A few days ago, when the sign painters had put the final touches on the lettering, she had snapped a picture of it to send to her parents. She knew they would burst with pride at the sight of her name on the door. Rosa had spent a large part of her youth working with her mother, Ginger Reed, at the office of Lady Gold Investigations and credited that time for her apparent aptitude for sleuthing. She’d also learned from her work as a female member of the London Metropolitan Police. As her father, Basil Reed, a superintendent at Scotland Yard, liked to say, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.
Rosa slid the key into the lock, opened the door, and gently put her satchel down on the blue-padded cushions of the teakwood, Danish-style sofa that served as reception area seating. Diego immediately jumped out to explore the room.
With Gloria’s help—her cousin had decided to study interior design, and Rosa couldn’t help but wonder how long this particular passion would last—Rosa had outfitted the office to match the Spanish mission design of the building. Brightened by sunlight streaming in from a large window, the room had an impressive view of Santa Bonita’s business district. Green- leather-padded chairs circled a Spanish-mission-inspired coffee table. Adjacent to that was a matching desk. A set of shelves lined a portion of one wall, which Rosa planned to fill with books.
She’d already order certain law reference books and other resources such as textbooks on modern forensics and police investigative practices. A few mysteries and detective novels she’d picked up at the local bookstore lined one of the shelves along with a set of history encyclopedias and certain literary works of famous authors like Mark Twain and Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Rosa wanted the office to have a comfortable and inspiring ambiance. A kitchenette at one end of the office featured a small range, refrigerator, and cupboards for dishes and minimal food storage. A cast iron bistro table sat in the corner with two chairs, which suited the Spanish terracotta tiling on the floor.
An adjoining door opened to a darkroom, much like the one in her mother’s office in London. Rosa had purchased an Argus 35 mm camera, like the one she had used for her police work. Not only was she adept at using the camera but also, she did a fine job developing the photographs. It was much faster and easier than taking the film to a photo processing lab.
Diego immediately curled up on a chair, while Rosa removed her sunglasses, scarf, and gloves and set them on a side table. Settling into her desk chair, she arranged her crinoline slip and her skirt then stared out of the window at the vehicles rumbling down the street.
Rosa’s gaze settled on the recently installed black telephone, which seemed to mock her with its silence. For a moment, she felt a twinge of doubt. Had she been presumptuous in her decision to stay in California? Who was she to think that her assisting the Santa Bonita Police would cause anyone to seek her out for private investigating? Not only was she not American (her British accent an instant giveaway), but she was also a woman. Two definite strikes against her when it came to competing for work. And then there was Detective Miguel Belmonte—her pulse raced a little at the thought of him.
The thought of returning to London made Rosa’s stomach twist. She hadn’t recovered from the unsolved murder of her good friend, Lady Vivien Eveleigh, not to mention facing the tabloids who’d had a heyday after she’d abandoned her fiancé, Lord Winston Eveleigh, Vivien’s brother, at the altar.
And there was Larry. Rosa and the assistant medical examiner, Dr. Larry Rayburn, had been on several dates since she’d given him her number back in June, and she found his Texas charm delightful.
Besides that, Aunt Louisa had made it clear that the Forrester mansion was Rosa’s home for as long as she wanted to stay. While her cousin Clarence had been indifferent, Gloria had been ecstatic. “Maybe I should take up journalism after all. We could work together!”
“Who knows?” Rosa had replied, laughing. Her cousin’s mind changed like the wind. “Anything is possible. Let’s see what happens.”
That seemed Rosa’s motto these days. Let’s see what happens, let the wind take the sails, or que sera sera, as she had recently heard Doris Day sing on the radio.
The shrill ring of the telephone, a sound she hadn’t yet heard, startled Rosa. Who could it be? She hadn’t even given out her number to anyone. Perhaps someone who’d seen the advertisement she’d placed in The Santa Bonita Gazette, but it had only come out this morning. This couldn’t already be a client?
“Miss Rosa Reed from Reed Investigations.” Rosa smiled to herself as she uttered the words for the first time.
“Hello, Miss Reed.” The voice was throaty and female. “My name is Mrs. Gainer. I hope you can help me.”
“I’ll do my best, Mrs. Gainer,” Rosa replied. “What is it that you need?”
“I have an uncle, well it’s through marriage actually, my husband’s uncle.”
Rosa waited. It was obvious the lady was trying to collect herself.
“He’s an odd character, you see. Every family has one of those, don’t they?”
Rosa agreed, her mind going to Aunt Louisa and Grandma Sally. “Sometimes, more than one.”
“Well, my husband’s uncle’s name is Dieter Braun. He’s been missing for four days, and I think he’s in trouble.” Mrs. Gainer’s voice grew somber. “I think he’s been kidnapped or…maybe even worse!”
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About the Authors
Lee Strauss is a USA TODAY bestselling author of The Ginger Gold Mysteries series, The Higgins & Hawke Mystery series, The Rosa Reed Mystery series (cozy historical mysteries), A Nursery Rhyme Mystery series (mystery suspense), The Perception series (young adult dystopian), The Light & Love series (sweet romance), The Clockwise Collection (YA time travel romance),
