Page 13 of Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man)

They linger in the doorway, the laughter melting from their faces. “We’re here if you need to talk about shit,” Kit says, her face shining with earnestness.

TJ’s heart cracks open. If the business were to fold, what wouldhappen to Kit, Lomax, and Elsie? The world would only see an ex-con, a high school dropout, and a single mother-to-be. They’re unhirable. Though maybe he should focus on his own shit, because it’s not like people would be scrambling to hire him either. “Thanks. I really appreciate that,” he says. “Now, please get that thing outta here.”

“Aye, aye,” Kit says, saluting with the terrible dildo. As they turn to leave, she adds, “By the way, there’s some old lady here to see you.”

TJ frowns. “What’s her name?”

“Vera Wang.”

The Vera Wang? TJ’s eyebrows practically disappear into his hairline. His hairline, which he’s noticed is slightly receding, just because life hasn’t been hard enough for him lately. But maybe things are about to look up for TJ. Why else would Vera Wang be here, if not to look for a new talent manager? TJ rises from his seat, then lowers himself again. Shouldn’t look overly eager. He clears his throat and says, “Send her in.” His voice comes out squeaky with excitement.

But the woman who strides in is very much not Vera Wang. She looks the opposite of Vera Wang, in fact, with a cloud of gray hair hidden under a visor so large it might as well be an umbrella, and is pulling along a foldable shopping cart behind her.

TJ gapes at her. “Who are you?”

“Vera Wong. I told your assistant. She didn’t tell you?”

TJ bites the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning out loud. Of course he would get the knockoff Vera Wang. He takes a deep breath and refocuses on the old lady. “Right, sorry. Are you…looking for representation?”

The old woman cocks her head to one side. “Representation? No, no, my son is lawyer. If I need representation, I go to him. Even though he will say conflict of interesting, but in the end he will represent me because he is a good boy.”

It takes TJ a moment to digest what she’s just said. Then the penny drops. “Oh, you think I’m a lawyer. I didn’t mean that kind of representation. I’m a talent manager.”

“What? What is that? Why would talent have to be manage?” Then she utters a small gasp of understanding. “Ohhh, you mean like that Kim Kardashian girl and her mom? Her mama is her momager. Like that?”

TJ is about to say no when he considers it. “Sort of, yes. I do most things for my clients, including booking them shows, coming up with collaborations for them, marketing and publicity, all that good stuff. But hang on, if you’re not here looking for a manager, then why—”

“Oh yes, I come here to ask you about Xander Lin.” The old woman rummages in her shopping cart and takes out a notebook.

And of course the knockoff Vera Wang is here to interrogate him about Xander. TJ’s neck and shoulders, which had only just begun to relax a few minutes ago, immediately knot up. He swallows to make sure his voice comes out even. “What about him?”

“Well, he is your client, right?”

“He was. I heard the news of his passing. Are you—was he of relation to you?” Did that come out sounding as awkward as he thinks? God, he’s bad at this.

“I think I ask the questions around here, young man.”

How could TJ have seen this woman as a kindly old lady? She’s obviously someone far more dangerous. An undercover cop. Yes,that’s got to be it. And at her age, she’s probably one of the more senior and most experienced cops they have. Which is why they’ve sent her to talk to him, because they know what he did—

Stop it!TJ mentally shouts at himself.Stop. Spiraling. You’re always doing that. Just stop.

He pulls at the collar of his shirt. “Uh, okay? What—uh, what would you like to know?”

“Well, I want to know what really happen to him,” she says, emphasizing “really” in a way that makes TJ’s pores open and start sweating. “But maybe you can start by telling me how you come to know Xander.”

“Okay.” TJ thinks fast. “Well, like you said earlier, Xander Lin was my client. I represent social media influencers. When an influencer gets over three hundred thousand followers on TikTok or one hundred thousand followers on Instagram, I reach out to them and ask if they would like representation. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they say no. That’s usually how it works in this business.”

“So, you reach out to Xander Lin and offer to representing him, and he say yes?”

TJ nods.

“How long ago?”

TJ has no idea if the answer he gives would incriminate him or not, so in the end, he fudges it a little. “Three months ago. Maybe. I can’t remember. I have a lot of clients.” A complete and utter lie.

Vera’s shrewd eyes laser into him as though she can read the guilty thoughts scurrying through his head.

“And what was Xander like?”

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