There wasn’t a lot of conversation on the way back. I’d thought he’d want to pester me about stuff, but he seemed to know when to back off. That was another good thing about the man. I’d say that I was impressed again, but there’s no sense getting carried away. The man still got under my nerves.
Apparently, Frey had galloped a considerable distance more than I’d realized. It took us an hour to get to the outskirts of the town. When we passed the sign that said, “Welcome to Tinkle Town,” I had to open the conversation to something I’d been wondering for a good long time.
“Why would anyone name the town that?” I asked. “Tinkle is what toddlers say when they need to visit the toilet.”
Frank broke into a huge, wide grin, one bigger than I’d yet seen on his face. In fact, he was looking more cheerful in general than when I’d first met him. What was up with that?
“I wasn’t here, of course, when the town was settled, but the hearsay is that is exactly how the town got its name. The first resident, Henry Green Peach supposedly did have a child of that age. Perhaps she needed to go? I guess we’ll never know.
“Mrs. Penn will tell you, if you ask, that his wife’s last name was Tinkle. Gertrude Tinkle. I guess that could be the real reason.”
Having told me that bit of information, he practically fell of his horse, he was laughing so hard. I ignored his sense of humor.
“Green Peach is rather funny, too.”
“Better than Ripe Peach or Rotten Peach. How about Wormy Peach?”
Okay, that got a smile from me. I was just learning that Frank had a sense of humor. That was ground shaking.
We’d been trotting part of the way, but entering the town, we both decided that a walk was more appropriate. So, it was slow going. Especially when a couple come out into the street and halted us.
“Officer Krugel, I’m Matthew’s father. This is his mother. We’d like to take our boy home now.”
“Nope,” Frank said, looking the man straight in the eye, then sweeping his eyes over the woman standing beside him. “Those boys are going to do an overnighter. They need to learn that intimidating people is not okay, and throwing rocks is a criminal offense. I don’t much cotton to bullying in any form.”
The woman stepped forward. “He’s just a boy. We’ll talk to him. We’ll make sure he doesn’t ever do that again. Please?”
She was an attractive woman, but someone should inform her that batting her eyes and simpering with a high-pitched, baby doll attitude didn’t work much over forty. I doubted that even if she’d been straight out of school with hair-tossing and lip smacking, like the girls in the village, it would have worked on Frank.
“Nope,” he said, confirming my supposition. He urged his horse forward, and I did the same.
Matthew’s parents didn’t call after us. I guess they figured they’d met their match. I bet they’d be the first ones at the police station in the morning, eager to pick up their boy.