by PD Kiernan
They parked their bikes against some black iron railings that lined the front of a very old building. Lillian’s Ice Cream Parlor had been an institution in Richmond Hill since the 1800’s. It had old dark wood carvings of pillars and ornate moldings across the entire front of the dark brick structure. Gold leaf frames bordered large windows and two large glass bowl lamps glowed bright white on each side of the front door with the scripted letters, “Iced Creamery” on one and “Welcome All” on the other.
They slowly walked in together, passing a massive wooden door that was propped open. Old iron ceiling fans drifted in complementary circles beneath the silver painted tin tiles that made up the ceiling. The floor was made up of thousands of small black and white marble tiles and held small piles of dust in the corners.
Along the walls were rich mahogany wood panels standing half way up, topped off with aged gold wallpaper decorated with ornate red velvet patterns. They held up large reproductions of Norman Rockwell paintings, all in thick dark wood frames with shiny brass corners. The atmosphere had the aura of a hundred years of history, mixed with the sweet smell of ice cream with a myriad of toppings.
They all wandered in and looked in awe at the mystique of the place, all except for Suzie. She had been there so many times that it was the same old Lillian’s to her. The others marveled at everything. Along the length of the white marble and brass countertop that made up one side of the restaurant there was a long line of shiny brass swiveling stools with red leather cushions.
The few customers who were there were enjoying a late lunch and reading papers. A couple of them had nice big bowls of half eaten hot fudge sundaes with whipped cream and cherries strewn about. That looked great to Peter, so he knew what he was getting.
“Hi Mom!” yelled out Suzie as she spotted her mother bringing out plates of sandwiches and fries. She had one pencil stuck behind her ear, with another one stuck through her hair that served to hold it in a bun on top of her head. She had on a red striped dress with a large apron that was already smudged with dessert toppings. She turned a bit still holding the tray of plates and smiled at the approaching group.
“Hey great! Glad you could make it. Where’s everyone else?” she asked.
“This is all we got,” Suzie answered.
“Okay, well, that makes things easier. Why don’t you guys use the booth over there,” she said as she pointed towards one in the far corner of a narrow enclosed porch towards the back of the restaurant.
“Perfect!” Suzie said. “Thanks!”
“Sure, I’ll be over in a minute,” said Suzie’s mom as she walked away balancing the plates while moving between booths and tables.
They had to walk down a couple of steps to enter the porch. Peter looked around to see it was walled in glass from floor to ceiling. The glass was frosted, giving off a soft glow from the outdoor light. There were beautifully intricate patterns etched into the glass panels that curved over their heads to make up the ceiling as well. Between metal ceiling fans were large hanging fern plants that seemed to cool down the room.
They all piled into the wide corner booth and onto its springy black and red cushioned seats. Cassidy grabbed the long ice cream menu first and opened right away to the toppings.
“You know, I skipped lunch for this!” she said as she read. “Wow, they even have clumps of smushed brownie as a topping. And candy bar bits! That’s new!”
“Personally, you can’t beat the melted marshmallow with the whipped cream over that, all smothered in hot fudge,” Suzie said. “I mean, it’s like everything’s swimming in it, you know.”
“With cherries on top, of course,” added Peter.
“Of course!” Suzie agreed, and they all laughed.
Before long Suzie’s mom came over and gathered everyone’s order, which took a couple of minutes to get the toppings all correct. As her mom was leaving, she placed the newspaper on the table.
“Page four. Did everyone see it?” she asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Peter answered.
“Well, everyone around here got a chuckle out of it. Be right back with everything,” she said and walked back through kitchen door that wasn’t too far from their table.
Cass slid the paper over and looked again at the photo closely, making out her tiny smile. “Ya know, I think I had sprinkles on my chin for the picture,” she said. Then she started to read from the article:
A local girl turned detective yesterday when she organized a search party consisting of a group of friends. Their target was not a lost person, but a neighbor’s dog who had wandered off. She set up a first class dragnet that could teach the NYPD a few things.
“Ya know, I looked it up, the circulation, “Peter said. “It’s in the front. Guess how many people saw us?” he asked.
“I couldn’t even guess a number,” Suzie said. “I think my neighbor said something like-”
“One million!” Yelled Cass after she had turned to the front of the paper. “One million and two hundred fifty thousand people!” she yelled louder.
“Hey, you were supposed to guess!” Peter exclaimed.
“Zeesh! That’s crazy!” Cass continued as she looked closely at her name in print under the photo. “We’re, like, famous.”
“I don’t know about that,” Suzie said as she sat up, placed her elbows on the table and leaned a little closer, “but I do have a new idea that came to me.”
Peter and Cass both stopped what they were doing and looked at Suzie curiously.
“This whole thing,” she continued, “this is just what I was looking for. I mean, not really looking for lost dogs, even though that was fun and all.”
