Listen

“Just trying to get this investigative reporting down.”

“I heard a cat got hung.”

“The news is making its way around, is it?”

“Gossip travels fast.”

“You hear anything else?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Kids talk. We’re trying to figure out if the neighbors did it.”

“No, I didn’t hear anything.”

“What about this Web site I showed you the other day? Anyone talking about that?”

Hunter shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard.”

Suddenly Damien got an idea. He leaned forward. “Edgar wants me to check this whole thing out. The Web site. Try to figure out where it’s coming from. You can do that, can’t you?”

“You mean hack into it and try to find the host and therefore find the person responsible?”

“Can you do that?”

“I can try. It’s not easy. Or, um, legal.”

“How about after work, I’ll join you upstairs, and we’ll see what we can dig up.”

Hunter pitched a thumbs-up.

11

The succulent smell of pork chops wafting into the dining room did nothing to add any ambience to the chilly atmosphere at the di

“Pork?” Je

“It’s a lean cut of pork,” Kay said, serving Damien and then Hunter. She tried not to focus on the paper-thin T-shirt Je

“Mother!” Je

“It was an accident,” Damien said, handing Je

Je

“No ma’am,” Kay said sternly. “Sit your rear end back down right now.”

All movement froze, Damien holding the scalloped potatoes, Hunter with a big bite of pork bulging in his cheek. Je

Kay cleared her throat and passed the bread basket. “Hunter, how was your day?”

“Good. Dad came to eat with me.”

Je

“Yeah, I’m going to need Hunter’s help for my first investigative piece. Edgar wants me to do some digging, see if we can figure out where that Web site about Marlo is coming from.”

“What Web site?” Kay asked.

“It’s called Listen to Yourself. Apparently it’s recording private conversations of the citizens of Marlo.”

“Are you reading it?” Je

“Not for pleasure, no. But it’s a little eerie. And newsworthy. Not to mention illegal if the person doing it is indeed eavesdropping.”

“Or maybe it’s more like Robin Hood. You know, stealing from the rich, giving to the poor.” Hunter shrugged. “Except with words.”

“That’s stupid.” Je

“Just weird, random conversations. Some are harmless and some are…”

“Are what?” Kay asked.

“Well, damaging. You two haven’t heard about this?”

“No,” Kay said. She looked at Je

Je

Kay watched her daughter for a moment, trying to read that mind of hers. When she was little, she’d worn every emotion on her sleeve. She became glassy-eyed at a moment’s notice if something didn’t go her way, or anyone else’s way for that matter. She had the biggest heart, always concerned for other people, including her little brother, who often made her life difficult if not embarrassing.

Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the emotions were gone and in their place, nothing more than sulky, disapproving expressions that went no deeper than the gobs of makeup she smothered her face in. She had the most beautiful freckles sprinkled across her nose, but they hadn’t seen the light of day since she’d discovered a high-priced foundation that promised to cover up all flaws. So what once had been a bright sign that summer was here was now like a shameful secret that was not allowed out.

Kay really missed those freckles. And so much more. Je

And then there was the way she’d suddenly started dressing. Sleazy. That was the only word for it. She hated to say it, but it was true. Cleavage when at all possible. Jeans tight and low. Shirts flimsy and revealing. Damien didn’t seemed concerned, but Kay knew what it meant.

Kay cleared her throat and focused her attention on Je

“Just because I cheer with them doesn’t mean I have to hang out with them,” Je

Damien added, “What about Natalie? She used to be a good friend.”

Je

“We just like to know who your friends are,” Damien said, his voice kind in tone like it always was with Je

Je

Kay lowered her fork. “You do?”

“What? You don’t approve of Natalie now?”

Damien frowned. “Nobody said that. Natalie’s a perfectly fine-”

“She’s not.”

Everyone stopped and looked at Kay.

“What I’m trying to say,” she said, forcing a calm tone on top of a tight smile, “is that Natalie seems troubled.”

Je

“I’m just hearing some things-”

“What things?”

“Her mother is… well, there’s some trouble at home and-”

“So what? That doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with Nat. Her parents are screwups. But it’s not fair to say she is.”

Damien held up a hand to each of them. “We’re not saying that. Not at all. I think you’re reading what your mom is saying wrong; isn’t she, Kay?”

Kay bit down hard on her lip, casting a measured look at Damien. “I think that she should be careful when choosing friends. Sometimes kids can act out when their parents are going through something and can be bad influences on other kids.”

Je

“They seem like nice girls.”

“Do they. Hmm.”

“And Madison in particular. She’s a straight-A student.”

“So let me get this straight. You want me to hang out with Caydance and Zoey and Madison because they’re popular and straight-A students, and you don’t want me to hang out with Natalie because her parents are weird.”

“That’s not what your mother is saying,” Damien said, shooting Kay a look that said stop talking. “You’ve always chosen your friends wisely. We don’t question that at all. I think what your mother is trying to say is that if Natalie becomes a bad influence, think twice about hanging out with her.”