Page 63 - Labelle Gramercy, On the Case

Thrown for a Loss

was in the bathroom when it happened, so he was asking us what was
going down and we were explaining it to him. I remember now,
telling him some fool had pushed that button again.”
“All right, Cal. Go back to the table and send Newt over here.
Thank you for your cooperation.”
He popped up like he was spring-loaded and hustled over to his
buddies. If I had to go by their excessively emotional answers to
simple questions, could I tell if any one them was lying? Putting
myself in their place might help, I thought. Let’s say I wanted to pull
off this stunt and get away with it. Would I go it alone or get others
involved, to provide me an alibi? Risks either way. The detective was
letting them cook up whatever they wanted over in the food court.
That opened the possibility of collusion after the fact, of group
pressure working on the weakest link to prevent him from spilling
the beans. She had to know that, and was using it in some way I
couldn’t understand.

<< 6 >>

Newt sauntered up to us. It struck me how alike these kids were
when you saw them together, but how different they could be when
you took them out of their gang and dealt with them as individuals.
This one was skinny, intense, a chip on his shoulder. His lips were
tight and his eyes already narrowed with anger and suspicion.
“Sit down, please.”
He stood frozen in front of us, looking for the trap. I felt sorry for
him, too. Life had not really put him in a cage, an animal in the zoo.
At least that was how I saw it. Growing up meant seeing the limits
for what they were, inevitable and actually quite useful in building a
life. And they sure wouldn’t budge if you hit them head on over and
over again. Newt was a guy who would become fixated on some
enemy, some obstacle to his freedom as he saw it during a difficult
adolescence, and spend the rest of his days using it and anything else
in his way as excuses for his problems.
“Do I have to?”
Labelle Gramercy locked him in her unblinking gaze. “The short
answer is yes. The long answer is no, we can put you in custody and

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