eBully

Dave Conifer

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2009 Dave Conifer

Cover design by J.L. Penn, author of bestselling women’s fiction books

Discover other titles by Dave Conifer:

Throwback

FireHouse

Man of Steel

Snodgrass Vacation

Foreword

Cyberbullying is real. It happens. The internet, and the world of online social networks in particular, is so new that we hardly understand some of the horrible things that can happen when immaturity and the freedom of anonymity are combined with the pervasive reach of the world wide web.

In eBully, Principal Lukather decides on an unorthodox approach to tracking down a cyberbully because of a horrific incident that happened in his school the previous year.  That fictitious incident, which led to an attempted suicide, is based closely on a heartbreaking series of events that occurred in the Midwest several years ago with one crucial difference.  Unlike in eBully, that teen succeeded in taking her own life.  This story is dedicated to her.

Chapter 1

Carly Gillette heard the unmistakable sound of her vibrating cell phone as she sat at the kitchen table leafing through catalogs with her mother. She tracked the intermittent, almost sub-aural buzz until she saw the phone on the countertop next to the toaster oven. It rotated a quarter-turn with each buzz as she watched in horror. Hiding her feelings was something she’d gotten good at recently, but there was no way she could fool her own mother. Not for much longer, anyway. “Be right back,” she said cheerily as she pushed back her chair and scrambled to the countertop.

“You and those phones,” she heard her mother saying. “Can’t you girls go a half-hour without knowing what the other is thinking?” She knew her mother was smiling. She didn’t have a clue. Not about this.

Her face sagged as she slipped into the nearest refuge – the bathroom -- and pushed the door closed. It had been almost twenty-four hours since the last one. She’d thought it might be over. Her hands were shaking even before she pulled the phone out and looked at the screen. She felt sick to her stomach when she saw the text message. Whoever was doing this wasn’t going away.

I’m Watching You. We all are. Everybody knows what u did.

The message was just like the others. She had no idea what it was about or who had sent it. The phone dropped from her hands to land face down on the floor. She didn’t even have time to wonder if it had broken because it immediately began to vibrate again. Another call was coming in. The phone vibrated against the woodwork. She was torn about what to do because she didn’t want her mother to hear it but she was afraid to pick it up and look. When the buzzing finally stopped she slumped onto the floor next to it. Tears pricked at her eyes. She would rather die than check the phone but she did anyway.

This time it wasn’t a message. It was even worse. It was a photograph. Even on the tiny screen she could see all the details. It was a picture of her. Sitting on a toilet. Pants down. At school. Somebody must have reached over the stall door with their phone and snapped it off. It was taken from above so only the top of her face was visible. She knew by the clothes that the picture had been taken earlier that day.

Whoever was behind this was somebody close by. Maybe even somebody she knew. Maybe somebody she called a friend.

The phone vibrated in her hand. She nearly dropped it again. This time it was text again.

U Shld have smiled. This pic will mk U famous

She knew what that meant. Every Lakeland Middle School student with a phone was probably looking at the same picture right now. How could she ever show her face at school again? Why are they doing this to me? She heard herself sobbing but forced herself to stop.

“Carly?” It was her mother on the other side of the door. Had she heard? “I have to run next door for a minute.”

“Okay, Mom.” Somehow her voice sounded okay. Her mother wouldn’t know anything was wrong. That was good. If anybody found out it could only mean more trouble.

She stood up and turned to the mirror. Her eyes were red. She turned on the water and cupped her hands to throw water into her ashen face. After she heard the front door close she dried off and opened the door. She needed to get to her computer. Lisa Beckwith, her best friend since second grade, would know what to do.

Carly’s mother wasn’t happy about all the time she spent logged in to her OurPlace account. She’d heard too much about the problems it could cause. Just a few months earlier something bad had happened to another girl, Jenny Rhome, a student right there at Lakeland. Nobody really knew exactly what happened but the rumors were that it had been about something on OurPlace. Some kids said she attempted suicide but nobody was sure about anything except that she disappeared from school just before summer vacation started.

