JUNE 2013
I sat up for hours, drinking hot chocolate, looking around at my boat, thinking how much I’d already come to love it. Captain’s big head was on my lap as he snored. If Ryan was right and I lost my parole, even temporarily, would Captain have to go back to the shelter? The girls there were nice, maybe one would adopt him, but most of them already had several pets. Could I convince my dad to look after him for a couple of months? I hated how it was going to look to my parents if I was questioned in another murder, how it would look to anyone in town—instantly guilty. I would never be free of this, or of Shauna. I thought about asking Suzanne for a transfer to another city, but that could take at least thirty days. And if Cathy was dead, my leaving town wasn’t going to make me look any less guilty. I thought about my mom and dad again, and about how sure Ryan was that he could get to the truth. I decided to hang tight for a little while longer.
The next morning I tried to convince myself that Cathy was going to show up—alive. Meanwhile I had to deal with the immediate problem. I called Suzanne and told her what had happened at the restaurant with Shauna.
“You can’t keep working there,” she said.
“I’m really happy, though—and doing well. I don’t have to talk to the kid. I’ll just tell her to stay away from me.” I knew it was useless, but I couldn’t help myself, hating the pleading tone in my voice.
“You can be happy working somewhere else, but that’s not a good situation for you to be in—especially if her mother’s going to be coming by. You don’t need the stress, Toni. You’ve got to focus on getting your life back.”
That’s what I’d been trying to do. I remembered Shauna coming into the restaurant years before, how she’d made my life a living hell. And here it was happening again. I bit my lip against the anger, stuffed it down low.
I said, “Mike has another location, downtown.” It wasn’t on the water or as nice a restaurant, but it was a job. “What if I asked him for a transfer?”
She paused, and I held my breath, my fingers crossed. She said, “We can try that, but if you run into her again, we’ll have to find you something else.”
I let out my breath. “Thanks, Suzanne.”
I was about to hang up when she said, “Toni, if you see Shauna McKinney again, turn around and walk in the other direction.”
*
After I got off the phone with Suzanne, I called Mike at the restaurant and explained the problem.
“Damn, Toni. I’m sorry. I had no idea she was Shauna’s daughter.”
“Yeah, she didn’t tell me either, but I was wondering if you could transfer her down to the other restaurant.” If one of us had to go, I’d rather it be her.
“I would, but I need the extra hands at the waterfront location.”
“Do you have room for me at the downtown spot?” Please, please.
He thought for a moment, then said, “Yeah, but not cooking—I’ve got a good guy there, and he doesn’t want to work uptown. You’d be a prep cook.”
It was better than nothing. “I’ll take it.”
*
For the next couple of days I settled into the downtown location, getting to know the staff, ignoring curious stares and whispers. I hated that I was back prepping salads, scrubbing potatoes, and cleaning up after the cook, but I tried to focus on the fact that I still had a job. That was what mattered.
I’d been there for a week when Mike came by after the night shift with his wife and asked me to meet him out front when I was finished cleaning up. He seemed kind of serious, so I was worried but didn’t think it could be anything too major. Maybe they needed to cut my hours or something.
I walked over to their table, a flutter of nerves kicking up in my stomach when I saw him and Patty exchange a look. What was going on? When I reached the table, she got up and mumbled something about leaving us to it. The place was empty and dark, the chairs all upside down on top of the other tables.
I sat across from Mike. “What’s up?”
“This is a tough one, Toni.” He took a breath. “Patty double-checked the count from last night at the waterfront location before she went to the bank this morning, and the safe was missing some money.”
Now I knew what this was about, and it wasn’t good. Not by a long shot. My hands started to shake under the table. “And you’re asking if I did it?”
“I know you were upset about having to change locations…”
My voice hard, I said, “I didn’t do it, Mike. I worked here until midnight, then I went home. Why would I steal from you?”
“Someone called this morning. They left a message saying they saw a truck there late, after everyone else had left, and someone wearing a hoodie was loitering around the back door. They were concerned.”
“That’s total bullshit. Who’s the witness?” Suddenly a name came to my head. “Was it Shauna McKinney?”