stopped by Mom’s to water her plants and borrowed her binoculars, then I’d bought lunch.

Practically a legitimate PI.

And with two paying clients no less!

Where was Margaret?

I unwrapped the bagel I’d purchased from the shop up the street. Cream cheese dripped over the side but the tomatoes and spinach were still crisp. If I waited any longer to eat it, the veggies would start to wilt.

Oh, well, better eat it now. If Celia kept me waiting too long, I could always get something else from the shop.

Wait. What if I missed her leaving?

I used my binoculars to check out the shop.

Binoculars! A real PI tool.

Oh, I was growing, growing, growing!

Never mind the fact that I had borrowed them from Mom.

The shop was within view, but if I went inside and, say, I was at the counter ordering, then I wouldn’t be able to see the entrance of Celia’s midwife center. I couldn’t risk missing her.

Darn.

I bit into the bagel anyway. It was absolutely divine. Either that or I was extremely hungry—which I was. After a few bites the bagel was gone.

Now I was out of food but still hungry.

I sipped on my latte. It was too bitter to drink fast.

Good. That would give me something to do and maybe curb my appetite a bit if I drank it slowly.

I tapped my foot and waited.

What was the deal with stakeouts? Why had I been so excited? This was boring. How long would I have to wait for some action?

What was I hoping for anyway?

Wait.

A car just turned the corner.

Yippee! Action.

Maybe someone was coming to see Celia. I strained to identify the car. It didn’t look like Alan’s Lexus.

It was a Toyota. It drove right past me.

Darn!

I fidgeted around the van. Kenny had some pretty good gear in here. I picked up a trombone. Man, it was heavy. My cell phone rang and I dropped the instrument as though I’d been caught in the act of stealing it.

I fished my cell phone out of my purse. “Yes.”

“Kate! How’s the stakeout?”

It was Kenny.

“Boring. How do you play this thing? It’s really heavy.”

“Are you messing with my stuff?” Kenny laughed. “Why is it boring?”

“I ate all my food and nothing is happening.”

“What’d you bring with you?”

“A bagel.”

“That is boring.”

I laughed. “So, what’s up? Do you need your van back?”

“You’ve only been gone thirty minutes.”

“Is that it?”

“Do you want some company?” Kenny asked.

“Not yours.”

Kenny laughed. “I can bring you some chips or something.”

Hmmm.

Catering ŕ la seventeen-year-old.

“Chips sound good,” I said.

“I can’t bring beer or anything. I’m not drinking age,” Kenny said.

“I’m on a stakeout! This is serious business. I’m not here to drink beer.”

“You have to have something to drink with chips.”

“I’m drinking coffee,” I said.

“Coffee doesn’t go with chips.”

“Okay, bring some soda then. Something with caffeine,” I said.

“Okay,” Kenny said cheerfully.

“All right, see you soon.”

“Uh, Kate?”

“What.”

“Uh, are you going to come pick me up or what? Because you have my van.”

Christ.

“I can’t leave the site, Kenny.”

“Bummer.”

Three hours had passed since I’d first parked the van and now I had a more serious problem than hunger and boredom. I needed a hospitality break.

Should I risk going down the street to the shop and use the restroom?

I thought about Laurie. Surely she’d be hungry by now and my breasts were starting to burn. Before leaving home, I’d examined my breast pump. It had a car attachment for power that plugged into a standard car charger. But who wanted to pump in the car?

After all, it wasn’t like there was any kind of privacy in a car. What did other moms do? Use a nursing wrap?

I recalled a news item about one mom getting pulled over because she was breastfeeding while driving. Now that was taking multitasking to a whole new level.

I’d tried distracting myself from my bodily needs by killing the time on the phone. I called Jim to check on Laurie; he reported that Laurie was watching him from across the room and making coo-coo eyes at him.

I dialed Paula and caught up with a few friends I hadn’t spoken to in a while. I called my brother long-distance; he had moved cross-country for work and this would be the first Thanksgiving we wouldn’t be together. I chatted with Kiku. my future sister-in-law. She filled me in on some planning details for her wedding with Jim’s brother, George. Considering George was on probation due to his antics during my first case, things were going relatively well for them and their new baby. I even called Kenny