“Ooh! Fence!” Agnes exclaimed with delight. She nudged Carmen with her elbow. “Look at you with all the fancy lingo.” She turned her eager eyes on me. “So, where is this pawnshop?”
“East Fordham Road,” I said.
Carmen’s gaze sharpened. “Vinny’s Pawnshop? Is that the one?”
“Apparently.”
“You can’t go there alone,” Carmen said. “All sorts of questionable characters go in there.”
“Bodie warned me about that.”
Carmen nodded with approval. “He’s a good man. You could do far worse. Although juggling two men isn’t something I recommend doing for long.”
Agnes nodded sagely. “It rarely turns out well.”
“I’m not juggling two men,” I said.
Agnes’s eyes widened. “Is there a third? You’ve been busier than we thought.”
“No!” I rushed to correct her. “I’m not juggling any men! I’m not in a relationship with Bodie or Wyatt or anyone else.”
Carmen and Agnes exchanged a look.
Then Agnes tapped the side of her nose. “We understand. You don’t want them getting wind of each other.”
I was about to correct her again when Carmen opened the door.
“Let’s get a move on,” she said. “There’s no time like the present.”
“Get a move on?” I echoed with surprise.
“To the pawnshop,” Carmen said with obvious impatience. She used her cane to herd Agnes and me out the door.
“But I don’t have anyone to accompany me,” I protested as I snatched my keys from the entryway table where I’d dropped them moments before.
“What are we? Invisible?” Carmen groused as I locked the door. “That’s what happens when you become a senior citizen. Everyone looks right past you, thinks you’re good for nothing.”
“I didn’t mean that!” I hurried to assure her. “I just thought that you ladies would have better things to do.” Or that I should take someone stronger and more imposing with me. I decided it was best to keep that thought to myself.
“Better than solving a murder and helping our beloved neighbors?” Agnes said with surprise. “What could be more important than that?”
I didn’t have a good answer for her.
“Yoo-hoo!” Leona called as she hurried along the hall toward us. She staggered slightly but got herself back on course. “What’s happening?”
“We’re going to question a murder suspect!” Agnes said with excitement.
“Speak with a person of interest,” I corrected.
“How exciting!” Leona said as she wrapped a green feather boa around her neck. “It’s a good thing I caught you then.”
“Why’s that?” I asked, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.
Leona lifted her chin. “It’s not like any ofyouhave experience playing a detective on television.”
“And you do?” Agnes asked with genuine curiosity.
“Well, I neverplayeda detective,” Leona admitted. “But onPassion CityI certainly playedwithone. If you know what I mean.” She gave us an exaggerated wink.
