Let it rock

Chapter 10

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LYNN

"Wow. You really did? What did you do?"

She took a deep breath, then clapped her hands together, making her purse swing. "Well, I decided I would go closer, but to be casual about it, I picked up the first record I saw and pretended to read the liner notes."

"Clever!"

"Thanks! So from my position I could hear him talking. He said, 'Look, you and I had a deal. You didn't meet your end of the bargain. So you have to pay up.'

I gasped.

"I could hear the other voice responding to Aburra, but I couldn't make out the words," she continued. "I could *almost* see the speaker through the opening between the shelves, it was someone tall, like Aburra, and wearing a black tee-shirt. It was a guy's voice speaking, that I could tell. The TA was shaking his head in response, then I heard him say, 'No, no deal. You owe me the goods. The deal was, remember, that you were going to get it all, and then bring the boxes here today. I don't care who has it, I don't care if you already found it, and dropped it off a cliff. You will get it all back for me. I want that Baby, and all the rest. Where is it? I don't see them. I see NOTHING!' It sounded like the last word came out through his teeth."

I winced, but tried not to interrupt. Angie continued. "He said, 'I don't care who took it, and you know my cousin Alexi won't care either when he shows up here tonight looking for you.' The other voice muttered something, interrupting him. It sounded like the person was maybe, trying to convince him? I'm not sure.

But then Aburra said, 'Oh really. You THINK you can do that? I'll talk to my cousin and make an offer. Still, you have to cover my costs for this delay. Another hundred. You got it?', then the other person said...something. Then Aburra said, 'Fine. If you can have it ALL here before Wednesday, then yes, the deal is still on as it was before." He shook his head again. "But if you can't, there's nowhere you can hide from us.'  It came out like a growl. 

She paused, so I let myself react. "I can't believe you overheard this whole thing. That's incredible! But what happened next? What did he say?"

"Well, that's when I realized he was coming out," she said, and I gasped again.

"I tried not to move, and focused on the record I was holding. I thought if I quickly ran away or did anything, it would make him notice me. So I just pretended to be very interested in the record, thinking that hey, I didn't know Ice Cube had a new album out. I just tried to be invisible. He went right past me, thank goodness, and didn't stop. So I think he didn't see me." 

"You are soooooo lucky he didn't! Wow, just wow!" I'm so impressed. This girl is incredible. "You are amazing! Two snaps up!" I made the gesture, and she grinned.

"In Living Color! Yeah, I love that show." Angie was looking really pleased with herself. "I didn't think about that at the time, just felt like I did what you would have done. I did wait a few seconds to see who the other speaker was, but nobody else came out."

"What did you do then?" 

"I peeked in the room, and noticed that it had a back way out. The other person could have left out the other way, and I wouldn't have noticed. So then I came looking for you." 

"Wow. That's...so cool! I mean, scary, but c'mon, that means that this TA is involved in the music robbery! Right?" I can't believe our luck, and that Angie heard all this great stuff!

"Wait, what? Angie had relaxed against the building. "How do you know what they were talking about?" 

"A deal," I said. I reached into my bag, put the purchase away, and took out a spiral notebook. "I'm trying to be more organized. Let me get my notes."

"Notes on what?"

"On the music robbery." I pulled out a pencil and started flipping to the right page. 

"When did you start keeping notes?"

"Earlier this week, after I visited the listening library." I found my page and started writing, leaning against the wall for support. 

"That's a good idea, Lynn. Maybe I'll start keeping one too. But can you talk straight for a second? Why do you think they were talking about the music? I mean, I get that it was a deal, but.."

"Wait one second..." I finished my note. "Okay now we can talk. So I heard what you said. They were talking about stolen stuff, and bringing boxes to the store. Why would they need to bring stuff to the store unless it was the music? I mean, that's what I think, anyway." 

She said, "Okay, makes sense. So who do you think he was he talking to? 

