Journaled to Death

by Heather Redmond

  ‘I hope your relationship was open, because I learned he was having late-night rendezvous with someone else.’

  ‘That explains why he didn’t always respond to my booty call texts,’ Kit said, the ghost of a grin haunting the corners of her lips. ‘I can accept he was a dog.’

  ‘And another thing.’

  ‘What?’

  Mandy stopped at the end of the final fountain. They needed to return to work. She put her foot on the first step. ‘Did he do drugs?’

  ‘What does it matter now?’

  Mandy worried at her lower lip and climbed another step. ‘He told me he didn’t, but I’ve heard otherwise.’

  Kit ran up three steps and balanced on the side of the fountain again. She was being childish, or shady.

  ‘Kit?’ Mandy asked, climbing up a few more steps and turning back around. ‘Please be honest. If he had a hidey hole somewhere in my basement, I need to find it.’

  ‘Did you check his mini-fridge? He kept his weed in there. Rolling papers in a Christmas tin above it.’

  ‘That’s it? Nothing illegal?’

  Kit shrugged and followed her up. ‘If he did, I don’t know where he hid it.’

  An evasive answer, but at least Mandy knew the mini-fridge was empty. She’d pulled it away from the wall and unplugged it herself. No holiday tin had been on top of it either, or anywhere that she recalled. But maybe she wouldn’t have noticed it. Did she need to unpack the boxes and look for it?

  ‘Weed is no big deal. It’s legal these days. But if he did anything else, do you know who sold it to him? Maybe they would know where his hiding place was. I have a kid, you know, and I need to get a new tenant ASAP.’

  Kit laughed. ‘Like I would tell you who was dealing around here.’

  Mandy stared up at the façade of the hospital. ‘Dealing around here? You mean an employee is selling drugs?’

  ‘Welcome to the real world,’ Kit said, running up the steps. She stopped at the top, huffing a little bit.

  Mandy went up more slowly, heartsick at how her cousin had failed in his limited attempts at sobriety, then she and Kit crossed the multi-lane driveway together. The glass doors opened automatically and a blast of warm air hit them straight in the face. Their break had come to an end.

  At least Kit wasn’t acting like a murderer. Assuming Mandy could even tell what a murderer might act like. Angry, maybe? Kit seemed more tired than angry. And the relationship had been over for at least four months. Why would she have killed Ryan now?

  Fannah took Kit’s cash drawer toward the end of her shift at two-thirty. She replaced it with a fresh drawer that Mandy would be responsible for during the rest of her shift. Kit had to work the drinks station for her last hour.

  Mandy bantered with Dr Burrell, who eagerly told her a silly coffee joke that one of his preemie parents had shared. She chuckled, since she’d never heard the joke before. After he wandered off, whistling, a sack of cookies in hand, Reese appeared with her shadow, a nurse-in-training.

  Before Mandy could take their order, Fannah came out from the back.

  ‘I need to see you right away,’ she hissed.

  Mandy turned her head. ‘Now?’

  ‘Not you. Kit.’ Fannah adjusted her navy hair wrap and glided into the other room.

  Kit went over to the doorway and leaned against the frame. ‘What?’

  Reese held up a finger when Mandy opened her mouth to take the order. She wanted to listen.

  ‘Your till is short twelve dollars. You know our policy. It must be paid back immediately unless you want to be terminated right now,’ Fannah said in her deadliest tone.

  Mandy’s eyes went wide. Kit should be deep in the back, where she couldn’t be embarrassed in front of customers.

  ‘I didn’t take it,’ Kit snapped. ‘Mandy used the till today, and so did you.’

  Mandy shook her head. In fact, she had not. She’d taken a couple of credit card orders, and that was it. She’d let Kit have the till.

  Reese smiled at her sympathetically. Mandy lifted her chin, giving her neighbor the look of forbearance. But something caught her eye. She saw the new security camera in the corner. Could the till be seen in the footage, or only the counter snacks?

  ‘It’s your till. Pay it back now or suffer the consequences,’ Fannah said majestically.

  ‘No,’ Kit snapped back.

  ‘Mandy paid it back and she still has her job. If you choose not to do so, Mandy will be working overtime this week and you’ll be out of a job.’

