Chapter 16
“Oh, it’s just you two,” he said as he turned and looked at us. “Patrice asked me to collect her husband’s things for her. She couldn’t face coming back here.”
That might have been true, but then why did he look so guilty as he explained it to us?
“Is that his briefcase?” I asked as I pointed to the leather satchel.
“Yes, of course it is,” he said, and then tried to hide it from me.
I looked down at the embossed OW on the side. “Funny, I was under the impression that his initials were AB. Oliver, are you taking those papers for yourself, or are you going to give them to the widow?”
He looked at me as though I were a pesky gnat that was in serious need of swatting. “Okay, you caught me. Sure it’s my briefcase, but why shouldn’t I take them? They’re the latest recipes I just finished creating for him, and they’re not going to do him any good now, are they?”
“So, then, you’re stealing from a dead man?” Maddy asked from across the room. I saw that she’d separated from us and was doing a little snooping of her own. Why had she given up that position of power, though, by commenting on Oliver’s actions, thereby drawing his attention to her?
He looked over at her, and then said glumly, “You can’t steal what belongs to you already.”
“But didn’t Benet already pay for them?” I asked, moving in closer so that I could touch the briefcase lightly. I had to get Oliver’s attention back to me so Maddy could keep digging.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. He paid me peanuts for my treasures,” Oliver said with open contempt for his former boss. “I gave him gold, and he somehow managed to spin it into straw.”
“Kind of like a reverse Rumpelstiltskin,” I said. There was a stack of cooking magazines on the side of the desk where Oliver had been searching, and I pretended to be clumsy when I knocked them to the floor. That should buy my sister a little extra time. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today. I’ve never been so clumsy in my life.”
I bent forward and began collecting them, but with my newly feigned clumsiness, I managed to scatter them even more across the floor.
Oliver put the briefcase down, though I noticed that he still kept it close to him, and then started to help me pick the magazines up. It took all I had not to peek at what Maddy was doing, but I didn’t want to give Oliver any ideas, and I especially didn’t want to point out that while he was helping me, my sister was doing as she pleased unsupervised.
I delayed it as long as I could, but Oliver and I finally managed to gather everything and replace it on the desk, despite my active attempts to keep him from doing it. “What are you two doing here, anyway?” he asked after he collected the briefcase again.
Fortunately, I’d been working on an answer to that question since we’d spotted Oliver there ahead of us. “We were here on a pizza delivery, so we thought we’d swing by and see if anyone had taken care of the chef’s belongings. It was pretty clear that Patrice was in no shape to do it, and we wanted to give her a hand.”
“She has been drinking a lot since we first heard the news,” Oliver admitted. “I’m worried about her.”
I searched his eyes to try to see if there was something deeper there when he spoke of Benet’s widow, but I didn’t see anything. That didn’t mean that he wasn’t hiding something, but it encouraged me to believe that they were just friends, and not something tawdrier. “Shouldn’t you be with her right now, if that’s the case?”
“Jessie’s taking care of her while I do this,” Oliver explained. “It looks like I’m not the only one who’s going to be out of a job now.”
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“Well, it’s pretty clear that if Benet’s not on the air, he doesn’t really need an assistant, does he?” There was the hint of a slight smirk as he added, “He doesn’t need an executive producer either, so Jessie’s been scrambling, trying to come up with another show to pitch.” He looked absolutely smug now.
“Do you think she’ll actually change her mind about you?” I asked. I’d heard Jessie before, and I didn’t believe it for a moment. Then again, if she had another use for Oliver, I could see her stringing him along until she got what she wanted. That didn’t necessarily mean that she was a murderer, though, just a shark. From what I’d read, that made her good at her job, and nothing else.
“You’d be surprised. The last time I spoke with her, I have to admit that I was pretty persuasive. She’s starting to come around,” Oliver said with a grin.
“Well, good luck to you with that,” I said as I hugged him. He’d been about to turn around to see what Maddy was up to, and I knew that I needed to stop him. I couldn’t exactly see what she was getting, but it was small enough to fit into her purse. I’d have to find out later what she’d gotten. For now, I needed to keep distracting him.
“If you two will excuse me, I have more work to do here,” he said as he extracted himself from my grip.
