They both watched the wheel decelerate. The camera moved in for a close-up. The arrow slowed and slowed before settling on the word BANKRUPT. The audience groaned. The greedy woman kept the smile, but now she looked like someone had just punched her hard in the stomach.

"That's an omen," Esperanza said.

"Good or bad'?" Myron asked.

Yes." .

Chapter 19

The girls were still at the mall. Still at the food court.

Still at the same table. It was amazing, when you thought about it. The long summer days beckoned with sunny skies and chirping birds. School was out, and yet so many teenagers spent all their time inside a glorified school cafeteria, probably lamenting the day they would have to return to school.

Myron shook his head. He was complaining about teenagers. A sure sign of lost youth. Soon he'd be screaming at someone for turning up the thermostat.

As soon as he entered the food court, the girls all turned in his direction. It was like they had people+weknow detectors at every entrance. Myron did not hesitate.

Making his expression as stem as possible, he rushed toward them. He studied each face as he approached.

These were, after all, just teenagers. The guilty one, Myron was sure, would show it.

And she did. Almost instantly.

She was the one that had been teased yesterday, the one they taunted for being the recipient of a Crusty smile.

Missy or Messy or something. It all made sense now.

Crusty hadn't spotted Myron's tail. He'd been tipped off ln fact, the whole thing had been arranged. That was how Crusty had known that Myron had been asking questions about him. That explained the seemingly fortuitous timing that is, Crusty hanging around the food court just long enough for Myron to arrive.

It had all been a big setup.

The one with Elsa Lancaster hair screwed up her face and said, "Like, what's the matter?"

"That guy tried to kill me," Myron said.

Lots of gasps. Faces lit up with excitement. To most of them, this was like a television show come to life. Only Missy or Messy or some name with an M remained rockstill.

"Not to worry though," Myron continued. "We've just about got him. In an hour or two, he'll be under arrest. The police are on their way to find him right now. I

just wanted to thank you all for your cooperation."

The M girl spoke: "I thought you weren't a cop."

A sentence without the word like. Hmm. "I'm undercover," Myron said.

"Oh. My. God."

"Get out!"

"Whoa!"

"You mean like on New York Undercover'?" _

Myron, no stranger to TV, had no idea what she was talking about. "Exactly," he said.

"This is so cool."

"Are we, like, going to be on TV'?"

"'The six o'clock news?"

"That guy on Channel Four is so cute, you know?"

"My hair totally sucks."

"No way, Amber. But mine is like a total rat nest."