‘Sit down before you fall down, Marcel,’ Alexi said, pointing to Cheryl’s vacated chair. ‘Have the police spoken to you yet?’
‘Yeah, they just finished grilling me. Or should that be roasting in hot oil?’
Ty nodded sympathetically, well able to imagine how it had been for Marcel because he used to be the one doing the grilling. Suspicious by nature, trusting no one, Ty knew that the first few hours after a murder was the time when he was most likely to find useful clues. Before people got over the shock and learned to keep their mouths shut.
‘That bad, huh?’ he asked.
‘They don’t seriously suspect you, surely?’ Alexi asked at the same time. ‘I know they have to suspect everyone but why would you sabotage your opportunity for prime-time fame?’
‘Yeah, well…’ Marcel rubbed his face in his hands and peered at them through bloodshot eyes. ‘Seeing as how it was my knife stuck in Juliette’s chest, I suppose you can’t blame ‘em for being suspicious.’
‘Shit!’ Alexi breathed.
‘My thoughts precisely. I didn’t even know it was missing until the police asked me to check.’
‘You made a big thing of it on the show that no one touches another chef’s knives,’ Alexi reminded him. ‘They’re more jealously guarded than your grandmother’s recipe for fudge cake…your words.’
‘And no one would dare to touch mine if they wanted to keep all their fingers.’ He sighed. ‘But someone did.’
‘Where are they kept?’ Ty asked.
‘Mine are on a magnet on the kitchen wall, where anyone could get to them. My regular help and the contestants all keep theirs in pouches at their stations so they can’t fall and can’t be misplaced.’
‘There are cameras in the kitchen, running all the time,’ Alexi pointed out gently. ‘If someone took the knife, the police will find it on the tapes.’
‘Not necessarily,’ Marcel said gloomily. He reached for the brandy bottle that Drew had left on the table, poured a generous measure into Cheryl’s glass and downed it in one swallow. ‘It was chaotic in there this afternoon. We had two full sittings, and people buzzing all over the place. Anyone could have taken it without being seen by the camera. Can’t remember when I last saw it but suspect it was taken towards the end of service when I wouldn’t need it again.’ He shot Alexi the ghost of his trademark killer smile. ‘Thanks for implying that you think I didn’t kill her.’
Ty nodded, clearly aware that the restaurant had started serving lunch, which it hadn’t found profitable before. The contestants acted as chefs beneath Marcel’s aggressive supervision, along with his regular help to do the donkey work. The full time chefs were seen in the background on the programme but no focus was put on them. Perhaps they were peeved and one of them had killed Juliette in a fit of professional jealousy. Presumably the police would think of that but Alexi would bear it in mind. Anyway, the restaurant was now packed at lunchtimes because the sittings were filmed and everyone wanted to be on TV. Alexi had thought it was such a brilliant way to see a return on her investment. Ha, much she knew!
‘I know you didn’t kill her.’ Alexi reached across the table to touch his hand. ‘Well, if you did, you wouldn’t have used your own knife. Besides, the only thing you’re any good at assassinating is aspiring chefs’ reputations.’
‘Thanks.’ Marcel snorted. ‘I think.’ He sighed. ‘It’s all an act. I mean, Gordon Ramsey set the bar and now the rest of us have to try and jump that little bit higher. All I want to do is cook, but it isn’t that easy in this day and age. There are loads of decent chefs out there. If you want to make a mark for yourself you have to come up with an angle that will get you noticed. I play up my Frenchness and stay prominent by being outrageous.’
‘Why do they think you might want to kill her?’ Ty asked. ‘What’s your motive?’
‘Hell if I know, mate.’ Marcel shrugged. ‘Ratings? Attention seeking?’
‘A rather drastic way to go about it,’ Alexi muttered.
‘A lover’s tiff?’ Ty asked.
‘What?’ Marcel’s head shot up. Worry lines creased his forehead and he looked more frightened than defensive. ‘How did you know?’
Ty lifted his shoulders. ‘Lucky guess. I sensed the chemistry when the two of you were hanging out in the residents’ lounge. A lot of the stuff they filmed was clearly faked but the way you two were into each other set the small screen on fire.’
