The Wrong Family by Ellery A. Kane

Author:Ellery A. Kane [Kane, Ellery A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781837904921
Published: 2023-08-29T16:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-FIVE

By the time Hallie returns to the restaurant, Officer Sumner and his patrol car have gone. It doesn’t bring the wave of relief she’d expected, especially when Robert pokes his head out of his office. The wrinkle in his forehead deepens.

“Is everything okay?” he asks. “Where’d you run off to? Officer Sumner wanted to get a statement.”

“I’m really sorry.” Hallie continues sorting through the supplies, afraid that if she meets his eyes, she’ll confess everything. “One of the salmon was spoiled. I tossed it in the dumpster, but I couldn’t get that rotten smell out of my nose. I took a break to breathe in some lake air. I hope that’s okay.”

“Gianelli’s sent me a rotten fish? Are you kidding?”

Hallie hadn’t bargained on this. She stays quiet and still, hoping not to encourage him.

“It’s the third time this year.”

“The rest were fine. Perfectly fresh.”

“I want to see that fish. ‘Ocean to table,’ my ass.”

“You want me to dig it out of the bin?” Hallie’s panicked heart starts to race.

“Damn right, I do. I want to take that fish to Gianelli himself and slap his smug face with it. Do you know he had the nerve to raise his prices last month?”

The side door opens and Nick appears, huffing. Hallie dares to hope he can settle Robert down or at least point his frustration in another direction.

“We’ve got a problem,” Nick says.

Robert casts his eyes skyward and lets out a bear of a sigh. “Good Lord. What else can go wrong?”

“I think there’s a homeless man living in The Grotto.”

“What?” Hallie blurts out, trying to cover her alarm with surprise.

“On the way back, I saw a guy cutting through the woods on a red bike. He had a pack with him. Hallie, you said yourself that you found some burned debris in the firepit.”

“You did?” Robert asks.

Hallie can only shrug.

“We should probably put up a No Trespassing sign like we did last summer. The last thing we need is a bunch of folks camping out back there.”

Robert appears skeptical. But at least he’s forgotten about the salmon. “Homeless? In Incline? That’s unlikely. It’s probably some spoiled kid like Logan, pretending to rough it for a night.”

“C’mon, Rob. You know better than that. Not everybody around here lives like you and Shelly. What about your dishwashers and your busboys? Your prep cooks? Miguel, the local who landscapes your yard?” Nick’s voice builds to an uncomfortable volume. One that Hallie’s never heard from him before. “What about me?”

An awkward silence hangs over the kitchen until Nick joins Hallie at the counter. He starts sorting through the produce arrivals, handling each box as if it’s offended him personally.

Robert stands there, looking but not seeing. His face, shell-shocked. “I don’t appreciate your tone or your insinuations,” he says, finally. “I know we’ve had to make some cuts in recent years, but I’ve done my best. I’ve always been more than generous with you.”

With a stranglehold on a head of broccoli, Nick nods. “And we both

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.