Jack frowned. "Any luck finding Ann Feeney?"
"Not yet. We're talking to everybody who knew her. Her roommate said she had a date one night that she never returned from. The problem is, nobody seems to know who she was dating."
"I find that hard to believe," I said. "Friends always know who you're dating. Even if they don't entirely approve, they hear about it."
Jack raised an eyebrow, and I realized I'd given away more than I meant to. Anyway, it was true.
Andy was shaking his head, though. "They're not that kind of roommates. Just sharing the rent and didn't interact all that much. The roommate was usually at work or out with her boyfriend, and she said Ann was off doing her own thing too."
I sighed. "I hope you find her soon, and she's okay."
Both of them looked at me.
"I know, I know. She will be missing a finger. But that's a whole lot better than dead."
"We're doing our best, Tess," Andy said. Then he stood. "I need to get going. I dropped off our donation for the festival raffles at the church on my way here. The Ladies' Society was busy working away on the booths and putting baskets together, and they offered me coffee and donuts, so I've already been away from the office too long. I'll see you later."
"Good luck, Andy," I said impulsively. I knew it bothered him a lot when innocent people were harmed or in trouble. Sometimes I thought he was too nice to be in law enforcement.
He nodded and left. Jack started in on his fourth burger, and I grabbed my purse and put money on the table for my lunch.
"Jack, I need to get going. Call me if you find out anything about Brig. Either way, I'll talk to you later, okay?"
"After goat yoga?" The gleam in his eyes said he wasn't going to let it go until he found out the truth, but I just smiled, pretended not to hear him, and headed for the door, wondering if I should take the stealth spy team of Eleanor and Lorraine over to spy on Pastor Nash after we staked out Mr. Oliver.
When I got to my car, I leaned my head on my steering wheel and sat there for a long minute. When had my life turned into amputated body parts, spy missions, and goat yoga?
Would I ever just be normal?
On the other hand, ordinary women didn't get to go to Atlantis for dinner.
I smiled and started the car.
11
I'm happy to report that I had a nice, ordinary afternoon. No mysterious, magical items came in for pawn, no threatening or odd or otherwise suspicious customers darkened my doorstep.
It wasgreat.
Eleanor texted me three times after she left at two, and all of them were about the impending stakeout.
Tess, what should I wear?
Tess, I don't have any black clothes except the dress I wear to funerals, but I can't crouch in bushes wearing my good funeral dress.
Tess, do you think yoga pants will be okay? They're a deep purple, which will look black in the dark.
By the third text, I was seriously questioning my judgment. What had I gotten myself into? Or, more to the point, what had I let Eleanor get me into?
At five, I started the closing-up process and realized I hadn't heard from Jack, so I shot him a text.
Any news?
A minute or so later, he responded.
Believe it or not, my day is actually getting stranger. Be careful at goat yoga.
Then he texted me a goat emoji, and I didn't know what to do with a tiger texting me tiny cartoon goats, so I just put my phone in my pocket, locked up, and went home.
