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And Grandma didn’t even bat an eye.
“Yeah,” Sean agreed, without hesitation. “She’s pretty cool.”
“I would’ve gotten in so much trouble for going to that grand opening.” Janie pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “My parents think I need to focus only on school and the track team. I’m only allowed to volunteer at Pittie Place one day a week.”
The grandmother’s full attention was on her knitting. Her bent, arthritic fingers worked the needles through a mass of green yarn, the start of a sweater or a blanket piled in the old woman’s lap. She wore a dress with a faded flower print and had her gray hair in a bun. Sean wished he’d had a grandmother who knitted and wore old lady dresses. And parents who told him he should focus on his academics and the track team. Janie Ramirez was a lucky kid. “So you saw the Indian motorcycle?”
“Everybody saw it. Delaney had it on display. She told me she’d be starting a ladies’ riding club in the future and that I should check it out once I’m old enough. She wasn’t pushy or trying to sell anything, she just wanted to share her knowledge and foster my interest in motorcycles. That’s why I like her. She’s cool and experienced and knows bikes in and out, and since she’s a girl, I can trust her.”
Sean nodded in agreement. This was all great news, of course. The kind of stuff that warmed a jaded cop’s heart. But it didn’t help his case. Clearly the only thing that linked Janie to both Pittie Place and Triple M Classics was the flyer for the grand opening. Janie worked at Pittie Place. Sunny had flyers for Triple M Classics. Janie, already a motor head, went to the grand opening. That’s why her name was on both lists. Still, as long as he was here. “How many brothers you have?”
“Five.”
“And they all ride motorcycles?”
“Yeah, but two are married and don’t live here and one is in the army and doesn’t live here. Carlos and Manny live here but share one Harley they bought together last year.” Janie glanced at her grandmother, who hadn’t dropped a stitch, despite the frequent glances in Sean’s direction. Sean didn’t buy her frail-old-lady-knitting-at-the-kitchen-table persona for a second. If she thought her granddaughter was being coerced or was in harm’s way, those knitting needles would be doing a lot more than working some yarn. “I told Carlos and Manny about the old motorcycle and the shop and they thought it was cool and planned to go see it for themselves. But I don’t think they’d steal it.”
“You don’tthinkthey’d steal it?” Janie’s matter-of-factness had a special place in Sean’s heart.
Janie shrugged. “They’re boys. They both had their share of stupidity when they were teens. All my brothers did. Typical stuff, I guess, but they never stole anything. Not like those two guys who came to Delaney’s opening.”
Sean glanced up from his notepad. “Which guys?” Even though he was pretty sure he already knew.
“I think they used to own the shop. One’s fat, one’s skinny? They were seriously scoping out Delaney’s shop. I even saw the skinny one go upstairs, which I know isn’t part of the shop because Delaney had it blocked off. At first I thought maybe he knew her really well or was dating her. But once he knew I saw him, he came back down. Acted really funny. Then I realized later that Delaney didn’t know him and it was obvious to everyone they didn’t like each other.”
“Really.” Sean wrote that down, his brain racing. “You say anything?”
“I know I should have. It seemed too late. I didn’t know how to bring it up. Will you tell her for me?”
“Oh, I’ll tell her. You see those guys do anything else?”
“Just act like big jerks, in general. They were fighting over the dog. But the dog wanted nothing to do with them.”
Sean smiled and handed Janie his card. “Thanks for all your help, Janie. If you see or hear anything, give me a call.” He rose up and slid his jacket from the back of the chair. The grandmother dropped her knitting to the table and ushered him to the door.
“Bye.” Janie waved at him as he left. “Good luck. Say hi to Delaney for me.”
Sean raised his hand as the grandmother shut the door in his face. He got behind the wheel of the minivan and decided that it couldn’t hurt to pay Delaney a visit, regroup and fill her in on his progress.
