Perhaps the answer to that question would become apparent later.

  In the meantime, I had a decision to make. After all, I couldn’t be in two places at once. I could either follow Greg, or I could stay here and watch Billy.

  My instincts were telling me to follow Greg.

  That said, I wasn’t about to let Billy go unwatched. I called up my co-worker and fellow private eye, Lisa Williamson. When I explained the situation to her, Lisa agreed to drive over here and stakeout in front of Greg’s place.

  If anything odd took place at the townhome, Lisa would notify me.

  ***

  I ended up tailing Greg and his new girlfriend. As they drove away from the townhome, I had no idea where they were headed.

  My best guess was that they would drive to a restaurant. If that was the case, I could have a boring few hours ahead of me. The same would be true if they elected to go to a movie. Salacious things rarely happened at restaurants or movie theaters. At least, not the types of things that would move the needle during a custody hearing.

  Imagine my surprise then when Gregory did something completely different. He drove over to Lantern Lane. As he pulled up in front of a mid-century modern home, the driveway to the house was completely full. Greg had to park his car on the street.

  Greg and Elizabeth then got out of the car and went up the walkway. After knocking on the front door, a tall man answered. The tall man escorted Greg and Elizabeth inside the house.

  At first, that seemed normal enough. Gregory was meeting up with a friend or two.

  Then I pulled out my binoculars and looked in the living room window. This was more than just an innocuous dinner party.

  It was a party that featured some illicit activity.

  Rather than passing around a tray of hors d’oeuvres, the party host brought out a tray that had a white powdery substance on it.

  “No way. You have to be kidding me,” I said to myself.

  At that moment, I knew that I couldn’t just stay in my car. I had to get a closer look at what was going on. Luckily, it was dark outside, so I was able to move without being detected. As a matter of fact, I made it all the way over to the bushes that were in front of the house without anyone noticing. I then hid behind the bushes and pulled out my phone.

  From there, I loaded up the video camera feature on phone and began recording what was going on inside the living room.

  The footage that I captured was something. Just as I suspected, the powdery substance was definitely cocaine.

  “Talk about crazy,” I whispered to myself.

  Now, just because a tray of illegal drugs was present at a party didn’t mean that Gregory had to snort any. He could have just said no and had a beer. He could have also got up and left. He didn’t do any of those things. Instead, when he was offered a snort, he took it.

  In fact, he ended up snorting multiple lines of cocaine. And I caught it all on camera.

  After recording plenty of incriminating footage, I shook my head in disbelief.

  “Greg, you are in deep trouble now,” I said to myself.

  At that point, I could have just returned to my car. I had plenty of dirt to work with.

  In an attempt to be thorough, I stuck around for a while longer. After all, there was a chance that Gregory would dig himself an even deeper hole. What if he did something else that was unsavory?

  All told, that didn’t happen. But I was glad that I kept an eye on him anyway.

  ***

  When Gregory and Elizabeth drove back to his townhome a few hours later, I thought that the fireworks were over.

  I was wrong.

  On the surface, things seemed pretty normal. Gregory handed some money to the babysitter, who then left the townhome. From there, Gregory went in and checked on his son, who was fast asleep in bed.

  At that point, Gregory and Elizabeth headed into the master bedroom and got ready to call it a night.

  Apparently, the scene wasn’t quite so peaceful earlier that evening. I walked over to Lisa’s car and took a seat in the passenger-side of the vehicle. That was when my co-worker brought me up to speed on what had happened.

  Lisa handed me her phone and told me to hit play on a video that she had recorded.

  In the video, a man showed up at Gregory’s townhome a few minutes after the babysitter put Billy to bed.

  The man looked to be in his late teens, just like the babysitter was.

  When the babysitter opened up the front door, then man came inside. He had a bottle of liquor in his hand.

  The man and the babysitter then took a seat on the couch. From there, they both took huge swigs from the liquor bottle.

  After that, they began making out. We’re talking some seriously heavy petting here. I will spare you the semi-graphic details.

  Suffice it to say, it was incredibly inappropriate behavior for a babysitter to engage in. Especially considering the fact that the child she was hired to watch was right in the next room.

  What a crazy night. The sort of evening that was filled with unexpected occurrences.

  When I headed home at the end of the night, one thing was abundantly clear. My client’s custody case had just taken an interesting turn.

  Chapter Three

  The following day, I called my client into my office. Amy Finnegan had no interest in making small talk with me. She didn’t even want to take a seat in front of me. She remained standing.

  “Did you dig up some dirt on my ex-husband? Is that why you called me in here?” Amy asked.

  “Are you sure you don’t want to take a seat?” I replied.

  “I’m good right here. Now please, answer my question.”

  “All right. I suppose we can get straight to business.”

  “Please do.”

  “Here we go,” I said. “It turns out that you were right about Greg.”

  “In what way?” she asked.

  “I’m going to warn you. What I’m about to show you is disturbing.”

