Free Three Wishes by Juli Alexander

Oversight Committee was so much busier lately. They had to work much harder to catch those abusing their powers.
    “Maybe. Or maybe she just wants to keep you out of trouble.” He kept focused on the road ahead as he said it, not looking my way at all.
    Surely my mother had more faith in me than that.
    “Bob Selby’s the first on the list. He lives in a subdivision near here.” Leo handed me a notebook full of MapQuest searches. They were organized geographically.
    “Wow,” I said, glad for the distraction. “You did all this last night?”
    He nodded. “I would have started the drive-bys, but Katie wanted to cook me dinner.”
    I held up the thick notebook. “This must have taken forever.”
    With a shrug, he said, “It wouldn’t have taken as long but I had to run out for a second ink cartridge.”
    I didn’t doubt it.
    “Can you tell me where I turn? I think it’s Dawson’s Bridge.”
    I checked the paper. “Right. It should be the next red light.”
    “I see it,” Leo said.
    Minutes later, we passed the house. “It’s for sale,” I said, pointing to the sign in the yard.
    “Maybe he’s moving up in the world?” Leo pulled into the next street and parked at the curb. “I’ll run back and see if he still lives there. Sit tight.”
    I turned the page to identify our next target. Anslee Ellison. She lived only a mile away. Leo had generated the directions from one house to another. I was impressed. He was way more organized than my brothers. I lifted the heavy notebook again. Okay, he was way more organized than me, too. I couldn’t imagine doing this. I turned to the “Vinings” tab to see how many senior staffers lived there. Five.
    Leo opened the door and hopped back in to the driver’s seat. “The place is empty.” He handed me a flyer from the real estate sign. “No Lexus in the garage.”
    “You really think this means something? Our first try? It’s not likely.”
    “You’re right, but I definitely need to check this guy out.” He moved the gearshift into drive. “Which way?”
    I told him, and we headed for the Ellison house.
    “I found some information on some of them online. I Googled everybody.”
    “Anything suspicious?”
    “Check the last tab in the notebook. I made a list.”
    I flipped to the end to see a list of names and notes.
    “One of them moved to Atlanta this month. I thought that was strange.”
    I glanced down the list. “And this guy has been sued four times?”
    “Yeah. I thought he looked suspicious. As far as I can tell, he’s a slum lord.”
    “Really?” I wouldn’t have thought the U.N.I.V.E.R.S.E. would put up with staffers mistreating people. “Did he lose the lawsuits?”
    “No. He won all four.”
    “So he didn’t pay out any damages.”
    “No, but he had to pay to defend himself. So money may still be a motivating factor.”
    Five billion dollars would buy a lot of slums. I nodded. “And this woman. You wrote that her daughter has been kicked out of four private schools.”
    “It might be nothing, or she might need money. It’s worth checking out.”
    “So you’re sending the PI to check into these people?”
    “I can’t do it all. I have to go to school. My father made me promise.”
    He kept his promises? Good to know.
    I wanted to ask him how he was paying for this investigator. Weren’t those guys expensive? But I couldn’t make myself. He’d think I suspected him of taking all the money.
    “I’ve got a trust fund from my grandmother,” Leo said. “I’ve been using that, but it won’t last forever.”
    “Your dad’s letting you spend your college money?”
    “No. My college money is in a separate account.”
    I guess his dad was more responsible than I thought.
    “Turn up here,” I said as we neared the road.
     
    At eleven, we pulled into the Emory campus and found a parking spot near the University Center.
    We’d done drive-bys on eight homes. The list would take us forever.
    “This might be boring,” Leo