Read Online Murder in the Pearl District (Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Book 5) by Dianne Harman - Free Book Online Page A

blues, and
purples and wearing colorful yoga tops and pants. The studio window was filled
with a large blow-up photograph of students sitting with their eyes closed and
their hands on their knees in the classic serene lotus posture. The photograph
made those who passed by the window want to feel as stress-free as the students
in the class seemed to be. It was a great advertisement for yoga.
                When she got to the print
shop she opened the glass door that had the words “Hank’s Print Shop”
emblazoned in gold letters on it. She stepped into the shop and shook her head
in confusion. Fine art covered the walls and a beautiful large blue silk Chinese
rug had been placed on the highly polished wooden floor. The bell above the
door rang when Kelly opened it and moments later a small man wearing a leather
apron over bermuda shorts walked out of the back room.
                “May I help you?” the man
asked. Kelly smiled in befuddlement at the bearded man who wore diamond stud
earrings and had a pony tail held in place by a barrette that looked to be made
of onyx. “I’m really confused. The sign on the door says ‘Hank’s Print Shop,’
but I’ve never been in a print shop like this one.”
                “Good. That’s exactly the
response I was looking for when I opened the shop. I didn’t want it to be like
all the others, and this being the Pearl District, I figured I could get away
with it.” He grinned and held out his hand. “I’m Hank Jones, the owner. I don’t
think we’ve met.”
                “No. My name is Kelly
Reynolds. A friend of mine, Sophie Marchant, is the new owner of Mangia!
Mangia! and I’m helping her.”
                “I heard about
Donatella’s murder. That’s so sad. She was one of my customers, and I loved to
eat at her restaurant. Matter of fact, I never charged her for what I did for
the restaurant, and she never charged me for the food I ate. It was a great
arrangement. So Sophie’s going to take it over. I’ve known Sophie for some
time, and it sort of surprises me. I know she loves to cook, but I didn’t know
she had any restaurant experience.”
                “She doesn’t. I own a
coffee shop in Cedar Bay, and I came up here to cook dinner for a party she was
giving for Donatella. When she found out about Donatella’s death, she asked if
I’d stay for a couple of extra days and help her. The reason I’m here is I need
five hundred temporary menus prepared. She told me you’ve done things like that
for her dinner parties.”
                “Sure. I can do that.
When does she need them?”
                “Tomorrow. I know it’s
really short notice, but we’re having a bit of an issue with a food critic from
the Portland Gazette, and we need to change the menu immediately.”
                “No problem. Business is
a little slow today, so I can get them out before we close. That food critic
wouldn’t happen to be Bill Hossam, would it?”
                “Yes, do you know him?”
                “Not personally. I do
work for a lot of restaurants in the district. He’s given a couple of them
reviews that were so bad they had to close. I’d sure hate to see that happen to
Sophie’s restaurant.”
                “I met him earlier today,
and he seems like a really mean-spirited man. He said he thought the food at
Mangia! Mangia! was like, I guess the kids of today would say, so yesterday.
Sophie and I decided there was no choice but to offer some new dishes that
Nico, the sous chef, has wanted to try.”
                “I hope it works. I
really like Sophie, and I’d like to see her make a go of it. I’ll get right on
these and drop them by when I close this evening. Tell Sophie I’d like to
continue the working arrangement I had with Donatella. I’ll do the work for
her, eat at the restaurant occasionally, and