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“I think it’s time to call Lily.”

“I agree,” said Solomon.

“I thought you’d say you were afraid of that,” I replied as I rummaged for my phone. I was already wondering what I’d unleashed at saying those potentially fateful words.

“I thought I’d keep that inside.”

“She might have a clue,” said Dad. “Because so far, we don’t have a lot to go on.”

I scrolled to my “favorites” list and hit Lily’s name. She answered after a few rings with a cheerful “Hey, bestie!”

“Hey, you. So remember those old ladies yesterday?”

“What old ladies?” Lily asked breezily.

“The ones we were watching from the coffee shop yesterday.”

“We were?”

I smelled a rat. Lily was being far too nonchalant.

“The ones you insisted were up to no good.”

“Oh. Vaguely,” she drawled airily.

“I need to find them.”

“Why?” Lily snipped and I knew her attention was aroused.

“I think you might have been right.”

“I knew it!” yelled Lily, forcing me to move the phone a couple inches from my ear. “I told you! I told you they were trouble! What did they do?”

I sighed softly. I would never hear the end of this. “Maybe a robbery.”

“Yes! Lexi, I know you can’t see me but I’m fist-punching the air!”

“It’s nothing to be pleased about.”

“It is! I called it, you pooh-poohed it. That’s a lot to be happy about! I knew they were up to no good!”

“So do you know where they went?” I continued as Dad motioned to get on with it or something of the like. I flashed a hand at him, silently asking what more can I do ?

“I do.”

“And that would be?”

Lily paused. “I can show you,” she said and I could only imagine the smile spreading across her face right now that she realized I needed her.

“She can show me,” I mouthed to Solomon and he nodded.

“I’m at work now but Ruby can take over at noon. Why don’t you pick me up and I can show you exactly where I tailed them?” said Lily.

“You tailed them?” Of course Lily did. I’d suspected as much yesterday when she shot out of the coffee shop only to drive past me in the direction of their bus.

“Well, duh! Where do you think I went? I followed those no-good geriatrics all the way to… I’ll tell you when you pick me up,” she finished quickly.

“I’ll be there at noon.”

“Good. Can you bring me lunch?”

“I can. Why? Don’t you have any food at the bar?”

“I do but apology lunches taste so much better. See you at noon!” Lily hung up before I could say anything else.

“I have to buy her lunch,” I said and Dad laughed.

“Expense it,” said Solomon. His phone buzzed and he paused to read, his face expressionless. “I need to go and I’m not sure when I’ll get back. I hate to jet when we’re at this early stage but it’s unavoidable. Can you handle the case together for now?”

“Of course. There’s nothing dangerous to get myself into and the thief doesn’t know we’re onto him or her yet, which could work in our favor. Plus, Dad can help me with getting the details of the other suspects while I chase down this trio.”

“I’ll email all the footage and the screenshots too, to all of us. I’ll also alert Lucas to allow you privileges at the agency,” Solomon added to my Dad. “They’re at your disposal. Until then, can you find addresses and background info for the names we do have?”

“What about the unidentified?” Dad asked.

“If anyone remembers anything, note it. The European man is top of the interest list there, but mostly we should rule these people out first, as much as we can.

“Cool. On it. I’ll stay here a while then see myself out,” said Dad.

Solomon and I made our goodbyes to Alan and Laura, then to Jonathan, and headed for our respective vehicles where Solomon kissed me goodbye and told me to send up the bat signal if anything went badly wrong.

“So little faith,” I said with a shrug.

“Faith in it going wrong,” said Solomon with a wry smile. “But I live in hope.”

I picked up lunch from a sandwich shop near where I’d parked my car, then I headed over to the bar to collect Lily, just a few minutes past noon.

“I knew you’d come to your senses,” said Lily when she climbed into the passenger seat and peered into the paper takeout bag. “Oh, my favorite. You did good.”

“Since when is that your favorite?”

