It was 9:38 according to the clock in my car. Checking the time on my watch, I realized it was about six minutes slow. I made a mental note to fix it later, after I had figured out where Chef was hiding. Why he was hiding was in the back of my mind. Did I need to know why to figure out where he was?
I turned off the car and headed into The Elskede. The B&B fit in perfectly with the Danish architecture along Alisal Road. It had been one of my favorite getaways while living in Los Angeles. And it ultimately led to me permanently getting away from life in Los Angeles.
Victor Overbye was covering the reception desk. “Godmorgen, Felicia.” His Danish accent had mellowed somewhat in the three years he had worked for my husband. But I would stand there and listen to him read me the phone book if I could.
I smiled at him, stopping to say hi. “Good morning, Victor. How many days until you go home to visit?”
“Nineteen days. Then, I’ll be home in Aarhus for two weeks. I can’t wait to see my sister and her baby.”
“Boy or girl?”
“She doesn’t want to know. She’s due any time now.” He stopped to glance at his phone. “As much as I love it here, I hate being so far from home.”
“Well, you only have nineteen more days to wait.” I paused before changing the subject. “Have you seen Chef?”
He shook his head. “Not since Friday. Pablo is about to fire him, I think.”
That was true. He was worried and angry. I tried to focus on solving the mystery. “Did you talk to him any on Friday?”
“Not really. He said something about getting away for the weekend. It wasn’t until the next day when I realized he didn’t have the weekend off.”
Victor’s words confirmed Avianna’s. He had planned to disappear. The current question was why. I reminded myself why didn’t matter. I’d find him, get the menus for next weekend’s wedding, and let Pablo fire him.
The whole thing didn’t make sense. Chef had worked for the B&B for five years. He had earned the title of Executive Chef after two years, never missing a day of work. Why did he suddenly decide he didn’t care about his job?
“Felicia?” Pablo’s voice broke my thoughts.
I turned around to face him. “Hi.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward a closet. Once we were both inside, he closed the closet door and started kissing me.
I pulled back. “What are you doing?”
“Didn’t you come here for…”
I laughed at him. “In a closet? No. After ten years of marriage, I prefer a bed.”
“Oh.” He was disappointed. “Why are you here?”
“Because Avianna lied to the police. She hasn’t seen Chef. I came here to talk to the staff, since he was last seen here.”
“Why did she lie?”
“She didn’t want to get him in trouble. But he dropped Soufflé off at her place at some point between six and four, with a note asking him to take care of her.”
“That’s odd. If he was planning to disappear, I can’t imagine him doing it without her.” He frowned. “Something’s definitely wrong.”
“Was he acting any differently last week? Before he disappeared?”
Pablo shook his head. “Not that I can remember. But he did ask if he could get paid early.”
“Did his rent go up?”
“I don’t know. I think he renewed his lease back in June. So I can’t imagine that being it.”
I considered that. “Did he say why he needed the paycheck early?”
He shook his head again. “No. He asked twice last week, but I told him I’d have to initiate payroll for everyone. I couldn’t.” He paused, remembering something. “He drove to work on Friday.”
Chef’s apartment was a ten minute walk to work. He always walked to and from work. But… “Probably because he had dropped Soufflé off at Avianna’s. Don’t worry. I’ll find him so you can get the menus and fire him.”
“Fire him? What makes you think I’m going to fire him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the fact that he hasn’t bothered to show up for work five days in a row now.”
“He hasn’t missed a day of work in five years. Unless he has a really bad reason for this, I don’t plan to fire him. Right now, I just want to know what’s going on. I’m worried about him.”
I smiled at him, remembering why I loved him. He just had that easy-going, understanding temperament. Leaning into him, I was suddenly aware he still had his arms around me. “Uh, Pablo…”
“You know, room six is empty.” He smiled at me again.
“Seriously?”
“You did say you preferred a bed.”
An hour later, I was finally in the kitchen and talking to the other chefs. The dining room was starting to get busy, so I found myself helping. I tied an apron around my waist after pulling my long hair up into a ponytail.
“I can do more than salads, if you need me to.” I washed my hands and then turned around to see the ingredients laid out for me. This would be easy.
Tania Castillo laughed as she continued working on one of the entrees. “I’m just grateful for an extra set of hands. It’s been hard with Chef out sick.”
Out sick? I wondered if they decided he was sick or if that’s what Pablo had told them or if they were just trying to cover for him. “He’s out sick?”
Tania looked at Isabel Orozco. “Yes. I think he has the flu.”
