Mozzarella Most Murderous

Table of Contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Clever, fast-paced . . . A literate, deliciously well-written mystery.”

—Earlene Fowler

 

“Not your average who-done-it . . . Extremely funny . . . A rollicking good time.”

 

“
Crime Brûlée
is an entertaining amateur-sleuth tale that takes the reader on a mouthwatering tour of New Orleans . . . Fun.”

 

“Fairbanks has a real gift for creating characters based in reality but just the slightest bit wacky in a slyly humorous way . . . It will tickle your funny bone as well as stimulate your appetite for good food.”

 

“Nancy Fairbanks has whipped up the perfect blend of mystery, vivid setting, and mouthwatering foods . . .
Crime Brûlée
is a luscious start to a delectable series.”

 

“Nancy Fairbanks scores again . . . a page-turner.”

CRIME BRÛLÉE
TRUFFLED FEATHERS
DEATH À L’ORANGE
CHOCOLATE QUAKE
THE PERILS OF PAELLA
HOLY GUACAMOLE!
MOZZARELLA MOST MURDEROUS
BON BON VOYAGE
FRENCH FRIED

 

 

 

THREE-COURSE MURDER

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

 

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

 

MOZZARELLA MOST MURDEROUS

 

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

 

PRINTING HISTORY

Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / July 2005

Copyright © 2005 by Nancy Herndon.

 

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eISBN : 978-1-101-11793-4

 

BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME

Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

The name BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the BERKLEY PRIME CRIME design are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

To my husband Bill, with whom I went on the Sorrento trip (we had a wonderful time); to my son and daughter-in-law Bill and Anne, who helped plan the trip and then weren’t able to join us because of urgent work commitments (they missed a great time, and we missed them); also to son Bill, who does my Web page (I’d never manage it on my own); to all those readers who e-mail me from the Web page (I love your e-mails, enjoy corresponding with you, and appreciate your comments); to my friend Becky Craver, a wonderful Italian cook herself and the owner of the standard poodle who inspired the creation of Charles de Gaulle (Becky’s dog is no longer as rambunctious and has never, that I know of, been guilty of falling in love with or harassing strange ladies); to my friend, fellow Sister-in-Crime, and reviewer Mary Sarber, with whom I discuss my books and other mysteries and attend mystery conferences; to my agent Richard Curtis, who has supported my writing now for sixteen years; to my editor Cindy Hwang, amiable dinner companion, provider of contracts, support, and good advice, and her assistant Susan McCarty, who sends me things in the mail, e-mails me, and keeps me on schedule—to all of these people my thanks.

In writing this book, I am indebted for information to the following authors and their books: Time Out Group, Ltd.,
Time Out Naples, Capri, Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast
; Alberto Capatti and Massimo Montanari,
Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History
; Giorgio Giubelli,
The Sorrento Peninsula
; Insight Guides, edited by Vincenzo delle Donne,
Naples, Capri and the Coast
; Arthur Schwartz,
Naples at Table
; Jacqueline Clark and Joanna Farrow,
Mediterranean Kitchen
; Claudia Piras and Eugenio Medagliani,
Culinaria Italy
; Alfonso de Franciscis,
Pompeii Civilization and Art
; and John Julius Norwich,
The Normans in Sicily.

N.F.H.

 

 

Although luxuriously housed on the ninth floor of the Grand Palazzo Sorrento, Paolina Marchetti had been unable to sleep, perhaps because of the failure of her carefully arranged assignation. That failure was certainly not the end of her assignment, but it was irritating. As irritating as the poor excuse for a meal she had shared with a chance American acquaintance after an afternoon spent exploring Sorrento, which Paolina had undertaken so as to be unavailable should Ruggiero call to make excuses for his absence.

He hadn’t called. Probably he was chasing after some new woman, which would inconvenience Paolina in that she would have to seduce him all over again. She didn’t doubt her ability to do so—even if Ruggiero had caught wind of her inconsequential tryst the night before she left Catania. Could Gracia Sindacco—that nosy, old witch—have found out and told their mutual employer?

“
Basta
,” she muttered and sprang from the comfortable bed. She would go for a swim, an activity strictly forbidden by the hotel at this hour. Why have such a series of lovely pools tumbling down the mountainside if they could not be used for midnight swims? Slipping out of the transparent silken nightgown that she had chosen to overwhelm the easily overwhelmed Ruggiero, Paolina donned a skimpy, sea green bikini. She pulled on the soft robe provided by the hotel and dropped a notebook that had lain beneath her pillow into the pocket. Then she grabbed a large pink towel from the bathroom, although it was forbidden to take both the room towels and the hotel robes to the pool area. Towels were rented to swimmers at the bar, which was, of course, now closed.

Most of the hotel patrons she had seen at dinner were middle-aged and stodgy, except for those who were limping and elderly, she mused, as she walked down the empty hall to the pool. That explained their being in bed before midnight and their willingness to eat what the Grand Palazzo Sorrento served for dinner. Hospital fare. It tasted like the food served to her father, the General, after Mafiosi in Palermo had attacked him. Having left her convent school and flown south to be with him, she had told Papa the food was undoubtedly a second attempt to kill him through deprivation rather than violence. Papa had been amused by her indignant opinion, but he had doubted it. Having been hospitalized before, he explained that hospital food was seldom meant to do anything but feed the body, certainly not the soul, as a good Italian meal should.