the food I had ordered for the upcoming cooking school.”

  Stefano was quiet for a few moments, and then he said, “Couldn’t you have just called and added it to your order rather than having to drive to Florence?”

  “I probably could have, but I didn’t. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  She ended the call and thought how lucky she was that they had an arrangement. He had his friends, and she had Giovanni. She supposed it was his male ego that made him hint that maybe she’d had something else going on when she was in Florence. He would probably be very surprised that a man as handsome as Giovanni wanted to meet her in hotels in Florence and Sienna.

  Even though ours is a marriage of convenience, I’ve always known about all your affairs, Stefano, but I never cared enough to confront you about them. Now you can see what it’s like to wonder. Let’s see, what was I thinking about before he called?

  Oh, yes, I certainly hope Elena Oberti accepts my offer to be the chef at the cooking school. She’s become very popular because of her television show, and I know she’d attract a lot of new students. Luisa is the problem. I don’t think she’ll accept a job as the sous chef under Elena, but I can offer it to her. If she does, it would keep my brother from telling Stefano about Giovanni, but maybe it’s time to get out from under that threat. I don’t think Stefano would care, I just think he’d be surprised that someone found me attractive enough to have an affair with. I don’t see Stefano leaving me if my brother tells him about my affair with Giovanni. He likes to be the lord and master of the castle, and he certainly likes to oversee the vineyard and its production. It’s a good thing it’s not evident how much wine he’s tested when we have the cooking school welcome dinners. Of course, anyone can tell from looking at his face that he has a fondness for the grape.

  If I can get Elena to accept my offer, and she starts teaching at the castle, that should make my cooking school so popular Berto Moretti would have to close his, and I’d have the only cooking school in this part of Tuscany. If that happens, he would also probably have to close down that pitiful little shop of his, Cucina, and leave the area. When he leaves I will become the Queen of the Tuscany Cooking Schools. I think I’d like that title. What I’d really like to do is have Giovanni become my King, but since that probably isn’t going to happen, I’ll still continue to see him. If he wasn’t in my life, I don’t think I’d want to live. Stefano never has and never will mean anything to me, and I don’t have anyone else. The children I so desperately wanted never came.

  The only one who really loves me besides Giovanni is Caesar, my dog. Some might call that kind of pathetic, but I love it that I don’t have to depend on anyone else for my happiness. No, I definitely have a good life, and even though I don’t rely on Giovanni, he makes my life worth living. The next time we meet, I’ll tell him I’ve decided to sign the papers deeding the castle over to him, so he can make sure that Stefano never gets it. I trust Giovanni with my life, and I know he has my best interests at heart.

  She turned off the main highway and onto the road that led to the castle, refreshed and pleasantly satisfied from her day with Giovanni.

  CHAPTER 5

  Giovanni pulled out from under the hotel portico and then allowed Tonia to get ahead of him. Even though they were both going back to the village, he wanted nothing more to do with her. Several hours with her were as much as he could bear.

  He looked in the rear view mirror to see how much traffic was behind him and was greeted with his own image. Giovanni had to smile, acknowledging to himself he still had the good looks that had opened doors for him throughout his life. His jet black hair was beginning to gray at the temples, accentuating his piercing deep blue eyes. His muscular body and mahogany complexion had always made him irresistible to the opposite sex. It was also what made him irresistible to Tonia.

  I don’t know how much longer I can keep this charade up, he thought. The woman absolutely nauseates me, and the act I put on when I make love to her and tell her how much I love her would qualify me for what the Americans call an Academy Award. She’s ugly as sin, and there’s nothing warm about her. If she doesn’t deed the castle over to me in the next few weeks, I’m going to forget about the whole thing. It’s not worth the price I’m having to pay.

  He remembered when he first came up with the idea to seduce Tonia in order to get the deed to the castle. He was at a dinner party one evening and happened to be seated next to her. It was about the time he was becoming more and more desperate. He knew he had to do something to get money. He’d embezzled funds from a client for the first time in his career and knew with certainty it wouldn’t be the last.

  It was a typical spring evening in Tuscany, warm and inviting. Softly glowing candles were on each table and twinkling lights hung from the patio cover, making the evening magical. The wine flowed, and the scent of freesia flowers filled the air. It reminded him of his first kiss so many years ago. It was a night made for romance. Even though he’d known Tonia most of his life, he’d never before sensed how lonely she was for a man’s attention, and that evening he’d given her plenty of attention. The candlelight, the wine, and the intoxicating freesia scent made her seem almost pretty. She’d recently converted the castle into a hotel with a cooking school, and she mentioned how profitable it was becoming. She told him she kept the financial books for the castle, and although she owed back taxes on it, soon she’d have enough money to pay the taxes and it would no longer be a problem. While she was talking, a plan began to form in Giovanni’s mind.

  She was like a puppy who wanted to be held and petted. Seducing her a few weeks later had been the easiest thing he’d ever done in his life and provided a way out of the hole he’d dug himself into. After they’d met a few times and become lovers, he casually approached her with his scheme. He’d told her how he wanted to make sure she was taken care of and how he worried about her. He said they both knew they probably could never be together as a couple because they were both married and strong Catholics, as were their spouses. He’d suggested she deed the castle over to him, but had done it in an offhand manner, as if it was a joke. In the weeks and months that followed, the joke had become a serious topic of discuss
ion between them.

  At first she had been adamant she would never do anything like that. She told him there was no reason for her to do it, but the more he wore her down with his talk of love and how deeply he cared for her, her resistance began to crumble. He knew he was very close to getting her to do it.

  He thought about why he was doing it. The funds he’d embezzled from clients over the past year had gone to pay for a lot of things his wife, Angelica, took for granted. She thought he made a lot of money, but if the truth were known, every month was a struggle to try and pay the bills. He knew that Angelica had a large trust fund, but even as amoral as he’d become, taking his wife’s money to pay for his mistress’ apartment was something he couldn’t stoop to do.

  Giovanni had rented the apartment last year for Maria. Just the thought of Maria caused warmth to spread through certain parts of his body. He hadn’t meant to fall in love with someone twenty years younger, but when her father had come to his office one afternoon for a consultation and brought his beautiful blond daughter with the bedroom eyes with him, Giovanni knew he had to see her again. No woman he had been with had ever come close to awakening the passion he felt when he was with Maria.

  There is nothing I wouldn’t do for her. I have to get the castle, so if anyone ever finds out about the embezzlements, and if the legal examiners disbar me, I could sell the castle and take care of her. Maria and I both know I won’t marry her. I can’t, but I have promised her that I want her to be my mistress for the rest of my life, and in order to keep my promise, I need the castle.

  If Tonia deeds the castle over to me, she’ll no longer be of use to me. I know I’ve broken the oath I took when I became a lawyer by embezzling money from a client, and I’ve certainly broken marital and moral laws by having so many affairs. Even so, I’ve never been responsible for causing someone’s death, but it’s the only answer to my problems. I don’t think I have a choice anymore. I know that when I get the castle and sell it, Tonia will claim I got it from her illegally or some such thing, which will create all kinds of problems and might even cause me to lose the castle to her. If she’s not around, it will be much easier.