“Since I asked you to bring lunch. We can eat when we get there.”

“And where would that be?” I asked, curious about what Lily had gotten up to yesterday. How long had she followed these women, and how far? I didn’t know the bus route, only that it didn’t run towards my neighborhood, nor my parents’.

“Head for Century Street and I’ll give you directions from there.” Lily did a funny little seated dance in the passenger seat and clapped her hands.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” I asked. “You could just give me the name of wherever they went, but no, you want to hold that secret over me.”

Lily pushed a straw through the lid of her soda and grinned. “Absolutely. It’s like the gang is back together.”

“The gang,” I said, waving a hand between her and me, “never broke up.”

“Yeah, but when did we last investigate anything together? It’s been too long, buddy.”

“It was two weeks ago,” I reminded her.

“I rest my case.”

Lily continued giving me directions while refusing to reveal any details, until we pulled up outside Harmony Retirement Village. Parallel to the long stone wall was a bus stop where two elderly gentlemen lingered, one resting on a rolling walker and the other shaking his cane as he spoke.

“I followed the old ladies here,” she said. “They got off the bus and went inside.” She pointed to the building.

“I didn’t expect to see this place again. At least not quite so soon,” I said. Only a couple of weeks ago, we’d just narrowly missed my nemesis, who was quizzing one of the residents for information. That we were here again seemed like a very weird coincidence but at least no elderly racers were trying to run us over with their mobility scooters this time.

“Did you happen to follow them inside?” I asked.

“Duh! Of course I did.”

“And?” I asked, feeling exasperated.

“Sorry, I’m just enjoying this so much I have to milk it!” Lily reached for the bag, passing one package to me and opening the other on her lap. She pulled out a baguette and bit into it, making happy noises. Between chews, she added, “I followed them inside and they went through the lobby and into the big recreation room. They seem like popular ladies, because I heard people calling out ‘Hello, Evelyn’ and ‘Hello, Judy’ as they walked through. They didn’t stop to chat to anyone, and the three went outside to the gardens and headed down the path towards the apartments. They all went inside and a minute later, the third came outside.”

“What did she do?”

“She walked away from the rec room and went past the trees. I can show you just as soon as I finish eating this. Unless time is of the essence?” Lily shot a glance at me, her mouth wrapped around the baguette and ready to bite, like she was daring me to disturb her moment.

“No, it’s okay. You can finish eating.” I stared at her, hoping she’d eat quickly.

“That won’t work,” said Lily without even glancing my way. “I’m a mom. If my toddler can’t break me at meal times, neither can you.”

“Okay, fine,” I said as I pulled my sandwich from the bag and peeled back the paper wrapper, the delectable scent of freshly baked bread hitting me. I bit into it. Hot, oozy cheese and warm butter filled my mouth.

“How’s the baby-making going?” asked Lily.

“It keeps getting interrupted by cases.”

“Damn shame. I’ll show you where Evelyn, Judy, and their friend went so you can wrap the case up quicker and get back to your funsies. My little girl needs a new cousin pronto.” Lily crumpled up her paper sandwich bag and stuffed it into the takeout bag. I finished my sandwich and did the same, then took a long sip of my drink. The ice was already melting in the summer heat and I was sure it would have disappeared entirely by the time we returned to the hot car, leaving warm raspberry juice behind.

“Did you catch the third lady’s name?” I asked as we jogged across the street.

“No, just the first two. I figured maybe the third lady was new and nobody had a chance to learn her name yet. Or maybe no one liked her? Evelyn and Judy sure seemed popular.”

“Good morning, young ladies,” said one of the elderly gentlemen at the bus stop.

“Hello, handsome!” chirped Lily and the man’s face lit up with delight.

“Hope you’re moving in,” he said, adjusting his tie and giving her a cheeky wink.

“In forty to fifty years,” said Lily.

“I’ll hang around!”

“You’ll be dead,” said his friend, leaning on a cane.

