Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 01 - The Chef at the Water's Edge (26 page)

Asa narrowed his eyes. “No. But it’s not surprising. He was always enamored with her. You know, for a time, he was even fascinated with my Julia.” He tapped at the photo. “Now I know why. Regardless, I had to set him straight at one point.”

This new information caught Hannah’s attention. “How did he react?”

A bemused expression ran across Asa’s face, and he gave a sarcastic laugh. “He threatened me. And Julia. So I let him go.”

Hannah became engrossed. She cocked her head, and things began to click in her mind. “I thought you fired Holloway and him for leaking secrets?”

“That was my excuse to Julia.”

The women watched as Asa slipped off into audible contemplation, never looking at them. “Julia made odd choices. Even after twenty-one years of marriage, there were times when I just couldn’t fathom her motives. Xabiere was an ass to end all asses. But she saw something in the man that no one else could. So she took him in. Like a stray dog or a lost puppy. Same with Holloway and Vera.”

“Like a stray dog or lost puppy,” Hannah considered Asa’s words to herself. She mulled over the idea as he rambled on for a moment more. She came to the conclusion that Julia took in strays and orphans because she felt guilt over adopting out Vera. Xabiere and perhaps even Holloway were psychological substitutes. “They were her penance,” she concluded. “Why’d you hire him back, after you had let him go?”

“In part, because my niece insisted. And because he provided evidence that Holloway was the one who had sold out our secrets. And I guess because Julia would have wanted me to. It’s been a year. The restaurant had a sudden opening. He was available. It just sort of fell into place.” Seeing the look on Hannah and Cate’s faces, Asa said. “Cranston left town without notice. Is it possible he…?”

Hannah said nothing but just scrutinized Asa. She wondered if he was ready for her final revelation. “It’s possible. Both your wife and this Cranston fellow.”

This new information shook Asa. He looked at the photo of their wedding, studying Julia’s image, that of himself, and that of Xabiere. Then he gazed at the urn on a pedestal. Hannah and Cate could see he was struggling to find meaning. And she dreaded what would come next. “But for what reason?”

“Like you, and every other man in her life, he was in love with Julia. And he may or may not have found out about Vera.”

Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Asa rose from his chair. “Vera? What does she have to do with this?” “You replaced Vera with Jazlyn. But your wife had a will created that would, in the event of her demise, give Vera her part of your combined estate. It also names her heir to her show.”

Asa stopped dead in his tracks. He glared at both women. “I have our will. We built it together. Agreed upon it. In the event of her death, if I am living, I am the beneficiary. If we are both gone, the majority goes to her charity.”

“And what about Jazlyn?”

Asa produced an uneasy look. “She gets a reasonable trust, the show, and the restaurant. We had no children, and she is the closest thing to one I have.”

Hannah braced herself. She was about to drop a bomb on Asa, one that could send him in any number of emotional directions. For such a controlling man, he was about to find out that, in reality, he was not at all as such.

“Not for Julia,” Hannah said in a blunt, solid voice.

Both women watched as the man’s face began to turn red. Asa was losing his temper. He was just about to erupt and managed, “What are you talking about?” in a loud, angry tone.

“Julia had a child. Years ago, before you met.”

Asa’s posture collapsed. His face shown of disbelief, brow furrowed deep, and mouth agape. “You’re lying.”

“Vera,” Hannah added, providing context.

“No.”

“She had a DNA test done and a new will drawn up to reflect the results.”

“We’ve seen it ourselves,” Cate interceded.

Asa searched for words but found none. He moved back to his chair and collapsed in it. For a moment, he glanced about the room wearing a wild expression. Hannah considered it to be the response of a man overwhelmed. After a few seconds, he asked, “DNA. Against who? Miller or Xabiere?”

“Louie Woolridge.”

The last bit of information was enough to send Asa reeling. “Woolridge?” He shook his head. “None of this is making any sense.”

Hannah noticed the color draining from Asa’s face and his breathing increase. Then he reached up and grabbed his arm, clutching it with the other hand. He let out a moan and slid to the floor. Hannah rushed over to roll him over, and looked at Cate. “On it,” her friend replied without even hearing the request.

Hannah and Cate looked on as paramedics loaded Asa onto the ambulance. Homer Staples climbed in back, as well. His wife, Leona, exited into the house to follow after in their personal car.

