Stella had called 9-1-1 when Gramps went down. Tank and Stella move us out of the way to wait for the ambulance. Behind us, Jenna resumes her hostess duties. Stella goes back to work, Tank following behind to help. The noise of the party builds up again as everyone moves on from the excitement.
Gramps and I sit on a low bench outside the front door, alone.
“I’m so sorry,” I say. “You were right. I never should have stuck my nose in any of this. I just made it all worse.”
Gramps leans against me. He feels light, like a good gust of wind might blow him away. “I said it before—you’ve got nothing to be sorry for,” he says. “And I’m glad you were there for me.”
“But this is all my fault. You nearly died. And we still don’t have the necklace.”
“Well…that’s not entirely true,” says Gramps. He reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out the pendant.
“Yeah, but that’s just the copy,” I say. “Jenna still has the original.”
“That’s what she thinks. But this one is the real thing,” he says with a wink. “When the charming Mrs. Garrett was helping me off the ground, I swapped them on her.”
“Wait,” I say. “You were in the middle of a heart attack! And you still managed to scam her?”
Gramps snorts. “Like Tommy said, I’m the best in the business. To be fair, poor Jenna was quite distracted. I feel a little bad about it. But now she has Tricia’s excellent copy. She’ll never know the difference. And those pills you slipped me were mints. I’m fine.”
Whoa. Gramps had it all worked out. He was several steps ahead of all of us the whole time. I see the red and white flashing lights of the ambulance in the distance. A siren gets louder as it approaches the house. I wonder what we’ll tell the paramedics. Thanks anyway, but this was all just part of a finely executed heist.
“One more thing,” Gramps says. “This was my last job. I mean it. No more stealing. I got what I wanted, and I’m done. But this was your last job too. You understand? This was your first and last shot at being a criminal.”
“Yeah,” I say. “You’re right. I should probably go into medicine. Mom would sure be happy.” I place my hand on his shoulder. “It’s too bad though, Gramps. We made a good team.”
Gramps and I smile at each other.
Like a pair of wolves.