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“As I said, we’re fairly sure we have the right person in custody this time,” said Chase.

“But why?” asked Yuki, wringing her hands. “Why would she do such a thing? They were BFFs. They’ve known each other for years. They started in the business together.”

“Yeah, they were more like sisters than friends,” said Nickie, frowning.

“Revenge, most likely,” said Odelia.

“A fight over the boyfriend,” Chase added.

“All this over that silly Charlie?” asked Yuki. She shook her head, and buried her face in her hands. “Such a shame. Such a terrible, terrible shame.”

“Are you coming to the wake?” asked Nickie, changing the subject and rubbing her mother on the back.

“Yes, if that’s all right with you,” said Chase.

“Of course. And Chief Lip, too.”

“Chickie’s… body was released yesterday,” said Yuki. “And the funeral director assures us he’ll give her the most wonderful wake. I wanted to bury her in LA but…” Her voice broke, and Nickie took her hand in hers.

“I told Mom to bury Chickie here,” said Nickie. “She loved it so much out here, so…”

“They want me to select a dress for Chickie,” said Yuki. “And jewelry. But I can’t find her favorite earrings. The ones her grandmother gave her.”

“I’m sure they’ll turn up, Mom. I’ll go through her stuff again.”

Her mom nodded tearfully.“Oh, why did this have to happen to us? We were so happy together.”

“If you want I can help you look for the earrings,” Odelia suggested, touched by Yuki’s sorrow.

“That’s all right,” said Nickie. “I’m sure they’re in her room somewhere.”

“No, let her help,” said Yuki. “She’s a detective. This is what she does: detect.”

“What do they look like?” asked Odelia.

“Um… I’ll show you a picture,” said Yuki. She took out her smartphone and called up a picture of Chickie wearing a pair of delicate crescent-moon golden earrings.

Yuki smiled as she studied the picture.“They belonged to my mother. Chickie was crazy about them. Wore them all the time.”

“I’ll have a look around while you discuss the case,” Odelia said.

“Second room on the right,” said Yuki. “Right next to mine.”

As Odelia took the stairs two at a time, her heart hurt for Yuki. The poor woman was so distraught and grieving it was hard to bear.

She arrived upstairs and opened the door to Chickie’s room. It wasn’t a room, though, but more a suite of rooms. There was a living space, a bedroom, a dressing room, a yoga and meditation area and of course a large bathroom. And as she started going through Chickie’s things, she suddenly felt a sense of impropriety. This wasn’t really her prerogative, going through a dead person’s personal items. Chickie had a lot of gorgeous things, though, all kept in a large jewelry box. And as she searched through the many rings and bracelets and earrings, she found no trace of the missing ones.

The door opened and Nickie walked in.“And? Found them?”

“No,” said Odelia. “Your sister had a lot of beautiful things, though.”

“Yes, she did.” Nickie walked into the dressing room and called for Odelia to follow her. Nickie flicked on the light and Odelia’s jaw dropped at the sight of the gorgeous collection of clothes. There were so many. Beautiful dresses, rows and rows of shoes, an entire section dedicated to underwear and lingerie…

“There’s more over here,” said Nickie, gesturing to a vanity. “My sister loved shopping,” she explained as she took a seat on a low overstuffed sofa bench. “She could spend hours in here, and always complained she had nothing to wear.” She produced a wan smile as Odelia checked the drawers in the vanity desk. There were several more boxes of jewelry there, but no crescent-moon-shaped golden earrings.

“It’s hell,” said Nickie somberly. “When we were little we used to fight like cats and dogs. She was born five minutes before me, and she never let me forget it. I was her little sister and so she got to boss me around. I never let her, though, hence the fights. But as we got past our teenswe stopped fighting and became best friends instead. She relied on me a lot, and not just with her career. Life stuff, too. And boyfriend stuff, of course.”

“So you know all about the whole Charlie Dieber thing.”

“My sister and Charlie met when they were both sixteen. Boy and girl affair. It didn’t last, of course. They were both too young and immature. By the time they broke up they practically hated each other. They got back together again, only to break up again. And then get back together again, etcetera etcetera.”

“And then Charlie met Jamie.”

“Actually the three of them had known each other for years. Jamie was Chickie’s best friend, but I think secretly she’d always had feelings for Charlie. But being Chickie’s friend she never acted on those feelings. Only when Chickie and Charlie broke up did she make a move. Chickie was veryupset—which is probably when she wrote that letter.”

“She didn’t want to be with Charlie but still wasn’t entirely over him either.”

“Exactly.”

Odelia sat back.“I’m sorry but I can’t find those earrings, Nickie.”