The waiting.

My word the waiting took forever. I tapped my foot on the sidewalk and then leaned against the brick wall. An early spring chill set in through the leather coat, and I moved forward so I didn't scratch it against the brick. Without the sun, it was downright cold.

How long did it take to get your nails done?

I checked in to my phone game and played a five-letter word against Anessa. Broadrick got me addicted to the game, but he didn't have the same zeal as me. Plus, he only had two friends he played with and laughed at my nine ongoing boards.

My phone vibrated, signaling a text as the door to the salon opened. I tensed, leaning forward, ready to pounce if Lizzy-Conner's future fiancée-walked out. A breeze shot down the street with the smells of fresh baking bread. Just like Clearwater to copy our bakery smells.

A woman with graying hair and a small dog on a leash walked out of the nail salon and my shoulders sagged. Not Lizzy.

Seriously, how long did it take to get your nails done? Maybe she had a foot appointment, too.

I returned to my resting position and grabbed my phone to read the text.

CONNER-RING CLIENT: How is it going? I haven't heard an update. Is she at the salon?

I rolled my eyes. Freaking men. Always so needy. I'd barely had a few days. If he wanted magic, I needed a few more hundred dollars. And a course on how to become a magician.

VONNIE: Working on the case now. Will have intel within our agreed timeline.

I read it again before hitting send. Did it sound bitchy? It was bitchy, so that made sense, but I didn't want to tick off my only paying client.

Fine. I'd be... nicer.

If I must.

I deleted the first text and typed out a new option.

VONNIE: Almost finished with it now. We'll catch up soon.

Was it a lie?

Not necessarily.

Lizzy might walk out of the salon, bump into me, and tell me her ring size. They were long odds, but still odds. Therefore, not a lie.

With that done, I returned to my looky-loo position. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long. Two minutes later, the door opened again and a woman with the right hair color stepped out of the building. She turned back and gave a wave to someone inside as I readied my position by doing a few high kicks.

When she cleared the door, I cleared the side of the building and charged at Lizzy at full pace. She glanced up at me half a second before I widened my eyes and tried to slow before hitting her on her side.

I skidded to a stop, and she tottered backward before grabbing on to my arm for purchase. "What the hell?"

"I'm so sorry," I said and sucked in a breath, acting like I was short on it. Sadly, I didn't have to fake it as much as I should have since I'd barely run twenty feet. "You came out of nowhere."

"I've been right here!" Lizzy yelled with wide eyes. She regained her footing and threw out her arms to encompass the area.

I brushed off my pant legs as she checked her nails, looking for an injury to her new polish job. They were bright pink and looked fine, in my opinion. I'd gotten my nails done exactly once. Before senior prom, I paid for a manicure and then had all the paint chipped off before the dance ended.

Now I couldn't use polish because if any flaked off on a crime scene, I'd end up accidentally putting my butt in jail. If Anderson found my nail chips over a dead body, he'd kill me. No worse. He'd arrest me and tell my mother.

I grabbed her hand and stared at her nails, waving them in front of me. "Wow, these are amazing. Did you just get this done?"

Lizzy smiled and flipped back a section of her long hair. "Yes, I only come here. They're the best."

"I can tell," I said and let her take back her hand as I checked out her entire outfit. "I love your look. Do you do your shopping in Clearwater?"

Whenever possible, I tried to only ask questions I had the answers to. Like the fact Lizzy loved supporting small local businesses.

Her smile grew. Everyone loved a compliment. "Everything but the purse," she said, holding the leather bag to her chest. "Don't tell."

Now we were getting somewhere. "Your secret is safe with me. I'm Vonnie."

Once she trusted me enough to tell me a secret, we were practically best friends. I held out my hand, and she shook it.

"Lizzy Ragland, Clearwater local. We have some great shops here. Are you local? I'm on the Chamber of Commerce if you ever want to know the best places."

I held back my triumphant smile. Lizzy seemed like a nice person-although peppy-but she fell right into my trap. At least fifty percent of Conner's random information about Lizzy centered on clothing or style, so I had a clue which direction to take our conversation.

And even if he hadn't mentioned it, her outfit would have been enough. She looked adorable. Her tight-fitting jeans matched perfectly with a cute light spring sweater in yellow with big thick cable knits. She looked like she fell out of an L.L. Bean catalog. I was half judging her and half jealous.

Did Broadrick want me to dress this way?

"Really? You would do that? I need all the fashion help I can get," I said, tugging on my black T-shirt with a kitten riding a piece of pizza-hand-selected for maximum trap effectiveness. I did my research and had this shirt stashed in my car for just this occasion. Also it was really comfy.

"I'd love it. Everyone needs to discover their style. You're definitely a warm red."

I nodded like I had any idea what that meant. "Do you think I need the help?"

Lizzy stared at my worn tennis shoes. "Absolutely, but thankfully I can help."

That stung.

I had style. Sometimes.

Kitten shirts were a style.

A car with music blasting from the windows drove by, and Lizzy frowned.

"If you think you can help, I'd love it. Let me get your phone number." I already had her phone number from Conner's write-up, but Lizzy didn't know that information.

I pretended to type in her number as she rattled it off. "Lizzy, you said. Right?"

"Yup." She tugged her purse in front of her and clutched the leather bag as she searched through it.

I tapped out a simple text to her. "Here, I'll text you."

VONNIE: Let me know on a clothes date!-Vonnie

"That's me," I said when her phone buzzed.

"Great, we can get together later this week," she said, messing with her phone.

I hesitated. "Yeah, let me know and we'll meet at the store." Sure, I set this meeting up, but that didn't mean I trusted her to not kill me. Precautions were still necessary. Only meeting in public places and my stun gun in my purse. "I'm so glad we ran into one another."

Lizzy raised her head to look at me, and something changed in her expression. Did I lay it on too thick? "Ummm, yeah. Me too."

I had to leave before everything crashed and burned. What if she gained self-preservation and decided I might be a killer.

"Oh, look at the time," I said, glancing at my wrist where I didn't have on a watch. Shit. "I have to meet my elderly grandmother for lunch."

That brought Lizzy's smile to the forefront again. "Yeah? Tell her I said hi."

"I will. See you later." With a wave, I turned around and headed toward the corner and my car. No way in hell was I telling Pearl I called her my elderly grandmother. She'd throw a teacup at my head.

Lizzy drove off in the opposite direction, and I jumped into Rachel to head back to Pelican Bay. Step one of making her a fiancée was complete. Time to move on to the next case.

One thing at a time.

Well, actually, next came two things at a time. If it went well.

Fingers crossed it did.

Before driving off, I sent a text to my next victim... subject.

VONNIE: Are you alone?