Free Murder On The Menu: A Romantic Comedy Culinary Cozy Mystery (A Celebrity Mystery) by Zanna Mackenzie Page A

quite funny about their knives. Most of them keep their own set, wrapped in a carry pouch. They don’t leave them lying around and they hate other people using them.”
    “Do you know where Armand’s set of knives would be?”
    “When I’ve stayed late before, helping clear up, I think he usually locks them away in the cupboard next to the walk-in fridge.”
    “Right, good.” Jack moves over to check the cupboard. It opens straight away and I walk over to peer inside as Jack sifts through the contents. “No sign of knives.”
    “So, for some reason, he didn’t put them in there that night or they’ve been stolen, or the killer took them away with them.”
    “Or the police have taken them as possible evidence,” Jack adds and goes back to checking the rest of the kitchen. “Can you spot anything which looks different to usual?”
    I try to focus, picturing how things usually look and whether anything is standing out, jarring for some reason. That’s when I see it. On the giant cork noticeboard near the door through to the restaurant, amongst the various flyers, menu ideas and notes, is something I’m pretty certain I haven’t seen before. I take a step closer and Jack appears at my side.
    “What is it?” he asks, standing so close I can feel the heat of his body next to mine, even through our clothing.
    “I’m sure that wasn’t here before,” I say, pointing at the noticeboard. There’s a poster for the save the store campaign pinned on top of all the other stuff. “I’ve been organising the promotional materials for the campaign and I definitely didn’t put this particular flyer together.” The majority of the flyer is taken up with a photo of Armand. The heading declares, ‘ Top Celebrity Chef Sets Up Village Store Campaign.’
    Jack leans even closer and reads the poster over my shoulder. “According to Frazer, you and Brenda are the ones driving this campaign, not Armand. So, is he being a typical celebrity spotlight grabber and claiming it’s all his own doing?”
    “Looks that way.” I move to take down the poster, checking for anything to indicate who put it together, but Jack closes a hand over mine to stop me.
    “Fingerprints,” he whispers in my ear, so near that I can feel his breath on my cheek.
    “I just wanted to see who had put that flyer together because, like I said, it certainly wasn’t me.”
    Jack removes the pin and turns the flyer over in his hands. “There’s no name on it so maybe it hasn’t been done by a designer. I’m assuming somebody like Armand has got a manager and a publicist. Maybe they’re the ones behind it, wanting to exploit his involvement and support in the campaign to boost the good PR even further for him.”
    “Probably, yes, that makes sense.” Beneath the photo is a few paragraphs about how strongly Armand feels about supporting communities and ensuring village shops, a lifeline for those communities, are kept alive and thriving.
    “Is there any animosity about this campaign?” Jack asks as he reads through the flyer. “Frazer said the shop premises are up for change of use to holiday accommodation. That’s a pretty controversial move in areas like this where house prices are being driven sky high thanks to outsiders buying up places and turning them into holiday properties. Amswick is only about fifteen minutes’ drive to the holiday hotspots, the big walking areas and the lakes, right?”
    “Yes. It is. Most people around here are in support of the campaign. I can’t imagine anyone being against our attempts to save the village store, especially not enough to kill Armand in connection with it!”
    “Frazer said it’s a property management company behind the planned change of use. I’m thinking whoever is behind the plans can’t be happy about your campaign.”
    I step back and stare at Jack, not sure if I’m getting what he’s suggesting. “What? And you think somebody from that company who’s put in the planning application