by Lynn Cahoon
One man and two women stood in a circle chatting. That was a good sign, she thought. She glanced at the lone wolf back behind the warming counter, checking out the equipment. She’d lay bets that the one guy not making friends was her assistant, Estebe. She put on a smile and went up to the circle.
The chatter subsided as they saw her approach. Angie pushed her hair behind her ears, wondering what had them staring so hard at her. “Hey guys, welcome to The County Seat. I’m Angie Turner and I’m the head chef. You already met my partner, Felicia. If I’m not here to ask, she’s in charge.”
“Except in the kitchen.” The tall, dark and scowly man came around the cook area and stood. “I’m the assistant chef in the kitchen. You can call me Estebe.”
Angie took a deep breath, deciding not to challenge the guy’s first power play. This was going to be a challenging problem. She could feel it. “Well, yes, if it’s a food issue, and I’m not here, ask Estebe. But don’t feel like Felicia isn’t a good reference too. She’s an excellent pastry chef and has the same training that I do.” She let the implication hang in the air. “Now that you’ve started introductions, let’s continue. Tell me where you worked before and for fun, what’s your favorite food. Estebe, why don’t you start?”
He narrowed his eyes but leaned on the counter and after a big sigh, complied. “I’m Estebe Blackstone. Before you ask, it’s a Basque version of your ‘Stephen.’ I graduated from the local college ten years ago and have been working in my parent’s restaurant ever since. They are thinking of retiring and closing in the next few years, so I came here.”
Apparently he was done talking but Angie wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easy. “And your favorite food? Some kind of Basque secret family recipe?”
He smiled at her. A real smile that made her heart stop. The guy was too good looking. Movie star good looking. “My guilty pleasure is the deep-fried chicken burritos at Taco Time.”
Chuckles came from the rest of the room and right then, the tension that had been surrounding the group disappeared. The young blonde rubbed her stomach. “Those things are the bomb. Especially after clubbing or a long shift. I’ll go next.” She smiled shyly at the group. “I’m Hope. Yes, that’s my real name, so no wise cracks. My mom named all of the girls from Bible verses. Anyway, I’m still in school. I have one more year, but I’m your dishwasher until I master the art of the soufflé. My favorite food is my mom’s homemade vanilla ice cream. She has one of those crank-by-hand makers that we pull out every 4th of July. It’s to die for.”
Nancy and Matt rounded out the team and they both agreed that the burgers from this one lunch place in Boise were the best food they’d ever had. Of course, the place was only open for a few hours and when they were done serving, people were turned away. Angie had to wonder if the exclusivity of the place had something to do with the rave reviews they’d given the burgers.
“Great. Now that you know each other, let me go through the dishes we’ll be serving today for family meal and for opening night. We’ll add on to the menu the next week and keep that menu, hopefully, for a month. But there may be alterations if something goes out of season or we find something particularly nice we want to highlight. So that should keep you on your toes.”
“Better than cooking at the breakfast place where I came from. Corporate food wants the same plate every time, like we were robots or something.” Matt grumbled. “I like cooking new things, trying new recipes.”
“That doesn’t mean we won’t have quality standards. I don’t want someone complaining their meal was great one night and so-so the next time they ordered. We’re a small business. Quality food is part of the experience.” When Angie looked at the group, they were all solemn and nodding. “Let’s get cooking. Our salad course is going to feature the Bing cherries from a local Emmett farm and Moss Farm goat cheese.”
“That’s so sad about what happened to Old Man Moss. We took my sister’s FFA class out there last year and toured the place.” Nancy smiled at the memory. “The goats were so sweet.”
“I’m going over to talk to the cheese commission about alternate local sources for goat cheese, just in case the farm doesn’t survive after this all shakes out.” Angie wrote the first recipe on the white board she’d set up on the far wall for kitchen staff meetings. “We may only be using this product for a little while.”
“The cheese commission doesn’t care about goat dairies.” Estebe interrupted. “All they want to push is their all-American cow milk. I’m surprised they let him survive this long.”
“They’re not that bad.” Nancy shrugged. “It just takes time for people to accept something new.”
“I was there when that woman came by to bully him into closing down. My uncle was picking up some of the goats for his herd and she was screaming all kinds of threats at him. Her and one of her dairy goons.” He glanced at Angie. “I’m sorry, I don’t typically indulge in gossip, but Gerald Moss was a kind man. He didn’t deserve to die this way.”
Matt slipped his phone back into his pocket. Angie had noticed he’d been playing on the thing since the discussion started. “What do you mean? I thought it was an accident.”
Estebe had all their attention now. “Gerald Moss was murdered.”
CHAPTER 16
Angie tried to calm the murmurs from the group. She had wondered how long the sheriff’s suspicions would stay a secret, but she should have known. Nothing was ever a secret in a small town. “Look, what happened to Mr. Moss is upsetting, but one way to honor him is to use the product he gave us in a way that highlights the ingredients. And we have five people in the other room that are expecting a family meal at the end of the day.”
“We should cook.” Estebe pointed to the board. “Explain your preparation steps.”
