He held the piece of jewelry in his palm. “I’m glad you spotted this. It should get my ex off my back.”
“Your ex?”
“We broke up weeks ago, but she’s been hounding me about a lost earring ever since,” Bodie explained. “I’ll drop this off at her place. Maybe then she’ll finally stop texting me. Thanks, Emersyn.”
A thread of tension eased inside of me. “I spotted it by luck, but I’m glad I was able to help.”
His story had a ring of truth to it, so maybe he wasn’t a player after all. I was willing to withhold judgment on that point.
I left his apartment with a smile and some parting words, glad that my fear of heights had led me to Bodie.
Chapter
Twenty
“You really need to give me your number,” Theo said as she approached Jemma and me the next day. “I’ve got better things to do than spend my time looking high and low for you.”
My bestie and I were seated on the wide rim of the Mirage’s decrepit and empty mermaid fountain, enjoying the few rays of October sunshine reaching us there in the courtyard. I’d just filled Jemma in on the previous day’s escapades when Theo interrupted our conversation without a shred of contrition.
I could have told her that I had no obligation to report my whereabouts to her, but who was I kidding? It was easier to hand my phone over, so I did.
“We’ve been debriefing,” Jemma told her. “Rosario’s a solid suspect. We need to find a way to serve her up to the police on a platter.”
“I need details,” Theo said as she sent herself a text from my phone.
She handed back the device, and once again, I relayed what I’d learned at the cocktail party and what Wyatt and I had found in Rosario’s apartment.
“He can pick locks?” Theo said, impressed, when I reached thatpart of the story. “He’s more than just good looks then. He’ll be a great asset for the agency.”
“Thefakeagency,” I stressed.
“It’s not fake anymore,” Theo countered. “We’ve got a phone number, a website, and you’re investigating. How much more real could it get?”
Jemma shrugged. “She could be getting paid to investigate.”
Theo waved off that detail. “Once we’ve got this pro bono case under our belts, the money will roll in.”
I decided not to shatter her crazy fantasy. She was just a kid, after all.
I continued with my story of searching Rosario’s apartment and finding the dart-pierced portrait of Freddie. As I’d predicted, Theo demanded to see photos, so I passed my phone to her again.
When I got to the part about the snakes, Jemma made a face.
“I can’t stand reptiles.” She gave a dramatic shudder. “I’m so glad I wasn’t with you.”
“Wyatt told me they’re harmless,” I said. “I sure hope he’s right about that.”
“He knows snakes?” Theo said, looking thoughtful. “I’ll add that to his file.”
“He’s got a file?” I asked with surprise.
“So do you.”
What? I did not like the sound of that. “I want to see mine.”
Theo gave an unconcerned, one-shoulder shrug. “It’s confidential.”
“It’s my file and my agency!” I protested.
