Murder On The Menu: A Romantic Comedy Culinary Cozy Mystery (A Celebrity Mystery) Read Online Free PDF Page B

catering college, and on every shift he worked he ended up crying in the stockroom or the catering fridge. Poor guy was so embarrassed he’d been reduced to tears by Armand.”
    “Embarrassed enough to stab his boss with a knife at the end of his shift?” Jack asks.
    I shoot him a no-way look. “Colin wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
    “So, who else do you know who works at the Veggies who might bear a grudge enough to murder the boss?”
    “I don’t,” I reply with a shrug of frustration. If we can’t figure out who killed Armand then… I shudder again.
    “Cold?” Jack asks, watching me carefully from across the table. “It might be early autumn but a Cumbrian sunny day in September is probably nearer to a wintery London day in temperature. Not fully acclimatised to being up here yet?”
    “I’m just feeling a bit shivery.” I wrap my arms around myself. “It must be the shock of it all. I still can’t believe Armand is dead.”
    He reaches a hand across to me and rests it on top of my own. “I know, sorry. I’d suggest you hit something stronger than coffee but…”
    I look up, see his expression, and finish his sentence for him. “But the police might turn up at my door at any moment and ask me to accompany them down to the local station for further interrogation.”
    “Armand is slap bang in the middle of an awkward divorce, isn’t he?” Jack asks, changing the subject. “His wife is Bryony Seville. Quite the businesswoman by all accounts.”
    Wow. This guy knows his stuff about B-list celebrities. A tiny part of me is impressed. “Yes, he’d been keen to keep it out of the papers though. I think it’s in case it gets to the name calling and dishing the dirt stage between them and he doesn’t want that to affect business at the restaurant. Makes sense. So, how did you know about it?”
    “I work for the Celebrity Crimes Investigation Agency, remember? Well, usually I do,” he amends. “So I have to know my celebs from A to Z, just in case.”
    I nod and take in his assured gaze. There’s definitely something about this guy. He does ooze a James Bond-style confidence, despite his protests to the contrary.
    “So,” he continues. “Does the ex-wife-to-be have anything to gain from getting someone to kill off her estranged husband?”
    “You think she might have hired an assassin?” I gasp. I thought things like that only happened in movies about the mafia.
    “Could have done. Has he ever mentioned anything about who owns what with regards to the Veggies? Does she own half? Does she want to try and take it all away from him?”
    “I don’t know. He never mentioned her, not to me anyway. I have heard him ranting and raving on his phone quite often this last week or so. He was all red in the face and waving his arms about so I guess somebody was making him even angrier than usual. It might have had something to do with the pending divorce.”
    Jack looks thoughtful for a moment. “Could be relevant, even if it wasn’t his wife he was talking to. You can’t remember when any of these times were, can you? If you can then I could call in some favours and access his mobile phone records, find out who he was talking to.”
    I frown in concentration. “I remember the most recent one, it was on Tuesday. I remember because my feet were aching like mad and I was glad my shift was almost over. It must have been getting on for three in the afternoon. I usually work in the evenings but do extra shifts at lunch here and there as a favour for colleagues and, of course, for the extra money as well. On that day I was covering a shift for Andrea.”
    “OK.” He nods encouragingly. “Last Tuesday. Three in the afternoon. Got it. I’ll see what I can do about tracing who he was on the phone with. Now, I think we need to plan what you’re going to say to the police when they interview you again.”
    “That’s highly likely, isn’t it?” I ask, hoping he’ll say it’s nothing to worry about and