Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 01 - The Chef at the Water's Edge (2 page)

From her place in the pilot’s seat, Hannah turned to look back into the prettiest blue-eyes she has ever seen on a man. She pushed a strand of brownish blonde-brown hair from out of her sea green eyes, and considered for a moment before answering. “About two hours,” she replied. “Why? You have a hot date?”

“I’m hungry,” the handsome, lean, blond man insisted.

Hannah smiled at Busters attempt at a little boy whine. “Like that’s anything new. We’re going to a food festival. I’m sure they’ll be samples galore. Free samples I might add. You’ll be able to stuff yourself silly.”

“But my stomach is growling now,” Buster insisted.

“Think how much more you’ll enjoy the experience if you are hungry when we get there,” his cousin Cate teased.

“Didn’t we bring snacks?” Buster continued. He then threw himself back against his seat in a dramatic, mock display of anguish. “I mean, we are talking hours from now. I’ll be nothing but skin and bones by then.”

Cate gave her cousin a whimsical look. “Yes, of course we did.” She tossed him a small plastic bag full of snack foods. “It’s true what your mom used to say. You do have a hollow leg.”

“Saved from a fate worse than death,” Buster responded. “It’s impossible for this man to go over a few hours without something to snack on.”

“Impossible,” Cate said laughing. Hannah smiled and looked over to her friends, who engaged in a round of teasing, something they did on a near day to day basis. Listening to them, she drifted off in her thoughts of them, herself, and their past together. At one time, they had been inseparable. These days, it was rare when the three of them could all get together. Life has a way of intervening and taking its own course. Now, this trip to Zebulon was as good an excuse as any to get together one last time before Buster moved to Los Angeles.

The thought of her friend’s relocation made Hannah both sad and happy. Though she would miss him, she was glad he had found a direction. It had not been an easy path in doing so. Unlike Cate, who was always grounded however up until two years prior, Buster was still searching for meaning in his life. Having attempted various careers over the years, everything changed when he discovered acting. Something that, to everyone’s surprise, he showed an amazing, natural aptitude. In just two years, he had gathered enough agent interest to warrant his moving to Los Angeles in a few weeks. Given his natural gifts, everyone expected him to succeed. And Hannah was sure that his tall, lean, fit body, and fair complexion, blond hair, and blue eyes would not hurt his chances either. In no uncertain terms, Buster Maclevoy Jordan was a beautiful man with talent. And soon, everyone would know it.

His cousin Cate was beautiful in her own right. Tall and thin, with brown eyes, dark brown skin and close cropped, black hair, she could have been a model. She chose instead to be a librarian, immersed in the world of books. She was always a reader, which she claimed led her to have to wear glasses when doing so. Hannah spent most of her summers with her friend pouring through book after book. Reading underneath a large oak in the backyard of the Jordan family home. Intelligent, quick witted, curious, and caring, she and Hannah remained close to this day. Cate was the closest thing she had to a sister and a sibling, and she would not have it any other way.

By comparison, her friends were different. But one thing they shared in common was loving, caring families and amazing parents. Two brothers who married sisters. The fact that Cate’s uncle Graham and Aunt Halo adopted Buster is long forgotten. Caring people, they never gave in to social conventions. All that mattered was an orphaned child needed a home, and they needed a child. And Cate’s father, Wilson, helped Buster’s parents see that through. An attorney by trade, he broke ‘heaven and earth’ as her mother Myra recalled, to make what no one should question, acceptable. Theirs was a tight knit family, and it shown in Buster and Cate’s deep love of one another.

A mock slap/push/punch fight going on between the two cousins brought Hannah back into the real world.

“You know, once I hit the big time, you won’t be able to treat me like this. I’ll be too rich and too famous”

“You’ll eat up all your money and be famous for how fat you got.”

“Children. Children. Keep it on that side. I’m trying to fly here.” Hannah rolled her eyes. “Some things never change.” Although she was attentive to what she was doing, once again she let thoughts of her childhood roll through her mind.

