Beside her, Nico took a deep breath. “I have a theory, although I hope it’s wrong.” Another deep breath. “The Barretts have a couple of regular servers. Andra and Ruth. I suspect that Carole always seats them with either Andra or Ruth. But neither of them worked tonight, so they ended up with James.”
Nico didn’t say anything else, but Julia’s stomach clenched. She saw exactly where he was going. “You think Carole, Andra and Ruth have a scheme to get cash from the Barretts for their dinner, then split it up.”
“I have no proof. But I’m suspicious.”
Julia sucked in a deep breath. “I can’t believe any of my employees would steal from me.”
“Maybe they aren’t. But I thought it was odd that Carole expected me to turn the cash over to her. And if they’re taking cash from the Barretts and pocketing it, they’re doing the same thing with other people.”
“Oh, my God,” Julia said, stunned. She swiveled to face him as anger pulsed through her. “Madeline’s is struggling financially, even though we’re busy every night. It never occurred to me it could be because some of my employees were stealing from me.”
“I don’t know that,” Nico said. “I’m just suggesting it’s possible. But I think you need to look into it.”