Page 24 of The Fall Back Plan
“Who’s on this?” I ask.
“Slocum.”
I nod. “Tell her to come find me when she gets back to the station.” Slocum will do fine. I just need to be briefed on anything Becky might have missed—an unlikely occurrence—before I go to the city council meeting in two nights.
Becky heads back to the front desk, and I check my cell to see if I’ve gotten any texts from Jolie. I know they’ve headed back to her bar at this point because my deputies have reported back. They’ve said Brooklyn seems to be enjoying herself, but the reports are otherwise thin on details.
Should I text Jolie to check in? She’s gone above and beyond in making sure I have no reason to doubt her judgment or motives concerning Brooklyn. Unnecessary, since a big part of my job is being a good judge of character, and I have the advantage of knowing her from high school. Jolie—however much she may have changed in some ways—still has a steadiness running beneath her now-spiky edges. It’s the kind of steadiness Pops would say makes someone “good people.” So, unnecessary but appreciated.
I’m still debating when she texts me herself.
JOLIE: Mission accomplished. Wardrobe acquired. Brooklyn seems good. Bought myself a dress on your dime as tax.
I don’t know if she’s being serious or not, but if Brooklyn chose clothes and she “seems good,” Jolie could buy herself ten dresses on my dime and I’d offer to buy her another one. Another dozen.
LUCAS: Should I send my grandfather over to pick her up?
JOLIE: Happy to let her hang out here, but she probably needs downtime from so many new people today.
Perceptive again.
It’s not a surprise. I’d sensed that about her when she was tutoring me, that she could read me better than I wanted to be read. It was a lot of why I’d lashed out, I think. I see it all the time. Look too closely at someone who doesn’t want to be seen, and it provokes them.
I let Jolie know that Pops will be by soon for Brooklyn, and I call him to give him the green light.
Then I sit back and ponder the two great mysteries the day has brought me: the “Doll Bandit” and Jolie. I’ll need a lot more information to get much further with either of them.
Chapter Twelve
Jolie
WhenLucas’sgrandpacomesin to get Brooklyn, he thanks me for passing time with her while he was out.
“Not a problem,” I tell him. He’s got to be at least eighty, and the stoop of his shoulders shows it, but he moves with a firm step and meets my eye with a steady gaze. “She helped me pick a dress. And we talked about books.”
“Can I go to the library after school tomorrow?” Brooklyn asks. “Jolie gave me some new ideas for books.”
“Sure can,” he says. “Miss Jolie, my grandson tells me you live out our way?”
“I bought a place on White Pine,” I tell him.
He nods. “I know it. Pass it every morning on my walk. Nice place. Needs a dog.”
I shake my head. “I’m not really an animal person.”
He narrows his eyes and gives me a long look. “Nope, you are. Shiba Inu.”
I blink at him. “Sorry?”
He shrugs. “I know these things.”
Brooklyn nods. “He does. He says I’m a cat person, but Uncle Lucas is allergic.”
I don’t know why it strikes me as funny that Lucas has allergies. He seems too cool for allergies. As if allergies care about your job title or emotional maturity. But I don’t smile. “Thank you for coming to get her, Mr. Cole. I could have walked her back to the station though.”
“Call me Mr. John,” he says. “And it’s no trouble. Brooklyn and I do all right together.”
She nods. “We’re going to get Peanut Nutters on the way home. It’s our favorite.”