Yep, the guy had control issues but this wasn’t the time or the place to show him or the others who was boss. And it wasn’t the first time she’d had to work with an egomaniacal chef. For some reason, the type seemed to gravitate toward the career choice.
Angie went through the menu, then set up stations for teams of two. “I want you all to make the same dish, and then we’ll compare. Get a feel for the kitchen. Hopefully, you’ll be spending a lot of time in here.”
Hope raised her hand. “Should I go help set up the dining room?”
All eyes turned toward Hope. Angie felt her brows narrow. “Why? Don’t you want to cook?”
Awareness came over her face. “But I’m just the dishwasher.”
“You’re a part of this kitchen team.” Angie glanced at the other three who were nodding. “When we open you’ll probably have a different role, but today, we don’t need a dishwasher, we need a chef.”
“Besides, what happens if we get busy and we need your hands to finish out a meal?” Estebe stepped closer. “You need to know how to prepare a dish just like the rest of us. Do you want to work with me today?”
Hope shot a glance at Angie. “If that’s all right?”
“Sounds good to me.” Angie turned to Matt and Nancy. “You guys are the other team. Let’s cook.”
“I was hoping for a girls-against-guys pairing.” Nancy held up her hand for a high five from Hope. “But I’ll sacrifice one for the team.”
Matt rolled his shoulders. “Woman, once you work with me, you’ll never want to partner with anyone again.”
Angie watched as her team came together. Two hours and they were already starting to bond. This was what she’d hoped. Felicia had some mad hiring skills. She prayed the front of the house was working out as well as her kitchen had. At least for the day. She watched as Estebe talked Hope through a tricky knife cut. The guy could be a problem, especially if they butted heads over an issue. But Angie didn’t have an ego to appease. She only wanted what was best for The County Seat. And today, it looked like that was happening.
By the end of shift, they had gone t
hrough the recipes twice and Angie felt comfortable that the food would not only pass muster opening night, but it would be as amazing as she’d planned. They’d made up all the dishes family style for the final round and she was ready to serve.
Felicia popped her head in the kitchen and took a deep breath. “It smells amazing, guys. We’re ready when you are.”
They carried the food out to a table that had already been sat for the staff. Felicia made her introductions and then Angie introduced the kitchen team. She sat at the head of the table. “Hope, do you want to explain the first course?”
The woman turned beet red, but with an encouraging nod from each member of her team, she stood and walked the rest of the group through the preparation and ingredients. Angie noticed all of Felicia’s crew had mini notebooks and were scribbling as Hope talked. Yep, this was going to be a great team.
Felicia leaned toward her and whispered. “That was nice, including her with the team.”
Angie dished up salad and then passed the bowl to her friend. “That’s the point, I don’t have to include her, she is part of the team.”
As the dinner progressed, each of the kitchen staff took a turn explaining a dish. She called on Estebe last, for the dessert round. She swore one of the waitstaff sighed when Estebe started talking about melted chocolate that went over the creamy cheesecake. No matter how big his ego was in the kitchen, his presence and looks were always going to give him the advantage with at least the opposite sex.
As they finished up the meal, Hope raised her hand. “So we’re opening not this Friday but next? What time do you need us here?”
“I’d like to have the kitchen team,” Angie paused and smiled at the girl, “Including you, Hope, here by noon. We’ll have lots of prep to set up for the first day. Then we’ll be open for dinner only on Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, we’ll open at two to grab some of the late lunchers. On those days, we’ll keep the noon start time to begin with. I want you guys to get as many hours as possible until we go to our full opening schedule. Your weekends or days off will be Mondays and Tuesdays starting next month. Plan your outside-of-work appointments for those days.”
Hope nodded. “I’ll let the school know. They said they’d work around my schedule. Right now, we’re off for the summer, but I’ll be slammed in the fall to fit in the last few classes.”
“You can do it. You were meant to be working in the kitchen.” Estebe turned his smile on his cooking partner and Hope’s face turned beet red.
“Are there other questions about the schedule?” Angie looked at Felicia when no one spoke. “What about you, have anything you want to say to our new team?”
“Thank you all for today and for the hours we’ll be putting in starting next Friday. We can’t make The County Seat into the restaurant we imagined without your hard work.” Felicia stood and held out her water glass. “To the opening staff of The County Seat. May you find you love working here with us as much as we love having you here.”
The group stood and held out their own glasses.
After the table had been cleared and the kitchen cleaned, the staff left. Angie and Felica sat at the table in the kitchen and updated each other on the day’s events.
“I love my group.” Felicia picked at a bowl of cherries that Angie had placed on the table. “They’re all so energetic and fun. How did the kitchen team get along? Judging by the food, you have some great cooks in that group.”
“They’ll be fine. Probably better than fine.” Angie decided to hold off telling her partner about her fears on Estebe. Maybe they would come to an agreement around the power issue sooner than later. “Anyway, I’m beat and it’s time to feed the circus.”
“You mean zoo.” Felicia smiled.
“My circus, my monkeys.” Angie rolled her shoulders. “And I’m taking a long hot bath, then pretending to read as I drop into sleep.”
