Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 01 - The Chef at the Water's Edge (29 page)

At a loss for words, she looked up and around at everyone. Jonas and Walker handcuffed Xabiere, who still struggled against them. Louie, Buster and Critic made their way over to where she was. Cate and Casey were just exiting the garage, running in their direction. Unexplainable tears erupted from her eyes. She wiped them away as she shook her head. She leaned over and placed her head on his chest.

Less than thirty minutes later, paramedics and police were well into working the site. Xabiere’s rambling state warranted an ambulance, restraints, and a ride to Zebulon Memorial. A general admittance to the psychiatric ward was to follow. All grew quiet as they loaded Xabiere. “Julia,” echoed as the doors closed. Seconds later, with sirens wailing, the ambulance pulled away.

Hannah stayed by Hym as a second set of paramedics prepped him for transport to the hospital.

“How bad is it?” Hannah asked.

The older of the two medics continued to work with Hym. “Not for us to say.”

“I’ll live,” Hym answered, though there was a detectable amount of pain and stress in his voice.

“Drama king,” Cate said as she looked on.

Standing beside Hannah, she surveyed the scene. Officer Glenn talked to Jonas and Walker. Casey talked with Jazlyn. Louie stood next to Vera. Officer Pepper filled out paperwork with Buster.

Seeing this, Cate, who stood by Hannah, commented, “So maybe he’ll marry into law.” She excused herself and stepped away to talk to Louie and Vera.

As they lifted his stretcher into the ambulance, Hym restated his question. “You never answered my question,” he said with a smile.

Hannah squeezed his hand.

“You call this a date?”

“What would you call it?”

Looking around at everyone broken off into groups, she said, “A beginning.”

Sitting in
Hoolie’s Burgers, Fries, and All That
, Hannah and Hym chatted over a bowl filled with fried okra.

“I’m starting to like the fact that you have that plane.”

“It does come in handy. I’m taking it up to
The International Culinary Festival
next month. Care to join?”

In his best flirty voice, Hym answered, “Ooh, Ms. Starvling. Are you trying to get me all to yourself?”

Hannah shifted her body. “Actually, my grandparents are coming along.”

Hym made a curious, considering face. “Hmm. Meeting the grandparents. Hmm…”

Looking over to Hannah, he could see the embarrassment on her face. The whole invitation now sounded different from what she had intended. Her expression of internal horror and conflict amused him but he repressed the urge to laugh out loud.

“Oh. Is that too soon? I didn’t mean—“

Hym interrupted her before she exploded out of mortification.

“I’m just teasing you. I’d love to. That is ,if they’ll let me,” he said pointing to the brace supporting his leg.

It had been just over six weeks and he was healing, but the doctors told him that he would likely use a cane for the rest of his life, something he had yet to break to this amazing and stunning woman. Almost every weekend since the shooting, she had been with him. Their romance was progressing in his mind and he did not want to do anything to jeopardize it.

“Thanks for being there for me,” Hym said, reaching out to take Hannah’s hand. “And I never thanked you for busting me out of the hospital. I appreciate it.”

Hannah gave a warm smile. “You are more than welcome. But I didn’t bust you out. You were released. Besides, Ed was there too, remember?” Her smile turned to a grin. “But I suppose I did play my part. So, what do I get as a reward?”

“How about…” Hym looked around and grabbed the bowl of okra, “The popcorn of the south.”

Hannah frowned, “It’s a free appetizer.” She popped a piece into her mouth and chewed. “But it is amazing.” She grabbed another piece and chowed down on it.

Hym smiled. “Told you. Hoolie’s is awesome. I’ve been coming here for years.”

A large, black male placed a plate before Hannah. It had a huge cheeseburger and a massive pile of onion rings. “He practically lived here as a child. It’s how we met. So, you are the lady Hym’s been going on about.”

Hannah looked up at the man. He was at least 6’4”, if not larger. Graying black hair and beard. Big, friendly eyes and a smile that could light the world.

“Hannah, meet William Langston Hooligan. Otherwise known as Hoo To.”

