The Mark of the Blue Tattoo
Page 10
The Freddy Frost truck coasted to a stop yards from the crowded intersection. Joe kept a firm grip on Hedda, even while she tried to claw at his face. He was relieved to see three other Freddy Frost trucks and two police cruisers pull up next to him. Frank, Chet, and Sal Vitello ran over to the side of the truck, followed by Con Riley and his partner, Officer Anderson.
Joe handed Hedda over to Riley and Anderson, then stepped down into the street. Frank and Chet crowded around to shake his hand and pound him on the back.
“That was some acrobatic trick you did,” Sal said, with an admiring look. “Did you ever think about joining the circus?”
Frank grinned. “Sure he has . . . as a clown!”
Joe grinned back and aimed a punch at Frank’s chin—a very slow punch that ended as a tap.
A familiar red car came speeding up and squealed to a stop. Aaron McCay jumped out, a notebook in his hand.
“This is an outrage!” Hedda proclaimed, as Officer Anderson handcuffed her. “You don’t have anything against me!”
Sal rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah, lady? How about grand theft auto for a start?”
Anderson and Riley led Hedda to the police car. As Riley opened the back door, she shouted, “I’ll have your badges for this!”
“Yes, ma’am,” Con Riley replied. “Please watch your head as you get in.”
The police car pulled away. Sal watched it go. Then he turned to the Hardys and their friends. “Let’s get these trucks back. We still have ice cream to sell today.”
• • •
At the Freddy Frost plant, Frank was surprised to find Marlon Masters deep in conversation with Callie and Iola. He looked up as Frank and the others came in.
“I think I owe thanks to all of you,” Marlon said. “I couldn’t understand why all my plans to make the Starz a real community organization kept failing. I blamed you guys. But all along, it was Hedda and her bunch who were playing me for a chump.”
Frank looked around. “Where’s Gus?” he asked.
“He split about ten seconds after Hedda did,” Marlon said with a grim smile. “I’ll bet Bayport High will get his transfer papers tomorrow morning.”
“Would you fellows please fill me in?” McCay asked plaintively. “What was Hedda Moon after?”
“Maybe that will come out in court,” Frank said. “Here’s what we figured. She was trying to unite all the gangs in the area. You’re the one who put us onto that. But she was also building an official city organization to work with gangs. The more important the gangs became, the more funds and grants she planned to get for her work with gangs, and the more of that money she could funnel to the gangs themselves. And of course, at the same time, the gangs were starting to take over rackets like the numbers game. Pretty neat . . . and it almost worked.”
“I feel like such a dope,” Sal said. “She talked me into hiring Starz members as a way of helping them go straight. She even convinced me that my man Chet here was a spy who was out to wreck her program.”
“He was,” Joe said. “In a way.”
When the laughter died down, Callie turned to Iola. “What brought you over to the plant this morning?” she asked. “And who put you in the freezer?”
Iola shook her head. “I never saw who it was,” she said. “As for why I came, I wanted to help. And from what Chet said, I was sure that the solution to the mystery was here. I was right, too.”
“I can guess who attacked you,” Sal offered. “The only guy here that early, except for me, was Gus. And I know I didn’t do it.”
“He called me to say that you guys were over here trying to frame the Starz,” Marlon said. “He must have called and warned Hedda, too.”
Frank glanced down at the desk and noticed the flavor contest folder. “Sal? Did your boss pick a winner in the contest?” he asked.
“Yeah, he did,” Sal said with a grin. “There were some really strange entries, but the winner was strawberry-rhubarb-pie flavor. Submitted by someone named Gertrude Hardy.”
“Aunt Gertrude!” Frank and Joe shouted together. “All right!”
“You guys stay here,” Sal said. “This calls for a celebration. I’ll be right back with a round of Freddy Frost Berry Nice Swirls for everybody—on the house.”
He hurried off toward the coolers.
“Celebration? Yes! That’s it,” Chet exclaimed. “The perfect thing for a festive occasion. Champagne ice cream with caviar topping!”
Everyone stared at Chet in silence.
“Hey, that was a joke,” Chet said, grinning. “You don’t really think I’d want to put fish eggs on ice cream, do you?”
The group stared at Chet for a long moment. The laughter that exploded gave Chet his answer.
“Chet, good buddy,” Frank said as Sal returned. “One of these days we’re going to make you eat one of your concoctions.”
“No, thanks,” Chet said with a grimace. “I think I’ll stick with the Freddy Frost favorites,” he added as he took a large spoonful of his Berry Nice Swirl with a cherry on top.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Aladdin
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