Free Swindled in Paradise by Deborah Brown

the house on fire.”
    I tapped my finger on the note he’d given me. “Write down the name of his hotel and the address of the trashed house.”
    “You need to talk to Ian, you can do it by appointment here at my office. You shouldn’t have a problem finding the house, it should be crawling with workmen, repairs just got started.”
    Fab bent across his desk. “Just so we’re in agreement, anything goes wrong and our fee is quadrupled.”
    Brick slammed his hand down. “Listen, you two money-suckers, ever since you thought up this enhanced fee, you’ve charged it on every case. This time, there will be no guns, no violence, no one so much as stubs their toe. Fab…” His tone suddenly changed to one of concern. “Sorry to hear about the boyfriend. My resources are available. He needs bail, I’ll get it posted. Reassure him that if he’s booked, he won’t have to spend a minute in a cell. I’ll handle this one myself.”
    I liked the caring side of Brick. I hadn’t believed it when Fab assured me it existed until I saw it for myself.
    “Thanks,” she said softly. “Right now, he’s hopping one hurdle at a time. He’s got Cruz in his corner. You run in those circles. Ask around, find out who wanted Lauren Grace dead.”
    “I’ve got some feelers out now; I’ll keep you informed,” he reassured her.
    Fab stood up and nudged me. “Don’t forget the snacks.”
    I stood and plunged my hand into the candy bowl.
    “Stay off the damn banisters,” Brick yelled as Fab disappeared out the office door.
    I waved a fistful of treats at him and followed her out.
    Fab looked like she had the weight of the world on her slender frame. There hadn’t been an update from Didier, and I knew she’d worry until she heard from him, assuring her Cruz was living up to his reputation and keeping him out of jail.
    “What next?” I asked. “Stakeout?”
    She turned up her nose. There wasn’t anything exciting about a stakeout—just a bunch of waiting, eating junk food, and nowhere to go to the bathroom.
    “That option is way down on the list,” she said. “Since Ursula’s so good at spotting a tail, we need to be extra vigilant. I refuse to follow her all over town when all we’ll get is a big fat nothing. We’ll wait outside her house. When she leaves, you follow her, and park at the end of the block. If she turns around and comes back, call me. Hopefully, by the time she gets back, I’ll have had a look around inside and found a clue as to what she did with Ian’s stuff.”
    “Creole gets attitudinal when we commit felonies. I haven’t had a lecture in a while, and I’d like to keep it that way. It kills the getting-frisky mood.”
    Fab’s laugh conveyed that she didn’t care what he thought. “We need to take care of this case fast. I want to be available for Didier. I’m not taking any new clients right now, not criminal ones anyway. My full attention is going to be on Didier.”
    “I made a little checklist that could bring our felony count to an all-time high, starting with Lauren’s house. Next stop, snoop through Balcazar’s corporate offices. We need to hurry, in case someone decides to clean out her desk and any personal belongings, if they haven’t already. I weaseled a little info out of Brad—Didier was the connection to Lauren through her boss, Balcazar—but I asked too many questions, and he clammed up, making it clear he didn’t want me nosing around.”
    “Call our Information Coordinator. Tell her we need a rush job––two in fact. This Ursula chick and a thorough investigation on anyone who knew Lauren Grace.”
    “That’s a fancy title; Phil hears that and she’ll raise her prices. She’s already working on Didier’s case.”
    Fab stepped on the gas. “We need to get home. I need a glass of wine out by the pool before we go to dinner.”
     

Chapter 11
    Looking in the mirror, I sighed. Another date night with Fab and Didier, which meant dress-up, painful shoes, and