Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 01 - The Chef at the Water's Edge (6 page)

After a brief history of the original show, Jazlyn led the group through a massive, oak door to the rear of the studio. “This was Julia’s personal studio office,” she explained. “She liked to be close to the set, for some reason. Just a quirk I guess. She spent a lot of time in here picking out the recipes and deciding on what featured guests to bring in. The room has not changed since the accident. Uncle and I are the only people allowed in here. Oh, and the staff who dust the room every now and then.” She then turned to Louie. “I wanted you to get a glimpse of her style and grace. This place is Julia. I figured you might like a look for your article.”

Louie took out his cell phone. As he surveyed the room, he spoke with a subdued voice into the device, making notes so as not to miss any details. Hannah watched and wondered what was going through his mind. She knew that for him, this chance would never present itself again. She wondered why Jazlyn was risking the anger of her uncle by letting him in. It was clear that this was a sacred place to Asa. This much, Louie and his rival had in common.

Hannah’s curiosity was peaked further when Louie closed his eyes. Was he imagining his love sitting at her desk? Could just make out her smile as she worked.

When Louie opened his eyes, he stared down at the assortment of pink accessories which adorned the large, ebony desk.

“Pink. Of course,” he mumbled. He was just audible enough that Hannah and Cate could hear, but not Buster and Jazlyn, who were now engaged in a quiet conversation.

Cate’s voice brought him out of his semi-trance like state, when she addressed the particular color. “She had a thing for pink, didn’t she?”

“That was her color,” Louie explained. “That or some shade of it. I don’t recall ever seeing her without something pink. A ribbon in her hair. A purse. Shoes.”

It was at that moment when Louie’s eyes fell on the hot pink high heels sitting on the floor next to a large black couch with pink cushions. He let out a gasp.

“Something wrong?” Hannah asked.

“I gave her those,” Louie said, pointing to the footwear. “Years ago. For graduation. I had them special made. One of a kind.” He gulped and cleared his throat. He brought his hand to his mouth and held it there before continuing.

“They cost me more money than I could afforded at the time.”

He stiffened and shrugged back his shoulders, as if he were shaking something off. Blinking several time, he said, “I was going to tell her how I felt about her. But she was busy, so I waited. And then…” His words dropped off. Hannah could guess the rest. Julia left. Asa appeared in her life. And all Louie was left with was a sour memory.
That memory’s changed
, thought Hannah.
The sight of those shoes is a sign that she never forgot him. She kept them to remember him.

Trying to ease his pain, Hannah asked, “Can we get a picture of a few items for a personal collection?”

Jazlyn’s started to decline. But Hannah motioned with her head toward Louie. She saw the welled tears in his eyes, and looked to where he was staring. She relented. Why, Hannah could not quite make out, but Jazlyn agreed nonetheless.

“Of course. Just give me your word you will not publish them. Uncle would be furious.”

Louie responded with a meek but appreciative smile, then nodded. He dropped the bag he carried, pulled out a small camera, and began his work.

Trying to break the sudden somber mood, Hannah pointed to the door to the rear of the room. “Mind me asking where that leads?”

“Her private room. She would dress there before the show, but sometimes she would rest after a taping. As you can imagine, it took its toll on her. It’s the one room no one, including me, can enter. Just Uncle. Her personal effects are still in place, per his order. Her clothes, jewelry, makeup, hairbrushes. Everything is as if she walked out yesterday and will return tomorrow,” Jazlyn explained. “That room is to stand as is until the studio is dust.”

Cate smiled and understood the implications of that remark. “Being here, in this room, it’s … well, just unbelievable. Overwhelming.”

Jazlyn agreed with a nod, and then pulled out a key. She led everyone to another door opposite Julia’s private room.

“This was her personal research library. The number of cookbooks will amaze you,” she explained. “She and Vera spent hours in here preparing,” Jazlyn recalled. Smiling, Jazlyn said, “I had never been inside the ‘sanctum sanctorum’ until I got a call from Uncle. It was right after I completed my degree in Germany. I had never dreamed that he wanted me to replace Julia. I figured Vera would.”

“You didn’t have a clue?” Cate asked.

