“I am those things,” Ava said. She looked around the otherwise empty room and said, “Where’s Frances?”
“Oh, she’s been here and there and everywhere these last few days,” Lottie said. “Working with the mothers and wives of men that are losing everything because of this stock market crash, trying to prevent a whole lot of domestic disturbances,” and in a playful yet conspiratorial sort of way, she added: “It’s all hush-hush, you know. Which is why they sent a dame. Undercover and all. Most people don’t even know we’re down here, remember?”
“I remember,” she said, wondering if there was a bit of resentment buried in Lottie’s playful demeanor.
“You down here for any particular reason?” Lottie asked.
“I was going to ask Frances about any records pertaining to wealthy men getting into fights or arguments.”
“You mean like with each other?”
“Yes. Especially if there’s real estate involved.”
“Ah, yeah. All of those types of things got sent back upstairs two weeks ago. There weren’t many of them between rich men like you’re looking for, but there have been a lot of reports of fraud and theft around real estate, especially in poor communities.”
“Yeah, I figured,” Ava said. “Seems like something I should have known, being a part of the Women’s Bureau.”
“Don’t be daft,” Lottie said. “Darling, we love that you still think of yourself as one of us, but you got a promotion out of here the moment Minard paired you up with Wimbly and gave you the title of Detective.”
“Sure, but none of that means I’m better than any of you.”
“I know. And Frances does, too, and she’ll be more than happy to tell you about it. But you…well, you sort of are our hero, you know. You’re leading the charge for us pretty ladies whether you know it or not.”
It was a comment that meant more to Ava than she’d expected. She actually found herself close to tears as the words sank in. And beyond that, it stirred up a whole new level of determination inside of her. She blinked a tear away and turned away from Lottie, not wanting her to see the emotional reaction.
“You okay, doll?” Lottie asked.
“I am,” Ava said. “I just…I need to get out of here. I only have a few hours to close this case and it’s not going to get closed by anything I do here.”
She didn’t realize she was going in to hug Lottie until she had the woman wrapped up in her arms. “Thanks, Lottie.”
“Um, sure thing. But…for what?”
Ava smiled and said, “For the kick in the pants. For the reminder of what I need to be doing.”
And as Ava left the office in a hurry, she started to laugh out loud as Lottie once again playfully applauded behind her.