A Real Pickle by Jessica Beck

chauffeur and two commoners from a diner, but he really didn’t have much choice in the matter.  “Don’t be too late,” he said.  “I’m not a young man anymore.”
    “I won’t be long,” he said.
    “If you’ll excuse us,” Jeffrey said.
    “Of course,” Charlotte replied.  “I’d like a word with Tristan and Sarah myself.  Come along, you two.”
    They weren’t pleased about that, but they obeyed nonetheless, and we had the dining room to ourselves.  Once they were all gone, Jeffrey grinned at us.  “Welcome to the zoo.”
    “I’d say that it’s more like a circus if you asked me,” Moose said, not even trying to keep his voice in check.  “Does anybody here miss Curtis?”
    “The three of us do,” Jeffrey said.  “I’m sorry I didn’t join you in your toast, but I still can’t get used to the idea that these people are treating me as though I’m an equal all of a sudden after all of these years of being looked down upon.”
    “You missed out, my friend,” Moose said.  “That’s the best whisky I’ve had since I was in Ireland, and that’s saying something.”  My grandfather had taken an extended trip there before opening The Charming Moose, and though he’d only stayed a week, he’d made a lifetime of memories.
    “Next time,” Jeffrey said.  “Have you had any luck so far?”
    I wasn’t sure that we should be sharing with him just yet, especially since our investigation had just started.  I tried to warn Moose off from talking about it, but I couldn’t get his attention.  “We’re doing what we can,” he said, and I nodded in approval of his brevity.
    Jeffrey smiled apologetically.  “I don’t mean to push you, but in less than three days, all of us will be out of here.  You need to work as quickly as you can.”
    “We’re giving it our full attention,” I said.  “Do you really have reports to go over with Crane tonight, or were you just trying to break up our charming little dinner party?”
    “I’m not an idiot by any stretch of the imagination, but Curtis’s estate is complicated.  What made him think that I could handle it?”
    “He trusted you,” I said as I put a hand on his shoulder.  “I’m certain that he cared more about that than any qualifications you might be lacking.”
    “I understand that, and it does mean something to me, but I wish I had someone besides Crane helping me.  After all, he’s got to be a suspect, right?”
    “He is,” I said.
    “You know, you don’t have to do this all on your own,” Moose said after a momentary pause.
    “Are you volunteering?” Jeffrey asked.
    “Not me,” Moose said quickly.  “But I do know a woman who could lend you a hand.”
    “You’re not talking about Judge Dixon, are you?” I asked.  Holly Dixon may or may not have had a fling with my grandfather once upon a time, and my grandmother still didn’t trust the woman all these years later.
    “No, of course not.  I’m talking about asking Renee to pitch in.”  Renee West was a customer at the diner, a forensic accountant who specialized in complicated cases.
    “That’s brilliant,” I said, and then I turned to Jeffrey.  “I’m sure that she’s not cheap, but you won’t find anyone any better.”
    “Money’s not an issue,” Jeffrey said.  “I’ve got a discretionary fund that you wouldn’t believe.  Do you trust her?”
    “I do,” Moose said, and I echoed the sentiment.
    “That’s good enough for me, then.  I suppose the next question is if she’ll take it on.”
    “If Moose calls her, I’m sure of it.  She’s sweet on him.”
    “She’s no such thing,” Moose said in a stammer.  “She’s just a child, Victoria.”
    “A thirty-one-year-old divorcée is not a child, Moose.”
    “Compared to me?  You’d better believe that she is.”
    “Would you mind calling her for me tomorrow, Moose?” Jeffrey asked.
    “Why wait until then?  I’ll call her right now.”
    “Do you have her home