"Right, right, we're here for Alice," I reminded myself, chuckling at my own distractibility. We browsed the store's offerings, searching for items that would bring a touch of personality and warmth to Alice's new room.
"Ooh, how about this?" Henry held up a quirky little owl-shaped lamp, which was both adorable and slightly creepy.
"Perfect," I said, laughing. "She'll love it."
As we turned onto the next aisle I caught sight of someone familiar through the window, and my heart dropped straight into my stomach.
"Daniel," I said urgently, tugging on his arm. "That's Katie, the disgruntled customer. We’ve been trying to figure out another way to approach her without trespassing on her property. Her being here right now might be the perfect opportunity."
"Are you sure it’s her?" he asked, squinting through the glass.
"Positive," I said, my pulse quickening. "I need to call Beth."
He squeezed my hand reassuringly. "I'll keep an eye on her while you make the call."
I hurried to the corner so I could still see Katie out the window and pulled out my phone to dial Beth's number as fast as my fingers would allow.
She picked up after only two rings, sounding frazzled. "Beth, it's Emma. I just saw Katie. She's at the ice cream parlor downtown."
"Really?" she gasped, her voice laced with relief and disbelief. "I'll be right there."
"Great, we'll wait for you here." I assured her before hanging up and hurrying back to Daniel's side.
"Any news?" he asked, his green eyes focused intently on the door of the ice cream parlor across the street.
"Beth's on her way," I said, my nerves making me all jittery.
19
EMMA
“Henry,”I said, looking at my brother. “There’s something I need to do for our case. Would you mind if I left?”
“To be honest, I’d rather have Daniel here. You get so distracted shopping you’re almost useless. It was worth dealing with for ring shopping, but I only asked you to join me so Daniel would come. He’s good at stuff like this.”
There it was. My brother’s honesty, something he was well known for. I turned to Daniel, not offended because I was used to my brother’s directness and saw Daniel grinning. He didn’t mind shopping with my brother, and he probably loved me getting called out for my meandering while shopping.
“Will you guys be okay without me?”
Danielveryobviously swallowed down a smile. “We’ll survive.”
He was going to pay for that later. For now, I needed to put my investigator hat back on and plug back into the case. Deva needed our help.
Someone honked outside. I turned to see Beth and Carol pulled up out front, Beth’s gaze narrowed. Beth was in her investigator mode too, which was sometimes a little scary. I better hurry.
"Bye, Daniel. Bye, Henry," I called and rushed from the store, the door jingling behind me as it closed. The sun kissed my skin, and I squinted against the glare. I hopped into Beth's car with all the grace of a baby giraffe, trying not to bang my head on the frame.
"Ready for our little adventure?" Beth asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief. Carol nodded enthusiastically from the backseat.
"Let's do this." I pulled the seatbelt across my chest and clicked it into place. Beth pulled out of the store's parking lot and crossed the street to park at the ice cream parlor. I'd been watching and Katie hadn't reappeared.
"Time to get incognito," Beth announced, pulling out an assortment of hats, glasses, and scarves from a large tote bag. We giggled like schoolgirls as we donned our disguises, looking more like bumbling caricatures than undercover spies.
"Perfect. No one will ever recognize us now," I deadpanned, adjusting my oversized sunglasses, which threatened to slide down my nose at any moment.
"Shh, there she is," Carol hissed, pointing out the window as Katie emerged from the ice cream parlor, a cone in hand. We watched her take a few steps, then scrambled out of the car to follow her from a safe distance.
"Is it just me, or does she look even more suspicious than usual?" I mused as we trailed her through town. The scent of flowers from a nearby shop tickled my nose, but I resisted the urge to sneeze, lest I blow our cover.