“I’ll haunt the place,” he said, and winked at us.

“I like it here already,” said Lily, placing a hand over her heart.

“You’re married,” I pointed out as we carried on walking without an ache in the world.

“Yeah. And? I’m hardly going to run away with the guy. He uses a walker. Besides, Jord might be dead in forty to fifty years, and we all know women live longer than men. I’ll need company.”

“This guy will be dead too.”

“His grandson might not be,” said Lily. When I sighed, she added, “I’ll check and see if he’s got a brother for you. We can still be sisters-in-law.”

“What if Solomon outlives me?” I wondered aloud.

Lily snorted. “Unlikely. We all know you’ll be the death of him. He may maintain that cool as a cucumber facade but we all know deep inside, he’s terrified of whatever you’ll do next and how he’ll have to rescue you.”

“It’s not like I do it deliberately,” I said and Lily snorted again.

The driveway was curved, with one entrance and one exit. An ambulance drove up and parked at the door next to several unmanned mobility scooters. We stepped back to let a paramedic wheel out a lady clutching an oxygen mask. She tore it off to yell, “Tell Glynis I know she pushed me over. She can have Bernie, the fickle, old coot!”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Love rivalry,” said the paramedic. “Happens once or twice a month.”

“Ouch,” whined the lady. “I think my hip is broken. Tell the staff I’m going to need one of those mobility scooters and for Edward to give me a sponge bath every day for the next month.”

“I’ll relay part of that message,” said the paramedic; then we were through the door, leaving them to deal with the calamity in the wheelchair.

“Who’s Edward?” I wondered as we looked around the lobby. A long reception desk was more akin to a mid-priced hotel than a nursing home, and the staff wore spa-like wrapped tunics and pants in pastel shades.

“I think that’s Edward,” said Lily, gaping at the tall, dark-haired man with biceps bulging from under his pink tunic. “I can see why Glynis is ready to give up Bernie. Sponge baths from Edward sound like the perfect medicine.”

“Concentrate,” I said as we turned towards the noise coming from the rec room. “Your husband is still alive.”

“Hi,” said an orderly in pale green before we could take more than three steps. “Can I help you?”

“We’re here to visit my… aunt,” I said, a cluster of names ready to use in the ruse. “We’ve visited before.”

“Wonderful! Is she expecting you?” The orderly beamed toothily. Her eyes were slightly unfocused and I darted a glance at the cart she pushed. It was full of little paper cups with pills of all different colors. I wondered if she’d sampled one or if she were perpetually dazed by the octogenarian fighting, flirting, and escaping.

“Uh… no. It’s a surprise visit.”

This time, her face creased in sweet appreciation. “That’s so lovely. Our residents love surprises… ow!” She jumped as an old man jogged past her. “What have we said about pinching, Donald?” she called after him.

“Duck!” he shouted.

“No. We said don’t do it .” She shook her head, and smiled again like a robot and I had to wonder again if she’d been freely imbibing in some resident’s medication. “Donald is a live one! Please make sure to sign the visitor’s book and then you’re free to make your way to your aunt’s apartment. Don’t forget to stop by the café! It’s staffed by our residents. Eduardo! Guests!”

“Guess we’re signing in,” I said, as Edward—or Eduardo—waved us over.

“I thought you were called Edward,” said Lily as he pointed to the guestbook. The name tag on his tunic clearly said, “Eduardo.”

“So half the residents seem to think. Either they’re illiterate or it’s benign racism,” said Eduardo with a half-hearted shrug as he glanced up from the forms he filled.

“Is there such a thing?” I asked.

“I hope so. Otherwise I just work with a bunch of old racists,” said Eduardo. “I don’t recall seeing you before. Are you visiting a new resident?”

“No,” I said, ready to claim Evelyn or Judy. Or even Bea, whom I’d visited before.

“Good. We like to encourage our residents to receive regular visitors so that their home here feels like, well, home. Who is it?”

