Swimming in Sparkles

by Debra Anastasia

  Chapter 38

  TEDDI

  RUFFIAN WAS MISSING from school all day. I went outside at lunch and saw his truck was gone. He’d left me at school. I sent him a few texts, but they weren’t read.

  I knew he was distancing himself. For whatever the reason. It hurt. But this felt more dangerous and I couldn’t tell why.

  Maybe because he was watchful of me. When we were in school, he was the new kid and all, but when I found him in a crowd or across the hall, he would already be looking at me.

  I toyed with texting Gaze, but it felt like snitching more than I wanted it to. I pulled out my phone and called Austin.

  “Teddi Bear, what’s up?” He seamlessly switched to a video call with me. He did it on purpose so he could see me to gauge whether or not I was really okay. I frowned at him.

  He was at what looked like a coffee joint. “Let me go outside. It’s loud in here.” I watched the phone as the camera dizzily bounced all over. Finally, he was framed by a brick wall.

  “Ruffian’s missing. Like he left. And I don’t know what to do.” I could have asked Peaches or Taylor their opinions, but I wanted to hear what Austin suggested.

  “What do you mean he’s missing? Like, call the cops, my dude has straight up disappeared or he’s playing hooky?” Austin pulled his hair out of his eyes and slid on his sunglasses. His rings glittered in the sunlight.

  “He dropped me off, walked with us, and then went back to the truck to get something, then he was gone. I know a few people in his classes and they all said he was out today. I texted him and he didn’t respond.”

  Austin held up one finger. “Hold.”

  I waited while his video feed was paused. “Well, he’s on his way to Poughkeepsie according to the phone tracker app Dad has us hooked up to.”

  “Oh. Good idea. I forgot we had that. All I have is Grandma on mine. I don’t see any other of the family circle.” So Ruffian was okay. Or at least his phone was and it was headed to Poughkeepsie.

  “You got a ride home tonight?” Austin’s face came back into view.

  “Yeah. Taylor will always run me home. They have a cheer thing, but I can do homework.” I bit my lip.

  “You want me to go find him? I can follow the tracker.” I saw him working his schedule in his head. Whatever he was up to, he would have to juggle things. Which made no sense. I was just being possessive and nosy for no good reason. Ruffian didn’t owe me anything. Even thinking that thought felt wrong. Like he did owe me something and I owed him something, too.

  “No. Thank you for looking him up. I’ll text you later. Love you.”

  Austin blew me a kiss and hung up the phone. I could hear him starting another conversation before he fully disconnected.

  I needed to relax, or at least concentrate on school. I had just a few days left to plan the rest of Betty’s Me Party for the Winter Formal. Plenty to do. No reason to worry about an almost adult boy with his own truck and cell phone. He was gone because he wanted to be and not for any other reason.

  I went back inside just as the bell rang. Head down, finish the school day, and only write his name in my notebook a couple hundred times.

  RUFFIAN

  WHEN I PULLED the truck into the lot in Poughkeepsie, it was very light on traffic. I had the bag of valuables and a face that I hoped betrayed how much everything that was in Meg’s bag was worth.

  I was hyperaware of every noise and every flash of light. I was on an expiring clock now. They would circle it back to me. It was just a matter of time. I mean, if they didn’t, great. But I knew if the cops came to me, I wouldn’t lie about my involvement.

  While I walked to Four Brothers Pawn, I remembered when Mom taught me that lesson.

  I was about eight years old when we were sitting outside the local Safeway. We were panhandling, I knew that now, but then Mom said it was a math lesson and an opportunity for strangers to find their best selves. It made them feel good to give to us, just like it made us feel good to give to others as well.

  I knew my ears were red, thinking of that trick Mom had. To suffer the shame that most people would have pinned to their souls and just let it go like a balloon.

  Sometimes the Safeway had a special event. It was supposed to be like a sidewalk fair, but it was just their regular goods out in the sun getting hot.

  Mom was singing, like she liked to do when we were collecting opportunities from people’s wallets, when the manager of the store stood in front of me, angry.

