Luan, Lincoln and Lucy each sat on the couch. Luan had her right leg propped up on a cushion, a two inch by two inch bandage taped to her knee. Lincoln had a cool, damp wash cloth over his eyes. Lucy was readjusting the bandage on her right elbow. All together, they had only received minor scrapes and bruises. Luan just had the scrape on her knee, which while painful to bend, was superficial. Lucy had a sliver removed from her skinned right elbow and had received a couple bruises and several scratches to her face and shins from the bush. Her suit jacket had taken most of the damage and now lay draped over a chair in Lucy's room, torn in several places. Lincoln's eyes had been irrigated by the EMTs and would be fine, but they were still red and irritated.
Leni and Lola had been waiting on them hand and foot since they had returned to the house from the park. The trio had full glasses of ice water and there was a pitcher full of more on the coffee table, along with a variety of snacks. Their father had told them to stay on the couch until he had a chance to speak with them. He could be heard clearly from the kitchen talking to the police. They remained quiet and listened.
"Still no sign of Lyra? Not even at her home?...She assaulted two of my children, she needs to be found and arrested!...Uh-huh, yes…I will do that…I won't stand for someone hurting my children…OK, thank you."
Lynn Sr. walked solemnly into the living room, the phone held tightly in his hand. He sat in the armchair.
"Leni, pull a chair in here from the dining room, please. Where are Amanda and Rebecca?"
"Their parents called them home."
"OK then, spill it."
Lincoln explained his reasoning for believing the lunch bag came from the Loud's garbage and that Lucy was asking Leni, Lyra and Amanda if they saw anyone by the garbage cans that day when Mr. Grouse spoke up. Lyra freaked out and ran to the park where he and Lucy caught up to her due to actions taken by Luan.
"I was tired of being in my room," Luan said. "I decided to get out for some air. I saw Lyra lying on the ground and then get up and run off. I saw Lincoln and Lucy run after her. Amanda is very smart. She said that Lyra must have stolen the bracelet and unintentionally framed me. She also said that Lyra will fight if she is cornered. I didn't want Linc or Lucy to get hurt, so took off after them on Lynn's bike, which she had left out. I told Leni and Amanda to get you and to find us. I was just trying to stop her from leaving, I didn't intend for her to run into me like she did."
"Yes, Leni told me to follow her. Amanda explained what was going on," Lynn said. "Lynn, Lana and Lola were already roped into going."
"Yes, I remember," Leni said. "Amanda told them that Lyra had been the one to steal the bracelet. We all decided to get weapons in case Lyra tried to fight."
"Did you tell the police on the phone about Lyra taking the bag?" Lincoln asked.
"I only discussed filing assault charges. Nothing more. Did Lyra admit to taking the bracelet or the bag even?"
The kids thought for a moment.
"No, she didn't say anything really," Lincoln said.
"I'll have a talk with that Detective Paulson and have him talk to Mr. Grouse and see if Amanda will talk to him. Leni, I'm sure you will cooperate."
"I sure will," Leni said. "Cooperate with what again?"
Everyone just ignored her.
"In the meantime," Mr. Loud said to Luan, Lincoln and Lucy. "I want you three to hang out here and rest."
A sad look, with a touch of fear in it, came over Lynn Sr.'s face.
"Don't go anywhere near that girl. Let the cops deal with it. I don't want anything else to happen to any of you. Your mother should be home soon. I'm going to try to talk to Detective Paulson."
Lynn left the living room and headed to the kitchen. Leni shot up from her chair.
"I just remembered something, stay right here!"
The sixteen-year-old returned with a worn, lavender backpack. Luan and Lucy could just make out Lyra's name, hand stitched in black thread at the top of the bag. Leni sat down on the dining chair again and unzipped it.
"She left her backpack here when she ran away. Let's see if she has anything inside that could help us!"
Lincoln pulled the washcloth from his face and looked eagerly towards the bag with his siblings. Leni turned it over and dumped out the contents on the coffee table. There was a school notebook, a pencil case with pens and pencils, a stray pink eraser, a small toiletry bag, and amongst these everyday items was a Detroit Tigers baseball cap. Lucy noted that there was also a Detroit Tigers sticker on the front of the notebook.
"The hat from the pawn shop," Lincoln said.
"Where'd you find that?" Lynn exclaimed, reentering the room.
"Lyra left it in the driveway," Leni told him.
"You probably shouldn't have opened it," Lynn sighed in slight annoyance. "Detective Paulson is going to be coming by to talk to you. Might as well give him this bag too."
The following morning Luan, Lincoln and Lucy sat on the steps to the front porch. Lynn and Rita had for the most part, relaxed their previous sanctions on Lincoln and Lucy, warning them to stay away from Lyra. The police could take it from there. The Loud's attorney was formulating a motion to bring to the court to have all charges against Luan dismissed. He told the family that it could take a few weeks, but he didn't see Luan having any more issues.
All three were feeling back to normal and were not about to let the police handle the case. They were all far too interested in the motive behind the theft and Lyra's connection to the Crane family.
