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“Margo!” Millie Orozco came over to where I sat at the end of the counter contemplating my many flaws. “Homer said you were here. You should have come on back to chat while you eat. I’m just working on receipts.” She leaned on the counter and refilled my water from a sweating jug.
“I was going to say hi before I left,” I told her as I scooped beans with a tortilla. Everything about Orozco’s said comfort food, from the house-made tortillas and pico de gallo to Millie’s generous frame and warm expression. I came in a couple times a month and they never gave me a check, but I always left money. Homer said family doesn’t pay. I told him our family was so big they’d go out of business.
“Thanks again,” I told her, “for setting up a meeting with Antonio Perez. It really helped.”
She waved away my thanks. “Anything for you, dear. You know, Paul said he’s going to have an opening soon. You need a storefront, what better place than here?”
Paul O’Brien was Millie’s brother-in-law and he and Millie’s sister owned a lot of property, mostly in North Phoenix, but he’d bought this strip mall when Millie and Homer’s first landlord planned to sell to a developer who would have kicked them out. They’d been in this location for more than thirty years.
“He’ll give you the family discount,” she said.
“I’m not even related to Paul by marriage,” I teased.
She harrumphed. “You need an office. You can’t have people coming to your house looking for you.”
I laughed. “An office? I’m barely working as a PI part-time, why would I need an office?” Thinking about it, I realized that I had worked more this week on Sergio’s case than I had in the last two months on every other case combined. “Besides, I have a business card and a cell phone.”
“You need an office,” she insisted. “It’s a small place, husband and wife sell insurance. They’re moving to Surprise.” She wrinkled her nose as if saying a dirty word.
I suppressed a grin. “Surprise is nice.”
“Have you been there? Sure, it’s clean and Paul says there’s very little crime, but what’s there to do? Nothing! And there’s certainly no restaurants like this. The trees are sticks, all planted in neat little rows, the houses are all the same, no personality.” She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“The city isn’t for everyone,” I said. You wouldn’t catch me moving to Surprise. It was all young families with kids or retired folks. Millie was right—boring. But some people liked the quiet, boring life. I suppose if I had kids I might want quiet, boring, and safe. Plus, there was a spring training stadium out there.
“So you’ll take it?” she asked.
I wanted to say I didn’t need a space, that I wasn’t even certain being a private investigator would stick. I didn’t even make enough money to pay rent, let alone to commit to a lease. But the hopeful look on her face had me saying, “I’ll think about it.”
She nodded. “You have time. They’re not moving out until end of May.”
I should know by May if I was going to succeed in this career or would be bartending the rest of my life. I still didn’t think I’d need an office.
Changing the subject, I asked, “Do you know about a series of robberies down off Camelback? Between the freeway and around 12th Avenue?”
Millie’s eyes widened. “Yes! They robbed Lyle’s Diner. We know the owners well, Julia and Betsy. I wouldn’t even say robbed—they went in and smashed stuff, just vandalism. Laughed about it, then broke the candy display and took not even twenty dollars’ worth of candy. The display cost more than the candy, but all the damage didn’t even reach their deductible for insurance. Paid everything out of pocket.” She shook her head, a scowl darkening her round face.
“Laughed about it?”
“Kids have no discipline these days. My brother, sister, and I grew up not far from there. We had a little two-bedroom house, had to share a room until my brother turned thirteen and convinced Dad to let him build out a closet for his own space. They ended up adding on a whole room and family room, oh the mess!” She laughed. “Anyway, things were different then. Sunnyslope was a wonderful place to grow up. If any of our neighbors saw us misbehaving, our mom would have heard about it and punishment would be swift.”
“I can relate,” I said.
“We weren’t perfect, got into our fair share of scrapes, but we’d never think of vandalizing property.”
“They think the vandals were kids?”
“That’s what Julia said. She and her sister took over Lyle’s Diner from their grandfather when he retired. Good burgers. Their dad never wanted the business, I guess running a restaurant isn’t for everyone.”
“I’ve eaten there,” I said quickly. I loved Millie, but she had stories about everyone and if I didn’t cut her off—as politely as possible—I’d be sitting here for hours.
I wanted to talk to the victims of the robberies. Maybe I could put something together—give me a direction to pursue. It was definitely an idea. I didn’t work at the bar tonight, but tomorrow I was on at four. I had a lot to do in the next twenty-four hours.
Not to mention that Andy needed evidence of Sergio’s innocence by Monday.
Almost conspiratorially, Millie said, “Do you want me to call Julia and tell her you’re stopping by?”
I grinned. “That would be great. Thanks, Millie.” I pushed the plate aside and put a twenty-dollar bill down.
