The oldies station came on, and Gigi smiled. “You still like that old music.”
“Can’t beat the classics,” I said, pulling a chair away from the table for her.
Seth yanked open the fridge and brought two bottles of Corona to the table. He looked at Gigi. “You want a beer or a drink? I make a great Sex on the Beach.”
His tone was a little blunt, and she looked startled. “No, thank you.”
“I have amaretto,” I told her. I gave Seth a hard look.
She smiled. “I’d love some, thanks.”
Seth scowled and dropped into the chair across from her, while I went to pour her drink. I hoped like hell he was planning to behave himself. Seth and I didn’t become good friends until about a year after Gigi and I split up, but he knew who she was, and had heard some of the stories. I could only imagine what was running through his head at the moment.
I set Gigi’s glass on the table and sat down with them. “So, tell me what’s goin’ on. You don’t look so good.”
“I’m not, Dino.” She took a sip of her drink and shook her head. “The problem is, I don’t really know what’s going on. I might just be paranoid, but something’s not right.”
Seth sighed, and I have him a sharp look. “Come on, Gigi, what’s up? If it’s nothing then we find out it’s nothing, but if it’s not and you ignore it...”
“Right,” she said. “Well, I think someone’s sabotaging the restaurant.”
“How so?” Seth asked.
“It’s a lot of little things. We’ve been having a few problems lately, and at first I just thought it was a run of bad luck, but we’ve never had this much trouble before. It started with a couple of very bad reviews, which were unfair and not at all accurate. Then we found out there were rumors going around about us. They were saying our chef was unsanitary, or that he was crazy and might do something horrible to the food.” She paused to collect her thoughts and ran a hand through her hair. “This all sounds so silly, Dino.”
The restaurant was an Italian bistro she owned and ran, located down the coast in Pass-a-Grille. It sits right on the edge of the Intracoastal Waterway, and you can park your car in front or dock your boat in back. It was called Salvatore’s in honor of her grandfather who built the place. I’d eaten my fair share of fine meals there, but not in many years.
“Is there more?”
“Oh, yes.” She nodded and took another sip of her drink. “We’ve been reported three times for health code violations we didn’t have, someone challenged our liquor license, and one night several dishes were ruined because cayenne pepper was put in place of paprika. It’s like someone’s been playing pranks. It’s a lot of little things that can be explained away.”
“But you don’t think these are just pranks?” I asked. Under her annoyance, I thought I detected something deeper. Something more like fear.
She shook her head. “No. It’s starting to affect business, and I’m afraid our reputation will be ruined. And, Dino...” She paused, and she looked almost embarrassed. “I think I’m being followed sometimes.”
That got my hackles up. “By who? Is someone threatening you?”
“No, no threats. I don’t even know for sure. It’s just a feeling I have, like someone’s watching me. I think I keep seeing the same dark green car a lot. I don’t know, like I said, maybe I’m just being paranoid because things are going so badly right now.”
“Do you have a lot of enemies?” Seth asked. I narrowed my eyes at him, and he blinked. “What? It’s a fair question. One you would generally ask.”
“None that I know of,” Gigi said.
“How about the employees?” I asked. “Anyone been acting suspicious? When’s the last time you hired people?”
“We hired three new servers over the summer, but one has already quit and the other two are marvelous, I can’t imagine they have anything to do with it. Everyone else has been around for nearly a year or more, long before any of this trouble started.”
“Fire anyone recently?”
She shook her head.
“What about the server who quit?” I asked. “What’s the story there?”
“It’s not Kevin,” she said with a smile. “He was awarded a scholarship he wasn’t expecting and quit to go to school in Miami.”
“How about pissed off customers?” Seth asked.
Gigi sighed. “Yes, we’ve had a few of those, but they all seem to be as a result of the problems. I’ve tried to think if there was anyone who might have had a reason to do this before all the trouble started, but I haven’t come up with anything yet.”
“You keep workin’ on it,” I told her.
“Do you think you can help, Dino?” She took a sip of her amaretto.
“Yeah, I do. I don’t think you’re paranoid, either. Someone is definitely screwing with you. I want you to be careful, all right?”
She nodded. “What do we do now?”
I slid a card out of my wallet and handed it to her. “Here’s my number, if you need it. I’m gonna stop by tomorrow, and then I’ll start digging around.”
“Thank you, Dino. I really appreciate this.”
“Hey, I’m always willing to help out a friend.”
She smiled and stood up. “It’s late, and I should be going. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
I got up too, and said, “Yep. I’ll walk you down to your car.”
I led her to the door, while Seth took care of the bottles and Gigi’s glass.
Outside on the street, she stood by her car and turned to me. “It’s good to know I still can count on you, Dino. It means a lot to me.”
I shrugged and grinned at her. “I’m just that kind of guy.”
Then she stepped forward and slipped her arms around my neck, giving me a warm hug. I squeezed her back. She wore different perfume than she used to, and I wondered what else had changed about her. Ten years was a long time.
She kissed me on the cheek and smiled with relief. “I feel better already,” she said. “At least I know I’m not just imagining things.”
“You’re not,” I assured her. “I’ll figure it out, I promise. Are you going straight home?”
She nodded. “Marco is closing the restaurant tonight, so it should be fine. I hope.”
“Okay, then, drive safe.” I held the door for her while she climbed into her car and watched as she drove off. When she turned the corner, I waited a few more minutes and went back inside.
