Ree arrived fifteen minutes early to work the next day. The minute she walked into the kitchen, Chef greeted her.
“I just called your husband,” he said, looking mighty proud of himself. “He sounds like a good guy.”
“I’d like to think so,” she said with a friendly wink.
The gesture seemed to endear her to the older man’s heart.
“He’s coming over after I set up for the lunch rush to take a look at my machine,” Chef said.
“Thanks for giving him the chance,” she said. After the way she and Quint left things last night, it was hard to rally the fun-loving newlywed act. Her heart went out to him for what he’d been through and she wished there was something she could do to ease his pain.
“Here’s hoping he can fix the problem,” Chef hoisted his glass of water in the air in a mock toast.
“Yep,” she said, remembering the listening device she had stashed at the bottom of her purse. She held up her handbag. “I better put this thing away and get ready for my shift.”
“Hope the tips are good today,” Chef said.
She really hoped he wasn’t involved in any way because Chef had wormed his way inside her heart. She also realized she couldn’t afford to let anyone but Quint in. It was too risky because she could miss a critical piece of evidence if she had blinders on. And then there was the simple fact that some people who seemed amazing on the outside were hardened criminals. Some people had an ability to compartmentalize their lives like nobody’s business.
“I’ll be right back,” she said, leaving him to put away her handbag. She hoped to get a little more insight into conversations among kitchen staff later. Pele and Craig kept to themselves, and Eddie only ever nodded and smiled. When her shift started rocking and rolling, it would be game time and she barely had a chance to breathe, let alone gain valuable intel. She needed to feel Adrian and Zoey out to see if they were on to her after the Sarah and Marcus debacle. Of course, she realized Quint was working hard behind the scenes. She also figured him getting into Chef’s computer was a huge win. At the very least, they might be able to rule him out as a suspect.
Ree walked out of the breakroom to find Chef almost exactly where she’d left him a minute ago. “So, did you hear about what happened last night?”
Chef shook his head. He walked a small square and then said, “This is my domain. What happens outside this area is none of my business.”
“Smart,” she said, figuring he was loyal to Charley at the very least.
He leaned over the metal counter. “I’ll tell you what, though. A guy has been giving Charley a hard time lately. This is the third time this person has shown up in the past few days.” Chef threw his hands in the air. “Something about money owed but it must be personal. The guy isn’t one of our vendors to my knowledge.”
Adrian bolted in last minute, looking in a frenzy and breaking into the conversation.
“Has Charley been around today?” she asked as she scurried past.
“I haven’t seen him yet,” Ree said, before giving Chef a smile and exiting the kitchen.
Zoey was on her side of the room, checking bottles and saltshaker lids. She didn’t speak a whole lot and definitely not to Ree. She figured this might be a good time to strike up a conversation and get a feel for Zoey and her situation. If Adrian’s suspicion was correct that Zoey was in some type of trouble, Ree had to intervene before she moved on from the investigation.
“Hey, did you hear what happened around here last night?” Ree asked.
Zoey didn’t turn around. “No.”
“It was a drunk guy,” she continued. “I think his name is Phillip. Do you know him?”
Zoey shrugged. She wasn’t much more than skin and bones despite a beautiful face.
The glass door opened.
“Looks like we have our first customer,” Ree said to Zoey, trying to build some comradery.
Zoey turned to the side and nodded. There was a fresh-looking bruise on her forearm that she was trying to cover with makeup. Granted, Ree could attest to the bumps and bruises that came with this job, but her warning bells sounded nonetheless.
Holding her tongue for now, Ree headed back to her own station as Adrian returned to the room.
“What a day,” Adrian said, wiping down her shirt that was markedly wrinkled. “And it hasn’t even gotten started yet.”
Adrian rolled her eyes as Zoey took the first customer to her own station.
“What’s wrong with her?” Ree asked, feigning frustration.
Adrian shrugged as the second customer came in. “I try not to get too involved. You know what I mean? Everyone has to do their own thing and it’s best not to ask too many questions.”
“So true,” Ree agreed despite this going against everything she believed in and was trained to do. Helping others was embedded in her DNA. “I shouldn’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“Especially not around here,” Adrian said before seeming to catch herself. She glanced around before retying her blouse. Did she know something? She had to.
Thankfully, more customers started filing in and the rest of Ree’s shift became a blur. She was more than ready to get home and put her feet up after cashing out her last table.
The car was gone, as was Quint. A note on the fridge read: Out helping Chef. Be back soon. Lunch is in the fridge. Love, Q.
