Page 92 of Pied Sniper

“We have. And we spoke to her ex-boyfriend, Davy too.”

“Davy? Davy Morris? Hah! That wet blanket!” he scoffed.

“She dumped him years ago,” said Delores. “What’s he got to do with this? Even Todd ditched him.”

“Todd?”

“Our son. Rose’s older brother,” explained Dolores. “He’s in business too. Only thirty-one and he already owns three properties and always travels business class. You should see his Rolex collection. Beautiful! He only dates models.”

“What kind of business?” asked Solomon before I could askmodel whats?

“Transportation.”

“And where is he now?”

Dolores puffed up with pride. “Closing a deal in Mexico. He’s been there a week.”

“Was Tiffany close to anyone in particular in the family?” I asked, curious about what else Tiffany might have left behind.

“She spent a lot of time playing with her cousins, Caleb and Huey when they were all kids but left them behind when she got the school scholarship. Rose was going places, and those boys were never destined to become leaders. They’re my sister’s kids. Not the brightest. Not like my Todd.”

“Followers, not leaders,” added Jeffery.

“To the Clare School?” I asked, trying to swing the interview back in the right direction.

“Yes. It was a very fancy boarding school too. We knew she’d fit right in there with all the other children of business moguls, like us, with plenty of money. The money we spent on getting her there was the right thing to do.”

I frowned at the blatant lie. “Do you know why Rose gave everyone the impression she was orphaned?” I asked.

Dolores bristled. “I don’t think she did that intentionally. It was just a story. Look, is there anything else you want to ask us because we need to go?”

“If you can cut us a check, we still have to make an appointment with the news people,” said Jeffery, standing now and stretching his arms.

“Check?” I asked.

He nodded. “For the reward?”

“I don’t follow,” I said.

“The reward that was advertised on the tip line. That’s why we’re here now. We gave you information about our daughter and now you give us the check in return.”

“We came a long way,” said Dolores. “We got the first available flights and they weren’t cheap. Neither is our hotel. Our baby wouldn’t want us slumming, so we took a suite.”

“The reward is for information that leads to your daughter’ssafe return,” said Solomon. “The details of the reward are very clear about that.”

“But we told you everything you asked and now your job is getting her back!” whined Dolores. “We deserve that money! Especially after everything we’ve been through.”

“My wife is devastated!” snapped Jeffery. “She’s been weeping non-stop since we first saw Rose on the news!”

“Why don’t you leave the address of where you’re staying and I’ll see what I can do,” said Solomon. “We need some follow-ups first, then if the money is yours, we’ll get it couriered to you.”

The dad paused whatever blustery statement he was about to bark at us. “Cash?” he asked.

“Absolutely,” said Solomon. “Let me show you out.”

When Solomon returned, he heaved a large sigh. “I figured they wouldn’t leave unless I showed them out,” he said.

“Were they serious about the reward? They didn’t say anything useful! And most of it was an outright lie. What a waste of time! No wonder Tiffany pretended they didn’t exist.”

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