Fleur De Lies(74)
He slouched in his chair, shoulders slumped and head bent, looking as if he were about to confess to leaving the toilet seat up for fifty years on purpose. “Rocks,” he mumbled.
“Did he say, ‘rocks’?” questioned Alice.
“You’re hiding diamonds?” shrieked Grace.
He shot up higher in his chair. “Diamonds? Where would I get diamonds?”
“Where would you get rocks?” demanded Grace.
I leveled a look at him. “Oh, my God. You took stones off Étretat Beach.”
Dick Stolee hung his head with guilt. Dick Teig froze in place. “What’s wrong with that?” he asked in a tentative voice.
“Didn’t you hear Rob before we got off the bus? He warned us that it’s expressly forbidden to remove stones from the beach.”
“I didn’t hear him say that,” swore Dick Teig.
“We weren’t supposed to remove stones from the beach?” asked Alice. “Why didn’t anyone tell us?”
Oh, God.
Dick Teig stood up. “How many people heard Rob tell us that we—”
“No voting!” I stabbed my finger at Dick Stolee. “How many did you take?”
“Two,” he said in an undertone.
I waited a beat. “Only two?”
“And they’re smaller than my thumbnail. Pebbles! Nobody’s gonna miss them, Emily. I bet no one even knew they were there. I’m no thief. Honest. They were just so unusual, I couldn’t resist.” He heaved a sigh. “Should I turn myself in to the police?”
“No!” cried Grace. “What if they throw you into a jail cell and let you rot there for the rest of your life? You’re not going anywhere long term until you clean out the garage.”
“He’s not going to be thrown in jail.” At least, I hoped not. I softened my gaze, relenting. “Okay, Dick, the beach might be able to spare two of its pebbles, but the next time Rob informs us that a town has ordinances that must be respected, you’d better—”
“Two stones,” snorted Dick Teig. “Hell, I took a whole handful.”
“I took at least a dozen,” confessed Alice. “They’re so smooth and white, I plan to make a paperweight out of them.”
I tossed my head back and groaned. “Guys!”
“I only took one,” said George.
“Yeah,” Nana piped up, “but it’s as big as your head.”
“Had to be.” He smiled. “I’m gonna use it as a doorstop.”
I shot them a disgusted look. “Anyone else want to own up to petty thievery?” I eyed Tilly and Nana expectantly.
“Don’t look at me,” clucked Nana. “I was busy talkin’ to the Frenchie in the neon thong, so I didn’t have time to steal no rocks.”
George’s mouth popped open. “Marion! You were flirting with the fella in that … that”—he swept his hand from his neck to his groin—“in that green rubber band that barely covered his privates? He looked like he was wearing a slingshot!”
“It’s not a slingshot. It’s called a mankini, and you can buy ’em over the Internet. He says all the hotties are wearin’ ’em.” She waggled her eyebrows at George, eyes glowing with anticipation. “And they come in jumbo.”