by Paul Regnier
“Hey.” Brooke came alongside me. “Can you get Bandit away from there? It’s a crime scene.”
“Sorry.” I knelt down and patted my thigh. “C’mere, boy.”
Bandit walked up and dropped a red ball at my feet.
“What’d you find, buddy?” I patted his head and picked up the red ball. It was soft and light, made of foam.
“What is that?” Brooke asked.
I gave it a light squeeze, revealing a sliced opening and a hollow center. “Looks like one of those clown noses.”
Bandit growled. See? It was probably that clown. I told you he was bad news.
“Hold on, that could be important.” Brooke put on a pair of gloves and placed the clown nose in a clear bag.
“It sounds crazy,” I said. “But maybe one of the clowns was a part of this. I mean, it would make for a good disguise.”
“At this point, I’m up for any lead.” Brooke let out a long sigh as she scanned the park.
“You okay?” I asked.
“No. This is all my fault. I should’ve been here when it happened.”
“Oh, come on. You were monitoring the whole park. If anything, it’s Jacob’s fault. He was the security guard. He was standing like two feet away. That’s on him.”
She shook her head. “No. The auction was my responsibility. I should’ve kept a closer watch. Instead, I let my guard down, and probably the biggest theft in our town's history is on me.”
I took her hands. “Look, we’ll fix this. I’ll help you find whoever did this and–”
“No. Luke, thank you, but no. This is police business and I have to fix this myself.”
“Okay, sure, but I can help. I want to help. Two heads are better than one, and all that.”
Her radio crackled with another officer asking for an update.
She let go of my hands. “I have to call Chief Branson. He’s gonna be steamed.” She let out a frustrated grunt. “Oh, I’m so mad at myself. Listen, I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Sure, okay. Call me anytime.”
She answered her radio and walked away.
What had started out as an amazing evening with Brooke, forever burned into my good memory banks, was all crumbling away. Brooke blamed herself for the theft. And now she probably felt guilty about hanging out with me while she was on duty. Which of course meant that an otherwise positive step forward in our relationship was now marred by this dark turn of events.
One thing was clear. I was going to find that thief. If he thought he was going to steal some gems, ruin my future girlfriend’s law enforcement reputation, and wreck our otherwise perfect night together, that clown had another thing coming.
I left the park with Kenny and Bandit in tow, and met up with Mom and Cliff at his Range Rover.
The drive home started out quiet. Everyone seemed to be in a somber mood, with the festivities cut short.
Mom turned from the front seat, breaking the silence. “I still can’t believe this happened. Did you boys see anything?”
“Nah,” Kenny said. “But I promised Ellie I’d get her gems back.”
I turned to him. “You did what?”
“Hey, she needs help,” he said. “I’ve got skills. I can track this guy down.”
“With what? Your computer?”
“Why not? Everything’s online. You’d be surprised what you can find out about people.”
“Yeah, but you don’t even know who you’re after.”
He shrugged. “Simple process of elimination. I’ll start with auction attendees and staff, and narrow down the potential suspects.”
I chuckled. “With no leads? That would take forever.”
“I’m in.” Mom grinned at Kenny. “When Ellie’s mother was alive, she was a good friend of mine, and I owe it to her to help her family. Not to mention, this kind of thing tarnishes the name of our peaceful town.”
“Sweet.” Kenny flashed a thumbs up. “I just doubled my investigative team. We’ll find this thief even faster.”
“You bet.” Mom winked.
“Hold up.” I waved my hand. “You’re not some law enforcement team. You can’t just randomly investigate stuff.”
“Sure we can.” Mom gave a confident nod. “I know the people of this town. I can ask around. While Kenny does his little hacker work, I can talk to people.”
Kenny frowned. “Can you not call it ‘little hacker work’?”
“Sorry, honey.”
“I’ll help if I can,” Cliff said.
Mom rubbed his shoulder. “Isn’t he the best?”
