FIVE WILL GET YOU TWENTY (Food Truck Mysteries Book 9) by Chloe Kendrick Page B

tell me, but you seem to be avoiding it. I can see it.”
    While part of me enjoyed the fact that Land knew me so well, part of me was resentful that I was such an open book. I would never be able to hide my thoughts or feelings from this man. He knew me too well.
    “I hired a new person for the food truck today,” I announced.
    “That’s great. We needed one. So what’s the apprehension for?”
    I went on to tell Land whom I’d hired. At first he just sputtered and wanted to tell me that I couldn’t do that, but in the end, he just had one question. “Are you certain that he’s not the killer? I don’t like the thought of you being cooped up in a tight space with someone who may have killed his last boss.”
    I told Land what I knew so far. Thomas had been blackmailed into passing the money. He’d been trapped in his job, and Land whistled when I told him how little he’d made at the Pohler truck.
    “Let’s give him a trial period, and see how he does,” Land said. “The worst we can do is fire him.” I could see sadness in Land’s eyes.
    “Are you sure about Sabine?” I asked. “We could always hire her back.” I said the words even though I knew that we couldn’t afford her and Thomas both. We made good money, but not enough for that.
    “Yeah, I’m definitely sure,” Land said. “I talked to my grandmother today. Sabine has really lost it over this whole thing with Danvers. She’s worried about Sabine. I don’t think she’s ever had a relationship this serious, and I’m pretty certain that she’d never been dumped before. I’m going to give it a couple of more days, and then I’ll talk to Danvers.”
    My mouth gaped. I couldn’t believe that Land was going to get involved in his sister’s love life. He was the ultimate in hands-off family members, but now he was going to talk to his sister’s boyfriend. This was definitely a first.
    “Don’t look so surprised. I told you a long time ago not to trust him. This is exactly the type of thing that happens when he’s around. Since he didn’t get what he wanted immediately, he just decided to flush it down the toilet. He’s spoiled and petulant. You’re lucky to have missed all that.”
    I looked at the man sitting across the table from me, and I mentally agreed. Danvers had seemed interested in me at one point, but when our interests diverged, he decided that he would like nothing better than to show me up in detecting. I was far better off with this man who had hated me at first but now was poised to marry me in a few months.
    The conversation changed after that. We finished our entrees while talking about the food trucks and how things looked. I explained to Land how business had improved since Pohler’s death. I wasn’t sure if it was a coincidence or not, but I was glad.
     
     
    The next morning dawned, but I was already awake. I was concerned about what I’d done. I thought that Thomas deserved a second chance, but at the same time, I knew what he’d done and with whom he'd been associated. I was taking in an unknown entity. He could be the innocent pawn in whatever Ryan Pohler was doing, or he could be an intricate part of that operation.
    I was at the truck and had the cash counted long before he arrived. Thomas wasn’t late. I was just that early. I spent a few minutes showing him where everything was, and he started to work. He didn’t talk much except to ask questions about the location of particular items. I’d selected the menu for the day’s condiments since I wasn’t sure if he was familiar with all of the recipes. Over the next few weeks, I’d provide more of them to him and slowly introduce all the condiment recipes.
    The day went smoothly for a first day with a new person on the truck. We ran out of condiments once, and Thomas had to hurry up and make more, but other than that, I had no problems with his performance.
    At the end of shift, he waited around as if to seek approval.
    “You did great,” I told