The Death of a Celebrity Chef

by Kee Patterbee

  Buster plopped down. “This is just not my day.”

  Once they were in the car, they began to make their way out of the event along with all the others who had attended. During the slow process, Hannah again went over everything about the case, just aloud this time.

  Cate listened in silence. This role was one she played in the game as Hannah often referred to such investigations. It had been this way since they were children investigating in Twilight. After a session of reading youth detective novels, they would head to the Starvling Diner to give their account to Hannah’s Gran. She, in turn, would tell them about, ‘the time I…’

  Thereafter came the inevitable game. They would gather up Buster and the three would be off to find a case. A stolen bike. A missing cat. Someone acting suspiciously. And they always ended with someone saying something like, “Aren’t you three regular Hardy Boys.” Hannah would respond, “Hardy Girls.” Cate would point to Buster and say, “Buster Drew.” Buster would get mad and stomp off. They would run after him knowing he would forgive them. It was all such great fun. Now, listening to Hannah going over the case one more time, she wondered if this would be the last time the three got to do this. She hoped and prayed otherwise.

  Cate’s thoughts were interrupted as Hannah concluded her observations, once they reached Vera’s apartment. Vera greeted them with joy and relief they were not caught. Once they settled into her living room, Hannah returned Julia's necklace to Vera. She noticed the urgency with which she put it back on her own neck. Once on, she placed her hand over it. A great comfort fell over her face.

  Cate held the envelope up for Vera as Hannah explained. “We felt you should look at it before we did.”

  Vera took the manila container with caution. “I’m afraid to look inside.”

  Hannah gestured to the contents. “We could wait and go to the attorney’s office.”

  Vera thought for a moment. “No, whatever it is, whatever it means, I think it’s best we all know.” She tore the fold back.

  Just as she opened the envelope, Hannah heard a thumping noise outside the door. The sound of receding footsteps followed. She leapt up from the sofa, made her way over to the door, and jerked it open to find no one. She checked down the hall and examined the area. Finding nothing, she shut the door and turned back. “I suggest we get this over with fast. Whoever that was may be onto us. I’d feel safer back with the boys.”

  Vera pulled the contents out, but paused. “Read them, please.” She handed a stack of papers to Hannah.

  Taking them, Hannah relented. Vera and Cate waited in silence as she scanned the sheets. The first page was a signed and notarized cover sheet. It indicated Julia had taken this action shortly before her death. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed the change in beneficiary. She twirled her tongue inside her mouth.

  Cate leaned forward, “Hannah.”

  Hannah responded by looking up before returning to the sheets. She ignored the anxious sound of Cate clicking her nails against an end table. Vera made constant readjustments to her blouse. Hannah’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

  No longer able to contain herself, Cate burst out, “What?”

  With a look of shock on her face, Hannah laid the papers in her lap and looked at Vera.

  “Okay, um… a couple of things. There’s a lot more here. We will need to see an attorney tomorrow, but I can tell you some things.”

  Vera trembled with a mixture of fear and anticipation. “There are a lot of motives here for a lot of people. But beyond that, as of right now, you are a wealthy woman.” Vera sat back, frowning in a lack of understanding. Cate had a similar reaction. “You, Vera Moira Bessinger, were born, Vera Moira Durbin.” Vera swayed a bit. “You are the daughter of Julianna Lucille Durbin, otherwise known as Julia Karas. And you are the sole heir to half of the fortune she built with Asa.”

  By this time, the color was draining from Vera’s face, and she collapsed onto Cate’s lap. Cate looked at Hannah. “You already knew, didn’t you?”

  “I suspected it.”

  “You are such a drama queen. You could have handled that a little better. That’s a lot for her to take in.”

  “You don’t know the half of it. It gets better.”

  After a moment, Vera came back to life. After assurances she had indeed heard right, she was shaking. A myriad of emotions made their way across her face. Happiness. Sadness. Disbelief.

  “It makes sense to me, yet it doesn’t. Why didn’t she just tell me? She was always there with me. She could have just said, ‘You are my daughter’.”

