Shoes and Baby: Women Sleuth

by S. Y. Robins

  I caught the look in his eyes as he shook his head. He was so mad, so upset he practically had tears in his eyes. "You did Hannah, and you're going to pay for it."

  "Oh my God, you really loved her, didn't you?" No wonder he'd had such a grudge against me - he thought I'd killed the love of his life with my reckless disregard for following recipes properly.

  I softened my tone towards him somewhat. "Mick I promise I didn't kill Lucy. And now I know that you didn't either."

  He still had hold of my arm but he loosened his grip slightly. "What?"

  "Emma did it Mick!"

  "What are you talking about?"

  "The Willbond wedding that we were supposed to be catering - she used to be engaged to the groom. She must have thought the trial dish I made was the one that was going to get served at the wedding. I told her it was being served to the bride and groom - she didn't know it was the trial version I was making, just for Lucy."

  His grip loosened entirely and his arm dropped away from mine. "Emma?"

  I nodded. "And she's in there right now, waiting on his table - on her ex-fiancé’s table. She's going to try it again."

  He nodded at me and we both ran round to the front entrance. I pushed the door open, as the hostess tried to stop me from entering. "Hey, we're booked out, she cried," till she saw who I was and saw Mick behind me.

  "Where is the Willbond party?" I asked breathlessly.

  She scanned through her bookings. "Table 8," she said, pointing over to the corner of the dimly lit restaurant.

  I squinted. It looked like the coffee was being served, which meant one thing; the dessert was about to come out. As I started to walk over I glanced at the doorway to the kitchen and saw Emma walking out, with a tray held high, pilled with plates of Tiramisu.

  "Nooooooooo!" I cried out, running over to her. I threw myself at her, causing the entire tray of desserts to fly up into the air. People cried out and we ducked as the glass plates came smashing down over all the nearby tables.

  "Do not eat that dessert!" I called out. "I repeat, do not eat that dessert!" Around me, dismayed customers looked over their tables as their meals and drinks were splayed with tainted Tiramisu. "Wipe that Tiramisu off you at once! It's poisoned! She was trying to kill her ex-fiancé!"

  "Well I'm not paying for any of this!" One woman screamed out, standing up and knocking her chair over. Another table followed suit and stormed out, and anyone who dared to remain looked on in horror.

  Meanwhile, Emma stood there fuming, as her ex-fiancé, Adam, stood up and came over. "Emma?" He asked. "What the hell...?"

  She stood there with her hands on her hips, shaking her head, Tiramisu dripping down over her face, as sirens sounded and the police pulled up out the front.

  Ben surveyed the front-of-house, every table strewn with cake and tipped over mains, drinks toppled over, soaking the table cloths, and dripping onto the floor.

  "Looks about right for something you were involved with."

  "Hey!" I said, crying out in mock offence. "I've made way worse messes than this in the past."

  He shook his head. "This is a disaster zone, Han. Plus, we lost hundreds of dollars with customers walking out and refusing to pay."

  "I honestly think they should have paid extra. They just got to see me reprimand a criminal! I stopped another murder from taking place."

  "Yeah, well, let's just see what the reviews on Trip Advisor say," he replied, smiling, picking up a wine glass that was laying on the floor.

  Mick walked in from the kitchen and sighed. "This is a disaster."

  "I'm sorry," I said. "Maybe I could have stopped her a little more... gently, I guess."

  He shook his head. "It's okay, Hannah, you did what you had to do."

  "Really?" I looked around surprised, catching Ben's eyes. He just shrugged at me.

  Mick sat down on an empty chair and nodded. "At least you stopped her doing it again. Even if you couldn't stop her doing it to Lucy... "

  I sat down on the chair across from me. "You know Mick, I might not have been directly responsible, but still... that dessert was my responsibility. Maybe I should have watched it closer, or tried it first or..." I trailed off, feeling distressed.

