08/08/2026
If you don't know, my name is Greg, I’m a private eye, a private eye for candies. A Sweet Gum shoe as it was. That’s a different branch on the tree of private detective work. I turned a new leaf when I took up this line of investigation.
I’m not proud, I take the work that comes my way. Sometimes the clients are well heeled, sometimes it’s chump change, but work is work. In this case money is missing; Lunch Money.
It all started when Billy comes into my office. He said to me “I can’t find my Lunch Money.” He had not seen it since last year this time.
I took the case, and then I quizzed the kid. Later I realized that I should have done this the other way around.
“How much money are we talking about” I asked. He looked at me like I was an idiot.
“Mister, It’s not money, it’s candy.” He pauses.
Now it’s my turn to look at him like one of those puppy paintings and I realize the look he gave me was well earned. “What are you talking about?” I sort of stutter. I hate losing my composure in front of a kid.
“It’s a candy, It’s hard candy with three flavors; Peanut butter & jelly, fluffer-nutter, and banana peanut butter. Best of all no peanuts are used to get the peanut flavor.” Billy said.
He gave me those puppy eyes again.
It was a good story. It was a good flavor.
I told him I’d figure out where the candy went, and why he could not get it since last year, although I had some ideas about this on my own.
You seen, over the past few weeks I’ve been working for a dame named Jessica, a lady who was not looking for her sugar daddy but was looking for a sour sweet without any food coloring or artificial flavors. I found that, at a place in Tallahassee called Lofty Pursuits. I even found out that if I got five tins, I’d get the sixth free, and that this deal continues all month. I closed the case with a happy client. Sadly, work was short after that.
I had a feeling that if I wanted to find this Lunch Money, I was going to have to do another stakeout at Lofty Pursuits.
I grabbed my fedora, strapped on my heater, and locked the door after me. I had a feeling that this investigation was going to have a sweet ending.
--- To be continued. ---
