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"I warned you not to eat the buffet," Sady told Matt, as he held his stomach in agony. They were in the conference room at Knight Investigations for their morning company meeting. It lasted only five minutes before Matt complained.
Amanda snorted. "Serves him right. Since when has he EVER listened to common sense?"
"Oh, don't say serve," Matt begged. He turned to Sady. "You should have also warned me about the bomb you were holding back and preparing to drop all at once."
"Listen- all that stuff we discussed on the drive here? I knew it would upset you. That's why I didn't want you to eat too much. If you have heartburn, acid reflux, gas, or anything else from the Biggest Bonanza Breakfast Buffet, it's not my problem!"
Matt's eyes narrowed. "Wanna bet?"
Sady shoved her purse across the conference room table. "You know the routine by now. Just make a list of everything you take, or you'll be in trouble the next time this happens."
With a glare, he dumped her purse contents onto the table, over her protests. "There's no need for that," she said. "What if something embarrassing comes out?"
He used his fist to thump his chest and belched. "It just did," he moaned.
CJ stood and yelled, "Oh, this is no way to start the day!" She pawed through the contents of Sady's purse and shoved everything that came from the health aisle toward Matt. Then she pointed to the door. "Don't come back until you're fixed!"
Amanda laughed and yelled, "Hey, I know a vet that works cheap!"
Matt scowled and pushed a feminine product back to Sady. "No, thanks!" Then he grabbed the medicines and headed to the door. "Amanda, I know a groomer who can give you a trim," was his parting shot.
Amanda fluffed her recently acquired wig. "Apparently, he doesn't recognize a Tina Turner original style," she huffed. "I've become rather fond of the look. In a few weeks I won't need the wig, but I might wear it anyway... just to wind his crank!" Amanda's need for a wig came from a recent disaster with a new hair product that left her bald.
Harry sat quietly through the discussion. After Matt left the room, he turned to Sady. "You dropped a big bomb? After letting him eat?"
Sady sighed. “Is it my fault that the movers took the wrong apartment contents? Okay, I'll admit that was my mistake. But I left a message with them and they promised to call me back as soon as they can. I can't help it if they aren't answering their phones. And Uncle John? I have no idea why he wants to meet. So no one can blame me for that.”
"Stubbles did," Amanda mumbled under her breath.
"Do you need a place to stay?" Harry asked, concerned. He ignored CJ's not-so-subtle head shake and bugged eyes.
Sady grinned and thanked him. "We have a system figured out, but thanks anyway, Harry." CJ let out a sigh of relief and Sady teased, "You too, CJ. We'll let you know if we change our minds."
"Well, you're welcome to come down and stay with me," Amanda offered. "But Stubbles belching bubbles? Nope! He's out of luck."
Matt reappeared and dropped the empty medicine packages in front of Sady. "Amanda, I'd call that a stroke of luck. Or even a vacation!" Before he could say more, Sady's phone buzzed with an incoming text. At the look on her face, Matt reached over and grabbed her phone.
Matt's jaw dropped. "Oh, no! There's more than one of those paintings out there? How can there be a set? And why?"
"Looks like you're the proud father of the ugly triplet paintings," Amanda teased, after taking the phone and reading the text.
"How are we going to hide three of them?" Sady worried. "Uncle John will feel bad if he doesn't see them when he comes to visit."
"Tell him he can't come," Matt suggested.
Sady's eyes narrowed. "Not an option!"
"I'd like to know why he felt the need to search for more of those crimes against humanity. Isn't there enough ugly in this world already? He should have warned us that was his West Coast business, and Amanda could have held him hostage," Matt complained.
"Here's something to think about," Amanda smirked. "What if there's more than three?"
"Then Sady better restock her emergency sick bag, because that constitutes an emergency," Matt retorted.
Sady gave them a horrified look. "Oh no! The first painting went with the contents of our apartment. What if the movers can't find it?"
"I'll send them a thank you letter and a generous tip," Matt replied.
CJ cleared her throat and raised her brows. She smiled at everyone's immediate attention. "Now, can we get back to planning for our latest job? The mayor needs extra security for the high profile foreign guests visiting Ann Arbor. And we're providing the extra."
"Do you want me to bring my stun gun?" Sady asked, while Matt shook his head vigorously. Sady sniffed. "I see you, Matt. I have above average peripheral vision."
"Why don't you just bring that?" he suggested.
"I can borrow a real gun if you'd like," she offered.
"Hell, no! I wouldn't like it and neither would the mayor or his injured guests."
Harry interrupted with a smile. "We'll put you on observation duty, Sady."
