Read Online Miss Frost Solves A Cold Case: A Nocturne Falls Mystery (Jayne Frost Book 1) by Kristen Painter - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kristen Painter
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half years ago.” Which is when the workers started disappearing. But I couldn’t make the connection between the two things. Yet.
“Yep. I have no idea what happened and probably never will, but now she’s running the business by herself and having a hard time making a go of it. Or was. I haven’t heard much about it lately.”
“Having Toly here is probably a big help.”
“Totally. But that’s about the same time he started acting, I don’t know, more serious? More stressed?”
“Makes sense, though, right? His granddaughter’s having trouble, struggling. He’s got to be upset by that.”
Juniper nodded. “Absolutely, but he shouldn’t be taking it out on us. Also, that’s right around the same time corporate started pushing those Snowy Saturdays.” She rolled her eyes. “Toly monitors whoever he puts in charge of it relentlessly to make sure they get the shimmer right.”
The potato skins arrived, so we put the conversation on pause to nosh, resuming after we’d both downed our first one.
“You think he’s under pressure from corporate too, then?”
“Yep. I’m sure his job isn’t easy, not with the stresses of his granddaughter’s stuff going on too, but there are days when you just don’t want to be around him.”
It occurred to me that I might be able to wrap this thing up sooner than anticipated if what Juniper was saying about Toly was true. And I had no reason to think otherwise. Maybe the missing workers had gotten fed up with the cranky old guy and bailed. But that wouldn’t explain why Bertie had left all his stuff and sweetie-pants Spider behind. Unless Toly had fired him and taken away his keys so that Bertie couldn’t get back in. That was a possibility. “Is that why workers have left?”
“Could be.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“Well, they just stop showing up. You’d think if it was because of Toly, they’d file reports with HR or say something to someone, you know? They’d at least complain to the rest of us. Or threaten to leave.”
“Did Bertie give any hints he was leaving?”
She shook her head. “Nope. There one day, gone the next.”
“Nothing happened right before he left? No blowout with Toly, no personal issues, nothing? It’s really weird to me that a guy would leave and not take his cat. Or any of his stuff. There were clothes in the closet, shoes on the floor, and mail on the counter. I don’t know who moves and leaves everything.”
Juniper squinted, half a potato skin in her hand. “That is really strange.”
“Did the rest of them leave that way too?”
“Can’t say. It’s not like I went in any of their apartments, you criminal.”
I laughed, almost choking on my last bite of cheesy, bacon-y potato goodness. “Hey, I wasn’t accusing you of anything. But maybe you saw someone moving stuff?”
“Not that I remember. And I know the day Bertie left because I had to cover his shift.”
“Speaking of Bertie, maybe I should have a look around his place again.”
Her eyes lit up. “Can I come?”
“I don’t know. What if we get caught? Better that only one of us gets in trouble.” Actually, bringing her along would mean she’d figure out my lock picking abilities were limited to the simplest of locks.
“How about you go in and I stand guard?”
I snorted. “That won’t look weird at all, you hanging out in the hall in front of an empty apartment.” But clearly she wanted to come. And it could be a good bonding experience, securing her trust in me even more. “How about if I text you once I’m inside and the coast is clear?”
She grinned. “Cool.”
Our food arrived, and we dug in. The conversation shifted to how good the food was and then silence as we devoured it. In a sadly short amount of time, we finished.
Juniper put her fork down and leaned back. “Now is probably not the right time to tell you they make a killer peach cobbler here.”
I wiped the last of the steak juice off my face. “I think
“Yep. I have no idea what happened and probably never will, but now she’s running the business by herself and having a hard time making a go of it. Or was. I haven’t heard much about it lately.”
“Having Toly here is probably a big help.”
“Totally. But that’s about the same time he started acting, I don’t know, more serious? More stressed?”
“Makes sense, though, right? His granddaughter’s having trouble, struggling. He’s got to be upset by that.”
Juniper nodded. “Absolutely, but he shouldn’t be taking it out on us. Also, that’s right around the same time corporate started pushing those Snowy Saturdays.” She rolled her eyes. “Toly monitors whoever he puts in charge of it relentlessly to make sure they get the shimmer right.”
The potato skins arrived, so we put the conversation on pause to nosh, resuming after we’d both downed our first one.
“You think he’s under pressure from corporate too, then?”
“Yep. I’m sure his job isn’t easy, not with the stresses of his granddaughter’s stuff going on too, but there are days when you just don’t want to be around him.”
It occurred to me that I might be able to wrap this thing up sooner than anticipated if what Juniper was saying about Toly was true. And I had no reason to think otherwise. Maybe the missing workers had gotten fed up with the cranky old guy and bailed. But that wouldn’t explain why Bertie had left all his stuff and sweetie-pants Spider behind. Unless Toly had fired him and taken away his keys so that Bertie couldn’t get back in. That was a possibility. “Is that why workers have left?”
“Could be.”
“You don’t sound convinced.”
“Well, they just stop showing up. You’d think if it was because of Toly, they’d file reports with HR or say something to someone, you know? They’d at least complain to the rest of us. Or threaten to leave.”
“Did Bertie give any hints he was leaving?”
She shook her head. “Nope. There one day, gone the next.”
“Nothing happened right before he left? No blowout with Toly, no personal issues, nothing? It’s really weird to me that a guy would leave and not take his cat. Or any of his stuff. There were clothes in the closet, shoes on the floor, and mail on the counter. I don’t know who moves and leaves everything.”
Juniper squinted, half a potato skin in her hand. “That is really strange.”
“Did the rest of them leave that way too?”
“Can’t say. It’s not like I went in any of their apartments, you criminal.”
I laughed, almost choking on my last bite of cheesy, bacon-y potato goodness. “Hey, I wasn’t accusing you of anything. But maybe you saw someone moving stuff?”
“Not that I remember. And I know the day Bertie left because I had to cover his shift.”
“Speaking of Bertie, maybe I should have a look around his place again.”
Her eyes lit up. “Can I come?”
“I don’t know. What if we get caught? Better that only one of us gets in trouble.” Actually, bringing her along would mean she’d figure out my lock picking abilities were limited to the simplest of locks.
“How about you go in and I stand guard?”
I snorted. “That won’t look weird at all, you hanging out in the hall in front of an empty apartment.” But clearly she wanted to come. And it could be a good bonding experience, securing her trust in me even more. “How about if I text you once I’m inside and the coast is clear?”
She grinned. “Cool.”
Our food arrived, and we dug in. The conversation shifted to how good the food was and then silence as we devoured it. In a sadly short amount of time, we finished.
Juniper put her fork down and leaned back. “Now is probably not the right time to tell you they make a killer peach cobbler here.”
I wiped the last of the steak juice off my face. “I think
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