Page 70 - Labelle Gramercy, On the Case

Thrown for a Loss

around, so he tried out some pick-up lines he probably got from a
TV show. What a drag! I wish I could say serving those jerks is the
low point of my day, but I get even worse customers. Little kids with
sticky fingers. Seniors with dentures and weird dietary questions.
How the hell am I supposed to be able to recite the ingredients of all
these doughnuts? Do I look like an encyclopedia?”
Definitely not, I said to myself. Unless she was a complete liar, it
looked like she wasn’t in on any conspiracy—unless it was to provide
quarters from her tip supply. Labelle Gramercy had no further
questions. What else could we find out here? I knew what had to be
next now that this loose end had been tied up by the efficient
policewoman. Cal was the only one who could not give a clear
explanation for his location at the crucial moment. We thanked Ms.
Patamian and turned back toward the escalator.
“Officer Weller, please bring Calvin Oreck back to the bench. I
need to ask Waylon Sachs a question, and I’ll meet you there.”
So she had come to the same conclusion. And trusted me to bring
the boy in to read him his rights before taking him downtown to
juvenile hall. I could handle that. The mall rats wouldn’t give me any
trouble, even if they guessed what was going down.
As I approached their table the adolescent chatter stopped
abruptly and they watched me like deer caught in the headlights of an
oncoming truck. “All right, you guys,” I said in a friendly way,
“thanks for being patient. I think we’re almost done with the
interviews, so you’ll be able to leave soon. We just have to talk to
Calvin for a little bit more.”
Instantly Cal’s face fell and the other three let out long slow
breaths.
“Why—what do you want with me?” Cal wailed. “I ain’t done
nothing!”
“Now, take it easy. Don’t make it harder on yourself by acting
uncooperative.”
Calvin stood up, his face clearly a shade paler, even under the food
court’s fluorescents. His posture was aggressive, so I unsnapped the
leather loop holding in my flashlight. I was trying to be nice about it,
but this was one assignment I would not fail to carry out. He looked
at his friends for support. They were looking anywhere but at him.
He gave up.

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