Crêpe Murder: Book 4 (A Patisserie Mystery with Recipes) (4 page)

“Okay, Juan.”
 

“What about you? Are you seeing anyone?”
 

“I am.” She nodded. “His name is Arthur.”
 

“Maybe we can all go to dinner sometimes,” said Juan.

“Really?”
 

“Sure. I’m new in the city, and I’m in need of friends. Can I take your number? I’ll ask Sophie to see what she says.”
 

“Okay.” Clémence also took his number. She seized the opportunity to ask him one last thing. “Hey, you know, it’s funny. My friends were under the impression that you’re Spanish royalty or something. Are you?”
 

Juan laughed. “I’m not a prince, no. But I do come from a noble family We’re just a normal family really. My parents and extended family own various businesses and I’m working at my uncle’s wine company,
Rojas
. Have you heard of it?”

“No, is it sold here?”
 

“Yes, wherever you can find wine.”
 

“I’ll look for it next time. I’m glad the mystery’s solved.”
 

“I hope your friends won’t be too disappointed,” Juan said with a smile. “What about you? Why didn’t I know that your last name was Damour?”
 

“I was also traveling incognito,” said Clémence. “It was easier to be an artist, and just not have to explain that I was anything more than who I was, you know? When I met you, I had just broken up with my ex and I wanted to escape from being me.”

Her ex Mathieu was a talented artist and she always felt as if she was in his shadow. She didn’t want to be known just for being an up-and-coming painter’s girlfriend or the rich daughter of successful parents; she just wanted to be Clémence.
 

“I get it,” said Juan. “You wanted to be normal.”
 

“You don’t think I’m normal?” she joked.

“
Damour
is huge, even internationally.”
 

“Again, that’s my parents. I don’t want to take credit for that.”
 

“Do they live in this neighborhood too?”
 

“Yes, but they’re away in Asia right now. I’m house-sitting for them before I get my own place. We opened new stores in Toyko and Hong Kong, so they’re going back and forth between the two cities for the next few months. They also want to open one in Singapore.”
 

“That should be fun for them. Well, Clémence Damour of the
Damour
Patisseries, I have your number, and we’ll schedule something soon. Nice talking to you. I’m so glad I could run into you and explain myself.”
 

“It was good to see you too. I’d love to meet Sophie sometime.”
 

They gave each other bisous goodbye, and Clémence went back to work to finally make the perfect apple pie croissants.
 

CHAPTER 5

When Clémence returned home after work, Arthur came by with his brother Theo. At 26, Theo was working on his MBA. He knew about Arthur and Clémence’s relationship, and she’d met him on several occasions. Theo was a bit shorter than Arthur, but with a wider built. He had the same hair and eyes, while his face shape was rounder and his nose stronger.
 

“Want a glass of wine?” Clémence offered the boys.

“Yes, please,” said Theo.

Arthur came with Clémence into the kitchen to help her uncork a bottle of white wine. It pleased her because Arthur was used to being waited on hand and foot by the staff in the Dubois house. She used to think he was lazy and spoiled rotten because the family employed a full-time chef, and one of their maids even came upstairs to clean his and Theo’s small rooms on the top floor every Saturday morning.
 

Theo chugged down his wine as if it was beer. Arthur had told him how she’d met Carlos/Juan, and he came to tell her what he knew about him.

“His name is not Carlos, but Juan,” said Theo.

“I know that now.” Clémence told them about her run-in with him earlier at Place d'Iena.

“Even still,” Theo said. “This guy sounds like he has an excuse for everything. When I heard that he simply disappeared on you, I thought that it was strange, but not surprising. There’s something up with this guy.”
 

“What do you mean?”
 

“Juan claims to be from a noble family, but something about his demeanor just doesn’t fit the picture.”
 

“Maybe it’s because he’s Spanish,” said Clémence. “You’re not used to his way of speaking and his cultural behaviors.”
 

“Theo also has a little crush on Sophie,” Arthur said. “So naturally he’s suspicious of her boyfriend.”
 

