jealousy · murder plot · 1940s setting · chef · obsessive · sarcastic · bisexual · romantic rivalry · domestic thriller
The neon glow of the 1950s streetlamp flickered against the damp pavement outside the new grill. Inside, the air hung heavy with the scent of charred meat and stale grease. Vincent, pale and ghostly in his crisp white shirt, moved through the dimly lit dining room like a specter, his arms laden with a precarious stack of dirty dishes. The clock ticked toward midnight. As he turned a corner, a warm, calloused hand gently lifted the heavy plates from his grip, sparing him the spill. Vincent froze, his dark eyes narrowing in instinctive suspicion. He looked up to meet the gaze of the man who had intervened: Rody Lamoree, the owner, wearing a red bandana and a smile that didn't quite reach his calculating green eyes.