Hannah spent most summers of her young life in Twilight where Cate and Buster grew up. It was also where her grandparents, ‘Gran’ Sindee and ‘Papa Jay’ Jayland Starvling lived. They owned the local burger and fry joint, The Starvling Diner, which dated back to the 1950’s. Her parents were archaeologists Skyler and Mikael Starvling. More often than not, they spent the summer months at remote excavation sites. When they went on these extended jaunts, they handed Hannah off to her grandparents. Therefore, she spent her childhood between two worlds. Living with her parents during the school year and living with her grandparents during summers. In her mind, it amounted to a perfect childhood.

“So are you thinking about settling down in Twilight?” Cate asked in a hopeful tone.

Her friend’s question drug Hannah back from her inner thoughts once more.

“I’m considering it. Papa Jay and Gran are getting older. They’re going to need some help. So…”

“Good. But what does that mean for you?”

“Well, I did have one idea.”

Buster leaned forward. “Oh. Oh. I know. Why don’t you open an agency?”

“Yeah. That’s just what she needs,” Cate said in a sarcastic tone.

Buster huffed and defended his position. “Think about it. It’d be awesome.” He wiped his hands across the air to as though looking at a theater marquee. It could be the beginning of another chapter in the career of… Hannah Starvling: Private Investigator.”

“Another chapter indeed,” Hannah thought to herself. In her scant thirty-one years, she had gone through two thus far. She found it interesting that both had developed out of her grandparent’s restaurant. Hannah’s summers in Twilight had meant a lot of time in the diner, where she came to know two things. The world of investigation and the world of cooking. While running the counter, Gran Sindee told her granddaughter about her sideline hobby of ‘being nosy’ as her Papa Jay put it. An amateur sleuth of some note around Twilight, she had acquired the nickname of ‘the Gumshoe Gal’. Though she railed against it in public, in private she was quite proud of the moniker. It was from these stories that Hannah grew to love the idea of investigation, and vowed to one day be an investigator.

Earning a scholarship at Serling University, she double majored in criminal justice and psychology. After graduation, she joined the FBI. Having been part of the agency for just over a year, she encountered the worst day and the best day of her life. She fell victim to a gunshot while working a case, which left residual effects to this day. An unsteady arm that was noticeable just to those who knew. Still, it affected her ability to use a weapon. During her long recovery, she found that switching hands was not an option. Her hard-sought career was on the line, and the prospect for a permanent desk job held no appeal. Though she did not lose her intense curiosity of crime, her days in law enforcement ended. That concluded career number one.

Depressed and uncertain of the future, she returned to Twilight to recover from an injury, and in a sense to recover her life.

“So, what’s this idea? Are you sure you’re awake enough to fly this bucket?” Cate asked which served to return Hannah to the conversation at hand.

“Well, I was thinking I’d like to open a restaurant.”

Buster became excited. “You’re bringing The Starvling back? That’d be awesome! I loved that place.”

“No. It’s gone. Even if I rebuilt it, it wouldn’t be the same. It’ll be something different.”

Hannah had too many memories of the diner, as it once was to bring it back in a different form. It was from the diner that her second career was born as much as the first. All because of her Grandpa Jay.

Watching all the activity while sitting in a booth at the restaurant, Hannah went over her life options. That’s when Grandpa Jay came and sat beside her. She could tell he was contemplating something but said nothing. She was thinking of all the time she spent in the diner with him, where he taught her to cook. Hannah found a love of the culinary in his simple instructions, what he referred to as “burger slinging.” Now she was considering asking if she could come to work with them once again, just long enough to find her next career. After coming and sitting down beside her, Grandpa Jay made an offer. A life changing one. After some silence, he turned to look at her. In that charming, wrinkled, stern face, she saw great concern.

“Sweetness,” he said, “Guns are dangerous. How about we get you into something a little less so? Like with knives, maybe.” At that moment, he gave her a new direction. He offered to send her to the L’Académie Gastronomique de Paris and become a chef. “I’ve an old military buddy who’s a big muckety muck there. Pretty sure I can get you in,” he said matter of fact. She agreed. Career number two had begun.

In the years since, Hannah worked as a restaurant consultant. Traveling worldwide, she helped both individuals and corporations develop their menus. She also worked with some of the biggest names in the culinary world. Now, she found it ironic that career one and career two had once again collided. This time, in a more tragic way.