“Alright, Cliff’s on board,” Kenny said. “And I’m sure if I need wheels for the investigation I can borrow–”
“Forget it.” Cliff smirked.
“Kenny,” Mom said. “You have a car.”
“I don’t like putting miles on it,” he said. “It’s a collector’s item.”
“Well,” she said, “it’s going to hinder our investigation if you don’t have transportation.”
“Time out,” I said. “What are you gonna do? Form your own private eye team?”
“I don’t know about all that,” Mom said. “I just want to find this thief.”
“Actually, we could.” Kenny looked thoughtful. “I did a lot of computer fraud work for one of my clients. I still have paperwork for–”
“Stop,” I said. “I was kidding. Listen, the police are looking into this, and I have a direct tie-in with my investigative reporting. Plus, I’ve already got a lead, so things are in motion.”
“Do you hear that, Mrs. Cooper?” Kenny said. “Sounds like someone wants to be part of our team.”
Mom turned back with a smile. “Aw, I think that’s great, Luke. You’re more than welcome to help out.”
“No, no. It’s not ‘helping out’” I made sarcastic air quotes. “I’m already working on it.”
“Hey, man, it’s okay.” Kenny patted my shoulder. “You don’t have to prove yourself. We’ll let you join.”
I sat back with a sigh. “Forget it. I just want to catch this guy.”
Cliff dropped us off at home and said goodnight. Bandit raced for the backyard, in need of a bathroom break and a renewed territory bark-off with Mr. Ruffington, the dachshund next door. Mom and Kenny headed to the kitchen, deep in conversation about their amateur investigation theories.
As I went up the stairs, Mom called out to me.
“Luke, you want some coffee? I’m brewing a pot for Kenny and me. We’re gonna burn the midnight oil solving this case.”
“As delightful as that sounds, I have an article to write. I have to finish it so Carl can print it in tomorrow’s paper. And after what happened, my story just got a whole lot more interesting.”
“Okay, dear. See you in the morning.”
“Goodnight.” I headed up to my room.
My first order of business was to call Graham Sullivan. With such a high value theft in the mix, I figured I should get more background information on the planning for this event. And more specifically, who had hired the clowns.
I retrieved Graham’s business card and gave him a call. It went straight to his voicemail, so I left a message for him to call me back.
Time flew by as I worked on my article about the silent auction. The soft, blue glow of the laptop screen illuminated the small desk by my bedroom window. My story had become far more compelling, thanks to the smoke grenade gemstone theft.
At some time during my writing frenzy, Bandit strolled into the room and curled up on his mat beside my bed. I’m sleepy. Are we going to bed soon?
“Just gotta finish this article,” I said. “Shouldn’t take much longer.”
Bandit yawned. Yeah, right. I’ve heard that before. Can you at least type quieter? Your fingers are like little hammers over there.
“I can’t help it. It’s an exciting article.”
He whined. Kenny and your mom are loud downstairs too. Humans shouldn’t drink coffee unless they’re gonna go for a walk.
“I’ll try to keep it down.”
Bandit let out a heavy sigh. Okay. Thanks.
Once I finished the article, I emailed it to Carl to edit for Saturday’s paper. At that point, all the excitement of the night caught up to me. Bandit was curled up on his dog bed, his muzzle tucked underneath his back paw. Watching him take slow breaths in his comfy position made me sleepy. I stood and went into a deep stretch, a groan escaping my lips.
Bandit lifted his head. Can you keep it down? Dogs are light sleepers.
“Sorry, buddy. I’m going to bed now.”
About time. He put his head down. I’ve been waiting for that light to go off.
“It’s twelve-thirty; it’s not that late.”
Well, I’m tired. And my stomach is queasy.
“Really? After that nutritious meal of discarded popcorn and bits of hot dog you found on the ground? What a shock.”
Maybe I’ll bite you in your sleep.
I chuckled. “Better not.”
A sock with several tooth-sized holes lay beside Bandit’s head.
I picked up the sock and cleared my throat. “What’s this?”
Bandit glanced up at the sock, then looked away quickly. How should I know?
