Jennie pulled up into the left-turn lane just as the green arrow showed. The woman glanced into the rearview mirror. Jennie tried to act nonchalant as she attempted to make out the woman’s features.
“Did you get the license number?” she asked Lisa.
“Of course. And the make and model.”
“Good.” Being this close, Jennie could see that the car was an older Cadillac Seville.
The driver of the Caddy made her left turn, then suddenly moved into the right lane of traffic and made a quick right turn.
“Look.” Lisa pointed. “She’s going into the mall. I guess she wasn’t following Annie after all.”
Jennie chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Maybe. Or maybe we got too close and scared her off.”
“Should we follow her?”
“No. We’ve got what we need. I’ll ask Dad to have the DMV run a check on it. We should have a name by the end of the day.”
4
“Oh,” Jennie crooned, “Lisa, look. It’s so-o-o cute.” Jennie studied the photo of the developing fetus that was about the size of the tiny baby tucked safely away in her own mother’s uterus. With Mom being pregnant and Jennie wanting to follow the baby’s progress every step of the way, doing a science project on the subject seemed the most practical way to satisfy her curiosity and get credit at the same time. She thought again about Mr. Baker’s suggestion that she enter it in the Science Fair. Maybe she would. She’d been on the Internet since eight a.m.—it was now ten-thirty—pulling in resources and gathering information. She’d had to wade through a lot of advertising and questionable resources, but she’d also found a lot of great material.
Lisa peered over Jennie’s shoulder. Her wispy red curls tickled Jennie’s face. “That is so cool. I wish I were doing my project on something like this instead of on tornadoes.” Lisa had arrived only minutes before, wanting Jennie to go with her to the Clackamas Town Center Mall.
“Tornadoes are interesting.” Jennie glanced at her cousin, then turned back to the computer screen.
“They’re scary. I had no idea it would be so depressing. People die in those things.” Lisa straightened and lifted a mass of coppery curls off her neck. “I guess I should get to work on it. Maybe after the meeting.”
“What meeting?”
“Didn’t I tell you?” Lisa wandered over to the dresser and lifted a plastic six-month fetus out of one of the models the woman at the nearby crisis pregnancy center had loaned Jennie. “B.J. said Gavin wants to meet us at the mall today. She said it was important and that Gavin especially wants you there.”
“Why?”
“I think he needs your detective skills. Something strange has been going on in the journalism room at school. They’ve had stuff disappear. Thursday night someone broke into the main computer and totally messed up an article for the paper.”
Jennie frowned. The school paper was Gavin’s pride and joy. No wonder he was upset. “Maybe we can meet them tomorrow after church. I need to get a birthday card and present for Ryan.”
“You’re getting him a gift?”
Jennie cringed. So much for keeping her plans a secret. “Why not?”
“I can’t believe you’re still talking to him after he broke up with you like that.”
“He’s a friend, Lisa. He always will be.”
“You still like him, don’t you?” Lisa’s smile lit her green eyes.
“Of course. I told you, he’s a friend.” Jennie didn’t want to talk about Ryan. His decision to date another girl still hurt. She hadn’t talked with him for nearly two weeks now. Their last conversation had been slightly less than friendly. Ryan had been as upset about her announcement to date Scott Chambers as she’d been about his going out with Camilla. Not that it mattered all that much. Jennie wasn’t ready for a serious relationship with either guy. Or with anyone, for that matter. She had school and a career in law enforcement to think about.
Still, she didn’t want to lose Ryan as a friend. Maybe sending him a birthday card would smooth things over. She hoped so.
“Are you going to take it to him personally?” Lisa asked in a teasing tone.
“Hey, that’s not a bad idea. Maybe we could …” Jennie sighed. “But I can’t. There’s no way I can go this weekend, and his birthday is Wednesday.” Ryan lived in Bay Village, on the Oregon Coast, next door to Jennie’s grandmother. She didn’t often have the opportunity to see him during the school year. She had to admit, though, that a visit to Gram and her new grandfather, J.B., was long overdue.
