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already has two suspects, and I have only one.”
    “Grace, what do you think?” I asked her after taking a bite of the delicious lunch.
    “It’s fine with me. I’m drowning in paperwork, so it will give me a chance to catch up at home while you two are off sleuthing.”
    Momma reached across the table and patted her hand. “You truly don’t mind?”
    “Truly,” Grace said.
    After we finished eating, Grace and I both reached for the bill simultaneously, but Momma was quicker.
    “You don’t have to treat us to lunch,” I told her.
    “Nonsense. How often do I get the opportunity to buy lunch for my two favorite women in the world?”
    “Don’t rob that from her, Suzanne,” Grace said with a grin before turning to Momma. “It’s nice to be in the top two, but out of curiosity, which one of us is number one?”
    “Don’t answer that,” I said, half in jest but still afraid of what her answer might be.

    Once we were outside, Momma said, “I’ll be at my place when you’re ready for me, Suzanne.”
    “I’ll see you then,” I said.
    After she was gone, I turned to Grace. “You really don’t mind this new arrangement?”
    “Not a chance. Talk about classing our group up, your mother puts us over the top. Besides, I know that you’ll keep me in the loop.” She looked at me intently before she asked, “You will keep me in the loop, won’t you?”
    “You can count on it,” I said. “Are you ready to tackle Amber?”
    “I guess that I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Grace said, and we went off in search of the cleaning service owner to see if she could shed any light on what had happened to Harley Boggess.

Chapter 8
    “D o you have a second, Amber?” I asked, knocking on her front door repeatedly before she finally answered. “Grace and I would love a few minutes of your time.”
    “Why? What do you want? Do you have something you need cleaned?”
    I didn’t have an answer for her, but Grace saved me. “As a matter of fact, Suzanne just learned that she’s inherited the old lawyer’s building on Viewmont Avenue, and she needs it cleaned from top to bottom. We were wondering if you’d like to bid on the job.”
    “I don’t do bids,” Amber said flatly. She had no doubt been cute as a button when she’d been younger, full of curves and no hard edges, but over the years, her cuteness had faded as her weight had increased. It was hard to imagine her with Harley, but then again, I was almost always amazed when any two people managed to find each other. I would have never put my ex-husband Max with my friend Emily either, but that was working out splendidly for both of them, so who was I to judge?
    “How do you get new jobs if you don’t bid on them, then?” Grace asked her.
    “I have a flat rate I charge per hour, and most folks seem happy enough with my system.”
    “And those that don’t?” Grace pushed.
    “Then they can go someplace else. It doesn’t matter to me either way. I have enough work to keep everybody on my staff busy. In fact, I’m always on the lookout for more employees.” She looked at me intently for a moment, and then she asked, “When should we get started, Suzanne? I might be able to pencil you in for sometime next week, but I’m not making any promises.”
    “You haven’t even told me your rate yet,” I reminded her. After she quoted an hourly rate to me, I tried my best not to frown. It was quite a bit more than I would have been willing to pay, even if I were in the market to have someone else do it for me. I wasn’t afraid of hard work or getting dirty, either, so when it came time to clean the place up to see what I had, I was sure that I’d be able to do it myself, and if it was too overwhelming, I had enough family and friends who would pitch in without having to be asked twice. I took that fact for granted, something that was actually quite nice. “Let me think about it,” I said.
    “Sure, but don’t wait too long. My schedule fills up