  “I can handle it.”

  I pulled out my phone and loaded a photo of Greg snorting cocaine.

  When Amy glanced at the picture, her eyes widened.

  “I can’t believe it,” Amy said.

  “I don’t blame you. It’s pretty shocking.”

  “How irresponsible. How could he snort cocaine when he was supposed to be watching our son?” she asked. “Speaking of which, where was Billy when my ex-husband was doing drugs?”

  “It’s funny that you should bring that up. This photo was taken at a party on Lantern Lane.”

  “Wait. Are you telling me that Greg brought our ten-year-old son to a party?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  Amy breathed a sigh of relief.

  She wasn’t able to stay relaxed for long, however.

  “Billy was back at Greg’s townhome at the time,” I said.

  Amy’s eyebrows rose. “Who was watching him?”

  “This is where things get even wilder.” I pulled up a video on my phone. “She was watching Billy. Or, at least, she was supposed to be watching your son.”

  Amy looked at the video of the babysitter taking shots and then making out with her boyfriend on the couch of the townhome.

  “This is insane,” Amy said. “Not to mention, incredibly disturbing.”

  “I agree.”

  “Was my son in the next room the entire time this was happening?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, you’re saying that my ex-husband isn’t just irresponsible when it comes to himself. He also hired a babysitter who has a reckless streak of her own.”

  “Exactly.”

  Amy put her hands over her face.

  “I’m really sorry. I can’t imagine what you’re feeling right now.”

  “I’ll tell you what I’m feeling. My ex-husband is toast. It’s over. If it’s up to me, he’s never going to see my son again.”

  “That’s probably a good call.”

  “Wow. What a maniac. I knew it was smart to divorce him, but I had no idea that he had gone this far off the rails.”

  “It seems like you broke things off with him at just the right time.”

  “I’m so glad that he’s out of my life.”

  “That said, I’m really sorry that he behaved this way when he should have been watching your son.”

  “You don’t have to apologize. He’s the one who is going to be sorry.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  “When my lawyer sees this video, she’s going to have a field day.”

  “I’ll bet.”

  She shook her head in disbelief. “This is all still such a shock to me. I mean, I knew that Greg had some skeletons in his closet, but I didn’t realize he had a drug problem. That’s just crazy.”

  “I certainly didn’t expect the evening to play out the way that it did.”

  “I’m so glad that I hired you. I never would have known any of this if it wasn’t for you.”

  “I was just doing my job.”

  “Ms. Clue, there’s no need for you to be modest. Thanks to you, I’m going to win my custody case. I can’t thank you enough.”

  “I’m just happy to help.”

  Chapter Four

  Even though Amy was thrilled with the job I had done, I still felt a huge sense of uneasiness about the case. Gregory’s actions were disturbing. I had a hard time shaking the image of him snorting cocaine.

  After Amy left my office, I wanted to take a breather. Normally, staring out the window for a little while did the trick. It gave me the chance to collect my thoughts. From there, I could figure out my next step.

  This time, staring out in the distance didn’t feel like it would be enough. I wanted to get up and grab some fresh air.

  Before I was able to leave my office, Lisa entered the doorway with a concerned look on her face.

  “Are you going to be okay?” she asked.

  “I could be asking you the same question,” I replied. “We both saw some disturbing things last night.”

  “True. But I know these kinds of cases really get under your skin. That isn’t really the case with me.”

  “That brings up a good point. Why don’t situations like this wreck you?”

  “I guess my sense of self-preservation kicks in and prevents me from getting emotionally invested.”

  “I wish I had that ability. My emotions just don’t work that way.”

  “That brings me back to my original question. Are you going to be all right?”

  I remained quiet for a moment. I then nodded. “It might take some time, but yes.”

  “That’s good to know.”

  I became pensive and got a faraway look in my eyes.

  “What are you thinking right now?” Lisa asked.

  “That we have a seriously weird profession.”

  “Are you just realizing that now?”

  “No. That fact just happens to be standing out at the moment.”

  “Fair enough. This was a pretty crazy case.”

  “It’s not just that. Normally, the discovery that a father has a cocaine problem wouldn’t be cause for celebration. But uncovering that detail was exactly what Amy hired me to do. And by getting a photograph of Gregory snorting coke, Amy will mostly likely win her custody case.”

  “I understand why this case made you so uneasy. That said, it’s just the nature of the beast sometimes.”

  “You’re not kidding when you call it a beast. I mean, how twisted was their custody battle that Amy even felt the need to hire me in the first place?”

  “Look. As much as I’d love to only take cases that reunite long-lost relatives, I’d be dead broke if I solely accepted heartwarming investigations. The sad fact of this business is that the vast majority of the cases that we work on have an awful undercurrent to them.”

  “That is very true. It’s just that custody cases always leave the worst taste in my mouth.”

  “I’m with you. They are my least favorite as well.”

