Page 6 of Rules of Engagement

"No!"

He flipped the notepad closed. "Then, no, she did not."

"I don't know if you're messing with me."

"I am a little bit." He held his thumb and forefinger apart, then frowned and tightened the gap.

"I will go directly to the source."

"That would be wisest," agreed Delgado. "How did your appointment with the wedding planner turn out?"

"Very productive," I said, which was true. Eating cake was very productive. "We are making headway. You can relax and Serena can stop worrying about me stealing her wedding ideas. We even made a decision on the cake."

"Great. Serena was worried you'd want a round one like us. Damn!" Delgado reached for the notepad again and I pulled a bigger face. "Nope, she picked square. Damn!"

I held back a giggle at Delgado's accidental reveals and breathed a sigh of relief at the square cake. As I did so, I glanced at my laptop, smiling when I saw that the results of my search had returned. I scanned it quickly, checking that it all tallied against Francesca's information. So far, so good. Her career was exactly as Francesca had said. The college and degree were correct too, along with her birthdate, marital status and address. Next, I ran a check on Keira's finances. If she were planning a coup of Francesca's business, or even launching her own to compete with her boss, I expected I would find some trace of evidence in her finances. She would need some savings to set up a business from scratch, or at least a loan. It would be difficult to sustain her living standards without more income.

However, when the financial search returned its results, there was no evidence of a loan. Her savings had built up slowly but the amount wasn’t huge. The duplex's mortgage had been paid off four years ago, around the time Keira switched careers. That made sense as to why she could afford the drop in salary. Her living expenses were also reduced significantly but she still managed to maintain a comfortable lifestyle, including a small loan for a car.

I was impressed that she was mortgage-free by the age of thirty, and puzzled at the lack of any red flags. Francesca mentioned seeing Keira with some information about a store for sale but there was nothing to suggest she bought or even rented a unit. I typed the address into the search engine and a picture of a closed-up shop appeared, along with a link to the listing. Clicking the image took me to a hybrid map. I zoomed out, noting the small unit was nestled between a nationwide bridal gown chain and a bakery.

If I intended to open up a rival business, I would do it there. The location was perfect, a veritable one-stop shop for brides, and ideal for any proprietor to build business relationships. I looked at the address again. It wasn't located here, but instead in Chester, one of the neighboring towns, thirty miles south of Montgomery and five miles west of the Army base, Fort Charles. Chester wasn't the most interesting of towns but it was large, affluent, and derived a lot of business from the civilian and Army personnel that staffed the base. I once narrowly avoided being carjacked there, which hadn't left the best impression. For nightlife and shopping, many residents visited Montgomery but I heard a recent revamp of Chester's downtown area had brought in new stores, bars and restaurants. A wedding salon would probably do well there, especially for soldiers in a hurry to get hitched.

My next step was to head upstairs and ask for help from our resident tech geek. Lucas was a highly intelligent man with a resume that veered into shady areas. His knowledge of databases and tracking software were second to none.

"What's up?" said Lucas as I dropped into the chair next to him, a few minutes later, rubbing my stomach.

"I think I have cake indigestion."

"Is that a real affliction?"

"I don't know. I ate too much cake, I feel a little sick now, but I still want to eat more."

"That's not cake indigestion. That's cake commitment."

I pondered that. I'd never felt so committed to anything in my life. "I agree," I decided.

"Future career?" inquired Lucas.

"As a cake taster? Sign me up, then roll me over there."

"Is this a social visit? Did you bring me any cake?" He rocked from side-to-side, looking for hidden cake boxes.

"No, sorry."

"Then tell me what you need from me."

"Ping a phone so I can find someone?"

"Shouldn't you wait until after marriage to stalk Solomon?"

I snorted. "It's not Solomon, though... would you if I asked?"

"Sure, why not? My life and career are meaningless to me."

"Good to know. Here's the number," I said, grabbing the slip from my pocket and pushing it over to him. "Her name is Keira Bell."

"Do you want to know where she is now or where she's been?"