that Dino’s here to see her?”
He poured my beer and passed along the message to a waiter who disappeared into the back area of the restaurant.
A few minutes later, Gigi came out looking poised and professional as usual. Aside from the hairstyles and the furniture, it was like I’d gone back ten years. Part of me missed it. I stood up to give her a hug as she approached. “Hey, how’re you doin’ today?” I asked.
“I’m better,” she said, nodding. “It feels good to be doing something about it. Where do you want to start?”
“Let’s sit down and talk. Maybe out on the deck so we have a little privacy. Besides, I could use some lunch.”
She smiled. “Should I bring a menu?”
“Do you still do a good pasta pomodoro?”
“Always have.”
“Then, no, I don’t need a menu.”
She caught a waiter and gave him the order and told him she’d be in a meeting for a while, then led me out to the deck. We sat down in the shade, where a large ceiling fan slowly churned out a light breeze overhead. It was warm, but not oppressively humid, and there was a fair amount of activity on the waterway which runs between all the islands and peninsulas that make up the area. Across the channel were strings of houses on Vina del Mar, and beyond that, Tierra Verde.
“Okay, first of all,” I said, “I went up to the courthouse this morning to do a little background work, and I found out I’m not the only one. About a month ago, someone else was digging into the public records of Salvatore’s. Do you know anything about that?”
Gigi looked surprised. “No. There’s nothing we’re involved with that would give anyone reason to do that.”
“Might be nothing,” I said. “They’re public for a reason. But it’s the timing that’s got my interest. That fits pretty well with the start of your problems, doesn’t it?”
“The false reports were about six weeks ago, so yes, I’d say it does.”
“Great. That’s good news,” I said, taking a sip of my beer.
“Good? How so?”
“Because it points to Salvatore’s being the target here, not you.”
“What about the car that’s following me?”
“You’re the owner. If someone’s going after the restaurant, it stands to reason they’re gonna be interested in you too. I’m not sayin’ you shouldn’t be careful, or that you’re not in danger, but I don’t think we’re talking about a stalker or anything like that.”
“I’m still in danger, but this is good news?” She looked irritated.
“That’s not what I said, and you know it. My point is if someone was going after you specifically, we’d probably be dealing with some nut job and that would be a real problem. On the other hand, there are a lot of non-psychotic reasons to try to take down a business, and we can deal with those.”
She made all the right noises of agreement, but I could tell she wasn’t buying it yet. Salvatore’s was her home, and she didn’t see the distinction I did.
The waiter came out with our pasta and a basket of bread, and we spent a couple of minutes eating in silence. Finally, Gigi spoke. “I take it you weren’t able to find out who was looking at the records, or who might have filed the complaints?”
“Sorry, no. They don’t give that stuff out to the average Joe. I got some other information on things requested that day, but I don’t know if it’ll help.”
She sighed. “It’s more than I had yesterday.”
“Trust me, it always seems like you’re floundering around in the beginning.”
“I remember. I hope for my sake you’re still as dedicated as you were back then.”
It was my turn to sigh, because this had been a point of contention between us. My job was a big part of our break up, and the reason why I hadn’t been too eager for a serious relationship afterward. “Ah. Yeah, I am actually.”
She nodded, but didn’t say anything.
The pasta was delicious and I told her so while I mopped up garlic and tomato juice with a chunk of bread. That seemed to break the awkwardness. The waiter came to clear the plates away, and I took a notepad out of my briefcase.
“I want to go over each of the strange events with you more closely,” I said. “Give me as much detail as possible, and see if you can’t remember anything else odd, even if it didn’t seem odd at the time. We’ll try to build a timeline and see if there are any patterns.”
We spent about an hour working out a list, and by the time we were done, Gigi was practically spitting tacks. If it weren’t such a serious situation, it might have been kind of cute.
“Okay,” I said, turning over a fresh sheet of paper, “tell me about the staff. Let’s start at the top and work our way down.”
“Well, there’s me, of course, and there’s Marco, my manager.”
“How long has he been around?”
“Marco’s been with me for six years, there’s no way he’s got anything to do with this. He’s as upset as I am.”
“Relax,” I said, “I’m not accusing anyone, I’m just tryin’ to get a feel for who’s around.”
She nodded and went on. “Angelo is our chef now. He’s worked here four years. He’s a good man too. He’s very devoted to his work. We’re lucky to have him.”
She went on to tell me about the line cooks, prep cook, waiters, hostess, busboys and bartenders. Of all those people, only Felix Dempsey had been there when I was hanging out at the restaurant a lot. He was one of the bartenders, and a hell of a great guy.
“Hey, how is Felix these days? He’s gotta’ be getting up there, isn’t he?”
Gigi smiled. “He’s still going strong. He only works part time now, on the weekends when it’s busier, and once in a while he’ll cover a shift to give someone the day off. I’m sure he’d like to see you again.”
I was pretty sure he’d get the chance.
“All right,” I said, “tell me about your schedule. I need to know what your regular routine is and where you go during the day.”
“I’m usually here or at home these days.” She sipped her water. “Especially since the trouble started. I work at home in the mornings and come down here around opening. I close a few nights a week, and Marco does the rest.”
She filled me on the specific times, and details like her dry cleaner and where she grocery shopped.
All that was left was the hard part. I started another page and said, “Now’s the bit you’re not gonna like. Tell me about your ex-boyfriends and anyone you’re seeing now.”
