If Saffi and Andino were the wheels of a bike, then Taylor was the chain. After she’d left, though, Saffi had felt like she’d lost the spark that had once made investigative work so fun. She’d struggled to find the meaning in any of it, especially when she started solving cases as easily as breathing. A single wheel could spin alone for an eternity, but it could never take you anywhere.
Chapter Fourteen
March 2, 2026
Dimple paced thelength of her apartment. She must’ve been going for hours now, calves straining with effort, but she could think of nothing but the woman who’d approached Priyal. There weren’t many rationalizations she could come up with. At least, not many on feasible grounds.
Explanation One: Salomé had bribed the Singhs into letting the casego.
The Singhs were unfathomably rich, however, so Dimple doubted there was any amount of money that could buy them. Especially when their precious daughter was involved. Although it was possible the company had managed to ascertain something else the Singhs desired more than money, offering them that instead. If that was the case, Dimple had no concept of what such a thing couldbe.
Explanation Two: The Singhs had simply givenup.
But Irene was their only daughter. They had always doted on her the way parents were meant to. Moreover, the Singhs’ lawsuit had been met with nothing but support from the public. Money wasn’t the issue because, once again, they had that in spades. There was not a single thing, as far as Dimple could see, stopping them from moving forward.
Explanation Three: Salomé blackmailed the Singhs.
It was possible, yes, but Dimple couldn’t wrap her head around it.Even those on the highest of pedestals had their downfalls, but would a fashion brand go to such lengths?Couldthey go to such lengths?
Four: The Singhs had found something or someone else to blame for Irene’s death.
This was the final rationalization Dimple could invent. It was also, to her horror, the most logical. To cancel the lawsuit so publicly without utmost certainty that Salomé was not to blame would be beyond foolish. The Singhs would be made a laughingstock if they tried to sue Salomé again after this. Nor would it look good in front of a judge, especially following the comments they made in the published article.
And if the Singhs were this certain that something or someone else was to blame, that would mean that Irene’s case had been undoubtedly determined a murder. Dimple took a seat at her couch, tucking her feet under her legs and pulling out a notebook. Pen pushing thoughtfully against her cheek, she drafted a timeline.
January 23, Irene Singh dies.
January 26, private investigators appear, bringing news of Irene’s death.
January 27, accepted the lead role inInsomnia.
Morning of February 2, the Singhs announce plans to sue Salomé.
Evening of February 2, message from the blackmailer (Isaac Klossner).
Early morning of February 3, Isaac Klossner dies.
March 1, the Singh’s publicly announce their decision to rescind the lawsuit against Salomé. Additionally, Priyal is approached by an unknown woman claiming to be a friend.
With the facts laid bare, it became clear that if definitive proof had been found that someone was to blame for Irene’s death, it would’ve had to have been between February 2 and March 1. Which meant it was most likely Isaac’s death that tipped them off. Dimple couldn’t imagine how anyone could have managed to link the two. Perhaps someone discovered that he’d catered Irene’s party the night she died, but surely there would’ve been no reason to look into him so closely?
It also became clear that whoever had approached Priyal could be investigating Irene’s case. The thought alone made Dimple’s blood run cold. This meant she was almost certainly a suspect. For a brief, hysterical moment, she wondered if the proof Isaac had on his computer had somehow not been erased. But she reminded herself that if that were the case, she would’ve been dragged away in handcuffs by now.
No, it wasn’t possible there was anything officially linking Dimple to Irene’s or Isaac’s death. It was more likely she was one suspect in a pool of many. But if the investigators kept pulling at these loose threads, the entire spool would unfurl. She had to do something drastic—something to throw them off her trail entirely before they unearthed something she couldn’t explain.
As she scanned the timeline once again, she found herself drawn back to the woman who’d approached Priyal. That had to be the best place to start. Dimple opened the drawer closest to her and retrieved the black embossed business card.Andino and Taylor Private Eye.
On the front page of their official website was a picture of Atlas Andino looking fierce and Eli Taylor smiling brightly in front of their practice. No sign of the woman. It was possible that the Singhs had hired another company to investigate after realizing that Atlas and Eli had come to a false conclusion. Which would be a shame; the men had been all too easy to deal with.
Dimple spent the next hour researching the top private investigator agencies in California. Surely the Singhs would settle for nothing but the best. She found a few women-owned agencies, but none matching the description her assistant had given her.
Although, thinking back to it, Priyal had mentioned Arizona. Dimple typed in,Arizona Private Investigatorand hit search.
There she was. The first photo that graced the screen, a young woman with a scowl on her face, black hair pulled into a ponytail almost as an afterthought. Dimple got the feeling she was meticulous about everything but her appearance.
The headline of the accompanying article read,Arizona’s Sweetheart: Governor Iyer’s Daughter Graduates with Honors, Licensed as a Private Investigator.It was from six years ago. Her name was Saffi Mirai Iyer and she’d worked at Stronghold Private Eye, an agency based in Arizona that had permanently shut down about a year after she’d joined.
Some more digging connected Saffi, Atlas, and Eli’s names in various articles about cases they’d solved together. This had to be her, but Dimple sent a picture for Priyal to verify just in case.