I nodded, knowing they were both lying. “I should make him some chicken soup and stop by with it.”
Tania shook her head. “No. You don’t want to do that. You don’t want to get it.”
“I’ve had my flu shot. And so has Pablo and the kids.”
Isabel stopped what she was doing. “But you could still get it.”
“I know he doesn’t have the flu.”
Isabel shook her head. “Are you sure about that?”
I nodded. “He wouldn’t have dropped Soufflé off at Avianna’s with a note if he had the flu. His disappearance the last few days was deliberate. I just don’t know why or where he is.”
Isabel resumed working on dessert. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Tania sliced up an eggplant with ease. “He’s just…”
“I’m worried about him. I just want to know he’s okay.”
Isabel took a deep breath and let it out. “I do, too. I…”
“We both care about him.” Tania cut her off. “You’re trying to find him?”
I nodded. “Yes. Were you both here on Friday?”
“Yes. Friday lunch is our busiest meal of the week.” Tania turned and drizzled olive oil on the eggplant she had just sliced and placed in a baking dish. She seasoned the eggplant slices with Chef’s special seasoning and slid the dish in an oven. “After lunch was over, Chef made us lunch.”
“Does he do that every day?”
Isabel shook her head. “No. He usually heads home for a break before the dinner shift, unless he has the dinner shift off. And he usually only takes Sunday and Monday dinner shifts off.
“He made eggplant lasagna with garlic bread.” Tania looked at me before turning her focus on the chicken breasts in front of her. “And then he skipped out before dinner, since he had the dinner shift off.”
“And that’s the last time we saw him.” Isabel was near tears.
I looked down at the salad I had just finished and then moved over to comfort her. “I’ll find him.”
She nodded. “I think he was going to see my brother when he left. He said something about seeing Jorge.”
I tried to remember if I knew anything about her brother. The name Jorge came up blank in my memory bank. “Jorge…”
“He has a tattoo parlor in Lompoc. Tatovere Ink. It’s on Ocean.” She pulled herself together and returned her focus to dessert.
I nodded, thanking her. Then, I turned to Tania. “Salad’s done. Anything else I can do to help?”
Tania turned around to check the eggplant in the oven. “Can you do the staff lunches? It’s Wednesday, so lunch is hamburgers.” She nodded her head toward the small desk by the kitchen door. “Over there, you can find the requests. I think it’s one with cheddar and bacon, one turkey burger with swiss, two with american…”
I walked over to the desk and looked for the staff lunch menu. Pablo had probably already looked, but I started searching the desk for the wedding menus.
“It was on top of the desk.” Tania had noticed what I was doing.
I picked up the staff menu requests. The cheddar and bacon hamburger belonged to my husband. I was a bit surprised, since I had expected the turkey burger was his. The turkey burger was Victor’s. “I was looking for the menus for next weekend’s wedding.”
“Isabel and I have torn that desk apart looking for it. So has Pablo.”
“That’s why the desk is a mess.”
“What does he usually do with wedding menus?” I committed the lunch requests to memory and placed it back on the desk.
“He usually keeps them on the desk or filed in the drawer.” Tania shook her head. “Occasionally, he has taken them home.”
“Has anyone looked there?”
“Why would I have a key?” Isabel’s cheeks turned pink.
I realized there was another question begging to be asked, but I decided her unrequited crush could wait. I started staff lunches. Standing closer to Tania, I asked her again.
“I know he keeps an extra key in the desk but I can’t find it.”
So, no one had checked his apartment. I would try to get Avianna’s key later. It wouldn’t hurt to try there. And I would head to Lompoc and talk to Isabel’s brother Jorge after lunch. I guessed it should take about forty minutes to get there and back. I just needed to be on my way back by 2:00.
While I worked on the hamburgers, I glanced at the clock. I needed to leave The Elskede by 12:30. That was the only way I’d have enough time in Lompoc to talk to Jorge.
And then I thought about Chef asking for his paycheck early. “Did Chef say anything to you about needing money?”
Tania nodded. “He asked if he could borrow some. Two thousand three hundred and fifty-six dollars.”
“That’s an odd amount. Did he say what it was for?”
She shook her head, looking at Isabel.
Isabel shrugged. “He didn’t ask me. I would have drained my bank account for him if he asked.”
I rolled my eyes, turning back to the hamburgers. Chef was desperate for money, but not so desperate to ask Isabel. Or me. I would have given it to him, without needing to drain my bank account.
