Murder at the Cooking School: Book 7 of the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series by Dianne Harman Page B

daughters, had just moved into Mike’s
deceased aunt’s home in Calico Gold, California. When Mike married Kelly he’d
become an instant stepfather to her two adult children, Julia and Cash. With
the marriage of Brad and Julia, Mike’s family had once again increased, as he
became a step-grandparent to Brad’s two daughters who were now four and six.
Never having had children, he loved every minute of family life, but it
certainly was a change from his life as a divorced man of many years.
    I can’t believe this ancient
castle has Wi-Fi. It’s almost sacrilegious, but I’m glad I don’t have to go to
the village to email Julia , Kelly thought.
    She spent the next half
hour telling her daughter about Italy, the castle, and the cooking school. She
deliberately left out the part about Signora Nardo being murdered,
knowing how worried Julia got about Mike’s cases and her involvement in them.
She looked at her watch. “Caesar, it’s time to go to cooking school. You can
stay outside the kitchen while I’m in there. Let’s go.”
    “Aah Kelly, there you
are,” Chef Bianchi said. “Today I would like you to prepare the stuffed
focaccia with grilled zucchini, peppers, pesto, and mozzarella. You’ve made the
focaccia before, so go ahead and make it according to the directions. When you
finish making it, you will put the stuffing ingredients on it. It’s kind of
like a pizza, but there’s one thing to remember, never put the mozzarella on
the bottom. It gets really soggy if that’s done.”
    “I thought we were going
to change partners every day, but for the last two days I’ve worked with you,
and quite frankly, you’ve been busy with the other students. I’m worried I’ll
make a mistake. I think I’ve been lucky so far.”
    “The reason I haven’t
gotten another partner for you is that you’re very good in the kitchen. You
have great instincts, and you really are a seasoned cook. Trust me, you can
easily do this. We’ll have it for lunch. When you finish the focaccia, you can
prepare the braised artichokes with potatoes, parsley, and garlic we’ll be
serving for dinner. It’s served cold, and it’s even better when it’s made a few
hours ahead of time. Do you have any questions?”
    “Not now, but I probably
will once I get into the recipes.”
    Chef Bianchi patted
Kelly’s arm and said, “You’ll do just fine. I have no doubt. Oh, by the way,
how are your husband and the chief doing with solving Signora Nardo’s
murder?”
    “There was a breakthrough
last night. I think they’re getting very close to solving it.”
    “Who do they think
committed such a horrible crime?” the chef asked.
    “The one thing I’ve
learned as a sheriff’s wife is that it’s not my case. It’s my husband’s, and
believe me he tells me often that it’s not my case. You better ask him.”
    “Do you think he’ll be
back in time for dinner?”
    “I really don’t know. He
enjoys law enforcement work, but he’s loved the food here and has really been
sorry that he couldn’t attend class. Between you and me, I think what he’s
sorriest about is that he isn’t here to enjoy the fabulous meals.”
    Two hours later, tired and
hoping she hadn’t disappointed the chef, Kelly joined the other students as
they made their way to the porch for the luncheon they had just prepared. Kelly
looked at the table and wished she’d brought her phone with her so she could
take a picture of it and send it to Julia. The luncheon meal was served family
style with large bowls and platters of the food they’d prepared set on the long
table. Today they were having spinach gnocchi, the stuffed focaccia Kelly had
made, a fennel salad with lemon and mint, and for dessert, panne cotta, which
was a light pudding-like dish sweetened with vanilla. The colors and textures
made her mouth water.
    The wine steward told them
about the wines he’d selected for the meal, and soon everyone was happily
eating and drinking. Kelly had noticed