The Hero Next Time: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 4)

Chapter Thirteen: Lauren, Sunday

"You're Naira Sandhu?" Lauren blurted before she could stop herself. What the woman had said was so unexpected that she couldn't help it, and now here she was blowing their cover and throwing off their whole game before they'd even gotten started. Some professional she was.

Naira, apparently, raised her eyebrows, but she was still smiling. "Yes, that's me. I'm sorry, have we met?"

"No," Lauren said, chuckling sheepishly as she fumbled for an explanation for the outburst. "Sorry, I got you mixed up with someone else. Hi, I'm Lauren." She offered her hand, and Naira took it hesitantly.

"So, Lauren," she said, "are you looking for real estate in the area?"

"Actually, she's just here with her friends," Tej said, stepping forward and offering her hand, which Naira took. "I'm Tej Parhar, agent for Al and Rachel Mackenzie here," she said, gesturing to them.

"Hi!" Naira said, offering her hand to the potential buyers. As they shook, she noticed Sunny and said, "Are you their friend too?"

"I am, but I'm also the agent's husband," Sunny said with his dazzling smile. He offered his hand. "We all decided to come together and see the place. We're excited they might be living close to us."

"Oh, you live in the neighbourhood?" Naira asked excitedly as she shook it. "Isn't it perfect? So close to the Skytrain, but quiet enough to raise a family. Do you have a family, Mr. and Mrs. Mackenzie?"

"We do, actually," Rachel said, grinning like a fool. "I can't believe I get to say that now. We adopted two teenagers not too long ago."

"Oh, how lovely!" Naira said, clapping her hands together. "Well, you'll be pleased to know there are four bedrooms in this house, in case you ever expand your family, or have a guest come to stay."

"Bathrooms?" Tej asked.

"Two and a half. You have an ensuite to the master bedroom, another full bathroom for the other three, and then a powder room on the main floor."

Tej's lips puckered as if she'd bitten into a lemon. Was she hoping for an extra bathroom? "Square footage?"

"Four thousand, but that doesn't include the basement, which is unfinished, so there's lots of potential."

Tej nodded thoughtfully. "How firm is the seller on the asking price?"

Naira smiled mischievously and said, "Well, I guess we'll have to see. We have lots of people here, so if we get multiple offers, this could go even above asking. Why don't you have a look around, see if you like it, and please let us know if you have any questions."

"Thanks very much, Naira," Lauren said. "Are you and your husband both agents?"

"We are, as a matter of fact. We like to work as a team."

"Oh, is that right? I only saw his business card in the stack in the front hallway."

Naira's smile wavered a little. "Yes, well, he's officially the agent on this sale, but I come to his Open Houses, and he comes to mine when I'm the agent."

"Good strategy," Tej said. "Two agents for the price of one."

"Exactly."

"That's very supportive," Al said. "How long have you two been married?"

"Uh... a year," she answered, doing her best to hide a grimace. Either Al had ventured too far into the personal, or she wished she'd come up with a quicker answer. In Lauren's experience, people married for a year knew without having to think about it that they'd been married for a year. The first year of any marriage was always the hardest, but also the most memorable, both spouses having to make hard adjustments living together, sharing finances, learning each other's habits around hygiene and negotiating who did what chores.