Two moms with strollers full of kids stopped in their tracks and then spun off in the opposite direction at a fast clip.
“None that you need to worry about,” Kellen said, sounding tired. “I do, however, have a housekeeper for you to talk to today. I’m up to my elbows in court preparation for a case tomorrow, and I just caught a fatal hit and run.”
Riley winced. Wading into death all day, every day had to take a toll. She was glad Nick had left that profession behind. Instead of piecing together body parts, he handled legal papers and sat in cars to take pictures of people.
In her opinion, it was a much healthier gig.
“You wantmeto interview a witness?” She gulped.
“I can’t get away, and she wants to talk away from the Hornberger house so she doesn’t get fired.”
“Am I your only option?”
“Thorn. There’s no reason to be nervous. I’ll let you in on a little secret. You’re going to interview a witness as a representative of the Harrisburg PD. You don’t have to be worried about impressing her. She’s already terrified.”
“That’s comforting,” she said dryly.
“I just need you to get the details of the glitter bomb. When it came. Where she opened it. If there was a note. Where the packaging went. Who cleaned it up.”
“Got it. Glitter bomb focus.”
“Can you handle this?” Kellen asked.
“Yeah.” Probably. She’d asked people questions before. How hard could it be with a murder investigation at stake?
“Great. She’s at the West Shore Farmers Market working at the pretzel stand. Her name is Marina.”
Riley glanced back at her crew. Gabe was still meditating. Mrs. Penny had fallen asleep with her mouth open, and Burt was covered in jelly and powdered sugar.
“Is it okay if I have company?”
“As long as she talks to you and you get me the information, I don’t care if you take a naked marching band with you.”
A naked marching band.Riley wondered if there might actually be a market for that.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
“Great. Send me your notes, and don’t do anything embarrassing.”
Weber disconnected.
Riley dragged Burt out of the donut box. “Guys, we have a pit stop to make,” she told her friends.
* * *
“Hold still, big guy,”Mrs. Penny said, reaching into her backpack and producing an orange vest. She clipped it on Burt, who was immediately terrified of it.
They were in the crowded parking lot of the West Shore Farmers Market. A two-story building home to, well…everything from butcher-fresh turkey burgers to wild-caught salmon in the middle of Lemoyne.
“What purpose does that serve?” Gabe asked, admiring the vest.
“They don’t allow pets in there, what with all the raw meat. This way, we can pretend he’s in training to be one of those support doggies.”
“It says ‘Public Safety’ on it,” Riley observed.
“Don’t see you coming up with a better idea,” Mrs. Penny said.
“Fine. Let’s go. Burt, don’t destroy anything,” she warned. “We’re going straight to the pretzel stand to interview Marina. Then we’re coming back to the Jeep without causing any scenes. Got it?”
