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“Pinky swear,” Carmen agreed, then crooked her pinky so we could all take turns shaking pinkies with her.
Once we were seated and I was enjoying the sweet, tart flavor of my cupcake, Carmen cleared her throat and looked at us, her expression conveying her nerves.
“But,” she began, “if I put myself out there and he shoots me down, you guys owe me a girl’s night, with lots of sappy movies and tequila.”
“You’ve got a deal,” I promised, and everyone around the table agreed.
“I don’t know what’s taking her so long,” I told Bran when we were halfway through our session. “She said yesterday that she’d be here.”
“Maybe she sent you a message,” Bran suggested, so I took a break and hobbled over to where I’d left my bag and got out my phone.
Sure enough, I had a missed call from Carmen.
“She left a voicemail,” I called, holding up a finger to let him know I’d just be a minute.
Hey, Lila, it’s me. I swear I’m not trying to bail on you, or renege on what I told you guys yesterday, but my editor told me to follow up with Samantha Stacker’s ex this morning for the piece. He wants to run it tomorrow. Anywho, I was on my way to Carlton’s when I saw her brother Tony hanging out outside the Greenswood Motel. Didn’t you say you were looking for him? All right, call me when you get this. Later!
I looked at the time of the missed call, and saw that it was about twenty minutes ago. If I hurried, I might still be able to catch Tony and question him about what Jaclyn had told me.
“Hey, Bran, I hate to bail on you, but, I need to try and catch a guy at the Greenswood Motel to question him about my case.”
Bran wiped his face with a hand towel, then walked over to me.
“That’s where that woman was murdered, right? The case you’re working on?”
“Yeah, Carmen thought she saw Samantha’s brother over there, and I really need to talk to him.”
“I’ll come with you,” Bran said, already heading for the door.
“You don’t have to,” I assured him. “I know you have to get ready for work yourself … I can handle it on my own.”
“C’mon, I’m curious. Let me see the PI in action,” Bran pleaded, his face hopeful.
“Oh, all right, but no trying to take over, or be a hero.”
“I promise,” he said, crossing his hand over his heart. “I’ll leave all the rough stuff to you.”
“Okay, let’s go. I don’t want him to disappear on me again.”
Luckily, the motel wasn’t too far from the gym, and Bran just jumped in the van with me, rather than bringing two cars. I pulled into the parking lot and searched the area.
“Is that him?” Bran asked, and my gaze followed his finger to a folding chair by the pool. Sure enough, Tony was sitting there by the edge of the pool, his head in his hands.
“Sure is.”
I rounded the pool with Bran on my heels, then stopped next to Tony’s chair and kicked the leg.
“Hey,” Tony complained, his head shooting up.
“A lot of people are looking for you, Tony,” I said, hoping I sounded tougher than I felt.
“Oh, yeah, what for?” Tony asked with a sneer.
He looked like he hadn’t bathed in days, and his eyes were red and puffy, as if he’d been crying.
I ignored his question; instead I looked out over the pool and said, “So, this is where they found her, huh?”
Tony followed my gaze and replied, “Yeah.”
