Page 9 of In the Line of Ire

"All thesame, they owe you and Solomon an authentic purse," saidLily.

I noddedand licked the last of my ice cream, thoroughly enjoying therefreshing treat. A moment later, my peace was shattered by theharsh sound of my name being called. I'd know that voice anywhere.I sighed as I opened my eyes to see Serena skidding to a halt infront of me. Well, not skidding, it was more of an angry slide inhigh heels.

"I wantto hire you!" she said, her face turning red.

"I'mbusy," I replied.

"You'resitting in the middle of the mall, eating ice cream. Hello,Lily."

"Hi,Serena," said Lily. “Poppy is learning numbers thisweek!”

"I needto hire you," Serena said, looking exasperated as she ignored Lily."I've been ripped off!"

"I'm notsure how you think I can help," I replied.

Serenashook a large, expensive shopping bag at me. "I want you to findout what's going on with this!"

Lily andI exchanged puzzled looks before Serena dropped the bag to thefloor, reaching inside and pulling out a thick cardboard box. "Ibought myself a gift for doing really well at work after winningseveral new clients," she said, tugging at the box until it opened.Out spilled a large purse and the signature scent of expensiveleather.

"Oooh,"cooed Lily, reaching for it, her fingers still sticky with icecream.

"No'oooh'," said Serena. She pulled the purse out of Lily’s reach."More ewww! Look at it." She thrust it at me, and waited with herhands on her hips.

I grabbed the bag before it fell to the ground and examinedit. The leather was nice but now that I got a good sniff of it, thescent seemed to mask a less pleasant odor, like inferior leathertanning. And the stitching was frayed around one handle. Now, Ilooked closer. Instead of the high-end hardware displaying thedesigner brand, the brand name wasstampedon. "This is a fake," I said.

"Iknow!" Serena's jaw stiffened. "I did not buy any fake merchandiseyesterday but I sure had a fake purse when I got home!"

Lilyfinished wiping her fingers on a tissue and reached for the bag,examining it all over. "Did you buy it from that store?" she asked,pointing to Heavenly Handbags. "I didn't think they sold thisbrand."

"No. Ibought it from the department store on the east side. Page's," saidSerena.

I handedthe flawed purse back to her and she stuffed it into the cardboardbox, replacing them both in the bag. "You should take it back," Isaid.

"I justdid. The saleswoman took one look at it, declared it fake and toldme that kind of scam wouldn't work with her. I showed her thereceipt dated yesterday and she said she'd call the cops. On me!The cops!"

"Shewouldn't take it back?"

"No, andshe didn't believe me when I said I didn't swap the purse foranother and this was what I went home with. I paid nearly twelvehundred dollars for it! I saved for a long time to buy it! And nowI have a cheap knockoff. What am I supposed to do?" wailed Serenaas tears pricked her eyes. "That's why I want to hire you. I wantmy money back or the purse I originally bought."

"Leaveit with me," I said, taking the shopping bag from her. "I'll lookinto it."

"Thankyou," she said, leaning down and hugging me so rapidly but brieflythat I stiffened in surprise. "I didn't know what to do and I don'tdare tell Antonio that I spent so much money on such a piece ofcrap."

"Hewould understand. It's not your fault," I assured her. "You savedfor something beautiful and you deserve to enjoy what you paid for.I'll find out what's going on."

"I needto get back to work," said Serena. "Thank you again."

"I'llcall you later to ask for more details. Is everything in the bag?Receipt?"

"Yes,everything," Serena confirmed before she hurried off.

"Twofake bags," said Lily as we watched my sister go. "That'sstrange."

"Twoknockoffs that came from the same mall but two different stores andwithin days of each other? It's not just strange, it's incrediblyremarkable." I pulled my cellphone from my purse as Poppy began tostir in her stroller.

“Is Poppy learning numbers?” I asked.

Lilypulled a face. “No, I panicked when I saw Serena and it just cameout.” I laughed and Lily stooped down to comfort Poppy as she awokeand I placed a call to Solomon.

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