Frenzy

“Biodegradable,” Qui

She seemed not to hear.

He didn’t enter the office. Instead he passed it by half a block and got into his old Lincoln, parked in the shade of one of the larger trees lining the sidewalk. The trees sprouted from five-foot squares of bare soil. Some of them had flowers planted around them to create miniature gardens.

It was too hot to walk, so Qui

Harley hadn’t been kidding about the English garden. There was all sorts of greenery near the restaurant itself, which did indeed resemble a small medieval castle, complete with gargoyles and turrets and a crenellated roofline. There was room for half a dozen or so tables near the garden, protected by a fringed green awning.

The garden was deliberately slightly shaggy, in the way of English gardens, with geraniums and hibiscus plants, and various flowers and tall grasses Qui

The only part of the garden that didn’t seem to have taken root by chance was the hedge maze. It was about seven feet tall and in the slanted light presented a somewhat ominous entry point. The maze didn’t cover a lot of ground, but it made a lot of right-angle turns. Qui

He watched a young server come outside and set up a large tray so she could deliver lunches to some of the tables. Glad he wasn’t wearing armor, Qui

Despite it being the slow time for restaurants, between the lunch and di

A maître d’ in a black tuxedo appeared with an amiable smile and Qui

Well, why not? There was a Ben. There was a Jerry.

The maître d’ didn’t change expression. He led Qui

He’d expected to see Winston Castle in his office. Instead the maître d’ motioned for Qui

There were two other chefs, thin, wiry types, who looked as if they were trying hard to keep up with human dynamo Castle.

The maître d’ motioned for Qui

As he advanced through the warm and busy kitchen, and the assault of hot oil and spice scents, Qui

He led Qui

Qui

A waiter appeared with two tumblers of ice water on a tray. When he was gone, Castle lowered his bulk into a chair near Qui

Castle was wearing black boots that looked as if they belonged in a pirate movie. A watch on a gold chain peeked out of a small pocket in his vest. Despite the heat of the weather and the kitchen, he wore a puffy blue-and-white ascot. Qui

It made him feel odd when he said, “Messages to your cell phone suggest you know someone named Jeanine Carson.”

Castle seemed to think over his answer, which seemed odd. He either knew or he didn’t know the late Jeanine.

“I knew her, but not as a friend.” He affected a slight English accent. “She did call me several times.”

“What was the purpose of those calls?”

“I’m not sure. I had to leave our conversations rather abruptly because of pressing business. You might have noticed we’re understaffed here.”

“No,” Qui

Castle gave his broad smile, but it seemed slightly forced. “Busy as I am, I keep up on the news. I know Andria Bell as one of the victims in that horrible mass murder at a hotel. I’m assuming that’s why you’re here.” His smile grew even broader, revealing impossibly perfect, very white teeth, perfect for clenching a knife blade as he swung aboard another ship. “Am I a suspect?”

“You and over ten million others.”

“It sounds as if you have long and tedious job.”

“It works out that way sometimes.”

“You’ll need extra help from time to time, as I do here at the restaurant.”

The jovial smile remained the same on Castle’s flesh-padded features, but Qui