“I can’t tell you that, Moje. Your line could be tapped. You’re a detective—look it up in The Damn Fool’s Guide to Witness Protection.”

“Witness Protection?”

“Who’s in Witness Protection?” Jolie demanded, from directly behind me.

I almost had a heart attack. I gave her a don’t-sneak-up-on-me-like-that kind of glare.

“See you in a few days, Moje,” Tucker said.

“Wait—”

He hung up.

“Shit,” I said, and shut off the phone.

“What? The check from Big Mama bounced? They cancelled your Damn Fool’s book club membership? What?”

I took in my sister’s sleek beige suit, high heels and tastefully contained braids. “You really look good,” I said.

“Thanks for sounding so surprised.” Jolie grinned, but then she did a little twirl. “Do I look like the perfect candidate for the job with Phoenix P.D.?”

“Do crime scene techs dress like that? I’d peg you for what you are—an almost Ph.D. with a fancy job in a well-funded lab.” I frowned. I still wasn’t clear on why Jolie wanted to throw over a high-paying position in a prestigious field of science to pick hairs and fibers out of carpets and the trunks of cars.

Jolie checked her watch. It was old-fashioned, with fake diamonds around the face. Once, it had been her mother’s, which was why she treasured it. “I’m out of here,” she said. “If you hear from Greer, tell her we’re coming to her place tonight for supper and we’ll bring the food.”

I nodded. “Good luck, Jolie.”

She snatched up her purse, which matched her shoes, and breezed out. I heard her Pathfinder start up, and went back to my detective work. I really wonder what P.I.’s did before Google. An hour at the computer, and I knew practically everything there was to know about every woman on Greer’s suspect list.

Of course I’d have to do some legwork, but I had three solid candidates for Alex’s extracurricular love-muffin activities. One of them was attending the same medical conference, but that only meant it would be easier to snoop through her residence and place of business.

At the time, I actually thought I was going to get to that.

I left the computer, put on some lipstick and switched my sweatpants for a good pair of jeans, my sneakers for boots and my T-shirt for a silk blouse that changed my eyes from green to blue.

I was ready to go detecting, but it bothered me to leave Russell alone. He was vulnerable and, after all, he’d just gotten out of Dog General Hospital.

“Nick?”

No answer.

No sudden appearance.

No Chester.