Dying for a Taste (5 page)

And now it was mine.

But what on earth was I going to do as the owner of a restaurant? I mean, sure, I had given up the law to work at Solari’s, but that was just because of what happened to my mom. Not only had Dad been heartbroken by the loss of his wife, but he’d also been devastated by the hole that was left in Solari’s staff. Mom had run the front of the house ever since she and Dad had been married, and he had no clue how to manage the waitstaff; do things like void tickets and cancel credit card charges; or, God forbid, deal with irate customers.

So I’d agreed to come back; it was the obvious solution. But just for a while, until my dad got back on an even keel and we found someone else to take over. I had never intended to spend the rest of my life dealing with linen services and scheduling lunch shifts.

It might have been different if I’d been allowed to cook, but Dad had always refused to teach me the hot line. It was some sexist thing of his: that women should be at the front of the house and men at the back. Which was weird, really, ’cause his father had encouraged Letta to learn to cook at Solari’s. Dad and I had argued bitterly about this when I was a teenager, but it just didn’t seem like it was worth the fight anymore.

Watching the line cooks in their black chef’s caps moving about at the back of Gauguin, I could see Javier darting back and forth on the hot line, tending sauté pans and plating up
entrées. I still didn’t believe he could have killed Letta, but my belief didn’t mean diddly. It certainly wouldn’t keep him from being arrested for the crime, not if the police thought there was enough evidence to hold him over for trial. And I had to admit, one of my biggest worries—even though it was out of pure selfishness—was who would run the restaurant if he were arrested.

By the time Eric and I finished our dinner, the place had emptied out some, and it looked like most of the remaining tables had their food. Brandon came to inquire about dessert, which we declined. I would have loved a slice of the creamy macadamia nut pie but knew it would go straight to my hips, so I resisted the urge. But I did order a cappuccino, and Eric an espresso.

“I get the sense you think there’s something I could do for Javier,” I said once Brandon had set down our coffees and gone back into the kitchen. “You know, when you said earlier that you think Javier’s likely to be arrested ‘unless some new evidence emerges’?”

Eric unwrapped a sugar cube and dunked half of it into his espresso, letting the black coffee wick up the sides. “Well, the police aren’t going to do any investigation on his behalf, that’s for sure. If he is in fact arrested, I suppose the public defender might have an investigator do a little snooping around. But let’s face it, they don’t have the funds to do much.” He sucked the coffee from the cube, dropped the remaining sugar into his cup, and looked up at me.

“So . . . what? You’re suggesting that I investigate the murder? Jesus, Eric. Do I look like Miss Marple or something? I don’t know jack about criminal investigation. Besides, I’ve
already got a job that keeps me pretty damn busy—and a second restaurant to worry about now, too.”

“It’ll be a lot harder to deal with Gauguin if Javier’s in prison,” Eric replied. “And you do know, as much as anyone does, about Letta, about her family and friends. And hey, it’s perfect: Now that you’ve inherited Gauguin, you have every reason to be asking lots of questions about her life and about the restaurant. It’s the ideal cover.” Eric leaned back in his chair and smiled in that self-satisfied way that used to drive me nuts.

And still did, I realized, especially when he was right.

Eric drained his tiny cup and stood up, pleading an early-morning court call. He insisted on paying the bill—which I let him do; no reason for me to pay myself money, now was there?—pecked me on the cheek, and took his leave.

I pulled out the papers he’d given me and turned to the crime scene notes. Though the Saroyan law firm doesn’t handle criminal cases, over the years I’d seen my share of police reports, which these notes reminded me of, as they’re often part of the evidentiary record in civil actions. But it was eerie reading the description of a crime scene concerning people in my own life.

The notes started with a detailed, clinical description of the state of Letta’s body, which I skipped over, instead moving on to the description of the premises. In the
garde manger
area, other than the body, there were two pieces of evidence that struck me as particularly relevant.

