Fed Up by Jessica Conant-Park, Susan Conant Page A

server and beckoned to Wade.
    Before responding to Gavin’s summons, Wade rolled his eyes and imitated Gavin. “Now what is it?” he echoed with an exaggerated whine.
    Although Gavin caught my eye, he otherwise ignored me and, after speaking briefly to Wade, he disappeared into the kitchen.
    I turned away and glanced uncomfortably at Wade, who was again polishing glasses.
    “Don’t worry about Gavin. He’s all worked up tonight. Everyone is trying to stay out of his way today because he’s in such a salty mood. I guess some guy from the Department of Public Health came in to talk to Josh.” Wade shrugged.
    If DPH was wandering around Simmer, the staff must know something about the disastrous Chefly Yours episode. “What did he want with Josh?” I asked.
    “I guess to find out more about the food he’d made for the show. I was sorry to hear about that, by the way. Really sucks. Anyhow, Josh told Gavin that the issue had nothing to do with Simmer, but Gavin has been insisting all day that if it has to do with Josh, then it has to do with Simmer. ‘I’m not interested in excuses, Josh,’ is what Gavin must have hollered twenty times.” Wade again mimicked Gavin and waved his hands around in no-no gestures. “Whatever. Gavin will get over it. Everyone is just trying to steer clear of him today.”
    Josh appeared with a plate of the deep-fried corn and crab treats. “Hi, babe,” he said, kissing me on the cheek. Josh looked more worn-out than usual but, as always, he was putting on a happy front for my benefit. Flipping a dish towel over his shoulder, he covered half of a huge food stain on his once-white chef’s coat. “How is Inga?”
    I briefed Josh on the vet visit and explained that Inga would need some serious time with a cat groomer, who, I hoped, would get out the mats in Inga’s coat without shaving her entire body. “She’s had enough humiliation for one lifetime. I couldn’t bear to see her with no fur.”
    “I’m just glad she’s alive and not at the bottom of the Charles,” Josh said. “Oh, guess who called me today?”
    “Who?” I asked through a mouthful of fritter. I loved the fritters, with the crispy batter fried to perfection on the outside and the gooey, creamy crab mixture on the inside. Heaven on a plate.
    “Two calls, actually. Robin and then Leo.”
    I nearly choked. “What did they say?”
    “Well,” he began, perching himself on the stool next to me, “Robin is insisting that the series won’t be affected by what happened. She says we’ll just tape another episode.” He raised his eyebrows in doubt. “I don’t know how she thinks this isn’t going to be a problem. I mean, word is going to get out about Francie, the show, and me. No one is going to want me to go to their house after hearing that I’m the one who killed Francie—”
    “Josh! Don’t say that. You know that’s not how it was.” I put my hand on his and gave a good squeeze.
    “I know, I know. Obviously I didn’t kill her, but I’m going to be associated with her death, and that’s less than appetizing, so to speak. So it’s not going to be smooth sailing.” He paused. “Maybe if the television station makes a public statement? If we can really clear up what happened, then things might blow over for the show. I don’t know.” Josh exhaled deeply. “Oh, and then Leo called the restaurant an hour ago to get your phone number.”
    I wrinkled my brow. “He wants to talk to me?”
    Josh nodded. “He said he wants to talk to you about Francie. I hope it’s okay, but I gave him your number.”
    Ugh. If Leo wanted to hear about Francie’s last moments, what could I possibly tell him? “Yeah, that’s fine.”
    “There’s more. He told me that it turns out that Francie had definitely been poisoned and that the police are involved. So it wasn’t food poisoning. It wasn’t something I did or bought. I knew that, but it’s a relief to have it confirmed.”
    “So she was poisoned! What was