‘Yeah well, that’s what I didn’t tell the cops, but they’ll know soon enough.’
Alexi’s jaw almost hit the floor. ‘You were actually having it off with her?’
‘Tonight, for the first time,’ Marcel said, not making eye contact with them. ‘She came to my room over the kitchen. No cameras in there.’
‘How could you have been such an idiot?’ Alexi was furious. ‘Did you really think no one would find out and that the future of the entire show wouldn’t be in jeopardy because you were no longer impartial?’
‘I didn’t exactly plan it. It just kind of happened,’ Marcel replied defensively.
‘Oh, for God’s sake! Do you realise what you’ve done…’ Alexi had found an outlet for her rage but the feel of Ty’s fingers touching her arm halted her in mid-rant.
‘Please tell me you used a condom,’ Ty said.
Alexi clasped a hand over her mouth. ‘Oh, shit!’ she said, suspecting by the stricken look on Marcel’s face that they hadn’t.
‘She said she had birth control covered,’ he said defensively. ‘How was I to know she was about to die?’
‘You should have told them,’ Alexi said. ‘It would be better if you volunteered the information instead of waiting for them to find out. Which they will if your semen is inside her.’
‘What time do they think she was killed?’ Ty asked. ‘And what time was she in your rooms?’
‘The restaurant was closed this evening; our one night of the week off. She came over around six, said there was something she needed to ask me.’
‘Do you think it was an excuse to get the inside edge with you, so to speak?’ Alexi asked.
Marcel shrugged. ‘I told her I had no favourites in the kitchen.’
Alexi shook her head. Was he really that naïve? ‘And you think she wouldn’t have used your relationship to make sure she came out on top? No pun intended.’
‘It’s too late to tell Marcel what an idiot he’s been,’ Ty said. ‘I think he gets that part. Better to concentrate on keeping him clear of suspicion.’
Alexi could see the sense in that. Provided the hotel still had Marcel, and providing, of course, that he didn’t actually do it, there was hope. ‘You think we can do that?’
‘You said Juliette came over. You didn’t invite her by phone or text, anything like that?’ Marcel shook his head. ‘You sure, because if you’ve been in contact that way, the police will soon find out.’
‘No, God’s truth, I wasn’t expecting her.’
‘Okay, so she came over, presumably invented a reason and you finished up in the sack.’ Marcel nodded. ‘How long did she stay?’
‘About an hour, and she was alive and well when she left my place. I swear it on my grandmother’s recipe for bouillabaisse.’
Ty raised a brow. ‘Seriously?’
‘That’s Marcel’s equivalent of the holy grail,’ Alexi explained with another eye-roll.
‘Best not speak to the police in those terms,’ Ty advised. ‘They’ll think you’re being flippant and won’t appreciate it. Anyway, did you and Juliette split on good terms? No fights. Nothing we need to know about? No disagreements that might have been overheard and will look bad for you?’
‘Nah, we were good.’
‘But?’ Alexi asked, sensing there was more.
‘Well, everything with Juliette was a bit of a drama. She could be fun but she was a spoiled little rich girl.’
‘Really?’ Tyler looked surprised. ‘A rich girl who liked to cook?’
‘Yeah, she really did. Okay,
so she was in it for the celebrity status, but she wanted to cook as well. Trouble is, she was used to having everything come easy and wasn’t too particular what she did to make sure it kept right on coming.’
‘She thought because you’d taken her to bed, the title was hers?’ Tyler asked.
‘Pretty much, but I set her straight on that score. She wasn’t happy about it but we didn’t get into a screaming match, or anything. She just pouted, like she didn’t believe I was serious and that she’d get her way in the end.’ Marcel shrugged. ‘Of course, she might well have won on merit. She had the capability.’
‘You were probably one of the few men who’s ever stood up to her,’ Alexi said, screwing up her nose. ‘I’m surprised it isn’t you who finished up dead.’
Marcel harrumphed and took another swig of brandy.
‘Have you ever been in her room, where she was killed?’ Ty asked.
‘No, never.’ Marcel answered without hesitation.
‘Then they won’t find your prints in there?’ he asked for clarity.
‘No. They could still be on my knife, though.’
‘Like you’d be stupid enough to kill her with your own knife and leave it for the police to find,’ Alexi said, shaking her head.
