Written in Stone (A Books by the Bay Mystery)

sneak a cigarette behind the tent. Olivia tried to rejoin Rawlings and Haviland but was waylaid by Noah Wiseman.
    “What did you think?” he asked.
    “Honestly, I had a ball. It’s a great show.”
    He smiled. “It’s fun to shoot too. And the segment of The Boot Top will appear following this one, so you’ll have a large viewing audience. The producers have given me the slot after that to do a special piece on the Lumbee Indians and the foods prepared by the Lost Colony.”
    “If I remember what my fourth grade history teacher told us, those colonists suffered from malnutrition,” Olivia said.
    Noah nodded absently. “I’ll show the viewers examples of a balanced Indian diet, and raise the theory that they might have taught the colonists how to survive. It’s good drama.” His voice changed, and when he spoke next, it was with the deep timbre of a radio announcer. “If only they’d been aware of the bounty within their grasp. Forests filled with venison, rabbit, nuts, berries, and roots and an ocean teeming with fresh fish and shellfish!”
    Olivia laughed. “I can see you’ve thought this through.”
    “And I’ve got another card up my sleeve,” Noah went on. “There’s a theory that the Lost Colony sought refuge with the Lumbee Tribe. Intermarried and relocated to Robeson County. Your sous-chef told me all about it. He’s a fascinating kid.”
    “Have you filmed his demonstration yet?”
    Noah tapped his watch. “Next on my list. He’s cooking in the campground area over an open fire. He’ll make
Chefs Gone Wild
look like a day at a Beverly Hills spa, but it’ll be worth it.” Glancing toward the tent, his eyes went wide. “Here he is now! Look at that awesome getup!”
    Willis Locklear was truly resplendent. He wore a knee-length scarlet trade shirt, a tan vest embellished with geometric patterns, fringed buckskin boots, a beaded finger sash, and a partial turban covered with multihued feathers. As colorful as a rooster, he wore his costume with confidence, seeming more comfortable in it than he did in a chef’s jacket and loose pants.
    Olivia gave Willis a thumbs-up and then paused, surprised to see Michel trailing behind the sous-chef, a bag of supplies in each arm.
    Excusing herself, she turned away from Noah and closed the distance between herself and The Boot Top’s two chefs. “Willis, you look incredible,” she said.
    His cheeks pinked. “Thanks, Ms. Limoges. I didn’t want to cook in my costume, but Mr. Wiseman really wanted me to. I just hope I don’t set it on fire.”
    “You’ll be great,” she assured him. “And Michel? Are you . . . involved in this segment too?”
    “Today,
I’m
the sous-chef!” Michel smiled brightly at Willis. “Our kitchen is a team, after all.”
    Olivia studied him. Michel was hardly a democratic head chef. He was more of a benevolent dictator. And not always so benevolent at that. “How sweet of you,” she said, her eyes betraying her disbelief.
    “Willis? Could I borrow you for a few minutes after you’re done?” she asked. “There’s a piece of pottery I’d like to show you.”
    Willis was clearly confused by her request, but replied with a cheerful, “Sure thing,” before heading over to Candice to be fitted for his mic.
    Giving Michel a lingering look of warning, Olivia joined Rawlings and Haviland. She took her phone from her bag and noticed that Millay had sent her a text message. Laurel was at the Cedar Point campground conducting an interview and they’d meet Olivia and Rawlings there at two.
    Pleased to finally hear from her friends, she watched Willis build two fires close to the audience section. He made a teepee out of wood and then set some dry grass alight with a match. Only after both fires had been ignited did the cameras begin to roll. Olivia assumed that Noah didn’t want the presence of the match to ruin the sensation that Willis was cooking as his ancestors once had. And yet, as the good-looking young man with the dark hair and elaborate costume set up a spit over the fire pit to his left, Olivia had no trouble picturing him emerging from the dense forest, a leather pouch filled with fresh game slung over his shoulder.
    Over the next thirty minutes, she watched Willis prepare a summer squash soup and a salad made of apples, nuts, and collard greens. The Lumbee sous-chef then fried corn pone on a flat pan over the first fire while a rabbit stew loaded with beans and carrots bubbled in a cast-iron pot