  Reese’s trainee’s eyes went wide. Her hands fluttered nervously around the hem of her pink scrub shirt. Mandy couldn’t believe customers were witnessing this. She turned and caught Fannah’s eye, then pointed to the ceiling.

  Fannah frowned and folded her hair wrap higher up on her forehead so she could follow Mandy’s finger.

  ‘Yeah,’ Kit crowed, catching Mandy’s point. ‘That camera might come in handy.’

  ‘You gave out bad change,’ Fannah said in a bored voice. ‘It’s sloppiness, not theft.’

  ‘Not twelve dollars’ worth,’ Kit argued. ‘I could be short four dollars, because I gave out a five instead of a one, or something like that, but not twelve. Someone stole it and it wasn’t me.’

  ‘Kit,’ Fannah said in a warning voice.

  ‘This just happened to Mandy last week,’ Kit said. ‘Someone is pilfering and us poor shift workers shouldn’t be paying for that.’

  Fannah’s lips tightened, creating little lines around them that displayed her true age for once. ‘I don’t have time for this.’

  ‘You have to or we’ll both have to quit,’ Kit threatened. ‘We can’t afford to keep losing an hour’s pay here and there.’

  Now Mandy realized why Kit hadn’t gone into the back. She wanted Mandy to hear her make her walk-out threat.

  Fannah growled and disappeared. Mandy heard the safe open and close, then the former model swept past her and out from behind the coffee bar, heading for Scott’s office.

  It would have been more efficient to simply call him, but maybe Fannah wanted to review the footage herself. Seven hours’ worth, what a pain.

  ‘Happy?’ Mandy muttered when Kit went back to the drinks station.

  Kit shrugged. ‘I should have said something when it happened to you.’

  ‘She gave me overtime. It did sort of make up the money.’ Mandy paused. ‘However, this happening twice in one week is unacceptable. Ten cents, sure. But over ten bucks? Less than a week apart? It feels like we’re being targeted.’

  ‘I’m glad you’ve got the camera now,’ Reese said.

  The trainee shuddered. ‘Too Big Brother for me.’

  ‘Mandy needs every penny she can earn,’ Reese said, in pseudo-loyal fashion. ‘She can’t afford to lose anything. Isn’t that right, dear?’

  ‘What would you like, dear?’ Mandy mimicked.

  ‘Dark roast with a kiss of cream,’ Reese said grandly.

  Mandy gave her the stink eye and handed her a medium cup. ‘You pour your own coffee here.’

  Reese flashed her a toothy grin. ‘You look tired. Why don’t I take you to dinner tonight? Just us girls? You seem tense.’

  The trainee spoke over her. ‘A medium mocha please.’

  ‘I’d love to have dinner with you,’ Mandy said sweetly. ‘And will that be one check or two for the drinks?’

  Reese didn’t offer to pay, so Mandy rang up the drinks separately. She wondered what that meant for their dinner. Would Reese woo her or conveniently forget her offer when it came time to pay? She’d better order the soup to be protected from a large bill.

  Fannah sailed back in their direction twenty minutes later. She appeared cross and exhausted, about two minutes from the end of her shift.

  ‘Did you see who took the money?’ Mandy asked, every bit as interested in that topic as Kit was.

  ‘There is no security footage,’ Fannah snarled.

  ‘They don’t have the camera pointed over t
he register? Can they tilt it at all?’ Mandy asked.

  Kit came to stand next to her. She’d acquired a chocolate stain on her apron from her mocha making.

  ‘The camera wasn’t on.’

  ‘He was just placating me?’ Mandy asked, aghast.

  ‘Of course not,’ Scott said, walking up. Mandy hadn’t seen him, since the free fruited water dispenser was in the way. ‘Underling error.’

  One of his crew walked past Scott with the ladder. He smiled and blushed as he pushed behind everyone at the counter. ‘I’m sorry, I didn’t install it correctly.’

  Scott squinted and adjusted his tool belt. ‘I had to write him up. I apologize, ladies.’

  Fannah watched, impassive, as the kid fiddled with the controls.

  ‘Umm, sir?’ he said tentatively. ‘I can’t get it to turn on.’

  Scott growled. ‘Come on down.’

