the day? Is it even safe to turn on the ovens?”
“Everything is fine. Just prop the front and back doors open to let the place air out, and make sure the burners are all the way off when you’re done using them.” With a friendly smile and a wave, Jack told Kennedy he’d see him later and wished me a nice afternoon. As I watched the trucks pull away, I can’t say that I was feeling all that optimistic that it would be. But I pasted on a smile, squared my shoulders, and went inside.
“All things aside, it could have been worse,” Kennedy said as he followed in behind me.
“You’re right.” I sighed as I walked a circuit around the dining floor, picking up stray pieces of garbage that had been left behind in haste. “The place could have burned down. Or exploded.” All things considered, it was a blessing that the place still stood intact and no one had been hurt.
“Exploded? Was that really a possibility?” Dex strolled in, his expression pinched with worry.
Kennedy rushed to reassure him. “Explosions are highly unlikely in these cases. I’d be more worried about carbon-monoxide poisoning or death by chocolate.” He winked at me. I felt a smile creep into place.
This man… He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. My chest felt tight just looking at him.
I shook my head as I set back to work. “Well, I know from now on, I’m going to keep a closer eye on things,” I said from behind the counter. Thinking back, I could have sworn I’d turned everything off before heading out for the evening, but couldn’t say for certain.
I left the guys in the front, while I headed back to the kitchen. Despite what Jack had said, I had to see it for myself. The crime scene. Exhibit A: the burners. Going straight for the wall of ovens, I began checking the knobs. Grabbing each one, I gave them a little twist to be sure they worked like they were supposed to. Normally, they had to be pushed in and then turned to operate them, but if Jack was right and one had gotten bumped in passing, then I needed to find out which one it was.
Four ovens and sixteen knobs later, I hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary. Everything seemed to be in perfect working order. Which left me scratching my head. I should have asked Jack if he could show me which one it was.
Could I have overlooked turning one off all the way? I didn’t think so. I was always so careful in the kitchen, and my routine was to check everything twice before leaving at the end of the night. Something like that should have stood out. Not to mention, wouldn’t I have smelled it then? And what about Dex? Surely he would have noticed if it’d been going on that long. Jack said the levels they found would have taken an hour or two to accumulate. It just didn’t add up.
Heading back to the front of the shop, I found Dex and Kennedy standing at the counter talking. “Hey, Dex? Did you smell anything when you opened this morning?”
“Besides baked goods? No, why?”
My eyes narrowed and I dropped his gaze. This just didn’t make sense. For an hour or two of gas build-up to catch people’s attention, it would have been much worse had it been going on all night. It couldn’t have been my mistake then. “What about someone else going back there? Did you let anyone else into the kitchen?”
Dex looked at me as if I were crazy. “No, of course not.”
Wrapping my arms around myself, I looked around, unable to shake the feeling that there was something I was missing. There had to be more going on here—something we had missed. “Are you sure you didn’t let anyone past the counter?”
“I told you…” Dawning lit his eyes. “Wait, I take that back. There was the one lady. She asked to use the bathroom. But she was older, and she’s a regular. I know the rules are no one behind the counter, but in this case, I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“Little woman with gray hair? Pulls it back in a rain cap?”
“Mrs. Findlay. You know
“Everything is fine. Just prop the front and back doors open to let the place air out, and make sure the burners are all the way off when you’re done using them.” With a friendly smile and a wave, Jack told Kennedy he’d see him later and wished me a nice afternoon. As I watched the trucks pull away, I can’t say that I was feeling all that optimistic that it would be. But I pasted on a smile, squared my shoulders, and went inside.
“All things aside, it could have been worse,” Kennedy said as he followed in behind me.
“You’re right.” I sighed as I walked a circuit around the dining floor, picking up stray pieces of garbage that had been left behind in haste. “The place could have burned down. Or exploded.” All things considered, it was a blessing that the place still stood intact and no one had been hurt.
“Exploded? Was that really a possibility?” Dex strolled in, his expression pinched with worry.
Kennedy rushed to reassure him. “Explosions are highly unlikely in these cases. I’d be more worried about carbon-monoxide poisoning or death by chocolate.” He winked at me. I felt a smile creep into place.
This man… He was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. My chest felt tight just looking at him.
I shook my head as I set back to work. “Well, I know from now on, I’m going to keep a closer eye on things,” I said from behind the counter. Thinking back, I could have sworn I’d turned everything off before heading out for the evening, but couldn’t say for certain.
I left the guys in the front, while I headed back to the kitchen. Despite what Jack had said, I had to see it for myself. The crime scene. Exhibit A: the burners. Going straight for the wall of ovens, I began checking the knobs. Grabbing each one, I gave them a little twist to be sure they worked like they were supposed to. Normally, they had to be pushed in and then turned to operate them, but if Jack was right and one had gotten bumped in passing, then I needed to find out which one it was.
Four ovens and sixteen knobs later, I hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary. Everything seemed to be in perfect working order. Which left me scratching my head. I should have asked Jack if he could show me which one it was.
Could I have overlooked turning one off all the way? I didn’t think so. I was always so careful in the kitchen, and my routine was to check everything twice before leaving at the end of the night. Something like that should have stood out. Not to mention, wouldn’t I have smelled it then? And what about Dex? Surely he would have noticed if it’d been going on that long. Jack said the levels they found would have taken an hour or two to accumulate. It just didn’t add up.
Heading back to the front of the shop, I found Dex and Kennedy standing at the counter talking. “Hey, Dex? Did you smell anything when you opened this morning?”
“Besides baked goods? No, why?”
My eyes narrowed and I dropped his gaze. This just didn’t make sense. For an hour or two of gas build-up to catch people’s attention, it would have been much worse had it been going on all night. It couldn’t have been my mistake then. “What about someone else going back there? Did you let anyone else into the kitchen?”
Dex looked at me as if I were crazy. “No, of course not.”
Wrapping my arms around myself, I looked around, unable to shake the feeling that there was something I was missing. There had to be more going on here—something we had missed. “Are you sure you didn’t let anyone past the counter?”
“I told you…” Dawning lit his eyes. “Wait, I take that back. There was the one lady. She asked to use the bathroom. But she was older, and she’s a regular. I know the rules are no one behind the counter, but in this case, I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“Little woman with gray hair? Pulls it back in a rain cap?”
“Mrs. Findlay. You know
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