Page 65 of Pied Sniper

“I’ll make the call,” I said. “Oh, there’s one more thing. Tiffany’s dog.”

“What about him?” asked Grace.

“The police are looking after him but he needs picking up.”

“I’ll take him. If Tiffany wants him back, she can deal with me,” said Grace. “She never actually looked after him anyway. She just wanted to cuddle him and pose with him for her social media. He’ll be better off with me.”

“Okay, then,” I agreed. It wasn’t my business to get in the middle of that and at least Elf would be with someone he knew and hopefully liked. I stepped out of the room and called Garrett.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“We’ve located Jonathan Brett,” I told him.

“The boyfriend? Where is he? We drew a blank. Even his phone isn’t pinging.”

“His phone is out of battery. We brought him to the agency and he wants to talk. He’s got a pretty solid alibi so I don’t think he’s your man. Tiffany’s assistant, Grace Underwood, is here too. They’re in a relationship. Plus, her supposed rival, Flavia, turned up.”

“Any chance they’re in on it together?”

“Not unless they’re very fine actors. Flavia seems genuinely concerned. Grace has a solid alibi too. She was out of town and pictures are all over social media; plus, phone records and probably security camera footage if you need it. Solomon is getting someone to drive them over so you can interview them. Jonathan is pretty angry about everything but he seems willing to talk and has a good explanation for the loud argument at her apartment.”

“Good. I wish you’d called me as soon as you found him.”

“I should have,” I agreed, “But he was largely unconscious.”

“Attacked?”

“Drunk. Any news on your end?”

“Nothing yet. No more demands made to Abigail either. The sooner we get instructions from the kidnappers, the sooner we can set up a sting.”

“Have you learned anything new about Tiffany’s background?” I asked.

“How do you mean?”

“Something keeps coming up. Most of the people who interacted with her didn’t trust Tiffany. I’m going to take a deep dive into her history and see what comes up. She claims to be an orphan but there’s something fishy going on there.”

“Keep me updated.”

“Will do.”

“And Mom says don’t be late for dinner.”

My heart skipped a beat. “Tonight? How am I supposed to know?”

“Nope. Tomorrow.”

“Phew!”

“She says it might be a cold buffet because she’s too busy to make anything more. Do you think she’s okay? It’s not like Mom to avoid cooking.”

“She’s cold cooking,” I said. “That’s a good thing. We can be late and no one will notice.”

“Hah! You try being late without a good excuse. I gotta talk with my team. Check in soon, okay?”

“Okay,” I agreed. When I hung up, I nodded to Solomon. Instead of making a call of his own to summon one of the agency employees, he signaled to Delgado. That was a smart move. Delgado would ensure Jonathan and Grace were safely delivered to MPD, and he’d also surreptitiously listen in on anything they said. “Thank you for being so open with us,” I added, since I sincerely appreciated their candor.

“You’re welcome, I guess,” said Grace. “Anything to get us out of here and back to normal life. I don’t wish anything bad happens to Tiffany and I really do hope you find her safe but I’m sure you’ll understand when I say I never want to see her again.”

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