Nothing Up Her Sleeve

It was weird, coming back to the State Fair after several years' absence. Weirder than coming back from overseas, because then Jade was returning to a wonderful place, still vibrant and thriving, instead of coming back to life. She might not have come at all but for Shepard. Of course, that phrase could describe so many decisions in the past year.

"It's a good place for a thief," she said as they passed the exhibit halls straight to the midway. "But I'm not sure how we'll find him."

"The phrase 'needle in a haystack" might be appropriate." Shepard had her phone out like a very short dowsing rod. It was one of her custom apps, though Jade wasn't sure which goofy name this one had, or what its function was. "There are far too many people to locate individually and too many variables to dismiss any location out of hand. So we hopefully prompt the thief to come to us."

"Right." Jade nodded, followed the taller woman for a few minutes, then prompted loudly. "How?"

"Magic."

Which, of course, they'd both agreed was fun to theorize about but unlikely to really exist, and in fact enjoyed watching YouTube videos explaining away the tricks. So it was probably one of her inside jokes that would be funnier later. "Anything you want me to do?" She'd learned to ask specifically after once almost catching on fire when caught by a Shepard surprise. Her roommate had apologized and agreed to warn against known potential lethal threats better in the future (though how great a statistical threshold the word "potential" required was subject to debate). Still, a reminder was always good.

Shepard glanced back, up, around, and then answered, "You're mainly here to be a witness. The suspect may surprise us though. Video or pics would be helpful."

They wound up in front of the waterfall like every other grouping, squeezing between wagons and strollers and a few ECVs to stand near enough to catch some spray. Shepard shield her phone but kept a thumb securely on the screen, waiting and watching. "Anyone stand out to you?"

It might be rhetorical, or it might be an actual question. Jade looked around regardless. "There's a guy over there with a Duke hoodie on in a group of Carolina fans."

"Bold. But inconclusive."

They stood watching some more, families and couples and students and aging hipsters all intersecting around them, waiting. Jade had her own phone out and kept glancing at the time. One day, if she was called to testify due to one of these little adventures, she wanted to give a precise time when asked on the witness stand.

At precisely eleven thirty Shepard whistled and pressed down on her phone. A dog laying on the grass nearby leapt up and bayed, or tried to with its little bitty muzzle. A deeper bark sounded up the path, and another. They blended into the general crowd cacophony but discordantly, and one of the retirees in her wheelchair tilted her head with a wince, reaching for her hearing aid. Something was happening.

Then an actual fox bounded up to them, like a cartoon, and Jade immediately started her camera. Whatever was going down would happen now, she was sure of that much.

Shepard bent down, picked up the fox as if she did it every day of the week, and casually tapped her phone again before slipping it in a pocket. Other people had their phones out now. There was probably a stream going on already, maybe they would get hashtags soon. Of course the folks over at the nearby WRAL and Daily Reflector tents were oblivious to the news.

A person in uniform approached, maybe a park ranger or someone from the forestry department. "Be careful ma'am, that animal's wild and may turn on you. I'll take it now."

"First, I believe the animal is quite tame, given she responded to the signal I just emitted and easily she responded to human interaction. Second, you're not qualified to handle dangerous creatures any more than me, though I won't say less so yet. Third, I will nevertheless give this fox back to you, if you'll explain the significance of the graffiti sprayed in the state trooper's office it helped you brake into, I already know how."

"What?" Not the best reaction, maybe, but she was on the spot. "I don't ... how?"

"Who, I believe, is the correct question; as in, who is David, and why is the name so important to risk being caught after so skillfully breaking, entering, and exiting with what you wanted. We can discuss everything over lunch. I think the Methodist barbecue's a better deal but when it comes to fair food I'm largely agnostic."

Jade was glad she had a full battery saved up as she kept both her camera and data on for the entire interview, carefully keeping her own noise to a minimum, and uploading it all to their shared drive as quickly as her plan would allow. She only had to edit out one reaction later when compiling it all for their client, when Shepard grinned straight at her and proclaimed in a highly exaggerated voice, "Presto!"