“We’re here to see if Mercedes can identify her missing handbag,” Reese said.
“Yep.” Buzz shoved his chair back and stood. “Before we do that, can you describe the handbag? We got a couple in the lost and found.”
Mercedes gave her mother a quick glance. “Yes. It’s small and gray. It’s a spare I don’t use often, that’s probably why I accidentally left it on the trolley.”
“I got two gray handbags. Can you describe it a little better?”
“No. I mean, it’s a handbag, and it’s gray.”
Buzz eyed them suspiciously before opening the closet door. He pulled out two handbags and held them up.
Mercedes stared at them, unsure of which one to pick.
“It’s that one.” Reese lunged forward and attempted to snatch the bag he was holding in his left hand, but Buzz held tight, refusing to let go. “Hold your horses. Can you tell me what was inside?”
“I always carry lip balm and hand sanitizer.”
“Anything else?” Buzz dangled the handbag in front of them.
“No.” Mercedes frowned. “Like I said, I rarely use the handbag.”
“Is this yours…or isn’t it?” Buzz’s eyes narrowed.
“It kind of looks like mine.”
“Huh.” Buzz reluctantly handed the bag to Mercedes.
She unzipped the top, stuck her hand inside and pulled out a container of dental floss. Next, she reached in and pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer.
Carlita’s heart pounded loudly as Mercedes stuck her hand inside the bag a third time. She pulled out a pink stapler. “This…doesn’t look familiar.”
“So you’re saying the bag isn’t yours?” Buzz asked.
“I…” Mercedes reached in the bag again and felt around. “It’s empty.” She placed the items back inside and handed it to Buzz. “Nope. The bag isn’t mine. It looks a lot like one that I have, but this isn’t it.”
“No kidding.” Buzz took the bag, giving Mercedes an odd look.
“Mercedes has a lot of handbags,” Carlita laughed. “Even I can’t keep track of them.”
Reese thanked her boss for showing them the handbag, and then quickly ushered her friends out of his office.
Mercedes waited until they were out of the building to speak. “I don’t think your boss believed me.”
“Can you blame him? You weren’t even close on guessing the contents, except for the hand sanitizer,” Carlita said.
“Yeah, but who carries dental floss, and a stapler around in their purse? No one. That’s who.”
“She has a point,” Reese said. “At least he let her look inside.”
Carlita motioned toward the trolley office. “Reese, what if you picked the wrong handbag? What if it was the other one?”
“No, I picked the right one. I forgot one minor detail Jim gave me. He said the handbag had a long strap. The other gray one had a short strap.”
The trio made their way to the end of the street, circling back around the side, and to the front.
“It looks like we’ll have to walk home.”
“I have it covered. Our ride is parked over there, in the hotel parking garage.” Reese pointed to a high rise-parking garage. “I gave the manager a complimentary trolley pass. In exchange, I get free parking.”
“That’s a nice perk,” Carlita said.
The women walked toward the parking garage. “I don’t do swaps with too many people. Frank was down on his luck at the time, pounding the pavement and looking for a job. When I found out, I gave him free rides around town during his job search.”
“How thoughtful of you, Reese.” Despite Reese’s gift for gab, at times nearly nonstop, she had a heart of gold and was always willing to help a friend or even a stranger in need.
Carlita was indeed lucky to call Reese her friend. “Thank you for helping us. I’m sorry our fact finding mission was a bust.”
There was a moment of silence, and Carlita could see Reese’s wheels spinning. “At least you still have the video footage of the courtyard right after Megan’s collapse. If I were you…not saying I am, but if I were you, I would have Pirate Pete take a look at it.”
“We were thinking the same thing,” Mercedes said. “He told Ma he thinks he would be able to identify the people he ran into in our alley.”
“It’s getting late. The kids are coming over for dinner. It will have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Over here.” Reese veered off the sidewalk and headed for the parking garage’s side service door.
Flickering yellow bulbs hung from the concrete ceiling, casting creepy shadows inside the parking garage.
Mercedes shivered. “I don’t think I would want to be wandering around in here by myself, especially after dark.”
“This is the valet parking area, for employees only. It doesn’t seem to bother Frank.”
“It would make the perfect spot for a murder mystery,” Carlita said.
“You’re right, almost a little too perfect of a spot.”
“Our ride is over there.” The women crossed to the other side of the parking garage, to a four-wheel drive jeep parked in the corner.
Reese unlocked the doors and motioned for them to get in.
“I never would’ve pegged you for a four-wheel drive person,” Carlita said.
Reese tossed her purse in the back seat and climbed in. “What did you think I would drive?”
“A trolley. Seriously,” Carlita said. “I dunno. Maybe a four-door luxury sedan, something with plenty of room.”
“I wouldn’t be caught dead in a tin tank. Those are for mature adults or senior citizens.”
“Then you’ll never want to ride around in our car.” Mercedes crawled into the back seat. “We have a Lincoln town car.”
“No kidding. I never would’ve pegged you for driving a big tank like that.”
“It was my husband, Vinnie’s, car. Mercedes and I inherited it after his death.”
Mercedes reached for the seatbelt. “We inherited it, and then we spent some fun-filled hours learning how to
