Small Steps (Holes 2)

“She told me to say hi to you.”

“She did?”

“Yeah. She thinks you’re really cool.”

Ginny smiled. Her glasses slid down her nose and she pushed them back in place.

“What happened to the f-food?”

“What food?”

“At the café.”

Armpit laughed because he had wondered about that too. After Kaira went up in the elevator, he went back to the restaurant to check.

“They threw it away.”

“Too bad,” said Ginny.

“Yeah, I woulda liked to have tried those twenty-nine-dollar eggs.”

“Did you have to pay for them?”

“No, everything was charged to her room, but it’s not like she pays for it either. Everything’s charged to the tour. It’s a whole other world. It’s no big deal to them to pay a hundred dollars for breakfast.”

“No wonder t-tickets cost so much,” said Ginny.

“You’re right.”

A car parked in front of their house and a young white woman got out. They watched her through the front window as she stepped onto the porch.

“You know her?” Armpit asked.

“No.”

Skin color was usually a reliable indicator as to which half of the house a visitor was heading for, but this woman was the exception to the rule. She checked her small notebook, then knocked on Armpit’s front door.

“Maybe Kaira sent her,” said Ginny.

He had been hoping the same thing. He went to the door. “May I help you?”

The woman turned around. “I’m looking for Theodore Johnson.”

“I’m Theodore.”

The woman checked the address on the door.

“You’re right. That’s were I live,” Armpit explained. “I’m just over here right now.”

“Oh, then I guess you’re Ginny McDonald.”

“Yes,” Ginny said, at Armpit’s side.

The woman took a black wallet from her purse. “I’m Detective Debbie Newberg from the Austin Police Department.” She opened the wallet, showing them her badge. “I wanted to talk to you about the concert tickets.”

Armpit struggled to keep his composure. “You want to talk to both of us, or just me?” he asked.

“Were you with him when he bought the tickets?” she asked Ginny.