to worry, that some day she would have another daughter that would make even me look good. That’s what happened when you came along.”
She shook her head and said, “You really are quick.”
We each pulled the face we always pulled when we were young and had to make up after a tiff. Mom was always quick to point out that friends come and go, but you’re stuck with your sister till you die, so you’d better learn to get along.
Me, being the older and more mature sister, said, “Can we start this now?”
“I’d love to.”
“Good, cause Mom is calling back later, we’ll know soon enough what she has planned.”
Teagan pulled up a dining room chair and sat with a perfectly straight back, a habit we both formed in step dancing class, at about the age of 5, and said, “We left off trying to decide if we should go for the reward money for the murder of that Rosenbloom woman, or if we should go ahead and find some other reward to hone in on.”
“It’s home in on, not hone in on. Rumor has it Bush started the hone in thing, you don’t want to go there.”
“True.”
I scooted my chair closer, “I’m no longer waffling. I think we can make the original plan work. As you might recall, I actually talked to the magnificent Mr. AJ while you were sucking down dinner.”
“He is pretty magnificent isn’t he?”
“We’re staying on topic here.”
She nodded once, “Got it.”
“So, while you were doin’ the Hoover thing with your mondo-dinner, I was actually listening to what AJ had to say.”
“That isn’t fair. I listened.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
I raised my eyebrows and lowered my chin in challenge, “Then what did we talk about that will lead us right to the murderer of Mrs. Lily Ivy-Rosenbloom?”
“Ok, so maybe I wasn’t listening every second, but be fair, no one listens to you every second.”
“I understand that.”
She brightened, “So, what’s going on?”
“AJ is a computer genius.”
Her turn to look impressed, “A computer genius?”
“Yep.”
“He said that? That’s kind of conceited. That doesn’t sound like AJ.”
“He didn’t say the genius part, I did.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that computers are kind of a hobby with him.”
Her face shifted from impressed to puzzled, “How does that make him a genius?”
“Have you ever seen a guy that looks that good in linen pants, without even trying, and can deal with not just one of us, but both of us, and at the same time. The man has got to be a genius.”
“Good point.” She said, “So how does AJ being a computer genius lead us straight to the murderer of Mrs. Ivy-Rosenbloom?”
“You just don’t listen to a word I say.”
“That’s pretty much true.”
I yelped, “Don’t be a jerk. The answer is on the Internet. We’ve come full circle here. All we have to do is input the right information so that the output tells us what we need to know so that we can figure out who the murderer is. Then we can collect the reward in a timely fashion. I’m thinking if we find out the murderer is not the husband, then he will be more than happy to share some of his vast wealth with us in return for that information. If I play my cards right, I could end up with more than just the reward money.”
“That’s called blackmail Cara.”
“No, it would be blackmail if we profit by not telling the cops. If it works out my way, and he didn’t do it; and we find proof and make that proof available to him and the cops, that makes us consultants.”
She smiled, “Consultant is better. Less jail time.”
“Well, that depends on what you’re consulting on. Think white-collar crime. Seems to be running rampant these days, but I’m all about staying out of jail. Horizontal stripes are a nightmare.”
“Agreed, although they might work on you. One of the many advantages of being tall and thin.” She sounded a little wistful, like maybe being all curvy wasn’t always ideal.
She shook her head and said, “You really are quick.”
We each pulled the face we always pulled when we were young and had to make up after a tiff. Mom was always quick to point out that friends come and go, but you’re stuck with your sister till you die, so you’d better learn to get along.
Me, being the older and more mature sister, said, “Can we start this now?”
“I’d love to.”
“Good, cause Mom is calling back later, we’ll know soon enough what she has planned.”
Teagan pulled up a dining room chair and sat with a perfectly straight back, a habit we both formed in step dancing class, at about the age of 5, and said, “We left off trying to decide if we should go for the reward money for the murder of that Rosenbloom woman, or if we should go ahead and find some other reward to hone in on.”
“It’s home in on, not hone in on. Rumor has it Bush started the hone in thing, you don’t want to go there.”
“True.”
I scooted my chair closer, “I’m no longer waffling. I think we can make the original plan work. As you might recall, I actually talked to the magnificent Mr. AJ while you were sucking down dinner.”
“He is pretty magnificent isn’t he?”
“We’re staying on topic here.”
She nodded once, “Got it.”
“So, while you were doin’ the Hoover thing with your mondo-dinner, I was actually listening to what AJ had to say.”
“That isn’t fair. I listened.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
I raised my eyebrows and lowered my chin in challenge, “Then what did we talk about that will lead us right to the murderer of Mrs. Lily Ivy-Rosenbloom?”
“Ok, so maybe I wasn’t listening every second, but be fair, no one listens to you every second.”
“I understand that.”
She brightened, “So, what’s going on?”
“AJ is a computer genius.”
Her turn to look impressed, “A computer genius?”
“Yep.”
“He said that? That’s kind of conceited. That doesn’t sound like AJ.”
“He didn’t say the genius part, I did.”
“What did he say?”
“He said that computers are kind of a hobby with him.”
Her face shifted from impressed to puzzled, “How does that make him a genius?”
“Have you ever seen a guy that looks that good in linen pants, without even trying, and can deal with not just one of us, but both of us, and at the same time. The man has got to be a genius.”
“Good point.” She said, “So how does AJ being a computer genius lead us straight to the murderer of Mrs. Ivy-Rosenbloom?”
“You just don’t listen to a word I say.”
“That’s pretty much true.”
I yelped, “Don’t be a jerk. The answer is on the Internet. We’ve come full circle here. All we have to do is input the right information so that the output tells us what we need to know so that we can figure out who the murderer is. Then we can collect the reward in a timely fashion. I’m thinking if we find out the murderer is not the husband, then he will be more than happy to share some of his vast wealth with us in return for that information. If I play my cards right, I could end up with more than just the reward money.”
“That’s called blackmail Cara.”
“No, it would be blackmail if we profit by not telling the cops. If it works out my way, and he didn’t do it; and we find proof and make that proof available to him and the cops, that makes us consultants.”
She smiled, “Consultant is better. Less jail time.”
“Well, that depends on what you’re consulting on. Think white-collar crime. Seems to be running rampant these days, but I’m all about staying out of jail. Horizontal stripes are a nightmare.”
“Agreed, although they might work on you. One of the many advantages of being tall and thin.” She sounded a little wistful, like maybe being all curvy wasn’t always ideal.
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