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quietly.
    She glared at her mother then nodded. “Sure, sweetie.” She took the twenty-dollar bill. When he was gone, she turned to her mother. “I hope you’re happy. You ran him off.”
    Amelia’s elaborately made - up eyes widened. “Why, Tiffany, I did no such thing.”
    “You know what? I need to go. I’ll talk to y’all later.” Tiffany dropped a kiss on Byron’s forehead , and with barely a glance at her mother, stomped up to the cash register.
    Byron stood and retrieved his and Amelia’s bill. “I’m going to go on and pay , too.” He followed his daughter.
    “Well, at least she didn’t eat all of that fat-filled burger,” Amelia murmured as I refilled her glass.
    Indignant on Carly’s behalf, I protested. “That’s ground chuck—”
    Amelia waved her hand. “Never mind, dear. I need a favor.”
    “A ‘to go’ box?”
    She frowned, but thanks to one - too - many B otox treatments, only her eyes showed it. “No, silly.” She glanced at her husband and daughter and lowered her voice. “You’re so good at snooping. I need you to find out what you can about Ricky before he and Tiffany get married.” She was talking so fast and quietly , I could barely understand her. “We had her last boyfriend investigated. It turned out badly , and she was brokenhearted for a while.” She sipped her tea and lifted her hand in a lazy wave to a nearby diner. “We don’t want that to happen again,” she said to me from the corner of her mouth.
    “You know, Amelia, I’m not a PI. Can’t you just have a professional check him out, run a background check, that kind of thing?”
    She put her hand to her heart as if I’d suggested having him murdered. “No. Tiffany made us promise not to do that ever again.”
    Maybe she wasn’t as managing a mother as I thought.
    Her next words dispelled that delusion. “I’d do it anyway, but I’m afraid she would find out.” She took a drink. “But you can do it. You ask questions all the time , anyway, so no one would think it was odd.”
    Thanks a lot.
    “Besides , you know John and Seth both. They’ll tell you anything.” Ha, little did she know. John wouldn’t tell me the time of day unless he had to. Well , he wasn’t that bad, but he certainly didn’t share information with me.
    “I guess I can ask them about him. If you really want me to. But he seems like a regular guy to me. Why are you so worried?”
    “Tiffany doesn’t attract men like some girls do.” She glanced at me. “Well, look at her. No wonder she doesn’t. I could have helped her, but from the time she was small , if I even made a suggestion about her looks or clothes , she took it as an insult.”
    Amelia looked toward the door where Byron motioned toward her that he was ready. “Anyway, she hasn’t had good luck with men. Ricky seem s fine, but we just want to make sure. Will you do it?”
    “I don’t know . . . ”
    She tapped her nails impatiently on the table. “I seem to remember I didn’t hesitate when you asked me to look into something for you.”
    I shrugged. What could I say? She was right. In the last murder I’d been investigating, I’d asked her to check something out and she had. “I’ll figure out a way to ask John and Seth what they think about him without seeming suspicious. And I’ll let you know.”
    She pulled out a ten - dollar bill and left it on the table. “Thanks.”
    I scooped the ten into m y apron pocket and watched the First Lady of Lake View glide across the room.
    Poor Ricky. He had no idea what he was getting into.

Chapter Four

    A watched pot never boils .

    Within five minutes, Harvey was ringing up the last few stragglers from the lunch crowd. I was learning the ebb and flow of customers. They all came at once. They all left at once.
    I walked over to where Alice carefully filled the saltshakers.
    She smiled at me. “I bet you’re worn out. Not bein’ used to this and all.”
    I didn’t know it showed. Every part of me was