Love in a Nutshell - Janet Evanovich [47]
“Kate and I were going to meet here at seven-thirty. She got here first, found the front door unlocked, and the mess inside. Beer was free-pouring in here. She went behind the bar to catch the taps and fell. The mats were still rolled from the floor mopping last night, and the back of the bar had standing beer.”
Lizzie pocketed the camera and picked up her clipboard. “The front door is usually locked, right?”
“Yes, unless someone screws up in a major way.”
“Who has keys?”
Matt righted a café table. “Jerry, Bart, Laila, and I. No one else that I’m aware of. I closed last night, and I know for sure I locked that door, which means someone else has a copy.”
“Or Jerry, Bart, or Laila were here just a little while ago,” she said as she jotted notes.
“Laila’s down with an ankle sprain from Friday night, so she’s out. You can check with Bart and Jerry, but neither of them had reason to be here. Though Jerry isn’t exactly up for employee of the month at the moment.”
“What’s up with Jerry?”
Matt picked up a chair. “I’ve been told that he’s been leaving work when I’m not around. It could mean something, or it could mean nothing at all.”
“Told by who?” Lizzie asked.
“Kate. She’ll be back here at lunchtime if you want to talk to her. She’s pretty sharp. I trust her observations.”
“Okay, but why didn’t someone else on staff tell you about Jerry before this?”
Matt shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, but most everyone has been around for a long time. This place is family, and just like we did when we were kids, these guys tend to cover for one another. Which is why I don’t want to believe that Jerry would sabotage the bar. We’ve been friends for too long.”
“You don’t have any real enemies, Matt,” Lizzie said. “No matter who did this, it’s going to be bad news, once we find out.”
All the same, Matt wanted it done.
* * *
LUNCH RUSH had arrived, and Kate was settled in at the taproom bar. She was one in a long line of females, most of whom were watching Matt pour beer as though he were making gold from lead.
Really, what was the big deal with beer pouring? And how had the jungle drums gotten word out so quickly that Matt was behind the bar? Kate figured they must have a calling tree or something.
“Just water for me, Matt, and a veggie quesadilla. Do you think you could make that with whole wheat tortillas and goat cheese?” asked a dark-haired female three women down.
“How about organic carrot juice?” asked the girl next to her. “Do you have any of that, Matt?”
He answered each of their questions in the negative, but with a style Kate envied. The next time around the rebirth wheel (if the reincarnationists were right), she hoped for a dollop of that charm. If she’d had to tell those women no, they’d be howling for the manager. Or Matt. Because he was all they wanted, anyway.
Kate took a sip of her iced tea and paged through the microbrewery’s training manual. The chart of which glass to use with which beer was proving a little complex for her current attention span. She never would have thought that beer and a snifter could go together, but that weird combo was the least of her issues.
Kate’s tailbone had begun to ache, and her pride still stung. Before she’d showered and returned to work, she’d retrieved the crumpled white cocktail napkin and the short bit of thin, braided string she’d picked up from the floor and stuck into her pocket. Those two items were the only clues she had. Until she was sure they wouldn’t trigger some sort of aha! moment, they would rest in her dresser’s top drawer.
“Kate, right?” said a voice from behind her.
Kate looked over her shoulder.
“I’m Liz Culhane, but everyone calls me Lizzie,” the woman said. “I’m also Matt’s sister.”
Kate smiled. “Right. I saw you talking to Matt the night of the karaoke contest.”
“I was a little more casually dressed then.” Lizzie nodded to her police officer’s uniform. “Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all.”
Lizzie took the stool next to Kate. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Finally?”
“My brother mentioned you the other night at dinner.