Page 36 of Be A Detective, They Said. It’ll Be Fun, They Said

“Yes, Dark Lord, how may I serve you today?” he said, his words cultured and riddled with sarcasm.

She grinned as she slammed on the brakes. “Do me a skinny, find out if Sammy and Olivia’s school had a basement at one time. It used to be a factory?—”

“A series of apparel manufacturing factories!” I yelled.

“You think you can find blueprints for it, Tater?”

His answer crackled through the car. “I shall search high and low. Have we a breakthrough?”

“I’ll let you know as soon as I know, buddy. Gotta run.” Nina made a smooching sound and hung up.

We all jumped out of the car, racing toward the front doors of the school, where Agnew and Cooper waited for us in the lobby.

I rushed to Agnew, my stomach in a knot. “Mr. Yannis, Cooper, thank you so much for coming in on a Sunday.”

Agnew raised a dismissive hand. “Not a problem, Mrs. Jefferson. How can I help?” he asked, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled, running his thumbs under his overall straps.

“I’m going to be as direct as I can because we’re in a bit of a pickle. Did Mrs. Lincoln ever accuse you of stealing school supplies?”

Before he could open his mouth to answer, Cooper spoke, his eyes angry, his words tight. “You bet she did! I don’t know if she’s your friend, but she’s not a very nice person. Why would Mr. Yannis steal paper towels from the school?”

Mr. Yannis slapped Cooper on his thin back with a chuckle. “Down there, boy. It’s okay. We worked it out. She did think I was stealing paper towels, and some other stuff, too. A chemistry book and ammonia or something, but I don’t have the key to the supply closet, and I don’t have it for a reason—because I’m always losin’ it. Might be gettin’ time for me to retire.”

But it was unlocked when I’d checked it…

Marty crossed her arms over her chest. “Who has the key?”

He clicked his tongue, running a hand over his face. “Mrs. Sampson. She opens it so I can get what I need, and then she locks it back up again. I kept losin’ it, so I asked her to keep it in her desk.”

Mrs. Sampson? She wasn’t an alien. She was a ghoul. “Did Mrs. Sampson ever tell you where the missing supplies went?”

Cooper stood up straight. “She didn’t know, either, but she told Mrs. Lincoln that Mr. Yannis couldn’t be stealing stuff because she had the only key. Then she asked Mrs. Lincoln if she was accusing her of stealing the stuff.”

Nina grunted. “What did Mrs. Lincoln say?”

“She got mad,” Agnew said. “Real mad. Said she was only asking because it might be important evidence. We didn’t know what the heck that meant, but she stormed off and that was that.”

Leaning against the concrete block wall, my adrenaline kicked into high gear. I was exhausted moments ago, but now, I was wide awake.

Evidence. She was looking for evidence. “When did that happen, Mr. Yannis?”

He shrugged, scrubbing a hand over the top of his head. “’Bout a week or so ago, I guess.”

Marty put a hand on Agnew’s arm. “Did she ever talk to you about anything strange going on here at the school?”

He squinted his eyes, scratching his jaw. “Strange? Nope. She was just upset about the school supplies. I don’t even know why she cared about the supplies, truth be told.”

Nina clapped Cooper on the back. “How about you, Cooper? Ever see or hear anything weird with Mrs. Lincoln?”

The young man shook his head. “Not weird, I guess, but she was always complaining and reporting people for stuff, if that counts.”

“Mr. Yannis, you’ve been under the employ of the school for a while. Have you ever heard of there being a basement in the school?” I asked.

He made a confused face. “A basement? No, ma’am. Never heard that.”

Dang it all.

Tucking my purse over my shoulder, I smiled at him, squeezing his forearm. “Thank you, Mr. Yannis, Cooper. Thank you for taking your time out on a Sunday to come talk to us. If you can think of anything else, please contact me, will you?”

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