Chapter 47
Officer Nelson had barely made it through the front door when my aunt cried out, "Thank God you're here!" She pointed toward Joel and his brothers. "I want them arrested!"
I made a scoffing sound. "Oh, please.You'rethe ones who broke in."
My aunt gave a toss of her hair, making her earrings glitter in the foyer light. She hoisted her designer purse higher on her shoulder and asked Officer Nelson, "Do welooklike thieves?"
The words had barely left her mouth when something slipped from the inside of my uncle's jacket. It clattered to the floor, and we all turned to look. It was a silver ladle with gold trim. My uncle looked down and said, "Huh. Where'd that come from?"
Aunt Vivian was glaring at him now. Through clenched teeth, she said, "Darling, this is no time for one of your practical jokes." She looked back to Officer Nelson and said, "As you can see, my husband is quite the character."
We all looked. He did look like a character – the kind who hid pots of gold at the end of rainbows. Except in this case, the gold was mine, theoretically anyway.
Officer Nelson turned to me and said, "You pressing charges?"
I didn't know what to say. I wanted this to end. But Isodidn't want the publicity. Plus, in a weird way, I actually liked my uncle.
When I'd been younger, he'd been the guy who dressed up as a pirate every Halloween. He'd taught me how to make mud pies and play the harmonica – badly. He'd attended every one of my school plays and all of my birthday parties, at least until Aunt Vivian had gotten her bony claws into him.
I was still considering the question when Bishop asked, "Care if I look around?"
Distracted, I murmured, "Yeah, sure. Go ahead." I turned back to Officer Nelson and asked, "Let's say I do press charges. What happens then?"
"What?" my aunt sputtered. "You're actually considering it?"
"Of course, I'm considering it," I told her. "What do you think? That you can stop by and rob me all the time, and that I'm never going to do anything?"
Her gaze narrowed. "Oh, you've done plenty."
If she was referring to the incidents with the hose and the safe, she was wrong. I hadn't done either one of those things. But I was glad someone had. The whole sorry situation made me want to scream. This definitely couldn't go on forever.
Next to me, Joel said, "I say we search them, see what they've got."
My aunt gave a dramatic gasp. "What?"
I was so tired of the theatrics. I looked to her and said, "Will you just stop it, already?"
Behind us, Jake said, "Hey Melody."
I turned toward him and asked, "What?"
"Got any rubber gloves?"
I stared at him. "Excuse me?"
"Rubber gloves," he repeated, flashing an ominous grin in my uncle's direction. "We'd better go full-cavity."
I was still staring. Did that mean what I thought it meant? I turned and gave Joel a questioning look.
Oh, my God.He was actually nodding.
"Good thinking," he said, glancing toward the center of the house. "You got a basement, right?"
As Joel obviously knew, Ididhave a basement, in the form of the wine cellar. But it's not like I had access to it, as healsoknew. Reluctantly, I asked, "Why?"
"If they scream," Joel said, "it'll be less noise for the neighbors."
At this, my aunt gave a little shriek that might be considered a scream.
