“Cooties…girl cooties…”
Ian glanced over at Angie. “I take it you’ve had to deal with this all day?”
“Yeah, typically I have Estebe to put down the hammer, but these two aren’t afraid of me. So, they sniped at each other all during prep and service.” Angie dipped a fry into the “special sauce,” which appeared to be Thousand Island dressing. “Maybe I should fire one of them. I need to up my street cred.”
“You have no street cred, and you wouldn’t fire either of them anyway. Especially since when they aren’t talking all the time, they do a great job.” Ian glanced over at the other two, who had stopped eating and were watching the exchange. “What? You think we don’t talk about you behind your back too?”
“Harsh, man.” Matt glanced at his watch. “Fifteen minutes before the next winner is announced. Hopefully we’ll have a quiet night. I don’t care if we win at this point. I just don’t want to lose—or have someone on the team poisoned.”
“We locked up the trailer, right?” When Matt nodded, she relaxed a little. “Just do me a favor, and if there is an open container or an unfamiliar snack that shows up, don’t eat it.”
“What if the bottle says ‘Drink Me’ on the side?” Hope took another fry and pointed it at Angie. “Or maybe there’s a note?”
Ian glanced at Angie. “Is she for real?”
“She’s teasing. But just to be safe, throw away anything that looks suspicious. I’d hate to have my employer rates go up because I had to pay out a death claim on our life insurance.” Angie dug into her burger. This was too good to let go to waste.
“Wouldn’t that be workman’s comp?” Ian asked conversationally.
Angie wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I guess you’re right.”
Hope and Matt exchanged worried glances.
“What do you two know that we don’t?” Matt asked, his fries gone and his hamburger forgotten for the moment.
“Oh, so much—but I think you’re talking about more recent events.” Ian looked up from dipping his last fry. “Just listen to your boss, and don’t be stupid. David Nubbins is dead from a suspected poisoning. You don’t want to follow in his footsteps.”
By the time they got back to the Restaurant Wars section, the area was crowded with people. Apparently a suspected murder had increased interest in the local competition. Angie was having trouble making her way through the crowd. Matt pulled the two women behind him. They were making good progress when she bumped into someone and lost hold of Matt’s hand.
She realized she’d dropped her bag in the shuffle, but when she peered down at the ground, in between a mass of feet and legs, she spied it a few inches to her left. She reached down, but a male hand dropped down and picked it up. She lifted her head and came face-to-face with the guy who had sold her the cotton candy on Friday night.
“Well, if it isn’t the blue girl.” He smiled. A missing tooth on the left side of his mouth made his smile seem a little sinister. He held out her bag. “You dropped this.”
“Thanks. It’s a big crowd.”
He glanced around, nodding. His gray hair was pulled back into a ponytail. His faded blue eyes seemed to scan the crowd and then return to meet hers, confirming her statement. “People like competitions. Makes them feel important.”
“And they like trying new restaurants too.” Angie wasn’t sure where the conversation was going, but he seemed to have a negative bent on humankind. Which was odd for a man who worked in a fun customer service career. She moved toward her trailer. “Sorry, I need to be in place when the announcement is made.”
“You’re one of the competitors?” He looked surprised at her statement.
“The County Seat. Stop by if you have time before you head out of town. We’re in River Vista.”
As she started to walk away, she heard his response. “I just might do that.” For some reason, it chilled her.
When she finally got to the trailer, Ian was watching for her. She handed her bag to Hope and asked her to put it away inside.
“What kept you? I was about to go looking, but in this crowd, I would have probably been better off standing on top of the stage to give me some height.” Ian put his arm around her. “You’re shaking. What happened?”
“Remember the guy at the cotton candy booth the other night?” Angie shook her head when Ann Cole tapped on the microphone. “Never mind. I’ll tell you later.”
Although he didn’t ask any follow-up questions, she saw him scan the crowd looking for the guy from the carnival. Angie wondered if he was even still here. He’d been strange—but he worked at a traveling carnival for weeks or months on end. Maybe he just didn’t have social skills. She pushed her concern out of her head and focused on what Ann was telling the crowd.
More stuff about the upcoming election and voter registration tonight. Did she really think this discourse was earning her more votes? Angie leaned into Ian, and he swung his arms around her. She felt safe. Loved. And warm in the gentle summer evening. Her life was good. No, her life was great.
Someone must have talked to Ann Cole about her over-the-top campaigning the previous night because her intro remarks focused more about the joy of childhood visits to the fair. And she kept it short. She pulled out the envelope. “We enjoyed all the frozen delights, but there can only be one winner. And that team is—Copper Creek.”
Sydney squealed and jumped a little too enthusiastically for a pregnant woman, at least from Angie’s perspective. But she was happy for her friend. Now she had to wait for the bad news. Had they made the cut to the next round?
Ann Cole tapped on the microphone. “Since our next contest isn’t scheduled until Friday, we decided we’d cut the waiting time for at least the three losing teams.”
Hope grabbed Angie’s hand again. Man, the girl had a death grip.
When Ann Cole read off the names, Hope glanced up at Angie. “She didn’t call our name.”
“That’s a good thing, peanut.” Matt squeezed Hope’s shoulders. “It means we’re going on to the next round.”
“Main courses on the run. Or what can you put on a stick.” Angie shook her head. “This is going to be rough. But if anyone can figure out something, Estebe can. Matt? You’re going to be helping Felicia at the restaurant Friday, and then Estebe on Saturday. Hope? You’re staying on with me.”
Hope stuck her tongue out at Matt. “Shows you who’s more important to her.”
“Yeah, the guy who’s indispensable at the County Seat.” Matt made an Ironman pose, flexing his biceps.