“The more the merrier, I say. We’ll stick around and lend a hand,” I said. I looked over at my sister, and whatever she’d been trying to retrieve was most likely in her possession now. “Isn’t that right, Sis?”
Maddy nodded and offered Oliver a big, if insincere, smile. “We have at least half an hour to help you before we open the Slice back up for our dinner crowd.”
“Thank you, but I really do need to do this myself. Thanks for the offer, but I’m kind of pressed for time right now.”
Maddy and I reluctantly let ourselves be led out of the hotel room, and Oliver closed the door firmly behind us. Not only that, but a second later, I actually heard him flip the bolt as well.
We got down the hallway before I asked Maddy, “What did you find?”
She looked around to be sure that Oliver hadn’t followed us, and then pulled a crumpled envelope out of her pocket. “I don’t know if it’s important or not,” she said as she handed it to me.
I took the envelope, covered in a grafitti of random scrawls and numbers, and pulled the letter from inside it. As I smoothed it out on my leg, I saw that it was from the network that Benet had claimed was hiring him.
But the contents of the letter told a much different story.
Dear Chef Antonio Benet,
First of all, thank you for coming to us with your new idea for the proposed cooking series, Around the World with Dinner and Drinks. While we believe that this idea has some basic merit, we aren’t sure that your proposal fully captures the essence of what one of our shows should be, so we are respectfully declining.
We wish you continued success on your current show on your current network.
Sincerely,
Hiram J. Wannamaker
CEO, Food Bites, Inc.
Maddy had been reading over my shoulder. “That lying little sneak. He was just holding his own network up for more money, wasn’t he? Benet had no intention of leaving.”
I looked at the letter again, and saw that it had been dated six days before. “Maybe, but what if Benet thought the new show was in the bag when he told Jessie he was leaving? How hard would it have been for him to go back to her and tell her that he’d been wrong?”
“I’ve got a hunch that this was just confirmation of something he already knew,” Maddy said. “Either way, it was information not everyone had access to, and he must have tried using it as leverage.”
“I’m just glad we found it,” I said. “Maybe we should go talk to Jessie and see if she knew that Benet was just bluffing.”
“Don’t forget: we have to deal with Patrice, too,” Maddy said. “Is there one chance in ten that she’s sober?”
“I’m afraid that might be asking for too much.”
Maddy shook her head. “I understand getting lost in booze if you’re torn up inside over losing someone you love, but honestly, she didn’t seem all that upset by Benet’s murder.”
I remembered how dead inside I’d felt when I’d lost Joe, and I knew that I never wanted to feel that way again. “I can’t really say. All I do know is that everybody handles it differently,” I said.
Maddy grabbed my arm. “I didn’t mean to say that. I was in no way comparing Joe to Chef Benet.”
“I know that,” I said as I tugged my arm away. “Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”
“Then why are you crying?”
I reached up and brushed a cheek. Odd, I hadn’t even realized that there were tears on my cheeks. “It’s nothing.”
“I upset you,” Maddy said. “That’s always something.”
“Forget about it, okay? Let’s just go talk to Jessie and Patrice.”
Maddy nodded, accepting my offer to move on and forget this exchange had ever happened. “You’ve got it. Any ideas on how we should approach them?”
I considered it a moment, and then said, “I think I’d like to split them up, if it’s possible.”
Maddy didn’t answer until we made it all the way to my car. “I can come up with something, but there’s something I need to know first. Do you have one in particular you’d like to tackle yourself?”
I’d thought about it, and I didn’t have to give it another moment’s consideration. “I want to take Jessie, if you don’t mind.”
She laughed. “Wow, it didn’t take you long to pull that trigger, did it?”
“I’m sorry. If you want Jessie, I’ll take Patrice.”
She frowned. “No, I think we’re better off doing it the way you suggested. You never know, maybe if I start drinking with her, she’ll confide in me.”
“Don’t get too soused,” I said. “We still have a full night’s work at the Slice, and I need you sober.”
“How sober?” she asked with a grin.
“Enough so I don’t have to worry about you wielding knives in my kitchen.”
“I’ll do my best, but maybe you need to plan on doing some of the later prep work on the veggies yourself.”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” I said.
