"Okay, Momma. It has been two days. I must go to the police department today. You will have to get the cousins to help you with Grandmother's house and get things settled according to her will. Did Jackie fill you in on anything else?"
"No, He does feel awfully bad about how things went down. I know you thought you would inherit the house without any fuss. But the cousins are going to fight for it."
"That is just too bad. They have no right to that property. They took Auntie's house and sold it like it meant nothing to them. Now they want to grab my grandmother's house. I am so glad you did not put it in your name. Grandmother has it set up in a trust. You and I are managers of the trust. They cannot sell the property without written permission from the trust. My grandmother also states that anyone who contests the will is to be immediately removed as a beneficiary. You know that is to protect you and me. No one can sell it out from under us. We can move in whenever we are ready. I just cannot do it today. I do not want them over at the house without one of us there. So, get dressed. You have been elected to protect the home front while I take my exams and get sworn in as a detective. Yeah!! Finally.
"You and my mother were always trying to solve one mystery after another. I sure wish you would go into something that did not require you to wear a gun."
"You were always such a Tom Boy growing up. It is hard to believe my little girl carries a gun as big as she is. I got a package in for you today. You might want to open it."
"It is the study material for a case I am working on downtown. I sure will be glad to go back over the police reports. Imagine stealing people's stuff while they are at a funeral."
"It is a good thing your grandmother left you the house in her will. It is too big to steal. You best get yourself dolled up to meet that new detective they got running the show downtown now. You gotta meet him sooner or later. Get it out of the way."
"You are right. It is a good thing there was not anything for those thieves to steal from grandmother."
"Don't you go make yourself cry again. Come on Janie. Put on that brave face I know you have hidden behind those tears."
"Well, if you have things covered, here I will go. I will be late so if you get hungry go on and eat. I will grab something while I'm out. Tootles."
Where is a body going to park today? Looks like I got lucky. Right upfront. One last check in the mirror.
"You are not going to solve any crimes primping in the mirror or stealing your boss's parking spot. Come on little lady. Move the car and report to my office in five."
How do you like that? No introduction, no nothing. Gad, he is a rude one. I better approach this one with some caution. If I am subtle, I can get a glimpse of the police reports on Grandmother's ring. I wonder how tall he is. I bet he is at least six-six I am just going to put on my best Southern gal manners. Grandmother would call you a long drink of water for sure. I sure miss you, Grandmother.
"What are you doing? Those reports are confidential. You know anything about protocol?"
"Sorry, officer. This was my grandmother's ring that got stolen. I just wanted to see what the latest news might be here. It looks like the thieves might have been using that Edwardo character as their fence. He hangs out at the …"
"You can't work on your own case. That is highly irregular. Put those reports back. Go down the hall and go into the first door on the left. Once you have completed your exam. Report back to me. Then I will tell you what you will be doing the rest of the day."
"Oh, so you know where to find this guy? I do. As a matter of fact, I am going to head over there right after my exam."
"When I say you can go over there, I will let you know. Until then I will have a schedule for you to follow and one more thing… you are not going alone."
"He plays chess in the park every day. That is how we caught him last time. He has a couple of guys he fences for from New York. According to the DNA report I got in it looks like one of them is a match."
"A DNA report? I think I will have to fire you before you take the exam. This is no way to run an investigation. You are running on pure emotion. Fire me if you must but I gotta go get this guy."
"Fire you, I have not hired you yet. Go take your exam. Now… officer."
"How goes it chief? The battle with Janie still going?"
"Yes, I gotta get her to at least slow down to fifty-five. She is taking her detective's exam now. I hope she messes up. She needs to get off her high horse and treat me with some respect."
"You think calling her 'little lady' is respectful? The look on the chief face answered the question. He realized how he must have sounded to this wide-eyed young girl.
"You sure have not been in there long enough."
"I have finished. They are going over the papers now. I am the first one finished so they will be though quickly as well."
"Let's start over. Hello, detective, my name is detective Graham. My friends call me Bruce. According to this stack of papers, they just gave me you have become the second person to ever complete this test with a perfect score."
"Really? I wonder who the other one was. Does he still…"
"His name was Bruce Graham,"
"Oh, my word. You, Detective Graham, are funny. So now what?
"You ready to go catch some bad guys?"
"I sure am." Both detectives grabbed the driver's door handle at the same time.
"Jump in detective."
"Why are you driving? Because I know which park, I know what he looks like and right now all I care about is getting that ring back."
"Look those old geezers are fighting. You go that way. I'll call for backup and we can the paperwork done in time for lunch."
"Take the thing. I tell you it is haunted. I want nothing to do with it. Look what it did to my arm. Burns, I got burns on my skin from that stupid rock getting too hot. There is no making that thing happy. You gotta get rid of it."
"Edwardo, what are you talking about. You trying to pull a crazy thing here? It ain't gonna work. I am onto you."
"Just get me as far away from that ring as possible. You would be smart to get rid of it too."
My God, it is beautiful. I bet it fits perfect too…Edwardo don't."
"Yikes, that burns, we are caught, toss it to the cop. Burn her."
"Stop, right where you are, ... That is evidence. You do not try on evidence, officer. You bag it and tag it. Here is the evidence bag. Make sure it is lab…
"This is my grandmother's ring. She left it to me in her will. Please. This is the first time I have gotten to see it"
"You are supposed to be a detective. Stop crying. You will get it back after the trial. You know the routine. Put it in the bag. Officer."
"That is better."
"You are mean."
"What is wrong. Sir, what is wrong?" This bag is getting hot. I don't know what is wrong. Here, you hold it. Good catch. Do you feel that heat?
"Janie, Janie, it is Grandmother. Finally. I love you so much. Some pickle we are in. That guy made my pink angry. He should not have done that. We got lots to do. We need to go home but they will take the ring. Without it, we cannot communicate. Take the night shift on in the evidence lock-up for tonight. I got lots to tell you. There is going to be a murder. I …"
"I, um I, Um…. Guess, I should make sure it gets handled correctly. I will deliver the report. Then I think I will do the security detail for the evidence room tonight. Remember, there was an article about this very ring in today's morning paper. It is just thrill-seekers looking for a peek." Janie, when I was trying to decide what stone to turn my ashes into; they gave me a duplicate made from z-stones. You can get it and replace the one in lock up with the copy. Then we can stay together."
"Where do I find it?"
"Jackie has it."