Page 98 of I Can't Even

“I’m a private investigator,” the man said. “My name is Trent McAllister, and I was hired by Paisley to follow you and your sisters, Ms. Blumer.”

“Prove it,” I said.

He carefully reached into his back pocket and Liam stepped forward as if ready to take a swing at him if he did anything funky. “Easy, I’m just getting my ID out.”

Liam held out his hand and Trent dropped his picture ID in it as if afraid Liam was going to take the opportunity to break his fingers. Not completely out of the realm of possibility.

“It says your office is in San Diego,” Liam said. “Mission Beach.”

“Yeah, I’ve been there for about five years,” he said. “Rolled down from Los Angeles.”

“What were you doing for Paisley?” I asked.

“She was referred to me by an old client. She hired me to make sure you and your sisters followed the dictates of the will, you know, that you kept the urn in the window and that you all slept in the house every night,” he said. “Paisley was sure you would crack.”

“So, are you the one who took the urn last night?” I asked.

“Hell, no!” Trent said. “I’m just a watcher. I don’t do anything illegal. I have a reputation to protect.”

“Good. Because then we’d have a problem,” I said.

“Not for nothing, I’m not surprised someone took the urn from you,” he said. “Paisley offered me a sweet deal, a payout to be determined if I’d do it for her. Since burglary is a no no, I refused. She didn’t like that.”

“What are you doing here now?” Liam asked with suspicion in his tone.

“Quitting,” he said. “I went to cash the check she wrote, and it was denied for insufficient funds. That’s the second time, so I came to tell her I quit.”

“I think that’s a good call,” I said. “But she’s not here. She’s down at my house measuring the place for curtains.”

“So, she must have found someone else to steal the urn,” Trent said. “Sorry about that. That’s bad luck.”

“Not entirely,” Liam said. “We have a pretty good idea of who did it.”

Trent followed his gaze to the house across the street. “The neighbor? The one with the big...garage?”

“That’s the one,” I said. I jerked my thumb at Liam, “Also known as his ex-girlfriend.”

Trent raised his eyebrows. “Awkward.”

“I’ll say,” Liam agreed.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to it,” Trent said. He began to walk away and then turned around. “A word of advice from a pro, if you don’t mind?”

“Not at all, lay it on us,” I said.

“People like to hide things in their freezers,” he said.

Liam and I exchanged a look.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Good tip.” Liam nodded.

Trent gave us a small smile and then took off down the street toward a nondescript sedan parked in front of Paisley’s house.

“You ready?” Liam asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” I said. “My first B&E. Woo hoo!”

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