By Angelique Fawns
Rookie cop Ellie Stone of the Newest York Police Department sat at the market table squirting ketchup on her veggie wrap as the smells of basil, and oregano tickled her nose. All fast food had been banned in the city. Italian herbs grew on the top of the shade-providing solar tent, and a little robot drone was plucking a few leaves for the lunch trucks.
She smiled at two young boys drooling over vintage toys at a kiosk near her. They were looking at a tiny potato-head kid from the 1980’s. Back when food could be unhealthy, and the police force wasn’t so desperate for recruits. Those things were more than 60 years old!
Finishing her sandwich, Ellie stood up and pulled three cybernetic green balls from her jacket. With quick flicks of her wrist, she arced the balls higher and higher. This juggling set was controlled with magnetic impulses from the rings on her fingers. She smiled as she wove them into complicated patterns. Seeing sequences was her superpower. In crime. In mysteries. In flying balls.
Not that her boss had noticed her skills yet. She might only be twenty-five, but she was desperate to be promoted to Detective and lead her own case. Her mother had been in the NYPD, but she never made it past street cop. Ellie wanted to prove that Stone women had the grit to go to the top, which should be easier now the ranks were in a miserable state. But so far all they’d let her solve was how much dairy-free cream went into everyone’s coffee.
A pink-haired girl whizzed by on a skateboard, so close that Ellie dropped one of her juggling balls. It bounced into the freshwater stream that bubbled from a hydroelectric waterfall and disappeared. Ellie tried to track the ball but was blinded by the rider’s bedazzled trench coat which flapped around her skinny legs.
Ellie tucked the two remaining balls into her coat pocket just as the skateboarder twisted to a spectacular stop at the vintage toy kiosk, right under the “Nostalgia Treasures” sign. Always playing the detective, Ellie made note of the heavy eye makeup, a personalized necklace that said “Kira”, and cobweb tattoo on the skater’s wrist.
Kira winked at her and pulled out a thick sonic baton from her sparkly coat. It was a foot long and three inches thick. Ellie’s eyes narrowed. Could that be one of those new illegal weapons that drew power from the sun and then converted it into electric shocks? Before Ellie could react, Kira swung the fat sonic baton and smashed the glass on one of the display cases. The two boys dove out of the way as Kira thrust her arm into the vintage Tiny Tea toys and rustled through the tiny potatoes, clowns, and ponies.
Ellie bit her lip. She knew she wasn’t allowed to get involved with solving a crime on her day off. In fact, the new regulations advised officers never to approach a perp without backup. Guns had been outlawed ten years ago for everyone, including cops, so now only the worst criminals had them. Guns and newfangled weapons like sonic batons.
Ellie pulled her long blonde hair into a ponytail. Screw her training. Kira could hurt an innocent bystander with that weapon. Happy she wore stretchy bamboo jeans, Ellie leaped over her table as an alarm reverberated over the market: “Warning. A Theft is in progress. Observe. Remember. Report.”
The market shoppers froze. The skater popped a wheelie and shot toward the exit. Ellie, tingling with a rush of adrenaline, jumped over a raspberry bush and yanked Kira’s coat collar. They both rolled to the ground.
Kira slashed Ellie’s cheeks with rainbow-colored nails.
Ellie gasped and managed to pull the cobweb-decorated arm behind Kira’s back. “You have the right to remain silent–”
“You’re a cop?” Kira managed to pull her baton back out of her jacket and stabbed Ellie in the ribs. Electricity ignited white hot slivers of agony through Ellie’s body. Her limbs convulsed and she dropped to the ground. The rolling waves of pain made her teeth chatter, and Ellie fought to maintain control of her bladder.
“Wow, that was intense.” Kira laughed and hopped on her board.
Involuntary tears tracked down Ellie’s face as she helplessly watched Kira weave through a stunned crowd and disappear beyond the hydroelectric waterfall –which was the market’s centerpiece.
Ellie took a couple of shuddering breaths. For a moment she was terrified she’d been debilitated permanently, but then her body came back under her control in a few minutes. That was some wicked weapon. Even better, the crotch of her jeans was still dry. With trembling fingers, she retrieved her cell phone.
