Free Spying in High Heels by Gemma Halliday

Adams. Or, more accurately, Morticia Adams meets Playboy Bunny. Dana was dressed in a black vinyl outfit, just barely covering her derriere and showing more cleavage than I even owned. Her own hair was covered in a black wig that was taller than my hair had been in 1985. Pale foundation, black eyeliner and deep burgundy lip liner completed the Halloween chic costume. Only it was July.
    "Do I want to know?" I asked.
    "What?" Dana looked down at herself. "I told you I have an audition later. It's for an Elvira lookalike thing. Why, do I stick out?"
    I looked around the salon. Actually, she didn't. Hey, this was L.A.
    "So," she asked, "what's the pedi emergency?"
    As quickly as I could, I filled her in on the events of the last two days. Ramirez in Richard's condo, the floating redhead, and finally my impromptu chat with Greenway. By the time I was finished our toe-nails were soaked, moisturized and filed, and Dana's jaw was hanging open.
    "This is better than The Sopranosl You actually talked to a murderer ? What did he sound like?"
    "Kind of pissed, actually."
    "Ohmigod. You could have been killed!"
    Did I mention Dana has a flair for the dramatic?
    "It was just a phone call, Dana." I didn't tell her about my own overly dramatic reaction to said call.
    "So what did you do?"
    "Nothing. He hung up."
    Dana looked at me like I was the worst Nancy Drew ever.
    "What do you mean, 'nothing'? Didn't you ask where he was?"
    I slowly shook my head.
    "Did you hear anything helpful in the background? Check the caller ID? At least star-sixty-nine him?"
    I shook my head again. I was ashamed to admit I hadn't even thought of those. "Dumb, right?"
    Dana was such a good friend, she didn't even answer that. Instead she drew her blackened eyebrows together in concentration. "You know, I dated this guy once who worked at the phone company. He said that some of these small companies keep a log of calls coming in or going out. You think maybe Richard's firm does that?"
    I thought back to the blurb in Jasmine's file about her long-distance calls. "Yes! They do. Ohmigod, Dana, you're brilliant."
    Dana sat back in her chair, looking like she'd just solved a Rubik's cube.
    Obviously Jasmine wasn't going to give out any company information to me, but I had a feeling if I waited until she went on break again tomorrow, I could probably convince Althea to look up the number. She'd seemed sympathetic enough to Richard's plight. And if that didn't work, I could always bribe her with a free manicure.
    "This is so cool," Dana said, wiggling her primped toes. "It's just like that pilot I shot last spring, Diva Detectives . We're actually tracking down a murderer."
    We?
    "Whoa. What do you mean, 'we'?"
    Dana feigned a hurt look, sticking out her over-lined lip. "Hey, there's no way I'm letting you go all Charlie's Angels without me."
    While I appreciated the help, the light in Dana's eyes as she said "Charlie's Angels" had me immediately fearing feathered wigs and bellbottoms.
    "It's not a game, Dana. I think Richard's really in trouble." And even as I said it, the whole idea of running down Greenway was beginning to sound a little crazy. What were we actually going to do if we found him? I mean, as Dana so exuberantly pointed out, he was a murderer. What if he had a weapon? What if he tried to shoot us? I didn't think I could face being shot at any more than I could face an EPT.
    "Maybe I should just turn this all over to the police," I said. "I mean, they have all the resources. Not to mention experience with this sort of thing."
    Dana narrowed her eyes at me. "And what do you think will be the first thing the cops do when they find Richard?"
    I bit my lip. "Give him a ride home?"
    "Ahhhnt." Dana made a buzzer sound. "Wrong answer. They're going to read him his rights and slap a pair of cuffs on him. Honey, they tore his office apart; they searched his home. They don't do that unless they're after a serious suspect. Don't you watch COPS ?"
    My heart sank into a