Cupcake Overload (Cupcakes 2)

“Could we sit over there?” she asked, pointing to a table in the corner of the room away from prying eyes. “I don’t want anyone to see me.”

“Sure,” I replied smoothly, then followed her to the back.

Once we were seated, her with her back to the wall so she could see who was coming and going, I tried to take control of the situation.

“Mrs. Diamond, you said you needed to hire me to find something for you. Can you tell me what it is, how long it’s been missing, and the last place you remember seeing it?”

“Well,” she began, her tone oddly wistful. “The last time I saw it was on Saturday last week. It had dropped me off by my tent by the lake, then hovered for a moment before leaving off.”

Confused, I asked, “What dropped you off?”

“The Mother Ship,” Mrs. Diamond explained.

I narrowed my eyes, searching her face, but she looked completely serious.

“The Mother Ship…” I repeated dryly, wondering if she’d just escaped from a mental ward or something. Maybe there was a BOLO out for her.

“Yes,” she confirmed with a nod. “It was supposed to come back and get me this weekend, but never showed up. I waited on the outside of my tent all day, Saturday and Sunday, but they never came.”

“Um…” My mind was working as I tried to figure out the best way to handle this situation, but something else snagged my attention. “Are you saying you live in a tent by the lake?”

“Yes, it’s been my home for years.”

“I’m not sure that’s safe, Mrs. Diamond,” I began, stalling for time. “Are you out there on your own?”

“Yes, but usually The Mother Ship gets me for a couple days every week, so I can be with my friends.”

Mrs. Diamond’s face turned down, and her eyes began to well up. I realized I was way out of my league here, and it would be best to get Mrs. Diamond someone who could help her in ways that I could not.

“Mrs. Diamond, I’m going to need to refer you to a friend of mine. She specializes in this kind of thing, and I think she would be able to help you much better than I could. Her name is Beatrice Cooper … Let me write down her number for you.”

“Oh, okay,” Mrs. Diamond replied, obviously disappointed that I wasn’t able to help her. “Will she be able to see me today?”

I nodded as I wrote Bea’s number on the back of my business care.

/> “I’m positive that she will, just tell her exactly what you told me, and I’m sure she’ll see you right away.”

We both stood up and I thanked Mrs. Diamond as I passed along Bea’s info, then I sat back down as I watched her leave Starbucks.

I scratched my head as I thought about what she’d just told me, then grimaced when I realized that Bea was going to kill me if I didn’t call and give her a head’s up.

I got out my phone, pressed Bea, then smiled and said, “You’re not gonna believe this one…”

“Dammit!” I yelled when I felt a warm mixture of shit and piss squish between my toes.

“Swear jar,” Elin called from the living room.

“Where’s that dog?” I bellowed as I hopped on one foot to the nearest sink.

“With me, why?” Elena answered, from who knows where.

“She went to the bathroom on the floor again…”

“We’re out of puppy pads,” Elena explained.

“So you take her outside, you don’t let her piss and poop all over the place!” I yelled back angrily, gagging as I tried to clean my foot off.

“Swear jar,” Elin called again.