The Case of The Fermented Fraudster in Las Vegas (Tiffany Black Cases Book 13) by A.R. Winters

Author:A.R. Winters [Winters, A.R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-09-03T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Back at the convention hall, we took our time getting to Evie’s kombucha stand. We hung back a little, watching the scene. The hall was still crowded with fermented food fans, old and new, and there was a buzzy atmosphere throughout the whole place. Well, almost the whole place.

“It’s not very popular, is it?” Rosie said.

She was right. Behind the kombucha counter, it was just Evie and four different kinds of kombucha. The display bottles stood in front of her in a variety of bright colors. As seemed to be usual, she had a fierce look on her stretched face, skin pulled up and out by her tight ponytail.

A guy with long braided hair stopped by the stall and took a sample of a bright-blue concoction in a tiny paper-tasting cup. He swallowed it down, grimaced, and then walked away. From the look on his face, he could have just downed a cup of mouthwash. Evie gave him a dark look as he walked away without even hanging around to inquire about the price of a bottle.

“Let’s see what’s up with this kombucha stand,” I said.

As we approached, I took note of the tall flagpole in the corner again. It was actually a very tall bamboo cane, and the flag at the top was nailed onto it. There were a couple more smaller pieces of bamboo at the top to stop the cloth from hanging completely limp in the breeze-less hall. It made the booth visible from almost anywhere in the hall. But it didn’t bring in many customers.

“Hi, again!” I greeted Evie.

She scowled.

“Remember us?” Rosie said. “We’re the yogurtgals!”

“Yeah, I remember. What happened to yogurt-old-lady?”

“Nanna is at the booth,” I said to her as politely as I could manage. “So, how’s it going? Getting much interest?”

Evie tried to raise her eyebrows, but they couldn’t move much, already being pulled up high by her pulled-back scalp. “What’s it to you?”

“We’re getting to know everybody! That’s what a convention is all about, isn’t it?”

“No.”

Rosie gave her a joking frown. “Yes, it is!”

“If you’re just here to make small talk, go do it somewhere else. I might get a customer, and I don’t want to miss them because I’m jibber-jabbering with you. Shove off.”

I put my palms down on the counter. Nice yogurtgal time was over. “Cards on the table, Evie. We’re private investigators, and we’re investigating what happened to Rufus. We’re not looking to cause trouble with anyone unless they cause trouble with us. We’re working with the Tremonte resort, and with Fermentastic and the Metro Police on this. We just want to talk to you for two minutes, no more. That’s it. And talking to us is a lot nicer than being taken downtown to chat in an interview room, okay? So, will you answer a couple of questions?”

Evie contemplated me for several seconds, sizing me up, judging me. “I knew you weren’t really selling yogurt. You had lies in your eyes.”

Lies in my eyes? No way! I was totally convincing as a yogurtgal.

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