Page 7 of The Scenic Route
“Agreed.” Felicity resisted the urge to stomp her feet as she headed toward the driver’s door of her car. “Just what we need—another complication.”
“I know, right?”
An idea took root in her mind. She didn’t like it at all—hated it, in fact—but there was just one solution she could think of. “Guess I’m going to be goose bait.”
Eyeing her over the top of the car, Charlie asked, “What?”
“Goose bait.” Felicity waited until they were both in the car and the doors were closed to explain. “We’re going to lead Mr. B. Green on such a wild goose chase, he’s going to regret stalking the Pax sisters.”
With a grin, Charlie held up her fist. Felicity bumped it with hers, unable to hold back her own smile. Private Investigator B. Green didn’t know who he was messing with.
***
Norah and Cara both lit up like sparklers when Felicity mentioned her plan—at least the rough outline she’d come up with.
“Ohhhhh,” Cara said, shuffling through the files they had on various bail jumpers they were currently investigating. “We need to pick a believable destination so your stalker won’t figure out what you’re doing and drop you to chase after Charlie instead.”
“I don’t know,” Charlie said around a bite of apple. “He’s pretty fixated on Fifi.”
Giving Charlie a glare—both for the comment and the hated nickname—Felicity turned back to her other sisters. “Any skips with out-of-town connections worth checking out? Preferably in the opposite direction of the Springs? Might as well be productive so it’s not a waste of time and gas.”
Norah’s fingers tapped on her laptop and then paused. “How about Douglas Fletcher? Before he moved here, he spent a few years with some militia group in the mountains.”
“Douglas Fletcher?” Charlie leaned over Norah’s shoulder to look at her laptop screen. “Oh, Dino! The meth dealer. Pretty good payoff if you bring him in too.”
“Perfect.” Felicity was starting to get excited about the detour. As much as she wanted to help track down her mom, a mini vacation in the mountains sounded really nice. She’d been working on the same case for weeks, and a temporary change in target would be a relief. Also, the aspens would be changing color, and she’d get a couple of days to herself—well, by herself except for her PI stalker. It would be satisfying to lead the annoying Mr. B. Green astray, so his presence was almost a bonus. “I’ll go do some nosing around…where exactly?”
“Just about three hours west of here.” Norah peered at the map on her screen. “Right outside a town called Simpson.”
“Simpson, huh?” Felicity peered over Norah’s shoulder at the small dot right in the middle of the Rockies and then made a smug face at Charlie. “While you’re chasing Mom and Zach,I’ll be relaxing in a sleepy little mountain town. Guess there’s an upside to being stalked.”
“Ugh.” Charlie frowned at her half-eaten apple, not looking quite so cocky now. “Suddenly, this plan doesn’t seem so great for me.”
With a light step and growing excitement, Felicity headed upstairs to pack for her mini vacation. Maybe being goose bait wouldn’t be so bad after all.
Three
By the time Felicity passed theWelcome to Simpsonsign, the sun was just starting to peek over the mountains to the east. She rolled slowly into town, eyeing the quirky homes and businesses that made the place look like an Old West film set on acid. The low-slung buildings—many made of logs and the others painted in unexpected bright pastels—balanced on the line between adorable and unsettling. It was equally possible to imagine a cheery lumberjack or a suspicious doomsday prepper emerging from one of the doorways. Since she was in such a good mood, Felicity decided to go with cheery lumberjack. Sharp, rocky peaks loomed over the hamlet on all sides, somehow managing to create a feeling that was both cozy and claustrophobic.
The extra-early start to her drive hadn’t fazed Felicity, especially since she was in her nice, normal dark blue compact car, and Charlie had to borrow Molly’s Prius so she could remain incognito on her way out of town. After all their planning, they didn’t want Charlie to catch the PI’s attention, so Felicity gother usual ride, while Charlie was in the “Weed on Wheels” car.
The town was quiet, with no one around to disturb the early-morning peace, and Felicity slowed even more as she thought about what her plan of attack should be. She hadn’t worked out any details yet—just lure Mr. B. Green out of Langston and away from Charlie’s brightly painted weedmobile. It was much too early to check in at the motel, too early for anything really, except for…
Felicity smiled when she spotted the coffee shop with its prominentOpensign in the window. She turned into the small lot adjoining The Coffee Spot and parked next to the other two vehicles—both dusty, older pickups. As she got out, she immediately shivered and reached back in the car for her fleece jacket. The air felt thin and a lot colder than Langston, which had an elevation about three thousand feet lower than Simpson.
She grabbed her laptop bag too, since she couldn’t imagine a coffee shop existing that didn’t have Wi-Fi available. This was perfect—she’d have breakfast and plan out her research into Dino’s old militia at the same time.
Closing her car door, she turned to look around, only to have her view blocked by a black SUV that pulled into the spot right next to hers. Her stomach sank even before she got a good look at the driver.
Mr. PI himself. Great. He’s not even trying to be sneaky anymore.
With a sigh, Felicity gave him a flat stare before heading toward the coffee shop entrance. There was no reason to bemoan B. Green’s presence. After all, he was the main reason she was in Simpson at all. She was the bait, and he was the goose. Or was she the goose and he the goose chaser? She frowned, trying tofigure out her metaphor as she walked inside.
The smell was universal of all coffee shops—roasted beans and sweet pastries and steamed milk. Her good mood returned. Charlie was probably grabbing a gas station fake cappuccino from a machine right now. Felicity really had gotten the best part of this assignment. A couple of people were seated at the small tables scattered around the shop. They glanced up when she came in and then returned to their phones and drinks.
“Welcome!”
Felicity turned her attention to the pretty blond barista and headed to the counter. “Hello…” Her gaze flicked to the woman’s shirt, checking vainly for a name tag.