Theo turned red. “I’m not jealous. Sophie and I have been friends for years, and I don’t have a crush on her. I just don’t want to see her bamboozled by some Spanish phoney. He acts like he’s playing the lead in some romantic movie, saying all these incredibly cheesy things all the time. I can’t believe she’s falling for it.”
 

“He says he’s in love with Sophie,” Clémence said. “Maybe he’s just trying really hard to impress her.”
 

“You mean like how Arthur is with you?” Theo teased his brother, who punched him in the arm. “Ow!”
 

Clémence grinned at Arthur. “I think it’s kind of sweet that Juan is trying. I know I thought he was a nice guy when I was traveling with him. A bit slick, but he never took advantage of us, and he was fun.”
 

“I know Juan
sounds
like this great guy,” said Theo. “But I’m telling you, something is off. I don’t know what it is, but just keep your eyes open, Clémence. I will too. I know you’re good at investigations and things like that. I’m not asking you to spy on him or anything, but if you ever get a chance to find out more about him, do it.”

“Okay.” Clémence sat back on the couch and surveyed Theo. He looked serious. He must’ve really liked Sophie to get so worked up about her boyfriend. She had to admit that some of Juan’s excuses were a bit questionable, but they weren’t completely unbelievable. “Juan said he wanted Arthur and I to double date with them one day, so we’ll see. How long has Sophie been with him anyway?”
 

“Only a few weeks. She came back from Spain two weeks ago and he’s already weaseled his way into living with her. Why doesn’t he have his own apartment if he’s so loaded?”
 

Theo shook his head. He chugged the rest of his white wine and excused himself. “I’ll leave you two alone for the evening.
Bonne soirée
.”
 

“Ciao, Theo.”
 

When he left, Clémence turned to Arthur. “Your brother is a bit intense.”
 

“He’s awfully romantic. He’s in love with Sophie. Has been for years, but he’s too afraid to admit it, even to himself. But it’s obvious, right?”
 

“Totally,” said Clémence. “I feel bad for him. Sophie and Juan sound like they’re pretty taken with each other.”
 

“Well, I told Theo to move on, but who knows. Sophie has a sister who looks like her, so maybe he can move on with her.”
 

Clémence made a face. “That’s a bit creepy. Sophie’s taken, so just go with the sister?”
 

“What? I’m just being practical for Theo,” Arthur joked.

“Well, what if I was totally into you, but you weren’t available, so I went on to Theo? He does look like you.”
 

Arthur thought about it for a second. “Okay, fine. But I swear, if you ever get together with Theo, there’ll be another murder case open in Paris.”
 

Clémence laughed. “God, I won’t. The same goes for you. I’ll tear you a new one if you do.”
 

“Getting dirty are we?”
 

Arthur pulled her in for a kiss.
 

It wasn’t long before they took their kisses into the bedroom.
 

CHAPTER 6

Clémence packed up her things after her first art class. She wasn’t sure how she felt yet about her abstract rendering of a pistachio macaron. Her inner perfectionism and classical art education made her want to turn it into a realistic portrait of the real
Damour
macaron, but Clémence told herself that she was in this class for a reason. She wanted to play with different techniques and find a style she was comfortable painting in. Since she was just getting out of her comfort zone, it might take some time to get used to her new experimental style.
 

Catia had been extremely encouraging. She’d put a few different brushes in Clémence’s hand throughout the class, thicker brushes that make denser lines than she was used to, bold lines that were indelible.
 

Clémence planned on painting a series with different
Damour
desserts and pastries, and display them in the salon de thé. Her parents would probably support her. She hoped they would like them.

Ben, who she was meeting for a drink after the class along with Berenice, had encouraged Clémence to hold her own exhibition in a little gallery in Belleville, but she figured showcasing in
Damour
would be a fun, low-pressure way to start. Right now, some professional photographs of their desserts were on the walls, so why not her paintings?