“Only to you, knot-head.” He offered a hand to Hannah. “Pleasure to meet you. Friends call me Will.”

He and Hannah shook hands. Hannah grabbed an onion ring and said, “Pleasure’s all mine. And, by the way, this okra. Amazing. I’d like to include the recipe in the book I’m working on about southern diner food.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get you the recipe.”

Hannah took a bite of the onion ring. Her eyes grew wide with pleasure. “And these rings. Dear lord. These are fantastic.”

Will laughed. “All right. Onion rings, too.”

“We definitely need to talk. I might just do a whole section on this place.” Eyeing the burger, she added, “Maybe a book.”

Will chuckled again, and looked at Hym. “I like this one. Keep her.” He turned to walk away but called back, “And you were right. She is fine.”

Swallowing down the bite she had taken from the burger, Hannah grinned. “I’m fine?”

“Actually, I said beautiful,” Hym admitted. “But fine works”

“I can live with that.”

Hym’s face went serious. “So, how’s Cate?

Hannah set her burger down. “She’s doing okay. Dealing with it. The first couple of days was rough. We did a lot of late night talking. But the surgery went better than expected. No chemo. No radiation. Checkups every six months for the next few years.”

Hym nodded. “It’s good that she has family. And you. When Mom got it, it was a struggle.” The pain of the memory showed on his face.

Watching his sadness almost broke Hannah’s heart. She was troubled by his loss, yet grateful that her friend had avoided the same fate. At least for now.

“But something good did come from it,” Hannah said with a brighter face.

Through a puzzled expression, Hym questioned in silence.

“All through high school and college, she dated this guy, Alvin Hayes. But it didn’t work out for various reasons. Anyway, he took a job in Washington, Cate stayed in Twilight. So they parted ways. But when she went in to have surgery, she ran into him again. His dad was being treated for the cancer to. Well, long story short. He’s moving back, and he’s pretty much been by her side every day since.”

“Glad to hear it. She’s a fine lady.” Hym took a bite of his burger. “Buster would have liked these. Speaking of which, how’d he take the news?”

“He was furious that she didn’t tell him. But she knew if she did, he wouldn’t have left. But he’ll be back soon, anyway. He got a part in a horror movie that’s shooting here.”

Both took bites of their food. There was a moment of silence. Hym broke it with a question. “Louie and Vera. Heard from them?”

Gesturing while holding an onion ring, Hannah answered, “Yeah, I have. They’re fine. Louie’s taking some vacation time to spend with Vera. Vera’s still getting used to having a second father. They’re both in Paris meeting her adoptive parents. And Louie’s taken a shine to her mother’s sister.”

Hym drew his brow down but gave a smile. “Sounds like he’s finally moved on. But man, I’d hate to see Vera’s therapy bills.”

“Well, now she can at least afford them. Asa isn’t going to fight the will. In fact, he’s sort of embracing the situation. She’ll be sitting on the board of Karas Inc. when she gets back. Not just the culinary wing. So Jazlyn’s continuing with the show.”

“Which I caught, by the way. She owned it. She’s a good transition from Julia.”

Hannah tapped the table excitedly. “Oh, one other thing. After all the drama, a producer latched onto the idea of making a film of Julia’s struggles. So who knows, you may be captured in all your glory on-screen soon.”

“Great,” Hym said with a displeased tone. “Some Hollywood wannabe playing me.”

“Well, you never know. They might get Silas Connor or someone like that.”

Considering the possibility, he was not that displeased with the thought. “I suppose. I guess this case had a near perfect ending, under the circumstances.”

Hannah half agreed with a slight nod. “Near,” she added.

There was another long silence before Hannah finished off the last of her food. “So. Xabiere.”

Hym cocked his head. “Been waiting on that. It’ll likely be a judgment of incompetent to stand trial, at least at the present time. He may recover enough at some point to face trial, but it’ll be a long time coming.”

