by Harper Lin
Arthur looked mad and relieved at the same time. The police had arrested Diane, who at first insisted on her innocence, but after Clémence listed all the evidence: the pâté aux pommes de terre in the fridge, the emails, the confession she’d heard, the stabbing attempt, and the fact that she’d shown up at the apartment, Diane relented and confessed all over again to Cyril and his team. Cyril was proud to arrest the killer, but annoyed that he wasn’t the one to catch her—again.
After they took Diane away, Clémence went outside for some air. She met Arthur on the street, as she’d texted him and he came as soon as he could.
“It’s not like I throw myself into these kinds of situations,” she said.
“What did I tell you before? If you ever need someone to help you, you can call me.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know it was going to be dangerous. It was suppose to be an in-and-out operation. Plus, we just saw each other and I didn’t want to be needy.”
“You have a lot of pride, you know that Damour?” Arthur gave her a reassuring kiss. “Are you sure you’re not bleeding or bruised anywhere?”
“No, I’m fine. My hand hurts from punching her nose, but I’m really okay.”
He broke out into a smile. “I can’t believe you broke her nose.”
“She deserves it.” Clémence sighed. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell Rose. Her mother not only had sex with her boyfriend for a year, but she killed him. Now she’s going to jail. How is Rose suppose to take this?”
“I don’t know.” Arthur held her in a tight embrace.
“And how could Diane do this? I’ve known her since I was thirteen! I can’t believe people can turn into psychopaths.”
“Well, I’m sure it was gradual. Heartbreak really messes some people up.”
“Some people get over it,” Clémence said. “They move on. I guess this is what happens when people let anger and bitterness ravage their souls.”
Clémence realized that she had been nervous. Sure, she’d acted calm when she defended herself, but now that she was in Arthur’s arms, she realized how shaken she really was.
She pulled back, looking deep into Arthur’s eyes. “Will you go with me to break the news to Rose? I don’t think I can do it alone.”
“Sure,” he said, and kissed her eyelid.
CHAPTER 17
One Week Later
Clémence went to the Damour kitchen to check up on the bakers. She was itching to work on the new savory line of sushi macarons, but Sebastien and Berenice were busy making eclairs. She felt as if she hadn’t been at work in forever, after all that had happened.
Rose had broken down and cried for two days after she learned about her mother. It was painful, but at least it gave her closure on one part of her life with Pierre. Now she would face the pain of her mother going on trial for murder, and then having a mother in prison. Clémence offered her apartment for Rose to stay in for as long as she wanted, but Rose needed to be with family, so Clémence helped Rose pack to live in Germany with her father for a while.
After Rose left, Clémence was able to see Arthur more often. They would cook dinner together, drink wine and talk into the wee hours. They were taking it slow, still getting to know each other more as friends first before they jumped into anything.
Their relationship was still a secret from their parents and friends. It was something they wanted to protect for now, but when Clémence walked into work, she couldn’t help but exude the happiness that she was feeling.
Celine, one of the hostesses, noticed her glow as soon as she came in through the salon door. She took her break and followed Clémence into the kitchen.
“Something’s up with Clémence,” she said to Berenice.
“It does look like you’re walking on a cloud,” Berenice said.
“Where’ve you been, Clémence?” Sebastien said. “I had to test out my inventions with these inferior taste buds.”
“I’ve been solving crimes,” Clémence said. “It takes up my time.”
“That was ages ago,” said Berenice. “And you haven’t been in to work since.”
“Something is different about you,” said Sebastien. “Are you wearing more makeup?”
“No, nothing. Why can’t I just be happy to see you guys? It’s been so long.”
“It’s a boy, isn’t it?” Celine said.
“Here we go.” Clémence smiled and mock rolled her eyes. “The boy talk.”
“Admit it,” Berenice said. “It’s a boy. Let me guess, that dishy neighbor of yours?”
Even Sebastien was looking at her with an eyebrow raised.
“Okay fine,” Clémence said. “We’re dating, okay? His name is Arthur.”
“I knew it,” Berenice exclaimed. “Didn’t we tell you? He couldn’t stop staring at you that time we went the Le Coq.”
“We all said he was gorgeous,” Celine said dreamily. “Didn’t I say he was gorgeous? But you said you didn’t think so. Classic denial.”
