Turn up the Heat

Ade,” I said, “could have swiped an apron from Simmer. And then Owen used it to strangle Leandra!”
    Josh laughed uncontrollably for a few moments before he pulled me close to him and rubbed my back. “You are so funny. I love that you are innocent enough to think that this stealing business is so alarming. It’s totally normal in restaurants and any hospitality industry, really. Blythe and Snacker even said so the other night. Besides, this software that Gavin is making everyone use makes it impossible to keep track of the inventory anyway. It’s practically an invitation to people to take whatever they want.”
    I pulled far enough away from Josh to look up at his face. “Listen to this. Blythe is stealing from the kitchen and selling things on eBay. I know because Adrianna made a bid and won a peacoat, and the seller turned out to be Blythe, who is also listing some of the things that you realized were missing the other day. The mandoline, the stick blender, and the Wüsthof knife. Oh, by the way, you better check your knife collection. She’s selling two."
    “Jesus Christ!” Josh said angrily. “I’ll deal with her later. But I bet Leandra was doing the same thing. Call it a gut feeling, but this has her name written all over it. Either way, no one rats on anyone else around here, because everyone is doing it. You think I’m going to tell Gavin that Snacker took a bunch of chicken to make tamales? Actually, the only person around here who isn’t stealing shit is probably Isabelle. But that’s only because she hasn’t been in the industry long enough to know we all do it. So there. You think that makes her a suspect? Because she’s the only one not stealing?” He winked at me.
    “Well, Isabelle obviously idolizes Gavin and didn’t think Leandra was good enough for him, so maybe she told Gavin about Leandra, hoping that he’d feel so betrayed that he’d dump her.” I paused. “But instead of just feeling betrayed, he killed her!”
    “Are you done with this nonsense? Gavin may have some quirks, but he didn’t kill Leandra.” Josh leaned out of the office. “Santos! Take the bread out of the oven, will ya?”
    “Si, Chef!” Santos called back.
    Josh obviously wasn’t taking my theories seriously. “Okay, smarty,” I said, “who do you think killed Leandra?” Josh shut the office door and leaned against it. “Here’s what I think. Like I was saying, in restaurants no one rats on anyone else because no one can afford to. Except for Wade. He’ll throw anyone under the bus if it makes him look good.”
    “Right, like you guys were telling me the other night at your place.”
    He nodded. “The night Leandra was killed, Wade and Kevin were closing. Supposedly, they gave each other an alibi, but that means nothing, because Wade is a lowlife. You have no idea how much crap he’s said about me and then turned around and told me how much he admires me. Horseshit like that all the time from him. And the truth is, he’s a lousy GM at that. Anyhow, Wade is the one with the faulty personality, not Owen or Gavin. If you’re looking for a suspect, I’d put my money on him. Look, Chloe, I have to get back to work. Snacker just got here, so I’m going to be really busy.”
    “All right. I’m going to hang out and wait for Owen, if that’s okay with you.” I wasn’t looking forward to my conversation with him, but it needed to happen.
    “Stay as long as you like. You can come watch me prep if you want.”
    Josh and I left the office, and I sat on a stool a few feet from where Josh began seasoning some rib eye steaks. I loved watching him work, but I was always worried that I’d cause a kitchen calamity by hanging out in the wrong spot, so I sat frozen to my seat.
    Kevin entered the kitchen and spotted Josh. “Hey, dude. Any chance I could get three desserts on the house?”
    “Depends. Who are they for?” Josh flipped over the steaks and continued generously sprinkling salt, pepper, and sugar across the meat.
    At that moment, Blythe entered the kitchen and said exactly what I was thinking. “They must be for Naomi, Eliot, and Penelope, right?”
    So, Kevin was trying to impress Penelope with Josh’s dessert. Cute! The strategy always worked for me!
    “Yes, actually, they are,” Kevin said shyly.
    “Sure, no problem. Let me see what I have that’s ready to go.” Josh washed his hands and then went into the walk-in refrigerator, where prepped desserts were kept.
    Snacker