Page 70 of A Spot of Tea
“Who’s gotten themselves into trouble now?” Mike asked.
Mackenzie leaned forward. “My sister is being framed for a robbery she didn’t commit.”
“Margie said something about a crooked agent?”
“That’s what wethinkmight be going on,” Mackenzie said. “She was mean to Eliza when she was interrogating her and called her stupid.”
“That’s not exactly what happened,” Eliza said quietly. “She asked me if I was stupid.”
“That’s not the most compelling evidence that she’s a crooked agent,” Mike said with a laugh. “But go on.”
“Eliza found the truck used in the robbery, and the agent just happened to be there. Wait! Then she saw a video of the agent throwing away evidence from the robbery. A wheelchair!”
“Okay, slow down,” Mike said. “Throwing evidence away?”
“Into a dumpster,” Eliza said.
Mom looked up, her forehead creased. “Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
Eliza looked down and shrugged.
Mackenzie kept talking. “So we followed her, and maybe she saw us, because that night we found a bag stashed at our tea shop with a bunch of stuff from the robbery. Like the disguise and some money.”
“Oh. This is getting interesting,” Mike said.
“The next morning, she came to the shop and the first thing she did was insist on going into the bathroom.”
“Uh, so…she had to go to the bathroom?” Mike asked. “How is that relevant?”
“That’s where the bag was left,” Eliza clarified.
“She was quite pushy,” Granny yelled. “I asked her to leave, but she insisted on going to that bathroom!”
“Huh.” Mike grunted. “All right. Is that all you’ve got?”
“It’s a lot!” Mackenzie snapped. “I just didn’t tell it in the most coherent way.”
He laughed. “I’m not saying it’s nothing, but it’s a lot of presumption.” He was quiet for a moment. “I can see it, but if she’s got you in her sights, you might be in trouble.”
“Is there someone I can talk to?” Eliza asked. “I’m innocent. Shouldn’t it be easy to prove I’m innocent?”
“Unfortunately,” Mike said, “innocent people do guilty-looking things sometimes, precisely because they’re convinced justice will surely prevail.” He sighed. “For now, don’t talk to anyone on the case again. I’ll put you in touch with a friend at the FBI who can handle this delicately.”
“What about Agent Stacy’s…” Mackenzie flashed a look at Eliza. “Accomplice? Can we turn him in?”
Eliza looked up at her, glaring.
“Do you have evidence of an accomplice?” Mike asked.
Mackenzie crossed her arms over her chest. If Eliza wasn’t willing to turn Joey in because she was in love with him, she’d have to step in. “Not yet. But we will.”
“If you’re sure you know who it is,” Mike said, “Get him to turn her in. That’ll solve it quickly.”
“We don’t know who he is,” Eliza said, cutting in.
“I think we might,” Mackenzie whispered.
“Whoever he is, he needs to think it’s in his best interest to rat her out. Talk to my agent first. She’ll figure it out—she’s sharp.”