“I thought he was cute, but he grew on me, okay? Every time there’s a murder, he’s around to help me. And we got to know each other a bit more recently. He’s not bad.”
“Not bad?” Celine said. “Where’s the details?”
“What exactly have you been up to?” asked Berenice. “Is he a good kisser? Have you gone all the way? Don’t keep all the intimate details to yourself now.”
Clémence blushed. She wasn’t going to spill everything of course, but she was so happy that she couldn’t help but gush a little bit.
“From beginning to end,” Celine demanded. “When was your first date?”
“Well…” Clémence started.
RECIPE #1: Classic French Baguettes
Baguettes have a crunchy crust and a chewy center. If you’re in France, you will often see French people carrying these long, thin loaves home after work, often tucked under one arm.
Making gourmet quality French baguettes at home is not as hard as you think.
This recipe makes 2 large baguettes or 4 small ones
Ingredients:
1/4 tsp. rapid rise yeast
1 1/2 cups water, room temperature
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cornmeal
In a large mixing bowl, pour in the yeast and stir in the water, then the salt. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is thick and sticky, 5 to 10 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let it sit in a turned-off oven until it doubles in size, 12 to 14 hours. The dough will be sticky and bubbly.
Dust cornmeal generously on a silicone baking mat on a baking sheet.
Using a floured spatula, scrape out the dough into a well-floured work surface and dust dough with flour. Pat dough into a rectangle with well-floured hands, and cut into 4 equal pieces (or 2 if making large baguettes).
Dust each piece of dough with flour. Use floured fingers to gently roll and stretch out into a log. Transfer to the baking sheet. Repeat with other piece(s). Dust loaves lightly with flour. Dust a piece of plastic wrap with flour and drape it lightly over the baking sheet with the floured side down. Let the loaves rise until doubled, 1 to 1.5 hours.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F or as high as your oven will go. Place an oven-safe baking dish full of water into the bottom of the oven.
Use sharp kitchen shears to cut 4 or 5 angled slashes on the dough, poking down the sharp tips of dough left by the scissors. Spray loaves with water in a spray bottle.
Bake in the middle rack of the oven until baguettes are browned, 15 minutes, spraying loaves with water after 5 minutes and 10 minutes. Turn the pan around after the second spraying.
Transfer the baguettes to a cooling rack. Let cool to room temperature before serving.
RECIPE #2: Pain de Campagne
Pain de Campagne (Country bread) is a white bread made with a mixture of corn flour and rye flour. The thick crust helps the bread keep longer. You can buy them round from a French boulangerie, or bagu
ette shaped.
This recipe makes 2 loaves.
For the Starter:
1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1/2 cup warm water
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
For the Dough:
6 cups unbleached bread flour
2 1/2 cups warm water
1/2 tsp. instant yeast
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. cornmeal for dusting
Whisk the 1/2 tsp. yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Stir in the whole wheat flour until it turns into a thick batter. Beat for around 100 stroke to form long strands of gluten. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let it sit at room temperature for 2 to 8 hours. When it’s ready, it will be bubbly and loose. Scrape it into a bowl and stir in the 2 1/2 cups water and the last 1/2 tsp. of yeast. Stir well. Add bread flour 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition, until the dough becomes too difficult to stir.
Put the dough on a floured surface and knead for 10 to 12 minutes. Add more flour only when the dough gets too sticky to handle. Sprinkle salt over the dough and knead for 5 to 7 minutes more. The dough should have a smooth surface and spring back with touch. Shape the dough round and cover with a damp cloth for 5 to 10 minutes.
Put the dough in an oiled bowl, turning it to coat the surface of the dough with oil. Cover dough with a damp cloth. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, 2 to 3 hours.
Deflate dough and cut into two pieces. Shape into two rounds. Cover them with plastic or a damp cloth. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Shape the dough into rounds or into long baguettes. Place a heavily floured cloth on a baking sheet, arranging a fold down the center to separate the loaves. Place the loaves on the floured cloth. Dust the top of the loaves with flour. Cover with a damp towel. Let rise until doubled again, about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Sprinkle a baking sheet with oatmeal. Gently transfer risen loaves to the baking sheet. Make diagonal slashes in the loaf with a blade.
Place the loaves in the oven. Bake until golden brown, until 25 to 30 minutes. Cool loaves on wire racks.
