Page 46 - Labelle Gramercy, On the Case

Thrown for a Loss

for the day. That would not be the case for Labelle Gramercy. But I
kept on comforting the child. She might have been almost an adult
half an hour ago, but not now. I gave the policewoman a glance that I
hoped she would understand as both an apology for starting the tears
and a statement of my intent to let them flow as long as need be.
Labelle was silent for a minute, out of respect or a loss for words,
while Autumn cried herself out. I gave her a tissue to dab her eyes
and blow her nose. Then she blinked and came back to reality, ugly as
it was.
“What—what should I do now?” She looked first at me, and then
at the policewoman. I could only keep pouring on the human
warmth. Labelle Gramercy was going to question her, and that was
that.
“Let’s sit here a little while and talk. Then we can find you
accommodations for the night. A matron will be here shortly to
discuss the options with you. Do you have any adult relatives
elsewhere?”
“No, not unless you count my aunt, May Reno. She lives here, but
she had a stroke and is taken care of by a lady, Lilly Calla, who lives
in her house. She has a son but I never see them because Grandma
doesn’t like her sister even though she can’t say a word. We don’t
have a large family.”
Labelle’s fingers were itching to record all this trivia. There weren’t
any stationery shops on the second floor. In front of us were Gems
from Junk, Naughty Nighties, Trinkets Deluxe and Intimate Oils &
Aromatherapy, four shops in a row separated from the food court on
the left by a corridor to the bathrooms and on the right from Safari
to Go and the Cineplex by another hallway leading to the service
passage running along the back wall of the building. I could have
offered to go into one of those businesses—they were all open—and
get pen and paper for the lieutenant, but I didn’t want to disturb
Autumn Pratt again.
“Are you a student?”
“Yes. Senior in high school. I’m going to continue with my
education in September at a private business college.”
Now, that was not where the average girl in this area was headed
after graduation. Her parents must have been insured, left the
grandmother as guardian and executor of a trust. Schools like that

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