Death, Taxes, and a Chocolate Cannoli (A Tara Holloway Novel) by Diane Kelly

in a designated student spot and consulted the campus map that had been included in the packet sent over by the FBI office. The agent had circled the buildings in which my classes were held so that I could find them easily.
    Given that it was early May already, there were only a few classes left before finals. Students streamed into the student center, either heading in for an early lunch or to hook up with study partners. I found my classrooms and turned to head back to my car. A cute guy with black hair and green eyes did a double take and continued to look my way, offering me a flirtatious smile when my eyes met his. I found myself smiling back, a giddy feeling bubbling up in me.
    Jeez, Tara, I told myself. Chill. You’re here to work, not chase boys. Besides, he’s no Nick. It was true. The kid who’d looked my way was a cute college boy, but Nick was a man. My man. And I had no intention of trading him in for a different model. Still, it was nice to know I could hold my own with all of these pretty young women around. Then again, maybe Joe College was simply intrigued by my fiery red hair, wondering if the rumors about redheads were true. There’s fires in hell, boy, I thought. And lust is a sin that can take you there.
    I’d done all I could on the Fabrizio case for now, so I decided to do some digging into Triple 7 Adventures. On my way to the IRS office, I drove through a fast-food Chinese takeout and ordered a couple of vegetable egg rolls with sweet and sour sauce. I ate them on the way, situating the plastic sauce container in the cup holder for easy dipping . When I finished the egg rolls, I cracked open the fortune cookie as I sat at a stoplight downtown. I took a quick peek at the fortune.
    A trapped cat becomes a lion.
    Hmm. The fortune cookie was food for thought. Literally. I shoved the cookie into my mouth and chewed. Crunch-crunch-crunch.
    When I arrived on my floor, Lu looked up from her desk and called me into her office. As I stepped in, she gestured to my chest. “What’s that on your shirt?”
    I glanced down. An orange blob sat atop my left boob. Oops. “Sweet and sour sauce.” I swiped it with my finger and, having nowhere to dispose of the blob, licked it off.
    Lu made a face but said nothing. I’d once seen her stir a diet shake with a Slim Jim. Who was she to cast aspersions?
    She sat back in her seat. “What have you found out about that vacation scam?”
    Sheesh. What a slave driver. Wasn’t it enough that I’d spent all last night packing and had both moved to my new apartment and interviewed for a job this morning to move the mobster case forward?
    “Nothing yet. I’ve been busting my butt getting ready for the Fabrizio investigation.” Well, busting my butt and cupping Nick’s. But hadn’t I deserved a final boink before going indefinitely undercover? “But I’m planning to take a look right now.”
    “Let me know what you find out. I’ll call Harold back with your report. Might as well let the taxpayers know the IRS is on their side.”
    I fought a smile. I lost.
    Lu scowled at me. “What are you grinning at?”
    “Someone’s got a crush,” I said in a singsong voice.
    She turned and looked away, a sure sign I’d hit the nail on the head. Eek. Nails. Why did my mind keep going there?
    She turned back to me. “I don’t have a crush,” she snapped. “It was just nice to get some attention, that’s all.”
    I couldn’t fault her, especially when I’d gotten all warm and fuzzy this morning as that green-eyed guy had looked my way.
    She flapped her hand, shooing me out of her office. “Get busy.”
    I grabbed a quick mug of coffee in the office kitchen and took it to my office.
    First, I tried the phone number listed for Triple 7 on the postcard and receipt. All my efforts got me was a recorded voice telling me the number was not in service. No surprise there. More digging told me the number had belonged to a prepaid cell phone.
    Unfortunately, the provider’s