RAISING THE STEAKS

  IRON & FLAME COZY MYSTERIES, BOOK 1

  PATTI BENNING

  SUMMER PRESCOTT BOOKS PUBLISHING

  Copyright 2024 Summer Prescott Books

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication nor any of the information herein may be quoted from, nor reproduced, in any form, including but not limited to: printing, scanning, photocopying, or any other printed, digital, or audio formats, without prior express written consent of the copyright holder.

  **This book is a work of fiction. Any similarities to persons, living or dead, places of business, or situations past or present, is completely unintentional.

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  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Epilogue

  Also by Patti Benning

  Author’s Note

  Contact Summer Prescott Books Publishing

  ONE

  The sound of clinking dishes and chatter from the kitchen filled the air. Lydia Thackery ignored it all, standing with her back to the wall on the other side of the swinging doors that separated her domain from that of the waitstaff. She was gazing out across Iron and Flame’s dining room. Not glaring—just looking. Her ex-husband, Jeremy Montrose, was the focus of this look. Or rather, his newest paramour was.

  Audrey Morrice deserved all of the unprofessional glares in the world. Lydia was having a difficult time keeping her expression neutral. She didn’t care if Jeremy dated, really. Their divorce had been as amicable as possible. She wasn’t still in love with him, and there was about as much chance of her winning the lottery as there was of her getting back together with him. Since she didn’t buy lottery tickets, that chance was pretty much zero.

  But Audrey. If there was one person who she dearly wished she had a good reason to ban from her restaurant, it was Audrey.

  “Can you believe she keeps coming back?”

  She turned her head slightly to glance at the asker of the question out of the corner of her eye. Brian Joseph was one of her sous-chefs, and in this case, apparently, her co-commiserater.

  “Don’t you have work to do?” she asked.

  Her tone was tired. There was nothing sharp in the question, and Brian didn’t even blink, for all that she was his boss. Well, one of his bosses. They were currently spying on his other boss. For all that they had managed to work things out so far, Lydia very much did not recommend trying to run a restaurant with one’s ex-husband.

  “It’s my break,” Brian said, lifting his half-empty glass of water as if in proof. “I have four minutes left.”

  She sighed. The fact that all of the kitchen staff got regular breaks even on the most hectic days was a point of pride for her. She had done her time in other restaurants, and she knew how bad it could get without good management, but though she would never say it, Brian was her least favorite of the staff. He always seemed to find ways to hang around her when they were working together, and was so hyper aware of what she was doing that she sometimes tripped over him when she turned around to grab a pan or mixing bowl off the counter, only to find that he was already handing it out to her.

  It was nothing overt. Nothing that she could fire him for or even use as an excuse to bring the issue up to him without appearing completely arrogant, but she knew she wasn’t imagining the way he watched her whenever they were in the kitchen together. She was thirty-two to his twenty-four, and more than that, she was his boss. Even if she wanted to start parading a train of dating partners in front of her ex-husband’s face like he did to her, Brian certainly wouldn’t make her list of choices.

  It was strange. Before she and Jeremy had come to the decision to divorce, working at the restaurant had been her escape. She had felt more comfortable here than anywhere else, including at home with her husband. Now, more and more, she found that coming into work was a stressful experience, and her tense shoulders only relaxed when she stepped through the door of her rented house. Her home might be quiet and empty, but sometimes that was better than being surrounded by people who only made her feel lonelier.

  “I can’t believe they got back together,” Brian added when she didn’t respond. He was talking as if they were a pair of friends out to lunch, not two professionals on the job. “She spent the last month dating Hare Gill, you know. They even came here once. I think she timed it, so they would come in during one of Jeremy’s shifts.”

  As much as she wanted to avoid gossiping with her employees, especially the one employee who seemed to want to view her as more than just his boss, that got her attention. Harold “Hare” Gill was a local who was known to have a temper. She couldn’t imagine he was happy when the woman he was seeing went right back to Jeremy, and he was probably doubly unhappy if he realized Audrey had been flaunting their relationship in front of Jeremy on purpose.

  “I didn’t hear about that,” she admitted. “What happened?”

  “I’ve got no idea,” Brian said, draining the rest of his water and leaning back against the wall as he crossed his arms. “But I saw Jeremy take her aside and chat with her while he was supposed to be in the kitchen cooking. I had to cover for him, of course. The next time she came in, about a week later, it was with him instead of Hare.”

  She had to grit her teeth to keep the words she wanted to say from coming out. As much as she hated how Jeremy used Iron and Flame as the main backdrop for all of his tumultuous relationships since their divorce, it would be completely inappropriate for her to say that to one of their employees. Despite their issues, Jeremy was still half owner of the restaurant, and they had only gotten this far because they had both kept to an agreement to make a show of supporting each other in everything surrounding their business.

  “Well, my break is up,” she said, even though it wasn’t. “I’ve got to get back to work. Enjoy your last two minutes.”

