“Oh, good timing,” Scarlet said. “I’ve got to go to the bathroom. That celery is running right through me. I need to unloose this caboose, if you know what I mean.”
“I got it,” I said and sighed. I got out of the car and went around to help Scarlet out, but she was already halfway out the door and onto the sidewalk.
“My friend Ernie gets to poop in one of those bags,” she said. “Seems pretty convenient to me. Sometimes I wish I could poop in a bag, but I’ve got pipes of steel.”
I wondered if I’d ever get to the age where I felt comfortable talking about my bowels. I was thinking that would be a negative.
I took Scarlet by the elbow and locked the door of the car. Rain dripped off the hood of my raincoat and I stared at the front of the building where I’d had some of the best memories of my life. I thought the detective agency would look different somehow. But it was the same.
Kate had discreetly put the agency up for sale right around the time of my wedding, but there weren’t a lot of qualified buyers who could afford the building, the staff, and uphold the reputation that came with the McClean Detective Agency. Kate hadn’t wanted to make a big fuss, so it was mostly business as usual until it was sold, at least for the clients she had on retainer.
Even the building looked sad. The red brick seemed gray and drab in the rain, and the ivy that trailed up the side of the building sagged.
“Didn’t you hear me, girl?” Scarlet said, jerking her elbow away from me. “I have to poop.” And then she sprinted up the stairs and into the building.
She said it so loud I immediately looked around to make sure no one heard. There was a man who’d been running to his car from the adjacent building, but he’d stopped in his tracks to stare. I smile and waved, and then followed after Scarlet. I was so mortified I didn’t even see Kate standing under the stoop.
“You going to stand out there all day looking sorry for yourself?” Kate asked.
“I was thinking about it,” I said.
“Well, do it in here,” she said. “It’s warmer and more comfortable.”
“Tell me that again after Scarlet finishes wrecking your bathroom.”
Kate winced. “Maybe I should just have the building bulldozed,” she said.
“It’s definitely an option,” I said, and walked up the stairs and into the warmth.
It looked the same on the inside—the plush and expensive furniture in the lobby, the original hardwood floors, expensive paintings, and a large U-shaped desk that Lucy Kim helmed with an iron fist. It might have looked the same, but it didn’t feel the same. It felt—empty.
Kate had built a good business over the past several years. People all over the world sought her out because she was the best. I had no idea why she’d hired me other than a lifetime of friendship.
“Where’s Lucy?” I asked. “I thought she was your top contender for buying the agency?”
“She decided she didn’t want to be an owner,” Kate said, shrugging it off. She might have shrugged it off, but I could tell she was worried. “Lucy wears a lot of hats, and she was working here at first as a favor for Savage. And then she stayed because she was entertained by this line of work. I have a feeling her normal workday isn’t always so enjoyable. She only ever worked for me part-time.”
“Really?” I asked. “’Cause it seemed like she was always here. What’s her other job?”
Kate just smiled. “If I told you I’d have to kill you.”
“That never stops being hilarious,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Hey, if you want be privy to all the secrets, then you should buy the place.”
My mouth dropped open as I watched Kate walk down the hall to her office. She knew how to dangle a carrot better than anyone I knew. Of course, she’d known me since grade school and had been putting up with my shenanigans for the same amount of time. And now all I could think about was owning the agency and devouring every word of Lucy Kim’s employment file like it was a dime store romance novel.
“You’d sell it to me?” I asked, following behind her.
She laughed. “I have a feeling Nick might have something to say about the matter. I’ve seen your paychecks, so I