“Drive safe.” Felicia glanced upstairs. “This is one time I’m glad I live so close. I’m not sure I would stay awake driving.”
“No worries. I’ll take some coffee with me.” Angie went over to fill her travel mug with the last of the coffee. “Anything you need me for tomorrow?”
“Nope. I think I’m sleeping in until noon then having a spa day. Want to join me?”
Angie grabbed her keys and her tote. “Sorry, I’ve got some appointments. Besides, every time I get my nails done, the polish looks like crap in a day or two. I’ll go the day before opening. I promise.”
“Then I’ll make us an appointment and put it on your calendar.” Felicia yawned and walked over to follow Angie to the door. “We did good today. Opening night is going to run like clockwork.”
As she drove home, Angie hoped her friend was right and she hadn’t jinxed the whole thing with her optimistic foretelling. But even though she knew she was beat, she couldn’t think of anything that would go wrong. Which usually meant everything would go wrong. She fed the animals, letting Precious nuzzle her in the goat’s version of a hug for few minutes. Then she turned on the baby monitor and headed into the house. She was done.
* * * *
By six, she’d finished her new morning routine which included spending some time talking with Precious. She worried the goat might be lonely, especially while she was gone at the restaurant all day. Sipping coffee on the porch, she did some research on her phone on the lifestyles of goats. Not the rich and famous, but still. She heard the crunch of tires on her rock driveway and looked up to see the Sheriff’s car rolling slowing toward her. When he climbed out, she held up a cup. “Coffee?”
“That would be nice, but I won’t be here long. So make it a short cup.” He walked over to the porch and sat in one of the two white rocking chairs she’d bought Nona a few years ago. When she returned and held out the cup, he leaned back and took a sip. Smacking his lips, he grinned. “If you cook as good as this coffee, you’ll be married off in no time.”
“Thanks for the compliment, but that’s not why I love cooking.” Curling her feet up underneath her, she sipped her own coffee. Dom hadn’t moved from his spot on the porch, but he was watching the newcomer closely. “What can I do for you this morning, Sheriff?”
He sat the cup down on the wooden table next to him. “I’m just seeing what you’re doing, Ms. Turner.”
Angie blinked. Not how are you doing, but what? “I’m drinking coffee at the moment. Then I’m going into town to talk to Mildred at the cheese commission. Why?”
“I wasn’t asking what you were doing today, but that brings up even more questions. Why are you visiting with Mildred?” His dark eyes bored into her like he was looking for the lie.
“She said she could get me replacement vendors if Moss Farm goes out of business. I’ll be talking to a lot of farmers and suppliers in the area. Do I need to clear each one with you?”
“No. Unless you’re talking to them about Gerald Moss’s death.” He pulled out his notebook and scanned a few pages. “I’ve been interviewing people the last couple of days and found you’ve talked to several of them already about their relationships to Mr. Moss. This morning, when I was clearing up some past issues with Mrs. Potter, she also mentioned you had asked her about her sister Sophie and Mr. Moss.”
“I’m curious. Is that a crime?” She lifted her coffee cup to have something to do with her hands.
“Not a crime, but suspicious. You realize investigating murder is a dangerous thing. You don’t want to be going around gathering evidence and have the killer get antsy about what you know.” He sipped his coffee and watched her.
“I just want to find out what happened to the guy. I’m the new factor in town. I’m sure people think I’m involved somehow.”
“Now, Angie, just because you got into a little trouble in high school doesn’t mean the town’s against you.” He rocked and glanced toward the barn. “You got a nice little spread here. You should focus
on your restaurant and this place. It will be safer for all of us.”
“I didn’t get in trouble. All I did was sit in the car. I didn’t know he was going to try to rob the store. Besides, Kenny didn’t even get out of the store before he was caught. I thought we were on a date.” She’d explained this to everyone for what seemed like days during the Junior Year Troubles. “I thought I’d put this behind me.”
“You know people like to gossip. Don’t worry, that’s the story I heard when I checked you and your friend out a few months ago when you moved into town.” He smiled at her shocked face. “I’m not a country bumpkin. I actually do know how to investigate.”
“I didn’t say you didn’t.” She closed her eyes. “I’ll try to stay out of your way and stop asking questions.”
He drained the cup. “I’m not sure you can. You always were curious, even as a kid. All I’m asking is you be careful and if you hear something you think might be important, call me.”
Angie could feel the smile playing with her lips. “Call you? That’s all you wanted?”
“What, you thought I was going to do the whole obstruction of justice thing and throw you in jail?” He shook his head. “Ms. Turner, I’ve been married over thirty years. I’ve learned the quickest way to get a headstrong woman to do something is to forbid her from doing it. You remind me of my wife. A lot.”
“Is that a compliment?”
Sheriff Brown laughed, a deep hearty sound that somehow made Angie feel safe and included. “Definitely. Now that I have you settled, I just hope treasure hunters don’t start flocking to Moss Farm before we can locate the next of kin. I probably should think about having the court hire full time security for the area. I better be getting back into town and give the judge a call.”
“Wait, what treasure? I didn’t see anything worth money out there, other than the view that is.” Angie leaned forward. “Is it pirate treasure?”