“So you could be a couple days late.” Lisa ran a finger over the smooth finish of the pre-born figure in her hand. “We could all drive down to see Gram next weekend. Mom’s been saying she needed to get down there.”
“My folks have too. I really can’t, though, Lisa.” Jennie backed down. Sending the present and card would be best. It would be too awkward if he was still seeing Camilla.
“Whatever.” Lisa gave her a knowing look and settled the model fetus back in its plastic womb.
“Goodbye,” the computerized voice said as the program went offline.
Jennie waited for the sign-off to be completed, then clicked on the incoming mail and opened her latest email.
The message was from Gavin. He’d titled it “Urgent.”
Jennie, I’m in trouble. Get off the phone and call me! was all it said.
“How rude.” Lisa read the message over Jennie’s shoulder. “What do you think he wants?”
Jennie shrugged. “He’s probably going to issue me a personal invitation to his meeting.”
Lisa made a face. “B.J. didn’t say, but I’ll bet it’s the article he wrote about us.”
“What article?” Jennie reached for the phone and dialed Gavin’s number.
“Didn’t I tell you? Oh, I was going to and we started talking about Ryan. I think that’s what the meeting is all about. Don’t tell me you didn’t read it!” Lisa flopped on Jennie’s bed and picked up a stuffed long-eared bunny out of Jennie’s menagerie. “It was awful.”
“Hello?” Gavin answered before Jennie could respond to Lisa’s question. Jennie felt like a Ping-Pong ball being batted from one side of the net to the other.
“Hi,” Jennie said. “What did you want?”
“It’s about time,” Gavin growled.
“Excuse me?” Jennie felt like slamming the phone in his ear. “What is your problem?”
“I’m sorry I yelled. I’ve been trying to call you all morning.”
“I’ve been working on my science project.” Jennie glanced at her cousin, who was sitting on her bed mouthing something Jennie couldn’t understand. “What’s wrong, Gavin?”
“Things are getting out of hand, and I need your help. Have you read the school paper?” Gavin sounded near panic.
“No. I had other things on my mind Friday and forgot to read my mail. Besides, I can’t go anywhere right now.” She had no idea what things Gavin was talking about and wasn’t sure she wanted to know. “I have to work on my rough draft for science.”
“What do you mean, you can’t?” Gavin’s voice broke as his volume increased. “Didn’t you hear me? I need your help. It’s a matter of life and death. You’ve got to help me find the person who wrote that article.”
“So hire a detective.” Jennie shifted the phone to her other ear and held it in place with her shoulder.
“Jennie, I’m dying here.”
Jennie didn’t need another complication in her life right now. She was already trying to track down Annie’s stalker. Unfortunately, she’d had no luck yet with the license number. Her dad had taken it with him to work this morning but hadn’t gotten back to her.
Even though she fought against it, she knew she’d end up helping Gavin. He was, after all, a friend. “Oh, come on, Gavin. It can’t be that bad.”
“It’s bad. Everybody’s mad at me. Mrs. Andrews is threatening to give me detention and give my job on the paper to someone else. But I didn’t do it.” He paused. “Hang on a sec—I got a call coming in on the other line.”
“What did he say?” Lisa asked.
“Said he didn’t do it. Whatever ‘it’ is. Do you have a copy of the school paper? I was so into finding Annie’s stalker yesterday that I forgot to read it.”
“Yeah, I do.” Lisa rummaged through her bag and pulled it out. “It’s the article about all the Fall Festival Queen contestants, isn’t it? He had no right to go tabloid on us. Some of the stuff isn’t even true. If he meant it as a joke, it isn’t funny.”
“Gavin says he’s in big trouble.”
“I can see why.”
Jennie took the crumpled paper from Lisa and unfolded it. The paper was a small one—two 11 × 17 pages folded in half.
“It’s inside on page three,” Lisa said.