  Before I could get back to Mom’s side, he’d grabbed my arm. “And I just found out you lifted someone’s wallet. That’s why I’ve told you before and I hope I don’t have to tell you again, you have to get out of here.”

  He was talking to Mom now. She focused on his hand on my arm. “Let go of my son.”

  “Not until he gives me back the wallet.” He squeezed my arm tighter.

  “What did I do, Mom?” I was getting scared. Mom had told me that we had to be careful. That not everyone wanted her and me to stay a family.

  Mom picked up her things and the coffee can that we used to collect and came to stand in front of the manager.

  I tried to pull on my arm, but the manager wouldn’t let me go. Mom smiled. “Listen. You’re about to let go of my boy, or you’ll find out what a woman that has nothing to lose does to another person to protect her child.”

  Mom wasn’t kidding, and even though she was smiling, she wasn’t happy. He let go of my arm and I scrambled over to my mother.

  A man hollered from the cart corral, “Hey, Bill, I found it! I must have left it in the seat of the cart here. So crazy. Thanks for the help.”

  Mom didn’t dignify the manager with a response as he grumbled away. We left and didn’t return to that spot for a few years. But right after, before the bruises that would form on my arm in the shape of fingerprints from the manager, Mom had a lesson for me.

  “Did you see how that turned out? The man who lost his wallet somehow blamed you for it being gone. He should have at first blamed himself and looked for that wallet everywhere before blaming anyone. You were hurt by his thoughtfulness. It’s important to make sure that you’ve done everything you can, because people can blame others and it can hurt them. Don’t let anyone else pay for your mistakes, Ruff. And there will be mistakes. We all make them.”

  As I knocked on the side door to the pawn shop, I realized she had been scared. Not because of the wallet, but because of that man’s forgetfulness’ possible impact on my life. If I had been falsely accused, the delicate bubble of safety that kept Mom and me together would have popped. So, I would never let someone else take the fall for what I had done wrong.

  When Tisha saw me this time, she just opened the door and waved me through. It was time to deal with the big dogs.

  _______________

  MR. SHERLOCK WAS waiting for me, casually resting on his desk. “You followed?”

  I shook my head. No one followed me, of that I was sure. Not yet, at least.

  Lock stood up and gestured to the top of the desk. I swung the bag to my front and carefully took out the two paintings. Then I took out a handful of the jewelry. When it was laid out, Lock ran his hand over the gold and gems.

  “No shit, kid. You really boosted all this?” Lock pulled out his phone and sent a text message.

  “Can you pay me for it? I have to get back to school. I have to give someone a ride.” I double-checked that the jewelry was all accounted for. I found a brooch stuck to the inside of the bag. It was a little gold teddy bear with blue gem eyes. It must have come from Meg’s room. Instead of upending it, I left it in the bag. Stupid probably. But I was big on signs today.

  The back door of the pawn shop opened and in walked two guys. One was a huge guy that had the body of an action figure and the smile of a supermodel. The other guy was slighter and completely hooded.

  “Havoc. And you are?” The large man held out his hand and mine felt wimpy in his. He gave me a real shake and then looked at the
loot on the desk. “With stuff like this, you’re going to feel heat soon. You prepared to deal with all that?”

  I shrugged. “I’ve been planning this for a long time. The chips are going to fall where they fall. As long as you guys are clean and this doesn’t blow back on any of the people I live with, the deed is done.”

  “You want cash?” the hooded man asked. I could just see flashes of his eyes, but I tried not to stare too hard.

  “Yes, sir. Clean cash that can’t be traced.” I felt the danger in this room. There was nothing stopping these guys from killing me and keeping the stash for themselves other than the fact they worked with Mom in the past.

  “You Ivy’s son?” Havoc sat behind the desk and Sherlock seemed like he was put off slightly. Like he was nervous.

  “Yes, sir.” I wanted to get the cash and get out. I wasn’t going to make it back to drive Teddi at this rate. I would have to text her to catch a different way home. Taylor would drive her.