"It could have just been a crime of opportunity," Luan said. "There were lots of people at the party. Easy to sneak in and out. Leni admitted that she taught Lyra to pick locks. It wouldn't have been hard for her to do what she did. I just happened to be an easy fall guy…I actually don't think she intended for me to be blamed. That's why she felt so bad for me."
"I need to know why though," Lincoln said. "We have to find Lyra and make her talk!"
"Yah, but where could she be?" Lucy asked.
None of them had an answer for that.
"I'd like to know what Mr. Crane did with the real diamonds," Lucy said. "I wonder if there were ever any real diamonds on that bracelet."
"How do we find out?" Luan asked. "Would those detectives tell us if we asked?"
"I could talk to Ben Crane," Lucy said. "He seemed to like me."
The three kids approached the Crane house carefully. They had been so gung-ho about questioning Ben, they had failed to figure out a way to speak to him. The Crane adults wouldn't be happy to see them.
But, they arrived to an odd scene. On the front lawn there was a pile of mostly clothing and a few knickknacks and toiletry items. Mr. Crane was frantically trying to gather items from the lawn. He was breathing heavily and his very expensive hair piece was askance. Ben Crane was watching his father across the street with Celia and Karen. All three had amused looks on their faces. There were what appeared to be the family's neighbors standing on sidewalks and yards, also watching with interest.
Mrs. Crane appeared at an open second-story window in line with where the pile of items was in the yard. She threw a lamp and more clothes onto the heap below.
"You bastard! You cheating, thieving, lying bastard! I'll ruin you!"
The enraged woman disappeared from the window. Mr. Crane swore profusely as he gathered up more clothing from the ground. Luan, Lincoln and Lucy crossed the street to join Ben and the housekeepers.
"What's going on?" Lincoln asked them as Mrs. Crane threw another armful out the window.
"My mom is throwing my dad out," Ben said. "The police were here earlier and they said my mom's bracelet was fake, or at least the diamonds were. They were actually here to talk to my dad again. They spoke to him yesterday at the station too. Apparently, my dad sold off the diamonds to get money for his girlfriends. That's what they were yelling about before she shoved him out of the house."
"Does your dad have lots of girlfriends?" Lucy asked.
The boy shrugged.
"I don't know. I didn't know he had any until now."
"You get out of here!" Mrs. Crane shrieked from the upstairs window. "I should have believed my parents all those years ago! You are no good!"
The woman slammed the window closed just as a police car pulled to a halt in front of the house, its lights flashing. The crowd continued to watch as one of the two officers contacted Mr. Crane, who was putting his belongings in the trunk of his Mercedes, and the other officer knocked on the front door to the house. Lincoln and his companions could just barely hear the officer and Mr. Crane speaking.
"One of your neighbors called us. What is going on?"
"My wife is very publicly throwing me out. I'm grabbing my things and then I'll be off. I'll see her in court for the rest of what is rightfully mine."
"Any assault, broken items?" the officer asked.
"No, and I wouldn't bother with it if I had been assaulted," he said. "I'm just getting the hell outta here. Your station has my phone number if they need to talk to me."
The other officer had stepped into the house and the first officer joined the second and Mrs. Crane just inside the front door. Mr. Crane had finished packing up his belongings, with the exception of a pair of white, silk boxer shorts that hung from a tall bush in the garden like a flag of surrender. He got into his car, slammed the door and after waving to Ben, drove away.
A few minutes later the police left and the various neighbors went back to their homes. Celia and Karen nodded to the three Loud kids and headed back to the Crane house. Ben remained with Luan, Lincoln and Lucy. He turned and spoke to Lucy directly.
"I'm so sorry you had to see that, Lucy," he said, taking a step towards her. "I'd be honored if you and your siblings would come inside and have something to drink…you especially Lucy."
Lucy actually turned pink!
"I-I-I…" she croaked.
"I don't think that is a good idea," Luan said. "Your mom isn't exactly on the best terms with us."
"Due to our meddling, your family and her marriage has been broken up," Lincoln said.
"Don't worry about it," Ben said. "I am positive this would have happened anyway at some point. You three just sped up the process. I think my mom had suspected that he was cheating on her. So, come on in."
The three siblings looked at each other nervously, but followed the boy into his house.
It was quiet in the front hallway as Ben led them to the den in the back of the house. Mrs. Crane was sitting in an armchair, her face in her hands. Tears leaked out from under her fingers. She looked up as the four kids entered the room, quickly swiping at her mascara smeared eyes. She didn't appear upset by Luan, Lincoln or Lucy's presence.
"I'm sorry you had to experience that, Ben. My life just seems to be spiraling out of control lately."
The woman stood and eying Luan walked over to a coat rack. She took down a purse and pulled out her wallet. Opening it, she pulled out a ten dollar bill. She put her purse and wallet away and approached Luan.
"This is what I owe you," she said, holding the cash out to Luan.
"Thank you," Luan said quietly.
"I owe you more than that in reality, but it's all I can really do," she said. "I am truly sorry you were blamed for the theft. I know my part in it. I should have paid you our agreed amount from the start. Maybe then you wouldn't have been such a perfect suspect. I only named you because I thought it all made sense that you did it."
