“No,” Tom put in. “They have a camera at the bottom of the stairs. They must have gotten off on another floor, waited awhile and then came down separately in different ways, or had a room.” Mohegan’s examined all the footage of those getting out of the elevator and out of the stairwells and no three people together, or anyone with those approximate heights up until eight this morning.
His head snapped up. He’d seen the boys around seven thirty. If it had been them, their height would have interested The Mohegan security team. The coil of nerves he felt abated somewhat. They were good boys, and he hoped to God they were not involved. But something about the way they moved still bothered him. They walked eerily similar. They had the swagger of youth.
He cleared his throat as they watched the video again. “We need cameras in the stairwells.”
Tom agreed and approached Tawny. “Definitely. It’s not much, but at least having a height and size, gives us something to be on the lookout for, but it’s still not much.” Tom scratched his head, eyes not leaving the screen.
“You see anything?” Tawny asked giving Joseph a perplexed look. He shook his head in the negative. He didn’t want to get the boys in trouble, but he’d definitely want to keep a closer eye on them. And he didn’t want to jump to the wrong conclusions either. His brother had done that and nearly destroyed his relationship with Aliya. He didn’t want to do that with Jewel. The mask bothered him though. A chef? Was it coincidence? What were the odds of that? Had she ever gone out as a famous chef for Halloween, and her brothers had used it? He would check her Facebook and look at her pictures though he hadn’t recalled seeing any like that. He could check the brothers’ accounts too. If they had one.
“No, nothing,” he lied. “But we definitely need our blind spots covered with surveillance.”
“Agreed,” Tom added. “I’m going to do a walk through and then send my recommendations up to you for approval on where we need those new cameras.”
“Good,” Tawny praised her chief of security. “I’d like to see that report as well.” Tom nodded curtly and then headed into his own office.
Leaving security, Jonathan, Joseph, and Tawny headed back upstairs. It was going to be another long day. But his worries about these thefts kept leading him back to the twins and wondering just what had happened to them last night. Where had they been? He wanted to ask Jewel about it. But just how to do that without making her worry or question his motives perplexed him. But it was too important not to. He would bide his time until Jewel started her shift at four, he decided. And then he’d pay her a little visit downstairs and see if he could think of a way to bring it up. He could always ask her why she left, and if something had happened to the twins this morning. It was as good an idea as any.
*
The day flew in a flurry of activity. The installation of the cameras was arranged. And he’d managed to get an extra fifteen cameras with motion detectors for the stairwells. Tom had suggested them. They would be activated by movement and that would save them valuable time in any future investigations.
When Joseph glanced up after assuring they were sent out the next day, he noticed it was nearly four and jumped out of his seat. He wanted to have that conversation with Jewel before it got too busy in the kitchens. He had done a quick inspection of the boys on Facebook and had been slightly relieved to see no masks on display. But still he remained somewhat concerned. Doubt was a killer.
*
The moment Jewel saw him enter the double doors of the kitchen through one of the dining rooms, she smiled. Joseph took her breath away. She didn’t know where this was going, but after she’d left this morning to pick her brothers up from their overnight trip, she had decided to just go with it. See where it lead. She had regretted leaving so early, but her brothers had made arrangements to come back early after the field trip so they could retake their SAT test. They had scored well, but both had been studying hard to improve their math scores. She had picked them up at the high school where one of the chaperones had dropped them off and drove them home to get the truck they shared. They had a quick breakfast after telling her about the play they had seen in Manhattan, and then they left to head to Meriden where they were taking the test.
Joseph saw her smile as he approached, and he took that as a good sign. From the corner of his eye he saw Louis frown so he approached him first. He didn’t want to be seen as a nuisance, knowing chefs could be peculiar about things of that nature in their kitchens. They tended to be predatory when it came to interruptions at work. Giving her a wink, he bypassed her and headed to see the Frenchman. He conversed with Louis about the upcoming convention, discussing the menu, and then when the man was in good spirits, asked if he could have a brief word with Jewel.