But Coop was holding on to her theory. I’m guessing because she needed answers, and any answer at this point would be better than the senseless death of her idol.
“She was saying it to her trusted confidant—her assistant. They’re best friends, Trixie. Like us. If you were going to kill someone, wouldn’t you tell me?”
Oh, to have her very black and white view of the world. “Oh, Coop. I can’t get into that mindset, to be honest. I mean, I tell you a lot of very private things, but it I were going to murder someone, I…I don’t know. It’s a very simplistic view of friendship. Someone sneaky probably isn’t going to tell anyone unless the other person is in on it, too, and murder takes a certain amount of cunning and secrecy.”
But Coop was ready to defend her theory. “Well, maybe they were in on it together. What about that meme I always see on Facebook about how a real friend gets the bleach and the plastic bags and helps you bury the body?”
I fought a loud laugh. I didn’t want to insult my beautiful demon, but she took literal to a whole new level. “That’s a distinct possibility, Coop, but I think that meme is meant to be taken more figuratively than literally.”
She stared blankly at me, her eyes deadpan. “I would literally do that for you.”
Eep. We were veering off course here. “But I literally wouldn’t ask you to. Anyway, I definitely think we should share this video with Tansy, don’t you? Let’s send it to her, okay?”
“I think we should send it to her, too, but I also think we should talk to Susie Masters. She’s at the Cobbler Cove Hotel right now. They’re having a memorial service with some of the other gurus who aren’t allowed to go home under police orders, to honor Mitzy. But beforehand, they’re having dinner.” Coop scrolled her phone and went to Instagram, where there was a post by Ames Snarles, announcing where he would be for dinner this evening. “We could go…”
Dang Coop. She knew I couldn’t resist sticking my nose in, and she was counting on that being the carrot she dangled under my nose. I could see it in her eyes.
Peering at her, I asked, “Did you hear what Tansy said to me, Coop? She said I wasn’t allowed to investigate.”
Coop shrugged her shoulders with an almost innocent glance at us. “But we’re not investigating. We’re going to Cobbler Cove Hotel for dinner, and we’ll just happen to be in the same place as the people who are going to have a memorial. It’s a coincidence.”
Higgs rose from the couch and stretched his arms with an indulgent grin. “Devious, Coop. I like it.”
“But it hasn’t even officially been called a murder, Coopie. What if it was just an accident?”
She poked me in my belly with a finger. “Is that what your gut is telling you?”
Sighing, I shook my head. She was right. My gut said murder as loud as any gut can. “No. That’s not what my gut is telling me.”
“Then let’s go. Pleeease? I hear they have a really good bacon cheeseburger. You like hamburgers, Trixie, so it’ll be my treat,” Coop encouraged, nudging my shoulder with hers.
I pinched my temples, trying to resist temptation. I didn’t know I was in the thick of things until I was, and I didn’t want to ruin my relationship with Tansy over something that might be nothing.
But…
“What about family dinner? Knuckles is cooking meatloaf tonight. We don’t want to miss family dinner, do we?”
I don’t know why I was bothering to feign reluctance, because of course I wanted to ask Susie-Susie what she meant by what she’d said. I just didn’t want to alienate Tansy in the process—or get caught doing it.
Coop grabbed my purse from the coffee table and handed it to me. “I asked Knuckles if he wouldn’t mind changing it to tomorrow, and he said if it made me happy to go sniff around, then it made him happy, and if he had time, he’d meet us there with Goosie.”
I chuckled. She really was becoming quite the little sleuth. “Sounds like you have all the bases covered. So okay, but we have to be careful, Coop. I don’t want to anger Tansy.”
“I promise I’ll be careful.” Then she grabbed my hand and squeezed it. “Thank you, Trixie. I really need to solve this. It means a great deal to me. I feel like I won’t get a good night’s rest if I don’t find Mitzy some peace.”
Smiling, I looked around for my shoes. “You bet, Coop. Let’s go see if we can find us a killer.”
I slipped my shoes on and dropped a kiss on Livingston’s head, stroking his back. “You okay here for a bit on your own?”
“Fries, Trixie. Bring me back some fries—extra crispy, lass,” he cooed.
Grinning, I tapped his beak affectionately. “You got it, buddy. Okay, guys, are we ready?”
Higgs smiled at me as he pulled on his jacket then held mine open for me. “Is that a gleam in your eye I see, Sister Trixie?”
I stuck my tongue out at him and pulled him toward the door. “It is not, ex-Police Officer Higglesworth. It’s hunger. I’m starving. C’mon. Let’s go.”
Okay, it probably was a gleam in my eye. Yes. The idea of asking around and possibly finding out why someone would kill Mitzy was of great interest to me. I can’t deny that, but I had my fingers crossed I wouldn’t fudge this up and anger Tansy.
Because I liked her, too—a lot.
Almost as much as I liked investigating a murder.
Chapter 8
Cobbler Cove Hotel was aglow with soft lamps lining the paved pathway to the heavy mahogany double doors. Rich with history, it had been at the heart of the district for over a hundred years and had recently gone through a revamping and total interior renovation.
I can vouch for how grateful I was when the renovations were done