‘I think that’s the only reason why they didn’t take me in and apply the thumbscrews.’ Marcel scowled. ‘The moment they know I slept with her, that situation will change.’
‘If she was alive at seven, found dead at nine, and you haven’t left the premises,’ Alexi mused, ‘where are your bloody clothes? There’s always loads of blood when you see stabbings on CSI.’
‘Ah, I didn’t tell you the best bit. She wasn’t killed in her room, apparently. She was killed elsewhere, the body dumped on her bed with my knife in her chest.’
‘Shit!’ Ty said.
‘Yeah, I think I need a lawyer. My agent’s already been on the phone, offering to find me one. She’s on her way down here now.’
‘The station are sending their lawyers down,’ Alexi said. ‘You might be better to deal with them.’
‘You need to tell the police about having sex with her now. Right away,’ Ty said. ‘I’ll sit with you while you talk to the officer in charge, if you like. Who is it, by the way?’
‘A guy called Vickery from Reading Nick Serious Crimes Squad,’ Marcel replied. ‘Do you know him, Ty?’
‘Yeah. He’ll play it by the book. But don’t underestimate him. He’s a shrewd cookie.’
Chapter Four
Inspector Mark Vickery was a tall man of about forty, fighting ongoing battles with an expanding waist and receding hairline. Ty had worked with him before and was glad that he’d be calling the shots on this one. You’d pass him in a crowd but he had a sharp mind and didn’t cut corners in order to get a quick result. He probably already knew Marcel hadn’t been completely forthcoming in their previous interview. Ty hadn’t seen him for a while, not since he’d been assigned to Reading nick for a spell in his previous life, but he’d always liked him and respected his professional attitude to his job. He wouldn’t take the easy option of fitting the evidence to a suspect, which was something.
Vickery and a woman officer came into the kitchen in response to Marcel’s message that he had something to add to his statement. He saw Ty, made a sound that could have been anything from a grunt to a sigh, and nodded. Cosmo protested vehemently at the arrival of the police officers. His constant hissing and growling forced Alexi to shut him in the scullery. Ty thought it interesting that Cosmo hadn’t protested when Marcel joined them. Then again, he had yet to figure out how Cosmo decided if he liked a person or not. He usually instinctively liked the good guys, which was a point in Marcel’s favour, or would be if Ty was in charge of the case.
‘Christ, what was that?’ the female officer breathed. ‘This place is seriously weird.’
Ty tried not to smile when he noticed Alexi’s offended expression. ‘Cosmo is somewhat protective and not keen on strangers but, actually, he’s…well, a pussy cat.’
The officer shuddered. ‘I’ll take your word for that.’
‘Thought I might see you here,’ Vickery said. ‘Never did know when to keep your nose out.’
‘Good to see you, too,’ Ty said, taking Vickery’s hand rather than offence because he knew none had been intended. Ty wasn’t sure he’d have been quite so accepting of a former officer showing up at a crime scene of his and didn’t want to do anything to rock the boat.
‘This is Detective Constable Hogan,’ he said, referring to the attractive female DC trailing in his wake. ‘Patti, this is Tyler Maddox, one of ours, or used to be.’
‘I know that name,’ Patti said, sizing Tyler up and appearing to like what she saw. ‘You were involved with the Parker case, weren’t you? Nice work that.’
‘Thanks.’ Ty indicated Alexi. ‘This is Alexi Ellis, investor in this establishment.’
Both officers shook Alexi’s hand.
‘Investor and journalist, I think. You shouldn’t be here, Ms Ellis,’ Vickery said. ‘We need to speak with you all separately.’
‘So we don’t collude on our stories.’ Alexi said, a wry twist to her lips. Ty suspected she was about to blow a fuse. He’d sensed her simmering away for the past half-hour and understood why she was getting so worked up. She had invested a lot of time and effort into getting Hopgood House back on the map and now its future had been thrown into uncertainty. He gave her a nudge. Getting antsy with Vickery wouldn’t help matters. ‘Don’t worry, Inspector. I arrived at the same time as the emergency vehicles, after getting a call from Mrs Hopgood. I didn’t see anything.’
