Chapter 3: She Tasted the Cobbler Before She Destroyed It
Theo Brennan asked to speak to Rafael privately.
The pastry chef looked nervous enough that Marcus checked him for weapons before allowing him into the study.
Theo noticed.
“Seriously?”
Rafael waved Marcus away.
“He takes his job personally.”
Theo held a folder against his chest.
“I wanted to tell you something about the cobbler.”
Rafael looked up.
“What?”
“Miss Lucille knew Emmett made it.”
“Obviously.”
“No.”
Theo shook his head.
“I mean before the banquet.”
Rafael waited.
Theo explained that Emmett had spent almost an hour in the estate kitchen that morning.
The little boy had helped rinse blackberries.
He had stirred filling with both hands around an oversized spoon.
Theo handled the oven and everything hot.
When the cobbler cooled, Emmett insisted on decorating the small serving plate himself.
Lucille entered the kitchen around noon.
“She saw him?”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“She asked what he was making.”
Theo hesitated.
“Then she tasted it.”
Rafael’s expression changed.
“She ate it?”
“A spoonful.”
“What did she say?”
Theo thought.
“Too much cinnamon.”
“That’s all?”
“She told him he had flour on his nose.”
“Was she angry?”
“No.”
“Disgusted?”
“No.”
Theo shook his head.
“She was almost nice.”
Rafael leaned back.
Hours later, Lucille had kicked the same dessert from Emmett’s hands and called it garbage.
That was the first inconsistency.
Katherine arrived later and cautioned him.
“People behave differently in public.”
“That isn’t enough.”
“I agree.”
“Then why?”
“We don’t know.”
Theo had another detail.
Celina came into the kitchen approximately ten minutes after Lucille left.
She asked exactly when Emmett planned to bring the cobbler outside.
Theo thought she was making sure it appeared on the dessert table.
Instead, Celina told him:
“Let the boy carry it himself. Lucille likes seeing children participate.”
Rafael’s eyes narrowed.
“Exact words?”
“As close as I remember.”
Again, not proof.
But direction.
Lucille had tasted the cobbler without outrage.
Celina had specifically made sure Emmett would personally deliver it.
Rafael said nothing to either woman.
He wanted facts before confrontation.
That restraint did not come naturally.
The following afternoon, Katherine discovered something else.
A board secretary had received instructions from Lucille’s office before the banquet began.
The instruction was simple:
Keep all directors reachable Sunday evening in case an emergency governance matter arises.
The message was sent at 10:14 Saturday morning.
Almost seven hours before Rafael overturned the dessert table.
Katherine placed the printout on his desk.
Rafael stared at the timestamp.
“Maybe she expected another issue.”
“Maybe.”
“You don’t believe that.”
“I believe we need more.”
Rafael did too.
May you like
For the first time, the banquet no longer looked like a spontaneous act of cruelty followed by opportunism.
It looked like two events that might have been connected before Emmett ever carried the plate outside.