Sady narrowed her eyes. "That means sitting around, doesn't it?"
"No, it means everyone has a better chance of avoiding the emergency room," Matt snorted. "Consider it a healthy choice."
"How am I going to get better if you never let me bring a gun?" Sady asked.
"Try the shooting range," CJ replied. "Matt, why don't you take her to practice?"
"Because I already paid my dues and then some," he stormed. "Between training her and Amanda, it's a wonder that place allows me through the door."
"I bet I can get through that door faster than you," Sady challenged. Matt opened his mouth to reply, and they were interrupted by Amanda, who was monitoring the laptop in the conference room.
"I just got an email from your uncle," she told Sady. "He wants to meet with you in the morning." She wrote something down on paper and handed it to Sady. It was the name of a hotel in the Detroit area.
"I wonder why he wants to meet there, instead of coming here?" Sady asked.
"If he's bringing those paintings, he'll be under suspicion of terrorism," Matt said. "How did you end up with a grandfather and an uncle with such bad taste?" he asked Sady.
Amanda snorted. "An inherited questionable taste gene would explain why Sady settled for you, Stubbles."
Sady turned to the Knights. "Is it okay if I meet him and come to work late?"
Amanda fielded that question. "Since when has it not been okay? I'll come along with you."
CJ just sighed and continued with the meeting as though they hadn't been interrupted. They soon had a plan outlined, then she and Harry made an appointment to review it with the mayor.
At lunch, Matt paced and checked his watch. "That donation center is just a front for thieves," he steamed. "They lure people into thinking they are doing a good deed, then turn around and rob them! Why haven't they called back?" he asked Sady.
"Be patient," she suggested. Matt's face turned red, and she continued, "I'm sure they'll call soon. Maybe their mornings are spent in meetings too."
"Yeah, meetings with buyers for the stolen goods!"
"If they don't call soon, I promise I'll call them back. Is that okay?" she offered.
"Are there any other choices?" he asked. She shook her head, and he gave her an exasperated look. "Then I guess it will have to be okay, won't it?" Sady smiled and hugged him. "Will you quit doing this to me?" he asked. At her puzzled look, he scowled, "Making me feel bad for being grumpy. My parents won't even recognize me the next time we see them." Then he ruffled her hair to let her know he wasn't mad.
An hour later, Sady made another phone call to the moving company. As she listened, she looked around nervously, then left the conference room with the phone to her ear. Matt's smile slipped when she returned with a worried look on her face.
"There's a slight hitch," she told them.
"Define slight," Matt said suspiciously.
"Well, they unloaded the truck at their sorting center last night, and trucked the items to their stores before dawn. If we want anything back, we have to go there with our receipt and find those items... and pay a small handling fee... and move the items back ourselves."
"Is that all?" Matt exploded. Sady's eyes grew big and teary as she nodded. Then he saw her expression and sighed. "It's okay, Sassafras. We'll consider it a treasure hunt. But do we really have to retrieve the ugly painting?" he teased to lighten the mood.
Her smile was sweet. "We can start with the stores closer to Ann Arbor, if you want."
"Uh, just how many stores do they have?" Matt struggled to keep his face neutral.
"Only eight," Sady replied. "There are three within twenty miles. The others are a little farther, except one is almost an hour from here."
Matt gritted his teeth. "That's fine. Why don't we start with the close ones? This will be a lot of fun." His face turned red, and Sady snickered.
"I appreciate the effort," she told him. "And so will your mom. Maybe there's hope for your dad yet."
"Leave him out of this," Matt yelled. "I got into enough trouble as a kid. I don't need my father grounding me as an adult."
Sady patted his hand. "I'll tell Ellen to be sneaky about it."
"Great. I'm sure my dad will appreciate it."
"I know your mom will!" Sady grinned. She pulled out a map and marked the store locations.
"Did you ask which one got my TV?" Matt asked.
"They weren't sure about that," she replied. "But I'm sure it must be close!"
"Yeah, as in someone's house just down the street from where we live."
"Where's your optimism, Matt?"
"It's with my TV- missing." He appeared resigned.
"Look on the bright side..." she started, and he interrupted.
"Sandy-Sue, that TV of yours is NOT the bright side of this situation," he insisted. "Yours might be as big as mine, but the size doesn't matter. It's what's inside that counts," he explained.
Amanda's explosion of laughter from the doorway caused him to flush. "Oh, Stubbles! That's priceless. I'd like to see you sell that one in the locker room."
"Have you been going to sensitivity classes?" CJ snickered as she passed the door.
From behind CJ, Harry said, "I'm more shocked knowing Sady has one as big as Matt's."
