Chapter 9 - THE SERVER IN THE HALLWAY
The wedding server who watched Grace’s auto-injector roll beneath Celeste’s table was named Mia Foster.
Twenty-four.
Part-time graduate student.
She gave police a statement before midnight.
Grace bumped plate accidentally.
Celeste slapped her.
Celeste dumped food.
Mia saw everything.
Then Detective Renee Walsh asked:
“Did anything happen involving the child’s meal earlier?”
Mia hesitated.
“Yes.”
At 6:12 p.m., Celeste stopped her in the service hallway.
“Which one is Grace?”
Mia pointed discreetly.
Celeste:
“Does her plate need that plastic cover?”
Mia:
“Yes, ma’am, until I hand it to her.”
Celeste:
“It makes her look contagious.”
Mia:
“It’s allergy protocol.”
Celeste:
“Take it off before you enter.”
Mia refused.
Celeste asked:
“Who is your supervisor?”
Mia gave the name.
The supervisor backed her.
Grace received the covered plate.
Safe.
No exposure.
Then at dessert Celeste asked another server whether Grace could be served from the regular cake because:
“The cake itself has no nuts.”
The server checked kitchen sheet.
Regular cake had pistachio praline between layers.
Absolutely no.
Celeste rolled her eyes and said:
“She won’t eat it anyway.”
Mia remembered because she thought the conversation was strange.
When the auto-injector rolled onto the floor after the assault, Mia looked at Celeste.
Celeste looked frightened.
Why?
Mia could not know.
But by then investigators had:
Sienna’s old ticket.
C.R.
Celeste’s current requests.
The three-incident document.
The current assault.
Still not enough to conclude what happened ten months earlier.
Then Palais Dining’s executive chef found an archived email while reviewing the wedding complaints.
From Celeste.
Sent the morning of Michael’s engagement dinner.
Subject:
GRACE PLATE.
May you like
I would read it the next day.
Chapter Ten made the old ambulance look different.
