Page 42 of Capture
“I might be exaggerating, but I’ll let you decide, but it started when Mikael came back; before then, she was practically running the place along with Ronan.
“I thought at first that she was bitter having to take a backseat in decision-making again, but that didn’t make sense either. She’d disappear, then reappear, have secret meetings, and change her schedule. It was out of character for her as she was so reliable without a fault. I had a suspicion that she was behind the rat problem, as CCTV cameras were removed and replaced with duds or footage wiped from the working cameras. It was several small things that, when you add them up, were significant and unfortunately led back to her.”
I nodded, listening intently as I kept watching the club floor to spot that jet black ponytail, but I knew instinctively that she was gone. Long gone.
“Is that it?” Mikky seemed unimpressed, as if it wasn’t much to worry about.
“There was one more issue that occurred a few months ago, before you returned from…” he refused to utter the word prison as if it were shameful. “There was money going missing from the petty cash and the bar till.”
I grunted in surprise. “You didn’t tell me about that?”
“It was resolved quickly once I was informed and the money was replaced,” he assured me.
“Who would be dumb enough to steal from the Kaisers?” I growled, annoyed that the power that I wielded while Mikky was in prison didn’t scare them enough.
They were aware that I had business meetings with Mikky every week, so they knew he was the one who made the call if someone needed to be dealt with.
“Who replaced the money?” Mikky asked, frowning, possibly hoping that it wasn’t money moved from another club account. “And how much was it?”
Fred’s complexion reddened. “A few thousand,” he answered, shrugging, trying not to turn it into a big deal.
“And where did the money come from?” I repeated the first question because it was evident that he was avoiding answering it.
Freddie swallowed and wriggled uncomfortably in his seat.
“Was it your money?” Mikky asked accusingly. “Did you replace it with your own money?”
His complexion reddened even more as tiny beads of sweat coated his top lip. His Adam’s apple bobbled in his throat as he swallowed.
Mikky looked up at me from the armchair, “Organize a transfer to repay Freddie. Today.”
“No problem,” I replied, noting it in my phone to remind me.
“There’s no need,” Freddie stated, holding his hand, looking embarrassed.
“Too late. It’s done,” Mikky ordered. “Now, who stole the money in the first place?”
“He’s gone,” he pointed out. “I pushed him out quietly.”
“Wait,” I halted the conversation. “Was that the senior bartender who left unexpectedly, leaving us short-staffed several months ago?”
“Yes,” he sighed.
“You covering him?” I pressed, slightly annoyed, but I understood where he was coming from.
“I dealt with the problem. No hassle. You didn’t even know, so…” he argued, holding his own.
Fair enough. That’s why we hired Freddie and Betty to make problems go away, until one of them became a problem. “What’s that got to do with Betty?”
“Betty was romantically involved with him,” he told us. “They were very discreet, and it was impossible to tell at work, so I turned a blind eye to it. Besides, she was a manager, like I am, so I didn’t have seniority over her.”
“So, she broke that rule as well,” Mikky stated scathingly. “Why would junior staff behave and follow the rules if senior staff don’t?”
“But she said she was very embarrassed about his thieving and broke off their relationship, but I think she was lying, so I’d drop it. And I did. It was never mentioned again,” he said sternly.
Silence fell as I reflected on this new information and a previously unknown aspect of one of our most valuable staff members. Mikky grew distant as Freddie rose to his feet, eager to get back on the floor.
“Anyway,” he said as he stepped toward me, and I moved out of the way so he could leave. “Even though she is very good at keeping her private life private and never bringing her grievances to work, I have a hunch thatheis still in the picture and…” he paused to gather his thoughts, but I could predict what he was about to say. “I think he and she conspired in the rat dump, working with an outside group.”
