Read Online Predator and Prey Prowlers 3 by Christopher Golden - Free Book Online Page B

following morning. But that was second nature to her now, and no real effort. The rest of the time was spent eating an early dinner—something she would not have time to do once the crowd began to roll in.
    That afternoon she sat at a table at the back of the restaurant, not far from the kitchen, and worked in a small notebook on the food orders and inventory. Courtney never looked at receipts until after Bridget’s was closed for the night.
    Her dinner, lamb tips with mashed potatoes and mixed vegetables, cooled half-eaten on a plate she had shoved aside. It was not uncommon for her to become distracted by work and drift away from her meal, and she had grown used to eating cold food.
    Gazing at the inventory in her notebook, she nibbled the top of her pen and then set it down. Courtney scanned the restaurant and was pleased to see that six tables were taken, even at this time of day. Up at the bar, a few regulars hovered, eyes on the television bolted to the back wall. Bill was the head bartender, and he looked good back there, confident. Master of all he surveys, she thought, and allowed herself a small chuckle.
    Her guy saw her looking at him and smiled, and Courtney lifted her hand in a small wave that was uncommonly girly and coquettish for her. His hair and beard were sprayed with white, but she found that salt-and pepper look to be very dignified and handsome.
    “Courtney? You got a second?”
    She glanced up to find Janis Kelso standing on the other side of the table, fidgeting with her hands. Courtney could not remember if Janis was twenty or twenty-one, but it always amazed her that the girl was even that old, given that she looked about fifteen. She had black hair that fell in a stylish swoop down across one side of her face, a tiny waist, and a brightness to her features that only added to the teenage aura that always surrounded her. Or almost always, because at the moment, flush with emotion, the enthusiasm that usually emanated from the girl was gone.
    Courtney was concerned, but she forced a benevolent smile onto her face. “Sure. Do you want to sit down?”
    Janis hesitated, then shook her head. “No, no, that’s all right. Look, I just wanted to tell you I’m . . . I know I was on from two to close, but I’ve got to go home now.”
    “What do you mean?” Courtney asked, growing annoyed. “Are you sick?”
    The waitress nervously smoothed down the front of her blouse and glanced away, unwilling to meet Courtney’s gaze. “No, no. I’m all right. I just . . . I can’t work with Dougie anymore.”
    Courtney frowned. Where her employees were concerned, she did not like to pry unless they had problems that were work related. If Janis was seeing Dougie Roos, one of the cooks, and things had gone sour, Courtney just did not want to know. On the other hand, if there was some other reason, she certainly could not ignore that.
    “What’s the issue between you two?”
    Janis shifted uncomfortably and put her hands on the back of one of the chairs as if to keep her balance. “He’s been . . . he’s just all over me. Every time I go in the kitchen, it’s like he’s waiting for me. Telling me how good I look, asking me to go home with him. Last night, a couple of times he started feeling me up and I had to send one of the other waitresses back to pick up my orders. And now he just did it again, like ten minutes ago.”
    Courtney stared at her. She could feel the heat of her anger burning on her face, and a tightening in her chest. With a sigh she shook her head and started toward the kitchen.
    “Anybody see Dougie do this?”
    Janis stiffened, drawing Courtney’s attention again.
    “It happened,” the waitress said, an edge to her voice.
    Now Courtney softened. She realized that the girl might have misunderstood her anger, and she met Janis’s gaze evenly. “I believe you. I just want to know if anyone else saw it. Anyone who did should have stepped in.” A shudder of relief went through Janis