Kee Patterbee - Hannah Starvling 02 - The Gourmet Who Kept Diamonds in the Kitchen by Kee Patterbee Page A

Germanic. German? Austrian? Swiss ? Strong handshake. Determined. Confident, Hannah calculated.
    There was an eagerness in his voice, as if he were anticipating something. Hannah admitted to herself that he was beautiful. As a bonus, he smelled good. So much so, she almost shook her head to clear it. Like vanilla and musk . She knew about the rumor that such scents affects people, in particular women. Glancing over the man, Hannah analyzed everything. The obvious attention he put into picking out his clothes. The shine of his shoes. How he groomed himself, and his choice of cologne, all told her volumes about the man. Lukas Grim was an urban hunter. Confident and ego driven, he chose every detail of his life. Controlled every aspect of his world. I wonder what you are hunting for today , Hannah pondered. Were she not otherwise taken with Hym, there might have been a superficial interest. Still, as stunning as he was, Hym floated back into her head when she looked at Lukas.
    “ Any other time I’d love to ---”
    Lukas interrupted. “I understand it’s rather sudden.” Taking a moment to study Hannah, he smiled again. “Let me explain. My intention is business.”  He then turned to Gran. “When I met this lovely lady and her husband, they said the most wonderful things about their granddaughter.” He looked at Gran through a toothy smile, “When they mentioned your name, I thought to myself, it must be fate. As it turns out, I was hoping to meet with you. So it is all, how do you American’s say, fortuitous?”
    “Fortuitous,” Hannah repeated in a stoic manner.
    He produced another broad smile. “Usually, I approach things more professionally, but seeing you now, well, how could I resist not extending an invitation to someone called Sweetness?”
    Hannah mustered up a charming, but serious smile. “It sounds wonderful, but I doubt I’ll be able to make it today. Unfortunately, I already have other plans. I have a friend who was in an accident yesterday and I must go see him. I’m afraid I can’t take you up on your invitation. Some other time, perhaps?”
    “ Accident? I see. Is he okay?”
    Hannah ’s mind clicked into gear.  He said is ‘he okay,’ she thought. He knew Elias to be a male , she considered. She also noted that he stiffened a bit at the word ‘accident’. He didn’t ask what happened. Only if HE were OKAY. Knowledge or assumption .  He did listen in on their conversation.  Now, she wondered if the man’s interests lay with her or was he somehow connected to it all? She decided to bait him with details.
    “ He’s alive, but he took a nasty fall from a window in this hotel. I’m not sure whether it was accidental… or deliberate… but I plan on finding out.”
    “ Yes, I believe I heard something about that. I overheard a young man talking when I arrived. That is a shame,” Lukas commented.
    “ Yes, it is.”
    Lukas nodded toward the elder Starvling. “Your grandparents say that when you want to find out something, you never stop until you get answers.”
    Gran looked at him with a big smile. Hannah could already tell that she too caught onto his reference mistake. She was asking the same question. How did he know that the friend was a man?
    Lukas interrupted Hannah ’s thoughts. “But do not worry. They did not reveal too many of your secrets.”
    Hannah gave another charming smile. “Oh, what did they reveal?”
    “ Well, if it is not too improper to say, you are a former United States law enforcement officer who became a chef. Now, you are a detective of sorts. You are…” He tapped his chin with his index finger. “How did he put it? Tenacious with a ‘T’. Yes, I think that is how your grandfather put it. And that you do not give up without a fight.” He thought for a second more before adding, “Oh, and you are available.” 
    “ I am not a practicing detective. I work as a culinary consultant.”
    “ My error, I apologize.”
    “ No need for that.”