Free Ninja Soccer Moms by Jennifer Apodaca Page B

floor in front of Ali’s seat and pulled my cell out of my purse. “Hello?”
    â€œSam, it’s me.”
    â€œAngel, what’s up?” My mind was on Ali, not my best friend.
    â€œI’m at Mom’s shop. I think you’d better get over here right away.”
    â€œNow’s not a good time, Angel. I’m—”
    â€œSophie Muffley is here, Sam. She’s getting her hair done. And she’s telling everyone who will listen not to talk to you about Chad Tuggle’s murder.”

5
    I dropped Ali off at work, then shot up Railroad Canyon and turned right at the Cocoa’s restaurant on Casino Drive. I went past the Sizzler and made a left into the pink stucco strip mall.
    None of this made sense. Sophie was Chad’s part-time secretary at his insurance office. Her husband was the president of the soccer club. No one was tighter with Chad. So why the hell would Sophie tell people at Angel’s mom’s beauty shop not to help me find out who killed Chad? Knowing Sophie, I was surprised she wasn’t in Detective Vance’s face insisting that he find the killer immediately.
    I parked in front of Glam4Less, then remembered that I’d fallen into a pile of trash in the muddy parking lot. Crap. And here I was at a beauty shop full of women.
    I got out of the car and grabbed my long raincoat from the back. I solved the problem by slipping that on. I knew how to improvise.
    Inside, the smell of peroxide and perm solutions was tossed around by busy blow-dryers. The noise level rivaled my house when Grandpa and the boys turned on wrestling. On my left was the counter with the booking receptionist. Angel sat there on a high stool admiring her freshly painted nails.
    They were black with colored sparkles. Cool. I wasn’t quite sure what I thought about the black tips in her waist-length red hair. “New look?”
    Angel lifted her vivid green eyes. “For my premiere party. Tempt-an-Angel Lingerie is all about sexy fun. I needed a new look.”
    It was a burden to overlook my best friend’s long-legged beauty, but I was up to the challenge. “You and your lingerie will be a hit.” No matter what else happened, I was determined to pull this party off for Angel. We had a girlfriend pact about finding our careers and men. I found my career—okay, maybe I wasn’t a success just yet—but I wanted Angel to find her career, too.
    Men were another problem altogether. I wasn’t sure that telling Angel about Gabe’s stunt this morning was a good idea. Sure, Gabe was a tough guy right off the streets of LA, but Angel was in a class by herself.
    I focused on why I came running over here. “So what’s the story?” I asked, glancing around behind me. The shampoo bowls were nestled in the back right corner of the shop, and behind there was the back room for employees. The front of the shop had the hair stations. The manicurists worked next to the receptionist station. The shop had a black-and-white Fifties look to it. Framed posters from TV shows like I Love Lucy, and movies like Grease, decorated the walls.
    â€œSophie Muffley, over there at Mom’s station, heard Joanna telling Mom that Janie cancelled her nail appointment this morning.”
    I looked over at Angel’s mom. She was easy to spot, with Lucy Ricardo red hair that was teased on top with a flip at her shoulders. Trixie wore her usual—overalls paired with a busy printed T-shirt, and tennis shoes that had glitter and sequins glued on them. She looked up in the mirror at me and waved with her scissor hand.
    I waved back.
    That’s when Sophie Muffley, sitting in Trixie’s chair beneath a black cape, caught sight of me. Sophie and I had worked many, many soccer functions together. In her late fifties, her kids were grown and she was a career volunteer. Her awards were numerous—local clubs and newspapers had honored her. If I had a dime for all her