“He’s a crook,” Sandy Sue spat out. “If he sent you over here, you can tell him he’ll never get a red cent from me.”
“Zhao didn’t send me. Can I come in?” Carlita asked. “I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”
Sandy Sue reluctantly held the door. “Make it quick. I’m busy.”
Carlita followed her into the dining room. “Is Mei Zhao related to Hou Zhao?”
“Mei is his daughter. She’s a nice enough gal, but I’m glad she quit.”
“Why, might I ask?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
“She was stealing from you,” Carlita guessed.
“Your sales are off already?” Sandy Sue smirked.
“No. Mei is in training. She doesn’t handle cash or sales transactions. You’re saying you believe she was stealing from you?”
“Almost guaranteed. My sales haven’t matched since I opened. Mei quits.” Sandy Sue snapped her fingers. “Everything balances. My guess is the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in that family.”
“Which is why I’m here.” Carlita paused, making sure she had Sandy Sue’s full attention. “My son remembers the last name of the person who brought your ring in the other day.”
Sandy Sue stared hard at Carlita.
“Zhao.” Carlita laid out her theory, how she suspected the Zhao family was angry with Sandy Sue. Mei Zhao was a plant. She took the job not only to steal money from Sandy Sue but also help coordinate the robbery. “And perhaps even anonymously called the health department on you to get you into trouble.”
Sandy Sue’s jaw dropped. “The robber’s voice. I thought it sounded familiar. Your son, he’s certain the last name was Zhao?”
“He is. I showed him a picture of Mei. She wasn’t the woman who pawned the ring. He said it was an older woman.”
“Do you think he would recognize her if he saw her picture?” Sandy Sue asked.
“Possibly.”
Sandy Sue turned on her heel and ran out of the dining room. She returned moments later, cell phone in hand. “What’s your cell phone number?”
Carlita rattled it off. Moments later, a text popped up. A picture of a woman was attached.
“That is Fao Zhao, Hou Zhao’s wife.”
“I’ll forward it to my son to see if he recognizes her.” Carlita tapped the screen.
“If Fao Zhao sold my ring, that explains a lot.”
“If the Zhaos have an axe to grind, I can understand them targeting you, but why would they call the health department on me?” Carlita asked.
Sandy Sue’s face turned bright red.
“You called the health department on me?”
“I…I thought you called it on me. It was more of a tit for tat. I’m sorry,” Sandy Sue blurted out.
Carlita briefly closed her eyes. “Did you vandalize my courtyard and kick in the door to my storage area?” she asked.
“No. I swear I didn’t.” Sandy Sue averted her gaze, and Carlita suspected she wasn’t being completely forthright.
“But you know who did.”
“It may have been one or more of the contractors I kicked off the job. They were ticked when they found out you reported them to the city for dumping construction trash. I kind of let your name slip and told them you were the one who turned them in.”
“Thanks a lot,” Carlita said.
“Again, I’m sorry.” Sandy Sue looked truly contrite. “I have my hands full. First, there was the robbery, then Carl left me. My books weren’t balancing. I’m not handling the pressure very well, and I may have erroneously blamed you for it.”
Carlita’s cell phone chimed. It was a reply from Tony.
“My son said Fao Zhao was the woman who sold the ring to him the other day.”
“How do we prove it?”
Carlita tapped her chin thoughtfully. “We apply a little pressure to the weakest link.”
*****
It was only a matter of a single phone call for Carlita to discover Mei Zhao was training at Ravello’s that afternoon.
Once Carlita was certain she was there, she met Sandy Sue at the front entrance and then led her to the kitchen in the back.
Mei’s eyes grew round as saucers when she spotted her former employer.
“Hello, Mei,” Sandy Sue said. “How do you like your new job?”
“I…I love it.”
“Good.” Sandy Sue tapped Carlita’s arm. “I’ve asked Mrs. Garlucci if I might have a brief word with you.”
Mei’s eyes darted from Sandy Sue to Carlita. “I told her I didn’t see a problem with it. She assured me it wouldn’t take long.”
“Okay.” Mei nervously chewed on her lower lip as she followed Carlita and Sandy Sue to the break room in the back.
Once inside, Sandy Sue did a slow pace, letting Mei’s nervousness build. “I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“Y-yes.”
Sandy Sue stopped pacing. “Since your departure, I’ve discovered that my sales are reconciling one hundred percent. I’m no longer short of cash.”
“And you think I was behind the shortages?” Mei asked.
“I don’t think. I know.” Sandy Sue removed slips of paper from her pocket. “The proof is right here, in these receipts. So, I thought I would let Mrs. Garlucci know about my discrepancies.”
“I don’t handle transactions,” Mei said.
“That is true. At least not yet,” Carlita agreed.
“How are your parents, Hou and Fao?” Sandy Sue asked.
“They’re fine.”
“Remember the robbery last week when someone took cash and stole my ruby ring? I’m almost certain I know what happened to the ring.”
Mei swallowed nervously.
“I think you or your parents sold it. They sent you to my restaurant to spy on me, to help them find an opening, an opportunity to rob from me.” Sandy Sue held out her hand and a ruby red ring.
Mei’s face turned white as a ghost.
“Surprised because I have it? I’m sure you are. You sold this to Savannah Swag, the Garlucci’s pawn shop.”
