by Maisy Morgan
“Roger? That’s the guy that young lady Josephine from the salon dates isn’t it?” Cindy asked.
“That’s the one. Except they broke up just a few hours before Preston and Tripp found the body,” Mary said. “However, we don’t believe she committed the crime. Yesterday got even crazier. Roger’s truck was parked at Josephine’s house, so she gave us permission to search her property. When we did, we found a duffel bag full of cash in his truck. We looked into it, and we confirmed it was the money from that bank robbery in Peachtree City. We think Roger was the third robber, but Josephine seems to disagree,” Mary explained.
“How can she deny that sort of convicting evidence?” Josephine asked.
“Well, she claims he was in a work meeting when the robbery started. She said that someone at his work had been watching the news or something and interrupted his meeting to let him know his girlfriend was being held hostage. Then he left the meeting and was there with the paramedics when she was let out. Preston is running all over Peachtree City today talking to witnesses and police to try to confirm whether or not Roger could have possibly been inside the building or if Josephine’s claim holds any water. We’re planning to meet up tomorrow to talk about everything he finds out today from talking to Roger’s work place and with his cooperative efforts with the Peachtree City police.”
“I guess that means that you’re not meeting with him until tomorrow,” Cindy stated.
“That’s the plan,” Mary said, slipping out for a second to go get some more fudge since the first tray had taken a tumble.
When she returned, Cindy had a mischievous grin on her face. “Since you’re not meeting with your new boo tonight, I take it that means your evening is free?”
“What are you suggesting?” Mary asked.
“Girls’ night out, of course!” Cindy said with excitement.
“I could use a nice girls’ night,” Mary admitted. We would just have to find out what to do with those two.” She nodded toward Hannah and Tripp.
“My parents can watch them!” a loud, excitable, and squeaky voice abruptly yelped from behind, causing Mary to jump and lose half of her tray of fudge again.
“Seriously!” Mary exclaimed putting the tray up on the counter and quickly picking up the fallen pieces. She stood and saw that Draco had miraculously appeared out of nowhere and had found it acceptable to meander around behind the counter. “Draco!” she snapped. “Where did you even come from?”
He simply pointed at the front door. Today his choice of attire was a little less extreme than usual. He simply wore a bright blue t-shirt with a Superman logo at the center of his chest. “I can text them,” he said. “I’ll see if they don’t mind if I have friends over tonight.”
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Cindy said as Draco happily pranced over to where Tripp and Hannah were seated. They each happily greeted their third wheel who was already whipping out his phone to get permission from his parents about having company that evening.
“He’s okay, right?” Mary asked nodding toward the child who had nearly given her a stroke.
Cindy laughed. “He’s harmless, I promise. He does get a lot of his eccentric behavior from his parents though.”
“You’ve met his parents, then?” Mary asked.
“You have too,” Cindy said.
“It was for about two minutes, and I hardly think speaking to one another briefly on the side of the road after your kids take a joy ride in a cop car together really counts as a getting-to-know each other conversation,” Mary said.
“Yeah, once again, I apologize about my ex-husband, you know accidentally kidnapping them both?” Cindy said with much hesitancy. She shook her head. “I think Draco’s parents would like to put that incident behind them as much as anybody.”
“I imagine,” Mary said.
Draco was suddenly at their side again, and Mary and Cindy seemed to both notice at once which caused them to slightly jump. “For crying out loud, Draco,” Cindy moaned. “Shuffle your feet or something. I’m going to wind up putting a bell on you.”
Draco laughed. “Sorry, Ms. True,” Draco said. “I wanted to let you both know that my mom and dad are cool with Tripp and Hannah hanging out tonight.”
“Wow, that was easier than I expected,” Cindy said. “So we’re doing girls’ night?” she asked turning to Mary.
“I suppose if Draco has gotten it all set up for us, I don’t see why not,” Mary said. She turned to Draco. “Would you mind giving me your mom’s number? I’d like to call her to confirm a time and, well, to make sure you actually asked and aren’t pulling my leg.”
