So Sweet a Changeling: A Novel of the Terribly Acronymed Detective Club (Book 6)

Chapter Thirty-Three: Harpreet and Al, Sunday

"What do you think they're talking about?" Ajit asked, looking up at the parents on the balcony.

"They're always like that," Naomi said as she swatted a birdie without enthusiasm. She seemed on edge this afternoon, as if at any moment she'd swing her racket at one of the trees in the yard, warping it out of commission. "They're always so... I don't know... bent toward each other, like they're planning a robbery or something."

"What?" Harpreet asked from where she stood on the sidelines. Logan, Ajit and Tosh filled out the rest of the game, and she was only okay with not playing at the moment because Logan was on the other side of the net from Naomi. The parents certainly had their number now, and getting penned up in the backyard like toddlers in a playpen had been embarrassing, and nothing was going to happen while they were down here and the parents were on the balcony watching them, but it still gave her comfort to know Logan and Naomi were physically separated, even by something as flimsy as a net.

"I think I know what you're talking about," Logan said as he whipped the birdie back over the net. Both Naomi and Tosh missed it, and it landed for the point. "Everything they discuss seems to be of life-changing importance, and I don't think they're even talking about us."

Harpreet didn't like that Logan had agreed with Naomi about something. "Maybe they're on the case," she suggested. "They still talk about being in that detective club they were in when they were kids."

"Ugh, I know," Naomi said, rolling her eyes. "It's kind of weird. I mean, I know my mom's a P.I., so it's normal for her to talk about things like that, but my dad owns a construction company, and your dad's a lawyer, Harpreet. You'd think they'd have grown out of it."

"I think it's cool," Emma said as she zoomed up to them, as energetic as if she'd eaten a pound of sugar before coming here. "I want to be in that club. They got me to search through your things once, Logan, when you were in jail that time."

"Fantastic," Logan said drily. "I bet you felt like Harriet the Spy."

"I love that book!" Emma exclaimed, unaware of Logan's sarcasm.

No one had bothered to pick up the birdie. They were now more interested in talking, it seemed.

"What case are they on now?" Ajit asked.

"Well, my Zia Valeria went missing for a few days," Naomi said. "My mom found her yesterday, and some bad stuff happened, so the police had to be called. Joanie was there too."

"Mum's ex-boyfriend is dead!" Emma announced with the breathy enthusiasm of someone with inside information.

"What?!" they all cried, turning to her.

"Em, what are you talking about?" Logan asked.

"I was in the car last night with Mum and Dad after the fireworks," Emma explained. "Naomi's mom called, and Mum talked to her for a while. First they were talking about the guy who played the scary tree fairy guy in the play, for some reason Mum was really interested in him; she even left us to talk to him for a minute. Anyway, then they talked about finding your Zia, Naomi, and then... well, Mum cried a little because her ex was dead. She swore a little because it was so bad." 

"Jesus," Logan breathed.

"My mom never told me that," Naomi protested. 

"I suppose it isn't something she'd just bring up with you, but it seems my sister overheard Rachel's conversation, and that's how she knows." Logan grinned at Emma and said, "People always underestimate you, but you pick up more than everyone thinks."

Emma nodded eagerly. "I'm like Puck."

"Who?" Tosh asked.

"The fairy in the play I watched last night. She went around spying on the humans and messing with them. She screwed up some things at first but then she fixed them at the end, and the right people fell in love with each other... although one of them was still under a spell at the end of the play, and I thought that wasn't right..."