I ran through the salad bar at Mariano’s and took it to Hamlin Park to eat. I sat on a park bench and called Petite Pete about tonight’s shift.
“Hey, Pete,” I said when he picked up the phone. “Is the schedule free for me to come in tonight?”
“Yeah, we have some wiggle room with servers. We could use you,” Pete replied. “Did you find out anything last night?”
“Nothing concrete. I have a few things to follow up on tonight, though,” I offered. “And I want to see if I can get anything else out of the other employees.”
“Sounds good. See you the same time?”
“Yep,” I confirmed. “See you later.”
I sat for a few more minutes to enjoy the early afternoon. The days were getting warmer, but there was still a nice breeze in the air. I leaned back and soaked in the warm sunlight for a few minutes. After the harsh winter we just had, I was grateful for the sun.
I had a few of hours to kill before my shift at Mantovani’s Pizza. As I wandered around the park a bit I realized that I was only a few blocks from Fire Station 56, so I crossed the street to see what Rhodes knew about the local fires.
When I walked up, one of the firemen was outside washing the fire truck. I approached him and asked if Captain Rhodes was on duty today. He gave me a little grin and told me to hold on while he went into the office to get him.
Rhodes quickly came out of the office with a frown.
“Is everything okay?” he said stalking right up to me.
“Yes, of course,” I said. “I just stopped by to chat.”
“Oh, okay,” Rhodes said, his body physically relaxing. “Are you out for a walk?”
“Yes. Well, sort of,” I answered. “I was having lunch over at the park and decided to walk over.”
The other firemen were standing around us grinning at the exchange. I had a feeling Rhodes was going to get a good ribbing after I left.
Rhodes walked us away and over toward one of the benches in front of the fire station. He shot a look to the other firemen, but didn’t sit on the bench. I wasn’t in the mood to sit either, so we both stood there, shifting back and forth in front of the bench for a while.
A slow smile spread across Rhodes’s face, probably at our shared discomfort. I didn’t want him to get the idea I came over to get another date invitation, so I spoke first.
“How’s the fireman that got hurt in the fire the other day?” I asked.
“He’s doing fine, thanks for asking,” Rhodes responded with a small smile. “It was a minor burn and he should be back on shift next week.”
“That’s great,” I said, sincerely glad to hear it. “So, I noticed there was another fire. A community center? In your neighborhood, I believe.”
“That’s right, it was last night. Right here in Bricktown. I wasn’t on shift for that fire, but it was a good one,” Rhodes replied, raising his eyebrows. “Thankfully no one was hurt.”
“Good news,” I replied. “I looked back and there has been a few fires in this area recently. They’ve all been city funded programs and in a short window of time. That’s a little odd isn’t it?”
“Yes, I suppose so,” Rhodes answered with a small frown. “Are you investigating a case?”
“Uh, no. Not really,” I replied, running a hand through my wavy hair. “It’s more like curiosity.”
“Okay,” Rhodes answered, eyeing me strangely. “I know the cops are looking into it, but I don’t really know much about them. They call in a fire, we respond.”
“Was there anything abnormal about the fires?”
“Mal. You know I can’t tell you anything,” Rhodes said crossing his arms across his wide chest. He stood wide legged in his navy button up uniform shirt and pants.
“But,” I urged. “Something’s obviously going on here, right?”
“Well, yeah. It’s not common to have this many fires in one area, this close together,” Rhodes offered.
“I may be able to help figure out what’s going on. Fresh eyes and all that. You could tell me random fire related information. Let me figure out the rest myself. I don’t know many fire facts. I don’t even know if it’s normal for a building on fire to have that much smoke. It was really dark. I was expecting bright flames.”
At that statement, Rhodes grinned again, eyes twinkling and shoulders shaking from silent laughter. “Fires are rarely bright. Most fires, you can’t see your hand in front of your face.”
“Really?” I said, surprised.
“Actually, it’s a common mistake. I hear it all the time. Movies,” Rhodes shook his head, by way of explaining.