“This is Constable Ellie Stone. I’m reporting a theft at the market. The fugitive is female, about five foot six, with pink hair, dressed in a sparkly trench coat, and armed with an illegal sonic baton.”
The dispatch said, “Back-up has been sent. Do not engage with the suspect as per Code 707.”
“Code what?”
Dispatch had disconnected.
Ellie got gingerly to her legs and clenched her fists. Everything in her wanted to chase Kira, but she’d just been told to stay out of it.
Ellie limped back to Nostalgia Treasures. She took out a notebook and questioned the blue-haired clerk at the collectible kiosk.
“What’s your name? I’m Constable Stone.”
The chubby cheeked teenager scowled and gripped her apron. “I’m Jane. The robber stole our whole inventory of original fast-food toys! They’re all more than fifty years old and irreplaceable.”
Ellie heard screams and commotion at the far end of the market.
“One minute, Jane.”
She hopped onto a display case and saw a man knock Kira off her skateboard at the Fifth Avenue entrance. Ellie recognized him as the busker who sang Indian ballads with his sitar for carbon credits most afternoons. He must have seen the whole thing, or at least the girl attacking Ellie.
They struggled, the two rolling on the pavement. A crowd watched, some cheering. The skateboard was upended beside an open sitar case.
Ellie chewed on her bottom lip.
Code 707. Do not engage with the suspect.
To hell with the code. Kira still had that dangerous baton.
She jumped off the display case. “I’m sorry, Jane. I’ve got to go. Can we finish the interview later?”
“I’m here every night till seven,” Jane said.
Ellie ran towards the brawl, thankful her limbs were fully recovered from the earlier shock. Pedestrians leaped out of her way, muttering and excited.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry.” She pushed through the watching circle of people and saw Kira knee the sitar player in the groin. He dropped to the ground.
“Kira, you’re under arrest!” Ellie lunged and caught a trench coat sleeve.
The pink-haired girl spun and slipped out of her grasp. “This was supposed to be a romp in the park, but you’re like a Pitbull.” She ran to her skateboard, flipped it with her toe, and zoomed down Fifth Avenue.
Ellie’s chest heaved with frustration as she caught her breath. She knew there was no way she could catch Kira on foot. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she forced herself to think. The flap of Kira’s jacket taunted her as it drew further away. Ellie’s hand closed on her juggling balls like they did whenever she needed inspiration or calming. Her eyes lit up. That might work!
Ellie pulled out her two remaining cybernetic balls and directed them down the pavement with her rings. Two of them wedged into the squealing wheels of the skateboard, and Kira tumbled onto the sidewalk with a satisfying thump.
Ellie’s boss, Captain Southern, roared up on a magnetic patrol cycle, his handlebar mustache windblown. He hauled Kira up by her collar. With a yowl, Kira pulled out her foot-long sonic baton, but the grizzled veteran was too fast.
“Consider yourself warned.” Southern gave the thief a blast of his immobilizer spray.
Kira froze, eyes wide. The spray effectively turned perps into statues for ten minutes. They could hear and see, but not move.
He turned his attention to Ellie. “You are in clear violation of Code 707. We do not engage alone. We most certainly don’t chase perps all over a public market on our day off.”
“I’m sorry, sir.” Ellie blinked. “At least you caught her, that sonic baton is brutal.”
Southern shot her another reproving glance as he handcuffed Kira and placed her in his barred sidecar. He gingerly put the sonic baton into a special evidence case on the back of his bike.
He pointed one gnarled finger at Ellie. “In my office. First thing tomorrow, Constable.” The magnetic bike settled into one of the special lanes that powered it and hummed away.
Ellie’s stomach sank. So much for impressing her boss. At this rate she’d never make it past street patroller, just like her mother. She looked futilely for her juggling balls. They must have rolled into the hydroelectric gutter. All three of her balls were lost now.
The hero busker limped up to her. “Are you okay, ma’am?” He handed her a handkerchief.
