CHAPTER 1-Suspicions
Trucy became suspicious that Polly was hiding something when they were at the courthouse one day and she wanted to get lunch in the cafeteria there rather than waiting till they got home. Apollo had flashed her his wallet and she saw he only had about thirty bucks in it.
"Sorry, it has to last me till the end of the week," he explained.
She hadn't been upset or anything. Trucy was used to always being just this side of completely broke. That was how her and Daddy lived and like Daddy, Apollo often didn't get paid for the cases he took. Often the clients who most needed his assistance were those who had nothing to give him in exchange for his services. The philanthropy that Polly and her daddy showed to those falsely accused individuals was one of the things she liked the most about them, but in this case Trucy knew Apollo had just gotten a big payment from a client the day before. Maybe he just hadn't gone to the bank yet…but that seems improbable. Usually as soon as any money came Apollo's way he would pedal right off to the bank before it got lost in the catastrophe that was the Wright Anything Agency and Justice Defense Company.
Trucy sensed that Apollo was hiding something and Truce was simply too nosey not to want to know what it was. Polly and her did practically everything together, especially with Vera being in Europe right now, so what the heck was Apollo doing when he would disappear for an afternoon or a day without inviting her along? And where was his money going?
Trucy considered several possibilities. Maybe he had a secret girlfriend, but it seemed unlikely. He was so hung up on Vera. He talked to her every night on the phone and it was obvious that even though technically Vera and he were no longer boyfriend and girlfriend that it wasn't stopping either one of them from acting like they were. Any time Trucy suggested Apollo go out with someone else he would just make a face and say he wasn't interested. So, a secret girlfriend was probably not what was going on. Especially since whenever he disappeared he didn't bother to dress up. He usually just wore some of his grubby day-off don't-cares-how-I-look clothes.
Maybe he was taking special classes to become a cook or a ballroom dancer or to learn French. Trucy could imagine Apollo sneaking away out of embarrassment to learn some new skill. Maybe he wanted to surprise Vera when she returned with a guitar serenade or something, but Trucy kind of thought that Polly would tell her about his plan. He might hide it from everybody else, but she was pretty sure that Apollo wouldn't feel embarrassed to let her know that he was planning something special. He wasn't very secretive and he told Trucy pretty much everything he was up to or at least they knew pretty much everything about each other whether they wanted to or not simply because they hung out together so much.
For example, Trucy knew that Apollo intentionally went out of his way to make it clear he had no romantic interest in her. Which was fine because she had none in him, but she did idolize him. Apollo was smart, sweet, compassionate and sensitive. He was extremely honest and hardworking and very passionate about things. Sure, he could get a little carried away sometimes…and sometimes he was moody or didn't seem to know how to loosen up, but that was simply part of his hardworking nature. He certainly made Daddy look lazy. Yes, overall, Vera was very lucky.
Trucy pondered Apollo's adorable nature…Polly was a great guy…or maybe he wasn't a great guy, maybe he had a huge secret. Not a secret love, but a secret…offspring. During his years as a rebellious foster youth maybe he had got with some girl while he was drunk and they had a kid together. And now he snuck away to see the kid and all his money went to child support. Trucy hoped this wasn't the truth because Apollo had obviously been deeply scarred by his lack of parents. It would seem wrong for him to have done the same thing…but what else could it be?
Well, there was only one way to know for sure. Trucy borrowed some tracking equipment from Ema and put a locator on the underside of Apollo's bike and one in the liner of his backpack. Wherever Apollo went on his secret missions he didn't bother to wear his suit or take his briefcase but he did take his backpack, so even if he took the bus she would be able to track him.
Trucy was pleased with her ingenuity. She would find out what Polly was up to.