Do you like your day job? Not me. I’m less than thrilled with mine because what happens outside of my lawyering job at the movie studio is infinitely more exciting. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. The good, tingly kind of excitement-filled bumps.

Take last week, for instance. Veera and I worked a little side job. Veera’s my legal assistant at the studio. . .when she’s not moonlighting as my associate private investigator. We’re not officially licensed investigators, but we’re getting closer. I’ve got loads of experience thanks to my P.I. dad. So, when an important prop went missing from the movie studio prop department, Veera convinced the head of studio security that we’d find it. It’s not like the security unit or the police had made any headway.

One of Dad’s long-time informants tipped me off about after-hours activity at an abandoned warehouse in West Los Angeles. That’s where Veera and I headed. Veera kept watch outside while I nosed around inside the creepy warehouse. We didn’t expect to be interrupted, but you know what L.A. stands for? Lots of action.

Guess what I found in the warehouse? Not one prop, but enough to fill a U-Haul truck. Everything from a Superman cape to a James Bond gun. Before I could call in the theft, unexpected visitors forced me to dive for cover under a table. A table holding a bunch of stolen props.

I couldn’t see anything, but I heard three people walk in – the thief and two potential buyers. While they haggled over the price, I worked out a plan that involved a little physical activity on my part. Let’s just say I managed to subdue two thirds of the trio. Two big thugs looking to buy the stolen goods were knocked off their feet, thanks to my handiwork. But the thief? Boy, was I surprised. Not because she was holding a gun, but because of who she was. Totally unexpected. She tried to bribe me to walk away, but I’m not that kind of lawyer-slash-P.I. trainee. Just as I tried to wrangle the gun away, the police busted in, thanks to Veera. The rest went down pretty smoothly, in my opinion, except for the very last part.

After we gave our statements to the cops, Wayne, the head of studio security, showed up to thank us for a job well done. The bad news was that he refused to pay us, saying he couldn’t since we weren’t licensed investigators. Then why did he hire us? I could see Wayne felt bad, but that didn’t soften the blow. We needed seed money for our new agency.

Veera and I huffed and fumed so much, Wayne didn’t turn his back to us as he made his way to his car. And he’s a big guy. His last words to us were, “I’ll make it up to you.” And you know what? He did.

Gambling with Murder, A Southern California Mystery #5
Genre: Cozy
Release: March 2022
Purchase Link

A late-night call is all it takes for rookie lawyer Corrie Locke to kiss her day job at the movie studio goodbye, and do what she does best: flex her sweet P.I. skills and go undercover to find a senior who’s missing from a posh retirement community. One small stumbling block: skirting past security to gain inside access to the exclusive Villa Sunset. Time to call in the heavy artillery. Besides former security guard turned legal assistant—now wannabe P.I.—Veera, Corrie relies on a secret weapon: her mother, a surprisingly eager addition to Corrie’s team. Armed with enough pepper spray to take down a band of Navy Seals, Mom impersonates a senior to infiltrate the Villa, Corrie and Veera in tow. Turns out the job’s not as easy as they’d thought. These seniors have tricks tucked up their sleeves and aren’t afraid of using them.

The action gets dicey when the missing senior case turns into attempted murder by a criminal mind who’s always one step ahead. Corrie’s hot on the trail, but finds more than she bargained for. . .when her mother becomes a target.

About the author 
Lida Sideris‘ first stint after law school was a newbie lawyer’s dream: working as an entertainment attorney for a movie studio. . .kind of like her heroine, Corrie Locke, except without the homicides. Lida was one of two national winners of the Helen McCloy Mystery Writers of America Scholarship and a Killer Nashville, Silver Falchion Award Finalist. She lives in the northern tip of Southern California with her family, rescue dogs and a flock of uppity chickens.

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