  The kid climbed down the ladder, employing all safety techniques for ladder use. Scott rolled his eyes and went up after him. He fiddled with it, even batted at it, but nothing happened. ‘It’s broken,’ he announced. ‘I’ll have to order a new one. Should I take this one down?’

  ‘Leave it,’ Fannah instructed. ‘It might discourage thieves.’

  Scott climbed down from the ladder.

  ‘Sure didn’t work today,’ Kit muttered.

  Fannah ignored the comment, probably preferring to believe Kit had either stolen the money or lost it in a change-counting error, given her own position in enforcing policy. ‘You owe me twelve dollars,’ she stated as she edged around the ladder and went into the back room. As a salaried person, she wasn’t being paid for her overtime. Mandy was certain she wanted to get out of there.

  Kit gritted her teeth.

  ‘Do you have it?’ Mandy asked softly.

  Kit nodded. ‘But it’s not right.’

  ‘I think they could relax the rule after we pass probation,’ Mandy agreed. ‘Once they know a new employee is honest.’

  ‘People change,’ Scott said, as he closed up the ladder. ‘You can’t trust anyone, any of the time.’

  ‘Spoken like management,’ Kit snapped.

  Scott frowned at her, then gave Mandy a wink. ‘See you around.’

  Mandy closed down the coffee bar. Reese had already texted her, confirming dinner, so Mandy texted Vellum and her mother to make sure Vellum would get a hot dinner that night, then drove to a popular Italian restaurant in the neighborhood to meet her favorite frenemy.

  As Mandy walked to the barstools in the tiny bar slash waiting area, the nurse was fingering her wine glass suggestively. She was glancing up at a well-dressed man in his thirties. Reese had managed to find the time to change into a cocktail dress, not the usual sort of thing for casual Seattle dining, and had put on a full face of makeup. Given the results, Mandy could see why she had made the effort. Reese looked stunning.

  Just before Mandy reached the counter, the man took out his phone.

  ‘What’s your number?’ he asked. ‘I’ll call you later.’

  Reese glanced up and saw Mandy. Her slightly alarmed expression calmed. ‘There’s my friend now. Excuse me.’ She descended from her stool much more gracefully than Mandy could have managed and edged around her would-be suitor.

  ‘Do you think our table is ready?’ Mandy asked. She’d been eager to get a wine glass of her own from the bartender.

  Reese put her arm through Mandy’s. Her heels clicked on the dark polished wood as they went toward the front desk.

  ‘Didn’t like him?’ Mandy asked.

  ‘He dated a friend of mine last year. Probably doesn’t know she told me about it. He started off friendly, reminding me we’d met at a party, then slid into my personal space.’

  ‘You are dressed to stand out. Some men, the disgusting ones, would say you dressed to be hit on,’ Mandy said.

  ‘Women dress for other women,’ Reese announced primly. ‘And this is nothing for a lot of cities.’

  ‘You’ve lived in Seattle your entire life.’ Mandy nudged Reese’s shoulder with her own. ‘Behave like it.’

  Reese smiled at the maître d’. ‘Is our table available yet?’

  The seventy-something man checked. ‘You are next. If you’d like to wait in the bar?’

  Reese glared at the man. Mandy took her elbow and led her to the wall before they could be trampled by a large, exuberant group of young professionals coming in to celebrate a birthday.

  ‘What ended up happening at USea?’ Reese asked.

  Mandy explained how the baristas had to make up till shortages.

  ‘Sounds like a scam to me,’ Reese said. ‘Your supervisor could be pocketing the money herself and then you underlings have to eat the cost.’

  Mandy sighed. ‘If I was as paranoid as you, I wouldn’t have been caught so off-guard by my divorce. I hope Fannah isn’t crooked.’

  ‘That security camera is more important than ever,’ Reese said. ‘Make sure it’s pointing over the cash register, and make sure Scott isn’t colluding with Fannah. You might need to review the footage yourself if money goes missing again.’

  ‘Have there been rumors about any other petty theft in the hospital? Cafeteria, gift shop, any of those little trade shows that come through?’

  Reese gave her a snooty smile. ‘You’d be more likely to know about it than me. Don’t you network with other cashiers?’

  She frowned at Reese. ‘Yeah, yeah, you have a college degree and I don’t. The gift shop is run by volunteers and the trade shows by outsiders. I guess the cafeteria people fall into the same category as me, but I don’t know them. I rarely go up there.’

