“The inspector still thinks it was Russo,” Nathan said, “but I doubt it. He’s capable of violence and killing, yes, but he’d never resort to barbiturates or poison. And so far, I can’t link Parrish’s family, Brittany or Vincent to the crime. For some reason, you aren’t even amongst the suspects, so we’re doing something wrong.”
“Do you think Vincent…?” I couldn’t end the question. Vincent, out of all people, wasn’t a murderer. He couldn’t be. Not because I knew him – I no longer knew if I had ever known him – but because I couldn’t be so bad at choosing men, could I?
“He’s left, and that’s a big, red flag over there,” Nathan said. “And he had a romance with Brittany. What if they’d seen each other before the crime, they’d planned something between them, and Parrish had become a problem for either of them? Some people lose their minds when love’s involved.”
I shouldn’t have felt bad, but I did. I didn’t want to think that Vincent could’ve used my job at the Sand & Sea to poison anyone, or that he’d been seeing Brittany even more often. The thought of it made me sick. I didn’t want or need to think about it.
“Don’t worry.” Nathan gulped and tried to cheer me up, but he was concerned for me. “He might’ve played a part unknowingly, and he might’ve disappeared after realizing. Some people feel used and think that their life will be ruined forever, so they leave to avoid being linked to the crime. It gives them a feeling of safety but makes them look horribly guilty. That Vincent of yours was rather slow, wasn’t he?” He shook his head. “You’ve had a terrible taste in men since the moment you stopped paying attention to my looks, you know?” He grinned at me and lowered his head shyly. He tried to act arrogant, but he was still the shy Nathan that I’d always known.
“Hey!” I complained playfully.
“You can’t deny he was dumb,” Aunt Agnes shouted from her garden.
Aunt Etta joined in. “He was lucky to be so handsome and stylish, because he lacked any other interesting trait.”
“I’d have dated him too if I’d been a decade or two younger,” Ivy from her garden.
“A decade or two?” Flora complained. “He can’t be older than thirty!”
“And how old do you think I am?” Ivy said. “You wouldn’t want me to be so much younger than him, would you?” She laughed to herself. She was much older, but she wasn’t going to acknowledge it before anyone.
“I wouldn’t have dated him,” Aunt Agnes said.
“No,” Flora said. “You had enough with Michael, didn’t you?” She was never going to forget that Aunt Agnes had had a boyfriend during their youth, and that he’d been somewhat disappointing.
“Who’s said anything about Michael?” Aunt Agnes complained. “He was a fleeting mistake, okay? I’d never planned to marry him.” She was starting to acquire her Miss Perfect voice, somewhat petulant-sounding, but classic in her.
“Of course you didn’t,” Ivy said sarcastically.
Lord James barked three times to agree with her. I don’t think he was aware that he wasn’t human. He behaved like one of my aunt’s friends and usually got very annoyed whenever they left him at home. He was very resentful and had a good memory for a dog.
“See?” Ivy said with some contempt in her voice. “Lord James agrees with me. You would’ve thrown yourself into Michael’s arms if he hadn’t been too busy for you.”
“She means too busy with Betty,” Aunt Etta added as an explanation for us. “He didn’t have a proper job or anything.”
“He did have a job!” Aunt Agnes said. “He worked in construction. Or was it as a gardener?”
“Always part-time jobs,” Flora said, “and seasonal. Do you think he was wealthy enough to start a family?”
“Did he have any spare cash after drinking his wages?” Ivy chuckled to herself.
My neighbors continued arguing with each other as if we weren’t there. Nathan finally breathed.
“I won’t get used to this,” he whispered. “I think I’ll go mad unless I move to a different town. Or a different state. Anyway, how could they hear us? I can barely hear your voice, and they’re in their own gardens.”
“No idea,” I said.
Normal humans were supposed to lose their hearing as they aged, but my aunt’s friends seemed to hear better each day. They were dangerous and the queens of gossip, so letting them learn anything about our personal lives was never a good idea.
