The latter that washisidea.
He was in the area when Erin was killed. Was he the one who did it?
He could have slipped out, walked down the street before turning around and walking back after Cass called him.
Did he have a good laugh at my expense, seeing me shaken right after I found her?
The idea made me want to stab him in the neck and slice him into pieces the perfect size for a good stroganoff. It wasn't an item I usually had on the menu, but I was flexible.
"Harlow," Cass said softly.
"Be ready for anything," I told him. "Right now, that means checking on the Bolognese sauce for me." I jerked my head over to the pot, which was bubbling away.
"It's just…" Cass gave the sauce the side eye.
"Pork and beef," I told him. "Just pork and beef."
He was going to look at everything with suspicion for a while, wasn't he?
At some point, he might be confronted with the reality of my disposal technique. That was a bridge we'd cross when we got there. I'd keep doing whatever I had to do to stop us from getting caught.
Cass was too adorable for jail. So were Boner and Archer.
I wanted to add Jules to that list, but right now? I couldn't. I couldn't get the image of him killing Erin out of my head. Slicing her up, leaving her in pieces. Spreading her blood all over the walls and floor.
Even if she'd betrayed me, she didn't deserve that. Did she? Okay, that was debatable. Especially if she'd wanted me dead.
"Right." He snagged up a spoon and gave it a careful stir. "It smells amazing. I might learn to cook something other than tacos."
"I don't mind teaching you," I said sincerely.
If I was going to teach anyone my secret recipes, it would be him. He might choose to give up IT and go into the culinary arts. I could think of worse ways to spend my life than working with him in the kitchen every day.
Gina laughed at something Jules said. A shiver went down my spine. I wanted to march out there and tell him to move away from her, but I had to bide my time. Watch him and wait for him to make a mistake.
He would.
They always did.
Lunch and dinner services went by without a hitch.
Somehow, Jules managed to avoid insulting or offending any customers. He even seemed to get their orders right. Granted, the seating was only couples today. No groups to complicate matters.
The fact he and Gina seemed to get along well put me further on edge.
I'd already lost one staff member, I didn't want to lose another.
The whole time we were preparing plates of food, Cass watched me, a frown etched on the centre of his brow.
As I expected, he was a hard worker. I hadn't needed to tell him anything twice, or give him much in the way of instruction. He picked up everything and took it to the dishwasher, putting it inside carefully so everything would wash properly.
I wasn't surprised to see he was good at dishwasher Tetris.
Yeah, I know some people would disagree that stacking the machine was an art, but it was a skill some people hadn't mastered. In the past, I'd had people working for me who needed to be watched, and reminded multiple times how I liked it done.
Several times, I'd made them empty it and start over. I didn't cut corners, especially when it came to clean crockery and cutlery.
What can I say, I'm a perfectionist. Beside, the Health Department would come down on my head, figuratively speaking.
