Stranger Danger (Lucy McGuffin, Psychic Amateur Detective 4)

She bends over to inspect it closer. “Oh. You’re right. It is mine. Thanks, Lucy.” She takes the earring from my hand and walks away, leaving the hair on my neck standing at attention.

On the way to police headquarters, I practice what I’m going to say to convince Travis to let me see Archie Clements. This isn’t going to be easy to pull off. In fact, it’s going to be downright impossible, but I have to try. My thoughts wander to Betty Jean and the earring. Why did she lie about it belonging to her? I shrug it off. Knowing Betty Jean, it could be any number of goofy reasons.

Paco and I walk into the police station armed with muffins. They might be day-old muffins, but it’s still a potent bribe. “Hey, Cindy!” I place the bag on her desk. “Muffins for Whispering Bay’s finest and the world’s best receptionist.”

Paco looks at me as if to say, Isn’t that laying it on a bit thick?

He’s right, of course, but a little bit of flattery can’t hurt the cause.

“Hey, Lucy. Wow. Muffins two days in a row.” She eyes the bag. “Did you include some of those low-fat cranberry ones you brought me yesterday?”

“Hel-lo. Of course, I did.”

Paco barks to get her attention.

“And hello to you, Paco.” She opens a desk drawer to produce a treat. This time Paco doesn’t wait to be asked to perform. He immediately sits, then goes down. But he doesn’t stop there. He also does a series of rolls, then sits back up and raises his paw in the air.

What a sellout.

“Wow. You’ve really been working with him. Is it Woofio? Have you been learning his techniques?”

“Nope. He learned those on his own.”

She plays with him for a few minutes. “So, what brings you here? If you’ve come to see Travis, he’s not in. Zeke isn’t here either.” Her voice hitches with pride. “Rusty is in charge right now.”

Yes!

With both Travis and Zeke gone, this should be easier. Not a slam-dunk. But my odds of success have just improved dramatically. I make a sad face. “Shoot. I was hoping to surprise Travis. When will he be back?”

“I’m not sure. He left about an hour ago, but he didn’t say where he was going.”

Unfortunately, that gives me no information. He could be back in five minutes or five hours. I’ll have to work fast. “I hear Archie Clements is in custody.”

“What a scumbag, huh?” She waves me closer like she wants to tell me more. I’m happy to oblige her. “Do you know he swindled, like, ten people out of money? It’s people we know, too. Like Victor Marino and Shirley Dombrowski.”

Shirley Dombrowski? I had no idea she was writing a novel, let alone one of Jefferson Pike’s victims. Poor Shirley. The thought of her being swindled of what little money she has makes me angry.

“Luckily, Clements is cooperating,” says Cindy, “so it looks like everyone will get their money back.”

“Well, that’s a relief.”

“Isn’t it?”

“I hear that Clements is going to take the fall for everything and the girl is going to get off scot-free. Do you think he’ll get much time?” I ask.

“Probably. But it’s not just the charges here he’s facing. The FBI is coming to question him for a bunch of other scams.”

“The girl, Anita Tremble, she came in The Bistro this morning. She seemed so sweet. It’s hard to believe someone like her could get involved with two con men like Archie Clements and Jefferson Pike.”

“I thought the same thing,” says Cindy. “I brought her some coffee when she was in the interrogation room, and she was just a boo-hooing up a storm. You can’t fake tears like hers. Believe me, I’ve seen plenty of crying at this station, and I can spot a fake a mile away. I hear the DA is going easy on her. I certainly hope she’s learned her lesson.”

Okay, I think I’ve set things up nicely. I just hope Cindy buys into my routine.

“You know, Cindy, I’m embarrassed to tell you this, but I was one of the people that Jefferson Pike and Archie Clements targeted for their scheme.”

“What? You’re kidding! But I thought they were targeting writers. Wait. Lucy, have you written a book? Let me guess. You wrote a cookbook. On muffins.”

“I wish.” If I could blush on command, I would, but I’m not so shameless as that, so I try my best to seem flustered. “I wrote a romance. A really steamy one.”