Page 28 of Evidence of Secrets

“Oh my, it’s so good to see you all.” Laura picked up her napkin and placed it on her lap. “It’s nice to get away from the bistro.”

“I bet. How are you doing?” asked Claire. Claire had that pregnancy glow about her. What was she now?

“I’m fine. How much longer?”

“Four months. Four long months.”

“Joe still hovering?” asked Hailey.

“Good God, yes. In fact, I’m surprised you all didn’t see him in the parking lot waiting for me. He’s driving me crazy.”

“You can’t blame him after the kidnapping,” Julie said.

“Hmmm, I remember someone saying the same thing not so long ago,” said Laura. Everyone laughed. Julie had been kidnapped by a crazy man who met her years ago when she was a stripper with a small son trying to make ends meet. She met Pete Carson, who worked for KnightGuard Security. Pete fell in love with her and Axl. After he rescued Julie, it took Pete months before he was comfortable with her going out.

“That’s true,” said Julie. “These guys are just protectors. I felt safe, though.”

“Oh, I’m not really complaining. Joe’s great about keeping his distance. Although I know for sure that he’ll be in saying hello to Jake soon.”

Laura picked up her menu. “What looks good today?” she asked, mostly to herself.

“The lobster roll with sweet potato fries sounds yummy. As does the king crab stuffed tomato,” said Hailey. Laura looked at the descriptions and prices. At one point, the bistro could have afforded to offer dishes like that. Not anymore. She’d have a bowl of soup and a side salad. Neither would break the bank.

“Did Sam tell you how successful the fundraiser was?” asked Laura. The women had all been there, but Laura wasn’t sure if they ever got an update.

“Yes,” said Marlee. “Ben and I had a wonderful time. The food was delicious too.”

“Do you know how much you raised?” asked Ann. She was a kindergarten teacher, and Laura didn’t always see her at their lunches.

Sam filled them in on all the details, and everyone was dutifully impressed.

“I wonder who made the huge donation?” asked Ann.

“No idea,” said Sam. “It was an unexpected bonus. I’m curious, but the donor wanted to be anonymous.” She looked over at Laura.

“Have you had any luck finding out who was stealing from you?” asked Sam.

“Stealing?” The girls looked over at her in surprise.

Crap. Laura didn’t want to talk about what was happening at the bistro, but these were her friends. If she couldn’t tell them, who could she tell?

“Yeah. Stealing,” said Laura. “Sam asked Hank to come over with another security camera we set up in the kitchen. Turns out it was my pastry chef who was coming in early and stealing expensive items and liquor.”

“Wait,” said Grace. “Isn’t this the guy you were paying for taking time off to care for his sick son and wife?”

Laura nodded.

“That stinks,” said Marlee. “What’s wrong with people today? You try to do the right thing and then get screwed.”

“Well, it’s over.” Laura took a long swallow of her drink and put it down. “It hurts the bottom line and…”

The server interrupted their conversation to take their orders and left. Laura prayed the girls would forget the conversation and move on.

“Are you hiring a new pastry chef?” asked Sam.

Laura shook her head. “No. I’m going to fill in for a while. His stealing cost me a lot, so I have to make it up somehow. I’m a little short in the disposable cash department between making up the difference in the insurance claims, building up a clientele to make up for the bad reviews, and the health department fiasco that Colin Woods created.”

“Anything we can do to help?” asked Claire. “My nonprofit has money to give to struggling women entrepreneurs.”

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