The woman fell silent for a few moments, but the kids could feel that she wasn't done talking.
"I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me. It seems that karma is coming back around to punish me."
The woman returned to her armchair, not making eye contact with any of the kids.
"I forgive you, Mrs. Crane," Luan said. "I understand why I was a good suspect."
The woman nodded and swiped at her eyes again.
"You all can take a seat. Why are you here?"
The kids, including Ben, sat on a couch across from the chair Mrs. Crane was sitting in.
"We actually came to talk to Ben," Lincoln said. "But, could we talk to you?"
The woman nodded.
"We were wondering about how long the bracelet has been fake, but that question was answered by Ben while we were out front," Lincoln said.
"I couldn't get him to tell me when he started switching out the diamonds," Mrs. Crane said. "I had it appraised after he gave it to me, so they were all real then. He always had a wandering eye. I just didn't know he was doing more than looking. I don't really want to talk about that with children though."
"That's alright," Lincoln said. "Now that you know that Lyra Douglas is the thief, do you know her?"
"Well, I don't know her, but apparently she knows my husband," Mrs. Crane said.
"You've seen her?" Lincoln said.
"The police showed me a photo of her last night. I recognized her. A few weeks ago she was knocking on my door. Said she needed to talk to Alvin, that he couldn't ignore her forever. She wouldn't tell me why, was acting all squirrely. I just slammed the door in her face. Maybe I should have listened to her."
"So you don't know why she wanted to talk to your husband?" Lincoln asked.
The woman shook her head.
"That was a mistake…"
Ben, Luan, Lincoln and Lucy waited outside the hotel's front lobby doors. Mr. Crane had gone directly there from his house after his confrontation with his wife. Ben had called him and he had reluctantly agreed to meet with the Loud kids. He exited the glass doors and walked up to the kids. His hair piece was returned to its seamless place amongst his natural hair. He hugged his son before turning to the other three.
"We'll go to that picnic table in that park," he pointed across the street, "then we can talk."
No one said a word until they were all situated on the sun dried and warped planks that made up the table's benches. Ben sat next to his dad on one side. The Loud kids sat facing them on the opposite bench.
"What do you want to ask me?" the man asked.
"How do you know Lyra Douglas?" Lincoln asked.
"Huh, direct, to the point," Mr. Crane laughed shortly. "I like that in a person. I'll give you the direct answer, I don't know her."
"You don't?" Lincoln asked.
"No, until the police showed me a picture of her, I'd never seen or spoken to her before in my life."
Silence fell over the table.
"Dad, just answer their question," Ben spoke up. "I know when you are lying. I've watched you play poker for years. I know your tell."
Mr. Alvin turned beat red and glared at his son.
"I wasn't lying. I don't know her."
"But you are leaving something out aren't you?" Lucy said.
The man glanced quickly at all the kids' faces before he took a deep breath and finally answered.
"Well, I don't know, know her. I've spoken with her a few times on the phone and once in person in a public place. I don't know how she found me…I knew her mother…OK, I just don't feel comfortable discussing this with children, especially my own son!"
"Dad, it's OK," Ben said. "I think I know where this is going already. Mom already gave me the sex talk."
Mr. Crane looked at Luan, Lincoln and Lucy. Finally he shrugged.
"All right. Starting about sixteen years ago, before I met your mother, Ben, I was in a relationship with Lyra Douglas' mother Rhonda Close. Lyra changed her last name to her adoptive family's name few years back or something. I think Lyra told me, but I didn't care at the time. Anyway, the relationship lasted about a year and we broke it off. I never heard from Rhonda again. Then about three months ago, Lyra calls me out of the blue. Says she is Rhonda's daughter and my daughter. She tells me her mother lost custody of her when she was five, she'd gone into foster care for a while or some such thing. She had been adopted by the Douglas family more recently.
"She then told me that Rhonda had died about five months earlier of a drug overdose. She had just received her mother's belongings and amongst those belongings was her original birth certificate and some letters I'd written Rhonda. I was listed as the father on the birth certificate. I had her take a DNA test and indeed, she is my daughter. She said she just wanted a relationship with me, but I know better. Kids from the foster care system, always looking for the next hand out. Look what she did? She stole the bracelet. So I was right about her."
Ben shot up from the table and stormed away. After he'd walked about fifteen feet, he turned around.
"You-you bastard! How could you treat your own child like that?"
"I was right, she was just looking for money."
"You didn't know that at the beginning! You could have given her a chance! Now look what's happened!"
Luan, Lincoln and Lucy stood as well.
"Well, I think I have all the information I need," Lincoln said.
Suddenly, Lincoln had a thought.
"Where did you meet with Lyra that one time?" he asked.
"At Memorial Park, at a bench on the main path heading towards the wilderness area."
The three Loud kids left the man at the picnic table and followed a very angry Ben down the street.
"What made you ask that?" Luan asked. "I doubt Lyra would just go there again for no reason."
Lincoln shrugged.
"I don't know. Maybe she would. She seems to be holding on to what Mr. Crane has done to her. It's not like we have much to work with."