“Who can blame her?” Toni asked, deadpan.
But the sarcasm was lost on Erica, who was practically wringing her hands by now.
“When you went back to check on her, she was gone,” I said.
Erica nodded.
“Isn’t it possible that Tammy Susie just got lost?” Bailey asked.
Erica nodded. “Yeah. But she hasn’t called. And, believe me, she knows my number.”
“And I take it she didn’t answer when you called her,” I said. Erica shook her head.
Bailey shrugged. “Maybe she took off on purpose. Wanted to get away, have some kid time.”
Erica shook her head. “Not Tammy Susie. She lives for this show. That girl sucks up attention like a dry sponge.”
But even as she uttered the words, Erica turned away and swiped at her cheek. This wasn’t just about losing a job. She really cared about the little girl. By the looks on Bailey’s and Toni’s faces, I saw that those tears had undone all of us. We exchanged glances, and Bailey gave me a look that said, Why not? I saw her point. Given Tammy Susie’s access to limos and her history of wandering away, the police were unlikely to take action this soon. And at this point, there was nothing the police could do that we couldn’t. In fact, unencumbered by paperwork and procedure, we’d be able to do it a hell of a lot faster.
Toni put down her drink and looked Erica in the eye. “Okay, listen up. We’ll help you. But you have to calm down because we need you to be able to think. And I’m telling you right now that if we don’t find Tammy Susie pretty damn quick, we’re going straight to the police.”
“Thank you! Oh, thank you!” Erica swallowed her remaining tears. “You’re saving my life.”
“You have a picture of Tammy Susie?” I asked.
“Seriously? You’ve never seen the show?” We all shook our heads. Erica looked at us as though we’d just stepped out of a spaceship from Mars. “It’s only, like, the biggest reality hit since Survivor.” She scrolled through her cell phone and then passed it to us. The face of a chubby little girl with a cupid’s bow of a mouth and blonde ringlets grinned back at me mischievously.
“So if someone recognized her, they’d know she was worth a lot of money,” Toni said.
“Which is what has you worried,” Bailey said.
Erica blanched visibly and wrapped her arms around her torso. “I’m just hoping she kept the scarf on. She had a red-and-pink scarf tied around her head, Gypsy-style. We were shopping for one of those long, wide skirts to match.”
Toni frowned. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to buy the skirt and then look for a scarf?”