Ree spent her break cleaning her boots and munching down on the sandwich he’d made for her. As much as she loved to rely on nobody but herself, it was nice to be able to lean on someone else for a change. It was a foreign thought to her that she could maintain her independence and still draw strength from someone. Funny to think this hadn’t occurred to her before age thirty-six.
When this investigation was over, she had a lot to chew on with regard to her views on relationships. There really had only been one person in her past she could see herself dating long-term. Preston. Had she been too hasty to cut off their relationship after their last fling? The old cliché about absence making the heart grow fonder made her wonder if that was the case here. Because she was starting to miss Preston. Or maybe it was just being in a relationship that she missed. Dating her brother’s best friend came with complications. The downside had been Shane knowing too much about her personal life. With four brothers, going out with someone who didn’t know her family or wasn’t friends with one of them had proved difficult enough. When she’d been in school, there wasn’t really a way out of it. Now that she was grown, however, she’d made a promise to separate her dating life from family. There’d been too many times when one of her brothers had intervened on behalf of a friend.
Did she want to deal with that for the rest of her life? And why did her mind snap to wishing she could find a man like Quint out in the real world?
QUINT PULLED UP in front of the cottage-style house in town off Main Street. From the outside, Chef’s place could best be described as tidy. There were window boxes filled with fresh flowers and the yard was nicely manicured.
A bright yellow sports car roared up behind Quint. The man Ree had described as Chef came out of the driver’s seat. He made a beeline for Quint as he slowly exited his clunker.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. I had to prep for the lunch shift so Pele could take over while I’m needed here and then the requests for help didn’t end until most of the customers were gone,” Chef said, waving his arms in the air. By the time he reached Quint, the man’s cheeks were ruddy.
“I just got here,” Quint responded.
Chef offered a firm handshake. Quint could see how easily it would be to like the man. He had a calm demeanor and seemed genuine.
“I can’t get the thing to fire up anymore. The screen went black and won’t come back no matter what I do,” Chef said, motioning toward his home.
“Let’s go inside and take a look,” Quint stated. “Unless you want me to take it home with me and tinker with it there.”
“No. No. I can’t imagine trying to pack it up. See if there’s anything you can do to save it.” Chef headed toward the front door. He turned his head to one side as he put his hand on the knob. “No locks needed here in Cricket Creek.” True to his word, he opened the door without a key.
“Nice thing about a small town,” Quint agreed. “My wife and I are from the Houston area, so we still keep everything locked. Cars. Cabin door. It’s a force of habit.”
“Life here is an adjustment,” Chef agreed. “I moved here two years ago after owning my own restaurant in Dallas. I got jumped one morning on my way to the farmers market and decided no more. I reached out to a few friends and one connected me with Charley. It’s been a quiet life for me ever since. Once I got out of the hospital.”
Chef turned around and lifted his sleeve to reveal a four-inch scar.
“Knife?” Quint asked.
“From my own restaurant. One of my bar customers was arrested two days later,” he said. “The guy came in every Thursday night for three months. Barely spoke to anyone and ordered the same meal every week. Seemed nice enough but I guess he was casing the place.” Chef shrugged.
“That’s a nasty scar,” Quint agreed. He lifted one leg of his jeans to reveal a similar mark from a gash on his shin four inches above the boot. “Glass coffee table shattered on a move.”
Chef winced in sympathy and the attempt to establish common ground seemed to do its trick. The man’s shoulders relaxed as he nodded. “Tough business.”
“Especially when a piano fights back,” Quint said with a chuckle.
“Ree told me.” Chef winced again.
“There’s a reason it’s for young men,” Quint quipped. He motioned toward his boot. “But this one helped me realize how ready I am for a desk job.”
“The moving world’s loss is my gain,” Chef said.
“Let’s see what I can do.”
The inside of Chef’s home looked a lot like the outside. There were vases of fresh flowers on most surfaces and the place could be described as tidy. The decor might be simple and clean, but it had a nice aesthetic.
“The second bedroom is my office,” Chef said as he walked down a short hallway. The door was open and the room barely big enough to accommodate a desk, chair and bookshelves along one wall where a closet might have once been.
“I’m guessing this is the offending computer.” Quint motioned toward the desktop.
“That she is,” Chef stated.
“By the way, the chicken and waffles were the best things I’ve eaten all year,” Quint said with a lot of enthusiasm. He wasn’t kidding and it probably showed. He’d learned a long time ago to be as authentic as possible while undercover. It really was the best way to sell himself. Staying as true to himself as he possibly could was key. Otherwise he ran the risk of tripping himself up with a lie.
“Music to my ears.” Chef’s grin was almost ear to ear.