RECIPE #3: Pain Complet
This recipe for Pain Complet (Whole Wheat French Bread) makes one large, country style round loaf. You can cut the dough to make smaller loaves, or smooth the dough out into elongated shapes to make baguettes.
Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups all purpose white flour
2 cups water, lukewarm
1 egg
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dry active yeast
2 tsp. salt
Sift the two flours into a large bowl. Add salt and sugar. Create a large hole in the middle of the mixture to pour in the yeast. Pour 2 cups of lukewarm water over the yeast. Sprinkle a tsp. of flour on top. Wait around 10 minutes for bubbles to appear in the yeast (if the yeast doesn’t bubble, it’s no longer active or you didn’t use lukewarm water. If that’s the case, you’ll have to start over). Once they do, mix together all the ingredients by hand to form dough. The easiest way is to gradually incorporate the flour at the sides of the bowl, bit by bit. At the end, it should be a round, firm ball of dough. If it’s too sticky, add a bit more flour.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Knead by pushing your palms into and then turning it one quarter. Keep kneading and doing quarter turns for 5 to 10 minutes or until bread is supple and non-sticky.
Place the bread in a lightly floured bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Let rise for 2 hours at room temperature until doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Re-sprinkle work surface with flour. Prepare a baking pan by lightly oiling and flouring it, or line with parchment paper. With hands, remove bread and place on surface. Punch down once, hard, with palm. Re-shape into a ball. Put the ball on the baking pan. Use a sharp knife to cut diagonal lines across the top of the bread.
Whisk egg and brush it on top of the bread. Put in oven and bake for about 30 minutes. Survey baking times for different sizes.
RECIPE #4: Pain de Seigle
Pain de Seigle (Rye Bread) is normally about 70% rye flour mixed with white flour. This rustic French rye bread recipe mixes wheat rye and barley flours flavored with a pain de champagne starter to make a hearty loaf with a chewy crust. It’s artisan bread at its best, and it’s easy.
Ingredients:
For the starter:
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour
1/4 cup barley flour
1/2 tsp. sourdough or pain de champagne starter
1 1/4 cups water
For the dough:
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup rye flour
2 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp. salt
Whole starter
2/3 cup water
Stir all the starter ingredients and store, loosely covered, in a warm place (80 degrees F) for 18 to 24 hours.
Stir remaining dry ingredients into the starter and 2/3 cup water. Knead dough for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1.5 hours.
Line a large baking sheet with non-stick foil and turn the dough out onto it. Shape the dough into a large round or oval. Loosely cover and let rise until it has nearly doubled in size.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray surface of bread with water. Make 3 diagonal slashes on top of bread and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
Cool rye bread on a wire rack.
RECIPE #5: Pâté aux Pommes de Terre
Here is a fairly simple recipe for the Pâté aux Pommes de Terre, which is like a potato pie and can be served either as a main dish or a side dish. It can also be made with leftover bread dough instead of the puff pastry.
Ingredients:
2 puff pastry sheets
3 1/2 pounds potatoes
1/2 ounce crème fraîche
1 large onion
Salt and pepper
Egg yolk
Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut into thin strips. Peel and chop the onion. Mix potatoes, salt and pepper.
Put one of the two puff pastries in the bottom of the pie plate. Fill with potatoes and onion mixture. Add half of the crème fraîche. Cover with the second puff pastry sheet, wielding to the first one. Brush the top with egg yolk. Bake at 400 degrees F for about 1 hour. Serve with rest of the crème fraîche.
About the Author
Harper Lin lives in Toronto, Canada with her husband, daughter and Pomeranian puppy. The Patisserie Mysteries draws from Harper’s own experiences of living in Paris in her twenties. She’s currently working on more Clémence Damour and Emma Wild mysteries.
Follow Harper on Goodreads.com. Email Harper at [email protected]. She would love to hear from you!
If you’ve enjoyed this book, please leave a book review or recommend it to friends to support the author.
All books by Harper Lin:
The Patisserie Mysteries
Macaron Murder: Book 1
Éclair Murder: Book 2
Baguette Murder: Book 3
Crème brûlée Murder: Book 4 (Available May 2014)
The Emma Wild 4-book Holiday Series
Killer Christmas: Book 1
New Year’s Slay: Book 2
Death of a Snowman: Book 3
Valentine’s Victim: Book 4
Save over 35% and buy The Complete 4-Book Holiday Mystery Box Set!