“Um, because it’s right next to your bed and there’s teeth marks in it.”
Did you ask Kenny?
“Bandit? What have I told you about ruining my socks?”
He put his head up and let out a little whine. Well, I can’t help it. They’re soft and chewable, and they have your scent on them. When you’re gone for a while, I get lonely. It helps me cope.
“Oh, no.” I wagged my finger. “You’re not getting away with the sad story bit this time.”
He lowered his head and gave me a sweet puppy look. What sad story?
“Right, play innocent. If I wasn’t so tired, I wouldn’t let you get away with this.”
With what? He blinked his soft, watery eyes.
“Yeah, yeah. Here.” I tossed the sock back to him. “This one’s a freebie. Chew away.”
Yippee! Bandit clamped the sock in his teeth and gave it a few hearty chomps.
“But make it your last one, okay? I’m running low.”
I’ll try real hard. I promise.
“Good. Let’s go to bed.” I flicked the switch on the lamp, changing the warm yellow light in the room to the silvery tone of moonlight.
Bandit thumped his tail twice. Much better. Goodnight.
“Goodnight, Bandit.” I gave him a quick pat, changed into some comfy clothes, and hit the bed.
Chapter 3
The high pitched whirr of some horrific appliance woke me from a deep sleep. The red digital numbers on my alarm clock read 6:45. The deep orange rays of sunrise created a series of soft glowing lines on the window blinds.
The dog mat beside my bed was vacant. Hopefully, Bandit had rushed downstairs to bite whoever was using appliances at this unholy hour on a Saturday morning. What was that horrible sound? A mixer? Maybe Mom was making coffee cake. Suddenly I was hungry.
I sat up and stretched. I may have missed my chance to sleep in, but I could at least start the day off with some coffee cake.
I grabbed my brown robe and headed downstairs. Once I entered the kitchen, all my hopes of warm morning pastries dissolved.
“Hey, look who’s up.” Kenny saluted me with a tall glass of some frothy green liquid. “You almost missed the sunrise.”
Mom smiled at me as she poured herself a glass of what looked like neon swamp water from the blender. “Morning, dear. Hope I didn’t wake you with the blender.”
“Pretty sure you woke the neighborhood with that thing,” I said.
She waved me off.
Suddenly, and with swift revulsion, I realized she and Kenny were wearing matching blue jogging suits.
“Wait.” I gave them each a dark stare. “What’s going on? Why on earth are you matching?”
“They were free with the program.” Mom flipped up her collar and turned to the side, modeling the outfit. “One hundred percent cotton.”
“What program?” I said. “Did you join a cult?”
“Chuck Sashman’s Body Cleanse.” Kenny zipped his jogging suit up to his neck. “It’s a forty-eight hour program that resets your metabolism. You achieve the results of a three week workout in two days.”
Mom raised her glass toward Kenny. “Here’s to our juice cleanse.”
He saluted her, and they both took a drink of the thick green juice. Kenny gave a slight grimace.
“That sounds like one of those bogus infomercials,” I said. “Did they throw in a free knife set?”
Kenny pointed at me and looked at Mom. “You see? I told you he’d be like this.”
She frowned at me. “Luke, what have I said about those comments of yours?”
“That they make you laugh?”
“No. Well, sometimes. But not when you need to be supportive. Now, Kenny and I may look a bit silly but we’re doing this to support each other.”
“Yeah.” Kenny lifted his chin. “Chuck’s program uses the buddy system. We have each other’s backs.”
Mom held up her hand as if to stop me. “So, before you say anything else, realize that we need this. I’m getting older and need to stay healthy, and Kenny needs to change his sedentary lifestyle of computers and comic books.”
“Hey.” Kenny frowned. “I do other things.”
“Walking to the kitchen doesn’t count, dear,” Mom said.
I chuckled. “And the buddy system comes crashing down.”
“Oh, stop.” Mom said. “I’m in full support of Kenny. As our instructor Chuck Sashman says, ‘Accountability is the cornerstone of partnership.’”
