Chapter 27
Franklin didn’t make a move. As the implications of the situation unfolded in his mind, his energies remained focused on Jack. Then, as though he’d been sculpted in ice in his most threatening pose, he began to melt. His fist drooped to the countertop and much of the weight of his upper body slumped onto it. The boys were careful not to make any sudden movements. A dead wasp can still sting. Even Deffenbaugh and Cat stood where they were for an overlong moment, ready for anything.
It was the sound of the basement door opening and closing loudly and then heavy footsteps running across the basement room that began everyone’s blood flowing. The footsteps reached the stairs and bounded up, but then with a jarring thump they lost their footing on the topmost step. Then Chad Carter sprawled into view with his arms flailing. The baseball bat he’d been carrying clattered to the floor as he lurched towards a metal rack of paperbacks and tried to catch his balance. But when he grabbed it, the rack twisted away and his legs went out from under him. He ended up on his back, shielding his face from an avalanche of Nancy Drew mysteries. He fought them off and leapt to his feet, striking a kung fu pose and scowling with such intensity that Jack and Cable had to avert their eyes.
Chad’s arrival distracted and unnerved Franklin to such an extent that when Detective Deffenbaugh approached him, he didn’t say a word.
“Let’s go,” said the detective.
“I want to talk to my lawyer,” said Franklin.
“Yup,” said the detective. “I’m sure you will. That’s not my department.”
Without handcuffing him and without crowding him, the detective led him out the door to an unmarked police car parked directly in front of the store. Deffenbaugh consulted with two police officers who were waiting for him there. Then, one of the police officers hopped into the front cab of the double-parked Franklin & Rogers box truck. He cranked the engine to life and drove off down Caroline Street. A moment later the other officer got in the unmarked car where Franklin was waiting and following the truck. Deffenbaugh came back into the store.
“Piece of cake,” he said.
“Not a piece of cake,” said Jack, “Oh my god, are you kidding?”
“What’s the problem, you did great,” said Deffenbaugh. “we’ve got him, right?”
“Could you hear anything that was said in here?” asked Jack, plopping himself down on the stool behind the desk.
“Not a word,” said the detective. “You, Cat?”
She shook her head. “Not over that construction noise. I’ve never seen that before. That was clever.”
“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure,” said Chad, extending a hand towards Cat.
“Special Agent Catherine Orange,” she said, shaking Chad’s hand.
“No kidding?” said Chad, “Agent Orange? That rocks.”
“Yeah yeah yeah,” she said drily, “I hope they never promote me.”
“Major Major Major Major,” said Chad, “right?”
When she didn’t acknowledge the remark, he said, “Catch-22? Joseph Heller? No?”
Cable asked the detective, “if you didn’t hear what was said in here, what do we do next?”
The detective shrugged, “is there an all night diner in this town?”
“No, I mean what happens with this? With us?” said Cable.
“We’ve got this duffel bag,” said the detective. “We’ve got the recording, though I don’t know what the technicians will be able to salvage from that except the last few seconds. I suspect we’ll find all the books he stole from you at his warehouses. There’s the Souvlakis files. Meyers will testify that Franklin approached him with a bribe to release the jewels early. Like I said, that’s not my department. It seems like a strong case, though.”
“And what about us?” asked Cable.
“Do you know where Souvlakis is?” asked the detective.
“Nope,” said Cable.
“You’re out of it, then,” he said. “The Souvlakis books and papers will have to stay with us for a while, but when the case is over, we’ll probably release them to you. You might want to talk to your lawyer about pressing charges against Franklin yourselves, for this.” He waved at the front window.
“And all the Smithsonian stuff?” asked Cable, “the file and the photos that Mr. Newman had this afternoon?”
“I doubt he’ll want to press charges,” said the detective. “Not after he finds out how helpful you’ve been in serving up Franklin on a silver platter. If he does, I’ll come back and arrest you later. You planning on leaving the country?”
The boys shook their heads.
“Good. Don’t,” said the detective. His phone rang and he answered it quickly. He stepped out onto the sidewalk to talk and turned his back on the bookstore. Cat stepped outside as well.
The boys looked around the store and at each other.
“It doesn’t feel like we’re out of it,” said Cable.
“I’m not feeling much of anything,” said Jack.
“I was hoping there’d be a car chase,” said Quinn.
“You all have read Catch-22, haven’t you?” asked Chad.
When Detective Deffenbaugh came back inside, it was only to say goodnight.
“I’ll be in touch, I’m sure,” he said. “If any of this stuff,” he pointed to the papers and things on the front counter, “really is from Souvlakis, we’ll need it for the investigation.”
“It’s not,” said Quinn.
“And I’d keep away from the Smithsonian for a while, if I were you,” added the detective. “Just to keep things neat and tidy for the time being. That’s not to say you might not end up with a Certificate of Appreciate some day, and a free lifetime pass.”
“I thought it was free anyway,” said Quinn.
“Yeah, I know,” said the detective. He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and removed a blue and gold card from it. “It still feels nice to get one of these though.”
He held up the card, with the Smithsonian logo on it, and his name printed in raised letters. Then he put it back in his wallet and took out a business card and laid it on a clear spot on the counter. “Anyway. Call me if you need anything. Try baking soda and Lysol on that purple stain, by the way.”
He left with no further explanation or thanks. The boys stood staring out the gaping hole in the front of the store. It was after midnight. Their parents would be home later that day. They had to do something about the front window before they could go home that nght. And they were all of them tired.
While Chad and Quinn were fitting the same piece of plywood over the opening, Jack and Cable cleaned off the counter and set things straight in the store.
“How long before anyone asks us about the notes from Souvlakis that we’ve got?” asked Jack.
“You’ve still got them? I thought we gave all that to Mr. Glover,” said Cable
Jack shook his head. “No, I was looking at them before we met with Mr. Newman, remember, and I never put them back with the other stuff. I’ve got them right here.” He pulled the two blue pages out of his back pocket and tossed them on the cleared counter next to Deffenbaugh’s business card.
“Who knows that they exist?” asked Cable, “and do you really think that they lead to the jewels?”
“Otis knows about them,” said Jack, “but he probably assumes that Newman or Deffenbaugh have them by now. We mentioned them to Mr. Glover. I guess it just depends if anyone goes looking for them. There were a lot of papers in those boxes. Even if they start out looking for these, they might not ask us about them for a while.”
Cable took a deep breath and then blew it out. He pulled his hair back out of his face and tucked it behind his ears. “I knew it didn’t feel like it was over,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment