Like Pizza and Beer. Elle Parker
just convinced it’s Marco,” she said, crossing her arms.
“Oh, don’t start with that. I have very good reason to suspect him, but I haven’t made up my mind about anything. We’re just getting started here.”
“But you’re not willing to consider any other options.”
“The hell I’m not,” I said. “I’ve spent the last two days considering all kinds of options, but the one that has someone working on the inside covers all the events better than anything else.”
Seth sighed and pushed noodles around on his plate. “I hate it when mom and dad fight.”
Gigi started to say something, but snapped her mouth shut.
“Look, I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m not just targeting Marco here. At the moment, I suspect everyone there but you. That’s why I want us to have someone on the inside too. That way we stand a better chance of figuring out what’s going on.”
“What are you talking about, Dino?” Gigi sat up straight.
Seth froze with his fork halfway to his plate. He spoke through a mouthful of pasta. “This is bribery food, isn’t it?”
“Yes it is, busboy, eat up.”
Understanding dawned on Gigi’s face. “You want me to hire Seth at the restaurant to spy on the staff.”
“That’s why you didn’t want me in the truck,” Seth said, leaning back in his chair. “You didn’t want anyone there to know I was with you.”
“Yes, and yes. We get Seth in there to find out who’s the one pullin’ strings from the inside and then we can find out what the story is.”
Gigi nodded slowly. “Okay. Yes, I think that would work. I’m willing to do it.”
Seth didn’t look so certain. “I’d love to help, but come on, Dino, I already have a pretty full workload at the shop.”
“Yeah, I thought about that,” I told him. “I can come over in the mornings and give you a hand, so you’re free to go to the restaurant.”
“I would put you on the payroll, of course,” Gigi said.
Seth made a few faces, and I said, “It’s not gonna be more than about a week, I don’t think.”
“You know, I’m not very good with authority,” he said, working hard to come up with excuses.
Gigi is a shrewd woman, however, and she leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand and grinning at him. “I’ll feed you. Every night. All you want.”
He smirked and said, “Yeah, yeah, all right. I’ll do it.”
“Thank you,” she said. “I know it’s asking a lot.”
Seth scooped more spaghetti into his mouth and gulped it down. “I’m really not good with a boss, though. I’ll try, but I can’t make any promises.”
“Actually,” I said, “that’s not gonna be a problem. We don’t want you to come across like Gigi’s pet project or no one will talk to you. Without causing any actual trouble, the bigger a jerk you are, the more likely it is you’re gonna get along with whoever doesn’t have Gigi’s best interests at heart.”
Seth considered that, and Gigi said, “Hmm. This might be kind of fun. Well, if the stakes weren’t so high.”
I felt bad for her, with that cloud hanging over her head. I hoped we’d solve the case quickly, and I hoped for her sake it really wasn’t Marco. Whatever her relationship with him, it was clear she’d be devastated if he turned out to be the one screwing with her.
“Gigi,” I said, “do you think you can get Seth in there tomorrow night without causing a lot of suspicion?”
“Sure. I have people putting in for vacation all the time, and one of our servers just told me she’s pregnant. We can always use people. I can also say that I hired him as a favor to someone, which really isn’t even a lie. We do that a lot anyway, since bussing doesn’t require much training.” She turned to Seth. “When you come in tomorrow, just act like we’ve already had an interview, and I called you up to hire you. Everyone will think you were around on their day off. As far as most of the staff is concerned, new people just show up all the time.”
“Yeah, okay. What time should I be there?”
“Four or five is fine. If you want to really hear anything interesting, you should probably plan to work until close.”
“Deal.”
“You’re a good man, Seth,” I said.
“Don’t you forget it, either.”
“I don’t plan to,” I told him. There was another subject I wanted to touch base with Gigi on, and I asked her, “Have you noticed that car following you in the past couple of days?”
She shook her head. “No, not lately. I still get that feeling like I’m being watched, but maybe that’s coming from someone at the restaurant.”
“Maybe,” I said. “I just want you to watch your back. Are you safe when you’re at home?”
“I think so. I live in a secure building, and I’m on the second floor.”
“All right,” I said, “but make sure you have my number and you give me a call if anything strange happens. I mean anything. And don’t get real nervous if you see me hanging around. I’m gonna be keeping an eye on you, and want to try to catch that guy in the act.”
She nodded and stood up. “I’ll be careful.”
After she left, Seth and I ate a little more and cleaned up the mess. Then I took him to bed and thanked him properly for putting his neck on the line.
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