Draco laughed. “Okay, sure,” he said and gave Mary his mother’s cell number before hurrying back toward Tripp and Hannah.
Eventually, Cindy and Hannah had to head out to get to the antique shop down the street, and Draco wasn’t too far behind them as he had some important insect catching to do. Evidently, he had some sort of collection. Once they were alone, Tripp slowly stood up and made his way over to Mary. “I’m going to Draco’s tonight? You could have maybe asked me if I wanted to,” Tripp said.
“Geez, I suppose you’re right,” Mary said. “I figured you would want to go. You seem like you’ve become good friends.”
“Yeah, we are… it’s just… Grandma, he’s really weird,” Tripp said laughing slightly at this. “I don’t mean that in a mean way or anything, I’m just not sure what an evening at Draco’s is going to look like. Know what I mean?”
Mary laughed. “Yes, I imagine. He is a bit unusual, but you two do seem to get along really well. Don’t judge a book by its cover all right? I’m sure he’s into some of the same sort of things you are.”
“Maybe,” Tripp said. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to hanging out with him and Hannah tonight, but I just don’t know what to expect at his house. What if his parents are just as weird as he is?”
“You’ve met his parents,” Mary said.
“I met them for like five minutes.”
Mary laughed. “I know, but I wouldn’t worry too much. Hannah has known Draco for a while. Please don’t be so mean. He’s just a little eccentric.”
“A little?” Tripp questioned. “Grandma, the first time we met him he was wearing a Doctor Who cosplay walking around the Brooks ballpark. Remember, not to mention he had made us subjects for his little spy club and had been spying on us for nearly a month.”
“He’s different. I’ll give you that,” Mary said.
Tripp laughed. “I’m just curious to see what his house is going to be like I guess. I noticed you dropped half a tray of fudge too. Should I go grab some more from the back?”
“Let me make sure Hannah’s not about to come back into the shop first. I’d hate for you to freeze up again and us wind up with another tray of fudge on the ground,” Mary teased.
“Wow,” he said. “You’re kind of a jerk.”
Mary laughed and messed up his hair. “Yeah, I suppose I can be. Now, go get that fudge. I have a feeling today is going to be a busy day.”
Chapter Fourteen
“Tripp! Hurry up, we’re going to be late!” Mary called up the stairs for the third time. At last, the young teen came hurrying down the stairs wearing a short-sleeved button up, and his hair had been neatly combed. Mary paused, and he seemed to notice her perplexed expression. “Did you put on cologne?” she asked leaning in to take a whiff.
“Knock it off!” he snapped taking a step back.
Mary simply shook her head. “You’ve got on too much, ” she told him. “You’re going to stink up my car. Go rinse your neck.”
Tripp huffed and went back up the stairs, but he didn’t argue with her which she found surprising. When he came back down, the smell wasn’t quite as strong, and she nodded approvingly. “You sure did dress up nice just to be going to spend time with friends,” Mary said as it hit her that he had gotten himself dolled up for Hannah, obviously, not Draco.
“What?” he snap
ped as they got in the car.
“Nothing,” Mary said and pulled the car out of the driveway.
Draco didn’t live far from them. It took them less than two minutes before they were pulling up to an exceptionally well-to-do neighborhood. It was a newer neighborhood than most, obviously, because unlike every other house in the area, the homes didn’t look like something out of the late eighties or early nineties nor the lovely 1930’s. It seemed to Mary, after having lived in Brooks for a few months, that there had been exactly two time periods in which people had moved to the area. The early 1900’s and then again in the early nineties as there were no homes standing in the town that looked to be from any other period of time. Until now, the neighborhood they had just pulled into was an exception.
“Whoa,” Tripp said. “Is Draco rich or something?”
Mary popped his arm, shaking her head. They drove all through the small neighborhood, eventually arriving at a cul-de-sac, though only one home had been built down this road at all, giving the family a tremendous amount of land and privacy for a modern neighborhood. There were River Burch trees all over the place giving it an almost phantasmal look as they pulled into the long driveway. The two-story home looked almost like a modern-day cottage. “How cute,” Mary said as they piled out of the car. “It looks like Cindy is running late.”