“Who is who?” I asked, hesitating with the pen over the entry line. Did I write my name or someone else’s? If only I had the benefit of hindsight to know if there would be any fallout later.

“Your relative?” prompted Eduardo.

“Oh, um. Evelyn,” I said.

“Love her,” said Eduardo. “Absolute peach. She’s doing much better after her fall too. It’s so nice of you to visit her. She doesn’t get nearly enough visitors.”

“How long has Evelyn been here now?” I asked.

“Seven years, I think.”

“Feels like yesterday,” I said, wishing I hadn’t grasped at one of the only three residents’ names I knew but it seemed prudent to go with that. Plus, now I could get some information from the staff. “Her friend, Judy is so nice to her,” I prompted, hoping Eduardo would run with that.

“Thick as thieves,” agreed Eduardo, nodding and smiling pleasantly.

“And the other lady? I forget her name?”

Eduardo frowned. “Other lady?”

“Maybe she’s new. They all went out together yesterday. I think that’s when Evelyn fell.”

“Oh, I wasn’t at work yesterday so I only heard about her fall this morning. I don’t remember a third friend they regularly hang with but maybe someone tagged along on their trip. You know the way to Evelyn’s apartment?”

“Of course,” I said, more confident now. I pointed towards the rec room. “Through there.”

“And along the path to the right,” added Lily. “We should head there now. She’ll be waiting.”

“Enjoy your visit, ladies,” said Eduardo, his attention already moving on to the next guest now queuing behind us.

“Should we get flowers or chocolates or something if we’re going to pump them for information?” asked Lily.

“Not yet. We’ll take a look around first, work out who’s who, and see if we can identify the third woman and where she went.”

“Then we’ll interrogate them,” said Lily determinedly.

“We’ll ask a few questions,” I said. “Lead the way.”

Lily led me past the loud rec room, newly decorated with bright murals akin to a kindergarten and furnished with couches, coffee tables, and a number of game tables. A long table spanning one wall held tea and coffee urns, water jugs and there were a couple of cake stands, now largely littered by crumbs. Residents sat around playing cards and chess or shooting the breeze. I had to admit, it seemed nice. There was plenty of sunshine and a breeze and no one seemed to be forced into armchair yoga or left drooling alone. Most of the residents seemed spry and sociable.

Outside was a neatly manicured lawn surrounded on all sides by flower beds in full bloom. Picnic tables and umbrellas had been set out but since it was the height of the day, most of the residents seemed to be inside their apartments or the community building, availing themselves to the air conditioning. The building covered three sides, split into three blocks, then a treeline appeared with paths winding through it.

“That’s the apartment they went into. I remember it because your parents’ old neighbor, Bea lives in that one,” said Lily softly, pointing to a closed door, before we strolled past an open door framed by large flower pots. I glanced over my shoulder, with bare seconds to ascertain two women sitting inside fanning themselves. “The third woman went this way,” she said as we continued on to the treeline. The path forked quickly, one side heading into a small woodland, the other leading to a parking lot.

I hadn’t been any further than the apartments before, so this was all new territory to me.

As we stood there, looking at the small array of vehicles, I asked, “Did you see the woman return?”

“No, I stood in the shade and waited but she didn’t.”

“So perhaps she got into a vehicle and left,” I said, curious as I glanced back toward the apartments.

“What’s the point of taking a bus all the way here from downtown, only to get into your car straightaway and leave?” asked Lily, echoing my own thoughts.

“Good question,” I said, turning to make my way back when I spotted something odd hanging out the trashcan tucked off the path, almost obscured by the neatly clipped hedge. A strand of gray hair lay limply over the edge.

Fearing the worst, I hastily crossed the path, my heart rate quickening, and gingerly peered inside.

“What is it?” asked Lily, stepping forwards.

I reached in and pinched the hair with two fingers, lifting it. “A wig,” I said.