  “I’m sure she had her reasons. You can look into that later. There is one other thing.” This time Hannah prepared her. She looked straight at her. “A really big thing.”

  Vera grabbed Cate’s hand and grasped it so tightly she looked as though she might scream. Patting her arm, Vera got the signal and eased up. Vera took in a breath and nodded, bracing herself for the next revelation. Hannah picked up the top sheet on the pile and read. “I name Vera Moira Bessinger my natural daughter. I appoint Louie Maclevoy Woolridge, her natural father, as the trust manager.”

  Vera blinked as Cate sat, stunned and silent. “It says here you are to have graduated access to your part of the estate as administered by Louie.”

  “My father.”

  Hannah looked up at Vera’s shocked, unflinching expression. She readied herself to catch her should she pass out again. Instead, she stood. “My actual father and mother.”

  Hannah pulled her eyes from the papers. “Are you okay?”

  “Do you know what this means?” Cate reached up and once more took hold of Vera’s hand.

  “Yes.”

  Vera paused as Cate and Hannah waited for an unknown reaction.

  “It means that I am Julia’s legacy. It means that I have two sets of parents. It means that I am an American. And it means…” Vera slipped back into French. “Je vais TUER mon père pour ne pas me dire!”

  Cate looked at Hannah for an explanation as she had a better grasp of French. “What did she say?”

  “She said she is going to KILL her father for not telling her.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I didn’t know!” Louie yelled. He was deeply flushed, with fingers extended, hands to the side of his head as if it were exploding. Vera watched across from him with a disbelieving face, trying to hold it together. When she did speak, it jumped between French and English.

  Buster, Cate, and Hannah observed from Louie’s couch.

  Pulling in one corner of his mouth, Buster assumed a worried face. “Big guy’s gonna have a heart attack.”

  “I hope not.” Hannah twisted her back from her waist. “Picking him up off the floor once was enough to give me a backache.”

  “Maybe you should intervene, Ms. Drama Queen. This is your fault.”

  “I gave him the facts.”

  “It’s not what you gave him. It’s how you gave them.”

  Buster rose. “They’ve been at this for half an hour.” He walked over between the two and extended his arms. “That’s enough.”

  Vera pointed at Louie. “Comment pourriez-vous lui permettre de me prendre? Comment vous ne pouviez pas savoir?”

  Buster shook his head. “Vera, English.”

  “How could you allow her to take me? How could you not know?”

  Louie dropped his head and looked at his palms as if he were trying to read them. Or perhaps to see the past or maybe the future. “I didn’t know. I promise you. I… did not… know. It was one time that’s all. One night a couple of months before we graduated.”

  For a moment, the silence was deafening. He looked up at Vera. “I’m sorry.”

  Vera crossed her arms defiantly. “What happened?”

  “She left right after graduation and sent me a note. All it said was, ‘I am so sorry.’” He walked over to the picture of Louie and Julia with their graduation class and took it from the wall. He flipped it over and removed the back, producing a smal
l note card. He offered it to Vera. She scrutinized it and the man.

  “Why didn’t you go after her? Did you no longer want her?”

  “Of course, I did. I was in love with her. I had been for some time, more than you can imagine. After that one night, I thought, ‘This is it!’ I made plans for us both. I was going to marry her, and we would open a restaurant, become a family and live the dream. But they were my plans, not hers. She had her own dreams. She told me she loved me and that we would always be friends, with an emphasis on the friends. I was heartbroken.”

  Vera could not take her eyes off the note. Between looks at Louie, she examined the words again and again, as he continued.

  “When she left, I was angry and hurt for years. I tried to push her out of my mind. I didn’t even want to cook anymore, so I took a job with Food Critic. That’s when I ran across her again at a culinary event.”

  Drawn into the story, Cate interjected, “That must have sent you for a loop.”

