On a growl, Riley started scraping sushi off the platter into Jasmine’s purse.
“Hey! That’s new! I’ll never get the fish smell out of it,” her friend complained.
“I’ll buy you a new one,” Riley wheezed.
“Well, in that case…” Jasmine shoveled the remaining rolls into her purse and topped everything off with the bowl of seaweed salad.
“Call Wilhelm and have him meet us out back,” Riley said, dragging both women from the booth.
“Are you okay, Riley? I know those jeans are a little tighter than what you’re used to wearing, but they aren’t making you feel dizzy or anything, are they?” Sesame asked.
“Just go!”
With a bag full of sushi and the server chasing them down the alley with Sesame’s receipt, they hauled ass toward the limo.
“Why are we running?” Jasmine asked, hugging her purse to her chest.
“Because I recognized someone from earlier today. I think he’s following us.”
“Really?” Sesame stopped in her tracks. “What did he look like?”
“Dark curly hair, frowny face.”
Sesame stopped halfway in and out of the limo. She took Riley’s wrist in a death grip. “Did he have a nice butt?”
“No! He had no butt at all,” she said, stuffing the woman into the car and climbing in after her. “Punch it, Wilhelm!”
18
12:31 p.m., Saturday, October 26
“Mrs. Basil-Thorn, I’m not sure you’re understanding the question.” Kellen looked like he was on hour seven of an interrogation that wasn’t going well.
“And I’m pretty sure you’re just not understanding my answer,” Blossom said, picking up her mug of tea and blowing at the steam.
“I asked you how we can get my sister—I mean, my friend—to open up and tell us what happened to her. And you pulled a card out of a deck and told me I was a fool.”
“No, the card is the Fool. And since it was reversed it tends to symbolize either a bad decision or a new beginning that you’ll find worrisome.”
Nick smirked at the card on the kitchen table. It was kind of nice not being on the receiving end for once. Of course, his ex-partner hadn’t been told that he was going to die or anything like that.
“What does this have to do with my sis—friend?” Kellen asked.
“My advice is tailored specifically to the person. If you want me to properly advise you on how to make your cis friend open up, I’d need to do a reading on her since I’ve never met her.”
Roger harrumphed from behind his iPad, where he was researching 1980s TV show trivia. “Jesus, woman! Did you drink too much beet juice? You already met her.”
Blossom looked at her husband so fast Nick worried about whiplash. “No. I. Didn’t, Roger. And neither did you.Remember?”
“Then who was the pink girl with all the hair and the big…” Roger held up his hands in front of his own chest. “At yoga this morning with Riley—”
Nick suddenly no longer found any humor in the situation. “Riley went to yoga today?”
“No. Riley? Ha! No,” Blossom said. “She wasn’t feeling well today and stayed home. You must be thinking about last week, Roger.”
“Huh?”
Blossom gasped dramatically. “Did you hear that?”
