Fairplay, Denver Cereal Volume 6 by Claudia Hall Christian Page B

SIXTY-ONE
    The key
     
    Everyone in the room turned to look at
Sissy. She blushed at the attention and retreated into herself.
Sandy put her arm around Sissy.
    “ What storage locker,
Sissy?” Sandy asked.
    “ The one she keeps. It
isn’t far from the house. She’d go there sometimes after work
before coming home.”
    “ How do you know about the
storage locker?” Agent Tony asked.
    “ She and Dad had a big
fight about it,” Sissy said. “She’s had it… forever. Before I was
born for sure and before Dad died.”
    “ Do you know where it is?”
Sandy asked.
    “ Sure,” Sissy said. “Dad
and I went there just before he died. I think he knew he was
dying.”
    “ Sissy, you were only four
when he died,” Sandy said.
    “ I know,” Sissy said. “I
didn’t remember until I was on the bus after ballet and I saw Mom
go into this place. I got off the bus and went to see where she was
going. Charlie was gone and I was afraid she was going
to…”
    Sissy swallowed hard and looked from Agent
Angie to Agent Tony.
    “ Going to do what?” Aden
asked. “These Agents are here to help us.”
    “ I was afraid she was
going to hurt Charlie,” Sissy said. “She was really mad at him. She
and Charlie had a big fight a couple days before and she kicked him
out.”
    “ I remember that. We were
barely making it,” Charlie said. “And I kept breaking my glasses.
We weren’t supposed let anyone know how poor we were.”
    “ I had to stop ballet
right after that.”
    Grimacing, Sandy glanced at Aden. Sandy had
paid for every pair of Charlie’s glasses, all of his basketball
shoes, and every single one of Sissy’s ballet lessons. Their
mother’s refusal to let them play their sports or buy Charlie’s
glasses hadn’t stopped Sandy from continuing to pay for them. Aden
gave her a soft, understanding smile.
    “ Can you tell us about the
storage unit, Sis?” Sandy asked.
    “ Are you sure?” Sissy
asked.
    “ Go ahead, Sis,” Charlie
said.
    “ I saw Mom going into this
place,” Sissy said. “I was kind of mad. She wouldn’t buy Charlie
what he needed and Charlie had to leave ! She’s was going into this
expensive place. I got off the bus to yell at her or…”
    “ Make sure I was all
right,” Charlie said. “Sissy did that a lot. She’s
amazing.”
    Smiling at Charlie, Sissy blushed.
    “ What happened that day?”
Agent Angie said.
    “ By the time I got to the
storage unit, Mom was coming out,” Sissy said. “She was so mad I
was there that she went all red and scary. She grabbed my arm and
dragged me to the car. She wouldn’t speak to me the whole way home.
When we got home, she sent me to my room. She came in before bed
and told me she couldn’t tolerate me prying into her private things. How did I
expect her to…?”
    “ Survive when she was
invaded by you leaches every moment of every day?” Charlie and
Sissy finished together.
    “ You’ll suck on my bones
when I’m gone,” Sandy added.
    “ Yea that too,” Sissy
said. “She said that a lot. But I never. I mean…”
    “ I stole money and stuff
from her,” Charlie said. “But I never went through her
things.”
    “ Could you find the
storage unit again?” Agent Tony asked.
    “ Sure. It’s just off
Federal,” Sissy said. “I used to see it every day on the bus. It
always made me mad because I knew Mom kept that place. It looked
really fancy.”
    “ Would you be willing to
take us there?” Agent Tony said.
    “ I wonder if she could
find it on the computer,” Aden said. “You’d find the place and
Sissy wouldn’t have to go there.”
    “ We’d really like to keep
Sissy and Charlie away from this,” Sandy said.
    “ As much as possible,”
Aden said. “We’re happy to help with information, but they’ve been
through enough. They shouldn’t have to be involved in this case at
all.”
    “ Of course,” Agent Angie
said.
    “ We use Google Maps a lot
at Lipson to review work bids,” Aden said. “I bet Sissy