“What can I say? There are some gags that only land when you’re old. It’s like waiting to play the role of King Lear. You have to seize the moment.” She grins at me. “I hope you’re lucky enough to have a granddaughter of your own one day.”
“Me too. So I can play mind games with her. Make sure she’s emotionally scarred.”
Her smile widens. “You’re one of the great gifts of my life. Your mother would have hated that joke.”
“Really?” I say with maximum snark. “I can’t imagine why.”
“Speaking of relationships, is there anything you want to tell me about young Felix?”
“I don’t know.” I tap my chin, pretending to think it over. “Is there anything you want to tell me about Mervyn?”
“Touché.” She sits forward, hands on her knees. “How about some warm milk before bed?”
It’s a peace offering, but I recognize more than that. “You know Mom makes that for me? To help me sleep.” Sometimes she doesn’t even remind me to brush my teeth again afterward.
“Does she?”
Maybe it seems like a small thing, but I can tell from the softhmphof surprise that my grandmother is happy to know her daughter didn’t reject everything she learned at home.
CHAPTER TWENTYTHE BODY WITH THE BOMBSHELL
How do I know I’m special? My grandmother came straight to me last night even though her best friends weredyingfor a debrief. Mervyn let them know she was back, but that’s not the same as getting all the juicy details straight from Grandma Lainey. The inside of a police station—imagine the material!
She’s making it up to them now over a late breakfast in the dining room. Everyone is here except Felix and his grandfather, because Mr. Gutierrez had a doctor’s appointment and Felix wanted to go with him. I definitely didn’t deflate when I realized he wasn’t going to be here—or regret the extra ten minutes I spent curling my hair and putting on eyeliner. This is a perfectly fine way to spend the morning. Mr. Namura even whipped up a coffee cake for the occasion.
“I did not hide a file inside this cake for Lainey to break out of jail.” His announcement is followed with a wink so broad I’m afraid to take a bite.
“I thought you’d go with donuts,” Mrs. A says, carefully slicing through the streusel-topped pastry. “Police, donuts. You know.”
Mr. Namura clenches a fist, growling a“damn”under his breath. “Next time.”
“Not that we want Lainey to see the inside of the slammer again anytime soon.” Mrs. A sends me a comforting smile.
“First things first.” Malia sets down her coffee cup with athunk. “Did they have a two-way mirror?”
“And the lighting?” Mrs. A wants to know. “Did it flicker and buzz?”
“Did they try to good cop/bad cop you?” Mr. Namura jumps in, before my grandmother can answer. “Which one was Detective Ortiz?”
Grandma Lainey holds up a hand. “We’ll get to all that. First, I have an update. There’s been a development.” Her pause is pure drama. “In the investigation.”
“What?” My squawk of outrage draws every eye in the room. But seriously, this information would have been useful to havelast night.
“It seems the EpiPen is no longer the focus of their inquiries.”
There’s a beat of silence.
“Then it doesn’t matter where they found it.” Mrs. A’s voice trembles with relief. She must have been putting a brave face on it, at least in front of me, because I get the feeling she was a lot more scared than she let on yesterday.
“All I know is that they appear to be looking in a different direction now. I was unable to get more out of them than that, alas.”
“I’m sure you tried, Lainey.” Malia looks around at the other residents, who nod agreement.
“If anyone could have wormed it out of them, it’s our Lainey,” Mr. Namura adds.
“Thank you.” Grandma Lainey’s half bow is the casual everyday alternative to her sweeping curtain-call version.
Felix and his grandfather arrive in time to see her straighten. I’m torn between watching the charged eye contact between my grandmother and Mr. Gutierrez and waiting for Felix to look at me so I can smile.