Hym could tell by Hannah’s expression that she was not pleased with the news, but there was little he could do about it. He was not a man to be dishonest for any reason, and he was not going to start with the woman who sat before him.

“But he is a mess, so it’s not unexpected. I was closing out some aspects of the case the other day so I checked with the doctors on the ward. They’ve listed his behavior as a combination of obsessive love disorder, fixation, and transference.”

Hannah contemplated the information. Her eyes darted around until she admitted, “Yeah. I can see that. He obsessed over Julia. Went for Vera to replace her symbolically and hurt her at the same time. Went for Jazlyn when that didn’t work.”

“Pretty much what they said. In his mind, in killing Julia, he left an unfillable void. Vera reminded him too much of Julia. But Jazlyn was in a position that made her more like his obsession.”

“So his next mark would have been Asa. Jazlyn would inherit the kingdom. He’d marry the princess. And they would rule together, much like he saw Asa and Julia.”

Hym grinned. “Exactly. Everyone else he killed, and there were more than just Cranston, were just collateral damage. They found out something. Or got in the way. Hence his taking a shot at Louie’s house.”

Hannah leaned back in the booth. “Wow. But I still have one question.”

“Of course you do.”

“The whole toxicology report. How does it fit in?”

Hym pondered the question for a moment before offering an explanation. “Well, it was the lynch pin. Without it, the story would have never got out there.”

“But that means Julia was taking barbiturates.”

“It does.”

Hannah sighed. A sad, disturbed face erupted. “I guess it’s not that surprising. She was quirky, independent, and brilliant. But I get the feeling that even those closest to her didn’t know her. Not really. She left a lot of unanswered questions.”

“Like?”

Hannah leaned in toward Hym, placing her elbows on the table. She looked him straight in the eyes. “Like, what did she see in Xabiere? Why’d she leave Louie? Why did she abandon Vera? Why didn’t she just tell her at some point? Why didn’t she tell Louie? Why...”

Hym interrupted. “We don’t always get an answer to everything.” Hym offered. “Sometimes we just get the story and have to use our imaginations to fill in the blanks.”

“Well, you know what I’m imagining?”

Hym dipped his head. “I can’t imagine.”

“Something sweet.”

“Hmm. Let’s see. Hoo To makes an excellent pie. Pecan, apple, lemon, chocolate. What’ll it be?”

“This.” Hannah leaned in and kissed Hym. With that, she got her just dessert.

Kee Patterbee spent the early years of her life working at the hardest career in the world. She was a mother. Then she embarked on a second career as a grandmother. Along the way, she dabbled in writing, most often in short stories. In 2013, Kee decided to do something she had always dreamed of doing. She began work on her first novel. That book is
The Chef at the Water’s Edge
. Here, she created the character of Hannah Starvling. Her protagonist is a former FBI turned culinary consultant, now semi-amateur sleuth.

Since that time she’s written three more Hannah novels and one novella as part of the ongoing Twilight Mystery Series. Plans are in the work for many more.

Kee grew up in a small southern town. It was there that her love of slow paced communities, their residents, and the dark underbelly they often hide was born. When she was a little girl, she loved reading old world myths. Her favorite was the Roman god Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings and transitions. Her fascination lay with his association with gates, doors, passages, endings and time, and the future and to the past. Kee remembers riding her bike through her neighborhood, contemplating the Janus story. She then applied it to her town. She often wondered what went on behind the gates leading to façade of the many little wood frame houses. What did the townsfolk do behind those closed doors when no one was looking? Thus, most of her stories and adventures are set in or around the sleepy riverside town of Twilight. The town is a Norman Rockwell picturesque by day. By night, it is illuminated by shadows.

Kee is southern through and through. She married a man of similar origins. He shares her fascination with the unseen, both real and imagined. They now live in Georgia where they lead a quiet existence of writing and enjoying life in general. One of the things they love is seeking out and visiting ‘roadside’ attractions. Those places that offer a look into the more unusual aspects of America. They also are in search of the perfect chicken wing and chili cheese dog. In the summer they exist between writing and these adventures.