to my mother to decide whether or not he lived.
Kate drove down the street and around the block and then did another pass-by.
“There it is,” she said, pointing to a cute little two-story cottage in white stucco. It had bright red shutters and a red arched door, and a black iron railing balcony on the second floor. The front yard was miniscule, and most of it was covered with palm trees and luscious tropical flowers. The front of the house faced the bay.
Kate kept driving and pulled into a small parking lot where people could get access to the beach. The lot was empty and so was the beach below us.
“This neighborhood is weird,” I told Kate. “Where are all the people?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It is kind of weird though. I guess it’s not too late for them to still be at work. I only see one car parked in a driveway, and there’s a car parked on the street on the other side of the block.”
I looked up at the sky. It was a gorgeous, bright day, and the sun was setting across the water.
“It’s creepy if you ask me,” I said. “I don’t know what Vince was thinking.”
“So what’s the plan?” Kate asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I thought you might have a plan.”
“Why would I have a plan? I came to Miami to walk on the beach and drink martinis. I’m just along for the ride.”
“If you were just along for the ride then you shouldn’t have driven,” I said triumphantly.
Kate blew out a breath. “When was the last time you or your mother called Vince?”
“Mom told me his phone is going directly to voicemail,” I said. And then I felt like a dummy because I hadn’t bothered to try Vince’s phone. That was PI 101—always check the most obvious first.
I found Vince’s number in my contacts, and then I waited for it to ring.
“Straight to voicemail,” I said, confirming.
“I can probably get Savage to trace his last known location if we come up with a dead end here,” Kate said. “Your mom might have to come to terms that filing a missing persons report is the best way to get him back. Especially if he’s been digging around in that old RICO case. He might be in more trouble than he bargained for.”
“I don’t suppose you have any binoculars,” I asked, squinting at the front of Angelica’s house.
“Of course I do.” Kate dug around in her giant designer bag and came up with camouflaged travel-sized binoculars.
“Cute,” I said. “You should get some in pink camo. I’ve got a pair of pants that would match.”
“Yes, because that would make you completely unnoticeable.”
“It would in Miami,” I said.
I looked through the binoculars and scanned along the street line. We’d passed a marker on the way into the Upper East Side that proclaimed the area as the historic district, and all of the houses looked similar to Angelica’s.
“I can’t see anything,” I said. “The driveway is on the other side, but I don’t remember seeing a car in the driveway. Maybe you should go check it out. See if anything looks hinky.”
“Sure, Velma,” Kate said. “Let me get right on that.”
“Here,” I said, digging in my purse. “Take my big sunglasses and a scarf to tie over your head. That’ll be cute, it matches your shirt. If someone stops you just say we had car trouble or something and you were walking to get help.”
“And tell me again why you aren’t going?”
“I can’t walk in these shoes,” I said. “That’s what you get for advocating for comfort.”
“Whatever,” she said, resigned. “Why don’t I just say I’m taking a walk along the beach?”
I pointed to the sign I’d just noticed while I’d been lecturing Kate. “It’s a private beach for residents only,” I said. “Besides, no one walks on the beach in leather pants. Do you know what would happen to your thighs if you mixed sand and Vaseline?”
Kate squenched her nose. “Fine,” she said. “I’ll walk the block. Maybe I’ll see Vince’s car parked somewhere.”
“Leave your phone in here,” I told her. “If you need an excuse you can always knock on a door and ask to use the phone. It’ll look suspicious if you have your phone with you.”
“Come get behind the driver’s seat and leave the car running just in case anything goes wrong,” she said.
I got out of the car and hurried to the other side to wait for Kate to get out. “I