"Yeah," I whispered, even though I was the only one on the sidewalk. She might be in trouble.

Nothing but static came through on her end. I pressed the phone closer to my ear and when she spoke, it blasted my ear drum. "Vonnie, someone egged me."

I ripped the phone from my ear, turned the volume lower, and then replaced it, but not so hard. "Egged you? Like your face?" Was it some new beauty treatment?

"No," her voice quivered as she spoke. "My car. They tossed eggs over the roof and hood. I'm scared."

I was worried about her car. How long did it take eggs to strip paint? "Okay, I'll be right there," I promised without bothering to ask her who she thought did it. We both knew it had to be Tyler Hill. The parent obsessed with Lainey even though she no longer taught his son.

"Should I call Law?" she asked.

My nose crinkled, letting in cold air that froze the hairs on the inside. "Who?"

"Detective Anderson. That's his first name. Right? If not, I've made a fool of myself by calling him that."

I stopped halfway back to my car as I almost fumbled my steps on the sidewalk. "Holy shit. Are you two on a first-name basis?"

This was bad. So, so bad.

Lainey stammered over her answer. "No, not really. He just said it in passing. I figured everyone calls him that."

"No. Definitely not. And you can't trust him. No cops!" I glanced around to guarantee no one had heard my outburst.

"Are you sure?" Mrs. On-a-first-name-basis-with-Anderson asked.

"Yes, promise me you won't call him." I couldn't trust Anderson not to solve the problem before me. I saw Lainey first. She was mine.

We hung up after she promised me no cops, and I trudged back to my car, the wind colder now that I'd lost my breaking-and-entering adrenaline.

How could I solve a murder when everyone needed me for random other crimes?

The dead guy would still be dead later, but Lainey was alive and needed me now so she didn't end up beside him in the morgue. I started the car and turned toward the place where I dropped Broadrick that morning rather than Lainey's. Her situation required backup, and at the moment, he was the only one I trusted.

At the stop sign out of the neighborhood, I called his phone to give him a heads up that his plans for the day changed.

I'd have to scope out the dead guy's house later.

"Can I trust you?" I asked as soon as he answered.

Broadrick hesitated a moment. "To keep you out of jail? Yes."

Ha. Look at him being a comedian. I counted that as an overall yes.

I turned the corner to Main Street and decided against a stop at the bakery. I didn't have time. "I'll be there to pick you up in three minutes. Dress warmly."

I hung up before he asked questions. Ridge probably had his offices bugged.

Broadrick was waiting for me outside the building as I stopped at the curb.

"Where's NB?" I asked when he got in. He never had the dog when he was supposed to be watching him.

He buckled his seatbelt. "Spencer brought Frankie in today, so the two of them are napping together."

I didn't like it. Frankie was a bad influence. Both Frankie namesakes. The dog and the mob criminal. "She better not teach NB to eat random stuff. I've heard the stories."

Broadrick grimaced. "I've seen the stories."

We were at Lainey's apartment out of town in less than twenty minutes since Pelican Bay wasn't known for traffic. Broadrick whistled under his breath as I drove past her egg-splattered car.

"Looks like a few teenagers out causing trouble," he said as I circled her car once, surveying the damage.

I slipped my fingers over an egg to wipe it off, but it'd froze to her hood. That would not be good. "Definitely not teenagers."

I snapped photos of the car with my phone. No need for anything long action when I was two feet from my target. Nothing like trying to snap a photo of a cheating husband in a hotel room.

Although a very teenage behavior, coming from a man who was stalking his son's old teacher, I didn't expect a more rational response.

Broadrick flicked the splattered egg with his fingers. It didn't budge.

"This is getting serious," I said, giving up on the car and heading toward Lainey's apartment.

Broadrick had his coat zipped up to his neck, but it didn't make him look silly like it did me when I did the same move. Instead, it highlighted his neck, and I wanted to run my hand over the slight stubble he had on the bottom of his chin.

He held the door to the complex open for me. "Eggs will do some damage to her car, but I don't think it's anything too serious. Make sure she files an insurance claim just in case."

Of course, he didn't realize the severity because he didn't have all the facts.

And I didn't plan to share them.

Lainey met us in the hallway with a worried expression. "Did you see the car?"

I nodded. "You need to get it to a car wash asap. Hopefully, the hot water will thaw them out."

She tugged on a piece of her red hair, the light-colored blue dress swishing around her ankles. "The eggs froze?"

Oops. "It should be okay as long as you get it washed now. I took a few pictures of you need them."

"For insurance," Broadrick threw in and then gave me a raised eyebrow glance.

"Yeah, sure. For insurance." We wouldn't fix this with insurance claims. We were going to get even. "I am on the case and will get back to you with a plan asap, but right now I have to run an errand for another case with the big guy here. Get the car fixed, and we'll reconvene and take care of this soon."

It was the best I could give her at the moment. First, because I didn't have another plan yet. And second, because whatever I came up with, I probably wouldn't want Broadrick to hear about it.

Lainey gave me a brief nod, and her expression said she had the strength to follow through with the plan even if her lip trembled as she agreed. She had the guts to get this done, which meant we were about to have some fun. She just didn't know it yet.

"Pull out that black clothing," I yelled to her as Broadrick and I descended the staircase.

He held the door open for me and blocked a bit of wind before I walked into it. "No."

"No, what?" I asked, walking toward my car.

Broadrick stopped at the passenger side door. "Whatever you have planned that the nice young woman upstairs needs black clothing to partake in. Don't ruin her. She's an innocent."

I flopped my head from side to side with my mouth open. "It's initiation."

He followed me into the car and buckled while I eased out of the space. "Exactly. She doesn't need to be initiated into anything. Leave her alone."

"Fine." I turned on the road to get us back to Pelican Bay.

Broadrick stayed quiet until we passed the pelican statue into town. "That was too easy. You're lying. Aren't you?"

"Yes."

Broadrick sighed and rested his fist against the car door. "Vonnie. Not everyone who moves here wants to be a criminal."

"Yes, they do. They just don't know it yet."

I drove past the road I'd turn on to take Broadrick back to work. "Where are we going?"

"Somewhere close," I said, turning off Main Street and heading south. "Since I have you under oath, I need a favor." I tapped the door lock button to make sure we were both safe and sound inside. No escaping.

"I don't remember an oath," he said and tested his door handle.

Locked.