She took the cloth and dabbed at her bloody cheek. “I’ve had better days.”
“Well, meeting you just made my day better. You’re bad ass and beautiful.” The busker grinned at her. “Well worth the knee to the groin.”
His blue eyes crinkled in his dark face in a way that made Ellie smile back, but she ignored the compliment. “Can you come down to the station tomorrow and give a statement? What’s your name?”
“Samit Vandana.” He shook her hand. “Happy to help.”
“I’m Ellie Stone. Without your help, she would have gotten away.” Ellie gave his arm a grateful squeeze and headed for her condo.
“See you tomorrow, Ellie,” Samit called after her.
Ellie found the blue-eyed busker interesting, she was a huge fan of his sitar music, but she was far too nervous about her meeting with her boss to be thinking of seeing Samit again. Was she going to be suspended? Lose her job?
The next day, Ellie waited outside Captain Southern’s office, her heart in her throat. With trembling hands, she made him a quick coffee at the stand in the hall. The smell of the chicory brew was soothing.
“Stone, get in here!” Southern said.
Ellie squared her shoulder and entered. Holograms of the city’s top criminals were displayed around the room. A few were pictured with instruments on street corners. She put the hot drink on his desk.
Southern leaned back in his chair. “Are the rules not clear, Constable?” He took a sip and winced. “This is terrible coffee.”
“The rules are clear, sir.”
“You do not engage, chase, apprehend, or in other words, do anything if you are alone,” he said.
“Understood.”
He pointed at the holograms. “The lawbreakers out there have sophisticated weapons, like that sonic baton.” He paused to glare. “I should suspend you.”
Ellie gripped her hands behind her back but kept her face impassive. She knew she’d never make detective if she was suspended.
“Not that we have enough staff to even do our jobs now.” He softened. “I see how hard you’ve been working. You have a knack for sifting through clues. Think before you act. This is a warning.” Her boss spun his chair and pulled up a video from the market on his wall screen. He squinted in frustration at the CCTV footage.
“What is that red gooey film? I can’t see anything from the crime.”
She peered at it. “I think it’s ketchup, sir.”
“So, what good is this footage to us now?”
“Not much sir. I’ll put out a request to central monitoring to have someone clean the lens.”
Southern furrowed his bushy brows. “Do you even know what our shoplifter stole?”
“The perp grabbed a load of rare fast-food toys.”
“Tell me about our suspect.”
Ellie consulted her notebook. “Her name is Kira Ching. She had a short stint in juvie, but those records are sealed. I did notice a tattoo of a spiderweb on her wrist. Isn’t that a sign of one of those youth gangs?”
Southern pressed his lips together in a thin line and nodded.
Ellie visualized the rows of kiosks. She replayed Kira’s trip through the pedestrians and smash of the display case. “This should be open and shut, right, sir? She stole some vintage collectibles and assaulted me. Kira will go away for a long time.”
“Not for as long as you might think.” Southern tapped his desk. “When I caught her, she didn’t have the toys on her.”
Ellie’s jaw dropped, confused. “Did Kira drop them in the market?”
“I sent out the night patrol to look. They searched the market and the entrance gate. They checked Fifth Avenue. Nothing. Not a single mini toy.”
“Just how valuable were they? How much does someone pay for a little potato?”
“Put it this way. I used to collect Tiny Tea figures when I was a kid. I liked the blue monsters. If I’d kept them, I could retire.” A rare smile split his ruddy face.
Ellie wanted to take advantage of his good mood. “Can I try interviewing her?”
Southern gave her an appraising look. “I’ll allow you the lead, but tread carefully.”
Ellie flushed with pleasure, there might be hope she’d make detective. Rookies were rarely allowed to interview perps.
He hauled himself up from his desk. “Let’s go down to the interrogation room.”
It had only been a day since the smash and grab in the market, but Kira Ching looked like she’d survived several sleepless nights. Her stylish spikes were flat and her makeup was smeared. She slouched in the stark interview room.
“I know my rights. You got nothing on me.” She crossed her arms petulantly.
