Playing Criminal

24 - The Parentals

“Gary touched Jenna inappropriately and he’s not really sorry about it at all.” Todd supplied as I did a facepalm.

“Hey, now, I don’t tolerate feeling-up in my car.”

Jack smirked, “Come on Dave, can you blame me? It was just a little touch. And, damn, who could resist someone like Jenna? I’m only human.”

Dave? The side of my mouth pulled down into a half-frown. Since when did he get on a first-name basis with the cop?

“Well aren’t you Mr. Slick”?” Our driver joked, “Kids will be kids…but…” he warned, don’t let it happen again.”

“Yes sir,” replied Jack dutifully.

“Good. So what was that address again?”

“483 Picket Lane,” Todd answered much to my relief.

I was deathly afraid that the next word out of his mouth would be something incriminating.

The cop whistled lowly under his breath, “Wow, that’s a swanky area, mind putting a good word in with your parents for me?”

“Well they’re our friends’ parents, but even so, we’ll be sure to tell them how you rescued us from their daughter’s neglect.” I forced a chuckle, stopping Todd before he could speak.

“It means a lot to me kids.” The cop smiled slightly to himself until he pulled up to a mansion.

And, yes, I do mean mansion.

Todd’s parents’ house was huge (and that’s an understatement). The driveway was long and paved with inlaid stones, the bushes were perfectly trimmed and the glimpses of the house I could see in the light of the lamps were simply spectacular, creamy off-white in color and rich in appearance.

“Here’s okay,” Todd said when we were met by a pair of imposing cast iron gates.

“You sure?”

Todd nodded his head, “the parentals might be asleep so it’s probably best we go in the back way from here.”

“Whatever floats your boat. Have a safe night!” He called out as he pulled out of the parking lot, leaving Jack and I to gape at the mansion while Todd started expertly hopping the fence.

As soon as I had assured myself that the cop had left and we really weren’t about to be arrested, I scrambled to follow Jack and Todd over the fence, almost slipping in the process from the smooth, slippery surface of the metal.

Luckily Jack noticed my struggles and helped me hop it all the way, but even so the effort left me feeling sore. I leaned into Jack as the three of us walked up the driveway to the house.

Our walkway was lined with shrubs, all crafted into a myriad of shapes, from dancers, to flowers, and even one elephant. Abstract shapes lurked in the grassy lawns off to the side, too dark to clearly make out.

I got the sense that Todd’s parents, though wealthy, were a bit eccentric.

And my thoughts were confirmed a moment later when Todd wrenched open the heavy wooden front door of the house and screams of delight sounded as Todd was engulfed in a large fleshy mass.

The scent of oranges and lilac wafted over as I stood awkwardly at the end of the porch.

“Oh dears,” A shrill voice called out, making me jump a bit at being addressed for the first time.

I met Todd’s mom’s piercing light green eyes and deep red waves of hair. She had a shade of bright red lipstick on, a magenta shawl wrapped around her shoulders and large golden hoop earrings.