"No, sorry."

"Not even one inside?

Again, she shook her head. "Maybe we should. I'll mention it to my manager. He had his car stolen last year from right outside his house."

"Good idea. He wouldn't want his customers to be worried about someone stealing his customers’ keys while they ordered coffee. Really bad for business." I pretended to browse the glass case of muffins and cakes. The server pulled a face as my story sunk in.

"Is that what happened? Ohmygosh!"

I nodded. "Yeah. Thieves are so brazen. She thinks they got the keys from her purse when she sat down to drink her coffee."

"Oh, wow! That really is awful," she said, looking around to see if anyone was listening. The two women were deep in conversation and oblivious to us. "I'll definitely mention it, but you know, we have a sign over there saying we're not responsible for customer belongings. I don't want to get into any trouble, and if your cousin is going to sue..."

"Oh no, no, of course not. She doesn't blame you guys one bit. I just thought I'd ask," I scrambled for words, knowing I was losing her the moment she began to deny any wrongdoing and started worrying about covering her own ass. "Do you have a bathroom?"

"At the end of the corridor," she said, pointing to the rear of the counter before turning to address the next customer. Stepping around the corner of the counter cut my car from view and partially obscured the window tables. A few more steps, and the window tables were obscured too. By the end of the corridor, I couldn't see any of the seating area except for the small table closest to the door. The rear exit was locked and the bathroom was windowless.

The only exit was through the front door. If Juliet's keys were lifted and replaced while she was in the small coffee shop, how could she not have noticed anyone? They had to have bumped into her twice.

Back in my car, the coffee cup deposited in the cup holder, I called her.

"Can you speak privately?" I asked when she answered.

"I'm at work. Let me just move to the boardroom," she said, her breath coming through the phone as she walked. I heard a door shut, then, "I'm alone. Do I need to be?"

"When we talk, yes. Since we don't have a narrow list of suspects yet..."

"I'm still working on it," she cut in.

"That's great. Until I've investigated further, I'd like you to make sure you're never overheard when we talk. Did you tell anyone you employed me?" I asked, feeling suspicious about how close the mystery stalker could be to Juliet.

"A couple people."

"Who?" I pulled out my notepad.

"Rob, obviously. Also my mom and my friend, Penelope."

"Okay, don't tell anyone else. Let's keep this as quiet as possible for now."

"No problem. What do you need to talk about?"

"I'm at the coffee shop where your car was moved; and I'm puzzled how they could have done it if the keys came from your purse. I can't rule out the possibility of someone gaining a copy of your keys prior to that, but I think it's more likely the thief got them from you somehow. Do you recall anyone bumping into you?"

"No, definitely not."

"You're sure about that?"

"Positive. It was pretty quiet that day. I just bought a coffee and sat down with Penelope."

"The same Penelope's whom you told about me?" I asked. When Juliet confirmed, I asked, "Where did you sit?"

"The red table by the window."

"Which way were you facing?"

"Towards my car. Why?"

"I'm trying to get a picture of that event."

"Oh, okay."

"Your friend spilled coffee? What happened then?"

"Okay, so I'd only been sitting with her a few minutes when the coffee got spilled..."

"How did that happen?"

"Penelope went to reach for something in her purse, I think, and she knocked the table or something. My cup just fell over. Anyway, it spilled across my skirt so I had to go clean up in the bathroom."

"What happened when you came back?"

"Penelope cleaned the table with some napkins and was waiting for me."

"Where was your purse? Did you take it to the bathroom?"

"Oh, no. No, I didn't! I left it at the table because I took Penelope's wipes... My keys were in my purse."

"Where did the napkins come from?"

"I don't know. I guess Penelope got them from the counter. Is any of this useful information?"

"It tells me your bag might have been on its own for a short time and anyone could have accessed it."

"But my keys were in there when we left. Even if someone took them, how did they get them back in my purse?"

"That's a good question. I'd like to talk to your friend. Do you have her full name and number?"

"Sure, it's Penelope Cera," she said, reading off the phone number while I made a note of it. "She works with me so I could tell her you'll call."

"How come you met at the coffee shop after work if you work together?" I asked.

"Penelope is part-time and worked shorter hours that day; and she has today off. I know she'll help you however she can."

"Juliet, what does Penelope think of the stalking? You've discussed it with her?"

Juliet was quiet for a moment and when she started talking again, I could hear the reticence in her voice. She wanted her friend to believe her, but knew that she didn't. Disappointment laced her words. "Penelope is being really supportive, but she thinks it's just a bunch of weird coincidences and I should chill out."

"Does that upset you?"

"I don't know. I kind of get her point. From her perspective, I can see why she doesn't think it's anything to worry about. It's all silly, little stuff. There's no reason for her to believe me. She even said I must have not remembered where I parked my car."

"I believe you," I told her, "and that's why we'll get to the bottom of this. I'll call you later if I need any more information."

"Thank you."

From the coffee shop, I drove straight to Lily's bar, parked, and entered via the rear entrance. Lily wasn't in her office so I walked through to the main bar where Lily was sitting behind the bar, polishing glasses. She might not have been a detective, but she was plenty smart, and I needed to bounce ideas off someone. "Did you solve it?" she asked, looking up. "It must be twenty-four hours already."

"So close," I told her, holding my thumb and forefinger high. "Hey, if I told you I was being stalked, would you believe me?"

"Absolutely."

"Why?"

"It's happened to you so many times. It would be rude not to."

I laughed. "Seriously though. Before I became a PI, would you have believed me?"

"Sure. Are you going to ask why again?"

I nodded. Lily set a glass down and picked up another. "That's what friends do. Why the questions?"

"My client's friend doesn't seem to support her."

"That what she said?"

"No, that's what my client said."

"Maybe her friend doesn't want to worry her even more by agreeing it's true."

"I thought that. She doesn't think her fiancé believes her either, but he installed a new home security system."

"Jord did that too."

"Because you were being stalked?"