On the inside right-hand page was an article entitled “Fall Festival Profiles.” Each of the girls in the running for queen had been featured. The article gave some stats on them—GPA, hobbies, interests—and included a photo. That part was okay. It was the bold print under each segment that made Jennie cringe. Within each of the girls’ frames was a caption labeled “Dirt.” Under Lisa’s it talked about her “problem with anorexia.” Allison’s mentioned how she’d “wet the bed until she was twelve.” Charity Brooks “got a D in math last year and had to go to summer school.” Annie’s read, “Annie Phillips was a trash can baby.”
“This is awful.” Jennie sank onto her bed next to her cousin.
“It’s worse than that,” Lisa said. “Annie’s especially. For the rest of us it’s not so bad. Everybody knew about my problem. Allison confessed the bed-wetting thing at a slumber party last year. And it’s no big secret about Charity’s math grade either. But Annie’s is really sick.”
Scanning the rest of the article, Jennie read that Annie Phillips, one of Trinity High’s most popular students, had been adopted as an infant by Dr. Paul Phillips and his wife, Jeanette. The writer of the article called Annie a piece of trash because Annie’s real parents had thrown her away. “I didn’t know Annie was adopted.”
“She didn’t either. She says it isn’t true. She’s threatening to sue Gavin for libel.”
“I can see why Gavin is so upset.” As the editor of the paper, he’d be credited with having written or okaying the article. He’d said he didn’t do it, and Jennie believed him. Gavin was an honest person and a good reporter. He wouldn’t print anything without the facts and research to back himself up. Even though the article brought up negative things about each of the girls, the piece on Annie was the worst. It looked as though someone was targeting her. Could it be the same person who’d been following her?
“Even if Gavin had known about Annie being adopted, he’d never have gone along with printing something that would be so hurtful to her,” Jennie went on. “Who else has access to the journalism room besides Mrs. Andrews and Gavin?”
“B.J. You don’t think B.J. might have done it?”
“Maybe a couple of months ago, when she first came to live with her dad, but not now.”
Bethany Beaumont, who insisted on being called B.J., worked on the paper with Gavin. Her sister, Allison, was one of the girls running for Fall Festival Queen against Annie. B.J. definitely had an attitude problem at times, but who wouldn’t with all she’d been through? She’d lost her mom and been thrown into a family she didn’t even know existed until her mother’s death.
“I know she can be a pain, but she wouldn’t be this mean.”
“I don’t think so either.” Jennie frowned. “Besides, I have a hunch this was written to hurt Annie more than any of the others. And as far as I know, B.J. likes Annie.”
“Jennie?” Gavin came back on the line.
“Yeah—I’m still here. I just read the article. It’s terrible. Who would have done something like this?”
“I don’t know. I’m getting the blame. But never mind that. I just got a call from Mrs. Andrews. Annie is missing.”
5
“Meet me at the mall in an hour,” Gavin said. “I’ll call B.J. and Allison again and tell them what time.”
“You don’t need me to pick you up?” Jennie asked. Gavin lived out in the country and didn’t have a license or a car.
“No. I’ll catch a ride with Mom. Might need you to take me home, though.”
“No problem. Um … I might be a little late. I’d like to stop over at Annie’s house. See if I can find out anything.”
“Good idea. I’d go myself, but I don’t think they’d welcome me right now. Can you let them know it wasn’t me?”
“Sure.” Jennie wrapped the phone cord around her finger. “We’d better go …”
“We?”
“Lisa’s here.”
“Oh.” Silence. “Tell her … tell her I didn’t print that stuff about her, okay?”
“I will.”
Jennie hung up, turned to her cousin, and repeated the conversation while they gathered their things and went downstairs.
Jennie leaped off the two bottom stairs, opened the front door, then closed it again. “Oops, my keys. And I’d better let Mom know where I’m going.
“Mom? Where are you?” Jennie yelled.
“In the kitchen.”