“Well, see. You have a wealth of information,” I said, gesturing to him, glad that he had proved my point.
“This isn’t an official investigation, just your own personal curiosity? No financial influence behind it?”
“Right.”
“Hmmm,” Rhodes replied, raising a dark eyebrow. “How about we discuss this further, over coffee?”
“Coffee?” I asked. I hadn’t intended this to be a date.
“Well I am on shift right now. Since this is a personal discussion and not professional, I would have more time to chat over coffee.” Rhodes said with a twinkle in his hazel eyes. He was obviously enjoying my discomfort.
“Well. Okay,” I replied, not backing down. “Are you free tomorrow afternoon?”
“As a matter of fact, I am,” Rhodes accepted with a wink that made me wonder what I was getting myself into.
We made plans to meet tomorrow at HERO’s Coffee Bar. I still wanted to try their coffee and I wasn’t sure I wanted to introduce Rhodes to Mo. As I walked away, I could feel Rhodes’s eyes follow me down the street. That man did make me uncomfortable.
Chapter 7
Back at home, I was still forming my plan for the night as I changed for work at Mantovani’s. There was nothing else I could really do before then, so I might as well keep my shift.
I wanted to keep a closer eye on Marco and chat up Lou and Tom more. They were easy to talk to and worked pretty closely with Marco most nights. I’d like to talk to Sally a bit, too, but had little luck getting much out of her the night before.
I made it into the restaurant at a quarter to 5pm. Even though I had eaten ham and eggs before I left the house, the smell of pizza hit me once again. And again, I vowed to make it back here unofficially in the coming weeks. I hoped I’d be done with Pete’s case by then.
Since I’d been here once before, I knew where to sign in and didn’t have to find Pete. Shelly stopped me on way to the server’s station to see which tables were mine for the night.
“Mallory, right?” Shelly asked, grabbing my arm.
“No, just Mal,” I replied, eyeing her hand and giving her a hard look.
“I don’t remember hiring you,” Shelly said, letting go of my arm.
“Pete, uh, Peter hired me the other day. I’m just filling in on a few nights here and there. It’s a temporary job,” I nodded casually.
“Huh. Normally, all hires go through me as well, as we are both managers here.” Shelly patted her hair, likely to make sure none of the inhabitants had escaped. “Where have you waitressed before?”
“Well, I worked for a few years at Malnati’s in the Loop. I can get you my resume if you’d like to go over it,” I bluffed, hoping that Shelly didn’t care about paperwork. I didn’t even have any new hire paperwork since I was getting paid by an alternate contract.
“Ugh. Well, I guess that’ll do,” Shelly said, waving me off. She gave me the stink eye and sauntered back to the kitchen.
“One down,” Sally said as she walked by, her short, dark hair fluttering around her chin.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“Shelly. She’ll come out one more time. Always two visits,” Sally said, washing glasses at the bar sink.
“Thanks for the warning,” I said, leaning forward in an attempt to make friends.
Sally nodded in response, but said nothing else as I walke
d back to the server line in the back.
Earlier, Pete had told me that Phil and Marion had a couple of early dinner tables each. Phil always covered the afternoon and early dinner shift, with either Marion or Carl. Carl had just came in for the dinner rush and was laughing at something Phil had said. I wandered in as I watched body language.
“She tried to set you up with her girlfriend’s manicurist?” Carl said incredulously.
“Yes! Seriously,” Phil exclaimed throwing his hands up in the air. “She thought I would take her out for a nice dinner somewhere. She told me I’d like her because, as she said, “She’s older and hadn’t found love, just like you! It’s a perfect match!” So, not only does she think I’m straight, but she thinks I’m old and desperate. I don’t know whether to laugh or get angry! And I’m certainly not going to cry,” he added with a hand on his hip, head cocked.
“Wow, I can’t believe her nerve. But, you know, that’s just Shelly for you. Last week she told me I should consider getting a nose job!” Carl said. “You can’t take her seriously.”
