one foot to the other, eying Caleb and me uncomfortably. I’m sure he wondered at the obvious friction, but I figured I’d let Caleb enlighten him.
Just then Grady came galumphing into the food court, practically hyperventilating. He paused to catch his breath, coming precariously close to smashing the pink ice cream cake box gripped in his hands.
“Sorry I’m late!” he said, gasping for air. “Dinah was still frosting the cake when I got there. I made it over here as quick as I could.”
I glanced at my watch—it was 9:08.
“Grady! Jeez, I hardly expected you to pick up the cake with everything else you’ve had to deal with tonight!” The guard stared at me confused. “Hello? The lockdown? The wayward computer thief?”
“Oh right,” Grady said. “Well, no need to worry yourself about all that.”
“You mean you caught the guy?” Chad asked. Clearly still winded from his sprint across the mall with a ten-pound cake, Grady looked flustered.
“Afraid I can’t speak to an investigation that’s still pending,” he said. “But I didn’t want to let you and Ariel down, Miranda.” He nodded toward the cake which, as I removed the plastic cover, I could see didn’t survive the trip fully intact. The icing was smeared and the melting ice cream underneath was starting to leak onto the tray.
“Looks like it says ‘Happy Birthday, Awol,’” Caleb said. I shot him a dirty look. Could this dude be any more pessimistic?
“Ariel will be too excited to even notice the difference,” I said. “Grady, did I ever tell you you’re my hero? Thanks so much! Too bad you probably can’t stick around for the party, with all the chaos around here….”
Grady’s face, at first beaming from my praise, flashed to disappointment.
“Thanks for the offer, Miranda, but not when I’m on duty.” I heard someone behind me just about snort with laughter. Grady’s police playacting was admittedly ridiculous, but part of me felt a little sorry for him. I got the sense that he was just a very lonely man trying to feel important in the world. Sadly, I could relate. He was about to head back out into the mall when I called him back.
“If you have time later, feel free to come back down and have some cake. By the way, you don’t think we’re in any danger, right? I mean, with the burglary and all?”
“Don’t worry, Miranda. If the perp’s still onsite, they’ll have to deal with me.” Somehow, this didn’t have the comforting effect I’m sure he intended. “In the meantime—”
“Hey, Grady,” Troy said, “why don’t you deputize us? We can help you go
Die Hard
on the dude.” He and a few of the guys whistled and gave each other high-fives.
“Listen, this isn’t a joke,” Grady said, terse warning in his voice. “I’m going to issue a strong proviso that you all stick together and stay in the food court. The last thing I need is a bunch of rogue mall employees interfering with a criminal investigation.”
Troy gave a comically demonstrative military salute as Grady stomped off. When he was out of earshot, Caleb turned to Troy and said, “
Die Hard
, huh? With what, your bare hands, hotshot?”
As the guys tried to one-up one another with a lame display of martial arts moves, I bustled around putting the finishing touches on the surprise party. With the pressure on to save Ariel’s birthday from a night of abysmal boredom, a half-melted cake and some flimsy decorations just weren’t going to cut it. I’d have to come up with something bigger and better to distract her if we were going to survive the lockdown. Apparently Chad and I were on the same wavelength. As I retrieved a box of candles from my pocket, he sidled over.
“So, Miss Cruise Director, given any thought to what we’re going to do after this? It’s pretty clear even to me, a quote unquote ‘lug nut’—”
“How did you…? Caleb told you!” I started to turn toward Caleb to bawl him out, but Chad stopped me. My face
Just then Grady came galumphing into the food court, practically hyperventilating. He paused to catch his breath, coming precariously close to smashing the pink ice cream cake box gripped in his hands.
“Sorry I’m late!” he said, gasping for air. “Dinah was still frosting the cake when I got there. I made it over here as quick as I could.”
I glanced at my watch—it was 9:08.
“Grady! Jeez, I hardly expected you to pick up the cake with everything else you’ve had to deal with tonight!” The guard stared at me confused. “Hello? The lockdown? The wayward computer thief?”
“Oh right,” Grady said. “Well, no need to worry yourself about all that.”
“You mean you caught the guy?” Chad asked. Clearly still winded from his sprint across the mall with a ten-pound cake, Grady looked flustered.
“Afraid I can’t speak to an investigation that’s still pending,” he said. “But I didn’t want to let you and Ariel down, Miranda.” He nodded toward the cake which, as I removed the plastic cover, I could see didn’t survive the trip fully intact. The icing was smeared and the melting ice cream underneath was starting to leak onto the tray.
“Looks like it says ‘Happy Birthday, Awol,’” Caleb said. I shot him a dirty look. Could this dude be any more pessimistic?
“Ariel will be too excited to even notice the difference,” I said. “Grady, did I ever tell you you’re my hero? Thanks so much! Too bad you probably can’t stick around for the party, with all the chaos around here….”
Grady’s face, at first beaming from my praise, flashed to disappointment.
“Thanks for the offer, Miranda, but not when I’m on duty.” I heard someone behind me just about snort with laughter. Grady’s police playacting was admittedly ridiculous, but part of me felt a little sorry for him. I got the sense that he was just a very lonely man trying to feel important in the world. Sadly, I could relate. He was about to head back out into the mall when I called him back.
“If you have time later, feel free to come back down and have some cake. By the way, you don’t think we’re in any danger, right? I mean, with the burglary and all?”
“Don’t worry, Miranda. If the perp’s still onsite, they’ll have to deal with me.” Somehow, this didn’t have the comforting effect I’m sure he intended. “In the meantime—”
“Hey, Grady,” Troy said, “why don’t you deputize us? We can help you go
Die Hard
on the dude.” He and a few of the guys whistled and gave each other high-fives.
“Listen, this isn’t a joke,” Grady said, terse warning in his voice. “I’m going to issue a strong proviso that you all stick together and stay in the food court. The last thing I need is a bunch of rogue mall employees interfering with a criminal investigation.”
Troy gave a comically demonstrative military salute as Grady stomped off. When he was out of earshot, Caleb turned to Troy and said, “
Die Hard
, huh? With what, your bare hands, hotshot?”
As the guys tried to one-up one another with a lame display of martial arts moves, I bustled around putting the finishing touches on the surprise party. With the pressure on to save Ariel’s birthday from a night of abysmal boredom, a half-melted cake and some flimsy decorations just weren’t going to cut it. I’d have to come up with something bigger and better to distract her if we were going to survive the lockdown. Apparently Chad and I were on the same wavelength. As I retrieved a box of candles from my pocket, he sidled over.
“So, Miss Cruise Director, given any thought to what we’re going to do after this? It’s pretty clear even to me, a quote unquote ‘lug nut’—”
“How did you…? Caleb told you!” I started to turn toward Caleb to bawl him out, but Chad stopped me. My face
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