PEARL OFFERED TO SHOW me the routine, but Hilliard took over. She looked a bit resentful once again, and I was afraid she’d insist on shadowing us or think that I might have been hired to replace her. She agreed to help out in the kitchen, and she followed after the men. I was relieved. There were things I needed to ask Hilliard in private.
He showed me where the serving utensils were kept behind the counter and introduced me to the cash register, which he affectionately referred to as “Bessie.” It was a splendid old machine with ornate trim.
“At the close of the day, I count the cash and fill out a deposit slip from the bank noting the amount of each denomination of coin. You know. Ten dimes, five nickels, and so forth. That, together with the day’s receipts from the cash register record, I put into a lockbox and stash in the safe —”
I interrupted him. “Where is the safe?”
“In the back room, behind the kitchen.”
“And the combination?”
“It’s in an old tea tin on the plate shelf.”
I made a face.
“Behind the plates.” He grinned. “I know, I know. But we haven’t been expecting theft.”
I didn’t need to spell it out for him. Almost anybody could have found out where the combination was kept.
“The following morning, I take out the lockbox and make up a float for the day, leaving the rest of the money in the box. Once a week I myself take that money to the bank. That’s usually on Sunday, when we’re closed. The bank has an after-hours deposit box.”
“Do you check the receipts and money every day to see if they balance?”
He looked a little shamefaced. “I find that sort of thing too tedious. I’ve always left it up to the bank to do their own tally. It is their job, after all. As I said, nobody complained until a few days ago. When the manager rang me up was the first time I knew something might not be right.”
“His reason for calling you in wasn’t because you weren’t balancing, was it?”
“No. Everything was fine on that score. He said our cash intake had dropped to an alarming level.”
As if on cue, Pearl popped her head through the door.
“Everything all right? Need any help?”
“No, we’re fine, thanks. I was just about to show Miss Frayne where we keep the money pouches.”
“Why don’t I do that? It is my job, after all.”
There was no way around it. Pearl wanted to be involved. Hilliard conceded.
She came behind the counter, reached below the register, and took out two leather pouches.
“Here you go. You might have to loosen the strings a bit.”
The pouch was fastened by two strips of leather. I tied it on, and it fitted perfectly.
“That’s the one my mother uses,” said Pearl. “So, when you arrive, you get your pouch and Mr. Taylor gives you the float for the sitting. You know what a float is, don’t you?”
I wanted to be sarcastic and say, “Why yes, isn’t that the same as a raft?” But I held my tongue. My brief liking of Pearl was rapidly dissipating. I nodded.
She continued. “You put that money into each compartment, nickels, dimes, quarters, pennies. If you’re handed any paper money, put it in the back of the pouch. You won’t get much of that, though.” She raised her eyebrows. “All right so far?”
“Yes, got it. Coins in their own place, paper at the back. Ingenious.”
Hilliard had been listening in, and I saw him trying to hide his grin.
“Might take a while, but you’ll catch on,” said Pearl. “Lunch costs thirty cents a plate; dinner is thirty-five. If they want an extra slice of bread, that’s five cents. Okay so far?”
“Uh-huh.” I nodded.
“At the end of the sitting, everybody is shoved out and you take your pouch to Mr. Taylor, who counts it, takes away the float, and puts the money in the register.”
I turned to Hilliard. “And you are the only one who handles the cash register?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you have a printed record of the transactions?”
“Not lately. Poor old Bessie isn’t very reliable. The spool jams all the time, so I just count up everything as I’m given.”
“Do you have any way to confirm how many customers are actually served?”
“We have a maximum capacity of thirty people. We’re always close to that mark, and because there is no coming and going as such, it’s easy to count them for each sitting.”
Pearl was looking a little puzzled at this line of questioning, so I didn’t pursue it.
It seemed highly unlikely for the waitresses to fudge the amount of money they were collecting. The theft must indeed be happening from the safe itself.
Pearl happily showed me where the trays were and demonstrated how to carry them properly.
“They get heavy,” she said with enthusiasm.
I picked one up, just to show off, carrying it at shoulder level, executing a neat behind shove on the swinging door so I could go through. All my old skills were coming back rapidly. I just hoped my feet would hold up.
Ending the charade, Hilliard said I could take a break until the café opened at five. When she heard this, Pearl pouted.
“How come she gets time off and I don’t?”
“Because you’re booked to help Eric in the kitchen, remember?”
“Righty-oh. Just asking. He’s fine. Don’t forget we’ve got that group tonight as well.”
Hilliard frowned at her. “What she means, Miss Frayne, is that we have regular meeting groups that make use of our back room. They pay a small sum for rental, and we serve them food and beverages.”
“Who is it tonight?’
He hesitated for a moment, then retreated into mystifying vagueness. “It’s some sort of men’s debating society.”
“What do they debate?”
“I haven’t the foggiest idea. The state of the world, probably. They can get pretty heated at times. But you won’t have to serve them. Pearl takes orders, and one of them picks up the food directly from the kitchen.”
Pearl was listening to all of this. “Bunch of cheapskates. The tip they leave wouldn’t pay for a mouse.”
The source of the rather poetic reference was obscure, but I got what she meant.
Crash course over, I decided to go back to the office. I wanted to see if Mr. Gilmore had called. Given the circum-stances, I was prepared to challenge him on his strangely spotty account of his movements this morning.
I agreed to be back by five.