Page 98 of Pied Sniper

“Ugh! I thought you were them. You’re that PI, um…”

“Lexi Graves. Where are you?”

“Downtown. The kidnappers sent me a message with an address,” he said.

“Did they ask for the money?”

“Yes, but they said there would be more instructions on where to drop it.”

“And you have it all?”

“Yes. Your friend padded the bag with fake bills. I’m going to find the location where they want it taken and wait for them.”

“What’s the location?” I asked.

“A diner on Burlington Street. They said to go to the last booth and I’ll find further instructions there.”

“Did you tell the officers who were protecting you?” Davy hesitated. “I know you didn’t,” I added. “Special Agent Maddox is looking for you and so is Lieutenant Graves. They had a plan and you’re deviating from it. They’re worried.”

“I know but I don’t have any choice. Please don’t tell them you spoke to me. I know they want to be involved but the kidnappers were very specific. If they see any cops, they’ll kill Tiffany! They said you already tried that and this was the last chance before she got shot,” he sniffed.

“If you’d told Lieutenant Graves and Special Agent Maddox about being contacted, they could have set everything up without being spotted. This is a bad idea. Where are you now exactly?”

“Outside the diner. I have to go.”

“Wait!”

“I’ll call you.” Davy disconnected.

I sighed and called Maddox. “I spoke to Davy,” I told him. “He’s an idiot but he has good intentions.”

“I know. I’m watching him now.”

“You are?”

“Sure. We stuck trackers in the bag and on his car; plus, I’ve been pinging his phone. He wasn’t hard to find.”

“That’s such a relief.” I paused, then said, “You expected this?”

“Sure did. We weren’t taking any precautions after the last mistake. Although he went too fast for us to pull together a decent sting. What did he tell you?”

“That he’s going into a diner to get instructions about where to go next. They’re taking every precaution.”

“I’m not surprised. Abigail’s attempt at paying them off was a shit show. How was everything at your mom’s house after we split?”

“Tense. Lily and I left soon after you guys. Dad keeps talking about a tiger. Mom looks depressed. She insisted I take home a hefty serving of your dessert. It smells so good.”

“Hope you enjoy it. I enjoyed making it. I enjoyed the entertainment too. Your sister is certifiably nuts.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I gotta go. Tell Lily her aim is awesome.”

“I will.”

I grabbed a spoon and the to-go box, plonking myself on one of the tall kitchen stools before digging in. The Pavlova was rich and creamy, and it required extra willpower to resist eating all of it. While I savored it, I thought about the case. So much effort was being invested into a woman who appeared enormously self-centered, and, even worse, probably responsible for the whole nightmare. Yet, it didn’t seem to matter what awful thing Tiffany did. So far, she always came out on top. Was it finally falling apart for her? If she were the brains behind this, she had to be super desperate for money. If she landed on her feet afterwards, it would be the ultimate two fingers to karma. She could get into her giant Range Rover and drive off into the sunset, leaving all the chaos behind her.

The Range Rover!What was it Grace said about Tiffany driving somewhere by herself, to a place she refused to tell anyone about? I hopped off my stool and checked my purse. I still had the set of keys Abigail gave me. With everyone else occupied, now was a great time to run over there and check out the GPS log in her car! It was probably nothing. She could have gone shopping or out for a peaceful drive where she wouldn’t be bothered by fans or to talk to Flavia without being overheard. But the idea that she had a secret kept niggling me. I reached for my own car keys and sighed. I didn’t have them yet. I couldn’t call Lily because she would have already put Poppy to bed; and Solomon and Delgado were probably doing some kind of damage control for whatever trauma the Buschs’ interview created. Meanwhile, I had nothing to occupy my mind except another pass at Tiffany’s emails. I was pretty sure she was careful not to leave a trail there. Plus, if my hunch came to nothing, I didn’t want to call one of the guys out for no real reason. I grabbed my jacket and stuffed my wallet and the knife my mom gave me into the pockets. I considered taking my gun, but decided against it; I wouldn’t need it in the parking garage. I tapped the taxi app on my phone and called a car to drive me to Tiffany’s apartment.

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