“Not a one,” Jazlyn said with an innocence that did not quite ring true for Hannah. “This whole event came about because the company has lost a tremendous amount of money since the accident.”

Hannah noticed the occasional tone of sarcasm in her voice changed to one of jealousy. This cleared up any uncertainty about the nature of Jazlyn and Vera’s relationship. It was an unhealthy one. Julia favored one. Asa favored the other.

“I see what you mean. In the end, it always comes down to business, doesn’t it?” Hannah commented as she turned to study Jazlyn’s face. Her statement had been harsh and pointed, but it was not random. It was to get a reaction, which it had.

Jazlyn’s face soured. “I suppose it does,” she said in a cool tone. “Now, let’s move on?”

Hannah judged the young woman’s response as being somewhere between annoyed and angry. The query had made Jazlyn uncomfortable. Now the question was why. Was it because Hannah had, without intent, questioned her talents as a chef? Or was it because it suggested something about the relationship between the niece and the uncle? In either case, Hannah would spend time later considering all this. But for now, she just continued along.

As the tour continued, Hannah once again became lost in her thoughts about the day. It was bizarre how it all came about. How gracious Jazlyn was, but the reasons for it all were still a mystery. It all left Hannah feeling suspicious. Jazlyn may have been projecting nothing but acceptance and kindness toward Louie. But it was obvious her uncle would have something to say later in private.

Jazlyn led the group back through the main corridor. A tall, rough looking, heavy man entered the hall from the office door. The man reminded Hannah of a misplaced actor when he grinned through near-perfect white teeth. He drew many eyes to him, with his short brown hair showing from beneath a black drover’s hat. A day’s worth of facial growth covered his face. Brown eyes matched his worn leather jacket. And all this, set against a black shirt, black cowboy boots, and blue jeans, led Hannah to consider him attractive.

Approaching the group, he singled out Jazlyn to make eye contact. “Handsome,” Cate mumbled under breath.

“Yeah, for a man caught in a cheesy 1970s western film,” Buster added with sarcasm.

“Hello, beautiful,” he crooned as he placed a hand on Jazlyn’s shoulder and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek. “How’s my favorite girl?”

The chemistry between the two was both clear and electric. It was recognizable to all, in particular Buster, whose sudden jealousy was also present.

Leaning over to Hannah’s ear, Cate whispered, “She’s a walking pheromone, that one.” Hannah smiled but agreed. She had seen Jazlyn interact with many men this day, three in a forward manner: Buster, Asa, and now this man. Every one of the men had been responsive to Jazlyn. She had swayed three in particular by her charm and beauty. It made Hannah wonder what any one of them would do if she were to ask them to do something.

“Hey,”’ Jazlyn said to the man. “May I introduce you to a few new acquaintances, and an old friend of Julia’s?”

As the man looked the group over, he stopped on Louie. “Louie Wooldridge. I recognize you from Food Critic. Julia talked of you often.” He then extended a hand. “Jack Miller.”

Hannah looked over at Louie, who was not showing any emotions, thinking that, for him, that was a miracle.

After a second, Louie took Miller’s hand and shook it. “Pleasure. I recognize you, too. You were Julia’s manager.”

Hannah watched, catching the slight contraction in Jack’s eyes. She made another mental note as she continued to watch the two men’s interactions. After a second, Miller’s eyes readjusted. “Yes. I had that honor. She was … something else. Something unique. But I didn’t know you knew Jazlyn, as well.”

Sensing an interrogation on Miller’s part, Jazlyn interceded. “We’ve just met today. They also got to meet Uncle.” Hanna watched the interplay with curiosity.
She’s observant
, she noted, clicking off another trait in her mental profile of Jazlyn.

Judging by the reaction on his face, Jazlyn’s revelation shocked Miller. “Well, that’s something, now isn’t it? I wish we all three could have met at once.”

Hannah sensed the growing tension brewing. She watched as Jazlyn said goodbye with the promise of circling back to Miller later. Once he was gone, Jazlyn turned again back to the group. “Well, not to rush things along, but the trial run is tonight. I’ve got a lot of prep work ahead of me. So I guess this is where we part company.” Catching Buster’s eye, she added, “I’m so glad to have met you all. Feel free to wander about, just be mindful that things are being set up so don’t intrude on the workers or move anything, please.”

