Page 68 of Evidence of Secrets

Minutes later, they were scrubbing the kitchen.

“Sam, I appreciate all you’re doing. But…” Laura shook her head and sighed. “I can’t afford to pay for the cameras or Hank’s time.”

“Phooey. Consider it a bistro opening warming gift.” Sam smiled. “I don’t think I ever gave you one.”

Laura put down her brush and hugged Sam. “Liar,” she whispered. Then she stepped back. “I’ll repay you somehow.”

Sam grimaced. Didn’t Laura know Sam would do anything for her friends? Anyone who could put up with Sam after all these years and still liked her deserved all good things in their life. There was no way in hell that she was letting this go. Besides, after hearing the endearments from Hank, the love ’em and leave ’em guy, Sam was sure good things were in Laura’s future.

Right now, they had to identify an intruder dressed in black and find out what the hell he wanted in Laura’s storage room.

CHAPTERFORTY-EIGHT

Jaimie woke up early in bed and reached over. Cold. Empty. Damn.

She hoped Ryan would still be in bed, but he mentioned he had an early morning meeting and would have to leave before she got up.

Monday afternoon, he’d surprised her with takeout. Something was off with him, but he wouldn’t tell her what. Before she could even put the plates and silverware out, he’d stripped her, pushed her over the sofa, and fucked the hell out of her. She loved it. Then he took her into the bedroom, where they stayed for a couple of hours having sex and then got up to eat. The food was cold, so she’d reheated it.

Ryan had been quiet, preoccupied, and hardly talking, which surprised her. He was not his usual gregarious self.

When she asked, he said it was business and not to worry. Fine by her. It wasn’t as if they were married.

She usually didn’t work on Tuesday, but she had told one of the other servers she’d cover for them. It was going to be a long day.

The piece she was writing was coming along. She had lots of information to include.

Jaimie suspected money was tight, but Laura ran an honest business. She didn’t charge outrageous prices and gave good value for the meals that were served. Jaimie didn’t think the bartenders were stealing. They all loved Laura and had been with her for a while. There was no big turnover in personnel. Overall, Salt & Sea was a special place to work.

Jaimie meant to ask Ryan if he found a restaurant to invest in but forgot. It was hard to remember things when someone was banging you almost nonstop. Not that she was complaining. Ryan didn’t seem like the type to own a restaurant, although what a type he was, she couldn’t say. It was a gut feeling.

She couldn’t stay in bed all day, so she got up, showered, dressed, and reheated the leftovers from last night. In an hour, she’d have to leave. Her time here was winding down. Nothing nefarious was going on in Laura’s bistro that she could tell, but Jaimie had one more thing she needed to do before she left Black Pointe.

* * *

The kitchen wasin full swing when Jaimie arrived. No surprise there. However, she was surprised to see Laura cooking.

“Hey, Laura. Where’s Levi? Is he sick?” she asked.

Laura stopped mixing and looked up at Jaimie. She rolled her neck and sighed.

“No. Levi was attacked yesterday and will be out for at least a week.”

“Oh, my God. What happened?” Jaimie was torn between expressing sympathy and wanting to investigate and write.

“Someone broke into the kitchen. We don’t know what he was looking for, but nothing was stolen.” Laura shrugged. “That’s all I know. Later, I need to talk to all the staff when it quiets down.”

Jaime tied her apron and looked in the dining room. Not too busy. Meghan was waiting on a couple in a booth, and Sue was rushing into the kitchen. It looked like the three of them and Sean, the bartender.

“Hi, Jaimie. Can you get the order from table six?”

“Sure.”

She scurried out.

Two hours later, the dining room was empty until the dinner crowd. Meghan sidled up to her.

“Did you hear about Levi?”

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