The Baker's Detective

| The Thai Restaurant and the Flat of Dreams |

"And no furniture, and it definitely needs to be renovated."

"I have enough saved to take care of all that."

"And would that money happen to be coming from your bakery fund?" Liam asks with a raised brow.

Lily shrugs, shifting in her seat. "Maybe." Liam gives her a pointed look, so she continues, "But school will start back up soon enough, and I'm still getting revenue from the book. I'll earn it back."

"You might need to pay for more than you think — not including those preventative measures you were talking about."

"Oh, I know." Soon, she's not in the Thai restaurant anymore, but in her little flat of dreams, eyes alight with ideas and plans and excitement. "And we'll have to buy paint to repaint the walls, and I want new countertops and maybe a kitchen island, and then I think I want to put my TV over the fireplace, so we'll have to install that, and I'll make that spare room my office, and-"

"So this is the one you want?" Liam asks, seeing the familiar look in her eyes.

"Well, we'll have to go have a look, but I think so, yes."

Liam sighs. "Alright. But think practically about this, Lil. Don't just run off with wild ideas of renovations and cute decorations and a brand new kitchen."

"Where's the fun in moving if you don't run off with ideas just a little bit?" Lily says. "And, anyway, I've been doing this adult thing longer than you have, so I don't know why you're lecturing me."

"Because you're you, Lil, and your head isn't always down here on Earth with the rest of us."

"You sound like Mum," she retorts with a laugh. "And, anyway, it wouldn't hurt to just look."

"I suppose," Liam agrees, just as the waiter arrives with their drinks.

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After leaving the restaurant, they walk further down the street before Lily stops and hails a taxi. When they get in the back, she says, "221 Baker Street, please."

"Hold on," Liam says to her as the taxi pulls out onto the street. "When you said you wanted to look, I didn't think you meant today."

"Why not today?" Lily asks innocently.

"You haven't gotten in touch with any landlord, for starters. What if no one's there when we get there?"

"Then we'll come back tomorrow." Though, she would much rather see it right this minute.

"And what if it's already rented out? They could've just forgotten to remove the listing."

Lily frowns. "Then we'll look for another one." But she still hopes for this one — the one that has everything she needs and so much potential. It's so bare, she can make it however she wants. And she knows that, if she can't have this one, every other place she sees will likely just be subpar in comparison. So, this one surely must be available, and Lily assures herself more and more of that with every passing second. She now has something to cling to.

They reach Baker Street — a nice little place, with tall buildings and people milling about. The 221 flats are evidently connected to everything else around them, the whole building white-bricked on the bottom, then with a small ledge of potted plants guarded by a black railing, then brown-bricked on top. Lily pays the driver, and then they get out, walking right up to the black door, with a step up to it and fenced-in grates on either side.