She had finally learned to read caller ID, and I was ridiculously proud. “Hi, Nana. I need to talk to you.”
“Oh, excellent. I just left the Green Eggs and Ham breakfast over at Sunshine Eats.” Her voice bubbled. Sunshine Eats had been a town fixture as long as I could remember.
“Who won this year?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Bobbo Brando won,” Nana said. “Isn’t that lovely? He came from his farm and cooked the best green eggs and ham I’ve ever had.”
Finally, some good news. Bobbo always struck me as decent. He farmed alpacas.
“Guess what?” she asked, pure delight.
“What?” I asked.
She giggled. “Right after he won and was given the trophy, he proposed to Kelsey Walker.”
I blinked, then let the statement land. “That’s really good news.” Kelsey and I had become friendly through a couple of my cases. She’d been looking for love for a while. “Bobbo is solid, if a little thick. What did she say?”
“She said yes, of course,” Nana said. “They make a perfect pair. Don’t you think?”
I shrugged even though she couldn’t see me. “Heck if I know, but he seems like a good guy, and that’s what Kelsey needs. She’ll bring some fun to his life.”
“Yes, it’s a good thing. I do love a wonderful engagement. Don’t you, Anna?”
My head tipped back. “Yes, Nana. Do you have time to meet up with me today?”
She let me off the hook with a pleased little hum. “Sounds delightful. Your mom and I are driving into Timber City to get some more decorations for the shop.”
“You don’t need any more decorations. St. Paddy’s has taken over.”
“Oh, honey, you can always have a couple more. Do you need me to bring you anything? Lotion? Oil?”
Could she be any sweeter? “No, thank you. How about lunch? Meet me at noon?”
“That sounds good. We can meet at Tessa’s restaurant over there.”
“Of course. I’ll see you there, Nana.”
“Bye, honey.” She ended the call.
The office settled back into the sound of the spring deluge. My sister had purchased half interest in Smiley’s Diner down the street from my office, the same place she’d worked since high school. She bought into that restaurant around the same time she opened Silver Sadie’s over in the valley. She was planning a wedding and juggling two businesses. When did she find time to breathe?
I needed to focus on Nana and the mess tightening around her. I picked up the phone and scrolled to the next call.
“Hello, dear,” Nonna answered, warm as always.
I paced to the window, palm cooling on the glass. The ground below gleamed dark and wet. “Hi, Nonna. I need to ask you a question.”
“Of course. Anything.”
I needed answers but didn’t want to get her involved. “Last I heard, you were looking for someone to do computer searches and that kind of work for Three Hens Investigations.” The three women could out-stakeout most rookies, but Wi-Fi was not their friend. “Did you find anybody, or…?”
“Yes. Yes, we did,” Nonna said. “We have a young man who can pretty much hack into anything.”
I could not deal with that. “Nonna, no hacking. We just want somebody who can conduct research legally through official channels.” I kept my voice even.
“Oh yes, yes, yes, of course,” Nonna said brightly. I could hear the faint scrape of a teaspoon against porcelain, meaning she’d made tea. “We do have that, sweetheart. That’s exactly what he does. What do you need?”
I dropped back into my chair and stared at the ceiling, counting the small cracks near the light fixture. “I need to meet him.” Usually, I used my great-uncles for research and fieldwork, but they were all trying to retire, and I didn’t want to bug them. “Do you suppose you could give me his name?”