"Dunno." I said. "Okay, so let me show you my notes, and we'll review what we know so far." I held up my notebook and pointed to yesterday's page. "We knew the music was stolen, but we didn't know why. The other day we figured out that it was worth a whole lotta cash. Today we know that someone wanted to take it all, just to sell it. I don't understand what a baby has to do with anything, though." 

Angie tapped her finger on her chin. "And then there's Aburra. I had him down as someone who was weird, but on our side. I thought he wanted to keep his TA job, wasn't that what he was saying the other day in class?" 

"Yeah, it was." I nodded. 

Angie started walking down the block closer to the bus stop, and I followed. "I dunno. It doesn't make sense to me. Well, unless he was lying in class the other day, then it would make sense. What if instead of wanting to save it, he wanted the class to fail?"

"Yeah, that's a thought, maybe he wants it to fail." 

"But, I can't imagine why he would want that. Unless..." Angie's eyes opened wider, and she held up two fingers. I noticed that her nail polish was red. 

"You have an idea, right? What is it?" I stopped walking, and she did too. She picked up both of my hands and gave me a determined look. She said, "Okay, here's what I'm thinking. What if Aburra doesn't care about his stipend, because he actually works for someone else, like his cousin? Then it makes sense. Aburra and Alexi are working together against the school, and the whole 'I want to save my TA job' is there just to make him not a suspect!" I could feel Angie's hands shaking, she was so excited.

"Angie, yes! You are so clever. I wish you would help me with my homework in Bio, I would ace that class if you were my lab partner." I looked back in the direction of the store, thinking about what Angie had just said. "Alexi sounds Russian, I think," I said.  

"The name? Mmmm, I agree," said Angie.  "But I thought communism was just a red herring," she said, with a fake English accent.

"Ha, ha, from "Clue", right? That was a fun movie." I laughed. "But maybe Aburra does work for Alexi. But then, why would they meet at the store? Unless maybe him and Alexi are in some kind of deal with the store? I didn't see anyone else in there, just the twins." 

I nodded. "Okay, I like the way you are thinking. They could all be in it together. And Aburra, maybe he's working both sides. Like a double agent. No, that's not what that means - do you know what I mean?" 

Angie started walking down the block again. She said, "Yes, well no, not really. That sounds wrong. But maybe it's because I'm getting hungry. Let's go grab a snack at the deli by the bus stop. I could really go for some potato salad, you know, the kind they make around here with the mayonnaise and poppy seeds. Maybe a sandwich too." 

"Sure, okay," I replied, "I could eat too." I had to move my legs faster to keep up with her stride, and continued where my last comment had left off. "So, do we think Aburra is actually hurting for money, from what he said back in class yesterday?"

"Yes, that's right," said Angie. "Yesterday he needed money, and today he was making a deal, so probably he's still trying to get money. The deal, though, was actually about the music, and who has it right now. They don't know who has it. So I think it's the truth."

"Right. Aburra's partner said that someone else took the music." I wrinkled my nose, considering. Then I asked, "Does that mean that they stole it, but then someone else stole it from them? And now his partner is going to steal it back? What do you think, am I getting all of this straight?" 

Angie replied, "Holy mackerel you are right, that's exactly what it sounds like. The stole-Ers became the stole-Ees, or something. " Angie had a wry expression on her face. "So I wonder where the music is now? And who has it?"

"Yeah, I wonder, " I said, as we entered the deli. 

As we waited on line, my mind was whirling. Aburra has a partner. Aburra and their partner planned to steal the music, because they wanted to sell it, and get some money. Something about a baby? Aburra said he wanted to keep his teaching job, but maybe he also wanted the class to fail. A third person stole the music from the library, and now the partner is going to get it back. Also Aburra has a cousin..do I need to include him? That's a lot of different people to keep track of. Aburra the T.A., Alexi his cousin, mysterious record store partner, and the actual thief.

It's a good thing I started taking notes.