The Lure of the Lie: A Modern Detective Anthology (*On Hold*)

3 Juvenile

"You've got to be kidding me," Special Agent Parker sighed as he pulled the SUV up to the curb beside the exact abandoned warehouse Mrs. Lucas had told us about. I followed his irritated gaze to see the aforementioned adolescents leaning against the crumbling brick walls, passing a blunt between them right out in the open as if recreational drugs had been legalized and we'd all simply missed the memo.

I took my time in exiting the car while Special Agent Parker slammed his door and walked right up to the boy with the frosted tips and the black sweater covered in stretched out holes and plucked the cannabis right from his hands.

"Hey man! What the f-"

The teenager stopped abruptly when Special Agent Parker showed him his badge. He sighed and rolled his eyes, falling back against the brick behind him in defeat. The girl shook her head and crossed her arms but the other boy, spiky brown hair with a piercing over his left eye, started to run. He got two whole steps before I took a sidestep on the concrete and he barreled into me. He fell back but I caught him by the arm and dragged him back to the others.

"I'm not here for the weed," Special Agent Parker told them. "And I won't bust you for it either if you can answer a few questions for me."

"About what?" Frosted Tips snapped, taking on the disinterested tough guy affectation though, given his scrawny form, he was anything but.

"About Chelsea Lucas," Special Agent Parker answered and I noticed how the three of them glanced at one another.

"Did her psycho mom tell you to come after us?" Frosted Tips asked. Parker started to answer but I interrupted.

"Psycho," I repeated his interesting word choice. "What makes her psycho?"

"She came around here a few times," Frosted Tips divulged, still leaning back and bobbing his head like none of it mattered to him. He wasn't looking at us but was watching the street beyond as if it was far more interesting. "Ranting and raving like a lunatic. Saying we were all going to hell for corrupting her precious daughter or whatever. Dragged her out of here a few times."

"Chelsea didn't want to go?" Special Agent Parker asked.

"Of course not," he scoffed. "That bi-"

"Watch it."

"She's crazy, man," he corrected. "Chels said she locked her in the house a couple times to keep her from seeing us."

"Gee, I wonder why," Special Agent Parker mocked, holding up the blunt in explanation.

"Whatever man," he waved him off and turned away, effectively shutting us out.

"What about you two?" Special Agent Parker turned to the others. "Anything to add?"

"Chels got a tattoo," the girl told him. "About a week ago. The old lady freaked, came all the way out here without Chels just to yell at me for taking her to the tattoo parlor."

Special Agent Parker glanced at me once before asking, "What was the tattoo of?"

"Just a shamrock on her wrist. She was Irish, you know. Just some basic white girl sh- stuff."

"Who did the tattoo?"

"What?"

"You're sixteen, yeah? You've got to be eighteen to get a tattoo legally. So who around here is inking up minors?"

They all exchanged a glance again.

"Tell me," Parker began, firmly, clearly losing his patience. "And I won't run you all in for drug possession."