Like Warm Sun on Nekkid Bottoms - Charles Austen [162]
He turned and stalked off toward the car.
“Like you have control over that!” she said, undisturbed.
“Wait a minute,” Manschingloss cried. “You need to rehire Wisper! I will not go to the fashion show with clothing cut for a specific model and have them hang wrong on some anorexic, wannabe substitute!”
But Grandfather ignored him and continued the mad rush toward his escape vehicle.
“Cecil!” Manschingloss called, bumbling along after the old man. “CECIL!”
On their way to the limousine, they passed Woodruff—who still stood near Homer’s statue, staring at it with a calm, almost beatific expression on his face—and Biddleby opened a door for them. They waited a moment for Woodruff, and when it became apparent he wasn’t coming, they leaped in and drove off without him.
Helena smiled and turned to Sophie.
“We’ll pay Corky’s debt,” she told her.
Sophie smiled and snuggled tighter against Morgan. Her innocent trust in the world was inspiring. Even I felt a bit more secure.
But then Pizeley M. Boone and the ever-lurking Washburne stepped through the crowd with two of Nikkid Bottom’s finest in tow.
“And what about your bid, son?” Boone asked. “I can’t imagine this woman intends to make good on the enormity of such folly, and I warned you, you signed a binding contract.”
I looked at Helena, hoping.
“Three million?” she asked.
“Three million, one hundred thousand,” Ms. Waboombas interjected, as she stepped through the crowd, still holding River’s branching tributary in one hand. Interestingly, he really seemed to be enjoying it.
I nodded to Helena to affirm Waboombas additional math.
“But…” Helena began.
“Think of the orphans,” Boone oozed.
“Three million, one hundred thousand,” Helena said, and from the tone of her voice, I already knew the answer. “We don’t have that kind of cash available, Corky. Not on this side.”
Not on any side, if my grandfather intended to make good on his threats.
“How sad,” Boone said, not the least bit sad. “Arrest them,” he told the cops.
“Arrest them? Isn’t that a bit extreme?” Helena demanded. “Can’t you just negate his bids, and let the next highest bidder…”
“No!” Wisper and I said simultaneously.
“Oh,” said Helena. “But Corky… ”
“They signed a contract,” Boone snarled. “And for the sanctity of the auction, and in fairness to those trusting souls who bid in honest and sincere good faith, we have no choice, I’m afraid. Arrest them.”
“On what charge?” the cop asked.
“Fraud,” Boone said, smiling. “False representation. Credit card theft. Parking for more than two hours in a restricted zone. We’ll make a list.”
“This is ridiculous!” Helena snapped.
The cops stepped forward.
Then the auburn-haired stunner from the beach stepped forward and jutted an accusing finger at Morgan.
“That’s the jerk who molested me!”
Morgan flinched and moved behind Sophie, who looked confused.
“Goodness,” Boone said, smiling, “Well…arrest them all!”
He was now practically giggling with joy.
“No!” I said.
Handcuffs clawed open.
“Wait, wait, wait… ” Wisper said, as they reached for me.
Boone laughed heartily. So did Washburne.
“Dammit, Washburne!” Wisper snapped. “You…All right! I’ll go with you!”
“NO!” I said, and began to struggle with the cops.
“Stop this!” Wisper demanded of the younger Boone. “You think this is going to make me love you?”
Washburne’s smile fell.
A policeman unkindly jerked one of my arms behind my back and prepared to snap a cuff on my wrist.
“HEY!” I said uselessly.
The situation was looking desperate, and I wasn’t seeing any way out, when suddenly screams exploded from the other side of the crowd.
Two women ran by shrieking their lungs out, and a general cacophony rose urgently above the crowd near the thing they were fleeing. The cops looked that way, and both moved a bit to one side to gain a better line of sight toward whatever was happening, when suddenly the crowd burst