“Well,” Cate stated, “that didn’t go as planned.”

Hannah dusted off her hat. “No, but it gives us an opportunity.” Placing it on her head, she looked at Cate and said, “It’s all starting to come together. Now, come on. Let’s go get the final piece.”

As she and Cate drove to the hospital, Hannah obsessed over the current state of the case.

“Xabiere. He’s responsible for all this. He called Julia the night she died and lured her out. He’s the one who attacked the house. And he’s suspect in Cranston’s sudden ‘departure’.” Hannah gestured, giving the quote sign with her first two fingers of both hands. “Hym’s trying to get a subpoena for his phone records. But that will take some time.”

“So what are we fixing to do?” Cate asked as they pulled into the parking lot of Zebulon Memorial Hospital. “As if I don’t know already.”

Hannah sighed. “We’re going to get the records we need.”

Shaking her head in doubt, Cate clarified, “So, just to be clear. We’re running with Prince Handsome’s theory that Xabiere left the hospital and killed Julia. He then drug her to the gazebo, slammed her head into the post, before he threw her in the water. After that, he returned here undetected between nurse rounds? And now we are going to break into the hospital records and get the proof? This rather than get a subpoena for them along with the ones for the phone.”

Hannah smirked as she opened the car door and got out. Once again putting on her hat, she ran her pinched index and thumb around the rim. “Yup,” she said and slammed the door shut. “Don’t forget your laptop.”

“You are such a drama queen.” Cate picked up the laptop and stepped out of the car ,mumbling. “And we are so going to prison. Had to read detective novels all those summers with her, didn’t you Cate. Couldn’t just get her to read teen romances, could you,” she scolded herself.

“Have a little faith,” Hannah chided. “We’re close. Look. As I see it, Julia rebuffed Xabiere. When he couldn’t have her, he tried to replace her with Vera, her second. But Jazlyn replaced Vera, making her next up. This all goes back to his obsession. His total fixation on Julia.”

“Good lord. And I thought Louie had it bad.”

“I know, right? Xabiere has serious issues. Which makes him dangerous. Now, we can wait for a few days for the permission to get his records, if Hym can even convince a judge to give him permission. Give Xabiere the chance to catch on. Maybe flee. Or attack Jazlyn. Maybe take a shot at Vera and Louie again. Or we can get the records ourselves, force a confession, and let everyone, including Louie, get on with their lives.”

It did not take Cate long to weigh the options. “All right then. Let’s do this.”

As they approached the hospital, Hannah suggested they find the cafeteria. It was an open area where no one would be suspicious of their work and a good place for Cate to tap into the hospital’s WiFi network. Hannah knew that most modern facilities used these systems but that security around them is not always what it should be. As such, intruders within a set radius of the facility could access files if they had the skillset to do so. And she knew Cate had them, among her many talents. Hannah recalled that Cate double majored in library science and computers, specializing in web security. Her life goal was to become a digital archivist for the Smithsonian. But when her mother, Myra Jordan turned up with cancer, Cate settled in Twilight and took a job at the library.

After finding their way to the cafeteria, the two settled and both began their work. While waiting for Cate’s laptop to boot up, Hannah tried to listen in on the conversation at the next table. A group of nurses ate, chatted, and watched the news that was playing. The news story revolved around the incident at the studio. Thus, the nurses’ discussion centered on it.

Hannah turned back to Cate, who focused on the laptop. After a moment, Cate looked up and gave a single node. Hannah knew this meant that her companion had connected to the network and that it was time to put a plan into action. A plan that would save them time and effort of going the hard route to the records.

“Uh, did you get the pass code for the network?” Cate said in a loud enough voice for the nurses at the next table to overhear.

Hannah shook her head. “I didn’t.”

Cate turned to the nurses, “Excuse me. I hate to interrupt, but you wouldn’t happen to have the WiFi pass code would you?”

A young nurse, perhaps in her late twenties Hannah calculated, spoke up. “I don’t think there is one. It’s an open system.”

“Oh,” Cate said, typing. She then frowned. “Darn it. Something must be wrong with my computer.”

“It still won’t let you on?” the young nurse inquired.