  He smiled at me, weakly - the first smile he'd ever thrown my way, in the six months that I'd known him. "Honestly Hannah, it wasn't your fault."

  "You were right though - I can be careless in the restaurant."

  "Hannah, I've only ever been harsh on you because I know you can do better."

  "And I've only ever stuffed up because I was nervous... you know, because you can be so intimidating," I pointed out.

  He sighed again. "I guess you have a point. Well, I guess it will be different in the future."

  I looked up hopefully. "It will be? So do you mean I can come back here to work?" Behind us I could see Ben grinning.

  Mick nodded. "Well you technically didn't deserve to get fired in the first place. Sorry I thought you killed Lucy."

  "Sorry I thought you did as well. Though I did have some fairly good reasons."

  He pulled a face. "Sorry, I pushed it too far. Sorry, boss," I responded.

  6

  "Hannah, is it ready?" The new head waitress, Sandra, asked frantically. "This is a wedding you know! They're waiting!"

  I made a face at her. "It's coming, it's coming, alright. Just give me another five." She threw her hands up and stormed out, back into the function room.

  "Here," I said to Ben. "Try it for me, before I send it out."

  I dug my spoon into the Tiramisu and brought it up to his mouth. He hesitated for a moment. "Come on Ben, it's not poisonous."

  "That's what you said last time."

  I put my other hand on my hip. "Come on. Do you know how lucky we were to get the Willbond Wedding reception again?"

  "Not that lucky - they probably couldn't find anywhere else at this much short notice."

  "Don't be smart. This is a big deal for me. Mick is trusting me to cater the entire dessert, and I want to make sure it's absolutely perfect before I send it out. Besides, if you don't like my cooking then you and I aren't going to last very long, are we?" I raised an eyebrow at him. "Open wide."

  He took a deep breath and pretended to say a prayer.

  "Haha, very funny," I remarked, as I spooned the cake into his mouth. "Now, tell me what you think?"

  He chewed for a moment, carefully considering the taste, before an awful contorted look took over his face. He began to cough and looked around desperately for a bin to spit it out in.

  "What!?" I cried out in dismay. "What is wrong with it? Oh God, isn't it good?"

  "What did you put in that?" He asked still coughing and trying to get the last bit out of his mouth.

  "Just - just the usual..." I looked around, making sure Mick wasn't watching. "Oh my God, please don't tell Mick about this... "

  Ben kept coughing. "Are you sure you put COFFEE in that? It tasted like... like soy sauce!"

  I brought my hands up to my mouth. "Oh my God! I've ruined the entire dessert. I looked over at the trays and trays of Tiramisu lined up - there must have been at least ten dozen desserts, all headed for the garbage. I thought about my grandma, how disappointed she would be if she found out. Found out that I'd done it again. Pulled out another Hannah-style disaster. I couldn't believe that I'd done it again.

  "Ben what am I going to do? What am I going to serve them? Oh my God I can't breathe - I think I'm going to pass out." I started spinning around, trying to find something to grip onto.

  "Hannah!" He called out, laughing. He burst into the biggest stream of laughter I had ever heard. "I'm joking! I'm sorry! Calm down! I'm joking, it was just a joke."

  I began to swat at him with a tea towel. "You're JOKING? So it’s okay, the Tiramisu tastes okay then?"

  Still laughing, he managed to nod. "It's better than okay, Hannah, it's amazing. It's the best Tiramisu I've ever tasted." Mick came in round the corner, also in hysterics. Obviously he'd
been in on it as well.

  I kept hitting Ben with the tea towel. "I'm going to kill you. That was so not funny."

  He ducked, as Sandra came in and tried to take the dessert out to the hungry guests. "Can you two calm down with your flirting?" She looked over at Mick for support, but he just shrugged and waved his hand.

  "Leave them alone, they're in love."

  I turned to him and smiled, but as soon as she left, he shook his head and snapped at me, "Get back to work Hannah."

  It was good to be back.