Ellie slammed a chair down across from Kira, preparing to play bad cop. “You assaulted an officer with an illegal weapon. You’re in plenty of trouble.”
Southern took the third chair and smiled kindly. “Let us know where the stolen merchandise is and maybe we can let you off with a warning.”
Kira tilted her chin up. “I didn’t steal anything.”
Ellie slapped the table. “I saw you take them.” She pulled her eyebrows into an aggressive frown and held the teenager’s eyes.
“Did you now? Are you sure?” The skater girl sneered. “I was just visiting a kiosk and fell into the glass.”
“Right.” Southern opened his palms. “Give up the hiding place and I’ll make sure you get community service–”
Ellie finished his offer. “Or you’ll end up doing nuclear soil cleanup.”
Kira blanched and then recovered. “That’s just for serial killers and polluters. The worst place you could send me is a recycling rehabilitation center. Aluminum here, paper there…. No problem.”
“Let our skater girl think on it.” Southern put his hand on Ellie’s shoulder and ended the interrogation.
When they were alone in the corridor he said, “Really nice job in there.”
Ellie smiled. She could master this job.
There was an alert flashing on the captain’s tablet when they returned to his office.
“Looks like the musician that tackled our perp is here to make a statement,” Southern said. “He’s in interview room two.”
Ellie’s stomach flipped. The brave busker with the beautiful eyes was here.
Samit Vandana had his sitar slung over one shoulder and was still in his loose, dirty jeans. “Good to see you again, Ellie.”
“Hi Samit, hope you are feeling better.” Ellie blushed, and then blushed harder, hoping she wasn’t coming across as unprofessional.
Southern gave her a perplexed look and turned to Samit. “What were you doing at the market yesterday?”
“I have an entertainment license, so I always set up at the entrance of the market. Maximum traffic, you know? Anyways, I saw the girl in the trench coat attack her.” He nodded at Ellie. “I didn’t think, I just knocked her off the skateboard.”
Ellie asked, “Did you see her drop anything? Or hide anything?”
“Nope. But I wasn’t looking either.”
Southern ended the interview. “Thank you for your time, Samit. We appreciate you coming in.”
Samit gave a cheeky salute and left the room.
Southern asked Ellie. “Your thoughts?”
Ellie hoped her cheeks weren’t pink. “So, let’s recap. She didn’t hide the Tiny Tea collectibles in the market, and she didn’t drop them on the way to the station. Does she still have them on her somewhere?”
Southern twirled his mustache. “She was given a body scan and personal search as soon as we got her to the station.”
Ellie nodded. “Right. Those toys have to be somewhere. They didn’t just disappear.”
Southern picked up his hover unit keys. “Let’s go back to the market, Stone. We’ll grab a late lunch.”
Ellie and Southern climbed into a police car and turned the siren on. They picked the magnetic lane reserved for buses and emergency vehicles. Newest York finally had pollution under control, but traffic was an ongoing problem.
They parked by the main gate, quickly ate tofurkey wraps, then walked to the scene of the crime. Old music players, sports cards, and even cereal boxes were for sale in the Nostalgia Treasure kiosk, but the main display case was still empty. Jane, the sales clerk, seemed completely unruffled by yesterday’s robbery.
“Tell us what you remember?” Southern asked.
Jane shrugged. “It happened so quickly; the thief came out of nowhere. Ka-bam! Glass everywhere.” She waved her arms, exposing a spiderweb tattoo on her wrist.
Ellie clocked it but didn’t react.
Southern continued questioning, “How many fast-food toys were in the case?”
“Lots.” Jane fingered a personalized pendant around her neck.
Ellie felt a slow build of excitement in her belly. Jane and Kira had a few things in common.
Southern asked, “How many are ‘lots?’”
“I don’t know. Maybe twenty or twenty-five?” Jane sniffed.
Ellie caught Southern’s eye and he nodded, so she tapped the empty kiosk display. “Did you see where the burglar put the Tiny Tea miniatures after grabbing them?”
“Nope.” Jane said.
