Morning Shift

By Kristine Kathryn Rusch

1974. Jane loves working the morning shift at the diner. She loves the people she works with, too. But when Jane's past catches up with her, she will need to rely on her own skills to save herself. And just maybe a little help from her co-workers.

"Kristine Kathryn Rusch's crime stories are exceptional, both in plot and in style."

—Mystery Scene Magazine

• Language: English
• Publisher: WMG Publishing
• Release date: Jan 17, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224244669

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

USA Today bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch writes in almost every genre. Generally, she uses her real name (Rusch) for most of her writing. Under that name, she publishes bestselling science fiction and fantasy, award-winning mysteries, acclaimed mainstream fiction, controversial nonfiction, and the occasional romance. Her novels have made bestseller lists around the world and her short fiction has appeared in eighteen best of the year collections. She has won more than twenty-five awards for her fiction, including the Hugo, Le Prix Imaginales, the Asimov’s Readers Choice award, and the Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine Readers Choice Award. Publications from The Chicago Tribune to Booklist have included her Kris Nelscott mystery novels in their top-ten-best mystery novels of the year. The Nelscott books have received nominations for almost every award in the mystery field, including the best novel Edgar Award, and the Shamus Award. She writes goofy romance novels as award-winner Kristine Grayson, romantic suspense as Kristine Dexter, and futuristic sf as Kris DeLake.  She also edits. Beginning with work at the innovative publishing company, Pulphouse, followed by her award-winning tenure at The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, she took fifteen years off before returning to editing with the original anthology series Fiction River, published by WMG Publishing. She acts as series editor with her husband, writer Dean Wesley Smith, and edits at least two anthologies in the series per year on her own. To keep up with everything she does, go to kriswrites.com and sign up for her newsletter. To track her many pen names and series, see their individual websites (krisnelscott.com, kristinegrayson.com, krisdelake.com, retrievalartist.com, divingintothewreck.com). She lives and occasionally sleeps in Oregon.

Book preview

Morning Shift

Morning Shift

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

WMG Publishing, Inc.

Contents

Morning Shift

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Also by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

About the Author

Morning Shift

Eggs, eggs, bacon, orange juice, apple juice, coffee, coffee, toast. She had a system, the entire restaurant on a grid in her mind. Two front rooms, max two hundred people, and she could handle all of them from six to eight in the a.m., provided they only ordered breakfast. And easy breakfast, not something goofy like cereal or a milkshake.

Mr. Hale, the manager, seated people, did coffee refills, and manned the cash register. The fry cook worked fast, and Jane could get everyone in and out of the restaurant in forty minutes if she pushed, an hour if she took the time to say more than hello.

Jane loved breakfast. Two hours on a Saturday morning, and she could make her rent in tips alone. Especially if she started at five instead of six, got the last of the drunk rush, the guys who either never tipped or tipped a ten when they only meant to leave a dollar.

It was a challenge, but one she didn’t have to think about, and she was done no later than two, exhausted, smelling of grease and cleaning solution, feet and back aching, but satisfied at a job well done.

The town was small, but there were always tourists, who—even in this modern era of 1975—wanted to see part of a Great Lake rather than look at it on a TV screen.

That morning, she carried the biggest tray on one hand above her right shoulder, tray table in her left. With one move, she set the table up and placed the tray on it. Breakfast steamed. Table Two—tourists, right next to the window, even though there was no view—three scrambled, one over easy (over easy to the wife), more toast than anyone could eat, and bacon, sausage—links and patties, and a steak for the one guy who didn’t need it.

Easy to remember, just like Table Three, order out at the same time, two up, with very specific toast (not too light, not too dark), large orange juices already out, coffee steaming in the cups.

She served, wished everyone a good meal, got smiles