Read Online Murder for the Halibut by Liz Lipperman - Free Book Online
Authors: Liz Lipperman
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even though
she was rolling in dough and living the high life in New York, Emily wasjust another small-town girl. And one Jordan was looking forward to getting to know
better.
She raised her glass to clink with Emily’s. “Here’s to new friendships.”
“And finding a way to get past tonight,” Michael added as they all toasted.
“I’ll make sure that happens,” Beau said, appearing out of nowhere, two drinks in
hand. “A couple bourbons on the rocks and a checkbook can make even the worst problem
go away.” He scanned both tables, then slid in beside Marsha.
Jordan got Rosie’s attention and rolled her eyes. She looked toward the table of chefs
to see if any of them had the same reaction as she did, but nobody seemed to notice
the clod had joined them.
Phillip and Luis were having an animated discussion across the table from Beau and
Marsha, and Thomas was busy showing Wayne something on his cell phone. From the way
Wayne was grinning, Jordan guessed it was pictures of Thomas’s newborn son. Casey
sat slumped, staring at the bar, trying to get the waitress’s attention to order another
round. She’d chugged her first drink while Beau and Marsha played touchy-feely, totally
ignoring her.
“So, what do y’all think about going ahead with the competition?” Wayne addressed
the entire group when everyone was on their second cocktail.
Well, not everyone. Beau was on his third double.
When no one commented, Wayne continued. “None of us could have predicted this would
happen, but we have to look at it as an unfortunate accident. I’m sorry Stefano’s
dead, but I say we let the show go on. A lot of peoplepaid good money for a chance to see the cook-off.” He raised his hand to acknowledge
the cheers from the contestants.
“I agree, Wayne,” Emily said. “As of right now, the cause of Stefano’s death, according
to the doctor’s best guess, was a heart attack. But even if it isn’t, we shouldn’t
allow it to change our plans. The cruise will continue, so why not the competition?”
“What about the fact that Stefano’s spice bottle was laced with ground nuts and the
other bottles weren’t?” asked Ray, who’d just walked up with Lola. The two squeezed
in between Michael and Rosie before Ray went on. “Don’t you think it’s a little fishy—pun
intended—that the dead man was the only one allergic to nuts?”
“That’s true, Ray, but there’s no proof that was anything other than a weird coincidence—an
unfortunate mistake that was made in the kitchen preparing the baskets,” Victor said.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Ray shot back. “Matter of fact, neither does the
head of security on this ship. He contacted me about an hour ago and asked for my
help with the investigation.”
“Investigation?” Wayne put his drink down with a thud. “They’re actually treating
this like it wasn’t accidental?”
“Standard operating procedure when someone dies on the ship,” Ray explained. “I’m
meeting him tomorrow to look over the security tapes from the main kitchen.”
“So, are you saying, in light of this, we should cancel the cook-off?” Emily asked.
“Definitely not,” Ray replied. “If foul play was involved, the last thing we’d want
to do is change the normal routine. We need to see how this thing plays out.”
“Then I think we have our answer,” Wayne said, smiling as though he’d just won the
cook-off himself.
“Although I’m saddened that Stefano is dead, there’s really nothing more we can do.
Let’s at least say good-bye with a toast.” Victor lifted his glass, and everyone except
Casey and Thomas raised theirs in agreement.
“On that note, I’m going to head back to my room and catch some z’s. The baby woke
up three times before my alarm went off at six this morning.” Thomas stood and said
good night.
Jordan watched him walk out of the bar thinking she wouldn’t be
she was rolling in dough and living the high life in New York, Emily wasjust another small-town girl. And one Jordan was looking forward to getting to know
better.
She raised her glass to clink with Emily’s. “Here’s to new friendships.”
“And finding a way to get past tonight,” Michael added as they all toasted.
“I’ll make sure that happens,” Beau said, appearing out of nowhere, two drinks in
hand. “A couple bourbons on the rocks and a checkbook can make even the worst problem
go away.” He scanned both tables, then slid in beside Marsha.
Jordan got Rosie’s attention and rolled her eyes. She looked toward the table of chefs
to see if any of them had the same reaction as she did, but nobody seemed to notice
the clod had joined them.
Phillip and Luis were having an animated discussion across the table from Beau and
Marsha, and Thomas was busy showing Wayne something on his cell phone. From the way
Wayne was grinning, Jordan guessed it was pictures of Thomas’s newborn son. Casey
sat slumped, staring at the bar, trying to get the waitress’s attention to order another
round. She’d chugged her first drink while Beau and Marsha played touchy-feely, totally
ignoring her.
“So, what do y’all think about going ahead with the competition?” Wayne addressed
the entire group when everyone was on their second cocktail.
Well, not everyone. Beau was on his third double.
When no one commented, Wayne continued. “None of us could have predicted this would
happen, but we have to look at it as an unfortunate accident. I’m sorry Stefano’s
dead, but I say we let the show go on. A lot of peoplepaid good money for a chance to see the cook-off.” He raised his hand to acknowledge
the cheers from the contestants.
“I agree, Wayne,” Emily said. “As of right now, the cause of Stefano’s death, according
to the doctor’s best guess, was a heart attack. But even if it isn’t, we shouldn’t
allow it to change our plans. The cruise will continue, so why not the competition?”
“What about the fact that Stefano’s spice bottle was laced with ground nuts and the
other bottles weren’t?” asked Ray, who’d just walked up with Lola. The two squeezed
in between Michael and Rosie before Ray went on. “Don’t you think it’s a little fishy—pun
intended—that the dead man was the only one allergic to nuts?”
“That’s true, Ray, but there’s no proof that was anything other than a weird coincidence—an
unfortunate mistake that was made in the kitchen preparing the baskets,” Victor said.
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Ray shot back. “Matter of fact, neither does the
head of security on this ship. He contacted me about an hour ago and asked for my
help with the investigation.”
“Investigation?” Wayne put his drink down with a thud. “They’re actually treating
this like it wasn’t accidental?”
“Standard operating procedure when someone dies on the ship,” Ray explained. “I’m
meeting him tomorrow to look over the security tapes from the main kitchen.”
“So, are you saying, in light of this, we should cancel the cook-off?” Emily asked.
“Definitely not,” Ray replied. “If foul play was involved, the last thing we’d want
to do is change the normal routine. We need to see how this thing plays out.”
“Then I think we have our answer,” Wayne said, smiling as though he’d just won the
cook-off himself.
“Although I’m saddened that Stefano is dead, there’s really nothing more we can do.
Let’s at least say good-bye with a toast.” Victor lifted his glass, and everyone except
Casey and Thomas raised theirs in agreement.
“On that note, I’m going to head back to my room and catch some z’s. The baby woke
up three times before my alarm went off at six this morning.” Thomas stood and said
good night.
Jordan watched him walk out of the bar thinking she wouldn’t be
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