Ellie pulled out Kira’s mugshot. “Did you recognize her?”
“Nope.” Jane said again.
“Have a nice day, Jane. If you remember anything at all, please get in touch.” Southern gave her a card. “Let’s go, Constable.”
As soon as the car was humming down the road, Ellie couldn’t contain her excitement. Solving crimes was a rush.“What are the chances of both women having a similar tattoo and jewelry?”
Southern shrugged. “It’s interesting, but doesn’t prove anything. We need to find the merchandise before we can charge anybody. No crime without the items.”
“What about that baton of hers?” Ellie asked, excitement creeping into her voice. “Did anyone look in the baton?”
“You mean the one she smashed the glass with?”
“Yes, let’s examine it when we get back!”
She let her captain park the cruiser while she dashed down the stairs to the gloomy basement. The station ran on geothermal, so it was far cooler and smelled a tad musty.
Evidence rooms ran like candy vending machines. She picked the picture of the baton and signed her name on the enormous computer screen. In minutes, a box zipped along a track and shot out of a little door. Ellie came up from the evidence room with the long baton, tossing it from hand to hand. Two more of these and they’d be fun to juggle.
She put the item on his desk.
He stroked the tips of his handlebar. “Is there a false bottom or hidden chamber in it?”
“Not that I can find.” Ellie tried to twist the top off.
She gritted her teeth and tried again. The top wouldn’t move. The baton was the perfect size for purloined toys. She was sure there was a hidden compartment. Much like she had at the market, she decided to act. It was a risk, but she was sure she knew where the toys were.
In a quick movement, she smashed the tip of the baton on the edge of the desk.
“Hey!” Southern jumped. “Why do you always have to go one step too far? That’s evidence.”
Ellie peered into the shattered tube. “It’s still evidence, isn’t it?” If she found the toys, it would be worth destroying the baton.
“Protocols, Corporal.” Southern put a hand on his forehead. “We have protocols. Code 2457, no destroying evidence.”
“There’s nothing in the baton. I was so sure the toys were hidden in the tube.” She showed him the innards of wires and computer bits.
Southern blinked. “Stone, you are suspended from active duty.”
“But sir….” Her stomach sank.
“Unless you can figure out where the stolen goods are, I am going to have to report this whole mess to my higher-ups. I need bodies on my team, so I don’t want to make this official. Bring me the toys and you can have your badge back.”
Hopelessness washed over Ellie as she threw her badge on his desk and ran out of the station. Tears blinded her eyes, and she patted her pockets for her juggling balls. Nothing there. Controlling the spinning orbs always helped distract her from the critical voice in her head. Right now, the voice was berating her for being wrong about the location of the toys. Figures only she could get suspended from an understaffed police force. She would have never destroyed evidence if she hadn’t been sure. Where did she go wrong?
Swinging a leg over her personal magna cycle, she settled into the track. The hum filled her ears, and the vibration from the pulses quivered through her legs.
She really needed some balls to juggle. At least until she mastered meditation, or yoga, or something else to calm the panic burbling through her belly and throbbing in her temples.
On her salary (if she even still had one!), she couldn’t afford a new set of cybernetic juggling balls, but she might be able to find a used set.
In the bad part of town.
She drove until the solar-powered street lamps gave way to obsolete electric ones. The lack of lighting gave the neighborhood a shabby, ominous vibe. Ellie pondered the case, all the clues flying around her head as she tried to put them in order. Control the arcs, like her juggling balls.
Kira didn’t have the stolen goods.
They weren’t hidden in the baton.
No one managed to find them in the market.
Ellie’s stomach flipped. They hadn’t considered the busker yet. Had he hidden them somehow? The fight all a ruse?
Ellie pulled her bike over in front of a pawn shop and pulled out her notebook and a pen (also vintage items) and wrote a list:
- Our hero Samit Vandana was wearing loose jeans with pockets.
- He had a big sitar case. Lots of room to hide knickknacks.
- Kira would have had plenty of time to slip him the toys.