First, the evidence regarding the knife cabinet. As I already knew, it had been unlocked and was left standing open. Letta’s key to the cabinet had been found on the key
chain in her purse, which was sitting on the counter in the same room. A chef’s knife (the twelve-inch Wusthof Trident Classic Wide model, I learned from the notes of Javier’s interview) was found on the floor next to the body. It had been wiped clean of fingerprints, but there were traces of blood, which was presumed to be that of the deceased. The knife had been sent off to the lab for testing.

Second, a ceramic, Chinese-style teapot and two small cups were found on the counter next to Letta’s purse. They had also been sent to the lab for testing, but it looked like they had been washed and wiped clean of any prints.

Skipping over the rest of the crime scene notes for now, which consisted largely of measurements, sketches, and descriptions of the contents of the room, I turned to the interviews.

The notes of Brandon’s interview merely confirmed what I already knew about the knife being Javier’s and that it was kept in a locked cabinet to which only he and Letta possessed the keys.

Eric was right, I thought gloomily. This was not good news for the sous-chef. I turned the page and kept reading.

Sunday night’s hostess, Tess, reported that the restaurant had been cleaned up for the night and the tables and kitchen set up for Tuesday dinner. The evening’s take had been locked in the safe, as usual, before she left for the evening. No cash was missing Monday morning.

Tess also stated that when she left for the night on Sunday, the only two people remaining were Javier and Letta. Javier confirmed this but stated that he had only stayed for a few minutes longer after Tess had gone and that when he left, Letta was in her office going over some papers. He couldn’t
recall if she was drinking tea or not. But yes, he did sometimes share a pot of green tea with her after work.

The restaurant staff all confirmed that it was Letta’s practice to drink green tea, often with whomever happened to be around, after hours. But no one interviewed admitted to drinking tea with her the night of the murder, nor could anyone remember seeing anyone who had.

As I was reading, a shadow fell on the report, and I looked up to see Javier standing before me. His smooth, fine features were drawn and tight, and his dark eyes looked tired. I couldn’t help noticing that his white chef’s jacket had a few yellow-colored spatters next to the Gauguin logo—the restaurant’s name with a pink-and-white plumeria blossom—which was stitched above the pocket. I motioned for him to join me.

“All done for the night?” I asked, slipping the papers back into my bag.

He pulled out the chair and nodded as he sat down. “There’s a few more desserts, but all the hot-line orders are finished.” As Brandon passed by to serve the three-top next to us their coffees, Javier asked him to bring out two glasses of dessert wine. I did not object.

“I saw that guy who was with you here tonight,” Javier said. “He’s a cop or something, right?”

“A district attorney. They’re the lawyers who prosecute criminal cases for the government.”

“Right. Uh . . .” He glanced at the next table, but they were laughing at something and clearly paying no attention to us. “Did he say anything about me?”

“Yeah, he did.” I waited while Brandon set down two dainty glasses of white wine, and then I continued, trying to
keep my voice low. “And you’re right, Javier: it looks like you are the prime suspect.”

I tried the wine. A little sweet for my taste, but even after a cocktail and half a bottle of wine, I was feeling way too sober to be having this conversation. I drank it down. “And given the facts—the knife, the locked cabinet, you being the last one besides Letta to leave—I guess I can see why they suspect you.”

Javier’s head was down, and he was swirling his wine around and around in the glass. At this last comment, he looked up.

“But that’s
crazy
,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about it, and . . . well, c’mon. If I wanted to stab someone, would I use a
chef’s
knife to do it? They’re so wide, it would be hard to get one to go very deep. A boning knife would work way better. Don’t you see?” he said, leaning forward and slapping his hands on the table. “It’s
gotta
be someone who doesn’t know about knives.”

I didn’t care to think about Letta’s stabbing in such detail and changed the subject. “Eric, the DA who was here tonight with me, thinks I should get involved,” I said, “and do some investigation on your behalf.”

