Buried In Buttercream

always taken care of me, fiancée or not,” she said, her voice breaking a bit.
    “Yeah, well, let’s just say, we take care of each other.”
    Savannah’s cell phone jingled, playing the happy little tune, “You Are My Sunshine.”
    “Hi, Tams,” she said, answering it. “You’re here?”
    They both turned around and looked back the length of the pier. Even from there they could see the golden-haired beauty standing in the parking lot, near the restaurant on the opposite end. She was hopping up and down, waving her arms.
    Savannah smiled. “We see you. We’ll be right there.” She started to stand, but her left leg buckled under her.
    Dirk caught her, lowered her back down onto the bench, then took the cell phone from her hand. “We’re gonna sit here and enjoy the view just a few more minutes,” he told Tammy. “Why don’t you go on inside and get us a table? Order Savannah her iced tea and me a fake beer, and whatever you want.”
    “You got it,” Tammy replied.
    They watched as she bounced into the restaurant.
    Savannah wondered if she would ever bounce anywhere again.
    Dirk handed her the phone. “Nice view, huh?” he said, waving an arm to indicate the distant horizon, where purple islands peeked above a fluffy layer of white fog. A lighthouse blinked its beam at them across the way. A flock of brown pelicans flew by, looking like prehistoric pterodactyls. And below a bevy of surfers in black bodysuits rode waves that glistened coral and turquoise in the light of the setting sun..
    “Yeah, yeah,” she said. “Whatever.”

    As Savannah and Dirk devoured their fish and chips dinner and Tammy nibbled at her salad, they compared notes on the case.
    Of the three, it seemed that Tammy was the most informed. And that didn’t surprise Savannah at all.
    Some little girls wanted to grow up and be princesses and fairies. A few who were more practical wanted to be doctors or movie stars. But Tammy had decided early in childhood that she was going to be Nancy Drew.
    And, for all practical purposes, she was.
    Often, Savannah had thought that if she were a fugitive on the run, the last person she’d want after her would be Tammy Hart. The girl had endless energy, dogged determination, and resolute resourcefulness.
    Tammy had trained all of her considerable powers on Ethan Aberson for the past twenty-four hours. Unaware that he was in her crosshairs, good ol’ Ethan had no idea how effectively his privacy had been breached.
    “His mother says he’s a highly successful businessman,” Savannah said, dragging a crispy French fry through a puddle of ketchup. “But then, all mothers think that.”
    “She’s right,” Tammy told her. “He’s an established, well-respected funeral director. Owns a mortuary in Twin Oaks.”
    “Which one?” Dirk asked.
    “Perpetual Peace.”
    He nodded. “Yeah. I’ve been there. So have you,” he told Savannah. “Kevin Flynn was laid out there after that undercover bust went wrong.”
    “Oh, right. Sad case. Nice place though,” Savannah observed.
    “He does a lot of business,” Tammy said. “If he’s a good financial manager, he should be well set.”
    Dirk scowled. “Wait a minute. His parents said he’s at a convention in Vegas. Undertakers don’t go to conventions.”
    “The heck they don’t.” Tammy grinned, looking obnoxiously pleased with herself. “I’m telling you, that’s where he’s been. Yesterday, he attended a lecture on the risks of formaldehyde exposure. The day before, it was a class on how to reduce your paperwork and still stay within federal guidelines, and another on protecting yourself from blood-borne pathogens.”
    “Woo-hoo. I wanna be an undertaker and go to cool classes like those,” Savannah said, stirring an envelope of sugar into her drink.
    “Hey, don’t poke fun,” Dirk told her. “They do a really important job ... a job most other people wouldn’t want. I still remember how good they made Kevin Flynn look after he was shot to hell. That meant a lot to his widow and his kids.”
    Savannah nodded thoughtfully. “You’re absolutely right. I’m sorry. But you’ve got to admit, that sounds like a boring convention.”
    “Don’t feel too sorry for him,” Tammy said. “He’s been ducking out of the seminars.”
    “Oh?” Savannah was all ears. “And how do we know that?”
    “Because ... we ... have become best friends forever with the concierge there at the Victoriana, and he told me a lot of