Cate mocked another attempt and shook her head. “No. I just need to check on my aunt. She’s in ICU.” She gave an imploring smile.

“You can always go to the nurses’ station,” another nurse recommended. Hannah devised her as being not just older but more experienced, given her voice tone and mannerisms.

“Oh, no. Not her,” Hannah exaggerated. “She’s got this thing about hospitals.”

Cate looked sheepish. “It’s a phobia. A real problem,” she sighed. “This is as far as I go unless I’m unconscious.”

Hannah reached over and patted Cate’s hand. “I’ll check on her. You stay here.”

The older nurse got up and stepped next to Hannah and Cate’s table. “They won’t give a non-family member much info. But, here, I can get you in if you like.”

Cate gave a charming smile. “Thank you.”

“Just be sure and sign out,” the nurse said smiling, and stepped back to her group.

Hannah gave Cate a capricious look. After a few seconds, she exclaimed, “Oh. Here.” Cate turned to the nurses. “Everything looks good. Everything is going to be all right.”

The nurses got up to leave, and the helpful one said, “Good for you, honey. Hope everything turns up well.” Both Hannah and Cate waved. “I’m sure it will,” Cate responded.

“Well?” Hannah asked.

“You cannot rush great art. You must savor it… bingo!” Cate confirmed access as she scanned the electronic medical record. “Says here he registered under his legal name, William Robert Barton. Admitted 8:24 p.m. from the emergency room. He complained of a headache, blurred vision, nausea, vomiting, vertigo, and agitation. Related that he had fallen down stairs in his condo earlier around 1:00 p.m. He struck his head, and a neighbor who heard the fall reported she found him unconscious, and remained so for about a minute. His symptoms progressed until he came to the hospital. The doctor recommended overnight observation.”

Hannah frowned, disappointed that the information was not what she had hoped for. “What about nurses’ reports?”

Scanning down the page, Cate lifted one eyebrow. “Two for two. Says here that around 10:40, the nurse’s assistant checked in on him and he was missing from his room. A general search failed to find him. Around 11:50 p.m., he turned up in the waiting room in ‘a delusional state’. He told them he was waiting to see a doctor. They took him back to his room and restrained him for the night.”

Cate looked up from the screen. “That’s an hour and ten minutes unaccounted for. More than enough time.”

“He wouldn’t even need that. Ten minutes to and from. That leaves fifty minutes to do what he did.” Hannah swirled her tongue around the inside of her mouth for a bit and then tapped the top of the computer. “Can you get to the security reports for the night?”

Cate began typing. “What are we looking for?”

“Anything out of the ordinary not related to that.”

After a moment, Cate grinned. “Gotcha.” She turned the computer around so Hannah could read. The sleuth’s eyes lit up as she read. “A stolen car.” She lifted her face to meet Cate’s. “Nailed,” was all she said.

Several phone calls later, and an hour’s passage led everyone back to Louie’s once more. A recap of present evidence and suspicions led to a discussion of the burden of proof.

“But is it enough?” Louie asked, handing Hym a mug.

Hym took the vessel and lifted it to Louie in thanks. He then leaned back into his host’s couch. “Well, no, to be honest. Not by definition.”

Hannah paced the floor pointing out the fact that Xabiere had both motive and opportunity.

“Now you are sounding like a dime store novel detective,” Hym accused.

Hannah showed clear signs of frustration. “He was missing from the hospital at the time.”

“From the hospital. The same hospital where he was later found mumbling in the waiting room, claiming they wanted to admit him when he already was. And this…” Hym added, pointing to the laptop, “says he did have an injury to the head. By the way, that’s inadmissible. Just so you know.”

Hannah glared at the officer. “A slight injury. And I emphasize slight.”

Hym drew in a breath before choosing his words. “Look. I know he did it. You know he did it. We all know he did it. But prove it? No. You and I have a theory. We can show doubt. That is all.”

“And doubt doesn’t always convict,” Buster commented. He glanced over to Cate. “Uncle Wilson says that all the time,” Cate agreed.

“We’ll just have to get him to admit it, then.”

Buster blew out a breath as Cate responded, “Oh, dear.” Hym, Louie, and Vera turned to the cousins with quizzical looks. “Drama time.”

All eyes returned to Hannah for an explanation.