“Great, the place looks so normal, well, never mind.” Tripp muttered after he had looked around more.
They came to the front door where there was a lovely wooden sign depicting a white owl carrying a parchment that read, “Wizards Welcome, Muggles Please Knock.”
“Well, that’s cute,” Mary said, smirking, and Tripp cut his eyes in her direction.
Before they could knock, the door flung open and a young girl was standing there in a full-fledged ballerina getup. “Hello,” she said dreamily and opened the door wide.
“Hello, there!” Mary said happily. “You’re Draco’s sister aren’t you?”
“Sarah Jane,” she said and tiptoed into the house doing a sloppy spin and pouting when she fumbled. “Mom! Dad! One of Draco’s friends is here!”
Tripp smiled at the girl. She appeared to be about seven or so, and she started doing twirls around in the living room. “You’re pretty good at that,” Tripp said, and the girl’s face went red for a moment.
Looking around, Mary was almost taken back by how normal the living room was. The family had a flair for rustic furniture, though as they entered further into the home, spying a secondary living space she was a bit blown away by the sheer number of Harry Potter, Doctor Who, and Marvel décor and framed posters. “Oh, geez,” Tripp muttered.
A woman appeared from around the corner, and Mary recognized her as the woman from the night of Draco and Tripp’s accidental patrol car fiasco. “Good to see you again Ms. Morris,” Mary said.
The woman who was wearing a simple pair of jeans and fitting purple t-shirt smiled. “Anna is just fine Mary,” she said inviting them both in. “Cindy just texted me and said she was going to be a little late, so I made coffee.”
Mary was led into the kitchen, and Tripp followed closely behind. Mary had to stop and cover her mouth for a moment as they entered the kitchen. The place looked like it had been torn from another house and glued onto their elegant modern home. “Um…” Mary said, aback by the sudden change. There was something oddly familiar about the kitchen that she couldn’t quite place.
“Oh my gosh, it’s the Burrow’s kitchen from Harry Potter!” Tripp wailed excitedly.
Anna laughed. “I am so glad someone appreciates my decorating. My husband hates it. He’s one to talk. You should see the Tardis doors on our bedroom.”
Mary couldn’t hold back a snort. “Mom and Dad are losers,” Sarah Jane sang, and Anna laughed.
“Nice,” Anna said, shaking her head. “My seven-year-old thinks she’s cooler than me.”
“I know I am,” Sarah Jane said spinning around in the kitchen.
“I absolutely love it,” Mary said as she looked around.
Anna nodded. “Well, I appreciate it.”
They heard footsteps burling up a distant staircase, and Draco appeared still wearing his Superman t-shirt from earlier that day. “Hey, Tripp! Come on, man, I just got some video games set up!” Draco exclaimed, practically dragging a concerned looking Tripp out of the kitchen and away from Mary.
Sarah Jane trotted after them in her tutu. Mary was mesmerized by the room. She had seen the films, and frankly, she felt like she was standing in the midst of Mrs. Weasley’s kitchen. Every little detail seemed to bring the place to life – particularly the large clock on the wall whose hands depicted each member of Draco’s family. “This is incredible,” Mary said. “I’ve got to ask, though. Why?”
“Well, I think you can tell by our son’s name that my husband and I are fans,” she said with a smirk. “My dad worked on the set of some of the earlier movies. That’s actually how my husband and I met. He was an extra in the films.”
“Oh!” Mary exclaimed as though the family suddenly made so much more sense to her. “That is so cool, so you named your son Draco because you and your husband met on the set?”
“That’s right,” Anna said. “Speaking of my husband, I think he’s hiding out in his office. Let me go and get him,” she said as she about bumped right into the man, who had just entered into the kitchen.
“Sorry, Anna,” he said having come from his hiding place due to the smell of coffee, apparently, as he wasted no time in pouring himself a drink. They all wound up seated around the large table, and Mary felt a little giddy as though she was sitting at the table of the Weasley family.