By the time we got to the hotel, Maddy and I had worked out the basic framework of a plan.
“Are you good?” she asked.
“I’m fine,” I replied. “The only problem is, I still don’t know how we’re going to separate them.”
“There’s only one way I know how to do it,” Maddy said. “We’re going to have to use the truth.”
“You’re right. I have to let Jessie know that I’ve got something she needs to see without letting Patrice overhear us,” I said.
“That’s what I’m thinking. Don’t give her the letter too quickly, though. Milk it for what it’s worth, and see if you can find out if she already knew about Benet’s rejection before you show her the letter.”
“Can I at least show her the envelope to tease her with it?” I said, joking.
Maddy groaned a little. “That thing is such a mess, I’m surprised you even kept it. Was there actually a grocery list scribbled somewhere on it?”
I nodded. “I figured it must have been part of some kind of recipe Benet was working out on his own. If we can believe Oliver, I doubt that it would taste very good.”
“Well, at least it shows that he was trying. I have to give him credit for that.”
“I’ll give him that,” I answered as we neared the door, “but that’s all I’m going to give him.”
Taking a deep breath, I knocked once, waited a minute, and then knocked again.
Jessie finally came to the door, and she tried to give us a smile, but for a split second I’d seen the tension she’d been feeling before she managed to hide it. “Ladies, what brings you two here again so soon?”
“We need to talk,” I said to Jessie.
“Patrice and I have nothing more to say,” Jessie replied.
“Funny, I thought you might want to discuss this,” I said as I held the envelope up so she could see her competitor network’s logo in the return address.
“What is that?” she asked as she reached out her hand for it.
I pulled it back, and then tucked it safely back into my pocket. “It’s what we need to talk about.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t leave Patrice alone,” she said as she looked back at Benet’s widow.
“I’ll stay with her,” Maddy volunteered. “She doesn’t need to hear what her husband was up to before he was murdered. There’s no use putting the poor woman through anything more than we have to.”
Jessie thought about it, and then nodded. “Let’s take a walk, Eleanor. You’ve got five minutes, and then we’re coming back here.”
I agreed, but before Jessie would leave, she turned to Maddy. “Don’t let her drink too much.”
“Should she even be drinking at all?” Maddy asked in all seriousness.
“Honestly, no, but when I tried to get her to stop, she wouldn’t. Just try to limit it, okay?”
“Okay,” Maddy said.
After the door was closed, Jessie looked back at it. “Are you sure they’ll be all right in there?”
“Maddy will take care of her,” I said, though I wasn’t absolutely certain I believed it. If Maddy thought she could get some valuable information from Patrice by plying her with more booze, I wouldn’t put it past my sister.
“Now may I see that letter?” Jessie asked.
“Do you mean that you haven’t read it already?” I asked.
“No, I never even knew it existed until you just showed it to me.”
“What do you think it says?” I asked.
She shook her head. “Sorry, but I’m not playing that game with you.”
I could be tough, too, though she hadn’t seen it yet. “You might want to reconsider, if you really want to see what it says.”
Jessie looked quietly angry, as though she were fighting to contain herself. “Eleanor, what game are you playing? Are you trying to see just how far you can push me? Because, if you are, I should warn you. I’m just about to my breaking point already, so it’s not going to take much to push me over the edge.”
“That was exactly what Benet was doing though, wasn’t he? I’m guessing he made some kind of outrageous demand in order to be persuaded to stay with your show and not leave the network.”
Jessie looked surprised by my statement. “How on earth could you possibly know that?”
“Just call it an educated guess,” I said. “What did you tell him?”
“That we couldn’t do it, no matter how much I would have loved getting another show on the channel.”
“Didn’t you think that he could handle it?” I asked.
“Trust me, nobody in the world had as high an opinion of Benet as he had of himself. The man thought he was much more talented than the evidence ever showed.”
“And did you tell him that?”
Jessie frowned. “It’s why we were arguing. I could have gotten him a raise, a small one anyway, but there was no way they were going to give him another show. He just didn’t generate that much revenue for the network. The man was a B-list talent at best.”
“And it’s all about the money, isn’t it?”