And it was such an odd amount - $2356. Did the money explain why he was hiding?
gagengirl entertainment
Solvang
Part 3
It was 9:38 according to the clock in my car. Checking the time on my watch, I realized it was about six minutes slow. I made a mental note to fix it later, after I had figured out where Chef was hiding. Why he was hiding was in the back of my mind. Did I need to know why to figure out where he was?
I turned off the car and headed into The Elskede. The B&B fit in perfectly with the Danish architecture along Alisal Road. It had been one of my favorite getaways while living in Los Angeles. And it ultimately led to me permanently getting away from life in Los Angeles.
Victor Overbye was covering the reception desk. “Godmorgen, Felicia.” His Danish accent had mellowed somewhat in the three years he had worked for my husband. But I would stand there and listen to him read me the phone book if I could.
I smiled at him, stopping to say hi. “Good morning, Victor. How many days until you go home to visit?”
“Nineteen days. Then, I’ll be home in Aarhus for two weeks. I can’t wait to see my sister and her baby.”
“Boy or girl?”
“She doesn’t want to know. She’s due any time now.” He stopped to glance at his phone. “As much as I love it here, I hate being so far from home.”
“Well, you only have nineteen more days to wait.” I paused before changing the subject. “Have you seen Chef?”
He shook his head. “Not since Friday. Pablo is about to fire him, I think.”
That was true. He was worried and angry. I tried to focus on solving the mystery. “Did you talk to him any on Friday?”
“Not really. He said something about getting away for the weekend. It wasn’t until the next day when I realized he didn’t have the weekend off.”
Victor’s words confirmed Avianna’s. He had planned to disappear. The current question was why. I reminded myself why didn’t matter. I’d find him, get the menus for next weekend’s wedding, and let Pablo fire him.
The whole thing didn’t make sense. Chef had worked for the B&B for five years. He had earned the title of Executive Chef after two years, never missing a day of work. Why did he suddenly decide he didn’t care about his job?
“Felicia?” Pablo’s voice broke my thoughts.
I turned around to face him. “Hi.”
He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward a closet. Once we were both inside, he closed the closet door and started kissing me.
I pulled back. “What are you doing?”
“Didn’t you come here for…”
I laughed at him. “In a closet? No. After ten years of marriage, I prefer a bed.”
“Oh.” He was disappointed. “Why are you here?”
“Because Avianna lied to the police. She hasn’t seen Chef. I came here to talk to the staff, since he was last seen here.”
“Why did she lie?”
“She didn’t want to get him in trouble. But he dropped Soufflé off at her place at some point between six and four, with a note asking him to take care of her.”
“That’s odd. If he was planning to disappear, I can’t imagine him doing it without her.” He frowned. “Something’s definitely wrong.”
“Was he acting any differently last week? Before he disappeared?”
Pablo shook his head. “Not that I can remember. But he did ask if he could get paid early.”
“Did his rent go up?”
“I don’t know. I think he renewed his lease back in June. So I can’t imagine that being it.”
I considered that. “Did he say why he needed the paycheck early?”
He shook his head again. “No. He asked twice last week, but I told him I’d have to initiate payroll for everyone. I couldn’t.” He paused, remembering something. “He drove to work on Friday.”
Chef’s apartment was a ten minute walk to work. He always walked to and from work. But… “Probably because he had dropped Soufflé off at Avianna’s. Don’t worry. I’ll find him so you can get the menus and fire him.”
“Fire him? What makes you think I’m going to fire him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the fact that he hasn’t bothered to show up for work five days in a row now.”
“He hasn’t missed a day of work in five years. Unless he has a really bad reason for this, I don’t plan to fire him. Right now, I just want to know what’s going on. I’m worried about him.”
I smiled at him, remembering why I loved him. He just had that easy-going, understanding temperament. Leaning into him, I was suddenly aware he still had his arms around me. “Uh, Pablo…”
“You know, room six is empty.” He smiled at me again.
“Seriously?”
“You did say you preferred a bed.”
An hour later, I was finally in the kitchen and talking to the other chefs. The dining room was starting to get busy, so I found myself helping. I tied an apron around my waist after pulling my long hair up into a ponytail.
“I can do more than salads, if you need me to.” I washed my hands and then turned around to see the ingredients laid out for me. This would be easy.
Tania Castillo laughed as she continued working on one of the entrees. “I’m just grateful for an extra set of hands. It’s been hard with Chef out sick.”
Out sick? I wondered if they decided he was sick or if that’s what Pablo had told them or if they were just trying to cover for him. “He’s out sick?”
Tania looked at Isabel Orozco. “Yes. I think he has the flu.”