"The fact Sady won all those beauty contests isn't a compliment to you, Blue Eyes." Amanda howled with mirth.
"You're all warped," Matt snapped, while Sady laughed with the rest of the team.
When everyone finished having fun, Sady explained. "I meant I would buy you a new TV," she declared. "That's the bright side!"
Matt's eyes glowed, and he whipped out his cell phone to check the newest TV's. Sady covered the screen with her hand, and he said, "Hey, I'm just preparing for the worst, Sandy-Sue."
***
"There's our bookcase!" Sady said excitedly. "Our first find." Matt looked bored as she slapped a colored sticker on the item, indicating it was to be pulled from the sales floor.
While Sady scoured the store for their donated items, Matt got sidetracked looking at all the other items for sale. She tagged a few pictures and small kitchen appliances, then Matt waved her to his side.
"That's not ours," she told him, when he pointed to the kitchen appliance.
"I know, but isn't it great? A juicer. Do you know how much these things are at the retail stores?"
"No, and I don't really care. Why do we need a juicer? We buy all our juice." Sady didn't see the allure of the contraption with at least a dozen attachments, no user's manual, and an odd shape guaranteed not to fit in a cabinet, but able to take up the maximum amount of counter space.
"We can juice vegetables with this thing," Matt said, trying to convince her.
"Seriously? You want your vegetables in liquid form? Why not just buy baby food and add water?"
"Well, I'm going to hold it so no one else can buy it while we decide," he told her. After several of the attachments fell off and rolled under different racks, Sady brought him a shopping cart.
"Don't get carried away," she warned. "I'm going to look for more of our stuff!" By the time she identified a few more items Matt nearly filled the shopping cart.
"What's that thing?" Sady asked, pointing to a round item, mounted to a disk.
"My mom has one of these," Matt said with excitement. "It goes in the middle of your table and you put things on it, like salt and pepper. Then whenever anyone needs something, they just give it a spin, and it's right there."
"Wouldn't please pass the salt be just as easy?" Sady asked with a frown. "Or just reaching to the center of the table?"
"Maybe, but it's not as cool," he said defensively.
"But, Matt, look at the color! It's mauve! It doesn't belong in a kitchen. It belongs in a 1980s tribute display."
"Ah, just throw a napkin over it," he said. As Sady looked further into the basket, he distracted her by asking how many items she located. She showed him her list, and he sent her to the back of the store where she made arrangements to retrieve them. He rushed the shopping cart to the checkout lane before she returned. The cashier was scanning his purchases when Sady joined them.
The cashier smiled when she saw the mauve circle. "Oh, a mauve lazy Susan! My mom used to have one of these."
Sady's eyes narrowed, and she told the cashier, "It's now called a lazy Matt!" The cashier smiled in appreciation as she totaled up the sale. Sady's mouth dropped and, as they left, she hissed to Matt, "How could you spend that much? This is a thrift store."
"It's all good, trust me," he assured her as they loaded the truck with their purchases.
At the next store, it was the same thing. Sady searched for their belongings while Matt's unexpected bargain hunter gene kicked in. "Why do we need that?" Sady asked pointing at one item in the cart.
"We might be able to use it some day."
She gave him a skeptical look. "For what?"
He gave her a huffy look. "I don't know! Do I make you explain why you need all those girl things you buy?"
"No, but I can tell you what everything is for," she told him as she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.
"Well... this is for some day. Besides it's awesome looking!"
Sady shrugged. "Okay. But when we run out of room, don't blame it on me."
He dropped his treasure back into the cart with a look of triumph. "Don't worry. I have the perfect spot for it."
By the time they finished at the third store, Sady found nearly half of their donated items, and Matt bought more than she retrieved. When they pulled into their apartment’s parking garage, Sady told him, "I'll help you with our stuff, but everything else..." She shook her head.
Amanda popped out of her apartment to see how they did. She laughed at the piles of extra stuff Matt hauled in. "Ooh, a lazy Susan! My gramma used to have one of these. Only it was olive green. I think she still has it." Sady snickered and pretended not to notice Matt’s irritation.
"Well, we have a bed frame," Sady told him. "Also one nightstand, two kitchen chairs, and most of the small kitchen appliances."
He was busy looking through his mother load of treasures. Then he commented, "But no TV... or mattresses... or table... or living room furniture."
Sady gave him a big grin. "You're missing one important item, sweetie."
Matt thought for a minute, then he smiled. "Hey, no ugly Morrow painting! We did pretty good, didn't we?"
Sady hugged him from behind and put her chin on his shoulder. "Yep, we did pretty good."