“I just love the kitchen,” Mary said, and the man grinned and rolled his eyes all at once.
“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” he said. “My name is Roy. It’s Mary, isn’t it?”
“That’s right,” Mary said. “So, you act, Roy?”
“I’m guessing the kitchen prompted the how-did-you-meet talk?” Roy asked Anna, and she nodded. He smiled. “Yeah, I do a little bit of it. I’m an EMT most days though. I’ve gotten some speaking roles on a few things because acting is what I’d like to do. That’s why we live here in Georgia, actually, the film industry. Anna here is a writer and bounces around on film projects.”
Mary smiled. “I’m guessing Draco got his love for film from you two?”
They both laughed not at all unaware of their son’s unusual behavior. “I’d say so,” Roy said. “Draco can be a little eccentric, but I suppose we’re to blame for that. Our kids live in a fantasy world more than they do the real one. They come on sets with us a lot.”
“That seems so fun,” Mary said. “We’re from LA, but I’ve heard Georgia has really become a thriving place for film. I’m glad to finally be meeting someone involved in the industry.”
“We’re so glad to have Tripp and Hannah over,” Anna said. “I have to be honest with you. Draco has had a hard time lately making friends. We made him drop out of his Spy Club he was in over the summer after we found out how he had been spying on you two all summer. The Spy Club was really the closest thing Draco has had as far as friends go, so it was a tough decision.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Mary said. “I hate that he lost his club because of us.”
“Well,” Roy said nervously. “We’ve been meaning to tell you, but he managed to get a copy of your house key. We made him destroy it. It was something he picked up from that club, so we were glad to be rid of it. We’re kind of at a crossroads as parents with Draco.”
“How so?” Mary asked.
“Honestly,” Anna said her voice a bit nervous. “We want him to express himself. He’s a unique kid, but we want him to fit in and have friends. He’s not so great in that department, if we’re being honest about him. It’s like, I want to tell him to be himself, but at the same time to conform a little more, but I don’t really know how to tell him those things without sounding contradictory. I’m just really
thankful for Hannah and Tripp. They’re all he talks about these days.”
Mary smiled. “Well, I for one am glad to have met him. Now, I’m just going to pretend you didn’t tell me about him making a copy of my house key because I’m still processing that one.”
“Sorry,” Roy said rubbing his temples slightly.
She laughed. “It’s fine. We’ve left the whole Spy Club incident behind us. I really am glad we’ve met Draco. I’ve been so worried about Tripp starting high school in a new state not knowing anyone. I’m glad he’s made some friends this summer. I think it’ll make things a lot easier for him when school starts.”
Tripp’s jaw hung open as they stepped into the basement that was essentially one giant playroom for kids. There were old school arcade games on one wall and a giant flat screen on another. There were rows and rows of bookshelves full of young adult fiction genres, bean bag chairs set up for reading, and of course, almost every game console imaginable. Draco had set up the Wii, so the two of them went right to playing.
He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting, probably a lot more of what he had seen in the kitchen, but for the most part Draco was not too different from him. He was a teenage boy with teenage boy interests. He just had a little extra flair. After Draco managed to destroy him in several games, the kid put down the remote. “I should probably show you around,” he said, bypassing his sister who had settled down on one of the bean bag chairs with her nose in a book. “Come check this out. This is probably the coolest thing my parents own.”
The basement was partially underground, so there was a back door that led into the yard. In the yard, there was a large building, and Draco excitedly scurried inside and turned on the lights just as Tripp was crossing over the threshold. “Whoa,” Tripp said, a bit taken back by the array of cosplay outfits hanging up on the walls. There were men’s on one side and women’s on the other. There was an Iron Man costume that looked like something straight out of the movies, a legitimate Doctor Who coat, a Joker, Harry Potter, Green Arrow, Spock, a Ghostbuster, Rick Grimes, and several others Tripp didn’t even recognize. The woman’s side was just as impressive with characters like Wonder Woman, Harley Quinn, Ginny Weasley, and several more. “Those belong to your parents?” Tripp asked.
