Chapter 35
A sensation of dread
Kazimir
Idrop my phone on the console, face down.
It chimes again.
What the hell is going on?
These photos shouldn’t illicit this level of excitement.
At this rate, it’ll be nighttime before I’m able to fuck Harley.
“Wow, we’re more popular than the President and the First Lady,” Harley says.
“Tell me about it.”
I check my phone.
I frown at the text from Grazie Mille’s new interim manager.
Melissa
Sorry to bother you on a Sunday.
Kazimir
How can I help you?
Melissa
I haven’t contacted the owner yet, he’s next on the list. Since you’re in the city and representing him, I reached out to you first. This is an emergency.
I squint at my phone, a sensation of dread tightening my stomach.
Kazimir
What’s going on?
Melissa
The police and the FBI are here. They asked me to close the restaurant. All patrons were ushered out.
My head jerks back.
Kazimir
Is it in relation to the former manager?
Melissa
No, it’s in relation to a female patron who’s been coming to the restaurant on the regular.
Melissa
The police and the FBI have been tailing her for months.
Kazimir
Tailing her? As in, she’s a criminal?
Melissa
She’s been under surveillance as a person of interest. Those are the police’s words, not mine.
Kazimir
What for?
Melissa
I noticed her last week. She came in twice. A man joined her a few minutes after she arrived.
Melissa
She dresses like a boss lady, so it’s not like she stood out for being out of place.
Melissa
At the end of her meal, she went to the bathroom with the changing table dedicated for parents with infants and handicaps. That caught my attention.
Melissa
A little later that day, the toilet backed up. I had one of the staff members clean up the mess. That’s when I was told it’s a regular occurrence when she’s here.
Melissa
When I saw her coming in today, I planned on talking to her at the end of her meal.
Kazimir
The police and the FBI have been tailing a woman because she backs up toilets in restaurants across New York?
Kazimir
It’s kind of disgusting and reeks of poor manners because the woman should take care of business at her own place, but it can hardly be considered a crime.
Melissa
The police and the FBI have been tailing this woman because they suspect she’s a drug mule. They apprehended the man she was supposed to meet the second he stepped out of the taxi.
My jaw drops.