They quieted down when they saw me approach, but continued their discussion a little less enthusiastically.
“Looks like a few more people are making their way in,” I said, letting them know people were being seated.
Marion quickly gulped down the last of her soda and walked out to see whose table was being sat. Her long, dark hair swayed back and forth as she walked.
“That had better be her last soda of the night! That girl has a bladder the size of a walnut,” Phil exclaimed, rolling his eyes at Marion’s back. “I swear, she’s always in the bathroom.”
“Give her a break, Phil,” Carl said. “She’s working 4 nights a week and is taking a full load of courses at U of C. She’s probably just enjoying the few minutes of alone time.”
“Whatever,” Phil said, unapologetically. “I wouldn’t care, except when I have to fill drinks for her tables.”
I made a mental note to fill drinks before I snooped around tonight. I didn’t need Phil on my case, drawing attention. I glanced back out to the floor to make sure I didn’t have any tables yet and walked back to the kitchen to poke around.
Lou and Tom were prepping pizza dough when I walked in.
“Hey, Mal. Good to see you back again,” Lou said, glancing up.
“Hey, Lou. Tom. How’s it going?” I nodded to each of them.
Tom nodded back.
“Not bad,” Lou answered. “Ready for the weekend to be over. The wife and I are headed out of town for a few days.”
“Aunt Shelly gave you time off?” Marco asked, walking into the kitchen and tying on his apron.
“Uh, not at first. I had to talk to Peter about it. He helped to get it signed off,” Lou explained with an eye roll. “Sorry, kid.”
“That’s ok. I was just hoping she had been agreeable. I wanted to request off a few weekend days next month,” Marco said as he began to chop up the vegetables for pizza toppings. “Probably a good idea to talk to Uncle Peter about it first.”
“Who knows. She may be more agreeable to you, being her nephew and all,” Lou said hopefully.
“Somehow I doubt it,” Marco said with a grimace. “She’s always been fond of Dad. But me? Not so much.”
Marco continued to prep the pizza toppings as Shelly made her way back out to the kitchen.
“Marco! How many times do I have to tell you? That pepper is diced way too large. Small squares! And Lou, those dough balls are too large! Make them smaller.
Lou stared at the dough balls. “If I make them much smaller, they won’t fit the pan.”
“Then, stretch them thinner. Unless you can’t?” Shelly replied with a sneer.
“I can do it,” Lou sighed.
“Honestly! You would think I don’t remind you guys every night!” Shelly said, waving her hands in the air. She waited to see them correct their actions and then turned to me. “What are you doing back here?”
“I was just saying hi,” I explained. “No tables yet.”
“I’m sure you can find something to do,” Shelly said, ushering me out. “You were probably distracting them.”
We walked back out to the floor to see my first table getting sat. Shelly eyed me, so as to say, “I told you so.”
I struggled to not roll my eyes til I had turned away from her and walked to my table. I was so glad I didn’t have to do this every night.
Saturday night seemed busier than Friday and it took me a while to make it back to the kitchen. Marco wasn’t there, and the cooks were busy, so I took a short restroom break. I checked the stock room on my way back, but didn’t see any sign of Marco either. I had figured he’d have been moved to the floor by now, but hadn’t seen him yet.
I didn’t have time to wander around much, so I went back to the floor to check my tables and bumped into Phil.
“I swear! Did you see Marion back there? She needs to get her tail to the floor. Her tables are asking me for refills. I’m busy enough with my own tables!” Phil said dramatically.
“I didn’t see her, but I can help,” I said. “What do they need?”
Phil rolled his eyes and pointed. “Pitcher of Coors Light. Whiskey on the rocks. I’ll get table 4’s soda refills.”
I went up to the bar to ask Sally for the drinks.
“Hey, Sally. I need a pitcher of Coors Light and whiskey on the rocks.”
“Sure thing,” Sally replied, grabbing a pitcher.
“You were right about Shelly,” I said. “She left after her second round.”
“Every day,” Sally replied with a wink.