‘Even so, you’re here as a courtesy and because I respect Ty. If I see a single word of what’s said here repeated in print, I shall know who to blame. And, trust me, I’m not a good person to get on the wrong side of.’
‘I hear you, Inspector. I’m not interested in a scoop. All I care about is protecting the interests of this hotel.’
‘Fair enough.’ They all took seats around the table. ‘You had something to add to your statement, Mr Gasquet?’
‘Just so you know, Marcel’s lawyer will be here soon,’ Ty said. ‘I’m watching his back until he gets here.’
Vickery looked mildly surprised which, Ty knew, was all for effect. ‘He needs a lawyer? Got something to hide, Mr Gasquet?’
‘Come on, Mark,’ Ty said. ‘You know better than that. The television station wants to protect its assets, obviously, which is why they’re sending suits down from London.’
‘Of course they do.’ Vickery looked amused. DC Hogan sat down and opened her notebook, pen poised. ‘We’re all ears, Mr Gasquet.’
‘Yeah well, the thing is—’
‘What happened to the French accent?’ Vickery asked suspiciously.
Marcel briefly explained. ‘My mother’s French but can’t boil an egg.’ He shrugged. ‘So much for stereotypes. My dad’s a Cockney and has forgotten more about cooking than I’ll ever know. I was born in London but grew up in the suburbs of Paris, went to a French school.’
‘So the French thing you do on screen isn’t a complete act?’
‘Not in the least, inspector,’ Marcel replied, not rising to the bait. ‘I grew up speaking French to my mother and at school, but I spent hours in the kitchen with my dad, which is where I got my Cockney from.’ He shrugged. ‘It’s no secret but I don’t shout about it, either.’
‘Your Cockney father is called Gasquet?’
‘That’s my mother’s maiden name. I took it when I decided to play up my French roots.’
‘Won’t that make for good ratings when word gets out,’ Vickery said, almost to himself. ‘Okay, what did you want to add to your statement, sir?’
‘Juliette.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Ms Hammond came to see me in my flat over the kitchen at about six this afternoon.’ Both detectives sat a little straighter. ‘She…er, stayed and we talked for an hour.’
‘I see. And what did you talk about
for that hour?’
‘We had sex,’ Marcel said abruptly. ‘But she was fine when she left.’
‘That would have been at about seven?’
‘Yeah, about then.’
Ty knew they would be able to confirm that from the cameras in the annexe, always assuming Juliette went straight back there.
‘Will the medical examiner find evidence of your liaison with Ms Hammond?’
‘Why should that matter?’ Alexi asked. ‘Marcel has already admitted having sex with her.’
‘At the risk of painting the victim in a poor light, she could conceivably have been with someone else, too,’ Vickery replied in a mild tone. ‘It would be useful to know.’
‘We didn’t use a condom, if that’s what you’re asking.’ Marcel ran a hand through his hair and looked, to Ty’s suspicious mind, as guilty as sin.
‘What made you do it?’ Vickery asked.
A brief smirk broke through Marcel’s reserve. ‘Did you see what she looked like?’
‘But you were adjudicating the competition. Didn’t you stop to think about the difficult position you were putting yourself in?’
‘I made it clear to Juliette that I wouldn’t let it sway me.’ Marcel leaned forward on his elbows, looking more confident now they had returned to the subject of the contest. ‘And I wouldn’t have. A lot of the stuff on the screen is playing up for the cameras but I’m deadly serious…sorry, poor choice of words,’ he said, paling. ‘But the point I’m trying to make is that I take the contest very seriously. I have a lot invested in making a success of it.’
‘Which makes taking one of the contestants to bed that much harder to fathom,’ Vickery pointed out.
‘Yeah, but I thought I could deal with it. I wouldn’t have had a problem marking her down if one of the others did better than her. I made that clear to her.’
‘Before or after you shagged her?’ DC Hogan asked.
Marcel merely shot her a sour look and Vickery didn’t press him for an answer.
‘If the others found out you were sleeping with her, they’d have the upper hand,’ he pointed out instead. ‘They could have used that knowledge to coerce you into cutting them some slack. Otherwise, and I’m guessing here, they’d have let something leak to the press and you and Juliette would both have lost credibility.’
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