Til' Death Do Us Poisoned (Weddings, Marriage & Murder Culinary Cozy Series Book 1)

by Susan Baker

  “I would like to ask about the male server I saw in the wedding video, did you hire him, I certainly didn’t approve him,” Maria asked Max.

  “What did he look like?” Max asked, “there was a last minute replacement.”

  “He looked young and had dark hair, not too tall, quiet,” Maria said.

  “That would be Carl and he was called at the last minute because one of the gals got sick. He usually works as a busboy, but we were in a bind, this is a small town you know.” Max said. “Do you need his number? He lives in town.”

  “Yes, Appleby and Maria said at the same time.” Max went into his office, flipped through an old Rolodex and retrieved the number. He handed it to Appleby as Maria looked on. Appleby handed the card to Maria. “It is odd though, he called in sick today and he is never sick, the waitresses had to bus their own tables.”

  “I will call him,” Maria assured Appleby and they proceeded with the questions.

  “Did anyone on your staff know the bride or groom, including you?” Maria asked.

  “They came down here from New York City. Alex, err Mr. Steeple told me they chose Hampshire for their wedding because he and Miss Scott used to take weekend getaways here. I had seen them once or twice in the restaurant. He said they both had a fondness for the town. He was very friendly although most of my dealings were with the bride. But no one here really “knew” them if you know what I mean. We were just doing a job,” Max answered. “We don’t get many weddings here so it was a profitable venture for the restaurant. We were glad to have the business.”

  “Thank you,” Appleby said. “Miss Winfred, do you have any more questions?”

  “I would like to know who was in the kitchen, especially around the time the cake was finished and being cut into slices, and I mean everyone.” Maria asked. Max took a few moments to think. “Of course Ian, Mr. Lake was here the whole time baking and decorating the cake. In fact he was here early, before we even starting preparing the dinner. When I came in, Mr. Lake had two tiers of the cake built and was working on the third tier. He had prepared a small sheet cake for all the kitchen staff, which I thought was real nice. We all sat around and had a piece of cake before we started the duck. I really liked Mr. Lake, and his cake turned out beautifully and was delicious.”

  “So there were seven kitchen staff workers besides you, and they all preparing dinner?” Appleby asked.

  “Yes, there were staff members working on the Caesar salad, the rest of us were preparing the duck, the potatoes, and the asparagus, we were a well oiled machine, but I was in charge,” Max answered.

  “Who else was in kitchen during that time? Anyone coming and going?” Maria asked. “By that I mean any members of the wedding party or any guests?”

  “Not that I remember, but I was busy. Like I said, for most of the time there was just Mr. Lake working on the cake. He had an entire huge table and five ovens at his disposal and he was busy with his work,” Max answered. “At four, the servers arrived and after they dressed, I took stock. Miranda called in sick and the last minute and I called Carl and asked if he could come and help. He didn’t arrive until the reception started. But I will attest to his excellent personality and honesty, he is a good kid.”

  “Thank you,” Appleby said and shook Max’s hand. “Here is my card, if you remember anything, I will be available to talk whenever you call or if your staff remembers anything. Let’s go talk to Ian Lake,” Appleby said. Does he prepare all the wedding cakes for Atlantic Resorts?”

  “Yes he does, he was a pastry chef at La Brione in New York City before we hired him, he is a master with cakes and deserts and we use him for all our functions. I believe he is probably in his room, would you like to go there now?” Maria asked. Appleby nodded and they took the elevator to Ian’s room. Maria hoped they would not find Ellen there and Appleby knocked on the door. Ian was there and let both of them in. They all sat down and Ian seemed ready to talk.

  “Mr. Lake, you prepared the cake, is that right? Appleby asked.

  “I did, I had a couple of helpers among the kitchen staff, but it was my recipe,” Ian answered.

  “And what was in the cake?” Appleby asked.

  “Flour, oil, butter, eggs, water, vanilla, cocoa, red food coloring, nothing out of the ordinary,” Ian answered.

  “The slice the groom ate was laced with cyanide, do you have any idea how that got in there? Who handled the cake besides you?” Appleby asked.

