The Case of Too Many Clues by Cindy Vincent

Author:Cindy Vincent [Vincent, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781932169577
Publisher: Whodunit Press
Published: 2019-11-25T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Holy Mackerel!

Shivers ran up and down my spine as we watched Mr. Pennypacker staring at us from the other side of the street. And I do mean staring! He didn’t even blink. Not once. Worst of all, for some strange reason, I couldn’t seem to look away as we watched him watching us.

Bogey touched my shoulder. “Don’t let him rattle you, kid. Let’s get back to our Mom’s store. Garnet and Officer Phoebe are probably there already. And Garnet’s probably raising a ruckus.”

“A ruckus?” I repeated. I was still having a hard time turning away from Mr. Pennypacker’s gaze. It was like he had hypnotized me or something.

“Yup, kid. A ruckus. A commotion. A hullabaloo. A very big fuss with a whole lotta noise.”

“Oh . . . that,” I said, nodding.

And I was finally able to turn away. Then I followed Bogey as we ran around the legs of the people on the sidewalk.

Getting back inside our Mom’s store was easy, since a customer was standing there with the door wide open. The older lady was practically frozen to the spot, just watching the “ruckus,” as Bogey had put it. So I guess I wasn’t the only one who had trouble turning away from something that had caught my attention. Then again, I had to admit, this time it was extra hard to look away. Because my brother had been right — Garnet really was raising a very big commotion. She was yelling and waving her arms and accusing Gracie of robbing her jewelry store.

Poor Gracie was in tears. Thankfully, Merryweather had put her arm around Gracie’s shoulders and pulled her close. Like she was protecting her.

Then our Mom planted herself solidly between Gracie and Garnet. “If you think for one moment that you’re going to get away with this, Garnet . . . accusing my daughter of a crime she couldn’t possibly commit . . . and for that matter, wouldn’t even think to commit . . . then you’re about to have much bigger problems than just a robbery! Because you’re going to have to deal with me. And my husband. And the St. Gertrude Police Department.”

“Your daughter is a crook!” Garnet hollered. “She’s a crook and a liar!”

Our Mom put her hands on her hips. “She certainly is not!”

Officer Phoebe pulled out her handcuffs. “Garnet, you either calm down or I’ll have to arrest you.”

“But I’m the victim here,” Garnet wailed. “I’m the one who was robbed.”

“I know you are upset,” our Mom said firmly. “Now, if you will just settle down, I will allow you to look through our store. With Phoebe watching over you, of course. Then you’ll see that we did not steal your jewelry. And after that, I fully expect you to apologize to my daughter. In a very big way. Because you’re way out of line to accuse her of a crime like that.”

“Fine. I agree,” Garnet said, practically chomping on her words.

All the while, my heart was pounding so hard it felt like a bouncy ball inside my chest.

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