She tried not to talk about OurPlace in front of her mother but Carly just couldn’t stay away. Or maybe it was just that she saw no reason to. Most of the kids at school were logged on nearly around the clock. While the machine warmed up she prayed silently that Lisa would be there. If she was on, and just like Carly she nearly always was, they could IM about what had happened. She clicked on the IM icon, tapped out a quick greeting, and sent it to Lisa’s account. When there was no immediate response she flopped onto her bed to wait for a reply.

While she waited she thought about the picture. She could only remember being in the school bathroom once during the day, except for the customary post-lunch visit when she went in to check her face and teeth for food. The time stamp on the picture said it all. Since the picture was taken at 9:08 it had to have been taken between second and third period. She tried to remember if anybody she’d known had been in there. Of course, anybody could have come in after her and taken that picture. And anybody did.

When she heard the electronic IM chime she sat up. In the dark room she could see blue text in the IM box on the computer screen across the room. Not good, she thought as she slid off the bed. Lisa always writes in red. When she got close enough to see that the message was in all caps that heavy feeling in her gut was back. Before she could read the words she knew. The night’s attack wasn’t over yet.

Slice: U CANT HIDE. I KNO WHERE TO FIND U. I HAVE LOTS

MORE PIX. GOT MY EYE ON U. YOU WILL BE SORRY.

She clicked the X to close the IM window but not before making note of the name of the user who sent the message. It was hard to hold the mouse steady with her trembling hand as she clicked her way to the security menu, where she blocked all incoming messages from that user.

The messages didn’t vary much. It had started the first week of school but had really picked up two weeks later. Somebody out there hated her for something that they seemed to think she had done. The worst part was that whoever was doing this knew a lot about her. At first she had assumed it was a random attack by some twisted geek with nothing better to do. It felt good to blame it on a stranger, somebody who had picked her by chance. Before long, however, that became impossible to do. Increasingly the messages had demonstrated that whoever was sending them knew exactly who she was and what she was doing.

She was back on the bed trying not to cry when she heard the chimes again. Thank God, she thought. Lisa. This time, the text in the IM window was red, Lisa’s color, but again the message wasn’t from her.

Slice2: LOL. block that screen name yet? cant block them all. Loser!!!!!

Slice2: next time it will be video. C u on Youtube.