  “The kitchen staff, the servers, Ellen…”, Ian answered.

  “Who is Ellen?” Appleby asked.

  “Ellen is one of the members of our team, the team for Atlantic Resorts, she helped serve the cake,” Ian answered, “along with members of the service staff, I would say there were about ten servers in all.”

  “Who else was in the kitchen area during the baking, the decorating, and the serving of the cake?” Appleby asked.

  “There was no one in the kitchen that I can remember besides the kitchen staff, Ellen and I cut the cake, and both of us placed the slices on the plates. A kid, a server named Carl helped us out. Melinda checked on the cake after the wedding when they came in for the reception. In fact, she still had her wedding dress on. I’m afraid I don’t remember anyone else but I wasn’t there every second. I was helping the wait staff as they cleared the tables and conferring with Ellen on the timing. I was very busy,” Ian said, trying to be helpful. “I have no idea how one piece of red velvet cake could have been poisoned. I took great care with the cake.”

  “And you did not know the bride or groom personally?”

  “I met the bride for the first time three days before the wedding, she had told me two weeks before that she wanted a red velvet cake and we exchanged recipes over email and by phone. When our team arrived three days before the reception, we met and decided on a final recipe and design. She was very involved and I had several suggestions for her. She was very easy to work with and took my suggestions readily,” Ian said.

  “Did you help serve the cake?” Appleby asked.

  “No that would be Ellen and Lindsay on our staff, Lindsay helped organize the dinner and Ellen helped serve the cake, we worked with the kitchen staff as we always do,” Ian answered. “And like I said, the kid, Carl helped us. He was easy to work with and took orders well.”

  “And you have no idea how poison could have been placed into just one piece of cake?” Appleby asked.

  “No sir, I have no idea and the thought horrifies me. I spent a lot of time on the cake, it turned out perfectly, Ian said and stopped when he realized what he had said.

  Appleby was not one to waste time and stood up to leave. “If you remember anything, Mr. Lake, here is my card.” Maria had been sitting on eggshells and trying not to meet Ian’s eyes as he talked. She felt such a strong attraction to him, and felt almost uncomfortable being so close to him. She tried to let Appleby do all the talking. When they finally left, she and Ian shared a meaningful look before Ian saw them out. Appleby was silent until they reached the lobby.

  “Someone had a few minutes from the time the cake was cut and placed on the plates, and before the slices were placed in front of the guests. We need to figure out who that was. I will let you call the busboy/server and see what he has to say, ok?” Maria promised to call the server in question and Appleby left the hotel. Maria went back to her room and took a look at her suspects, and realized she had not talked to Amy Scott or Rebecca Carl. She had some sleuthing to do.

  Chapter 6

  Maria decided to see Amy Scott and then visit Lindsay for a break to discuss what she had. She had not called Amy but she was lucky and Amy was in her room. Maria introduced herself as director of events at the Atlantic Resorts and asked Amy if she could ask her a few questions. Amy looked at her suspiciously, agreed and led her to the two chairs by the window. Her room did not overlook the pool but still had a nice view of the grounds. Maria wasted no time, as Amy looked a bit hostile.

  “So did you know the groom, Alex
Steeple? Maria asked slyly.

  “Of course, he was marrying my sister, what a ridiculous question,” Amy answered.

  “Did you ever date him?” Maria asked, already knowing the answer.

  “You have obviously talked to my father or Melinda told you. I was only eighteen, a freshman at Wellesley, when I dated him. He was a junior, the same age as Melinda. But he liked me first before he ever laid eyes on Melinda. And I really loved him, Melinda never did,” Amy said, getting angry. “What did Melinda tell you?”

  “Melinda didn’t talk about you much at all, but she did tell me the two of you had dated. Your father told me more of the details,” Maria said. “How long were the two of you together?”

  “A year or more, then he left me to date my sister, what kind of guy does that?” Amy asked, tearing up.

  “It is my guess you are not the first,” Maria said, gently. “I noticed that during the wedding you looked very upset.”

  “Melinda is having an affair with Thomas, did she tell you that, plus she was seeing him before the wedding,” Amy retorted, angry and sad at the same time.