  The End

  VI

  Killer Chocolate

  Cozy Mystery

  About the Book

  Hannah has always been accident prone when it comes to the kitchen, but she is still a good chef and after she gets a job as dessert chef on a cruise ship, she feels that it is a perfect opportunity for a career boost. She has just perfected her chocolate cake, and she is excited to see what everyone thinks.

  Initially she loves the ship and everything on it, seeing it as a new adventure. She has some minor incidents, but when a guest she had served chocolate cake to the night before dies, police comes onboard to investigate. Two more deaths later and Hannah is a suspect because the deaths have been linked back to her chocolate cake. Determined to find out what is truly going on, and who is truly responsible, she decides to solve the case herself.

  1

  Hannah was exhausted from working for others in restaurants and often being the first to arrive and the last to leave. Her customers loved the desserts she prepared but her supervisors always found things wrong with what she was doing. It was why she had applied for the position on a new cruise ship when she had seen the posting, and why she was keeping her fingers crossed that she would get it. The thought of making her desserts independently from the restaurant kitchen, even though it would still be served in a specific restaurant onboard, while having enough time to enjoy everything the ship had to offer and the locations it docked at, had her beyond excited even before she heard if she even got the job.

  The call had come while she was at work, which wasn’t surprising, and when she got home she quickly played the message. It asked her to call them back, without telling her anything else, but considering it was late at night she knew she had to wait until the following morning. That normally wouldn’t be an issue as she was used to missing almost all phone calls, but in this case she just wanted to know already. Morning couldn’t come fast enough, and when it finally did, she dialed the number she had been given with bated breath. This was it. Either she was going to the Caribbean or she was staying where she was.

  Thirty minutes later she was sitting on her couch, gob smacked at the news she had received while trying to decide what to do. Not only had she been offered a job, she would be the main dessert chef at the main restaurant on board. It meant practically every passenger would taste her desserts at one point or another as that restaurant was included in the rooms while the others weren’t. It also meant she was expected on board in three days, when the first cruise to the Caribbean would depart a day later. She knew quitting without notice would infuriate her supervisors, but with a small smirk she did exactly that. Through text message.

  She had been told she would get a list of things she would need and where to go to get her uniform, and when she saw the email pop into her inbox she quickly printed the list and started packing. She would be given a private room in the staff quarters but they had warned her the rooms were small and to limit what she brought. She would have a bed, a small wardrobe and two shelves and that was it. Housekeeping, deck hands and kitchen help slept two to a room but as chef she got her own room and for that she was forever grateful.

  The three days passed quickly and before Hannah knew it she was standing in front of the ship, smiling widely at the adventure she was about to embark on.

  “Standing there isn’t going to change how it looks,” a voice said beside her.

  Hannah looked to the side to see a man in jeans and a t-shirt looking at the ship as well. “True, but I’ve never seen one up close. It’s huge.”

  “That it is. It’s one of the largest ones in the fleet. What job?”

  “Dessert chef. I’m pretty excited.”

  “Everyone loves desserts so you’ll probably be pretty popular with the guests. I’m Nick, the Chief Officer. Basically I’m in charge of the deck crew and general operations on deck. I’m second in command on the ship, just below the Captain. Would you like me to show you where to go?”

  “Yes please. I’m fairly clueless and they didn’t really tell me.”

  “They usually forget. Most people who apply for a job on a cruise ship have at least been close to one before. What made you apply?”

  “Hated my job and wanted a change. How about yourself?”

  “Good reason. I’ve always wanted to work on a boat and I worked my way up to where I am now. I used to work as a deckhand in college.”

  They had reached the walkway now and as Hannah stepped onto it, her suitcase got stuck and she stumbled as she pulled it free. The only thing that kept her from falling off the side was Nick, who easily grabbed her arm with a chuckle. “Careful there, we don’t want you going overboard before we’ve even set sail.”