Jennie and Lisa crossed the entry, then traipsed through the dining room and into the kitchen. Mom brushed her hand across her forehead, lifting her moist auburn bangs.
Mom looked especially pretty. Her cheeks were pink—a good sign. She’d also gained weight. Her pregnancy was barely visible under the loose cotton dress she wore.
“You look warm,” Jennie said. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I am warm, but otherwise I feel great. Managed to keep my breakfast down this morning. I think I’ll live through this.”
“Good. Lisa and I are going out for a while.”
“I thought you were going to get your rough draft done today.” Susan McGrady took the spoon out of the blue Jell-O and tossed it in the sink.
“I was.” Jennie explained the incident about the article that had mysteriously appeared in the school paper. “I don’t know if I can do anything about it, but I really need to try.”
“May I see the article?”
Jennie handed her the paper. “Annie is really upset. Gavin says she’s missing. What makes matters even worse is that she’s sure someone has been following her. I just hope whoever it was hasn’t abducted her or something.”
“Does your father know?”
“I tried to call him, but he’s out on a case. If he calls back, maybe you can tell him. And ask him about the license number I gave him last night. There may be a connection between that number and Annie’s disappearance. In the meantime, Lisa and I are going to stop by Annie’s house, then meet Gavin and B.J. at the mall. We have to try to find her and figure out what’s going on.”
Jennie’s mom frowned as she read the article. “This is unthinkable. I can’t believe the Phillipses never told her.”
“You mean it’s true?” Lisa asked. “She really was found in the trash?”
“I’m afraid so. I don’t remember all the details, but I do remember the case. Kate and I talked about it at length. Being brand-new moms, we were horrified that anyone could throw away a precious baby. You two were only a few weeks old when it happened. Dr. Phillips was on duty at the hospital when the ambulance brought Annie in. She’d been born prematurely and nearly died. As far as I know, the police were never able to find the birth mother.”
“How did they find Annie?”
“The police received an anonymous tip from a woman who said she heard a baby crying near the store where the trash bin was sitting.”
“You mean she actually hear
d the baby and didn’t stop? I can’t believe anyone could be that cruel.” Jennie frowned. “Unless she’s the one who put her there.”
“That’s what the police thought. They figured the woman who called was the baby’s mother.”
“I’m glad someone got to Annie in time,” Lisa said.
“Yes.” Mom handed the paper back to Jennie. “I should call Jeanette and Paul. I’ll put the family on the prayer chain.”
“Good idea.” Jennie grabbed the keys from the peg by the back door.
“Call me if you hear anything,” Mom said.
“I will.”
Jennie opened the door and glanced around. “Where are Nick and Bernie? Seems awfully quiet around here this morning.” Bernie was Nick’s oversized St. Bernard pup. They could both be a nuisance, but she loved them.
“I figured since you were going to be doing homework today, you might want it quiet. I had your dad drop Nick off at Kate’s to play with Kurt, who insisted they bring Bernie. Honestly, sometimes I think he’s better suited to Bernie than Nick. Nick rarely plays with him anymore.”
“Bernie does play kind of rough. He practically knocks me over. Poor Nick ends up on his rear every time Bernie jumps up on him. Maybe you should give Bernie to Kurt. Nick doesn’t take care of him like he should, and if he’s afraid of him …”
“That’s exactly what your father said this morning. I think it’s a good idea—if Kate will go along with it.”
“Mom would love it, and Kurt would be thrilled,” Lisa said. “The hardest part would be convincing Nick.”
“I think Jason was going to talk to him about the possibility this morning. We’ll see how it goes. Bernie’s just gotten too big for Nick to handle. I was thinking we might do better with a smaller pet that’s easier to care for. A cat, maybe.”
“Sounds good, Mom. We’d better go.” Jennie pushed Lisa out the door. “Gavin will be waiting.”
“You’ll be back for dinner, won’t you?” Mom called after her.
“Should be.” Jennie turned around at the door. “I’ll call you if I’m held up.” Jennie and Lisa hurried to the car.
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