  “Did you have anything to do with the fatal piece of wedding cake he ate?” Maria asked.

  “If I were going to kill Alex, I could be more original than wedding cake,” Amy answered, sarcastically.

  “I’m afraid you didn’t answer the question,” Maria noted.

  “No, I didn’t kill him, but I am glad he is dead,” Amy said.

  “Why would you say a thing like that, surely you don’t mean that?” Maria asked.

  “He was a playboy, he didn’t care who he hurt. Maybe he never loved me, but he said he did. I don’t know, maybe I never did know how he felt about me. But I know my sister was having an affair. Maybe you should be talking to her!” Amy said with anger in her voice. She obviously, like her father had said, had never gotten over Alex. Maria wondered if she knew about Alex and Rebecca Carl and that she was at the wedding. Maria decided not to torture her. It sounded like Alex did have his share of girlfriends. He saw Melinda twice, once after her sister Amy, and once after Rebecca Carl. He was dead so who knew who he really loved?

  Maria was feeling positively creeped out and knew she had to see Lindsay. She had once thing left to ask Amy.

  “I need to see a copy of your handwriting Amy, could you give me a sample, just a line of whatever you want will work,” Maria asked.

  “What do you need that for?” Amy asked, not moving a muscle to get a piece of hotel stationary to produce a sample like her father had.

  “I am following an important lead, listen you don’t have to, but it would mean a lot to me and would probably prove your innocence,” Maria said. Reluctantly, after a couple of minutes, Amy stood up, retrieved a piece of hotel stationary on the desk, and asked Maria what she should write about.”

  “How about a list of the things you liked about Alex? I know it had been a while since you had been together, but it might help you remember some of the good times,” Maria said, hoping she was not playing with fire. But the assignment seemed to agree with Amy and she wrote out a list that was at least three or four sentences. Amy looked a bit sad while she was writing it and Maria noted how fast her mood had changed. Just a couple minutes ago, she was telling Maria she was glad Alex was dead. After she finished the list, she handed the paper to Maria. Maria thanked her and saw herself out. When she left, she headed to Lindsay’s room to look at the list and regroup with her friend. It would be nice to talk to a calm, normal acting person for a change.

  Chapter 7

  Lindsay was in her room watching a boring reality TV show and was grateful when Maria knocked on her door and came in. They decided to have a glass of wine in the restaurant bar that was overlooking the swimming pool and the nice lake past the pool that fed into the Atlantic Ocean. Maria had already called Rebecca Carl before she left and arranged to see her in the evening after dinner. First things first, however, was some friend time. Maria loved talking through the mysteries she was working on and just basic life events with her best friend and she was so glad she and Lindsay worked together. They retreated to the bar and sat outside, above the pool and overlooking the lake. Their waiter brought them two glasses of red wine.

  “So how is the case going, what have you found out?” Lindsay asked.

  “So far I have found out that Alex had a very busy love life. He dated Melinda at two separate times before they got married. And the first woman he dated in the Scott family was Melinda’s younger sister, the maid of honor, Amy,” Maria said, much to Lindsay’s surprise. “Alex dated Melinda’s sister? What was her name? I forgot,” Lindsay asked.

  “Her name is Amy, and I got her and Edward Scott to give me a handwriting sample,” Maria said. “Plus Chief Appleby and I talked to Melinda again and Ian as well.”

  “Good, what did all of them have to say?” Lindsay asked.

  “Well first there was Edward Scott, an angry dad, who thought Alex was wrong for both of his daughters, plus he said that Amy never got over Alex and just moped around the house after getting her degree in economics at Wellesley,” Maria answered, deciding to take one of them at a time.

  “When did Amy date Alex?” Lindsay asked.

  “When she was just eighteen, before he left her to date Melinda,” Maria answered, “and she said she was glad he was dead.”

  “Ouch,” Lindsay said, “she must be really bitter.”

  “She is, bitter, sad and angry. She told me Melinda and Thomas Ward were having an affair, both before and after the wedding and I think she is telling the truth, plus there is one more woman Alex dated, both after Melinda the first time they dated, and before they got back together the second time,” Maria said.

