He's the world's first black bear detective, and he's sure of himself.“I’m not trying to say anything bad about them,”Bearstone said, “But if a couple of schlemiels like mycousins Winnie and Paddington can make it by screwingthings up, think what a bear detective could do.”“Bear detective?” I asked.“Sure,” he said. “What did you think, I was going tostand in the park selling balloons to three-year-olds?What kind of smarmy pap would that be?”I shrugged.“See, that’s what’s wrong with people, especially whenit comes to storybook characters,” he said. “They take allthat Mother Goose and Brothers Grimm stuff and theytreat it like it’s gospel like that’s the way it all wentdown. They won’t even do that for the New YorkTimes.”“And somehow, you know differently?” I asked.“Believe me, I’d look into that stuff and get the realinfo,” he said. “A lot of these so-called kids’ stories needan adult’s oversight.”He nonchalantly took a croissant out of a bag from theHungry Bear Donut Factory and took a bite. He offered acroissant to me. It was a delicious buttery bribe.“Bearstone Blackie, detective,” he said. “I representthe Bear With Us Detective Agency in El Bruno.”.
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