“Just over a year ago, wasn’t it?” Buster interrupted Hannah’s considerations through a mouth full of crackers.

“Yeah,” Cate answered. “Left quite a mess. Many people lost their jobs. Louie says her husband has been out of sorts ever since. In addition, it terrifies the people of Zebulon. The whole town became centered on her and her businesses before she died.”

Hannah mulled over the information. “Yeah. I read that they can’t let her go.”

“They don’t want things to change,” Cate offered. “With this announcement, that Julia’s niece is stepping up to bring back her cooking show ... well, it’s going to get interesting, to say the least.”

“What a tragedy. I wonder how the fans will accept her.”

Cate pondered her friend’s statement for a moment. “Not sure. I’m more concerned with how Louie will take it.”

Hannah had heard Cate mention Louie Woolridge often, but she knew little of the man. From a culinary perspective, she had read some of his articles in
Food Critic
magazine. Beyond that, she knew only what her friend had reflected, that he was a Julia Karas fan and that he had known her long before she became famous, the so-called ‘Darling of America’s Kitchen’. Her death had left an indelible mark on his being. The degree of their relationship was unclear.

“Are you sure I’m not imposing to stay with him while the festival is going on?”

“Not at all. In fact, he insisted.” Cate then proceeded to enlighten Hannah about Louie Woolridge. An ultra-fan, he had driven all over the country to see and experience Julia Karas’ events. He had even moved to the star’s home town of Zebulon at some point. Hannah deduced from the information the man’s strong infatuation with the star. She wondered to herself if it would become a problem in her investigation.

When she concluded, Buster chimed in. “Louie’s a super fan. But I had no idea she was that big.”

“Massive. According to the Internet, this event is going to be huge. It says to expect enormous crowds paying homage to Julia. Most want to see what direction the corporation has come up with to keep her companies functional,” Cate added.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and get close to the family through Louie!” Buster laughed.

Hannah frowned. “He doesn’t have those kinds of connections, does he?”

Buster thought for a second before shrugging his shoulders. “Well, if there’s anyone who could find a way into the action, it’s Louie. Need I remind you that he is not at all convinced she died in an accident? That’s why we told him we would come and stay a few days before the big event. And sort of why we brought you along.”

“And here I thought it was for my conversational skills,” Hannah issued with fake admonishment. She then smiled. “No. I get it. But my specialty is criminals, not ghosts.”

“Who said anything about ghosts?” Buster said. “Louie has a theory about Julia’s possible disappearance and then coming back when the time is right.”

“Are you serious?” Hannah remarked, rolling her eyes. “It’s more probable that he has an overactive imagination when it comes to his idol.”

“Maybe. On the other hand, she needed a break from the pressure. Didn’t Agatha Christie do something like that?”

“Yeah. But for more nefarious reasons.” From the tone of his voice, Hannah detected concern in her handsome friend. She took a breath, and then tried to ease his fears. “Look, Buster. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to rain on his dreams. I had planned to go to the event anyway. But it’s nice of him to put us up. While I’m here, I will be happy to check out his theory. And, of course, I will look into the death of Julia in more detail, as well. I must admit that the news reports seemed rather shallow for such a famous person.”

Reassured by Hannah’s words, Buster perked up. “They say Julia’s companies have struggled ever since. But with his niece stepping up to continue the dream Julia started, they are beginning to come alive again.”

This new information intrigued Hanna as she began to consider all the facts of the looming case. “Her name is Jazlyn, right? Jazlyn Karas? I’ve read about her. Impressive resume. No doubt, Julia was grooming her for big things.

“I’m sure. Trust me, this is the one I want to see. If her pictures do her justice, she is a sight.” Buster drifted off for a second, mumbling as he recounted out loud what he remembered of the woman. “I saw a picture of her. Short, glossy black hair. Piercing green eyes and a cocky grin. Curvy, with big--”

Cate interrupted Buster by snapping her fingers inches from his face.

“Hey. Snap out of it, lover boy,” Cate insisted. It caused him to jump, much to both Hannah and his cousin’s amusement.