After leaving her canvas along the wall with the other paintings from the class to dry, Clémence said goodbye to her new classmates and headed down the stairs.
 

To her surprise, she ran into a friend who was coming up the stairs, someone she saw only hours earlier.

“Sebastien? What are you doing here?”

Sebastien’s eyes widened, surprise fully evident in his expression. “What are
you
doing here?”
 

“I’m here for my art class,” Clémence replied.

“Oh.” Sebastien tugged at the strap of his gym bag. His cheeks turned pink.

“Is this where you’ve been going to on Tuesdays and Thursdays? The big secret that Berenice has been trying to expose?”
 

Berenice always questioned what Sebastien got off to in his spare time. Sebastien was so secretive that even his sister didn’t know much about his private life. But now that Clémence was standing before him, he couldn’t avoid telling her.

Sebastien nodded. “You caught me.”
 

“Are you here for a dance class?” Clémence asked.

“I might as well tell you, shouldn’t I? You’re good at solving mysteries.”

Clémence chuckled. “Only if you want to, but we’re going to be running into each other. What’s the shame in dance anyhow? What are you doing, tap? Hip hop?”
 

Sebastien sighed. “I’m taking ballet.”
 

“Really? Wow. I really wasn’t expecting that.”
 

“Beginner adult ballet classes,” Sebastien admitted. “My girlfriend Maya convinced me to do it with her.”

“A girlfriend, huh?” Clémence grinned mischievously. “Berenice is going to be upset when she finds out that I knew before she did. I’m on my way to see her now actually.”
 

Sebastien groaned. “Don’t tell her. My relationship with Maya is pretty new, and I don’t want my sister poking around, scaring her off with her endless questions and her nosiness.”
 

“Okay, I won’t tell, promise, but she is your sister.”

“If it gets really serious with Maya, I’m sure they’ll find out…eventually.”
 

“Maybe at your wedding, right?” Clémence joked.
 

“Anyway, I just thought it would be fun to take ballet with her, as long as no one knows about it. She convinced me to try it with her.”
 

“Oh come on, there’s no shame in doing ballet if you’re a guy. Look at Benjamin Pied.”

“That’s what Maya says,” said Sebastien. “Well, I gotta go.”
 

“Hey, so does this mean I’ll get to meet Maya soon?”
 

“Don’t push your luck, Damour.” Sebastien sighed. “I’m sure it’ll be inevitable if you’re coming here every Tuesday and Thursday.”
 

Clémence flashed him a grin as she passed him on her way down the staircase. “Ciao.”
 

That was another mystery solved. If Berenice knew, she wouldn’t constantly be wondering whether Sebastien was up to no good. It was always the quiet ones who worried Berenice, because she never knew what they were thinking. As brother and sister, they were so different. The only thing they really had in common was their love of baking and working at
Damour
together.
 

Berenice and Ben were already sitting outside Café Aux Folies, a popular cafe in Belleville. Clémence arrived and gave them both bisous hello. The couple had been dating ever since Clémence introduced them at Ben’s spoken word performance, where he did a reading of one of his poems. They were both energetic, fun, and good-humored people, so it wasn’t a surprise that the two took to each other. Ben was from England and Berenice’s English had improved as a result in recent weeks. Ben’s French accent was starting to improve as well.
 

Clémence ordered a mint tea, and filled them in on what she’d been working on in her new art class. She also told Ben about her idea of painting desserts and showcasing them at
Damour
.
 

“That could work,” he said.
 
“Brilliant actually, because of the exposure you’ll get. The clientele at
Damour
is amazing to begin with. They’ll get a sense of your style and learn your name. Who knows who will come in to sit down for lunch and then inquire about your paintings on any given day?”
 

“That’s true,” said Berenice. “Maybe someone will scout you.”
 

“We should throw a launch party there when it happens.”
 

“I’m just trying to concentrate on producing my best work,” said Clémence. “Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves now. They’re just paintings of desserts.”
 

“When are you going to show us your work?” Ben asked.