I nodded, knowing they were both lying. “I should make him some chicken soup and stop by with it.”
Tania shook her head. “No. You don’t want to do that. You don’t want to get it.”
“I’ve had my flu shot. And so has Pablo and the kids.”
Isabel stopped what she was doing. “But you could still get it.”
“I know he doesn’t have the flu.”
Isabel shook her head. “Are you sure about that?”
I nodded. “He wouldn’t have dropped Soufflé off at Avianna’s with a note if he had the flu. His disappearance the last few days was deliberate. I just don’t know why or where he is.”
Isabel resumed working on dessert. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Tania sliced up an eggplant with ease. “He’s just…”
“I’m worried about him. I just want to know he’s okay.”
Isabel took a deep breath and let it out. “I do, too. I…”
“We both care about him.” Tania cut her off. “You’re trying to find him?”
I nodded. “Yes. Were you both here on Friday?”
“Yes. Friday lunch is our busiest meal of the week.” Tania turned and drizzled olive oil on the eggplant she had just sliced and placed in a baking dish. She seasoned the eggplant slices with Chef’s special seasoning and slid the dish in an oven. “After lunch was over, Chef made us lunch.”
“Does he do that every day?”
Isabel shook her head. “No. He usually heads home for a break before the dinner shift, unless he has the dinner shift off. And he usually only takes Sunday and Monday dinner shifts off.
“He made eggplant lasagna with garlic bread.” Tania looked at me before turning her focus on the chicken breasts in front of her. “And then he skipped out before dinner, since he had the dinner shift off.”
“And that’s the last time we saw him.” Isabel was near tears.
I looked down at the salad I had just finished and then moved over to comfort her. “I’ll find him.”
She nodded. “I think he was going to see my brother when he left. He said something about seeing Jorge.”
I tried to remember if I knew anything about her brother. The name Jorge came up blank in my memory bank. “Jorge…”
“He has a tattoo parlor in Lompoc. Tatovere Ink. It’s on Ocean.” She pulled herself together and returned her focus to dessert.
I nodded, thanking her. Then, I turned to Tania. “Salad’s done. Anything else I can do to help?”
Tania turned around to check the eggplant in the oven. “Can you do the staff lunches? It’s Wednesday, so lunch is hamburgers.” She nodded her head toward the small desk by the kitchen door. “Over there, you can find the requests. I think it’s one with cheddar and bacon, one turkey burger with swiss, two with american…”
I walked over to the desk and looked for the staff lunch menu. Pablo had probably already looked, but I started searching the desk for the wedding menus.
“It was on top of the desk.” Tania had noticed what I was doing.
I picked up the staff menu requests. The cheddar and bacon hamburger belonged to my husband. I was a bit surprised, since I had expected the turkey burger was his. The turkey burger was Victor’s. “I was looking for the menus for next weekend’s wedding.”
“Isabel and I have torn that desk apart looking for it. So has Pablo.”
“That’s why the desk is a mess.”
“What does he usually do with wedding menus?” I committed the lunch requests to memory and placed it back on the desk.
“He usually keeps them on the desk or filed in the drawer.” Tania shook her head. “Occasionally, he has taken them home.”
“Has anyone looked there?”
“Why would I have a key?” Isabel’s cheeks turned pink.
I realized there was another question begging to be asked, but I decided her unrequited crush could wait. I started staff lunches. Standing closer to Tania, I asked her again.
“I know he keeps an extra key in the desk but I can’t find it.”
So, no one had checked his apartment. I would try to get Avianna’s key later. It wouldn’t hurt to try there. And I would head to Lompoc and talk to Isabel’s brother Jorge after lunch. I guessed it should take about forty minutes to get there and back. I just needed to be on my way back by 2:00.
While I worked on the hamburgers, I glanced at the clock. I needed to leave The Elskede by 12:30. That was the only way I’d have enough time in Lompoc to talk to Jorge.
And then I thought about Chef asking for his paycheck early. “Did Chef say anything to you about needing money?”
Tania nodded. “He asked if he could borrow some. Two thousand three hundred and fifty-six dollars.”
“That’s an odd amount. Did he say what it was for?”
She shook her head, looking at Isabel.
Isabel shrugged. “He didn’t ask me. I would have drained my bank account for him if he asked.”
I rolled my eyes, turning back to the hamburgers. Chef was desperate for money, but not so desperate to ask Isabel. Or me. I would have given it to him, without needing to drain my bank account.
And it was such an odd amount - $2356. Did the money explain why he was hiding?
gagengirl entertainment
Solvang
Part 3