Chapter 46
The kitchen is the largest one you’ve ever seen. It has every modern appliance you can imagine, but the most incredible thing is the oven, which seems to take up half the room. It’s practically large enough to fit an elephant.
You hope they haven’t eaten any elephants. That would be awful. Much worse than the abominable snowman.
“This is one of the most well-equipped non-professional kitchens in the country,” Mr. Wentworth tells you proudly.
He seems so excited to show you everything.
You would think you were the guest of honor here rather than a waitress.
“And of course, I’d like you to meet our chef, Jacques.
He’s one of the greatest chefs in the entire world! ”
The chef is a small, dapper man with a pristine white chef jacket and white chef hat. His most remarkable feature is the little mustache on his upper lip that curls at the edges. He beams at you, and as Mr. Wentworth did, he kisses your hand. “It is a true pleasure to meet you, Sloan.”
“Likewise,” you say.
“Now let me give you a tour of our appliances,” Mr. Wentworth says.
He shows you the high-tech “smart” fridge, which has an internal camera, WiFi, and apparently even alerts you when foods are on the brink of expiration. The dishwasher also uses advanced technology that “softens water.” You had no idea that water being too hard was such a big issue.
“And this is our top-of-the-line oven.” Mr. Wentworth pauses in front of the gigantic oven, which has more buttons on it than a laptop. “It can cook food in convection mode and super convection mode.”
“Wow,” you say, not really sure what either of those words means.
“It also senses how long the food requires cooking,” he explains. “If you were to step inside, it would know exactly how long to cook you until you were nice and crispy.”
“Um. Amazing.”
He seems a bit disappointed that you’re not more enthusiastic, but he quickly moves on. “Now let me show you our serving utensils.”
You follow him to a counter that contains a stack of metal trays, utensils, serving spoons, and wine glasses. Each item gleams in the overhead lights.
“The food will go on the serving tray,” he says, “and you will bring it out to the dining room.”
Seems straightforward enough. “No problem.”
You pick up one of the serving trays, which is heavier than you thought it would be.
It must be very expensive and well made.
It has been scrubbed and polished to the point where you can see your reflection on the surface.
And when you tilt the tray slightly, you can see the reflection of the chef behind you.
Hmm. That’s strange.
In Jacques’s reflection in the metal tray, he appears to be hovering behind you, holding what appears to be a butcher knife. The expression on his face is decidedly menacing.
Your heart speeds up. What’s going on here? It’s not possible that this dapper little chef means you harm, is it?
Your grip tightens on the metal tray. If Jacques does intend to hurt you, you have a way to defend yourself and save your life.
On the other hand, if you smack the chef on the head with this tray and knock him out, you could kiss this job goodbye.
If you want to hit Jacques on the head with the tray, turn to Chapter 48 (page 116)
If you don’t think this is suspicious at all, turn to Chapter 47 (page 114)