Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 02 - Necklaces & Nooses by Laina Turner Page B

techs pulled out this morning. Right on schedule with what I told you, I might add. You’re clear; you can go in any time.”
    “Great.”
    “I need to warn you before you get too excited, that the crime techs aren’t the neatest folks at the precinct. You’ll have some cleanup to do when you go in.”
    “Wonderful,” I said sarcastically. “Cleaning is not an activity I enjoy. I think you should have it cleaned for me. Can’t the city pay for that?” I was only partially joking.
    “Sorry. It’s not in the budget.”
    “For some reason I don’t think you’re that sorry.”
    “Will it help if I take you out to dinner tonight?”
    “Maybe.” I was playing. I definitely wanted to go out to dinner with him, and he knew it, since I had already said yes when he mentioned it yesterday.
    “Could I change your maybe to a yes, if I took you to the new sushi place that opened up last week? I heard it was good.”
    “That could persuade me.” I laughed.
    “Okay, pick you up at seven at the store? I assume you will be there cleaning and getting it ready for business.”
    “You think I’ll still be there at seven?” It was barely after one. I sure hoped it wouldn’t take me six hours of cleaning.
    “I’ll just plan on picking you up at seven.”
    “You’re not going to answer me?”
    He laughed. “Let’s just leave it at seven.”
    “Fine, then that will be perfect.”
    I got off the phone and called James to let him know what was going on. I thought if I preempted his calls with calls of my own, I would be more in control of the situation, and he wouldn’t need to call me, which meant he wouldn’t drive me as crazy.
    After talking to him, I then figured I would head down to the boutique, just to see exactly what lay in store on the cleaning front. Surely, it couldn’t be that bad; we were talking eight hundred square feet of sales floor. How could it take six hours to clean?
    It was only a few blocks from my condo to the boutique, and it was so nice out, I decided to walk. Every bit of exercise I could get was important, as I loved to eat and didn’t like to go to the gym. Not a great combination and one that often added pounds in places I least wanted them. Walking instead of taking a bus or taxi helped with the weight and cost less money—a win-win situation.
    I walked around the corner to Park Street and past the Barking Bakery that catered to tasty treats for your pet, and the interior design studio owned by Ruth D’franco. She had been a pretty good friend to Solange. They had known each other for years. In fact, Ruth owned her storefront and ours, which was how Solange got this prime spot. Ruth’s business and the boutique catered to the same type of clientele, so it was a good business decision. Though to be honest, many of the women who came into the boutique and shopped also were the type to have little dogs that needed treats from the bakery, so it was a really good fit. Past our boutique was an architecture firm and next to it a custom seamstress shop. Across from us was a law firm (thank goodness not the one James was partner at) that took up pretty much the entire block, and then there were some vacant buildings and a few small offices above the storefronts. A good mix of businesses and commonality in clientele on this street.
    I opened the front door to Silk, and I wasn’t at all prepared for what I found. I’m not sure what kind of mess I thought crime techs would make, but not this. The boutique was covered with a film of fine dust, like someone had opened a large bag of powdered sugar and hung upside down from the ceiling twirling in circles, sprinkling it all over. I whipped out my phone to call Willie. I was going to complain. Not to be mean. I realized it wasn’t his fault, but it made a nice excuse to call him.
    “Hello there. Didn’t I just talk to you?”
    “Yes, but I’m at the shop, and while you warned me it might be messy in here, I didn’t expect it to look like