The Adventures Of Johnny Ace

The Johnson's Place (Part 2)

Standing on the Johnsons' front porch, I replayed what Annabeth had said. A bike had been snatched, there was no doubt about that. I didn't know where she was going with the whole "I tried to bring it back, but the stupid kid had a new one" part. One thing I was pretty sure about- if the Gangbang Boys had a hot bike, they'd be bringing it to the Flea Market tonight.

"Oh my God, James!" Brenda gasped, opening the door and breaking my train of thought. "What happened to your face?"

"Huh?" I said. I leaned to the side and caught a glimpse of my reflection in the window beside the door. I was covered in tiny scratches. The killer fish in my dream suddenly made sense; that cat must have thought it was a smart idea to use my face as a bed. "Oh that. It's nothing," I said. The last thing I needed was for word to get out that the local Private Investigator fell asleep with some random cat. "You got a minute?"

"Well, we're just starting supper," Brenda said, peering back into the house. "You can come in, but it'll have to be quick." She had changed out of her skirt and was wearing a pair of old gray sweatpants. It didn't matter, she was still out of this world.

"Is Bobby around?" I asked, slipping into the foyer. Somewhere in the house forks and knives tapped against plates.

"Just a sec," she said, gliding up the stairs and disappearing into a side room.

When she returned, she had a wet cloth and Bobby. He was still in his Oreo outfit(minus the dress shoes), which was made even more priceless by the white napkin tucked into his shirt collar.

"Thanks," I said, taking the cloth and wiping my face. "I've got some news about the bike."

"You found it," Brenda chirped, rising up on her toes and clapping her hands. This was very cute stuff.

"Not exactly," I said. "But I did find out that Billy Crosby and his goons are probably unloading a bike tonight at the Flea Market."

"What does that mean?" Brenda asked.

"It means that yours truly will be crashing the Gangbang Boys' party tonight, and I'll find out if it's Bobby's bike."

"Won't that be dangerous?" Brenda asked.

"Yes, it will," I said, not trying to add any other words. "It's going to be incredibly dangerous, but you're my client, and I'm willing to take that chance."

Brenda took my hand and looked deep into my eyes. "Be careful, James." We were having one of those moments between two people where the world stops and a classic love song kicks in, and you just melt into each other like two hot sticks of butter. 

"Yeah, be careful!" Bobby boomed from the stairs, totally interrupting our romantic moment. 

"Find his bike, James," Brenda said, squeezing my hand, and then she went up the stairs and gave her brother a hug. "Don't worry, Bobby. James will get your bike back."

I let myself out of the house.