“Yeah!” Cass agreed.
“I mean, something more. You know, we are good at this type of thing.” said Suzie.
“We are?” Peter asked.
“Yes,” Suzie answered him firmly. “And that’s not only me talking. You read it for yourself,” she said as she picked up the newspaper and placed it in front of him. “I think we can do this. Like, for real, do this.”
“Yeah!” Cass said even louder. “Cool!”
“Like what, be bike cops, or something?” Peter asked.
“Bike cops? Not bad-” Suzie said with a smirk and a nod, “but, I mean even bigger than that.”
“Wow- bigger than bike cops?” Peter asked.
“Yeah, I’m talking about helping people. Solving real problems. Getting out there and doing real stuff. I’m talking about being detectives!”
Both Peter and Cass sat there for a second and blankly stared at Suzie. Suzie could tell they were a little perplexed by the idea.
“It’s like this,” she expanded, “Mrs. Simmons needed help. She counted on us, right? We got everyone together, organized the thing, worked as a team. There was no way we weren’t going to help her, right?”
“That’s right,” Cass said.
“Well, we can do the same thing for other people,” said Suzie.
“Yeah- but,” Peter said, “isn’t that what the real cops do? I mean, detectives? It sounds kind of dangerous, doesn’t it?”
“Danger, yeah!” Cassidy said loudly.
“Look, it’s not like we’re going to go after crazy criminals or anything. We are going to help with little things. Things the police don’t have time for. Things for people we know who need help.”
“I don’t know,” Peter shook his head and held up the newspaper again, “I mean, do you think cops would want us trying to do their jobs?”
“C’mon, Pete!” Cass said, “Don’t be such a wet blanket all the time!”
“I am not! What does that even mean?” Peter asked.
“Look,” Suzie continued, “we have a lot on our side. We have tons of time- at least until school starts. And we have way more energy than all of them put together!”
“That is so true,” Cassidy said. “You should see my dad after work. He wanders around like a zombie and collapses in his chair. It’s like he’s sleeping with his eyes ope
n!”
Peter laughed at how true that is for his own mom and dad most of the time.
“But if we do this, we have to be all in,” Suzie said. “It takes commitment. I’m kind of glad it is us three here now. We can make a pact. Band together, and do this thing right.”
“Like we’re on a mission!” Peter exclaimed.
“Sure, I like the sound of that,” Suzie said.
“We need a cool name,” Cass said. “What about the New CSI! The C could be for Cassidy, the S could be Suzie, and the I- Pete, you’re going to have to change your name to Ian or something.”
“It’s okay Pete, I’m pretty sure that one is taken,” Suzie said calmly.
“The Dynamic Duo! No, wait- Dynamic Trio!” Peter added.
“Naaa,” Cass answered. “C’mon, dude.”
“I dunno. I’m trying. It’s better than making me change my name,” Peter said to her with a crinkled brow. “Hey, we could always go with Bike Cops.”
“There is plenty of time to make up a name,” Suzie said. “First thing we have to do is get a case. That’ll force us to get organized, get things together.” Suzie tapped the table quickly with both hands. “This is too exciting!”
“How can we get a case without a name?” Peter asked.
“How about the Sharks!” Cass blurted out.
“I don’t think it says cops enough to me,” Peter added.
“Double scoops all around, guys,” Suzie’s mom said as she showed up with a tray that had three deep metal bowls dripping over with fudge and whipped cream.
“Double Scoop Detectives!” Suzie yelled out. “That is so perfect”
“Yes!” Cassidy agreed.
“So we can get ice cream here when we get a case,” Peter said, “and also when we plan the case. And then again when we finally solve the case. Yes! That is perfect!” He continued as he dug a spoon into his mammoth double-scoop sundae and pulled out a heaping spoonful of yummy goodness. “This is the best idea you’ve ever had.”
“Thanks, Pete!” said Suzie as she did the same.
“Oh yeah?” Suzie’s mom asked. “What’s the great idea this time?”
“We’re gonna be crime fighters!” Cass said as she pushed her spoon towards the corner of her mouth, stood up and put her two fists out like a boxer. “We’re gonna take down the bad guys!”
“Oh, really?” Suzie’s mom said with a sly smile as she turned towards Suzie.
“Well- not really bad guys. We have to start with small stuff,” Suzie said.
“Well, finding Mrs. Simmons’ dog was a great place to start, “her mom said. “You guys deserve a big thank you for helping someone out like that. You keep doing good deeds, you can have all the ice cream you want.”
“Sweeeeeet!” Peter said as he shoved in another mouthful.
“Nothing dangerous,” she said to Suzie. “I mean it. Right?”
“Yes, mom.” Suze answered. “Besides, you know what careful girl I am. Don’t ya?”
Chapter 7
