“Oh here.” The man pointed behind her. She scrambled towards it, collecting it up and gently shaking it.
“No,” she whispered. “No, no, please no.” With trembling fingers she unwrapped the bow and opened the lid. “It’s broken.” Her lips wobbled.
The man beside her felt awful as she pulled out a headless porcelain statue.
“It’s a gift for my grandmother. She’s wanted one of these forever and I’ve been saving up.” The girl sounded so wistful, I felt sorry for her.
“Oh Miss, I feel awful.”
“It’s okay.” She shrugged. “Accidents happen.”
“But I should have been watching the street more closely. I’m so sorry.”
The girl shook her head. “I’ll just have to buy her something else I guess. I don’t think it can be repaired, can it?”
She held it up for the man to inspect and he shook his head in dismay. “These things are so delicate.”
Placing it back in the box with a heavy sigh, she whispered, “Four months of savings wasted.”
I don’t know what it was about the way she said it, but something inside me flinched. Was she trying to con this guy? She sounded so genuine, but…. Damn, if she was lying, she was one good actress.
I licked my bottom lip, leaning closer to the railing, not wanting to miss a second of the interaction.
“Well, let me help you.” The man reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out his wallet, riffling through the billfold. “How much was it?”
“No.” The girl shook her head and took a step back. “I can’t take your money.”
So no con there, just my overactive imagination wishing for drama. I still didn’t turn away though. The girl was mesmerizing, shaking her head as Mr. Suit pulled out a couple of hundred dollar bills. “But this was my fault and I’d hate for your grandmother to miss out on account of me.”
“I—” The girl pressed her lips together. “I feel weird about that. It was just an accident, you didn’t mean to.”
“Please, I insist. It’ll make me feel better.”
Her smile was sweet, raising her pink cheeks. She bit her lower lip and looked at the wallet with a sigh.
“Come on, how much?”
“It was two hundred and eighty dollars, but you really don’t have to give me anything.”
Pulling out a third hundred dollar bill, he shoved them at her. “Here, please. It’s the least I can do.”
“Wow.” The girl looked shocked. “Thank you, that… I mean, that’s so generous. Are—are you sure?”
“Yes.” The man smiled, placing the bills into the open box, on top of the broken statuette.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as generous as you before.” She touched his forearm, giving it a gentle squeeze. “Thank you, sir.”
“It’s really a pleasure.” His smile was almost adoring as he looked into her brown eyes…and then his phone began to ring. “Excuse me.”
She stepped back with a grin. “Just watch your step.” She winked, making him chuckle as he answered the phone. His strut told those around him that he’d just played Good Samaritan and felt the richer for it. My eyes travelled from him to the girl, who was looking at the money with a little grin of triumph.
As she turned back to cross the street I caught her eye. She flinched for a second before replacing her surprise with a sweet smile and sliding her shades back on.
Hmm. I frowned. Maybe my imagination wasn’t on overdrive.
I wouldn’t want to bet all my money on it, but I would have happily put a fiver down that she’d just pulled a fast one on that rich guy.
“Zachary? You listening, honey?” Mom shook my arm, bringing me back to the table. “Where have you been?” She grinned at me. “Your burger’s getting cold.”
I chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry, just lost watching the world go by.”
Dad shook his head. “You are so like your Uncle Alex it’s frightening.”
That compliment just made me beam. Uncle Alex was a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, got the job before he even graduated from college. He was twenty-six, and one of the most driven men I knew, always hungry for a good story. He was the ultimate truth exposer and never backed down, even if it meant confronting some pretty big issues. He’d outed a few powerful people in the San Fran area and made some swift enemies, but he’d also fought for justice…and won.
I wanted to be just like him.
Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed the girl had disappeared on the other side of the street. I picked up a french fry and popped it in my mouth wondering if I had been right. If it was a con, it sucked that she just ripped that guy off by three hundred bucks, although he looked as though he could take it. A slow smile spread across my face. Man, if that had been a con, she was a really good artist. It had been a piece of magic to watch.
Chapter 12
LUCY
November 2010
“How about the one with the grey bag?” Marlin kept his eyes on Lucy, indicating with the tiniest flick of his head who he was talking about.