Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 01 - The Chef at the Water's Edge Read Free

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