“Who’s your friend’s daughter? I can try to check on her.”
“Her name is—” My words were interrupted by the distinct sound of a high school fire alarm going off.
“I have to go. That’s the fire alarm, and I know we weren’t scheduled to have a drill today.”
“I think you should stay on the phone with me. I don’t like this.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. Spring break is next week. One of the kids probably pulled it as a prank.”
Flint waved his hand to get my attention and moved his phone away from his mouth. “Got a text from Dad. Ruby Sage set off the alarm.”
“Do we know why?”
“Probably to keep your girlfriend’s daughter safe from Detective Dickhead,” Dice said before he bit into an apple.
“Where the fuck did you come from?”
He pointed to The Fruit Stand. “I’ve been standing there the whole time. I brought you a snack,” he said and tossed me an apple. “These are the best fucking apples I’ve ever had. Seriously, dude, try it.”
I considered tossing my Cosmic Crisp apple at his head, but the approaching sirens distracted me. When I glanced back at the school, students were filling the parking lot as they exited in single-file lines.
“Well, look at that,” Dice said. “Chuck’s here to help.”
Flint laughed. “Where is Detective Dickhead?”
“Right over there,” Falcon said. “Frantically looking for a place to hide. I guess he doesn’t realize his boss has already seen him.”
“Oh this should be good,” Dice said and raised a pair of binoculars to his eyes.
“When did you start keeping binoculars on hand?” I asked.
He shrugged. “I guess I picked up a thing or two from Walter.”
“What’s happening?”
“It looks like Chuck is yelling at Detective Dickhead. Chuck is waving his hands around and stabbing his finger in the air. Detective Dickhead is shaking his head and holding his hands up. Now, Chuck is pointing at Dickhead’s car. Dickhead is nodding. He’s walking to his car. I think Chuck is making him leave,” Dice relayed.
“I’d say so,” I said as Detective Dickhead peeled out of the school’s parking lot.
I’d almost forgotten about who started the fire until I saw Ruby Sage being escorted out of the school with a police officer and two teachers, and she was crying.
“Are we going to stand here and watch this?” I asked,
“Nope,” Dice agreed.
“Carbon will be here any minute,” Flint called, but we were already across the street.
“Chuck!” I shouted. “We’re her uncles. What’s going on?”
Ruby Sage broke away from the group and launched herself at me. “It was an accident!” she cried. “I’ve never made a mistake like that before!”
“Everyone makes mistakes,” I soothed.
“Yes, but not everyone makes mistakes that burn down their high school,” she wailed. “Now everyone will know me as the smartest dumb girl.”
“The smartest dumb girl?” Chuck asked.
“Ruby Sage is only twelve years old. She’s skipped two grades so far and is set to graduate early,” I told him.
