Page 133 of Sing with Me

“Did you see Elisa before then?”

“Only until dinner time, sir. Cara was talking to her. I was busy next door at the guest house.”

“Where was Chef Pierre, do you remember?” Diehl hoped that the sous chef would let down his guard further if he asked about someone else.

“The chef came and went. I wasn’t paying attention,” Hans said. “Bradley cleared the tables next door, loaded the dishes, and we pushed the cart back to our van.”

A cart! How big was the cart?

“Cart? Of leftovers?” Diehl feigned ignorance.

Hans laughed. “No leftovers! We had prepared some food for Malik and his night shift crew. They eat a lot.”

“Your food is good. That’s why.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Why didn’t you drive the van over?” Diehl asked.

“It would take longer to drive around the lake to the driveway than to just roll the cart across the stone path. We filled it with covered dishes, plates, and whatever else the chef wanted, and off we went.”

“Sorry I asked all those silly questions.”

“Not silly, sir.” Hans seemed genuine in his reply.

“Mom is the one throwing all the parties that I rarely—if ever—attend. I hope she didn’t work you too hard.”

“Not too hard, sir. And she pays well. So I appreciate that.”

Diehl lowered his voice. “Do you like working for Chef Pierre?”

Hans nodded. “I’m learning a lot from him. When I save up enough, I’m going to open a restaurant of my own.”

That would be a very long way off from where Hans was, but it told Diehl something. Maybe Hans needed money. Hmm.

“Are you planning on going to chef school also?” Diehl wanted to keep the conversation going.

“I don’t have to if I can hire a chef to work for me. I’ll be giving out orders. It’ll be a reverse of what I’m doing now.” Hans clammed up.

All this time, Skye hadn’t said a word.

“You work hard, Hans,” Skye finally said. “The sauces you made. You’ll do well in the future.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Coming from a chef, I appreciate it.”

“I’ll be sure to tell Chef Pierre,” Skye added.

“That’s great.” Hans didn’t want to talk anymore. “Just let me know when you’re ready for me to clear the table.”

“Where are Chef Pierre’s other helpers?” Diehl asked.

“He fired them, sir. Downsizing.”

“So he’s making the sous chef clear the table?”

“We multitask,” Hans said.

“Sous chefs do a tremendous amount of work,” Skye said. “I should know, although I do it all.”

---