  Hannah just smiled at him, glad when she was safely on board so she really couldn’t cause more accidents, and followed him down to what she assumed were staff quarters. There was a stern looking woman standing at the entrance to a long hallway, glaring at Nick when he approached. “Nick, I see you’re back. Same room as always. And you are?”

  “Hannah ma’am. I’m the dessert chef.”

  “Ahh yes, I have you in the room next to Nick’s. Last ship I worked on had awful desserts, hopefully yours are better.”

  “Hopefully you’ll like what I make. Thank you.”

  “Room 210. Avoid the girl in room 240, she wanted your job. Ahh deck hand I presume?” she continued as a younger man walked into the hallway. Hannah accepted the advice and looked for her room, finding it fairly easily and not far down the hallway. Watching the man behind her walk clear to the other end she had a feeling the lower ranked staff was expected to walk further to get to their rooms.

  “Staff common area is three doors down. It’s comfortable and has a kitchen. There is a schedule posted above your bed, it’s when meals are served in our common area and when staff meetings are. Since you work in the kitchen, you’ll likely just eat there when you’re there. She was right, avoid Alaina, she’s in 240. She has a jealous streak, and ever since I worked with her on the last ship she has been bragging about how she would get the main dessert job when this one finished. Clearly she didn’t. I would get unpacked and then go to the common area, there are probably refreshments in there and you can meet everyone before the first meeting.”

  “Thank you Nick,” Hannah said as she turned around and quickly hoisted her suitcase onto her bed. Unpacking was easy, as she really hadn’t brought all that much beyond what she truly needed, and soon she found herself walking into the common area. Nick was already there, and so were a handful of other people who quickly introduced themselves. She met Alaina, who looked like she had just swallowed dirt when she had shaken Hannah’s hand, and she met a few of the kitchen help. They would be helping her as well and they all seemed nice enough so Hannah was looking forward to getting started. She knew the next day she would be doing a lot of preparation, getting familiar with the kitchen, and starting on some of the desserts. Her restaurant was buffet style to the extent that passengers could get as many desserts as they wanted, but they would be served by a staff member to avoid passengers making a mess out of them. It also allowed desserts to be kept at the right temperature, which Hannah liked as it meant she could serve some chilled if she chose.

  She had been doing a lot of experimenting over the past few months and had really perfected her triple chocolate cake, which was served best just slightly warmed. She was excited to see what the passengers would think of it, and hoped
it wasn’t a complete disaster. They had asked her for a list of ingredients she’d need for each day, and she had spent almost an entire day doing the math for all of it before supplying them with it. She hoped everything would be there, but if not she was certain they had gotten the basics and she would be able to improvise.

  The meeting that evening was basically to hand out a rules sheet and to make sure everyone knew where and to whom to report in the morning. The head chef at Hannah’s restaurant would show her the kitchen she would be using, which had mostly prep stations, baking equipment and ovens instead of stoves and was attached to the main kitchen. She was given a sheet of times that the restaurant would be open, but besides that she could make her own schedule as she knew when she would have to make what to have it ready. While the number of desserts was told to her, she would be responsible for checking to see what was left at the end of each meal so she would know what to make more of and what to make less of. It sounded easy enough to Hannah, and she was excited to get started. After all, the kitchen was where she belonged and not much could go wrong, right?

  2

  By the end of her first day she is covered in flour, sugar and who knows what else but all her baking is done. The girl assigned to her kitchen was nice but clearly new, and Hannah had spent half the day showing her how to do things. It didn’t help that anytime Nick came into the kitchen she would trip, stumble, drop something or run into something and she was fairly certain he thought she was the most accident prone person alive. The other girl, Jessie, giggled each time she did but Hannah had no idea if she was giggling because of her accidents or because of Nick. She was fairly certain it was because of Nick, and she had wondered why Nick was in her kitchen so often when he probably had a lot of people to supervise, but as he was pleasant conversation she didn’t complain much.