  Vera handed Louie the note back. He took it with a nod and a gaze of acknowledgment, and placed it back in the frame as he spoke. “Ever had a mule kick you?” He gave a halfhearted, single laugh. Hanging the picture, he turned back to them. “It’s something like that, but imagine the mule having spiked heels.” The bitterness in his voice was obvious. He sat down.

  “What was worse, she was no longer Julianna Durbin. Just Julia. The event was to announce the launch of a new show, Julia’s Kitchen on the Water, centered on her first restaurant, a joint enterprise with Asa Karas, her fiancé.”

  Buster blinked several times. “Big guy. That’s so… harsh.”

  “Tell me about it. I wanted so much to hate her even more, but when she spotted me and made her way over to hug me…” Louie shook his head. “I don’t know. I guess I realized right there that I’d never shake her. I’d have to settle for being a shadow in her life. An old memory. I’d never have a life with her or a family.”

  Vera rose and moved to his chair. She leaned down and put her arms around his neck, drawing him up into a hug. “You can’t say that now, can you?” Once again, silence echoed and time stopped, if only in the minds of those present. The sound of Buster’s sniffles broke it.

  The sound made both daughter and father laugh, not with sadness for lost years, but with happiness. Louie leaned back to give Vera a good stare. He gave a big smile. “You are so much like her. You being here, it’s a miracle, you know. She wasn’t supposed to be able to get pregnant.”

  Vera once again wrapped her arms around her new found father. “I’m mad at her. She should have told us.”

  “I’m sure she had her reasons. We’ll just have to figure them out together.”

  Vera affirmed with a smile. “I like the sound of that.”

  “This has been an… eventful day,” Hannah interrupted.

  “To say the least,” Cate agreed. “Not to break the family dramatic reveal, but now comes the obvious question. What next?” She held up the papers from the safe. “These little jewels mean a lot of things to a lot of people.”

  Louie rubbed his jaw. “Yeah, it means Asa stands to lose a lot of money to my little girl here.” He looked at Vera and winked. “You are going to keep daddy up in the lifestyle he is accustomed to, right?”

  Vera looked at him with a quizzical expression.

  “Just kidding, dear, just kidding. I’m new at this whole father-daughter thing.”

  “And you’re off to a whiz bang start,” Cate joked. “Anyway, we can’t forget Buster’s ex.”

  “She’s not my ex.”

  “Of course, she’s not.” Cate rolled her eyes. “Anyway, she also stands to lose. Wait until word gets out about Julia Karas’ daughter. That is going to put a kink in Jazlyn’s working booty.”

  Vera stood silently. The expression creeping onto her face told Hannah the idea of putting Jazlyn in her place sounded delicious to her. “The tiger awakens,” Hannah noted to herself.

  Hannah agreed with both Louie and Cate. “Her romance du jour with Miller also gives him a motive. I’m willing to bet his intentions are less libido driven, and more monetary.”

  Vera considered Hannah’s proposition. “He did ask me if I could get him a copy of her contract with Asa.”

  Hannah grinned. “If he could get her to sign with him, Asa couldn’t force him out and he could assure his meal ticket. If he somehow stumbled across what Julia was working toward, he’d have, in literal terms, millions of reasons to kill Julia.”

  Cate blew out a breath. “Three possible motives. Three potential killers.”

  Louie frowned. “Wait, just tossing this out there to be on the up and up. Am I a suspect now? After all this?”

  Everyone paused and waited for Hannah to answer before giving their opinions.

  “I’ll be honest with you. I have had my concerns. Julia meant so much to you that at times it clouds your judgment, but a man showed me that gut instinct is a valuable thing. And I’m going with mine. I don’t think you could hurt Julia, regardless of how angry you got. You’ve had chances over the years. Opportunities. Been within her proximity because you both run in the same circles to a degree, but you never have. Don’t give me a reason to believe otherwise and I won’t.” Looking to Vera, she added. “Same goes for you.”

  “I can make you that promise,” Vera confirmed. “So, what should I do?”

  Hannah leaned down and picked up the papers. “First, we find a safe place for these.”