“Okay, so I’ll start with the obvious.” Quint made his way around the desk and checked the power outlet to make certain the cord hadn’t jiggled loose. His initial thoughts on Chef was that the man was innocent. He had a traumatic experience in a bigger city then chose to move where he could keep his door unlocked. The probability this man was involved in bringing crime to this town was slim. Still, Quint might find something on the man’s employer on the computer. “It is plugged in.”
“I didn’t even think to check,” Chef admitted, hovering at the door.
Quint pushed the power button. “It’s looking like the system is booting up and the fans are spinning.” This was going to be an easier fix than he’d hoped. “Looks like a monitor issue or the graphics card died.”
“How will you tell the difference?” Chef asked.
Quint checked to ensure the monitor was plugged in. “Ah, here’s the problem. The video cable from the computer to the monitor has become loose.”
After he corrected the problem, the screen came alive.
“I think we’ve solved the mystery,” Quint said with a smile. He was hoping to really get inside the system before he found a solution, but this was where it ended.
“Well, that sure turned out to be easy?” Chef chuckled, walking over to stand behind Quint. “Looks like I need to stay in my lane working the kitchen.”
“I’ll tell you all my computer tricks if you share your batter for those chicken and waffles,” Quint joked.
“Not a chance,” the slightly older man shot back. “I’d rather throw my computer out and start over than give away one of my family recipes. But my creditors will thank you for me being able to pay my bills now.”
Quint stood up and stepped away from the driver’s seat. “It’s all yours now. Pay away.”
“I can’t thank you enough for helping me,” Chef said.
“It really was nothing,” Quint argued. “But let me know if you have any other trouble with it.”
“You might live to regret that offer,” Chef stated with a laugh. His demeanor was casual as Quint had messed around on the computer. Another sign the man didn’t have anything to hide on there.
A quick glance at the screen said the house and yard was where the tidiness ended. The desktop was cluttered with shortcuts to bank accounts, apps and games.
“I better get back home.” Quint glanced at his watch. “Online class starts in an hour.”
“Take this with you.” Chef hurried into the kitchen, urging Quint to follow. “I baked a loaf of sourdough for you and Ree. It’ll pair nicely with this minestrone soup.” He pulled a decent-sized container from his fridge.
“There’s no way I’ll refuse food from you, Chef,” Quint quipped, taking the offerings.
Then Chef handed over a bottle of wine. “The fruity notes in this chardonnay will be the perfect complement to this meal. Light a candle and voilà.” Chef winked. “Insta-date.”
“You’re sure making my job easier with my wife,” Quint said with a smile. “I appreciate this.”
“It’s the least I can do,” Chef said. “And my name is Lorenzo Rocco. Everyone at the restaurant calls me Chef.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Lorenzo.” Quint glanced down at his haul. “I’d offer to shake hands but I don’t have a free one at the moment.”
Lorenzo got a kick out of the comment. “I’ll grab the door for you.”
“If you know anyone else who might need help, I’d appreciate a referral,” Quint said before thanking Lorenzo again.
“You got it,” Lorenzo said.
Quint unloaded his gifts into the passenger seat of his vehicle. He glanced at the yellow sports car with a little bit of envy.
The thought of a date night with Ree felt a little better than it should while working together on an investigation. Quint had never been unprofessional a day in his life and had no plans to start now, no matter how interesting and incredible Ree might be. Dating another agent crossed a line he had no intention of violating. He could use a friend, though. It wasn’t until he talked to Ree that he’d realized how much of his and Tessa’s lives had been entwined. He and Tessa had become inseparable. Losing her had been the equivalent of cutting off his lifeline.
Plus, there was the whole bit about Ree believing none of the passion in his kisses could be real. His second mistake slapped him in the face as he claimed the driver’s seat. Was she already in a relationship? She’d asked him before. Why hadn’t he done the same? According to her file, she was single. Didn’t mean she wasn’t in a relationship. He made a mental note to ask the next time they brought up their personal lives. He hadn’t wanted to know earlier, thinking the less he knew about her personally the easier it would be to keep her at a distance.
Why did the thought of Ree being committed to someone else feel like a gut punch?
A few reasons came to mind. He’d opened up to her about Tessa. Quint also found that he actually liked talking to Ree.
Shoving the thoughts aside, he focused back on Lorenzo. In Quint’s experience, a man who had something to hide locked his doors. Based on Quint’s assessment of Lorenzo’s openness and general disposition, he moved over to the witness list.
The other person of interest from the kitchen was Fender, the food expeditor. Then there was the mystery men from last night.
Maybe the bug in Ree’s purse could turn up a clue.