“She’s not the easiest woman to work with, eh?” I said prompting her.
Sally shrugged.
“Seems like her and Marco don’t get along all that great. Kinda surprising, with her being his aunt and all,” I tried one more time.
Sally didn’t look up from the whiskey she was pouring, “She’s the boss’s wife.” As if that explained everything.
Well, this is going nowhere, I thought. I wondered what the issue was between Shelly and Marco. I also wondered where Marco had gone off to.
Delivering the drinks, I spied Marco finally making his way to the floor. He had already updated the table assignments, but we were waiting for him to get moved to shift tables. It was a relief to give up one of my tables with the rush we were having. I nodded to him as I passed and noticed a flushed look on his face. He looked a little worked up, but was attempting to shake it off with a obligatory smile as he waited on his first table of the night.
Full of suspicion, I finished checking on my tables and refilling drink orders and made a second trip to the back to snoop around.
Meanwhile, back in a dirty betting parlor,
“Omigod, omigod, omigod!” chanted Suzy as she paced inside the small back offices of the betting shop. She had known it was just a matter of time until Jeremy killed her, but it was getting worse. Jeremy had run into that Private Investigator, presumably hired by Sam, and had went ballistic! It took all the tricks she had to cool him down. She held her head in her hands as she tried to calm down and think of a way out.
Her hair was once again back in a rubber band and her clothes were starting to get a little worse for wear, even with nightly rinsing of her shirt and underwear. She had to put the clothes back on wet as she didn’t want to sit naked in the bathroom all night. Bathing in the sink was a little difficult with only paper towels and hand soap, but she did what she could. She shivered a little in the wet clothes and the chilly shop.
If only I could get a message to the detective, she thought. She had left breadcrumbs of their favorite restaurants and could only hope that the Private Investigator Sam hired was putting it together. She had known the detective had called Jeremy and had sped up the food breadcrumbs as much as she could. But she didn’t even know if the PI had been following Jeremy or how serious she was looking into him until today. The PI was obviously pursuing him now, but she prayed she survived long enoug
h to be found.
Suzy stopped walking and surveyed the room again. A determined look came over her face. She decided she couldn’t wait on the PI. She had to act fast, act now. She had to figure something out, or she would be pushing up daisies.
Chapter 8
As I made my way to the back, I almost immediately ran into Marion. She was coming around the corner at full speed.
“Oh my goodness,” Marion exclaimed grabbing me to right herself. “I’m so sorry!”
“That’s okay, Marion,” I replied. “Everything okay?”
Marion nodded her head, still flustered. “Yes, I was just in a hurry and wasn’t paying attention.”
“Phil and I got refills for your table,” I reassured her. “We added the drinks to their table’s bill for you.”
Marion looked stressed at that. “Oh, sorry! I was trying to hurry, but haven’t been feeling so good.”
“No big deal,” I told her. “Although, I would thank Phil if I was you. He can be a little cranky.”
Marion glanced towards the floor, nodding. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Thanks!”
I watched Marion hurry back onto the floor. I had been in the back restrooms and hadn’t seen Marion. What in the world was she up to?
I poked around the back rooms, quickly taking note of the surroundings and looking for any changes since Shelly left. I noticed her drawer was cracked and nudged it open. The same folders from the night before were there. Nothing was obviously different. The folders were marked as menus of the local area and some personal information with contacts of her manicurist, florist and hair salon.
I checked the safe. It was locked tight again. I rattled the handle and gave it a good shove. I thought maybe it wasn’t as secure as it looked. It was a refrigerator sized floor unit with an old-fashioned combination lock. I spun the dial and tried it again. I didn’t notice any scratches around the door frame.
Phil said that Marco didn’t have the combination to the safe, so if he or anyone else was pilfering cash, it was more likely to be from the cash register. The cash register was at the end of the bar, not in Sally’s direct line of sight, but close enough that she likely knew who was coming and going. Course that wouldn’t explain times money was missing from the safe.
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