“That’s true.” Kenny nodded. “And he also says, ‘It has to hurt before the healing begins.’”
I groaned. “How many of these horrible quotes do I have to hear in the next forty-eight hours?”
“As many as it takes,” Mom said.
“So.” I looked around the kitchen. “I guess that means there’s no coffee cake in the oven.”
“Ooo.” Kenny’s eyes went wide. “Coffee cake?”
Mom raised her eyebrow. “Kenny?”
He looked back at his green swamp juice and frowned. “Right. Forty-eight hours.”
“Stay strong.” She smiled and took a big drink of her smoothie.
Kenny gave a tight grin and sipped at his drink.
The doggie door flapped open, and Bandit burst into the kitchen. He trotted over to me on his soft white paws and looked up, his tongue hanging out of his mouth.
I knelt down and smoothed the fur back on his head. “Hey buddy, how ya doin’?”
Great. He licked my hand. I almost caught one of those big crows. Did you hear it outside making its awful noises? Those things are the worst. I want to bite them all.
I smiled at him. Be careful. Those things have sharp talons.
I’m not afraid. He shook his head making his collar jingle. By the way, stay away from your mom and Kenny this morning. They didn’t make bacon or eggs or anything that smells good. Instead they have weird green water. They’ll offer it to you with a smile, but don’t be fooled. It’s terrible. I’ve eaten stale crumbs under Kenny’s computer desk that tasted better.
A crow cawed outside.
Bandit’s ears went up. Oh, that’s it. That crow is toast. He took off at full speed through the doggie door.
“So.” I stood. “What’s going on today? You guys gonna open up a vitamin store together?”
“Quiet, you,” Mom said. “We already had a nice morning jog to jump start our metabolism, and now we’re filling our bodies with all natural goodness straight from the earth.”
“Great, well, before the rest of the hippie commune wakes up, I’m gonna start some coffee.” I trudged over to the coffee maker to brew a pot.
Mom headed for the door. “I’m taking a brisk walk to Clara’s house for a visit. Maybe get a little investigative w
ork done.” She flashed Kenny a thumbs up which he quickly returned. “Sun and fresh air are part of the program. Speaking of which, Kenny, don’t forget to fly your drone toy outside today.”
“Hold up, it’s not a toy.” Kenny’s brow furrowed. “It’s a sophisticated unmanned aerial vehicle.”
“Don’t you just stand in place when you fly that thing?” I asked. “I don’t think that qualifies as exercise.”
Kenny’s jaw clenched. “I have to walk to the best take off spot. There’s exercise involved.”
“You should go with him, Luke.” Mom opened the front door. “You could stand to get some exercise.”
I looked down at my stomach, which was fairly trim, but not exactly washboard material. “What are you trying to say?”
“Oh, nothing.” She headed out, the door closing firmly behind her.
“So,” I said. “Did you guys solve the case last night?”
“We’ve got some good theories going.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
He shrugged. “Oh, preliminary stuff, really. Nothing concrete.”
“So, basically you have nothing.”
“I’ve got some good hunches.”
I chuckled. “Well, I’ll tell you one of my hunches. I spoke with the event organizer, Graham Sullivan last night. Something was off about him. He was cagey when I asked him questions. And now that this happened, I’m starting to wonder about him.”
“Really? How so?”
“Carl gave me his card to call with any questions about the event. I called him last night but he didn’t call me back.”
“Well, last night was crazy. He probably had his hands full with a messed up event.”
“Fair enough. But usually the school principal handles these events, and apparently was still up for doing it until Graham took over. And Graham told me last night that this is probably the only year he’ll organize it. Isn’t it a little coincidental that Graham, who’s never taken an interest in organizing these things before, suddenly decides he wants to run this year's auction, and only this year's auction, where a major theft takes place?”
Kenny gave a few slow nods. “It’s something. It’s a little thin, but it’s something.”
“It’s a start. And I’ve got a feeling there’s something there.”