Suki’s eyes widened. “Homicide?”

Rosalynn said, “Another Craigslist psychopath? Damn. But not on our database, I can assure you, no way. We screen carefully. By that I do not mean just some boilerplate records search like other sites do. We check every single criminal database that’s available to us. We even scan court records for civil suits.”

Suki said, “Which is in our best interest, anyway. Who wants some litigious jerk making your life complicated?”

I said, “Anyone who’s been in civil court is excluded?”

“Of course not, that would eliminate just about everyone with money. What we do—what Brian does—is evaluate to see if there’s a clear pattern of duplicity, any sort of major financial impropriety or habitual obnoxiousness. What we call pond pebbles—the kind that trip you up when you’re swimming in a lovely, pristine stream.”

“Like at our place in Arrowhead,” said Rosalynn. “Two acres, we just got it.”

She played with Milo’s card. “So, who got murdered?”

“A young woman, who we’ve been led to believe advertised on your site.”

“Led to believe?” said Suki. Her hands flew to a keyboard. “Give me a name and I’ll let you know either way.”

“We don’t have a name yet.”

She sat back, spun her chair a couple of times. “Then why in the world would you think she was a Sweetie?”

“We’ve been informed that she was.”

“By who?”

“I can’t say.”

The sisters looked at each other. Each shook her head, as if ruing the delivery of bad news.

Suki said, “Guys. C’mon. That kind of bluff is not going to cut it. Even if it is true, your informant could be a competitor bad-mouthing us. Or someone we rejected trying to get back at us.”

“Or just an annoying jerk hacker,” said her sister. “The Internet brings them out.”

“Did they give you their name?” said Suki. “So we could at least evaluate their veracity?”

“Anonymous tip.”

Both girls laughed.

Suki said, “Like on TV, huh?”

“They’re for real,” said Milo. “They solve murders.”

“Anonymous tip,” Rosalynn repeated. “I know you guys are just doing your job, but obviously following up on something like that would be tenuous, to say the least. Who’s to say there’s any validity to it?”

“Only one way to find out,” said Milo. “Furnish us with a list of Sweeties, including headshots.”

The sisters studied each other. Silently calculating who should handle the situation.

Finally, Rosalynn said, “You seem like nice guys, but why on earth would we turn over our entire data bank on the basis of something so far-fetched?”

“Because it could help solve a murder.”

“Could-should-might-maybe?” said Suki. “The cost-effective potential is pathetic. Especially considering the multiple assaults on privacy that kind of excavation would entail.”

Milo opened his case, removed a death shot of Princess, and passed it to her.