My garden was no longer safe. I had to start going indoors whenever I chatted with someone.
Ivy started laughing loudly. Hey, hey, hey. We were missing something.
“Don’t worry, children,” Aunt Agnes told us. “You aren’t going mad. We’ve just bought long-range hearing aids.”
“I’ve bought an ultra-potent version,” Flora said. “I can hear flies flapping their wings a mile away.”
“And I can hear just about any conversation,” Ivy said.
“I’ve bought new earrings too.” Aunt Etta lived in her own world.
Nathan and I looked at each other. We didn’t need to speak; we were both thinking equally. Our aunts and their friends had taken their spying one step further. Using advanced hearing aids suited them, but they were slowly turning into dangerous spies. They’d end up owning laser watches and hidden microphones. I’d stop being their neighbor once they crossed that line; I’d have even less privacy.
Nathan took his spoon, put some extra sugar in his coffee, and started swirling it, making sure that his spoon kept colliding with the cup.
“Hey!” Aunt Agnes said. “Don’t make so much noise, will you?”
“That’s very immature of you, Nathaniel,” Aunt Etta told him.
“You’d do better to stay on our friendly side,” Ivy said. “We can be very annoying if you get on our list.”
Nathan chuckled to himself and stopped moving his spoon. “It sounds dangerous.”
“We are.” Flora kept going with the joke. “There’s nothing more dangerous than a group of seniors.”
“We should consider ourselves a band,” Ivy said. “And we aren’t seniors. We’re grown women, but we’re still in our late thirties.”
“Very late thirties,” Aunt Agnes added.
“Or fifties,” Aunt Etta said.
“Hush!” the others said in unison.
“They don’t need to know,” Ivy said. “No woman ever needs to acknowledge that she’s past thirty.”
Nathan sighed in relief. “They’ve forgotten about us. Let’s go before they realize we’re still here.”
“We haven’t forgotten about anyone,” Aunt Agnes said. “And I think that Meghan’s stupid boyfriend did it. I never liked him.”
“I didn’t like that buffoon either,” Aunt Etta said. “But I think it was Russo. He tried to bribe the cops, tried to scare them away, and didn’t want to co-operate. And besides, the inspector agrees with me. Russo is quite handsome too, if you ask me. It’s a pity that the handsomer men are always mad.”
Nathan looked up, confused. “Wait a minute. The inspector hasn’t told you about any of this. How do you―”
“Well I think it was Brittany,” Ivy cut him to try to distract him from accusing them of spying on the police. “She’s a flirt and very pretty. I can’t see how she’d be interested in marrying an old and worn-out man like Parrish. Her relationship and marriage plans were all a farce.”
“No, wait,” Nathan said. “How do you know about―”
“He wasn’t that old,” Flora complained, ignoring Nathan. She’d dated him and didn’t want to acknowledge that he was anything less than perfect.
“He looked older than us,” Ivy reminded. “And he wasn’t so superficial and dumb when he dated you. He must’ve had an accident and hurt his brain at some point.” She clicked her tongue. “What kind of fool dates a gold digger?”
Nathan finally stood up and walked to the corner between all four gardens. “Ladies, this is a police investigation. You aren’t supposed to know anything or to talk
about it. Why don’t you let professionals take care of the case?”
“You’re right,” Flora told Ivy as if Nathan hadn’t spoken. “Parrish was always easy to manipulate. But still, how could he fall for Brittany? She was clearly after his money, and she didn’t bother to hide it.”
I walked beside Nathan to try to calm him down. He was annoyed and worried that her aunt’s friends could end up in trouble with the inspector.
“You can always hire them as helpers,” I murmured at him.
He rolled his eyes, but smiled.
“Yes, yes, please!” Ivy said. “We’d make perfect helpers, and we wouldn’t let Brittany manipulate us like she does with all of you. You need a female touch in your department.”
“I can start working right now,” Flora said. “I was born ready.”
“I’d love to,” Aunt Agnes said. “Thank you, Nathaniel.”
