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“How would I know?”
“You picked Vinnie’s pocket, and you took the coin.”
“No way.”
“Do you want us to send you back to jail?”
“No!”
“Then tell me about the coin.”
“I sold it.”
I did a mental double take. I hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Truth is, I’d thought chances were zero to slim that he had taken the coin. This questioning went under the category of no stone left unturned.
“My understanding is that it was worthless,” I said. “Just a commemorative coin.”
“True, it was a commemorative coin, but it wasn’t worthless. It was a collectible. It came with a board game that’s no longer being produced, The Treasure of Gowa. It was huge back in the day. Not so much now.”
“Who did you sell it to?” Lula asked.
“Benji at the comic book store downtown.”
Lula grinned. “For real? That store is awesome.”
“Yeah,” Beedle said. “He gave me twenty bucks. Do I get to go home now?”
“Not yet,” I said. “We need to get the coin back, and you need to identify it.”
“What’s the big deal about the coin?” Beedle asked.
“It has sentimental value,” I said, opening the back door for Beedle.
The comic book store was on a side street, minutes away from the municipal building. I found a parking place and we all marched in. Benji came out from behind the counter and did a complicated geek high-five thing with Beedle. Lula went straight to the action figure collection.
“What’s up?” Benji said to Beedle. “What’s with the ladies?”
“They’re interested in that coin I brought in. The Knights Templar one.”
“I sold it. I knew I would. I knew this dude would want it. He’s in all the time. He goes nuts over anything that’s got mummies or knights. Almost messed himself when he saw the coin.”
“Do you have his name?” I asked. “His address?”
“That’s all confidential,” Benji said. “We take our customer information real serious here.”
Lula came over with a box in her hand. “How much is Thor?” she asked.
“Forty-nine ninety-five,” Benji said.
“That’s robbery,” Lula said. “I could get him online for half that price.”
“This is collectible quality,” Benji said. “The box has never been opened.”
“I don’t care about that,” Lula said. “Do you have a cheaper Thor?”
“You might try the toy department at Target,” Benji said. “They usually have a good selection of Avengers.”
“About the coin,” I said to Benji. “I need a name and an address.”
