Free French Pastry Murder (A Lucy Stone Mystery) by Leslie Meier

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    “Chef Larry wasn’t teaching me anything I didn’t know already,” she said, “but I had hopes, you know? I was hoping to learn the secret of pâte feuilletée . Mine never comes out quite right.”
    “Why make it from scratch?” inquired Lucy. “You can buy ready-made puff pastry. It’s in the freezer section. That’s what I do.”
    Sue gave her a pained look. “Not the same thing at all.”
    “Well, maybe there’ll be a substitute teacher,” said Pam, who actually was an occasional substitute teacher back home in Tinker’s Cove.
    “I don’t think so,” said Bill. “Le Cooking School looks like a one-man show to me.”
    “What about the bakery?” wondered Pam. “Do you think it will close?”
    “I bet Chef Larry has hirelings who do the baking,” said Sue, signaling the waiter for another glass of wine. “And he has that wholesale grocery business, too. Remember? He said he could get us all the wine and caviar we wanted.”
    “At a very good price,” added Sid. “That’s what he said.”
    Lucy was thoughtful, but it was Ted who said what she was thinking. “I wouldn’t be surprised to learn he dabbles in black market goods,” he said. “Lapointe mentioned that as a possible motive.”
    “You think that wine and stuff we found in the apartment fell off a truck?” asked Sid.
    “Something like that,” said Ted.
    “And I was going to ask him to get us another case of wine,” said Sue. “I never thought it was stolen. I just figured he had connections in the industry and was getting it wholesale.”
    “I don’t think so,” said Lucy. “People don’t get themselves stabbed for no reason.”
    “And there was that attack in the market,” said Bob.
    “I wonder if that guy was operating on his own,” said Lucy, “or if he was part of some criminal organization.”
    “Like the Mafia?” Rachel’s huge eyes were bigger than ever. “You think he was delivering a warning?”
    “It could have been something like that, or even some terrorist group,” said Ted. “Richard told me that’s how a lot of them make money for their operations.”
    “He doesn’t strike me as a man with a cause,” said Sue. “I think Chef Larry is just out for Chef Larry.”
    “Well, I like him,” said Pam. “And I hope he pulls through.”
    “We all do,” said Rachel.
    “You bet,” agreed Bob. “The sooner he recovers and tells the police who attacked him, the sooner we get our passports back.”
    “Well, in the meantime, it looks like we’ve got plenty of time to fill,” said Bill. “Any ideas?”
    “We’re in France,” said Sue. “Like Lapointe said, there’s plenty to see and do.”
    “I’ve always wanted to see Versailles,” said Pam.
    “Me too,” added Rachel. “That’s where they filmed that movie about Marie Antoinette. There were just glimpses, but it was gorgeous.”
    “It’s only a short train ride away,” offered Sue. “Let’s go. Tomorrow. It will take our minds off the current unpleasantness.”
    Everybody seemed to think a trip to Versailles was a good idea, except Bob. “Hold your horses,” he advised. “Chances are we’ll all be called in for questioning tomorrow.”
    “That soon?” asked Sid.
    “I’d bet money on it,” answered Bob, looking glum as he drained his glass and set it on the table.
    Pam was having none of it. “This is crazy. We’re Americans. We’re the can-do people. We’re not helpless here. We’ve got an embassy.”
    “You’re right,” said Bob, perking up. “I’ll go this afternoon and see if they can’t help us get our passports back, or issue temporary passports.”
    “Shall we all go?” asked Lucy.
    “I don’t think that’s necessary,” said Bob.
    “Good,” said Sue. “I have no desire to sit around in some waiting room all afternoon, not when I could be shopping.”
    “And I’m going to want to keep an eye on you,” said Sid with a resigned sigh.
    In the end it was decided that Lucy should go to the