Part 9 By Private Dick
A young girl named Lily was seated in the bushes outside Anna's house early the following morning. She was about 8 years old and had golden blond hair that reached down to her waist. Dressed in a flower-print dress that her mother had almost assuredly picked out for her, she was
hunched over in the bushes that ran around Anna's house, watching and waiting.

She saw Anna pull the curtains apart in her bedroom at around 10:00AM, then disappear for some time. A little while later, Anna was in her kitchen eating a bowl of cereal in what seemed like a rush. Then Anna was on the phone making calls.

A red sedan suddenly pulled up, and Lily had to duck deeper into the bushes to make sure she wasn't seen. The car parked in the driveway, and a police officer got out. Lily panicked. Had her plan somehow been discovered by the cops already?

But no, the officer appeared to have some business with Anna. He knocked on the door, and Anna came out. He handed her the keys, but that wasn't all ...they started talking, and soon they were deep in conversation. Now was her chance.

Lily bolted from her hiding spot and ran around the corner to the side of the house, then pushed through the bushes and up to the backdoor. She tried the knob and found it unlocked. She ran into the house and found herself in a small living room. Her eyes darted across all open surfaces searching for the item that had been taken from her, had been stolen from her at the auction. Lily figured it would be in plain sight, as Anna had only brought it home a day ago. It was unlikely that it would already be relegated to the back of a drawer so quickly.

But as far as she could tell, it wasn't in this room. Oh, how she had saved up her money for it. Worked numerous chores for neighbors, mowed lawns, weeded gardens, sold lemonade ??" everything, so that when the item would come up for sale at the auction, she would be able to make the purchase and finally have it in her possession again. And
who would bid against a cute 10 year old who seemed to only want the pin to play dress-up with? If anyone bid against her, a pair of Bambi eyes would be more than enough to stop her rival bidders from getting in her way.

But Bambi eyes hadn't been enough. She hadn't counted on an outsider being at the auction, someone who didn't understand how the town worked. Lily saw two doors leading out of the living room ...one to the kitchen and the front door beyond, and another to Anna's bedroom.
She glanced out the kitchen door and saw Anna still talking with the police officer. Excellent, she thought, and made her way into the bedroom.

It only took a quick sweep of the room before Lily laid her eyes on the pin...it was resting on the bedside table next to Anna's bed. Oh she had waited so long for this moment. Her hand quickly descended towards the item, and her hand wrapped around it. A surge of warmth seemed to flow through her body as she picked it up. She turned
around and quickly ran out of the bedroom -

And right into Anna. Several moments of silence passed.

"Excuse me, but aren't you the girl from the auction?" Anna asked, eyeing the pin in her hand. "What are you doing here?"

"This is mine," Lily said back, with anger and embarrassment clouding her eyes.

"Well maybe I can let you have it," Anna said. "But you're going to have to tell me why its so important to you. It has quite a history, but no one else seems to care about owning it one way or the other."

Lily remained mum. Anna sighed.

"You know, my friend the police officer is probably--"

"NO!" Lily cried. "Don't do that!"

"Then tell me why you want this pin so badly," said Anna. "It's clear that it means more to you than just a piece of toy jewelry."

The anger left Lily's eyes, and for a moment, she looked scared. "Because," she began, "because of ..."