Before turning to leave, she handed Buster a card with her contact information on it. “I’m sure we will bump into each other soon,” she said with a smile before giving a small wave and exiting.

Cate leaned over to Buster. “And I’m sure you will.”

Buster nudged his cousin hard with his elbow. “Ow,” Cate exclaimed in mock pain. “I just agreed that you would bump into her again.” He looked into her eyes and frowned. “She’s nice. Don’t read too much into it.”

“Not like I had to.”

Looking toward where Jazlyn had exited, Cate frowned. “I find it odd she would just let us roam around, given her Uncle and all.”

Hannah again glanced around the area to look for security cameras, hidden or otherwise. “Me, too. There’s more to her than meets the eye.” She looked over to see Buster frowning hard. His brow furrowed, and the corners of his mouth pulled tight. “Come on. I know you like her, but you got to admit…”

“Yeah. Yeah. I get it. Still, I’m hoping she’s cut us loose for a reason. Maybe she wants answers, too. Maybe she thinks we can get them for her.”

Cate gave her cousin a questioning look. “That doesn’t make sense. Why would she want us to find answers?”

“Not us.” Buster then turned to look at Louie.

“You did know her, perhaps better than anyone. Even her husband. Maybe she thinks you can get some answers because you know how she would think.”

Under normal circumstances, Hannah would scoff at such an explanation. She would have chalked it up to Buster’s libido over-thinking his reason.
Regardless, this time he could be right
, she deliberated with herself.
But if he is right, what is she looking for?
Shaking off deeper considerations, she redirected her attention to the moment at hand. Asa was gone for the moment, with the key phrase being ‘for the moment.’

“Let’s head back to the library. She spent a lot of time there. And I think I saw a journal of some kind on the shelf.”

For the first time in a while, Louie came to life. “She always kept a journal, at least when I was around.”

“Good. She spent a lot of time in her office and around that set. People tend to relax where they are most comfortable. Reveal themselves in areas we least expect them to. We need to be careful, though. I’m not so sure just how unsupervised we are.”

Glancing around as inconspicuously as possible, Cate shuffled her stance. “To tell you the truth, I’ve felt like someones watched us all day long. Targeted. There are security cameras everywhere. But I don’t think there are mics.”

“We’ll need to look as discreet as possible then,” Louie offered. “Follow my lead.” He then gathered the group around as though he were giving them directions. He explained that, given they were to be his assistants working for Food Critic, they should act as such. Journalist working to cover a story. Hannah, Cate, and Buster all agreed to the plan. They proceeded back down the halls, acting as if they were doing their official work so as not to raise the security’s curiosity.

Louie and Buster headed back to the new sets and took on the different technicians. Like Louie, Buster recorded notes on his cell phone He showed particular interest in the various equipment, and focused on how it all worked.. He chatted up camera persons, soundboard operators, and lighting crew, and the like about the work they were doing. All the while, he questioned them about the atmosphere on set during Julia’s time and now under its new direction. While many were new to the studio, some were from the time between Julia’s passing and Jazlyn’s emergence. For the most part, Louie took observational notes. Talking into his cell, he flittered between documenting the look of the new set and that of Julia’s world before the accident.

Meanwhile, Hannah and Cate headed toward Julia’s original studio. Examining the set, both took special care to look to be studying the ‘kitchen’ in detail. They looked over cabinets, opened drawers, and examined cooking utensils. All the while, they made casual comments back and forth. It surprised Cate to find that the kitchen set-up was not a mock up and not full of props, but functional. It could have been in someones home. Hannah noted the storage of items.
Everything in its proper place
, she noted.
Detailed. As if the family was soon to arrive for dinner
.

Opening a drawer with silverware placed in a holder, something struck her as odd. She stared at it a moment but could not make out what it was that bothered her. She pulled out her cell phone and took a picture. She then shut the drawer and walked over to Cate, who was talking into her cell phone as though she were recording notes. As Hannah approached, she could hear that her friend was, in fact, making a list of things to do when she returned back home. “Redo kitchen,” Cate said, adding, “And get organized.” Looking up at Hannah, she motioned toward the set. “Find anything?”