Page 60 of Bad Seed

Chapter 11

Harley’s room service order for breakfast arrived just after 7:00 a.m. An order of bacon, a trio of croissants, extra butter, honey, and a pot of coffee. When it arrived, she began removing the dishes from the tray. As she picked up the basket of croissants, she saw a note beneath it.

Good morning, Sunshine. Text if you need me. I’ll see you this evening. FYI—for your daily sugar fix—apple pies with cheddar cheese crusts coming out of the oven.

Sunshine.She smiled, and made a mental note. Apple pie definitely happening in her belly today. She ate while everything was still hot, put her tray back out in the hall, and sent him a text in return.

Sweetest wake-up message ever. Apple pie it is!

Brendan heard his phone signal a text, went into the cooler to grab some more eggs, and read it while hewas standing in the cold and thought about waking up beside her.

He’d already talked to Cameron last night about Harley’s request to talk to Rusty and given them Harley’s number. The rest was up to them, and he had more Dutch babies to make. He took a half-dozen blocks of unsalted butter from a shelf and went back to his station.

“Anthony, make sure the fruit is ready for the Dutch babies, and when you whip the cream, almond flavoring, not vanilla.”

“Yes, Chef.”

Then Brendan eyed the three other sous-chefs in the baking area and frowned.

“Rick, egg wash only…no herbs or salt sprinkles. George, go lightly with the dusting sugar. You’re not powdering a baby’s butt, okay?”

“Yes, Chef,” they echoed.

“And you…little mermaid…yes, the dough needs punching down, but not like you’re trying to cold-cock someone,” Brendan cautioned.

Ariel Halsey liked the nickname Chef had given her, but she never wanted to disappoint him.

“Sorry, Chef. I know better,” she said.

Brendan winked. “I know you do. So, who made you mad this morning?”

She blushed.

They all laughed, and the morning rolled on.

***

Harley’s background checks on Beaumont’s two new vendors were revealing. The owner of the wholesale house was Joe Ellis, Beaumont’s cousin, and he knew the meat wholesaler, Louis Freid, from previous jobs he’d held.

That was the link she’d been looking for. The vendors were overcharging for their inferior products and getting away with it because the invoices reflected the same costs as from the companies Ray had been using.

Larry set all this up after his arrival and had to be getting kickbacks. But without his permission, which she was never going to get, she wouldn’t be able to find a paper trail without a court order. She needed to let Ray know and see if he wanted to alert the authorities, so she sent him a detailed email regarding her findings and went back to work on his audit.

An hour or so later, Ray returned her message, informing her to say nothing to anyone else, that he would be dealing with the rest of this from his end, and to take her time with the audit. She was relieved she didn’t have to get into the dirty side of this with Beaumont on her own. The last thing she needed was two angry men trying to end her earthly existence.

***

Harley’s email had set a fire under Ray Caldwell. He was already on the phone with his lawyer, asking for advice about the best way to proceed. Hours later, he and his lawyer had a meeting with federal agents who dealt with corporate fraud. He filed charges against Larry Beaumont, gave the agents all of Harley’s information, and left it in their hands. They’re the ones who had the power to get into Larry Beaumont’s bank records to see where his kickbacks were coming from and where he was banking the money.

Larry Beaumont’s days of employment at the Serenity Inn were about to come to a swift and painful end.

***

It was nearing noon when Harley’s cell phone rang. She marked her place on the spreadsheet, then saw caller ID, and froze.

“What the hell?”

She let it ring until it went to voicemail, then listened to the message afterward.

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