Lynda took a card from her pocket and handed it to Dawn. “Our address and phone number are there.”
Dawn glanced at the card. It read: We fight the stains on your clothes and the tarnish on your karma.
“You mean you’re actually a dry cleaner as well?”
“We can get grease out of silk like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Well, that’s good to know, I guess. I’ve never owned any silk.”
Lynda smiled. “You will.”
Dawn couldn’t really respond to that. Apparently, this woman was way more psychic than she was. “So what’s the next step?”
“You have to check in once a week in person for a session. I’m sort of like your probation officer but with cookies! Plus, it’s a great excuse for a good gabfest. Deal?”
Dawn would love to have someone to talk to when she didn’t want to worry her grandmother. “Deal.”
Amazing how your life can change in a week. First, she had met Lynda from Karma Cleaners, and now she had met a cute young cop who needed her help.
Dawn hoped lying to her boss and pretending to be sick wouldn’t count against her karma if it was for a good cause. She took a few moments to look up symptoms on WebMD. Something that could be serious but not too serious.
At the appointed time, she grabbed her backpack, strode to Nancy’s office, and remembered to place her hand over her abdomen before she knocked on her door.
No answer.
Shoot. She’d have to go to Nancy’s boss, Mr. Addison. Oh, wait. That might be even better! Men tended to shy away from “lady problems.”
With a look of discomfort on her face, she made her excuse of a worsening pain in her abdomen.
Addison took one look at her and said, “You should see a doctor.”
“Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.” Huh? I know I’m pale, but do I look sick even when I’m not? She was slightly insulted, but at the moment, it served her purpose.
“Do you have someone who can drive you? Or would you like me to call an ambulance to take you to the emergency room?”
“An ambulance? No! I can see the nurse practitioner who works with my doctor right away. Their office isn’t far.”
“Okay. Let me know how it goes.”
“I will. If it’s nothing, I’ll even come back today.”
“Good. I hope it’s nothing serious.”
Dawn walked to the elevator, trying to decide if she should shuffle slowly, holding her stomach, and possibly look like she needed an ambulance, or just walk normally and risk being seen as a faker.
She decided on a fast shuffle and got on the elevator before the big boss changed his mind. When the doors closed and she began descending, she muttered, “This better be important, Officer Fierro.”
She stepped outside and spotted Luca waving from his car. She strode to it briskly and got in.
“Thanks for meeting me. I need your help.”
“With what?”
“A missing child. You can’t tell anyone else, or it could mess up the investigation.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh no. A missing kid? That’s awful. Boy or girl? How old?”
“A four-year-old girl, and there are no leads. We’re trying to find her quickly, before anything worse happens. You can’t tell anyone.”