Ellie had to get back to the office and lay it all out for the captain. If he even let her in the building. She was about to hop back on her bike when the vintage neon sign flickered, Perry’s Pawn Store. The electricity hissing as it sputtered on and off.
Surely she had a minute to at least check out the store.
Ellie pushed her nose up against the window and looked at the display. Juggling balls! Indigo instead of green, but a set of cybernetic juggling balls.
She pushed open the barred door, and a bell jingled, old school.
Perry was pasty pale, like he never saw the sun, and scowled at her from behind his plexiglass enclosure. “We’re closing.”
“You look open to me.” Ellie picked the balls out of the window and walked to the register. “I won’t be long. Just sell me these. Do you take carbon credits?”
He scowled, checking out her uniform. “Cash only. Be fast.”
She had a few old bills in her pocket. Leaning over the display case, she looked at the more expensive items. Guitars, sitars, hockey cards, and a pile of Tiny Tea toys. Twenty or so of them.
Pricks of excitement ran through her body.
She tapped the glass. “Where did you get those?” She pointed to the ponies, clowns, and potatoes.
“I’ve got connections.” Perry’s eyes shifted nervously.
“Those are probably stolen.” Ellie kept her voice calm. “So, I’ll ask again. Where did you get them?”
Sweat trickled down his brow. “Somebody sold them to me yesterday. I don’t want any trouble, you know.”
“Talk.”
“I don’t normally sell high-end retro. But last night, this blue-haired fox comes in with these toys, and I couldn’t resist. I always loved the Puppet Babies best.”
“Everyone loves the Puppet babies. Sorry, Perry, take them out and put them in a bag for me. You have some hot toys.”
He jutted his chin. “Do I get a refund? I paid for those.”
“No refund, but I won’t arrest you for being an accomplice to a robbery. Now, describe the woman.”
“Pretty. Blue hair. A cool web tat on her arm. But she wasn’t sticking around, wanted a quick deal.”
Perry opened the display and filled a grimy reusable bag with the toys.
“Anything else you remember about her?” Ellie paid for the juggling balls.
“Yup. She had a necklace with her name on it. Sweet Jane.”
“Thanks, Perry.”
Ellie’s stomach was tight with excitement as she strapped the bag of recovered toys to her bike. Didn’t her boss say all he really needed were the Tiny Tea Toys recovered?
There was no traffic on the way back to the office, and her mental fingers were crossed she could catch her boss before he went home. She gripped the bag of toys in one hand as she ran down the hall to his office, the sound of her shoes echoing in the nearly empty halls.
Southern jumped, bits of donut caught in his mustache.
“Stone, what are you doing back here? You are off duty. Can’t you follow even a simple suspension?”
“Give me a few minutes.” She raised her hands. “I know I went too far with the baton, but I may have solved this case.”
She dropped the dirty paper bag on his desk and took a donut. “Donuts for dinner? I thought these were also banned.”
“I’ll give you two minutes.” He growled, opening the toy bag.
She took a bite of her maple-glazed and savored the taste. She needed to find out the location of the black market bakery these came from.
He pulled out some blue monsters, little ponies, and miniature potatoes. “You found the missing Tiny Tea toys?” He looked at her in disbelief. “How?”
“I thought I had it figured out until I went into this pawn shop on the fringes of town.” Ellie put the half-eaten donut back.
He tapped his fingers together and gave her a stern look. “One minute gone, Stone. What did you figure out?”
“The toys were never stolen in the first place,” Ellie said, her eyes sparkling. “Let’s go back to the Nostalgia Treasures kiosk, and I’ll explain everything.”
“That would require me giving you your badge back.” He scowled.
Ellie took a deep breath. “Please, sir, I know I messed up. But I think we can crack this case wide open. Give me my badge back. You won’t regret it.”
Southern pressed his lips into a fine white line and then slid her badge out of his drawer. “Okay, I certainly admire your passion, but this better be good.”
Ellie did a mental jig, controlling her impulse to dance around Southern’s office. She was getting better at reining in her actions already.
