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

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Sunny, Monday

Sunny didn't know it, but he had a text exchange around the same time Lauren did.

The first text came after dinner, while he was helping to clean up, and he didn't notice it until he was in bed with Tej, and his friends in Cedar Cove, when the phone buzzed for the second time, and then he saw both texts from an unknown number:

Who are you?

Why are you looking for Naira Sandhu?

Sunny stared at both texts for so long that Tej noticed and asked, "Who's texting you?"

"I have absolutely no idea. It's an unknown number, but the person is asking about Naira, and I assume it's Jordan's Naira they're talking about."

"What?!" Tej grabbed his phone and looked at it. She stared at the two texts for a moment and said, "This is creepy. Who is this, and how do they know we were interested in her?"

"To answer that, we need to figure out who knows we know anything about this. There's the LSDC, then there's Jordan, who's now missing... there are Detectives Tracey and Goncalves, and retired Detective Rhodes, I guess. There's Regan and Tori... but all of these people know who we are, so they wouldn't ask the first question."

"Are you going to answer?"

That was a good question. He felt like he should. Otherwise, this person could just keep pestering him until he turned off his phone, and he needed his phone on in case of emergencies. Also, he wanted to know if this person knew anything. They had to, or else why reach out to him?

"I need to craft my answers carefully." He thought about it a few seconds. He felt like he needed to answer the questions in order.

He typed: You have my number, so you must know something about me.

He pressed send and waited. Tej sat breathless beside him. He looked at her and noticed her cheeks were flushed. She might have been creeped out, but she was also a little excited at the cloak and dagger, and that made him excited too.

The three dots on the other end blinked for a minute. Whoever it was was composing their answer.

I found your name in Jordan's emails. I looked you up. You're a lawyer and you're running for City Council. Why would Jordan want to talk to you about Naira Sandhu?

Tej gasped when she read the answer. "Did this person hack into Jordan's emails?"

"It looks like it."

He typed: Do you know where Jordan is?

No. Do you?

No.

Answer my question. What's your interest in finding Naira Sandhu?

Sunny looked at Tej. "I think I know who this is."

"Really? Who?"

"Let me throw in the fishing line and see if this person bites."

He typed: Naira Sandhu is currently at home with her husband, Birinder. I had dinner with them on Saturday.

The three dots blinked and blinked, and Sunny thought the person on the other end must have been writing a book.

But all that emerged was That's not Naira Sandhu.

Then: How do you know Jordan?

"It's her, isn't it?" Tej asked breathlessly, and Sunny felt the urge to kiss her, she was so appealing when she was playing Nancy Drew to his... something Hardy.