Page 57 of Pied Sniper

“Is your boyfriend Jonathan Brett?” I asked.

Now, she scowled. “Who are you? Two weirdo stalkers?”

“After Jonathan? No!” I replied in no uncertain terms.

“Yes, he’s my boyfriend. Where is he? What have you done with him? And why are you in his room? You’d better tell me now or I’ll scream!”

“Feel free to scream your lungs out,” I said. “I refuse to answer any of your questions until you tell us who you are.”

“Grace Underwood. Like I said, I’m his girlfriend.”

“Take off your sunglasses,” I replied. I knew the name; Grace was Tiffany’s PA but the last time I saw her on video, her hair was shorter. This woman could be Grace.

“I won’t,” she snapped.

“Do you have any ID?” asked Solomon.

“Doyou?” she sneered.

Solomon produced his private investigator’s license and held it out to her. I did the same. She took them both, examining them closely, then handed them back to us. Afterwards, she opened her purse and pulled out her driver’s license. “I got your message. Messages,” she said, emphasizing the plurality. I was going to call you back as soon as I spoke to Jonathan. I just flew in. It was the earliest flight I could get.”

“Tiffany Rose’s assistant,” I said, returning the license. Next to me, Solomon nodded, his tension visibly easing now she was no longer an unknown entity.

Grace sighed and took off her sunglasses, revealing a pale, heart-shaped face. She lost weight and some of the rosiness in her cheeks was gone. Then I remembered a scene when Tiffany pinched her cheek on camera and pulled a face. Grace laughed it off then, and I cringed, but what if she really took it to heart?

“Unfortunately. Has she turned up yet?” she asked.

“No.”

“Of course she hasn’t.” Grace sighed again, the frown reappearing. “Why are you searching Jonathan’s room? Surely you don’t think he had anything to do with that bitch’s disappearance!”

“Did he?” inquired Solomon.

“Oh,ple-e-e-ase!” Grace scoffed. “The biggest favor Tiffany could do for Jonathan would be to disappear off the face of this planet! And that goes for me too!”

“And did you help her achieve that?” I asked.

“Hell, no!” Her gaze landed on me. “And if I did, why would I tell you?”

As Solomon and I exchanged a look, I had to concede we had no compelling answer. However, she didn’t exactly deny any involvement either.

“Where were you last night when Tiffany was abducted?” I asked.

“Sitting with my three best girlfriends at a restaurant in Manhattan and then we went to a bar. I can give you their numbers and the restaurant’s number and the number for the bar too. My best friend posted photos on Instagram. I’ll email you the link. My phone records will confirm where I was, and Jonathan called me at eight and eleven. You can check that too,” snipped Grace.

“Thank you.”

“We plan to,” said Solomon.

“Obviously, I had nothing to do with Tiffany’s kidnapping, and neither did Jonathan. Hey! You still haven’t told me where he is!”

“He’s sleeping off a drinking binge in our office,” I told her.

“Of course Tiffany drove him to drink. She’s the absolute worst!”

“I thought you two were friends? She’s your boss too. You don’t seem to like her at all.”

Grace blew out a breath and shook her head. “I used to like her very much. Getting the job as her PA was awesome. Tiffany is super fun when she wants something from you and you’re doing exactly what she tells you to. I thought we were friends once but I gradually realized it’s all an act. She’s a bully and a fraud. These past few months have been a nightmare, and she only got worse when Jonathan refused to go along with her charade anymore.”

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