Page 75 of Caper Crush
“One,” I say.
“What?”
“I’ll tell you later.”
I turn to enter the kitchen. He touches my arm.
“Are you okay? You seem … dimmed.”
I look up at him then. “I’m okay. We’re just not getting anywhere in the investigation, and it’s getting me down.”
“Even if we eliminate people, it’s good.”
I nod. “I’d better go get the sushi.”
“Okay, but maybe after that, you should go back to the bar. Or did you get a chance to ask Lena questions?”
“I did, but not enough,” I say. “She feels indebted to Kimberly.”
He nods and returns to the party. Miju enters the kitchen.
“Do you just work for Star Catering?” I ask Miju. “I need to pick up more gigs.”
“I also work for Kimberly’s Catering, and she’s the best. But she’s very picky about who she hires. It’s her name and her business on the line. I’ve been working for her since she started. But she might be thrilled to pick up an artist if your schedule is more flexible. It’s hard for her when one of us has a show and then we’re out for months. She has a few backup people, but they’re also all actors. Right now, with both of us on shows, she’s looking.”
“How does she vet you?” I ask. “I hope I can pass.”
“We’ve got to serve these trays, but I can call you later and explain,” Miju says.
I circulate again with the gyoza. I catch William looking at me, but I ignore him.
Back in the kitchen, Miju says, “A bunch of us are going out on Sunday night. You should come. Lena probably won’t come because she’ll be with her boyfriend. They’re all loved up on Sunday nights, but we’re going out dancing.”
“I’d love to,” I say. That’s a better opportunity for probing. My head will be back to functioning. Right now, I want to run away or hide in the bathroom.Get ahold of yourself.I take a deep breath.You can still be friends. This is better.No family ramifications.
As we clean up, Miju says, “At least this time, we have the kitchen to ourselves. It’s so annoying when the guests hang around and hit on you. Unless they’re cute.”
Lena says, “Yeah, like that party a few weeks ago, where that old guy kept hitting on us in the kitchen.”
“Although it was a toss-up as to whether he was hitting on us or just wanted first dibs on the appetizers,” Miju says.
“He wanted both,” Lena says. “He had such an inflated sense of himself.”
“Hey, he was an art dealer. I think he gave us his card. Maybe you want to look him up. But be forewarned, he’s a lecherous one.” Miju shivers with distaste. She reaches into her wallet. “I don’t know if I still have it. The hosts were so lovely, I didn’t want to insult one of their guests by tearing it up right in front of him.”
She hands over Vinnie’s card.
I stare at it in shock. Vinnie was in the kitchen.
“When was the party?” I ask.
“Friday a few weeks ago,” Lena says. “Like I said, not a lot of personal space boundaries, but you can use that to your advantage since he’d probably want to represent you since you’re pretty.”
I blush. “Thanks.”
Vinnie was in the kitchen, right next to the office room with the paintings.
Chapter seventeen
