"Well, sometimes adults say things that aren’t … appropriate. And if the doctor is at all stuffy or particular, she might not appreciate it."
"Like hearing about Aunt Ruby dancing in her underwear?" Shelley giggled and made a face. "I might be stuffy, because I didn’t want to hear about that!"
"You and me both, sister," I muttered.
I took the next turn and pulled up outside town hall, relieved to see Jack’s truck was already there. "Hopefully, Jack got to her in time. Let’s find out … oh, no."
Sheriff Susan Gonzalez raced down the sidewalk next to us in a dead run and flew toward the front door of town hall.
"Why is she running?"
"I warned her about Aunt Ruby and the brooch. Will you please stay here?" I yanked open my car door and hopped out, only to see Shelley doing the same on her side. "Shelley! Stay here!"
"Nope! You might need me!"
"Argh!" But I didn’t have time to argue. I took off after Susan and hoped nothing too catastrophic had happened yet. She’d been fifteen minutes away when I called her, which is why I’d called Jack as a backup.
Before we reached the building, though, the door opened again, and Jack walked out with his arm around Aunt Ruby, who didn’t seem to be cooperating.
"I don’t understand why you had to drag me out of there, Jack! I was about to tell that nice doctor all about the timeMike got hemorrhoids, and we had to … oh! Hello Tess! Did you explain to Shelley that shemustgo to school?"
"We didn’t quite get to that," I said, glancing at Jack, whose blank face told me nothing.
"Did you know, Jack, once Tess and Molly played a prank on the Dead End High principal, and they?—"
"Aunt Ruby!" I held a finger up to my mouth. "Shh! Remember, that was a secret?"
Jack’s grin lit up his entire face. "Oh, I don’t think so. What prank was that, Ruby?"
"Where is the brooch?" I interrupted, my face flaming hot. The last thing I needed was for Jack to hear about that. Especially after I’d given him grief over his high school pranks.
"Safe and sound," he said, holding out his hand.
I took the handkerchief-wrapped parcel and shoved it in my jeans pocket. "Great! But if it’s in here, why is she still?—"
"Compulsively dropping truth bombs on us?" He shrugged. "I think those customers may have misled you about the piece’s magic."
"I don’t understand what the big deal is," Aunt Ruby grumbled, moving away from Jack. "I need to go back in there and finish that girl’s interview."
"That girl?"
"The doctor," Jack told me. "Who is probably thirty years old. And I think we’re better off letting Susan take the next phase of the interview," Jack said soothingly.
But Aunt Ruby wasn’t having it.
"It’s my job," she said, drawing herself up to her full height, which wasn’t that much taller than ten-year-old Shelley. "I’m the mayor. I didn’t want to be the mayor, but somebody needed to kick that evil Ratbottom out of town. Did you know he asked me out once? Mike was fit to be tied. Nearly knocked that fool into next week. Of course, when we got home?—"
"Ack! No! No talking about what happened at home," I pleaded. "How about we take Shelley and go home for some lunch?"
Aunt Ruby sighed, suddenly drooping. "Fine. I do feel a bit tired."
"I still need to go see the boys, but I can take you out to the farm," Jack began, but I shook my head.
"No. You go do what you need to do, and I’ll take Shelley and Aunt Ruby home. Sounds like my aunt needs a nap, and Shelley and I need to talk about school."
Shelley folded her thin arms over her pink shirt and stuck her bottom lip out. "I'm not going back to school. If you think?—"
"I think it would be a shame if you grew up to be less than the full potential of whatever you want to be in life," Jack said firmly. "And education is part of that."