  “A man after my own heart, maybe he was like Melinda, not the faithful type?” Lindsay said. “Who was this third woman?”

  “Her name is Rebecca Carl and she is next on my list plus a server named Carl and I need to ask you about him,” Maria said.

  “Which Carl, who Carl, I am getting confused. Who is Rebecca Carl?” Lindsay asked.

  “Rebecca Carl is the woman Alex dated for a year after he and Melinda broke up the first time because she was getting pressure from her father who hated him. I saw her on the wedding tape and she was wearing a blue dress,” Maria said. “But I need to watch the video again and see is she was happy for the new couple or looked like she was holding a grudge.”

  “Wow, you have been busy, what did Melinda say about this Carl woman?” Lindsay asked.

  “She says she was hostile, but not threatening. She said Alex was the type who always had to have a girlfriend and the type who couldn’t be alone. And that may be true and Rebecca Carl could be just an in between girlfriend. Or she could be in a jealous rage about her ex, who knows. I do think Amy might be right after I saw Thomas and Melinda together, that Melinda was having her own affair, and plot the grows even thicker,” Maria answered.

  ‘And who is the other “Carl,” a waiter who might be suspicious? Lindsay asked.

  “Yes, I noticed him in the wedding video, he was a young man of eighteen to twenty-two, about 5’6” with dark hair. He was a server who filled in at the last minute for a server who became ill. His name was Carl, do you remember him?”

  “Wait a second, I do remember him. He was just a kid and he and Ellen were getting real chummy because she could boss him around. He was very quiet and kind of mysterious, now that you mention it. Have you contacted him?

  I will this evening, along with seeing Rebecca Carl,” Maria said.

  “If anyone can solve this crime, I know you can,” Lindsay said and sipped her wine. The lake and pool below the terrace was glittering from the afternoon sun, in different shades of blue, but the terrace they were sitting at was covered with shaded canopies so they were comfortable.

  “I need to ask you a question, Linds, why was Ellen in your room yesterday?” Maria asked.

  “She was there to rag on you. She said if she were in charge, none o
f this murder business would have happened. She was trying to get me to put in a good word for her with Howard Blume while you were vulnerable. I refused and we started to argue. It was not pretty,” Lindsay answered. “She must have known I would refuse her.

  “Wow, I wonder why she dislikes me so much? I knew she thought she should have been promoted over me to be director of Atlantic Resorts, but I thought after I was promoted, she would get over it and just do her job, Maria said. “Could it just be simple jealousy?”

  “Of course that it what it is, she is a jealous and vindictive person. You must know that by now. You are too good natured for your own good,” Lindsay said.

  “Maybe you are right, but it is too late to change that now. The cake was poisoned, did I tell you that, not the entire cake, just the piece that Alex ate, so it was premeditated murder, and the poison was cyanide,” Maria said, sipping her wine, pensive for a moment.

  “Cyanide, which can kill a person in a matter of seconds right? Did they find any fingerprints on the plates or the glasses? Lindsay asked.

  “Not yet, Chief Appleby said the forensic team was slow and this is a small town, I know that makes a difference,” Maria answered.

  “How much longer do you think we will be on house arrest, I am getting tired of Hampshire and tired of my hotel room,” Lindsay noted.

  “Well it has been three days, and like I said, I have nothing unless Chief Appleby is hiding something from me, and I don’t think he is. I guess we need to get busier and solve this mystery. I need to find a piece of solid evidence to hang onto and I feel like I have just barely got my feet wet.

  Chapter 8

  Just then Maria and Lindsay noticed a couple arguing by the pool. It looked like Thomas and Melinda but Maria couldn’t be sure because they were far away and the woman was wearing a summer hat. Their voices were loud, and then they calmed down. It was Thomas and Melinda; Maria recognized Melinda’s long blonde hair flowing in the wind and Thomas’s well-built figure. The argument did not last long and soon the couple left the pool hand in hand. Maria had to find out where they were going. She noted that both Thomas and Melinda were dressed up and looked like they were meeting for a secret rendezvous.