“It’s my life’s dream,” Aunt Etta said. “This is so kind and mature of you, Nathaniel.”
All four of them acted as though it had been Nathan’s idea and as if he’d agreed with it. They knew that he hadn’t suggested it and kept going in case he fell for it.
Nathan shook his head. “I’ll go before they steal my badge,” he told me.
“Good idea,” I said. I looked at him and didn’t know what else to say. Goodbye sounded cold, but were we in the position to say bye in any other way? We’d seen each other several days and we were both single. We’d always felt something for each other. Had it always been friendship? Was it friendship now?
Oh my god. I need to stop thinking and do something. If I keep wondering what to do, I’ll lose my chance!
“See you later,” we both said at once, dodging eye contact. We looked up, smiled, and started laughing.
“Bye,” we both said again. We laughed once more.
“Like minds think alike,” Ivy sang from her garden.
“They’re so sweet as a couple!” Aunt Etta said.
“Awww!” Aunt Agnes and Flora said at once.
Nathan ran out of my garden before they kept going. Our aunts and their friends only wanted to have some fun at our expense. They probably wanted us to get together, but they weren’t going to renounce a moment of fun just to make our lives easier.”
Chapter 22
“I don’t care that Parrish has died or that you’re losing money.” Antoine took off his chef’s hat and left it on one of the counters. He walked closer to me, shaking a forefinger at me. “My contract states that you were going to showcase my creations and make me better-known in the area. I don’t see anyone eating anything I make except for the band of useless leeches that you call employees.”
“This is temporary.” I tried to calm him down, but he was getting on my nerves too. “You’ll get paid the same amount as your contract states, don’t worry. We’ll get more customers once the murder is solved and the summer season comes closer.”
The Sand & Sea wasn’t going well, but we couldn’t do anything about it. Everything had gone perfectly until the murder. We needed some time and we’d go back to normality. As long as the police found the culprit soon…
He didn’t buy my explanation. He shook a hand beside his head and turned his back to me. “If nobody tastes my food, I won’t get recognition as one of the best chefs in the world. I’m not going to lose several years in my career just because you let murderers enter your restaurant. It’s not my fault and I’m not going to pay for it. If you don’t get more people to come here, I won’t stay around to see the place fall. When a restaurant closes down, everyone looks at the chef suspiciously. I’m not going to stay around while the Titanic sinks.” He was almost shouting while he said these last sentences.
This wasn’t about him as the chef, but about him as a toxic employee. He was lowering everyone’s morale and communicating pessimism to the other employees.
“You don’t need to raise your voice like that,” I told him. I hated acting like a boss, but I had to assume the role when it was necessary. “We’ll solve the crime, you’ll get better customers, and we can all stop shouting at each other. Shouting won’t solve anything, and you’ll only bring everyone’s spirits down.”
“Fine.” Antoine turned around, folded his arms and stared at me sternly. “If you don’t want to listen to the best chef you’ve ever had, I’ll keep quiet and watch the restaurant fall. But as soon as I see trouble, I’m leaving.” He pressed his lips together defiantly.
Was he expecting me to stoop down low and beg him to continue insulting us? It wasn’t going to happen.
Still, I was the manager and I had to act like a grown-up. Every conversation needs someone to act like an adult, and Antoine had made it clear that he wasn’t eager to play the part.
“I’m just asking you for patience,” I said. Whew. I’d managed to calm down quickly enough. I needed to remain in control, or I’d make everyone nervous and the Sand & Sea would turn into a madhouse.
“No genius is ever patient,” Antoine warned. “I don’t care if this place has the potential to become the best restaurant in town. I won’t wait if I don’t see the progression I’m after.”
Okay. That was good enough for the time being. I wasn’t going to ask more from him. I just hoped that the police would solve the case and that everyone would stop fearing the restaurant. We hadn’t had anything to do with the crime, and we weren’t going to kill anyone who came for dinner.
