“What happens if we find this Stone?” I asked him.
“I hand it over to the BUM, and they put it someplace safe,” Diesel said.
“Suppose Shirley doesn’t want to give it to you?”
“I persuade her to change her mind.”
“Would you steal it?”
“That wouldn’t be my first choice.”
“And Wulf?”
Diesel opened the car door for me. “Wulf will do whatever it takes to get what he wants.”
We got into the SUV, Diesel plugged the key into the ignition, and we went silent at the sight of a woman walking toward us on the opposite side of the street.
“Is that Cupcake Shirley?” Glo asked, leaning forward from the backseat.
“Yep,” I said. “It’s Shirley.”
Shirley was alone, carrying an oversize purse and a take-home bag from a local restaurant. She had short, curly brown hair and a pretty face. I placed her at late-thirties. She was average height, and her weight was average for a woman who could eat thirty-six cupcakes in a single sitting. She was wearing a flower-print tent dress and low heels.
A silver Camry pulled up next to Shirley, and the guy in the passenger seat rolled his window down and called out to her. We were too far away to hear his words, but Shirley looked annoyed and shook her head no. There was a brief conversation, then Shirley turned and resumed walking. The guy got out, ran after Shirley, and grabbed her by her arm. Shirley spun around, coldcocked him in the face with her purse, and kicked him square in the crotch. The guy stood stunned for a moment, dropped to his knees, and went fetal. Shirley continued on her way.
“Ow,” Diesel said.
The Camry driver got out from behind the wheel, dragged his passenger back to the car, and they took off.
“I know this is weird, but I’m pretty sure those were the men in the photo,” I said to Diesel.
“What photo?” Glo wanted to know.
“Diesel was looking for something in Shirley’s apartment just now, and while we were there, I saw a photo of her and another woman and those two men.”
“Get out!” Glo’s voice shot into Minnie Mouse range. “You were in Cupcake Shirley’s apartment? What were you looking for? Is she a thief? A spy? An Internet porn star?”
“She’s a Glutton,” I said.
“Yeah, but you can’t hold that against her,” Glo said. “Did you get what you were looking for?”
“No.”
“You should go back and confront her and demand that she hand it over. And if she won’t hand it over, I could put a spell on her. There’s a whole chapter in my book on making people spill the beans.”
I looked over at Diesel. “What do you think?”
“The spell might be fun.”
“I wasn’t talking about the spell. I was talking about confronting her.”
Diesel pulled the key out of the ignition. “We could try that, too.”
Three minutes later, we were all at Shirley’s door.
“What’s the plan?” Glo asked.
“This is going to be the Lizzy Show,” Diesel said, back on his heels. “Lizzy is going to explain to Shirley how she shorted her a cupcake.”