She sighed, and then said, “Eleanor, what business isn’t? We have bottom lines just like everyone else, and if Benet lost another sponsor for his show, it wasn’t all that certain that it was even going to stay on the air, let alone help him get a new show.”
“How did he take the news when you told him?”
Jessie took a breath, and then said, “He was like a little boy losing his favorite toy. He pouted, threw a fit, and then refused to discuss it anymore. It’s amazing, but that’s how I managed to get along with him after everyone else jumped ship. If I treated him like I would a small boy, I had much more success than when I tried treating him like a man.”
“How did he feel about it?” I asked.
“Honestly? I don’t even think he noticed,” she replied. “I believe I’ve earned the right to read that letter myself.”
I got it out of my pocket, but before I handed it to her, I said, “I already made a copy of it, so don’t get any ideas.” This was a lie, but I was hoping that she’d believe it and not try to destroy any evidence. “After you read it, I want it back. I’m showing the original to the police chief. He has a right to know what’s going on, too.”
“Okay, I can live with that. I just want to see exactly what it says.”
I took the letter from its envelope and handed it to her. Jessie quickly scanned the brief note, and then her frown deepened as she read it again. “That skunk,” she said as she stood there still holding the letter.
I took it back from her before she could damage it, since it was the only copy I had, and I quickly slid it safely back into its envelope. I really did need to make a copy of it for myself before I handed the original over to Kevin Hurley.
“He actually lied to me,” Jessie said. “I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen that letter for myself.”
“Are you really all that surprised?”
“I shouldn’t be, I admit it,” Jessie answered. After a few seconds, she shook her head and managed to laugh a little. “The guy played me like a pro, didn’t he? If I could do it, I’d congratulate him right now for how slick he played it. I’m not easy to fool, but I’m not afraid to admit it; he got me good.”
Before I could ask another question, her cell phone rang.
“Yes, sir,” she said. “Yes, sir. Fine, sir. Right away, sir. Of course I’ll hold, sir.” Jessie put a hand over the phone to block it, and then said, “I’m sorry, but I’ve got a situation I have to deal with.”
“Should I hang around until you’re through with your call?” I asked.
She shook her head. “This is going to take at least an hour, but there’s no need for you to stay. I don’t know what else I can say. Benet played me, but I never found out about it until just now. What a guy, right?”
Instead of going back into Patrice’s room, Jessie said into her telephone, “Hang on. The reception is lousy in here. I need to go outside to see if I can get a better signal.”
She left me in the hallway, and I was dismissed from her mind as though I’d never been there.
I wasn’t about to leave, though.
It was time I joined Maddy and Patrice.
I didn’t even knock when I walked into the room. Maddy and Patrice were on the balcony, and as I stepped inside, Maddy stood. “Excuse me, but I need to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” I wasn’t sure if that were true, or if she wanted some time to snoop around.
I took the seat beside Patrice as she said, “I like your sister. She’s got real spunk.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said. I reached over and picked up one of the two glasses on the table between the chairs and took a sip. Patrice might be drinking, but Maddy was having straight orange juice. Good for her.
Patrice, slurring her words a little, asked, “So, what rocks have you two ladies turned over today? Did you find any bugs scurrying out from under them looking for protection?”
“We haven’t had time yet to do much rock turning lately,” I said. “Pizza takes up most of our time.”
Patrice picked up her drink and took a large swallow. I wasn’t sure if it was my imagination or not, but she looked surprised as she took the drink. Had someone switched out her Mimosa with one that had more punch?
“Why don’t I believe that?” she asked, her voice suddenly a little hoarse.
“Believe what you will,” I said. “You must really trust Oliver.”
“Why do you say that?” Patrice asked, shaking her head as she did so, as though she were trying to dislodge the cobwebs in her brain.
“Well, you sent him alone to collect your husband’s things,” I said.
“It was his idea, but I figured, why not? Oliver is many things, but a thief is not among them,” Patrice answered. “Besides, in the end, what did Tony really have that was worth stealing?” Her gaze sharpened for a moment as she asked, “Why were you in my husband’s room today, anyway?”
Oh no. It appeared that I’d said a little too much, and the chef’s widow was not nearly as drunk as she first appeared to be.