I didn’t understand why Antoine wanted to leave even though he was earning a fortune while working for us. He didn’t need to work as much as before, and he got paid the same. He earned more than many of our other employees added together, and I couldn’t imagine why he’d want to leave so soon. Most people would’ve loved to take his job. He seemed eager to leave even though we’d never paid him late and we tried to tolerate his diva tantrums. He was in his right to leave if we didn’t fulfill our contractual obligations, but he should’ve given us the benefit of the doubt for a month or two.
I could understand him, though. The restaurant was going downhill. People had stopped coming for dinner, and they preferred other places with worse food. They no longer went downstairs for their brunches, and both the cafe and the restaurant were always empty. Everyone in town had heard about the murder, and they were afraid of being killed. Antoine feared that we’d soon stop needing a chef.
Some of our customers ordered sodas but wanted to open their bottles themselves. They didn’t trust us, and it showed in our income statements. Nobody cared that the Sand & Sea was safe; we’d soon have to close down.
Chapter 23
“I’m starting to get the hang of this,” I said while sipping my morning coffee. The restaurant was empty again, and April and I had decided to take a short break. We had so few customers that we didn’t need to spend the whole day working. I’d even ordered some cookies to accompany my coffee.
“Have I heard it properly?” She left her cup of coffee back on the table. “Workaholic Megs is enjoying a day off? What’s wrong with you?”
Yes… more or less. I’d hoped to go jogging, but I’d woken up tired. I know it sounds like a sorry excuse for dodging exercise – and it probably was –, but if I stayed at a cafe, I had more chances of seeing the handsome jogger run past. I’d never seen him before, so perhaps he only ran down the cafe street.
“Ugh.” April rolled her eyes. “You’ve just caught Vincent with another girl, and you’re still in the mood to meet new men? Believe me, Megs, when you’re on a bad streak, you’d better step aside for a couple of months and gather your strength. Otherwise, you keep attracting the wrong kind of men.”
“Do you know this out of personal experience?” I grinned at her. We both knew about her long list of amorous disappointments.
“We won’t see him today,” she said. “Come on, what’s the chance of sitting at a cafe and seeing the hottest man in town? And to see him again?”
Almost as if we’d summoned him, there he was. My handsome male specimen was ru
nning down a perpendicular street. He was tall, athletic, and had swift and elegant movements. He was like an athlete, perfect enough to appear in a documentary about humanity.
Okay, perhaps I was overdoing it.
But I did have good taste, and he looked fantastic.
“Hey, Mr. Handsome!” April shouted. She stood up and waved at him, but he didn’t turn to look. Everyone else did, though. She sat down as if she’d done the most natural thing in the world and looked at me innocently. “He’s sexy, and his style fits you.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he’s ignored me, so he’s either shy or modest enough to think that I’m saying it to someone else,” April said. “Either way, he’s good for you. I would’ve liked him to run closer, though. I couldn’t see his face. Imagine if he has an enormous nose, almost like a stick, and that he might pluck your eye out whenever he looks at you.”
I hadn’t seen his face either, but I was sure that he wasn’t ugly. He couldn’t be ugly.
“He’s handsome, you know?” April said.
“I don’t know him,” I said. And I probably wouldn’t get to know him. I didn’t have much time to spend at cafes, and nobody can spend all day jogging.
“What an impressive male specimen.” Aunt Agnes sat on the chair to my right, and her friends brought chairs from nearby tables to join us. Flora carried Lord James under her arm, and she sat him down on her lap instead of leaving him on the floor. Lord James smiled at the scene; he loved being spoilt.
“He looks better than Mr. Expensive Italian Suit,” Flora said. She’d never liked Vincent.
Where had they come from?
And how did they know that April and I were interested in my jogger?
The hearing aids.
Someone had to pass a law to stop people from buying hearing aids if they weren’t going to use them responsibly.
“You’d lowered your standards too much lately,” Aunt Etta said. “Does this mean that you aren’t interested in my nephew anymore?”
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