  He pushed away from the wall and followed her into the kitchen, to her complete lack of surprise. “I might as well get back to work too. Hey, Chartreuse. You can take your break now, if you want.”

  Chartreuse was the other sous-chef working that evening. Unlike Brian, Lydia liked her. She was smart, quick on her feet, and was an excellent cook. Also, unlike Brian, she never tried to blur the lines between professional and not.

  “Give me five minutes,” she called back. “Got two more orders waiting for you guys.”

  Lydia looked over the order cards, feeling her stomach sour even though she had known what was coming. Audrey had ordered a porterhouse steak, cooked medium rare. She was proud of her cooking, and would never try to do less than her best, regardless of the customer, but she hated having to put her best foot forward for this woman.

  She tried to forget who she was cooking for as she stood in front of the grill, letting the years of experience in the innate sense that had let her make a career out of her passion guide her as she prepared both the porterhouse for Audrey and the rib-eye Jeremy had ordered. She let them rest while Brian plated the side dishes, then watched as one of their servers, Noel, carried the plates out.

  She felt a little more positive as she started preparing the next order. She didn’t work the front of the house. She wouldn’t have to interact with them. Within the hour, they would pay their bill and then—

  “Chef Lydia, we need you out front.” She paused, turning away from the grill to look at Noel, who gave her a sympathetic wince. “One of the guests has a complaint.”

  She didn’t need to guess who the complaint came from. She handed the grill off to Chartreuse, then followed Noel out of the kitchen and over to Jeremy’s table. It was a little gratifying to see that he looked embarrassed, though it was also a bad sign. Audrey, on the other hand, had no such compunctions.

  “Oh, are you tonight’s chef?” she asked, her voice dripping with fake sweetness as she looked up at Lydia. Lydia knew Audrey knew very well that Lydia was working tonight. They only had three chefs, and their third one was semiretired and only worked a few shifts a week. Still, this was a customer, and she could be professional even if Jeremy couldn’t.

  “Yes, I am. I was told there was a problem with your order?”

  Behind her back, she made a subtle sign to Noel to let the girl know she could leave. She didn’t want to make any of her employees deal with an unhappy guest if they didn’t have to.

  “Yes, well, I ordered the steak medium rare, and as you can see, it’s completely overcooked. This is beyond well done.”

  She showed Lydia the steak that was cut in half on her plate. Lydia could see the interior, which was pink, right on the cooked side of rare. Even if she hadn’t used a meat thermometer to ensure that this particular order was perfect, anyone who knew their way around a good steak would know Audrey was full of it.

  But the woman was still smiling at her with that fake, sickening sweet politeness. Lydia glanced at Jeremy, half hoping he would chime in with his own expertise. He had been a chef for even longer than she had. But he wouldn’t meet her eyes.

  “
I’m so sorry about that,” Lydia gritted out. “Would you like me to take it back and make a new one for you?”

  “Yes, please,” Audrey said. “And do try to get it right this time. I’m sure you’re busy, but I’d hate to leave a bad review for this place because you can’t get it right.”

  Lydia snatched the plate off the table and turned away without another word. This was one of the reasons she hated Audrey so much. The woman did this all the time, unless she came in while Jeremy was the one cooking, in which case everything he made was perfect. She had no idea why the woman felt like she had to attack and belittle Lydia every time they came to eat at Iron and Flame, but there was nothing she could do about it. Not when making a scene would cause issues with Jeremy, and he had just as much power here as she did.

  She was in a bad mood as she made a second steak for Audrey. Noel gave the returned steak a sad look, and Lydia pretended not to notice when it disappeared into a to-go box. They offered free meals to their employees once per shift—from a list, since some of what they served was quite expensive and they sometimes had a limited amount of it—but taking leftover food from a customer’s plate was against their policies. In this case, the steak hadn’t been touched except to cut it open, and even Lydia would have felt terrible just throwing it away. If Noel wanted to take it home, she wasn’t about to stop her.

  She was exhausted by the time the kitchen closed for the evening. The restaurant itself was still open for another hour as the diners finished their meals and the people sitting at the bar had their last drinks. She took a seat at the bar herself, not to drink but to unwind for a moment before she left for the night. Audrey and Jeremy didn’t come in every day, but she never knew when she would see them or when Jeremy would be with one of the other woman he was dating. The not knowing added another layer of stress to her already stressful job.

  “Oh, do you work here?”

  The interested, excited voice belonged to a woman Lydia vaguely recognized. She was a regular, though not one who came in often enough for Lydia to know her name.

  “Yes, I’m one of the head chefs,” Lydia said, forcing a polite smile back onto her face. “I hope you had a lovely experience dining tonight.”

  “Oh, I just came in for a drink and a burger to go.” She indicated the box in front of her. “I’ve been working all day, and I’m exhausted. You look pretty beat too.”