  “I mean, it’s bad enough to see a relationship fall apart. It’s another thing for a child to get caught in the middle of it.”

  “That does add another layer to the misery.”

  “It certainly makes me question some things.”

  “What things are you talking about?”

  “Well, at one point, Gregory and Amy were madly in love. They vowed to spend the rest of their lives together. They even brought a child into this world together. Yet, look how things turned out for them.”

  “What can I say? Sometimes, things turn nasty.”

  “I know. I just can’t help but wonder how they went so terribly wrong.”

  “It’s probably best not to think about that.”

  “Normally, I wouldn’t linger on that.”

  “Why are you making an exception this time?”

  “Considering how I have a date coming up tonight, this case was pretty much the last thing that I needed.”

  “You do realize that one has nothing to do with the other, right?”

  “Not necessarily. Gregory and Amy went on a first date once too.”

  “Melody, you’re not Amy. And Scott isn’t Gregory. What happened to them isn’t going to happen to you.”

  “It’s nice of you to say that, but you don’t know what’s going to happen any more than I do.”

  “Granted, I’m not psychic, but I can guarantee that you’ll never find yourself in the same position as Gregory and Amy.”

  “How can you be so sure of that?”

  “It’s simple. This job has taught you everything that can go wrong with love. So, when love does finally pay you a visit, everything will go right for you.”

  “I’m glad that you’re confident about that.”

  “Melody, push this case to the side.”

  “I wish it was that easy. I can’t just forget about what I saw.”

  “Please don’t let this spoil the rest of your day.”

  “I’m not saying that I’m going to let it ruin my date tonight.”

  “You’d better not. This date could be the big break that you’ve been waiting for.”

  “It certainly could. Then again, it might be a dud.”

  “Uh-oh. This case is already warping your mind. Keep your chin up.”

  “Lisa, this case isn’t warping my mind nearly as much as you think it is.”

  “Then where did that statement of yours come from?”

  “Anxiety was already jumping around in my head even before Amy stepped into my office a few days ago.”

  “Are you serious?”

  I nodded. “Let’s face it. As much as I want this date to go incredibly well, I’m fully aware that it could fall flat. This investigation doesn’t change that. It only amped up my anxiety.”

  “You know what? I think you should take the rest of the day off.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “Absolutely. You need to go outside, take a walk, and get some fresh air.”

  “I suppose that couldn’t hurt.”

  “I think it will really help you,” she said. “You need to clear your head.”

  “Okay. I’ll give that a try.”

  Chapter Five

  Just like Lisa suggested, I ended up taking the rest of the day off. While it felt good to take a walk, the fresh air didn’t clear my head nearly as much as I hoped it would. For some reason, my anxiety refused to go away.

  I couldn’t believe it. The last thing I needed right then was to mentally sabotage my own date. After all, it wasn’t like I went on dates that often. In fact, it had been an embarrassingly long time since I had gone out with a guy. To be fair, work had kept me incredibly busy. In addition, the right man hadn’t asked me out.

  Much to my dismay, a number of odd characters had taken interest in me over the last year. The kind of men that I could never see myself spending the rest of my life with. For some reason, those were the kind of guys that I had been attracting…until Scott came along.

  Given how poorly my romantic life had been going, you’d think that my mind would be doing everything possible to give this upcoming date the best chance at succeeding.

  Instead, the thought goblins were running amok in my head. I had to say, I wasn’t used to this. Over the years, I had gotten pretty good at separating my work life and my personal life. This was an incredibly unwelcome development.

  The more I got wrapped up thinking about everything that could go wrong, the more I began to wonder what was wrong with me.

  Naturally, it was at that very moment when my phone rang. I hated to admit it, but my first thought was that Scott was calling to cancel our date.

  I know. What a terrible attitude to have. But that was just where my mind was currently. In my defense, it wasn’t the craziest thought ever. He was a police detective, not an accountant. All sorts of odd things could happen to him on the job. If he was calling to cancel, it wasn’t necessarily because he had changed his mind about me. There was also the possibility that he was needed at work.

  In retrospect, I probably should have checked my caller identification screen before I answered the phone. That would have cleared up a lot of problems.

  Mostly because the call was not from Scott. It was from my mother. Talk about worrying over nothing. At that point, it became clear that I needed to get a hold of myself.

  But first, I wanted to see what was on my mom’s mind.

  My mother didn’t hesitate to get straight to the point.

  “On a scale of one to ten, how excited are you right now?” my mom asked.

  It was no exaggeration to say that my mother had the enthusiasm of ten women. To the point where you’d think that she was the one with the big date that evening.

  As far as I knew, she didn’t have any big plans for the night. Her entire focus was on what was in store for me. Ever since my mother discovered that Scott had asked me out, she nearly flipped.

  There was a very specific reason for that. She had been rooting for Scott and I to get together for decades. That’s right. It wasn’t a typo. Decades. We were in high school when she first floated the idea of Scott and I dating.