Page 24 of Pied Sniper

“It seemed rude after she went to such effort. The frosting is delicious.”

I sighed. “Save me a slice!”

“Of course. I’m not a monster! So, what are we doing today? Are we on the case or not?”

“We’re on the case and it’s official.”

“I knew it would be the moment you said it.”

“No, I mean, it’s really official. Tiffany Rose’s manager, Abigail Swanson hired the agency to find her.”

“Sweet. We were going to do it anyway and now you’ll get paid for your trouble. How do we start? Where? Should I come to the agency as soon as I drop Poppy off at daycare?”

“Is Poppy okay?” I wondered. “She’s not traumatized in anyway?”

“Not one bit. She doesn’t know I was arrested and your mom and dad took excellent care of her. Plus, she just threw applesauce in my face so I’d say she’s feeling one hundred percent normal.”

“Come to my house,” I decided. “We can compare notes on what we know about Tiffany.”

“I’ll bring snacks.” Lily hung up before I could say anymore, but that was fine since now all I could think about were the snacks.

“Do we have any snacks?” I asked Solomon.

“We just had breakfast.”

“I’m not sure what your point is.”

“It’s too early to think about snacks.”

“I’m planning ahead.” I thought about the cake my mom made for Lily. I definitely wanted some of that. My mom was an excellent baker.

“You’re turning into your mom.”

I sucked in a breath. I had no answer for that. I either had to confirm it was true or risk insulting my perfectly lovely, but marginally crazy mother by replying,that would be a tragedy.I went with a safer option, “Lily is on her way over. She’s going to help us with the case.”

Solomon eyed me wearily. “Does that make sense?”

“Yes,” I said, nodding emphatically. “She probably knows more about Tiffany Rose than I do and I’m sure her input is invaluable.”

“Make sure to ask her what the police questioned her about.”

“Why? If they’re asking her questions, they clearly don’t have the answers.”

“They might have some answers. They might know more than we do.”

“I could ask Garrett.”

“You should.”

“I’ll add it to my list,” I said, using my finger to write a bullet point in the air. “What are you going to do?”

“Do you want my help on the case?”

“I already assumed we were both on it.”

“I figured I’d leave it to you and assist where necessary. I’m not an expert on Tiffany Rose, much less, her elaborate world.”

I was, probably not as much as Lily, but it seemed frivolous to admit that. Solomon’s expertise spanned financial and cybercrime; mine was fashion and fripperies so I didn’t mind that one bit. “Do you have another case?” I asked.

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