At the offices of Townsend and Associates, Bosley, Sabrina, and Kelly were seated along with their potential new client, Robert Ridgeway.
"How do you know, Charlie, Mr. Ridgeway?" Sabrina asked. She wore a black blouse and white slacks.
"Charles and I first met in France, during the war. We became fast friends. And now he's one of my biggest investors."
"Yes," Charlie's voice blared from the speaker. "When Bob informed me of his problem, I suggested that we might be able to help him out.
"And what is the nature of your problem?" Kelly asked. She wore a blue dress and black knee-high boots.
"I think we should wait for Kris," Bosley said. "No sense in making Mr. Ridgeway repeat himself."
"I do apologize Bob," Charlie's said. "It's not like Kris to be late."
"To be honest, Charles, maybe it's for the best. Going public may result in negative publicity scaring off future depositors, but surely the police are more well-equipped to recover the stolen funds."
"We've handled some tough cases before," Sabrina said. "Give us a chance, Mr. Ridgeway. I'm sure th—"
"Hey guys!" Lisa, impersonating Kris, burst into the room. She wore an orange halter top, cutoff denim shorts, strappy white sandals, and a pair of sunglasses propped on top of her head.
"Kris?" Kelly stared at the junior detective's wardrobe in amazement.
Sabrina took one look at the blonde and subtly shook her head.
Ridgeway couldn't help but gawk at Lisa's display of skin. His jaw swung open for a solid five seconds before he regained his composure.
"Kris," Charlie said. "We were all worried about you."
Lisa glanced around for the source of the voice and spied the speaker attached to the phone. "Sorry I'm late, Mr. Townsend. It won't happen again."
"Now that we're all here," Bosley said. "Perhaps Mr. Ridgeway can tell us about his problem from the beginning?"
"Ooh, a bar." Lisa mixed herself a vodka and grapefruit juice with plenty of ice. With drink in hand, she seated herself next to Ridgeway, closer than necessary, and grinned at him.
Ridgeway smiled back reflexively at the blond detective. "Yes. About my problem." He cleared his throat. "Someone has stolen five million dollars from Orange County Savings & Trust, where I am the CEO. As Charles mentioned earlier, he is one of our largest stockholders. The theft was discovered last week during a surprise audit."
"Did the thief physically steal the five million from the vault?" Sabrina asked.
"No." Ridgeway shook his head. "The theft was done electronically. By someone with a great knowledge of computers and our internal systems. There's only one man who fits that description: Kevin Kaufman, our chief programmer. But we have no evidence that he is actually responsible. The thief, whether Kaufman or not, covered his tracks perfectly."
"And where is Mr. Kaufman now?" Kelly asked.
"Nevada, as best as I can tell," Ridgeway said. "He resigned two weeks ago and gave Human Resources an address in Las Vegas to forward his last paycheck."
"Since this wasn't a routine audit," Sabrina said. "Kaufman might not realize that you know the money is missing. He won't expect anyone to come looking for him. That's probably why he didn't think twice about giving you his new address."
"Clever deduction," Ridgeway said.
"You see, Bob," Charlie said. "I told you my team was top-notch."
"We're off to Vegas?" Kelly said. "What about covers?'
"We don't know yet what our target is doing in Vegas," Bosley said. "Maybe the best idea is to do a little reconnaissance work on Mr. Kaufman, then come up with plan.
"Or." Lisa flashed her most dazzling smile. "We could use Mr. Townsend's charge account to buy me a foxy new designer swimsuit. That ought to be the prefect bait for our thief." She rested her hand on Ridgeway's thigh.
The blood drained from Ridgeway's face.
Kelly and Sabrina exchanged puzzled glances.
Charlie laughed nervously. "That is one idea, Angel. I'll let the three of you and Bosley work out the details. I've got to get going."
"Thank you, Charles," Ridgeway said.
"Bye, Charlie," Kelly and Sabrina said in unison.
"Sure thing, Mr. Towns—I mean Charlie," Lisa said.
"Good-bye, Angels." The phone disconnected.
"Well," Bosley said. "Before we head off to Vegas, how about Kelly and Sabrina go with Mr. Ridgeway to the bank. Maybe you two can spot a clue that's been overlooked."
"Sounds good." Sabrina nodded.
"What about me?" Lisa asked.
Bosley said, "You can stay behind for a moment. We need to have a chat."
Sabrina, Kelly, and Ridgeway filed out the door.
After the door closed, Bosley said, "Kris, with LA traffic the way it is, everyone is entitled to be late once in a wh—"
"I overslept." Lisa pouted. "I promise to buy an alarm clock."
"Good," Bosley said. "Also, we've never had a formal dress code at Townsend and Associates. It's always been the opinion of the firm that the Angels could be trusted to dress professionally while developing and maintaining their own personal style." Bosley looked her up and down. "But this outfit is—"
"Pretty foxy?" Lisa rocked her hips and winked.
Bosley shook his head. "I was going to say unacceptable. You're still new here, so I can cut you some slack. But you can't come in dressed like this again."
Lisa stepped forward, invading Bosley's personal space, and smoothed his lapel. "Don't be so uptight. You hired me because I'm one smoking hot detective. You have to expect me to dress the part."
Confusion filled Bosley's eyes. "Kris, what has gotten into you? Yes, the fact that you, and the rest of the Angels, are physically attractive is a bonus in some of our cases, but that's not why we hired you. You had a sterling record during your time with the San Francisco Police. And you're a bright and talented young lady. That's why you're part of Townsend and Associates."
"Oh, John. Let's be real. I'm the foxiest detective in the city." Lisa fiddled with his tie. She leaned closer, looped her arms around his neck, and let her hot breath tickle his ear. "And now I'm going down to the department store to pick out a pair of the skimpiest bikinis they have, charge it to Charlie, then break this case wide open. Keith Kaufman won't know what hit him." She released Bosley from her embrace and sashayed out the door.
"John?" Bosley shook his head in disbelief.