So Sweet a Changeling: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 6)

Chapter Thirteen: Rachel, Tuesday

Rachel's work phone rang. It hardly ever rang, because only coworkers ever called her on that line, other investigators who needed her expertise in following money down the rabbit holes of shell companies and properties for their clients. The clients rarely wanted to talk to her.

She picked up. "This is Rachel Mackenzie."

"Hello, Rachel."

The voice on the other end of the line was unfamiliar. "Hello?" she asked.

"I guess you don't recognize me. This is Omar."

"Omar?" She couldn't make the connection at first. Then, "Omar! Wait, why are you on my work line?"

"Because I asked to be transferred to you."

She couldn't speak for a moment, she was so stunned. "I don't understand. Why are you calling me? And why at my work?"

"When you and your friend Lauren mentioned on Saturday that you work at Justiciar, a private investigation firm, I decided to look you up and give you a call."

They had mentioned it to him, after they'd all gotten over the shock of learning Harpreet and Logan had been holding hands under the table, and that Naomi had been furious about it. Rachel still worried that nothing good was going to come of the situation, regardless of the talk she'd had with Logan on Sunday; the boy had sat hunched into himself the entire time Rachel had been talking, and she feared he'd absorbed nothing of what she'd said.

She asked, "Are you in need of the firm's services? If so, you should talk to Lauren, she's here today." Today Lauren was here. Yesterday she was at the library, fucking Rachel's husband. Maybe Joe would get a call from Rachel soon, because the score sheet was getting out of balance, and Joe could fill any empty space Al left, and then some.

"I am in need of your firm's services, but before I sat down and talked to someone officially, I thought I'd call you first and catch up."

She cleared her throat and said, "Does your fiancee know you're calling me?"

He chuckled sheepishly and said, "I'm afraid we're not in the same room. I'm at the hospital, in fact, on a short break, and the business I have to discuss is confidential, so Fatima shouldn't hear about it anyway."

"I like Fatima, you know. Did she tell you about the sting operation she did off the books, helping Joanie and us stop a stalker?"

"She did, actually. I heard the stalker was shot and killed trying to force his way into Joanie's house, and that the shooter wasn't Joanie herself, but one of two other men who'd also forced their way into her house for another purpose."

"That's right. It was awful. They were hired hitmen, there to force Joanie into revealing the whereabouts of Agnes... actually it was Agnes' house they were in... shoot, you know what, none of us introduced her, that was rude of us. She was the Asian woman with the boy and girl sitting on the other side of the table from Lauren and me, the one who said she was Al's coworker."

Omar chuckled tenderly. "Ah, Rachel, you were probably too stunned to see me after all these years to remember to introduce me to everyone at the table."

"Fun fact, my husband and I both had old flames at the table. You were mine, and Agnes was Al's."

"Really?" he said, surprised. "At least with you, you never expected to see me. Agnes must have been an invited guest."

"Well, yes, she was, because she and Joanie are close. It's a long story, too long to tell when you're on a break and you want to talk to Lauren."

"Rachel, if I didn't know any better I'd think you were trying to get rid of me."