“But how can the suppliers make any profit if they’re giving so much food away?”
“Because the food supplied to the Savoy kitchens is being delivered short in order to make up the difference. If the hotel is charged for a dozen eggs, only ten are delivered. A fifty-pound bag of flour is really only forty-five, and so on.”
“The arrogance of these people,” Simon muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. “The absolute arrogance.”
“Arrogant is the word. They haven’t even bothered to try to cover their tracks. Once the auditors started delving into things, they had no trouble uncovering what’s been going on and how.”
Simon considered for a moment. “Escoffier must be aware that the hotel is being shorted on food supplies in order to pay for these gifts.”
“Oh, he knows.” Helen’s voice vibrated with outrage as she spoke.“He knows. Even worse, we have also confirmed that he’s taking bribes from suppliers.”
“In addition to the gifts and shorted supplies?”
Helen nodded. “Bellamy’s and Hudson Brothers, among others, are marking up the prices for all foodstuffs they sell the hotel. They charge the higher price and give Escoffier the difference. Five percent on every food order. Among themselves, they call it a commission.”
“Commission?” Simon made a sound of contempt. “That’s rich. What about Ritz himself? What bribes is he receiving?”
“Ritz?” Helen fairly spat the name. “As the letter said, he’s been giving away the Savoy’s food and wine to favored guests and giving them unlimited credit at the restaurant. The total outstanding unpaid debt accumulated by Ritz’s friends and associates is nearly fourteen thousand pounds.”
Simon was staggered by the amount, though he knew he shouldn’t be. “Ritz isn’t the sort to do anything halfway, is he? Not even theft.”
“Adding insult to injury, there is a definite quid pro quo involved. For example, not long ago, Ritz hosted a party for a group of railway executives, and—”
“Let me guess,” Simon interjected, “he got free railway passes in exchange.”
“Exactly. His stockbroker and his doctor have dined for free at the restaurant numerous times. In exchange, it’s understood that Ritz pays no brokerage fees and no medical bills to these gentlemen. A year ago, Ritz hosted a party for a group of wealthy businessmen in the restaurant. The bill, which came to over five hundred pounds, has never been paid. Many of those businessmen are now investors in his Paris hotel, which has nothing to do with the Savoy or my husband. And there’s something else the detectives have uncovered,” she went on before he could ask for more details, “something that wasn’t in the letter.”
Simon braced himself. “Go on.”
“The detectives noticed big, unmarked bundles being delivered to the Savoy laundry every Tuesday and taken away every Friday. They became curious about this practice and started investigating, and they learned those bundles contain laundry.”
“Ritz is getting his personal and household laundry done for free?”
“Him, Echenard, Escoffier, and God only knows who else.”
“And no charge tickets are ever written for this service?”
“No, but Mrs. Henderson, the head laundress, has brought her family and friends to dine in the restaurant numerous times without paying.”
“Good God,” Simon burst out, at the end of his tether. “These men already get exorbitant salaries. Can’t they at least pay for their own damn laundry?”
“Why should they?” Helen countered grimly. “They don’t seem willing to pay for anything else.”
“The question is,” he countered as he picked up his coffee cup, “what do we do about it? At the very least, anyone involved will have to be dismissed.”
“Dismissed?” Helen made a sound of derision through her teeth. “I want far more than that. They have turned the Savoy into a den of thieves. I want them criminally prosecuted. Ritz, Escoffier, Echenard, Agostini, Lady Stratham—all of them.”
Simon’s coffee suddenly tasted bitter on his tongue. “Lady Stratham?” he echoed, careful to keep his voice indifferent. “What evidence have the detectives uncovered against her?”
“Nothing that can be considered criminal, but they haven’t begun investigating her yet. If you recall, we decided to concentrate our investigation on the specific accusations in the letter, and she wasn’t mentioned. But already, there are some very clear indications of her culpability.”
“Such as?”
“We know her own secretary was stealing wine and selling it.”
“Guilt by association is not guilt. What else?”
“The head florist, Michel DuPont, is involved, and he’s under her direct supervision.” She gave a huff of outrage. “Had Ritz never hired that woman and allowed me to continue handling the flowers and the decorating, I might have caught on to all these schemes long before I got that letter. Now I know why Ritz was so eager to boot me out and hire her.”
