Chapter 4

4: 4

4

I'd figured that once Sarah went home, she and Saul would find some way to get back at me.

I just hadn't expected it to come this fast.

The next evening, I'd barely set up my cart.

Several people in uniform pushed through the crowd and walked straight up to the stall.

The noise died all at once.

The middle-aged man leading them flashed a badge.

"Health department inspection unit. Routine check."

"We've had a report that you're passing off inferior goods and using expired, spoiled ingredients. We'll need your cooperation."

"What?"

"Expired, spoiled ingredients?"

Somebody in the crowd yelped.

Everyone was staring at the chicken cutlets in their hands like they were about to be sick.

"Ugh!"

One customer who'd just bitten into a cutlet spat it right back out with a loud gag.

The diners backed away.

A few of them held up their phones, recording, and went live.

The whole scene turned into chaos.

I looked up.

Just in time to catch Saul and Sarah standing at the edge of the crowd, arms folded, enjoying every second of it.

I turned my eyes back, expression flat, voice level.

"Gentlemen, thanks for your trouble."

"Every ingredient I sell here has been tested. Whether anything's expired or spoiled, you're welcome to check all of it."

As I spoke, I pulled out the purchase records from the past month.

Every one clearly marked with the date and the supplier's name.

Behind each ingredient was an inspection report, every one stamped with the testing agency's official seal.

I had nothing to hide, and it showed.

The diners relaxed a good deal.

The inspection unit sealed up samples of the ingredients on the spot.

They even took samples of every seasoning I used.

Until the results came back, I wasn't allowed to keep running the stall.

There'd be no business tonight, so I could only pack the things I'd just set out back up again.

The crowd slowly drifted off.

Saul came over with his arm around Sarah.

"Earl, if you're smart, you'll hand over the recipe yourself. Maybe if I'm in a good mood, I'll put in a word for you down at the office."

"Otherwise, you're not just looking at a shutdown. You're looking at a hundred-thousand-dollar fine."

"A hundred grand. Even if you sold yourself off for parts, you couldn't scrape that together, could you?"

Saul's tone was mocking, his eyes full of that cheap, small-time triumph.

I didn't so much as glance at him, just set the last of the little stools onto the cart.

"Same as before. You want my recipe, forget it."

"If the results prove there's something wrong with my ingredients, I'll take the fine."

"But if they prove my ingredients are fine and someone framed me out of spite, that someone had better not expect to walk away clean either."

Saul and Sarah thought this would put me in a corner.

What they didn't get was that I hadn't taken their threat to heart at all.

Cheap tricks like this, I'd seen plenty of them in all my time at the night market.

I'd seen dirtier.

All I can say is this.

The innocent clear their own name.

Saul's face went pale, a flicker of panic in his eyes.

He faked his composure, stiffened his neck, and let out a hard, cold snort.

"Fine. You've got guts! Let's see how long you can keep this up."

Then he stalked off, dragging Sarah with him, seething.

The inspection unit worked fast.

The report came back the very next day.

The day I got it, my stall was ringed with people.

Saul and Sarah looked certain they'd won, wearing the faces of two people settling in to watch the show.

"After testing, Earl Fox's stall has all required permits, meets sanitation standards, and uses fresh ingredients. There are no problems whatsoever."

"Effective immediately, the shutdown order on the stall is lifted."

A cheer broke out from the crowd.

"Told you this place was clean! I eat here every day and I've never had a problem!"

"Whoever reported him is rotten to the core! Just jealous, can't stand to see anyone else do well!"

Saul and Sarah froze, the smug smiles wiped off their faces in an instant.

Sarah stared at me, her eyes full of disbelief.

"How is that possible? We clearly..."