Ben shook his head. “No, honey. It’s over. We don’t have any more chances. I’m truly sorry.”
She looked out the kitchen window, her gut churning. “It’s just not fair. Simon isn’t a bad person.” Silly but not bad.
“I know that, but the law is the law. We can’t do anymore about it. Now I need to go and have a rest before dinner.” He rose and made his way to the bedroom, with her mother hurrying to help him.
Lena’s mobile rang and she picked it up off the table. “Hello.” Now what?
“Lena Hawkins?”
“Speaking.” She glanced out the window wishing her mood was as bright as the afternoon sun. Life sucked.
“This is Peter Grovener from Mudgee Council. I’m the health inspector, we met a few weeks ago.” He paused and her attention suddenly became focused. “I wonder if we could meet at your restaurant. I have had a few complaints and I want to run a couple of tests. It would be preferable if you could make yourself available for questioning at the same time.”
Dread swam in her vision. How much worse could it get? “What kind of complaint, Mr. Grovener?” I don’t need this today.
“I’ll discuss that with you when we meet. Shall we say tomorrow morning at 9 am sharp on site?”
Sofia walked back into the kitchen and stopped when she looked at Lena.
“That’s fine. I’ll be there.”
“And Ms Hawkins, please don’t open your business until this is cleared up.”
One more blow to the body, thanks. “Of course, I understand. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She disconnected and looked at her phone.
“Bella, who was that? You’ve gone pale.” Sofia walked over and took her hand. “Tell Mama what’s going on.”
Lena looked into her mother’s eyes. Maybe it was time to give up. “That was the health inspector. He’s had complaints and wants to come and do some testing. In the meantime, I can’t open the doors. Mama, this is getting out of control. I’m not sure I can take much more.” Sofia wrapped her arms around her daughter and together they rocked and hugged.
* * *
The following morning Lena was at the café early looking with a critical eye over her kitchen, utensils, and cold room. There was nothing she could see that screamed food poisoning, but she knew it could be something as simple as a salad leaf not washed properly or a cross contaminated cutting board.
The man arriving any minute was the same man from the council who’d given her the license a mere few weeks ago. He’d been happy then with how she’d set everything up and he’d been very stringent with his inspection then. What’d changed in the meantime? Nothing she could think of.
The sound of wheels on gravel came from outside and Lena pulled herself together to greet him. There would be no point in being aggressive or confrontational. He was only doing his job and she understood how it all worked. She stepped over to the front door and held her hand out when Peter Grovener walked up.
“Lena, sorry we couldn’t meet again under better circumstances. Not part of my job I will admit to enjoying, but it has to be looked into I’m afraid.” He stepped inside and glanced around.
“So what seems to be the problem?” Not that I’m looking forward to you telling me.
“We’ve had three complains of food poisoning which we’ve managed to identify to a specific dangerous mushroom.”
“Mushrooms? You mean like the cap mushroom? That’s not possible.” Her gaze went to the open show of pantry staples. “My son and I picked those pine mushrooms and I know there aren’t any growing in this area, there never have been. I’d stake my life on it.” I would, really.
“I want to take samples regardless. We have to rule out that it came specifically from this restaurant. Any idea when you last used those pickled mushrooms and how many serves you gave out?”
Hell, think Lena. “Um, I’d have to think back. I was closed this weekend because my father was injured so I only opened on Thursday. I don’t think there were more than two tables who requested the stuzzichini.”
“Can I see your reservation book too please? I’d like to see if we can tie in the diners with who laid the complaints. The more information you give me, the quicker I can deal with this.” He gave her a sympathetic look. “This won’t be easy to come back from, but it’s not impossible to move on. Nobody has suffered any permanent damage although they did require hospital admission, hence the test of stomach contents.”
Lena walked over and took down the Buddha jar, put it on the counter, and removed the lid. She stepped aside so Peter could take samples for testing. He cut samples from two different mushrooms and placed it in two different vials, locking them into separate zip lock bags when he’d labeled them. He then drew a sample of the liquid and labeled that as well. “If I shoot this off to Sydney overnight, I should know within a couple of days. Soon as I know, I’ll call you. Until then I’m afraid you need to remain closed. If it was anything else, it wouldn’t be so serious.”
Got it. “Fine, I understand.” Lena watched him leave and shut the door after him.
She stayed in the restaurant for the rest of the day, cleaning and rearranging furniture. Anything to keep busy and her mind off her problems. The Buddha Jar sat on the counter where she’d left it, the lid screwed back on tight. Lena walked over and looked at it, trying to see something that wasn’t there. Anything to find a reason why someone would say there were poisonous cap mushrooms in there.
The parsley and garlic had taken on the color of the mushrooms and olive oil but