  “I’ve got a safe.” He pointed to Critic, who had been sitting next to Hannah during the past half hour. “And a guard dog.”

  Critic wagged his tail at Louie’s recognition and Buster laughed aloud.

  “Old Critic? Big Guy, I love him as much as you, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  Louie snapped his fingers and Critic jumped to his feet. “Buster is going to get your bone!” Louie pointed at Buster. The Mastiff started toward Buster, teeth flared, head down, and eyes forward. He emitted a low, deep, threatening growl. He stopped just before Buster, but remained poised and snarling. After a second, Louie snapped his fingers. “Friend.” Critic sat, and his tail began to shift back and forth. “Make up.” Critic leaned forward and put his head down, ready for pats.

  Buster reached out and nervously patted the hound’s head. “Are we good now, old boy?”

  “You’re good.” Louie laughed. “But I wouldn’t go anywhere near that safe. I’m putting his bone in there with these papers.”

  Hannah grinned. “Great. Tomorrow, we find the attorney that drew those up and start sorting through all this.”

  Louie looked around at everyone. “You know what? This has been a lot to take in today. To be honest, it’s taken a lot out of me. I’m hungry. What say we celebrate with some late-night fare?”

  “I do have a taste for some waffles,” Vera admitted.

  Louie gave an appreciative smile. “That was your mother’s favorite. How about I whip up a batch?”

  “I don’t want you to trouble yourself. Besides, it’s late and I need to get home.”

  It was late, but Hannah remained wide-awake. Something bothered her, and she was not quite yet willing to give in to sleep. “Given everything, it might be best if you stayed here. I doubt Louie would mind.”

  Louie’s face lit up. “Need you ask?”.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Cate tipped back another drink of her tea. “So who is this attorney we’re going to see again?”

  “Gus Sullivan. According to the will, he’s the one who drew it up.”

  As they all finished their breakfast, the group retreated to the car. Buster parted company with the gang and headed for the festival. “I’d be in the way,” he explained. “Besides, today is the sampling day! You can tell me all about it later.” With that, he headed to the cab that was waiting outside. The rest headed for downtown.

  The trip was short and the law office was easy to locate. Once inside, the group encountered the attorney’s secretary, who tried to s
et a meeting for a later date. Once Louie announced who he was, and introduced Vera as his daughter, remarking about the will, she called her boss. Seconds later, she pointed the way into his office.

  After making introductions to all as Gus Sullivan, he arranged for everyone to have a seat. Hannah sized the man up, per usual. Short. Thin. White hair. Mid-sixties. Perhaps sixty-five. Intense. And at the moment, unsettled.

  Although he had been cordial upon their entry, he frowned at them over his reading glasses. “What’s this about Ms. Karas and her will?” He spoke in a gruff, almost accusatory voice.

  Vera handed Sullivan a copy of the will they had made and he scanned it. Hannah could tell from the speed in which he did, he was already familiar with the document. “Where did you get this?”

  Vera looked at him with a calm expression. “From my mother’s safe. The key came to me after she passed.”

  Well played, Hannah considered to herself. Everything Vera related was true, but the circumstances were more complicated. It was a fact she was not going to reveal until necessary. Although prepared to speak on Vera’s behalf, Hannah was content for now just to listen and watch how she handled it herself.

  “Mr. Sullivan, we’re concerned about this will as it pertains to my mother’s death.”

  “Yes,” affirmed Louie as he readjusted himself and cleared his throat. As Hannah understood this, even after all that had happened, the word death in relation to his beloved Julia, was hard for him to hear. At least now, he was acknowledging it.

  The attorney’s expression changed. The unsettled expression gave way to reflection and concern. “I knew something was wrong. She seemed troubled when she asked me to draw these up.”

  Vera craned her neck slightly. “Troubled? How so?”

  “Well, for one thing, it all came about so strangely.”

  After an exchange of looks between everyone, Vera looked at Hannah, who took it to mean she was unsure how to proceed. Hannah turned back to Sullivan. “Could you explain a little more?”