Page 84 of A Shot at Love
Gemma opened the tub and took a whiff. “Hmmm. Grandma’s tomato cream. Yummy.”
“Your sister is opening a restaurant?” Ky asked. He’d moved behind her, helping to take down dishes and utensils from the cabinets. Just being physically close to her again brightened the foul mood darkening his soul from everything he and Bannerman had discovered.
“Several, actually,” Gemma said. She filled a pot with the zesty smelling soup and placed it on the stove. “The first one opens in a month in Tribeca. Another in Orlando in the fall and then LA in January.”
“Impressive.”
“No. Kandy.” Gemma lifted her shoulders. “This has been her dream since she was a kid, although she never told it to anyone until recently. A restaurant featuring only comfort foods, the kind we all had and loved as kids.”
“An interesting premise.”
She nodded and began slathering bread slices with butter. “No lie. This soup,” she pointed to the pot, “is without a doubt the best tomato soup you will ever have. Hands down.”
“Truth,” Bannerman said.
“What makes it so special?”
Gemma’s quick grin had him hard as stone and wanting in a heartbeat. “The showman in Kandy will tell you it’s made with love added into every cup, but it’s really the mix Grandma perfected of spices and herbs, plus the fact she used almond milk as the cream, and not cow’s milk. Grandma was a pioneer when it came to using plant products for baking sauces instead of dairy ones.”
The soup started to warm, its enticing aroma filling the kitchen.
“I wasn’t hungry until just this moment,” Ky said, sniffing the air.
Gemma laughed and said, “Wait until you taste the grilled cheese.” She laid two sandwiches onto the griddle. “You’ll think you’ve died and gone to comfort-food heaven.”
A few minutes later the three of them sat at the table.
The only sounds for a while were them sipping the soup and chewing.
“You didn’t exaggerate,” Ky said, wiping his lips with a napkin. “This truly is the best soup I’ve ever had. Think your sister will give me the recipe for my mother?”
“Not a chance in a gazillion, but she can come into the restaurant anytime and order it.” Her lips lifted at the corners.
Ky nodded. “I figured you’d say that.”
“So, tell me.” Gemma laid her sandwich down on her plate and looked from one man to the other. “What have you guys been doing all morning?”
Through silent agreement, Ky was elected to speak. Rick was still typing as they ate.
“The leak to Ritandi is directly from my department.”
He still had trouble believing it, but the proof Bannerman and he had unearthed was irrefutable.
“Rick found an e-mail account in my name and several wire transfers from one of Ritandi’s offshore accounts to an account in DC. Which is stupid when you think about it. The money can be traced to an American account so easily.”
“Instead of like the Caymans or someplace like that?” Gemma asked.
“Yeah.”
“Is your name on the account?”
“No.”
“So whose account is it?”
Ky shook his head. “That’s what he’s trying to find out. There are several layers of encryption and password protected steps to sift through first. Whoever set up the account knew what he was doing.”
Gemma’s gaze flicked to Rick’s side of the table. “That’s Theo’s device.”
Ky nodded. “I called him and he told Bannerman all he needed to know about how to navigate through the layers.”
“Guy’s a fuckin’ genius,” Rick said, his eyes never lifting from the screen, his fingers drumming across the keyboard. “I’m gonna try and get Josh to hire him. We could use his skills on some of the tougher info probe cases.”
“I can tell you right now Theo will say no. He’s working on something that takes all his time and concentration and until he finds what he’s looking for, he won’t be diverted.”
“We’ll see,” Bannerman said.
Before Ky could say another word, Rick’s hands fisted and he pumped them over his head. “Yes! I’m in.”
