Page 92 of A Rose of Steel
“Don’t be mean to her because she gave me information,” I said to Auntie after Delphine left.
“I wasn’t being mean. Rhett, was I being mean to her?” Auntie said.
I watched as Delphine made her way over to the back room where the people in the program were getting ready and pop her head in, seemingly waiting for permission to enter.
“C’mon,” Auntie said, pulling me and my attention away. “I need to show you something.”
“What?” I said. “Can’t it wait?”
“No.” Her voice dropped to a whisper and she started walking. I guessed I was supposed to follow her.
“Where are we going?” Rhett said.
“You stay here,” Auntie said pointing at Rhett. “We’ll be right back.”
Not moving, I looked over at Rhett. “Why can’t he go?”
Auntie grabbed my hand and gave it a yank. “C’mon, I said.”
“Can you tellmewhere we’re going?”
“I’ve got a witness to the murder,” she said leaning into me.
“You do?”
“Well not to the murder, but to the motiveforthe murder.”
“What was the motive for the murder?” I asked.
She huffed. “Really?” She gave my arm another pull to move me along. “Bribery. Gratuities. Conspiracy!” she said.
“Is this about Coach Buddy and Shane Blanchard?”
“Yes,” she said. “Who else?”
“Well then why couldn’t Rhett come?” I said looking back at him as Auntie dragged me in the back of the community center. “I thought it was his sting operation.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” she said. “The other day, he made it seem as if I didn’t know what I was talking about.”
“Maybe he didn’t want to break his cover.”
But before she got to answer we arrived at the storage closet where she’d stashed the Mighty Max drinks, and it seemed to stop her in her tracks. The door was standing open and there were only half as many cases of the watery blue-filled bottles as there’d been the first time she showed them to me.
“Oh no!” she said.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“I left King Patterson here.”
“Who?”
“He’s a football player. I’m also tutoring him in algebra so he can get a scholarship and play college ball.”
“You’re tutoring someone in algebra?” I said, surprised.
“Yes. Why is that surprising? Math is the same as when I was young, I learned it then never forgot it. Now I share what I know. It’s what we all should do. But that’s not my concern right now.”
“I just never thought—”