“Will the Nostalgia Treasures kiosk be open?” Southern asked, a grin hiding under his powdered sugar-coated mustache.
Ellie looked at her phone. “It’s 6:30, and they close at seven.”
Was this finally going to be her big break? Even the boss didn’t follow ALL the rules.
Ellie and Southern hopped into the hover car and zoomed above the traffic.
“I was sure that Samit Vandana was our perp.” Ellie took one of her balls out of her pocket. “But I saw these juggling balls in a pawn shop, and the toys were there. Jane pawned them yesterday. I think the toys never left the Nostalgia Treasures kiosk.”
Southern scratched his chin. “One thing is confusing me. Why did Kira Ching crack you with her sonic baton if she didn’t have the Tiny Tea collectibles?”
“I think that’s exactly why she hit me; If I’d searched her, we’d have known the toys were never taken in the first place.”
They parked outside the market and walked to Nostalgia Treasures. Jane stood behind the counter, a fresh shipment of little potatoes, gremlins, and action heroes in the display case. Her blue hair was in a messy bun.
Ellie hefted up the bag. “I found your stolen merchandise. I’d give them back, but they’re evidence now.”
“Isn’t that… great.” Jane fiddled with her necklace.
Ellie leaned on the counter. “You didn’t tell us you were in a gang with Kira Ching.”
She didn’t know this for sure, but narrowed her eyes, waiting to see if Jane would bite.
Jane bit her lip. “You can’t prove that.”
Ellie grinned. She had her. She took a little clown out of the bag and pointed it at Jane’s arm. “That spider tattoo is only on the arms of the Skater Tribe gang. You also have matching name necklaces. I haven’t seen those in years.”
Southern said, “I got to give you kudos, Jane, it was an inventive plan.”
“There was no plan, I don’t know K-Ching.” Jane’s face went bright red.
“Your scheme was almost perfect. K-Ching, aka Kira, broke the glass with her baton and pretended to take the toys. Meanwhile, you triggered the alarm.” Ellie nodded at the pockets in Jane’s apron. “Then you pawned the collectibles.”
Southern said, “We were wondering how someone on a skateboard could scoop and hide twenty toys so quickly. The fact is, they can’t. If Kira hadn’t assaulted Corporal Stone, she could have stayed out of jail. Vandalism is just a misdemeanor. We can’t charge someone with theft without evidence.”
Ellie took out her handcuffs. “I was your first bit of bad luck. A cop on her day off, within yards of your grand heist. The second bit of bad luck was Samit Vandana. When he tackled Kira, you were doubly foiled. No chance to pretend the supposed thief hid the toys somewhere.”
“You don’t have any real proof. There’s no camera footage.” Jane said smugly.
Southern nodded. “Covering the CCTV camera with ketchup almost worked, we don’t have the crime caught on video.”
Ellie leaped over the counter. “But what we do have is our pawn store owner. Perry already identified you as the seller of the stolen Tiny Tea toys.” She put the handcuffs on Jane.
“You’ll have to come with us,” Southern said.
With Jane crying softly in the back of the hover car, Ellie turned to Southern. “I’m sure in the mood for a Tiny Tea Meal. A little hamburger, fries, lots of ketchup.”
“Me too. Why did they have to ban fast food?” He stroked his mustache. “There is a Greek sandwich place on the way back to the precinct. We can get salad wraps. No cool toys though.”
“I know where you can buy a few.” Ellie grinned.
“They’re too expensive for my pay grade. But speaking of pay, I think you’ve earned yourself a promotion. Your observation skills and ability to put clues together are impressive.” Southern winked. “Plus, you make terrible coffee.”
“Thank you, sir! Do you have a case in mind?” Joy bloomed in her belly. Her mother would be so proud. She promised herself to focus on deducting. Less acting without thinking. She could do this.
“Rumor has it, there’s a ring of criminal buskers operating in the city.” He gave her a sly smile. “Feel like going undercover as a juggling street performer?”
Ellie thought of Samit’s blue eyes and smiled. Was that possibility in the air? This case could be a lot of fun.
“I’m on it, sir!”.
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