A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(25)

“Thank you, ladies,” Sun said, rising to leave.

“But wait!” Elaine jumped up. “You were going to talk to us about law enforcement.”

Sun grinned at them. Every face shone with eagerness. Every face but Darlene’s. She seemed relieved that Sun was almost out of her hair. Which was odd enough to tickle Sun’s Spidey sense.

“I have a feeling you guys know more about law enforcement than I do.”

“Well, we were hoping you could tell us how to get away with murder,” Wanda said.

Ruby jumped up, waking Myrtle, the ancient woman sleeping on the sofa, in the process. “You know,” Ruby said. “For research purposes.”

“Hi, Myrtle,” Sun said, waving. The woman blinked at her, then settled back onto the sofa with a sleepy smile on her face. “Ah, well, getting away with murder. That’s tricky. In a word, you can’t.” A unified wave of disappointment crashed into her. “Sorry.”

“Can’t you just look the other way?” Wanda asked.

Elaine shushed the woman. “She can’t do that, Wanda. It would be unethical.” She’d added air quotes around the word unethical, and Sun realized she’d slipped into an alternate universe. One where elderly women, and some not so elderly, plotted murder and her mother used air quotes.

“Well, Elaine, the man needs to die. Who’s going to do it if we don’t?”

“Just who are we talking about?” Sun asked.

“No one,” Elaine said. “We’re just thinking out loud.”

“Are we killing him or not?” Myrtle chimed in at last.

Quincy snorted, enjoying every second of the conversation.

“Apparently not,” Wanda said as though thoroughly inconvenienced.

“Who’s the hottie?” Myrtle asked, pointing to Quince.

“You remember Quincy,” Elaine said to Myrtle, raising her voice.

“He is fancy, but who is he?”

Wanda, now annoyed, scowled at the poor woman. “How are you not dead?”

“We need to go,” Sun said before she had to arrest the lot of them. “But I do have one more question.”

Darlene tensed. That time, Elaine noticed.

She cast a worried expression on her best friend. “Darlene, are you okay?”

Darlene snapped to attention. “Yes. Absolutely. I’m sorry. What was your question?” As she spoke, her hands curled into fists, clearly apprehensive about what Sun would ask next.

“Right. Okay, do you guys know who the Dangerous Daughters are?”

After a tense moment in which the ladies exchanged furtive glances, they burst out laughing en masse. Again, Darlene’s laughter was a tad more forced than her book buddies’, but she did seem relieved.

“The Dangerous Daughters,” Wanda said, doubling over. “What’s next? Aliens going to high school in Roswell?”

And the laughter began anew.

That was their cue. Sun and Quincy left them in a state of hysterics after Sun made them promise to call her if they remembered anything about the St. Aubins or if they heard anything.

Elaine followed them out.

Sun stopped and addressed them both. “Could this really be a ransom situation?”

“Wouldn’t be the first,” Quincy said, his posture tense.

Elaine’s lids slammed shut.

Quincy rushed to apologize. “I’m sorry, Elaine. I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t be silly.” She gave the giant next to her a hug. “I just feel so bad. A missing persons case on your first day. I’m sorry, hon.”

“It’s not your fault, Mom.” She thought about that and corrected, “Wait, actually it is. What the hell?”

Elaine had the decency to look ashamed, and Quincy gave her shoulders another squeeze.

Wanda yelled from inside the house, “Elaine, for the love of tacos, we have to discuss this danged book!”

Sun laughed. “What book did you guys read this week?”

“Oh, I have no idea. I don’t read them half the time. We just drink wine and let Wanda rant. It’s entertaining. I’ll see what else, if anything, I can get out of Karen. Keep me updated.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Sun and Quincy sat in the cruiser a few minutes, trying to digest everything they’d just learned. Especially the parts the women didn’t want them to learn.

“Wow,” Quincy said, as stunned speechless as his new boss. “Not only are the Dangerous Daughters real, but they know exactly who they are.”

Sun nodded in disbelief. “It’s like my whole world has been turned upside down.”

“Hey, do you think it’s them?”

“The Book Babes?” Sun frowned in doubt. “Surely not. They aren’t old enough, and my mother isn’t even from this area. She was a Vegas showgirl when my dad met her.”

“Oh, I am very aware.” His face softened in memory. “I’ve seen the pictures.”

“That’s so disturbing,” she said, lying through her teeth. Her mother was a hottie. Nothing wrong with that. “Maybe it’s a post. You know, a position passed down from one generation to the next.”

“Maybe.”

“Either way, it’ll have to wait.”