“No.”
“It is just impressive how close ‘fire her’ can get to ‘relationship’ when enough money is involved.”
Richard went quiet.
“Aaron.”
“Yes.”
“Did Maya accuse her?”
“No.”
“Were you there?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know?”
“I interviewed Maya.”
“And?”
“The missing object was found in linen.”
A pause.
“What?”
Aaron explained.
Ben.
Table thirteen.
The holder.
Richard exhaled.
“So Victoria did not have it.”
“Correct.”
“Then Maya was wrong.”
“She thought something might have been moved to Victoria’s table.”
“That is different.”
“Yes.”
Richard became quiet.
Good.
Aaron continued.
“We have cameras.”
“Dining room?”
“Wide angle.”
“No audio.”
“Check.”
“I plan to.”
“When?”
“Today.”
Richard sighed.
“Send me everything.”
Aaron leaned back.
“Are you considering firing her?”
A longer silence.
“That depends on what happened.”
Good answer.
Still.
Aaron asked:
“Would it depend this much if Victoria spent eight hundred dollars a year?”
Richard did not answer.
That was answer enough.
Aaron closed his eyes.
“I’ll review the footage.”
At noon, he returned to Bellmere.
The restaurant did not open until five on Sundays, so the building felt different.
Quiet.
No music.
Chairs partly stacked.
Sunlight through windows.
No performance.
Aaron preferred restaurants empty.
They told fewer lies.
He went to the office.
Pulled security footage.
Camera four covered the west dining room.
No audio.
Still useful.
6:11 p.m.
Maya sets table thirteen.
Places reservation card in silver holder.
6:13.
Ben fills waters.
6:16.
Victoria, Elaine, and Robert sit at twelve.
6:20.
Maya approaches.
Service.
6:23.
Ben reaches across thirteen.
His elbow catches the silver holder.
It falls.
He looks down.
Picks it up.
Places it near his tray.
Then, while gathering linens, apparently wraps it inside a napkin and drops everything into the linen bin beneath his cart.
There.
Complete.
6:24.
Victoria places a silver compact beside her clutch.
That was what Maya saw.
6:25.
Maya looks toward thirteen.
Notices missing holder.
Looks toward twelve.
Approaches.
Conversation.
No sound.
Body language mattered.
Maya stood at a respectful distance.
Hands clasped at waist.
Victoria looked toward the table.
Maya pointed once toward thirteen.
Victoria’s posture stiffened.
Maya shook her head.
Victoria opened her purse slightly, then stopped.
Maya stepped backward.
Victoria pointed toward the front.
Maya left.
No aggressive gesture.
No reaching.