"These past few days while I've been stuck at home, I've been thinking a lot. Now, I realize none of it matters. My job is just a job; I make money for people I don’t know. It's not like I'm saving lives, or doing a job with any purpose. I’m just climbing the ladder, achieving the next title, earning more money... and ultimately, it's so irrelevant. I have Rob, a wonderful stepson, and we'll have the baby soon... I have my freedom too. I want to enjoy it."
"Maybe you need to take some time out to clear your head."
"It's a shame we didn't book a fake honeymoon too."
"No. You could book a real vacation. Dedicate some time to just the two of you; and do it now, before your baby comes."
"Rob and I hoped to take Robbie on vacation with us, but there's no way Penelope would let him come with us. Not now, not after everything that happened. She told Rob at the hospital she thinks I'm a danger to Robbie. Now that she got shot, she says it's better if Robbie doesn't come here anymore. She said Rob will have to visit Robbie at her home instead."
"You know you're not a danger," I said, biting my tongue. There was so much I could tell her, and I had to resist, despite the sadness in her voice.
"It doesn't matter if the charges have been dropped! Not if everyone around me is still in danger."
"Okay, enough with the pity party," I said, grabbing her hand and tugging her upwards. "We’ve got this whole day to flush out the crazy; and from then on, your life is whatever you make it. So, stop! Stop with the downer attitude! Get ready for your big, fat, fake wedding while we catch the perp at last."
"Did anyone ever tell you you're kind of scary?" said Juliet, her expression caught somewhere between laughter and fear.
"No, most people think I'm cute. I know things seem bad, but..."
"Lexi, we have eyes on Penelope," came Solomon's voice through my earbud.
"Where?" I asked.
"Where what?" asked Juliet.
I pointed to my ear, mouthing, "Earbud" and she nodded.
"She just arrived with her kid," said Solomon.
"Penelope and Robbie are here," I told Juliet.
"That's great! Maybe she reconsidered. I need to go speak to her, to make things right..."
"Wait." I caught her by the arm. "You need to stay here. Solomon, where is she now?"
"They just stepped into the house by the front door. We're waiting to see where she... she's in the bar now, talking to Rob."
"Do you want me to intervene?" I asked.
"What's going on?" asked Juliet and I waved her quiet again.
"No, we need to see what she's doing. She needs to make her move. Everyone hold your positions, until I give you the go ahead," said Solomon. "Lexi, go downstairs and mingle with the guests. Keep a close watch on Penelope. You need to be everywhere our cameras can't see."
"Got it." Juliet watched me with a puzzled expression that I guessed could quickly turn to panic if I told her what we were doing. "I have to go downstairs. But I want you to stay here with the door locked."
"How long do I wait? The wedding is supposed to start in thirty minutes."
"I don't know. Not long, I hope. I'll come back as soon as I can." I reached for the handle, turning the lock and was just about to step out when Juliet called my name. "Are they here?" she asked. "Is the stalker here?"
"Yes," I said.
"You know who it is, don't you?"
"We believe we have a suspect."
"It's Penelope, isn't it? You still suspect her." Juliet sighed and I wondered, for the briefest moment, whether I should just lie. Instead, I shut the door again. This time, there would be no lies, and no skirting around the truth.
"We found more evidence today that indicates your stalker has to be Penelope."
"I don't want to believe you. She's my friend. She's the mother of Rob's son. She was shot, for crying out loud! Why would she do that to us?"
"I don't know, but we're going to find out. Stay here, okay?" I opened the door and slipped out, shutting it behind me. I paused, waiting until I heard the lock click before I hurried downstairs.
It took me less than a minute to find Penelope. She was still standing in the bar area with Rob, her arm draped around their son's shoulders. As I entered, a hand grabbed me and pulled me to one side.
"Lily! You scared me!" I squeaked.
"Sorry. Look who it is." Lily tipped her glass in Penelope's direction.
"I know. Solomon told me already."
Lily huffed. "If I had one of those fancy earbuds, I'd know that."
"Tell Lily I can hear her," said Solomon, through said fancy earbud.
"Solomon can hear you," I told her.
"Ask him when it's going down," said Lily.
"I don't need to. We're just watching. Did you see them do anything?"
"Penelope got a juice from the bar for her kid," said Lily. We watched as Robbie slurped the last of his juice. He dropped the cup into his mother's hand and scooted out of the room on shoes with wheels in the heels. He soon skidded through the house out of view. "She's only talked to Rob so far."
"We need to keep watching while looking like we're not watching."
"I am not making out with you!"
"What? Who said anything about..."
"Undercovers do it all the time," Lily hissed.
My stomach flipped. "I know, I've seen it. This is not one of those times. Plus, you're wearing a wedding ring and you're pregnant; and everyone knows Solomon is my boyfriend."
"I can still hear you," said Solomon. I ignored him.
"Let's just chat. If you stand a little bit that way, and I stand a little bit this way, I can see them both clearly. Now all we have to do is..." I stopped as someone shouted from the kitchen. The shouts got louder before a billow of smoke came through the door.
"Fire!" yelled someone as the smoke alarm began its piercing shriek.
"Solomon, we have a fire in the kitchen," I said to the lapel pin.
"Go check it out. Tell Lily to leave."
"Lily, Solomon says to leave while I check it out."
Lily leaned into my pin, close enough that she could see the stitches on my lapel. "No way."
"I'll be right back. Lily, if there's a fire, you have to leave."
"Fine," I heard her say as I rushed into the kitchen. A small crowd had gathered, making it difficult to push my way to the front as smoke rose.
"It's nothing," said a man's voice. "Really, it's nothing. I think it's a smoke bomb or something. It's not a fire. Everything's okay."
"A bomb?" someone yelled to panicked shouts.
"No! No! Really, it's a kid's smoke bomb. Not a real bomb," said the same man as I got to the front. He wore a chef's apron and wielded a small fire extinguisher. The smoke began to dissolve around us and something small was kicked outside where it continued to fizzle and belch out smoke.
"It's a smoke bomb," I said to my pin.
"It's someone's idea of a joke," said someone behind me. "I don't think it's funny."
Neither did I, but I didn't say that as I turned away from the annoyed chef. In the commotion, I totally forgot about our target. "Solomon, where's Penelope?" I asked.
"We can't see her. The smoke makes it impossible to see."
"Someone set this off deliberately!"
"As a distraction," said Solomon, adding, "Everyone, get eyes back on Penelope. We might have a situation going down now."