it."
"Yeah," Veronica agreed. "Has anyone checked the surveillance tape?"
" Oui , we review ze tape last night wis Pauline."
"Pauline?" I repeated, surprised. And incredibly annoyed. "What's she got to do with this?"
"She is in charge of ze computer wis ze security files."
"That's odd," Veronica said. "You'd think that an IT person or at the very least a manager would handle that sort of thing."
"And not an executive secretary," I muttered. For the life of me, I couldn't fathom how an intelligent man like Bradley could trust a conniving piece of work like Pauline so implicitly. Whatever the reason, I sincerely hoped it didn't have anything to do with her violet, almond-shaped eyes.
"You know Pauline," Corinne said. "She has her hand in everysing."
"Yes," I said dryly, thinking of Bradley's pants. Then a thought occurred to me. Did she also have her hand in Corinne's teller drawer? She certainly seemed to be around every time cash came up missing. But it didn't make sense unless she needed money or had some ulterior motive for wanting Corinne fired.
"It is almost nine o'clock," Corinne said. "I must go in. But I am serious about hiring your firm."
"We can discuss the details another time," Veronica said.
"Yeah, don't worry about that now," I added. "I'll come by the bank this afternoon to see what I can find out. We'll have to keep this arrangement strictly confidential—for your sake and mine. If Bradley finds out I'm poking around in bank matters, he'll ban me from the premises." And possibly from his life .
"But of course," she said. " Au revoir ."
As soon as Corinne had entered the bank, Veronica turned to me. "What do you think is going on?"
"I don't know, but I'd be willing to bet my eye teeth that it has something to do with Pauline."
Veronica frowned. "I know you don't trust her, but that's a pretty serious accusation."
I sighed. "I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. This is business—it's not personal." Okay, so maybe it was. But just a little.
She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Oh, really?"
"Yes, really," I said, mentally crossing my fingers. "Everything was fine until Pauline showed up on the scene. But ever since then, bad things have been happening. At first I thought she was just after Bradley, but now I'm starting to think she wants more than that."
She smirked. "Like total bank domination?"
"Go ahead and laugh, Veronica. But when I prove that she had something to do with the missing money, I'll be the one to laugh last," I said with a pointed look. Then I started the V-8 engine and revved it—for dramatic effect.
"Okay, but are you sure you want to take this case? You've got a conflict of interest here. And if you're wrong about her, it could ruin your relationship with Bradley."
"I don't really have a choice, do I?" I asked, shifting in my seat to face her. "Corinne is my friend, and I want to help her. And Pauline is already trying to ruin my relationship with Bradley. Any minute now, she's going to lay the news of the pranzo ufficiale on him and blame it squarely on me. So if I have a chance to show him her true colors, which are black and blacker, I have to take it."
"All right," Veronica said. "Just be careful."
"Around the perilous Pauline? Count on it," I said as I sped away from the curb and tried to figure out how in the hell I was going to investigate Pauline without her or Bradley realizing it.
* * *
After an impromptu stop by the office to retrieve Veronica's laptop, we pulled in front of Lickalicious Lips at nine thirty a.m. I made a quick U-turn in the middle of St. Peter to grab an unlikely parking spot in front of the Gumbo Shop two doors down. The minute I stepped out of the car, my nostrils were filled with the tantalizing aroma of roux ,a thickener made of bacon fat and flour used as a base in Cajun and Creole cooking. I fervently hoped that the questioning of the Lickalicious staff would last until lunchtime so that I could have a
"Yeah," Veronica agreed. "Has anyone checked the surveillance tape?"
" Oui , we review ze tape last night wis Pauline."
"Pauline?" I repeated, surprised. And incredibly annoyed. "What's she got to do with this?"
"She is in charge of ze computer wis ze security files."
"That's odd," Veronica said. "You'd think that an IT person or at the very least a manager would handle that sort of thing."
"And not an executive secretary," I muttered. For the life of me, I couldn't fathom how an intelligent man like Bradley could trust a conniving piece of work like Pauline so implicitly. Whatever the reason, I sincerely hoped it didn't have anything to do with her violet, almond-shaped eyes.
"You know Pauline," Corinne said. "She has her hand in everysing."
"Yes," I said dryly, thinking of Bradley's pants. Then a thought occurred to me. Did she also have her hand in Corinne's teller drawer? She certainly seemed to be around every time cash came up missing. But it didn't make sense unless she needed money or had some ulterior motive for wanting Corinne fired.
"It is almost nine o'clock," Corinne said. "I must go in. But I am serious about hiring your firm."
"We can discuss the details another time," Veronica said.
"Yeah, don't worry about that now," I added. "I'll come by the bank this afternoon to see what I can find out. We'll have to keep this arrangement strictly confidential—for your sake and mine. If Bradley finds out I'm poking around in bank matters, he'll ban me from the premises." And possibly from his life .
"But of course," she said. " Au revoir ."
As soon as Corinne had entered the bank, Veronica turned to me. "What do you think is going on?"
"I don't know, but I'd be willing to bet my eye teeth that it has something to do with Pauline."
Veronica frowned. "I know you don't trust her, but that's a pretty serious accusation."
I sighed. "I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong. This is business—it's not personal." Okay, so maybe it was. But just a little.
She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Oh, really?"
"Yes, really," I said, mentally crossing my fingers. "Everything was fine until Pauline showed up on the scene. But ever since then, bad things have been happening. At first I thought she was just after Bradley, but now I'm starting to think she wants more than that."
She smirked. "Like total bank domination?"
"Go ahead and laugh, Veronica. But when I prove that she had something to do with the missing money, I'll be the one to laugh last," I said with a pointed look. Then I started the V-8 engine and revved it—for dramatic effect.
"Okay, but are you sure you want to take this case? You've got a conflict of interest here. And if you're wrong about her, it could ruin your relationship with Bradley."
"I don't really have a choice, do I?" I asked, shifting in my seat to face her. "Corinne is my friend, and I want to help her. And Pauline is already trying to ruin my relationship with Bradley. Any minute now, she's going to lay the news of the pranzo ufficiale on him and blame it squarely on me. So if I have a chance to show him her true colors, which are black and blacker, I have to take it."
"All right," Veronica said. "Just be careful."
"Around the perilous Pauline? Count on it," I said as I sped away from the curb and tried to figure out how in the hell I was going to investigate Pauline without her or Bradley realizing it.
* * *
After an impromptu stop by the office to retrieve Veronica's laptop, we pulled in front of Lickalicious Lips at nine thirty a.m. I made a quick U-turn in the middle of St. Peter to grab an unlikely parking spot in front of the Gumbo Shop two doors down. The minute I stepped out of the car, my nostrils were filled with the tantalizing aroma of roux ,a thickener made of bacon fat and flour used as a base in Cajun and Creole cooking. I fervently hoped that the questioning of the Lickalicious staff would last until lunchtime so that I could have a
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