“Really? Would you?”

“Maybe. But only if you’re completely honest with me.”

He leaned back in his chair and frowned, his chin tucked.

“About Letta. And you.”

“What do you mean?” he asked. But I could see his grip on the wine glass tighten.

“Look, Javier. It’s, um, just that . . . well . . .”

Okay. I know it may seem weird—me having been a lawyer and all—but I was finding it difficult to interrogate Javier about his personal life. What can I say? It’s different with strangers than with people you know. And it’s not like I had ever been all that crazy about prying into the details of my client’s lives, either. But if I was going to find out what happened to Letta, I had to know what Javier’s relationship with her had been.

I spat it out. “I heard that you were in love with her.”

He didn’t say anything right away and just looked at me, lips tight. But from his sad eyes, I could tell—it was true. He
had
been in love with her.
Oh Jesus
. That sure threw a spatula in the works.

“Did you tell the cops?” I asked.

He shook his head and drank down the rest of his wine.

Great
.
Suppressing information, too
. “Well,” I said, “they’re going to find out, you know.”

“How?” he responded. “And I don’t see why it’s important, anyway.”

“Come on, Javier. If I know, they can certainly find out. And don’t be so dense. Of course anyone who’s in love with the victim is going to be of great interest to the police. Especially if he’s hiding it.” I tapped my index finger impatiently on the table. “Did you tell her? Letta?”

“Nuh-uh. I never said anything. She was involved with Tony, so what would have been the point?”

“Yeah.”

Javier started to get up. “I should really be getting back to the kitchen.”

“Wait. Stay for another minute, can you? There’s something I’ve got to tell you.”

He sat back down.

“Did Letta ever mention anything about who she wanted the restaurant to go to if she died?”

I could tell the question piqued his interest. There was a look of—what, hope?—in his eyes. “No,” he answered.

“I just asked, since I was, well, frankly flabbergasted when I read her will yesterday.” He continued to hold my gaze. “Because, uh . . . she gave it to me.”

His whole body appeared to deflate slightly, just for a moment.
Could he have been expecting her to give it to him?
I guess that would have made some kind of sense, his being her lieutenant, so to speak. But folks generally tend to will their possessions to family members, not business associates.

Then he seemed to catch himself. “Wow, Sally, that’s great. Congratulations.” He smiled and raised his glass. “Glad to have you as the new boss. Just don’t go changing Gauguin into a singles bar.”

“No worries on that front,” I said. “In fact, I’m going to be pretty damn dependent on you to keep it going exactly as it has been.”

“Well then, you better do your best to keep me out of jail,” he said with a grin. But I could see the fear behind the smile.

***

The next morning I woke early, brain churning. I pulled back the curtains to check on the weather. Not a cloud in the sky. A good, long bike ride was what I needed before my lunch shift at Solari’s.

I’m no Mario Cipollini, mind you (my dad’s favorite cyclist, and not just because of the shared name). But I do relish the rush of riding hard for an hour or two a few times a week. Plus, by my calculations, for every sixty minutes of cycling, I burn about six hundred calories. That’s two buttery croissants, or four bottles of Bass Ale, or a plate of my dad’s linguine with clam sauce along with a slice of crusty garlic bread.

And today I could really use some physical exertion. Maybe it would help clear my mind for a while, quiet the continual thoughts of Letta, and still the anxiety that had descended upon learning I was the new owner of her restaurant.

I changed into my cycling shorts and jersey emblazoned with the Tour of California logo, performed a few cursory stretches, clipped into my red-and-white Specialized Roubaix, and wheeled off. I had a hankering for the salt spray and tang of the ocean, so I decided to ride the length of West Cliff Drive and then up to Wilder Ranch, north of town.

But first, I had to stop by my dad’s house. I needed to tell him about Letta’s will.

