Thursday 1 October

“Evening Dylan. I’ll have a pint of my usual, please.”

“Here you go, Simon. How was your day?”

“Not too bad, just waiting for some news about Luca Mazza. Hopefully, he’s fine and they’ll release him from the hospital soon.”

“Is he the chef who collapsed doing a demonstration at the Fenn House Food and Wine Show this afternoon. The one who’s on Get Your Cook On?”

“That’s the one. But he’s more than just a TV chef, he’s also the executive chef at Nonnina, the three-star fine dining Italian restaurant in Knightsbridge owned by Sebastiano Marchetti.”

“What Chef Seb, who’s dating Lady Beatrice?”

“Yes, him.”

“How’s it going between them?”

“Obviously, I can’t say too much, but it’s nowhere near as serious as the press makes out. They’ve only known each other just over a month and Lady Beatrice isn’t someone who rushes into things.”

“Well after everything that happened with her husband, I’m not surprised.”

“Yes, even though it was over fourteen years ago, she’s kept herself to herself since then and concentrated on raising her son Sam. So she’s taking it slowly.”

“Good idea. It’s been good to see here in her with you and Perry recently.”

“Yes, she’s been more sociable these last six months. She loves that you keep the press out of the place. It means she can relax.”

“So how did your demo go?”

“It went well, I think. I was apprehensive as it’s by far the biggest live crowd I’ve ever cooked in front of, but they seemed happy enough.”

“I heard from Jayne who was there that you got a standing ovation.”

“Really? It’s difficult to see with all the stage lights shining in your face. I’m glad the audience enjoyed it.”

“Who’d have thought you’d be headlining at a food show. You being a crime writer and all.”

“I know! But since I won Celebrity Elitechef last year, my whole life has been strange. I’m normally writing novels, not cookbooks.”

“Jayne’s got a copy of Simon Cooks, she loves it.”

“Well I always said your wife had good taste, Dylan.”

“Well, I’m not going to argue with you there. So are you going to do more of this cooking lark then?”

“No. No more cookbooks or food demonstrations after this show. I’ve a hard deadline for my next book to be completed, and my agent is hassling me about it, so I really need to get my head down. Oh, hold on a minute Dylan, that’s my phone… it’s an update about Luca… they’re still treating him for dehydration, but it isn’t having the effect they’d hoped it would… so now they’re running some tests. Poor Luca.”

“Is it serious?”

“Initially we just thought it was just something he’d eaten a few days ago that hadn’t agreed with him. And he’d seemed much better this morning and had insisted he was well enough to do the opening show. And in fairness, he looked fine when he arrived. I was watching from backstage, and it started well. You could tell Luca loved being in front of the crowd. He was so energised by them. He and his sous chef were just getting into the swing of it when Luca went pale and started to sweat. Then it all happened so quickly. He heaved the frying pan towards the stove where thankfully his sous chef caught it just in time. Next thing I knew, he was hitting the ground with a thud. I ran on stage — he was breathing but was only semi-conscious when I reached him. Seb was with me, and together we helped him to his feet, then half walked, half carried him off the stage. Poor guy, he looked in a bit of state.”

“Did you get help?”

“Yes. The paramedics arrived shortly after. They seemed to think he’d become badly dehydrated after his stomach upset and they expected that once they’d got some fluids in him, he’d be fine. Now it seems it’s more complicated than that…”

“Another pint?”

“I really shouldn’t. I promised Perry I’d make him macaroni cheese tonight. It’s one of his favourites.”

“How is he?”

“He’s great. He and Lady Beatrice are just finishing up at Fenn House. They had a delivery of bedroom linen arrive a day early just as we were about to leave, so I left them to it.”

“I hear from one of the staff there that they’re doing a great job with the refurbishment.”

“Yes, what they’ve completed so far looks amazing. It’s no wonder their services are in such demand.”

“You must be very proud of Perry.”

“Yes, I am.”

“So come on then, when are you going to make an honest man of him and get married?”

“Ha ha! We’ll see…”

“Are you sure you don’t want another pint?”

“Oh, okay, go on then. I just have a swift one…”

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Not Mushroom For Death, A Right Royal Cozy Investigation Mystery #3
Genre: Cozy
Release: December 2022
Format: Print and Digital
Purchase Link

TV Chef Luca Mazza Dies After Collapse at Food Show on the King’s Private Estate

Luca Mazza (38), who was taken ill during a food demonstration at the Fenn House Food and Wine Festival two days ago, is now known to have ingested poison. Lady Beatrice (36), the king’s niece, who is working on a refurbishment project at Fenn House with her business partner Perry Juke (34), is believed to be comforting Luca’s boss and close friend Sebastiano Marchetti (38), who she began dating last month.

Is he crazy? Why else would Detective Chief Inspector Richard Fitzwilliam suggest that Sebastiano poisoned Luca without any evidence? So now, with the help of her little dog Daisy and her best friends Perry and Simon, Lady Beatrice will have to prove to Mr Know-it-all Fitzwilliam that Seb is innocent. But with so many people having access to the food preparation area at the show how will she find out who did murder Luca before Fitzwilliam lets his personal dislike get the better of him and arrests Seb?

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Meet the author
Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise.

I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end, I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far, I’m loving it.

It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes.

All comments are welcomed.