Cook the Books

wrench into the restaurant’s plans. I dropped the invitation in my lap. Ellie had obviously put me on the guest list, and my name hadn’t been removed after Digger’s death. Well, I was always happy to support a new restaurant, and the food was sure to be good; Digger had presumably been replaced with someone equally gifted in the kitchen.
    I looked more closely at the invitation to see who the new executive chef was. Jason Freelin. It took me a second to place the name. Although I actually knew Jason Freelin, no one ever called him that. He was known only as Snacker. So, Josh’s old (well, now temporarily current) roommate and former sous-chef at Simmer had taken over for Digger! I was amazed, mystified, and skeptical. I mean, I loved Snacker. He was funny, charming, and charismatic, and he really was a wonderful friend to Josh and a great cook. But as the title suggests, an executive chef needs to have exactly the kind of executive ability that Snacker lacked. I simply could not picture Snacker mustering the skill to lead an entire staff and to run the whole business end of the kitchen at a large restaurant. Executive ability must’ve been why Digger got the job in the first place; besides being talented, he was tough, disciplined, and organized. Yeah, he swore all the time and had a bit of a temper, but he knew how to take charge, and he could get the job done. Snacker, on the other hand, was more likely to flirt with hot waitresses than he was to do inventory or to prepare for health department inspections.
    When Adrianna set a plate down on the table, I suddenly realized how hungry I was. She’d put together some cheese, crackers, olives, and slices of sopresatta. “Yum!” I smeared some creamy goat cheese onto a cracker and showed Ade the invitation. “Check out who got Digger’s job.”
    Adrianna scanned the note card. “Who the hell is Jason Freelin?”
    “You made out with him and you don’t know his name? That’s Snacker.”
    “You have to be kidding me. When would he have time to run a restaurant, what with all the flirting he’s got to fit into his day? I feel sorry for that Georgie girl. Snacker can’t be the best boyfriend out there.”
    “Wait, what?” I spoke through a mouthful of food. “Did you say Georgie?”
    Ade nodded. “Yeah, Josh mentioned her name to me. Why? Do you know her?”
    Of course. Georgie was Ellie’s friend, the one I’d called to be with Ellie after I’d broken the news about Digger. Ellie had called Georgies boyfriend Jay. Aha! Jay had to be short for Jason. Only a girlfriend could get away with calling Snacker by anything close to his real name. One of the women, Ellie or Georgie, must have introduced the other to Digger or to Snacker. Digger and Snacker were old friends who’d been competing for the same job at the Penthouse. I explained the foursome to Adrianna.
    “I bet Digger kept Snacker in line with Georgie. Digger seemed like a good guy. I hope Snacker wasn’t too pissed off at him for beating him out for the job.”
    “Well... what if he was? You don’t think Snacker would... you know?” I ran my finger across my throat.
    “Don’t you think for one minute that Snacker killed Digger! Are you insane?”
    “I know you and Snacker had your little thing a while back, but it doesn’t mean you have to scream at me for thinking out loud.” I crossed my arms and glared at her.
    “First of all, stop referring to my poorly chosen little dalliance with Snacker. It was nothing but a few hot kisses here and there, and it was a stupid, horrible mistake, and I’m lucky Owen forgave me for it. But, by the way”—she leaned toward me—“he is a fantastic kisser. Not too much tongue, strong lips. So if things don’t happen with Josh or Kyle, you might want to look his way.”
    “Now who’s gone insane?” I playfully pushed her away. “Look, if Josh thinks that someone killed Digger, then it’s worth thinking about. What Josh said was that Digger was a professional chef who’d never have done something careless at home that could start a kitchen fire.”
    “So you’re suggesting that Snacker killed Digger to get his job? Snacker was already the sous-chef there, right? Why would he want more responsibility? You know how he is, Chloe. He’s a goof. Yes, he’s probably fooling around on poor Georgie, so fine, maybe you could call him disloyal and opportunistic, but he didn’t murder anyone. Who else could have wanted Digger out of the