“Uh, after you set a humane trap and catch our friend, right?” Riley said.
“I got one of those Have a Heart traps you can borrow,” Roger told Nick. “Consider it a birthday present.”
“Thanks, Roger.”
“Case closed,” Mrs. Penny said with satisfaction. “Six more of those, and I’ll have paying clients banging on your door.”
There was a loud knock at their door.
She smirked. “See?”
Burt raced to the door, getting there just behind Nick.
Kellen strolled inside in a fresh suit. His badge and service weapon were clipped to his belt.
“If the cops are invited to this party, I’m outtie,” Mrs. Penny announced. She grabbed another slice of cake and headed for the kitchen.
“Looks like someone’s back on the job,” Riley said.
“Reinstated this morning,” Kellen said.
“Knock knock!” Sesame called from the open front door. “Oh, good! You’re all here!”
She pranced into the foyer wearing a surprisingly subdued business suit and silver, sparkly stilettos. Tommy was just behind her, also wearing a suit.
“You two clean up nice,” Josie observed.
“We just came from a meeting with the FBI and DEA. We’re officially immune from all prosecution. Yay!”
“Oh, gosh. Okay,” Riley said as Sesame wrapped her in a perfumey hug. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Riley. See? If you keep working at the whole psychic thing, eventually you can make things happen for yourself.”
Riley took a breath and held eye contact with Sesame. “When you were seven, you wanted to get Kellen a birthday present, but your mom told you birthday gifts were the work of Satan, so you went to the library, stole a book about becoming a police officer, removed the barcode, and wrapped it up in Sunday comics for him.”
Sesame released her. “Whoa.”
“Yeah. I do okay,” Riley told her. “Now, you might as well tell everyone your other news.”
Nick pulled her in front of him and wrapped his arms around her. “You’re so sexy when you show off, Thorn.”
Sesame turned to face her audience. “Riley’s right. I have another announcement. It’s time for Tommy and me to take the next step in our relationship!”
It looked like the announcement was news to Tommy. He looked confused, then perked up. “Are we starting a family?”
“No, silly! Well, maybe. Depending on the ratings. We’re moving to New York and getting our own reality show!”
“I thought you went to New York to talk to a lawyer?” Kellen said.
“I did. Anentertainmentlawyer. I’ve been working on this deal ever since I knew HardMax wasn’t going to go the distance. But the network and production company both had pretty strong feelings about illegal ventures. I had to clean up any snafus with the law, past and present. The working title isBeth is Back. It’ll be all about how I’m a reformed criminal mastermind and readjusting to law-abiding life.”
Only Sesame…er, Beth could make the truth sound like fiction.
“I already have an endorsement deal with a juice company.” She flapped her hands like an excited bird and squealed. “Can you believe it?”
Kellen rubbed his forehead. “No. No, I can’t.”
“So you’re moving out? That’s great news! When? Today?” Nick asked.
