Chapter 6 — Marcus brings forward the register log — Then a duplicate cash entry comes to light
Marcus uncreased the paper with a slow, deliberate movement.
He smoothed the crisp thermal receipt flat against the surface of the waitstation desk.
This is the main evening register log, Marcus said, his voice measured and calm.
He slid the printout across the polished wood toward the manager.
Take a look at the terminal ID code at the top.
The manager blinked hard and looked down at the slip.
The printed numbers stood out in sharp black ink against the white paper.
It’s the primary register at the front counter, Marcus added.
The exact terminal where the customer settled the table twelve bill.
The customer’s credit card transaction appeared clearly in the sequence.
The timestamp read seven-fourteen in the evening.
It matched the exact minute the customer walked back to verify the receipt.
Right underneath that credit transaction, however, sat a second notation.
It was handwritten in a hurried, slanted scrip that the staff recognized instantly.
A cash entry for the exact same table total.
Marked as received in full at seven-twenty.
Ten minutes after the card payment cleared.
And five minutes after the manager had trapped Mia at the table with the stack of napkins.
The room grew dead silent.
The manager stared at the handwritten cash notation with wide eyes.
The color drained entirely from her face.
How is there a cash entry ten minutes after a credit settlement? the customer in the black dress asked, stepping closer to examine the log.
You can’t double-charge a closed table.
Unless the cash never touched the official drawer, Marcus said quietly.
A second witness from the kitchen staff stepped out from the swinging doors, wiping his hands on a clean towel.
He looked over at the register log and shook his head.
I saw her do it, the kitchen worker stated loudly, pointing directly at the manager.