Monday, 27 June 2016

Chapter 5 of the 4th Alcrest Mystery...with a special surprise!!

OMG!  Post #100 and I'm stealing it from Lorne.  Chrys Alcrest here with another chapter.  Everything's getting a little crazy.  My brother is becoming a real jerk.  I hope you're enjoying reading this story and seeing what's going on in our lives.

Oh if you look after the chapter you'll find something I stole off of Lorne's phone.  Hey, if he puts his password the same place he puts me then it was bound to happen.  His friend played around with some cover ideas, so take a look and let me know what you think.  Just don't tell Lorne.  I don't want him to get mad and kill me off or something.

In case you missed them here are the links to the other chapters.  Love ya - Chrys

Prologue                                  Chapter 1
Chapter 2                                Chapter 3
Chapter 4



Chapter 5

 

“I have news!”  Chrys suddenly appeared on the far side of the pass.

Spencer looked up from the plates he was about to slide under the hanging heat lamps above warmed tiles.  The hand written orders passed one way and the food passed the other, hopefully never staying long under the lamp.  “Do you know what time it is?”  He was getting the strangest feeling of Deja vous.

Chrys put her hands on the warm tile along with her billfold.  The ring on her thumb tinked against the tile.  She was dressed in tight black trousers and the black dress shirt of the server’s uniform.  The top two buttons were open.  Her hair was tied back.  “I have news about Leigh Park.”  Her full lips formed into a bright smile.  “I got an ID on the victim.”

He ignored what his sister was saying.  “It’s almost seven.  We have reservations.  You were supposed to start work at five.  Izzy, foods up.”

Chrys’ hands dropped.  She stepped back to let the server (who probably arrived on time for work) to get her plates.

As he passed the plates across Spencer eyed the billfold his sister left on his pass.  It held her book of order chits, all orders were hand written, and probably a few pens.  He hated them leaving stuff on the pass.  Right now he despised his sister leaving anything anywhere.

Izzy said, “Fire table twelve,” before walking away.

“Thank you,” Spencer responded.  “Fire striploin medium, penne with butternut squash, Alcrest salad.”  The other cooks called out that they had heard the order.  “On the pass in eight minutes.”

“Don’t you want to know who the poor bastard was?”  The warmth of Chrys’ face had melted away.  “There were two victims by the way.  They identified the head and limbs, but one leg didn’t belong to him.  Not unless he had three or one majorly deformed penis.  It was a woman’s leg.”  Spencer had gone back to cooking.  She wasn’t even sure if he could hear her over the buzz in the quarter filled room, the noises the cooks made and the sound of the exhaust fan above the equipment.  “Come on.  I got this info even before the press.”

“Who?”

Chrys smiled.  He was getting the mystery itch.  “His name was Joey Love.  He had been arrested for drug possession, so they got an identification quick from the fingerprints.”

“I meant, who gave you the info?”  Spencer had dropped the penne noodles in the pot of boiling water on the back burner.  He had butternut squash pasta sauce warming in a sauté pan.

“A friend.  I have friends who tell me things.”

Spencer stared at his sister.  His fingers gripped the butcher’s-block counter top so hard they hurt.  “I thought you weren’t going to be looking into this.  You said you wouldn’t.”

“I can’t stop people from telling me things.”  Miss Innocent.

“Order in.”  Hanni put a chit on the pass.  “Are you working tonight, Chrys?  I’m supposed to be bartending, not serving your tables.”  She wore the same shirt as the other servers with the obvious addition of a gel push-up bra and a mini-skirt, which barely hid anything, instead of the trousers.

“Whatever.  You get bigger tips this way anyway.  You have a reason to show off your ass too.”

“I’d rather be behind the bar getting a view of your brother’s ass.”  Hanni put her nose close to Chrys’.

“You can keep your eyes and claws off of him.”  The two stared at each other a long moment before the blond walked away.  Chrys kept staring at her.  She couldn’t remember the reasoning behind saving her life in the past.  As she looked at her brother she wondered if he had heard everything.

Spencer turned back to his sister.  He had heard every word.  She had promised things and was going back on it.  They weren’t kids any more, but even in adulthood promises had to mean something.  Plus she was now getting into his personal business.  His eyes dropped. 

He reached back and grabbed his tongs from the oven door.  They were an extension of a chef’s arm like metal lobster claws.  The tongs grabbed the billfold.  With a flick of his wrist the leather bound folder flew into the air.  Pens shot out.  The chit bills fell free.  The entire mess hit his sister’s arm before dropping to the floor.  Pieces of paper road air waves under the closest tables.

Chrys stared at him.  Everyone was probably watching her.  She had to control her breaths.  She had to control her emotions.  Her teeth clamped down on her lip hoping the pain would stop her from crying.  She dropped to her knees and started gathering everything.  She had to crawl to get chits under the closest table.  She could feel Hanni laughing at her.

“Get to work,” was all she heard from the other side of the pass.

Chrys got to her feet.  Her entire body shook.  She tried counting.  As she saw Spencer’s blue-green eyes she forgot what came after four.  Her hand flicked out.  The billfold Frisbeed over the pass and toward her brother’s face.  He was fast enough to block it, but that just sent the papers doing their dance onto the butcher-block counter and kitchen line floor.  One chit landed on the stovetop and burst into flame.

Yeah, everything was going to hell.


 

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