  “It’s been a long night,” Lydia admitted.

  “You know, if you need help relaxing, I have something you might like.” Lydia blinked and watched as the woman rifled through her purse, withdrawing two small vials. “These are essential oils. Lavender and chamomile. They’re great for—”

  “Sorry, I’m not interested,” Lydia said, cutting her off. “And we have a no solicitation sign on our door.”

  “I just thought you looked like you could use the help,” the woman said. “My name is Valerie. I can offer these to you for half off—”

  “Please, ma’am, not tonight.”

  Valerie must have seen the look in her eyes, because she deflated and shoved the vials of oil back into her purse.

  “Sorry.” She sighed. “I know how obnoxious this is. I’m just really trying to offload all of these. I bought twenty cases of oil. A hundred vials per case. I thought it was going to be this great way to work from home, and everything else that woman pedaled to me, but now I’m out half my savings and no one wants to buy them. I’m at the end of my rope. I don’t know what to do.”

  “I’m sorry,” Lydia said. She meant it. She knew there were a lot of pyramid schemes going around, and she had empathy for the people who got caught in them. “You really can’t try to sell them in here, though. I wish you luck.”

  “Thanks. They do smell pretty nice. At least my closet smells good now, even if I don’t have any room to store my things with all the boxes.”

  Lydia chuckled, her first real laugh of the evening. “You know what, would you take five dollars for the lavender one? Nice smells never hurt.”

  Valerie gave her a crooked smile, and they made the trade. Oddly, after that interaction, Lydia felt a little bit better. She wished Valerie a good evening and left the restaurant, making her way through the parking lot to her little black SUV. She started it and then took her phone out of her purse, glancing through the notifications she had missed while she was working. The only one she felt the need to reply to was a text message from her sister, Lillian.

  Are you free this weekend? Want to get together for lunch and go shopping? I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you.

  Lydia thought for a moment. It had been a while since she had seen Lillian, not counting when her sister stopped in to grab food from Iron and Flame. But… Sunday was her only day off. And it was a day off from work, not a day off from life. She had a lot of stuff she had to get done, and she didn’t think she would have time to spend a few hours with her sister.

  Sorry, she replied. I’m busy this weekend. Maybe next time.

  Only when she sent the message did she scroll up a little and realize that the message she had sent the previous week was almost identical, word for word.

  She tossed her phone onto the passenger seat and backed out of the parking spot. Her life was a mess right now, but at least on the bright side, it could only go up from here.

  TWO

  There wasn’t much Lydia was afraid of. Spiders she could do without, and the thought of losing the restaurant always filled her with dread, but overall, she thought she was a relatively confident, self-sufficient woman.

  Waking up to hear her cellphone ringing in the early hours of the morning terrified her.

  The feeling of dread that hit her when she came to was instant. Her first thought was of Lillian, and then of her parents. Had something happened? Has she been so absorbed in her work that she had missed her last chance to interact with one of her loved ones?

  The number was local, but not one she had saved to her phone. She took a shaking breath and slid the button to answer the call, pressing it to her ear tightly.

  “Hello?” Her voice came out as a ghastly croak. The response she got was not reassuring.

  “Am I speaking with a Lydia Thackery?”

  “Yes, this is she. How may help you?” Her words were automatic, giving away none of the panic she felt.

  “This is Detective Bronner with the Quarry Creek PD. I’m calling to alert you of a possible homicide on a property you own in town—the restaurant, Iron and Flame. Are you able to open the building for us so we can retrieve security footage from your cameras?”

  “I—yes, I can—a homicide? Are you saying someone was murdered?” Her voice climbed an octave as she spoke.

  “Ma’am, we need you to open the restaurant so we can retrieve the security footage. I can get a warrant if I need to, but it will be faster if you—”

  “No—no, I’m coming. I just—can you tell me who died?”

  “Please just come to the restaurant, ma’am.”

  Frustrated, she jumped out of bed and rushed downstairs, slamming her feet into the first pair of shoes that she could find and grabbing her purse off of the hook near the door. She was still in her pajamas, but she didn’t care. This felt like a bad dream. Someone had been murdered at the restaurant?

  Her house was only a few blocks away from Iron and Flame, which was in an old, brick building downtown. It was one of the few standalone buildings in town, without any tenants overhead or other storefronts sharing a wall. It had its own parking lot, but when she arrived, it was cordoned off with crime scene tape.

  She parked along the road and got out of her vehicle. A police officer intercepted her, but she introduced herself and said a Detective Bronner had called her. The officer led her over to a middle-aged man who was beginning to go bald. He had a lined face and a no-nonsense expression as he watched her unlock the restaurant. They didn’t have a state-of-the-art security system by any means; just one camera at the front door, one overlooking the bar inside, and one at the back entrance. She told an officer where to find the machines the footage was stored on, but they wouldn’t let her go into the building. Detective Bronner took her aside once she had done her part.