Couples
Chapter 35
"Could you pass the biscuits, please?" Dana asks.
Rick hands him a cloth-napkin-lined woven basket of warm baked goods. "Here you go. You were telling us about pottery testing."
"Uh-huh. There are kits you can get at home improvement stores, but they don't give you numbers or predict anything about long term leaching," Dana explains. "Some dishes might pass but still have low heavy metal levels they would release over time. The F.D.A. prescribes a more robust procedure. I've never been involved with it myself, but I had a professor who spent a summer on a student project running the regulation tests on a bunch of pottery-lined slow cookers. From the way he described it, he made the laboratory equivalent of vinegar, 4% acetic acid. Then he filled the crocks up and let them soak for 24 hours. After that, he analyzed the liquid with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. He told me he had circles all over the floor of his lab where the test samples sat overnight."
"What did he find?" Rick prompts.
"Almost all the slow cookers were fine. But there was an imported off-brand that leached lead."
"So it's possible that imported pottery could be toxic?" Kate concludes.
"It is possible," Dana confirms, "especially if the factory does a crappy job of glazing it. Consumers buying dishes or cookware can check if they're government approved. But in a restaurant, there's no way to tell – unless you bring your own test."
"In all my dining experience, fine or otherwise," Rick begins.
"And that's a lot," Alexis interjects.
"True," Rick concedes. "And as I was about to say, I've never seen anyone pull out a kit."
"But it would be interesting," Dana comments.
"I need to pay a call on Werner and Fishkill," Kate decides.
"And I've got to go with you," Rick insists. "If they have a spiel they use on enterprising restauranteurs, they might try it out on me – particularly if I indicate a desire to open another place. They don't need to know I've talked to Auchincloss. Better still, I could act like I'm not interested in his advice. It could be enlightening to see how the pair reacts."
"Yes, it could," Kate agrees.
"You coming to bed, Babe?" Kate calls from the doorway of Rick's office.
Rick looks up from the map spread across his desk. "In a little while. I want to take a better look at this. Aside from the obvious clue of Siam written on it, the country also appears to be Thailand. I'll need to find someone who can translate the markings for me, but the gulf and courses of the rivers are right. There's also a marked route that leads to what looks like Cambodia. I checked. Cambodia is one of the countries where emeralds are found."
"So, you're saying that someone found an emerald in Cambodia, took it to Thailand – or maybe it was Siam then – and hid it in a puzzle elephant?" Kate questions.
"It does sound unlikely when you put it that way," Rick acknowledges. "But that emerald has a story. And if I can, I want to find out what it is. I haven't examined the other maps I got off of Willow yet. I could find more clues."
Kate flutters her lashes. "If there are more clues, they'll still be there in the morning. And I had a different kind of treasure hunt in mind."
Rick springs from his chair. "Lead the way!"
"Did you get Lily all settled with Meryl?" Kate asks as Rick arrives in the bullpen.
"I'm not sure settled is the right word," Rick muses. "I think Lily noticed me using a wooden spoon to stir the eggs this morning. She found one in a 'safe' drawer and got into the 'safe' pot and pans cabinet. I think she's channeling either Dave Grohl or a judge on the Gong Show. Either way, she's beating up a storm. And Belle is joining in with one of those squeaky toys. The girls are having a blast, and I showed Meryl where I keep my noise-canceling headphones – in case she gets desperate. So, off to see Werner and Fishkill?"
Kate checks her watch. "According to their website, their office hours start about 45 minutes from now. We should catch them as they're opening up."
Gunther Werner couldn't be more pleased than to usher author and restauranteur Richard Castle into his office. He's not so sure about the cop wife. She is far and away the hottest cop he's ever seen anywhere but a T.V. or movie screen. But that doesn't mean she won't be trouble. Still, no investigators ever questioned him or Louis since they took care of Manuel Garces. If the N.Y.P.D. had a clue, someone would have come by long before this.
Rick smiles. "I was hoping that Mr. Fishkill would be able to join us. I've heard that you work as a team."
"We do," Werner acknowledges. "But he has a call with Europe. They're well into the business day across the pond."
"Yes, I know," Rick responds. "I post on my blog before breakfast for my fans there to peruse over lunch. Three of my novellas just came out in paperback, and the E.U. is reading up a storm. See what I did there?"
Werner forces a smile. "Yes, your protagonist, Derrick Storm. Intriguing character."
"Intrigue is the point of a spy story," Rick replies, "but we're not here to talk about my books. Now that my Imagination Patch is self-sustaining, we've been toying with the idea for a new restaurant. I want something more avant-garde than the mainstream dining establishments. I understand that you and Mr. Fishkill specialize in developing new and exciting gustatory experiences."
"That we do," Louis Fishkill chimes in from a doorway to his adjoining office. He takes a seat beside Werner. "What type of experience did you have in mind?"
"A throwback to less frenetic times," Rick explains.
Kate notes the quick exchange of glances between the partners.
"We heard that you might have been discussing something a little along those lines with Manuel Garces," Rick continues.
Werner's eyes narrow. "How did you hear that?"
Rick gestures with Martha Rodgers-like dismissiveness. "Things get around in the hospitality world, as I'm sure you've noticed. But Fiona Garces might have said something about it. She wasn't enough into that end of her late husband's business, to be sure. However, I'd be going at it from a much different angle than the sadly departed Manuel. I want to add an air of mystery or surprise, more than my chef at Imagination Patch would approve. My customers wouldn't merely have a meal; they'd be immersed in a total voyage of discovery."
"Discovery of what?" Fishkill asks.
Rick snorts, rolling his eyes. "Why of what they're eating, of course. The menu would be a mystery. Patrons would use their senses and deductive skills to figure out what they put in their mouths."
Fishkill and Werner briefly relock their eyes before turning back to Rick. Fishkill nods too vigorously. "A fascinating idea and quite on the cutting edge. We'll discuss it and get back to you."
"Fine," Rick agrees. "Shall I call you tomorrow?"
"We'll call you," Werner assures him. "Now Louis and I have an appointment shortly, so I'm afraid we'll have to let you go. It was a pleasure meeting both of you."
"The pleasure was all mine," Rick assures him.
Kate bursts into giggles as soon as the elevator door closes. "Could you have laid it on any thicker? Those guys think you're a nutbar."
"Of course they do. Which will keep them from worrying about the way they reacted when I alluded to Garces. They're guilty, Kate. I could see it in their eyes."
Kate takes her husband's arm. "I saw it too, Babe. Now we need to find evidence to prove it."
