Harper Lin - Patisserie 06 - Crème Brûlée Murder Read Online Free Page A

said. “She comes out to meet your friends for the first time and finds a stranger’s dead body near a toilet bowl.”  

    “Maya knew Cesar, actually,” Sebastien said.  

    Clémence’s ears perked up. “How?”  

    “They used to work together. He was her boss.”  

    “At Editions Laberg ?”  

    “Yes. She was working at a magazine there,” Sebastien said. “She was the editor of a new cooking magazine, and it folded.”  

    “Oh. Where’s she working now?”  

    “She’s a book publicist now,” Berenice said.  

    “Berenice would know,” Sebastien said. “She spoke to Maya every chance she got—interrogating her throughout the evening, practically.”  

    “I wasn’t interrogating.” Berenice pointed a wooden spoon at him. “I’m just trying to get to know my future sister-in-law.”  

    “Oh, come on,” Sebastien said. “Sometimes you act more like my grandmother than my sister. Why would you assume that we’re getting married?”  

    “You’re in your thirties,” Berenice said. “Despite your youthful appearance.”  

    “Hey, I just turned thirty.”  

    “Please. You’re about to turn thirty-one in September.”  

    “That’s not old,” Sebastien said. “People aren’t marrying until much later now.”  

    “Except I think you’re the kind of guy who needs to get married,” Berenice insisted. “You live alone, and God knows what you do puttering around on your days off. Maya seems really grounded. She’ll help you get out of your shell. We worry about you, you know. I’m glad you finally found someone.”  

    “I was doing well on my own,” Sebastien said defensively. “I’m head baker at the top patisserie in Paris, aren’t I?” He must’ve thought about Maya again, because a small smile broke out on his face. “Maya is pretty great, isn’t she?”

    “Look at you.” Berenice laughed. “You’re so in love. I’ve never seen you this way, this…euphoric.”  

    “It’s a disease, isn’t it?” he said. “I can’t believe I’m acting like one of those saps.”  

    “I can’t believe you made me think you were gay all this time,” Berenice exclaimed.

    “You just came to that assumption yourself.” Sebastien grinned mischievously. “But thanks for the support. It means a lot.”  

    “I didn’t know your girlfriend worked in publishing,” Clémence said, who wanted to steer the conversation back to the subject.  

    “Yeah.” He smiled dreamily. “She has a passion for anything to do with the written word. She’s quite driven.”  

    Clémence’s head was already turning. She planned on meeting Madeleine Seydoux later that day, because she figured Madeleine would probably know more about Cesar’s background. It wasn’t an opportune time to talk to the grieving family members, so she had to go to the next best thing; she wanted to wait a day to speak to the Labergs out of respect.

    Now that Clémence knew Maya used to work for Cesar, Maya would be a good person to interrogate.  

    “How well did Maya know Cesar?” she asked Sebastien. “How close were they?”  

    “I don’t think they were friends or anything. They had a professional relationship. They hadn’t been working together all that long. He was only her boss for a few months, I think. Maya said it was fortunate the magazine folded, because she wanted to be a publicist anyway.”  

    “I wonder if she’d be interested in being Ben’s publicist one day,” Berenice said. “You know, after he finishes his novel. Is she good?”  

    “Her clientele is building every day,” Sebastien said.  

    “Did she change jobs recently?” Clémence asked.  

    “In February,” he replied.  

    “You think I can meet up with her?” Clémence asked. “I don’t know what happened to Cesar, but if it was murder, maybe she’d know something.”  

    “Clémence, you think everything’s a murder these days,” Berenice said. “I don’t blame you. But