Dad also lives on the Westside of town—it seems like all my relatives live within just a few blocks of each other—in a small beach-style bungalow. Since my apartment building is near the yacht harbor on the Eastside, to get across town, I took the walkway over the river at the railroad trestle; rode the length of the Boardwalk, its famous roller coaster silent on this weekday morning; and then pumped up the short hill past the entrance to the wharf.

I cruised down Laguna Street and turned into my dad’s driveway. Unlike most of their neighbors, my folks never
remodeled their home to add a second story or punch out a master bedroom, so the building is virtually unchanged from when it was built back in the early 1960s: two bedrooms, one-and-a-half baths, a kitchen with avocado-green appliances and a Formica countertop, and a living room decked out with shag carpet, an overstuffed couch, and a Naugahyde recliner.

His truck was there, which meant he was home.
Good.
I unclipped and wheeled my bike through the gate next to the garage. Dad was out back, atop a ladder leaning against the side fence. He was attacking a peach-colored climbing rose with a pair of large shears.

“What are you doing pruning now?” I asked, leaning my bike against the fence and removing my helmet. “Isn’t it kinda late in the season for that?” I stepped back out of the way as a huge branch came crashing down, its stems covered in vicious-looking thorns.

“My damn neighbor.
Wanda
,” he added, as if the name produced a sour taste in his mouth. “She’s been complaining about this beautiful Westerland rose. Can you imagine anyone not loving it? Just look at the color!”

“What’s her beef?”

“She says her grandson plays in the yard and that my plants along the fence line are dangerous.”

I gingerly picked up one of the spiky branches. “Well, I guess I can see why she’d think that.”

He just snorted and then pointed with the shears at a trumpet vine farther back along the fence. “And the
Brugmansia
, too. She insists I prune it back so none of the flowers hang over onto her property.” Shaking his head, Dad climbed
down the ladder and gave me a kiss. “So what brings you by, hon? You want some coffee?”

I clomped into the kitchen with him, still wearing my cycling cleats. “I just stopped by to tell you what I learned about Letta’s will.” Dad handed me a mug, and we went into the living room. He leaned back in the recliner, and I plopped down onto the couch.

“So,” I said once we were both settled, “she gave you her house, which still has a bit of a mortgage, I gather, and its contents, as well as her car. Oh, and that property she owns in Hawai‘i, too. It’s just a vacant lot as far as I can tell.”

Dad nodded, but his teeth were clenched. “I gotta say, it gives me the willies thinking about benefitting from what happened.”

“Yeah. I hear you.” I sipped from my steaming mug. He hadn’t asked about Gauguin. Maybe he didn’t think of it as being one of Letta’s possessions, since she didn’t own the actual building.

I cleared my throat. Dad had been staring out the window at a woman and a Yorkie terrier, the latter pulling vigorously on its leash, but now looked back at me. “And here’s the weird part,” I went on. “She gave me one thing too: her restaurant.”

He blinked a couple times, like he had something in his eye, and then swallowed. But he didn’t say a word. After a moment, he stood up and walked back into the kitchen. I jumped up to follow and placed my hand on his shoulder.

“
Babbo
.”

“I shoulda known,” he said, shrugging off my touch. “You two were always conspiring against me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“After Letta came back to town, you were always way more interested in spending time with her than with me and your mom. And it was obvious you were completely infatuated with Gauguin, that you thought it was some kind of, I dunno, French Laundry, come down here to the backwaters of Santa Cruz. I bet you and Letta were talking for years about how you’d take the place over after she was gone.”

“But that’s just so untrue. I had no idea I was even in her will.”

“Go on,” he said with a wave of the hand. “Go ahead and run that snooty restaurant with all its gourmet cuisine and leave me to my low-class diner that serves up peasant fare. The same place, mind you, that paid for your food and clothes all those years and helped you through college. I know it’s mostly just an embarrassment for you, Solari’s.” He turned away and busied himself with rinsing out his coffee cup.