Same attacker, different screen name. Every time Carly blocked a screen name the attacker could easily make up a new one, and they knew it. The only way to hide was to stay off the computer. And the cell phone too. She reached under the desk and yanked the power cord out of the wall. That would cause problems for the next time she booted up but it was the fastest way to turn the machine off. She might never want it on again anyway. Maybe she didn’t want the phone anymore either. But part of her knew it wouldn’t matter. There was nowhere to hide.

~~~

The next evening Carly logged on to OurPlace just before starting her homework, just like she always did. There was an email from Lisa, which was odd. She usually called or sent an IM. Of course, that’s kind of hard when my phone is turned off and I’m not logged on yet, she thought. She knew even before she’d clicked the e-mail open that it was about something bad. Otherwise it could have waited.

Car, did u see the website somebody put up about u? U may as well look at

it. But call me first! Lis

At the bottom of e-mail message was a link. Lisa was probably right, she should call first, to help prepare her for a shock, but she couldn’t stop herself from clicking the link. She was horrified at what she saw.

Top Ten Reasons Mr. Gillette Dumped His Family and Ran away as fast as

he could:

10) who wants that ugly whiner for a wife

9) daughter Carly is a complete skank

8) Their son Doug is coming out of the closet

…to be continued

She couldn’t believe it. Somebody had gone to a lot of trouble to set up a web site. Who hates me this much?

She unplugged the computer without bothering to log off, just as she’d done the night before. After a few minutes she gave up on homework. She couldn’t see with the tears in her eyes and it was impossible to think straight anyway. By eight-o’clock she was laying on her bed feeling sorry for herself and watching the room darken as night fell.

Chapter 2

It wasn’t until he sat down at the weather-beaten picnic table between the baseball diamonds that Scott Halifax realized he had no idea what this Mr. Lukather looked like. He wouldn’t know him when he saw him. When he agreed to this meeting he hadn’t thought to ask for a description. What thirteen-year old boy would have?

He could see the County Youth Detention Center across the street. He’d been a “resident” there for two months. They didn’t like words like “inmate” or “conviction” over there but the fact was he called the place home because he’d been caught shoplifting in May and sentenced in July. It was amusing to him that it was shoplifting that finally landed him in jail. He’d done worse things.

Life in the Center hadn’t been so bad. He kind of liked the place. Never in his life had he seen so much brick. It looked like one of the prep schools he’d attended for a few months a year or two earlier except that everything looked old and run-down, and of course, there was a sixteen-foot fence topped with razor wire encircling the place. Even so, it was more summer camp than prison except he wasn’t allowed to leave. That changed on this day, when he was sent out the front gate without a guard to meet with Steve Lukather, a vice principal at some middle school.

He was nervous and excited at the same time. The meeting meant more to him than he wanted to admit and he didn’t know what to expect. Being sent outside the fence without a guard was unheard of, but here he was. Something unusual was in the works.

Usually Scott tried not to get too eager about a meeting like this, mostly because he didn’t want to give anybody the satisfaction. Meeting with grownups in fancy suits was nothing new and it usually turned out the same. He’d been through four foster homes and endured so many suspensions from school that he’d stopped counting. It wasn’t often that the troubled-child bureaucracy came up with any surprises but this was one of those times when he didn’t know what to expect.

The meeting almost didn’t happen thanks to Scott’s efforts to show indifference. Wilma Bogues, his battle-hardened counselor, was one of the few adults he thought he could trust, mostly because she wasn’t afraid to talk straight with him. “Teenage bad-asses are a dime-a-dozen. You won’t like where you’ll be in ten years,” she’d said more than once. She could probably get in trouble for talking to him that way. He liked her because she did it anyway.

“Somebody wants to make a deal with you,” she’d told him a week earlier. “They came to me and I told them I had just the kid for them.” It took three days before he did more than shrug it off, but she wore him down and he had agreed at least to hear the proposal.

“What’s the deal?” he finally asked after a weekend had passed.

“I don’t know the details. But it could get you out of this place with a clean record. He wants to talk with you first before he tells us anything more. If you’re not interested, don’t say you are. I can find somebody else.”

That was two days earlier and he’d given it a lot of thought. He wasn’t much concerned about a clean slate. Based on past experience it wouldn’t stay clean very long. He did like the idea of getting out from behind the fence.

~~~

“Scott? Scott Halifax?”

Scott spun sideways without getting up, his backside grinding into the wood bench, and found himself facing a man in a blue suit holding a stack of files. Annoyed with himself for allowing Lukather to catch him off guard, he nodded silently.

“You are Scott Halifax, aren’t you?” Lukather repeated.

“Yeah.”

“Mind if I sit down?”

“Sure.”

Lukather dropped his paperwork on the table and walked around to the other side. “Nice to finally meet you,” Lukather said as he sat. He rapped the manila envelopes in front of him with his knuckles. “Steve Lukather,” he said, reaching across the table. “I’m a vice principal at Lakeland Middle School.”

Scott shook his hand. He wore the standard uniform, the dark suit and red tie, but didn’t look old enough to be a vice principal. His hair was too long and he hadn’t shaved in days. It wasn’t like it was summer vacation. School had been back in session for a few weeks.

“I know you pretty well,” Lukather told him. “You’ve got quite a paper trail.”

“What’s this deal you told Mrs. Bogues about?” Scott asked.

“Slow down, Scott. There’s no deal yet. I think you’re the guy I’m looking for but I need to know for sure.”

“What don’t you know?” Scott asked. “Isn’t it all in there?”

“There’s a lot in these files. You never knew your parents. You’ve been in the foster program but you’ve never lived with the same folks more than two years. Usually a lot less. You’ve never done well at school. You’ve been suspended six times and you were expelled last May for monkeying with school computers. That was just before you got busted for trying to steal a few cases of something or other from the Seven-Eleven. You’ve got a pretty extensive criminal record, all juvenile stuff. But that isn’t really what I came here to find out about.”

