Chapter 25

“Me? No.” Hand over heart, Ralph did it like a vow. “I didn’t tell him that.”

“Hmm. Did you see anyone else on the sidewalk with him, anyone who could have shoved him?”

“There were a couple of people…a pair of teenagers.”

“Kids you know?”

Ralph took a bite of his grilled cheese before Dawn even had a chance to set down his soup. No matter the weather, Ralph liked soup. “Nicky and that girl he’s gaga over.”

“Shayna,” Dawn supplied.

I was always surprised how well she could hear over all the kitchen sounds.

“What about my grandson?” she asked.

“Ralph saw Nicky on the street when Archie…This morning.”

“So?” Dawn was suddenly on point, ready to protect one of her brood, like a grandmama bear.

“Did Archie tell you what happened to him when he went home to change his clothes?” I asked her.