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My gut twists in knots as different scenarios run through my head about what Jez needs to talk about urgently. She usually isn’t so short, at least not to me. Forty-five minutes later, I walk into the deli. Jez glances up from her computer and waves to me from her table in the back corner. I slide into a chair across from her.
“I ordered coffee for us,” she says, her eyes studying the screen.
I wait for her to elaborate, but she stays buried in whatever she’s looking at. “Um… Jez, what did you need to talk to me about?”
“One sec.” She types furiously across the keyboard. “How much do you usually bring home in your paycheck?”
“Depends on my hours but usually between twelve and fourteen hundred. More if I get overtime.” I lean back in my chair. “Why?”
“Direct deposit right?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you deposit your tips with your check?”
I shake my head. “No. I use the cash for gas, groceries, and other living expenses.”
“Hmm.” Before I can question her further, the girl behind the counter calls her name. “Will you go get that?”
After grabbing our coffee, I return to the table, and Jez pats the chair next to her, so I sit there instead of across from her.
“Jez, what the hell is going on?”
“I need you to tell me what these deposits are.”
My eyes swing to her computer screen where my bank statements are on display. “What the fuck, Jez?” I screech. Heads turn our way, so I lower my voice. “Why are you hacking into my bank account?”
“I have to find the missing money from Purgatory. There are some deposits that aren’t from the bar, so the question remains… Where did you get this money?”
I shake my head vigorously. “Nowhere. Nothing goes into that account except my paycheck, I swear. I’ve never been good at keeping up with finances, so everything is automatically deducted: rent, electricity, and my grandma’s expenses at the nursing home. That’s why I live off my tips for day-to-day things; I can’t risk messing up and having my account overdrawn.”
“The money is coming from somewhere, Skye.” She locks her eyes on mine. “What’s disturbing is these deposits exactly match the amounts that have been missing from the registers lately.”
“Jez, you have to believe me,” I plead. “I didn’t take that money.”
“I believe you, but there’s a digital trail linking you to the theft,” she says, nodding at the screen.
“Should I close my accounts and set up new ones?”
She shakes her head. “Whoever is behind it isn’t as good as me. They were stupid to think they could do this electronically. I will find them, but if you close your accounts, it makes it harder for me to trace.”
“How long will that take?” I fidget in my chair. “What do I do in the meantime?”
Jez picks up her phone. “I’m gonna text Cece to round up the ladies and meet us here. I’m sure between all of us we can think of a game plan.”
Twenty minutes later, they all start to arrive. Cece and Mel walk in first since they work on the same street as the deli, followed by Heather, Apple, and Violet a few minutes later.
“I take it this isn’t a social call,” Mel says, pulling out a chair and taking in the look on our faces.
“Nope.” Jez pops the ‘p’. “We have a serious problem.”
Cece clenches her fist. “Who’re we killing?”
“No one,” Violet chimes in but keeps her eyes locked on Jez. “Right?”
“Not yet,” Jez grunts. “But get this… I started to really dig into Skye’s finances, as well as the clubs, and what I’ve found has been eye-opening.”
“How so?” Apple asks.
