She turned to give me her most withering glower. "Don't you dare start with that again!"
"Whatever." I followed the rest of the way quietly. She clearly cared only for the panda, and by this point, I did, too. Forget about understanding her; just get me out of here.
The upstairs room had all the windows covered to keep out prying eyes, so she turned on the lights and closed the door. I handed her the lawn bag and she practically dove into it to retrieve the panda. With a big grin, she hugged it to her chest, squeezing it all over. "All right! Good work."
"What's the deal with this thing?"
She gave me her first real smile, and I could tell that it was more for the panda than for me. Nice to know where I stood here. She pulled out a chair and sat down, so I did the same.
"This. . ." She gestured to the panda. "Is one of my cleverest cons. I met a guy at a bar a few weeks ago, and he turned out to be a cop. Works inside the evidence room. We had a good time, and he told me all about his job. Even invited me to see his workplace. And guess what?" She paused, proudly building up to a big finish. "The lost-and-found department keeps their stuff in the evidence room!" She chuckled and gave me a wink, so very impressed with her cleverness.
"Wait a minute. I thought I was helping Uncle Carl. But now you're telling me that this is just another one of your cons."
"It is my con, but Carl is involved. I needed you to finish this up to keep things from getting any worse for him."
I was growing more and more suspicious over this. She could have asked anyone to claim the panda. Why me? I pushed away my annoyance and motioned with my hand for her to continue.
Bea nodded and let a huge grin spread across her face. "You see, nobody gets in or out of the evidence room with anything of value. Even my cop buddy and I had to be searched when we left. But I figured a way around that. Well. . ." She offered a modest grin. "I saw them do this on an episode of Hustle, but it's still a great idea." She stood up straight and pointed to the panda. "I carved a pouch inside it and had Carl and his grandson take it to the lost and found. Then, a few nights ago, I invited myself back to the guy's workplace. While we were sitting there in the evidence room, I slipped Ipecac into his coffee to make his gut churn. That sent him to the bathroom, which gave me a chance to wander the place and stuff the panda with juicy evidence." Her eyes sparkled as she concluded the con. "Then I had you claim it, and here it is." She waved her arms over the panda, like a magician conjuring the impossible.