Free 3 Bad Guys Get Caught by Marie Astor

able to
keep making excuses for her. Maybe she should have come clean with Ham and told
him that she was pulling double duty as a waitress at Kovar’s restaurant, but
then she would also have to explain why she had gotten the job without
consulting with either Ham or Dennis and forgot to attend to such an important
detail as a fake id. If Ham found out that she had gotten the job under her
real name, he would be disappointed. He would be disappointed even more if he knew
what motivated her actions. Sure, she wanted to solve the case, but she’d be a
liar if she didn’t admit that her competitive streak had gotten the better of
her.
    “Janet!” Mila’s voice made Janet
literally jump.
    “Yes?”
    “Calm down, girl! You did well tonight.
Six hundred dollars in tips! Woohoo!” Mila raised her hands, snapping her
fingers. “I say let’s blow this joint and go celebrate.”
    “But my shift isn’t up until one a.m.”
    “It’s up now. Have you seen the dining
room? There’s no one there. The rest of the staff can handle it.”
    “What if more people come in?”
    “At eleven o’clock at night? I don’t
think so. Besides, I just got two cancellations. So go downstairs and change,
and then we’re out of here.”
    Janet hesitated.
    “What’s wrong?” Mila asked. “You don’t drink?”
    “Oh, I could use a drink, but what about
Roman? I thought all the schedule changes had to be cleared by him.”
    “Don’t be silly. Roman left early;
something about a hot date. When the cat’s away—”
    “The mice come out to play,” Janet
finished. “I’ll be right out.”
    “I’ll wait for you outside the
entrance.”
    Janet changed quickly and walked back
upstairs. Her heart was beating as wildly as though she were going out on a
date. In a way, this was just like a date; she had to look interested in Mila
and convince Mila to like her.
    Mila was waiting for her outside the
entrance, smoking a cigarette. “Do you want one?” Mila held out a cigarette
pack.
    “No thanks, I don’t smoke.”
    “I didn’t either, but this place has a
way of getting to you,” Mila grumbled. “I should quit. It’s bad for your
complexion.”
    And for your lungs, Janet was tempted to
pipe in, but resisted. “I’ll have one after all,” she added. One cigarette
wasn’t going to kill her, but it could get her miles closer to making friends
with Mila.
    “That a girl.” Mila held the lighter for
Janet.
    Janet puffed tentatively. The first and
last time she had tried smoking had been in sixth grade; the bout of
uncontrolled coughing that followed nixed her further curiosity of the subject
in the proverbial bud. She prayed the embarrassing episode wouldn’t be repeated
now. To her surprise, the cigarette didn’t taste too bad; in fact, she kind of
liked the calming sensation of the smoke entering her lungs. Great, she
thought, now I’m going to start smoking to boot.
    “So how long have you been working at
Panther?” Janet asked to start a conversation. If she was going to risk her
health, she would at least learn something about Mila in return.
    “About a year,” Mila drew on her
cigarette.
    “Do you like it?”
    “It’s a job.” Mila shrugged.
    “You could always get a different job,”
Janet offered.
    “Not when your employer is sponsoring
your work visa, you can’t.”
    Janet had noticed a faint accent in
Mila’s speech, but had thought it too forward to ask until now. “Where are you
from?”
    “Prague, Czech Republic.”
    “I love Prague! After college, I spent a
month backpacking through Europe with my friends. It’s a beautiful city.”
    “It’s beautiful all right, but there’s
not much in the job department. Not if you want to be anything more than a bank
clerk.” Catching Janet’s glance, Mila smirked. “I know, compared to a job at
Panther’s, being a bank clerk sounds pretty good. When I came to America, I
didn’t think I’d end up waitressing. I’ve learned that life in New York