  “She was an exceptional woman. We were very sorry to hear she had passed.” Havoc folded his hands in front of him like he was a bishop instead of a mafia boss. “Here’s what we can offer you. I have to do an assessment on this, make sure it’s real, find a dealer for this art. When it’s been boosted, it makes it harder. I can offer you half the cash now, and then the rest after we sell all of it.”

  I looked from Havoc to Sherlock to the hooded guy and back. “Wait, that wasn’t the deal. It was the full amount.”

  My throat felt like it was closing up. I needed it all. Lord only knew how much Grandma/Mom would need. I felt my knees going soupy and mushy. This had to be worth it. This heist had to be worth losing Teddi. I felt the punch in my heart. A very small voice in my head told me that nothing would ever be worth losing her.

  My purpose was this. I just wish it had felt more victorious. This was my mother’s memorial. And all at once it felt wrong. Like I wanted to throw up and punch myself at the same moment.

  “Kid, are you okay?” the hooded one asked. He hadn’t moved, but I felt his attention on me.

  I nodded. I could do this. I’d deal with the hits on my moral compass later. First, money.

  Lock spoke up, “Hey, in our defense, this is like twice the amount you had said you would bring in. This stuff is all hot. It’ll have to be melted down. The art we may have to hold on to for a few years. That’s a real traceable set of items.”

  “Give him all of it,” the hooded guy spoke up again.

  Havoc looked over his shoulder and Lock’s arguments died in his mouth. The hooded one was the boss. Which was terrifying because the other two could probably turn me into chopped meat and not even break a sweat.

  “All of it?” Lock seemed to be trying to weigh gold in his head.

  The hooded guy didn’t speak again.

  “Okay, but it’s going to take some time to figure it out.” Lock grabbed a scale from a bookcase and Havoc pulled a serious business calculator out of the desk.

  The hooded one just waited. He was so still it was like he wasn’t even breathing. I didn’t know where to put myself. I just shifted my weight from one foot to the other, trying to not look anxious when that was all I felt.

  I glanced around the room again, trying not to absorb anything because I knew this whole room was a legal problem. Lots of crime. Lots of bad. When I turned to my left, the hooded guy was a mere foot from my face. He’d moved like one of the stone angels in Doctor Who and I damn near had a heart attack.

  “My shits!” I winced after the words betrayed my surprise.

  “I knew your mom.” The hooded one spoke to me, I was assuming.

  Oh, sweet Jesus. Please don’t give me any really uncool your mom jokes right now. Because I would have to fight him and then try to steal back the stolen goods.

  “Me too.” I pulled on the zipper on Meg’s bag. It kept making a farting noise, but I couldn’t make myself stop.

  “She lived in tent city. Always trying to get some stuff for the people there.” He moved his hand and I saw it was completely covered in tattoos of bones. Like he was wearing his skeleton on the outside of his skin.

  “That was her biggest concern.” I had to focus on that. If I made it out of here alive, I’d be able to help them all.

  “Actually, it wasn’t.” He tilted his head up. I was a little bit taller than the hooded guy. The movement highlighted his chin and lips. More tattoos of bones. The mandible framed his lips. I wasn’t about to argue with him, but I knew what my mom stood for. “Her biggest concern was you.”

  I felt my soul shatter inside me and crumble into ash. Embarrassingly, my eyes filled with tears.

  “I’m sorry for your loss, man.” The skeleton hand shot out and clamped onto my shoulder.

  I gave him a man-nod and put my attention on the floor. I wasn’t going to be able to add to this conversation without a few tissues.

  “You know what you’re doing with this cash?” He dropped his hand.

  I jammed my hands into my pockets. “Yeah. Just what my mom would have.”

  I sniffled.

  “Just have a good plan. This is going to be a lot of money.” He stepped back and nodded at Lock.

  Lock shrugged his shoulders and went to the bookcase. He dug his fingernails into one of the books and a hidden door swung open. They had a safe that looked exactly like a stack of books. He started slapping stacks of cash onto the desk, near the jewelry that Havoc was still totaling up.

  My heart started racing. The hooded guy flipped through the bills and then handed each stack to me.

  “This is one million dollars in cash. You going to put it in that bag?”

