Page 5 of Be A Detective, They Said. It’ll Be Fun, They Said

Naida gripped my arm, her small hand clinging to me, multiple shiny rings bedecking her fingers. “Please, Wanda! I know I said I was desperate, and I really am, but I’m still trying to do this quietly, for Tamlin’s sake as well as Neerie’s. If the council finds out she disappeared on some nutty whim, they’ll try to take Tamlin. And believe me, they already think my sister’s cracked as it is.”

I couldn’t dispute that if they were calling her Cocaine Bear.

“Have you asked Tamlin about it? Carefully, of course, but maybe she saw something, heard something that could help us find Neerie?”

Her nod was sharp, and I smelled her concern—it was deep. “I poked a little, but she didn’t seem to know anything.” She ran a hand over her eyes. “I mean, how do I ask a kid if her mother ran off to look into some new conspiracy theory? Neerie calls herself an alternative thinker, but we all know she’s bananas. I think that’s what she did, Wanda. I think she’s involved in something really batty and maybe she got in a little too deep. That’s what scares me the most.”

I’d have to talk to Marty and Nina before I did anything. We’d agreed we all had to approve before taking a case, and as bumbling as we were when it came to solving a mystery, I’d need all the help I could get.

I pulled my cell from my purse. “Here’s my phone. I’ll put my number in yours, you do the same on mine. I have to consult with my associates before I accept, but I do want to help, Naida. I’m just not sure how.”

She grabbed my phone with haste as if she thought if she wasn’t quick enough, I’d turn her away. “Thank you, Wanda. Thank you. I know Neerie is difficult, and I know a lot of people don’t like her because she’s challenging. I don’t have blinders on, but I also know her well enough to know she wouldn’t skip out from an event like this, or leave Tamlin for so long without getting in touch.”

When she handed me the phone back, her fingers trembled, making me feel guilty for disliking Neerie. I grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I promise to get back to you as soon as I talk to my colleagues and the bake sale is done. If you think of anything or hear anything, please text me, okay?”

She bit her lip, her eyes darkening with obvious worry. “I will. Promise.”

The door to the gym burst open then, and little Tamlin Lincoln flew into the hall. Petite and adorable, her hair in pigtails with silky rainbow ribbons, she ran to her aunt.

“Aunt Naida! You came back!” she squealed, wrapping her arms around Naida’s jean-clad legs.

“I did!” she replied with cheer, though I knew it was hiding her fear. She hiked Tamlin up on her hip with a grin. “I told you I would. I just had to do a couple of errands. You didn’t think I’d miss those chocolate chip cookies we made, did you?”

Tamlin, at just six, was a living doll, and her personality the exact opposite of her mother’s. She was inquisitive, funny, and almost always joyful. Her tiny voice, akin to a Disney princess’s, always made me smile.

Quite suddenly, she appeared to notice me, wriggling out of Naida’s arms to give my legs a hug, too. “Hi, Mrs. Jefferson! You did a really great job today. I’m sorry Mommy wasn’t here to help, but if she was, she’d say you did a good job, too!”

Oh, sweet summer child… But who could deny this girl’s enthusiasm and love for her mother?

I gave her a hug back, gently tugging one of her pigtails as I smiled down at her twinkling eyes. “Why, thank you very much, Little Miss. Did you have some yummy treats?”

Her face clouded, then as she looked up at me with sad eyes. “I did, but I missed Mommy’s muffins real bad. She makes yummy blueberry muffins.” Letting go of my legs, her eyes grew watery. “I miss Mommy so much. Aunt Naida says she had some important adult stuff to do and that’s why she couldn’t be here, so I’m trying to be under…under…”

“Understanding,” Naida said, blowing out a short breath, avoiding Tamlin’s eyes, but she held out her hand to her and spoke with a smile in her tone. “C’mon, Squirt. Let’s go see if we can find Mrs. Anson’s cake pops. Remember she made those chocolate ones dipped in strawberry frosting last year. Bet I can eat mine faster’n you!”

As she pulled Tamlin back inside the gym, my heart chugged sluggishly in my chest. For those interested, as a halfsie, I still have organs, they just don’t quite work the way they do when you’re entirely human. Yet, somehow my heart managed to chime in when a child as sweet as Tamlin was involved.

And that was when I knew I had to convince Marty and Nina to take this case. This little girl loved her mother, and she’d already had enough upheaval with her parents’ divorce.

Marty would be a pretty easy sell. Nina? She’d take some cajoling.

I mean, Neerie had at one time called her Dracula with better hair…

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