Page 135 of Kiss Marry Kill
“You heard me.”
Troy’s swallow was loud enough for me to hear. “Oh, uh… but I did have permission.”
“I thought you found the card behind the Pancake Cottage?”
His face flushed. “I lied. Actually, the owner of the card gave me permission.”
“Is that right?” I narrowed my eyes. “What’s the owner of the card’s name?”
He scrunched his face as if trying to remember. “Um… it’s Arnold. No wait, Arby.”
“Arby?” I arched my brows.
“Archie!” Troy looked triumphant. “Archie is what I meant to say.”
“You’re saying this person gave you permission?”
He nodded. “That’s right.”
“When?”
“Huh?” He frowned.
“When did he give you permission?”
“This morning. I asked him, and he said sure.”
I gave him a skeptical look. “But you didn’t know the pin code. That’s why the machine took the card.”
He blinked at me. “Uh, right. Archie told me the code, but I forgot.”
Letting out a tired sigh, I said, “Troy, you’re lying.”
“No. I’m not. I swear.”
Hank scowled. “Don’t you dare swear when you’re lying. You want God to strike you dead?”
Troy ignored Hank. “My friend Archie said I could take fifty dollars. That’s all I was going to take.”
I knelt down in front of the boy. “Troy, I’m going to give you one more chance. If you lie to me again, I’ll call your parents and arrest you for fraud. If you tell me the truth, I’ll let you off with a warning.” I rumbled, “Do not lie to me, Troy.”
His face got pink, and he dropped his gaze. I could see him trying to decide what to do. I really hoped he wouldn’t lie. I didn’t want to arrest him. Finally, he cleared his throat and said, “Fine. I found it like I said before.”
I sighed. “I appreciate the truth, Troy. Stand up.”
He got quickly to his feet, and I also stood.
“Did you by any chance see the person who dropped the card?”
He shook his head. “No.”
“You sure? Not even a glimpse?”
“No. I just saw the card. There wasn’t anyone around.”
I stuffed down my disappointment. “All right. You can go, but if I ever catch you doing anything this silly again, I won’t give you another chance. You only get one with me, got it?”
“Okay. I get it.” He looked embarrassed now. “How did you know I was lying?”