  I pulled on the fart zipper again and held the bag open. I was afraid to even touch it. The hooded man started stacking the money in Meg’s bag. His hand touched the jeweled gummy bear. “You keeping this?”

  “Yeah. I know a girl that’ll like it.” I cleared my throat.

  “Yeah, well, it’s hot, so keep that in mind. You get caught and it gets brought back to us. We will say we had no idea who you were, and that we thought this was a good deal. We will not protect your ass from the police.” He stacked the last of the bills. He patted the bag once and then zipped it up for me.

  “I understand.” What was the etiquette for this? I went with the easiest. “Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank him, baby. You got a lot of hoops to jump through before you’re ready to rest your head, if you know where I’m coming from.” Havoc stood and it was obviously Lock’s job to clean up the office.

  And then they were both gone. Just Lock and me in the room. He started organizing the jewelry by gold and color when he finally looked up at me. “Dude. Get gone. Christ.”

  And with that, I left the pawn shop and took the most dangerous-feeling walk of my life. Worse than walking out of Meg’s house was walking in town with one million dollars in my bag.

  Chapter 39

  TEDDI

  THE PLANNING FOR Betty’s dance date Me Party was coming quickly. It was a great theme. Everyone loved a princess and a fairy tale. I was hoping that Betty would get the whole experience. The limo ride with her sister as a special rider, the beautiful dress, and being queen for the day. It wasn’t prom, which would have been her choice, but she didn’t have the months to bet on to get to May. I’d had an update that her last scan was concerning. I had to keep her pain rate in mind. Gaze said he had a costume from a Halloween with Pixie that would fit the bill as Flynn Rider.

  My mind was drifting off again. To him. The feeling that something was off. Like life-changing kind of off. I didn’t like it.

  Taylor and Peaches were able to drive me home after their cheer meeting, and both speculated about where Ruffian went.

  Peaches leaned forward. “He’s probably running errands or something. We can’t always assume the worst.”

  Taylor handed me her phone. “Look, you can find him in this.”

  “You have my family’s phone tracking app?” I popped her lock code
in on her screen.

  “Of course. Your mom said I drive you too much for her to not be able to tell where you are.” Taylor pulled down her visor to block the afternoon sun.

  Peaches showed me the app on her phone. “I have it, too, but only your grandma shows up. That woman can’t sit home for a minute.”

  I peeked at the app. Sure enough, Peaches had near CIA levels of tracking on Grandma and by extension, Grandpa. They were joined at the hip. Their current obsession was filling their stall at an antique mall downtown. They both had a great eye for vintage pieces and stalked local thrift stores. And judging from the amount of times they were in and out of their house every day, it kept them very busy.

  “Peaches is on my diet version of stalking. But you…” I saw all fifteen people in our family circle, including Peaches and Taylor right now. And me. And Ruffian. I touched the avatar of a dog that Taylor must have assigned him.

  “Funny. A golden retriever for Ruff? I think that’s offensive.” His truck had stayed at the speed limit the whole time. And yes, the app showed me that as well. He was stalled in Poughkeepsie for over an hour, before continuing to the Poughkeepsie Staples.

  We pulled into my driveway.

  “Assuming you don’t have to put an APB out on your almost brother, when do you want to put the finishing touches on Betty’s Me Party?” Peaches got out after I did and slipped into the front seat.

  “Soon. Maybe tonight. Maybe tomorrow at lunch?” I handed Taylor back her phone. “Hey, I’ll check this out on my iPad. I think I got you all on there. Thanks for the ride.”

  Taylor hit the horn way too many times to say goodbye, and as I was letting myself in the front door, Austin’s car pulled up in the driveway.

  I waited for him at the top of the steps. He held out his arms when he got to the step below me. “Hey, baby girl.”

  I fell into him and allowed him to swing me around. “Ugh. Boys.”

  “I know, baby. That’s why I never say never to girls. Sometimes they’re way too much.” He pushed the door open and we both met an excited Rocket while Tiger threaded in and out of the stair bannisters chirp-meowing. “Let’s get inside and start a conversation.”