  ‘Ladies? Your table is ready.’ The maître d’ waved in their direction.

  Mandy smiled at the server who approached them with menus, then followed her back to the dining room. The elegant space held less than twenty tables, causing the pile up in the main area and bar. Low instrumental music, white tablecloths, and elegant architectural swaths of braided vegetation on the walls made the diner aware that the bill would be high.

  ‘What is your soup of the day?’ Mandy asked as soon as they were seated. She’d just depress herself if she looked over the menu.

  ‘Cream of mushroom,’ the server said. ‘What can I get you to drink?’

  After she left with their drinks order, Reese leaned forward. ‘That’s not going to keep you on your diet, dear. Maybe a salad?’

  Mandy fluttered her eyelashes. ‘Is that what you’re having? Dressing on the side?’

  ‘No, I can never resist the stuffed salmon ravioli here. It’s so quintessentially Seattle. I know Italian isn’t the hippest cuisine these days, but I just love it.’

  Reluctantly, Mandy opened the menu. She couldn’t tolerate anything with red sauce right now. It looked too much like blood. Her gaze moved hopefully over a risotto dish but choked on the price. She settled on a watercress salad. Hopefully it was more than the size of a tea plate. If not, she had lots of leftover muffins, sausage, and cheese at home.

  They made their orders. Mandy’s glass of wine came. She saw two men in their mid-thirties at a table diagonal from them take turns checking Reese out, then obviously discussing her. Maybe there was something to this dressing for dinner idea. If she ever decided to date again, going out in a hot little dress to attract attention was much better than swiping through some dating app on her phone.

  ‘You like attention,’ Mandy announced, startling Reese.

  She ran her fingers down one of her dress straps. ‘I don’t.’

  ‘I think you do. Not that I don’t admire your style.’ She lifted her glass in a mock salute. ‘I’d be quite proud of myself if I’d landed you for a date.’

  Reese snorted. ‘As if.’

  ‘I may not be good enough for you, but I obviously have something you want.’ She pulled on her most casual tone like armor. ‘Did you kill my cousin in order to buy my business?’

  Reese choked on her wine. Mandy stood and patted her on the back as th
e interested men watched, then discussed them again.

  ‘As if,’ Reese said again, after she could breathe.

  Mandy grinned. ‘I gained one hundred thousand followers in only one year, though my videos don’t make a lot of money yet.’

  ‘How much?’ Reese said blandly.

  ‘You were about right with your estimate. A couple of hundred dollars a month, especially on release month. You can’t count on it, though. These massive companies are always finding a way to carve a chunk out of the take and put it back into their pockets.’

  ‘I know. It seems like every month there is some new form of bad news in additional fees. I wanted to pay someone to help me with sponsorships on that photo site, and they wanted half of the sponsorship income. Can you imagine?’ She took a large sip of wine.

  ‘Not surprised. The fees for my online shop went up.’

  ‘Are you selling many stickers? It’s so brave of you to not use your own product in your spreads.’

  ‘I do,’ Mandy said defensively. ‘In my dailies and weeklies. But we want all kinds of traffic to our vlogs and some of those people are never going to do more than reproduce our artwork or journal pages.’

  ‘Hmmm,’ Reese said. ‘I just have trouble believing your numbers. How can you be so broke if your videos are doing well? If each one is making that much money?’

  ‘Hello, Seattle mortgage,’ Mandy said. ‘And an ex who isn’t paying his child support.’

  ‘You should have at least made him pay off your house,’ Reese said breezily. ‘Any smart lawyer would have managed that.’

  Mandy gritted his teeth. ‘He paid off my car. I was lucky to get that.’

  ‘I guess you have to be really careful.’ Reese toyed with her glass. ‘You must have thought you’d be set for life, marrying Cory, and now he’s ruined your financial security.’

  ‘I was too young to be anything but in love. Too dumb to fight the prenup his parents insisted on in case he inherited family money during our marriage. Case in point, me dropping out of college instead of figuring out how to make everything work.’

  Reese tsked. ‘You’re right. You should have at least made sure your in-laws adored you. If you’d put in the time with them, you’d be eating off gold plates no matter what.’