“You know all that stuff and you still want to make a deal with me?”

“I need somebody who isn’t afraid to take risks and wants another chance. That’s part of it, anyway. What happened with all the foster parents?”

“I can’t help it if they get tired of me. Most of them were just doing it for the money. Kind of like if they were taking care of somebody’s dog.”

“Getting into trouble at school didn’t help.”

“Regular kids get in trouble at school, too. Their parents don’t dump them.”

“Tell me what happened last year with the grade-fixing. I know you were fixing grades for money. Did you hack into the school computers?”

“I just kept poking around until I figured it out,” Scott said, shrugging. “It wasn’t too hard.”

“You’re pretty good with computers, aren’t you? They told me you shouldn’t have been able to do what you did.”

“It was just common sense, I guess.”

“The project I’m thinking of bringing you in on has a lot to do with computers.“

“I’m not some computer nerdo wastoid.”

“I’m not looking for some computer nerdo wastoid.” Scott couldn’t stop himself from smiling. This guy’s a vice principal?

“I think you’re my man,” Lukather said. “Except for one thing. I feel like I’m getting attitude from you. That’s no good. I don’t know what to do about that. I can’t make you want to work with me. You’ve still got your back up, if you know what I mean. Can you work with me? Do you want to?”

“What are we working on?”

Lukather stroked his chin as he looked closely at Scott. “Better,” he said after a pause. “What was school like for you? Who did you hang out with?”

“Nobody special. Whoever.”

“With the tough guys?”

“Not really,” Scott said. “Not all the time. I never really look for anybody special.”

“Computer nerdo wastoids?”

Scott laughed. “Maybe. When it comes to friends I take what I can get or I hang out alone.”

Lukather nodded. “Good. Good. Mrs. Bogues was right about one thing, at least.”

“About what?”

Lukather picked up one of the files and opened it, but then flipped it shut just as quickly. “What if I could get you out of here? I could get all your violations, convictions and everything else expunged. You’d enroll in my school just like any other new student. Everything that happened in the past is history. You’re still Scott Halifax but everything else is erased.”

“Where would I go?”

“We’d have to work on that. A better place than here, at least.”

“What’s the catch?”

“You help me with some problems in my school. Serious problems.”

“Like what?”

Lukather took a deep breath. It looked to Scott like he was making a decision. When he leaned forward towards Scott, elbows on the table and fists under his chin, Scott felt like he was in. “What do you know about internet bullying?” he asked.

“Wait a minute! Is this the girl that tried to off herself last year?”

“Don’t blow it, Scott,” Lukather said. “You’re talking about one of my students.”

“I heard they were dogging her on OurPlace. But I heard she started it.”

“Do you have any experience with OurPlace?”

“I never had my own profile but I know something about it.”

“Well that’s a lot of what this is all about. Text messaging on the phones, too. That’s why I need somebody who knows his way around the technology. I know what’s going on in my school and it’s only a matter of time before it happens again. Or worse. I can’t get at it from where I am. I need somebody on the inside.”

“Wait a second, here. I get what you’re talking about. I’m no narc. I’m not ratting anybody out. Forget it.”

“No? There’s nobody you wouldn’t rat out? There’s nothing so heinous that you wouldn’t blow the whistle on?”

“Blow the whistle? What does that even mean?”

“It means this. One of my kids got bullied so badly last year that she went to the bathtub and sliced her wrists open with a razor. Do you know how bad she must have felt about her life to do that? And she didn’t even know who was doing it to her. That’s part of why it hurts so bad. You’re cool with that? You wouldn’t rat those people out if you could?”

“Bullying is nothing new,” Scott replied. “The only way to deal with it is fight back. You have to stand up for yourself. Even if you get your ass whipped they won’t pick on you anymore. I’ve gotten punched out plenty of times when I had to. Just because somebody’s using a computer doesn’t make it any different.”

“Oh, but that’s where you’re wrong. It’s completely different. What if you don’t even know who to fight back against?” Lukather said. He was sweating in the September heat now. After loosening his tie he stood and placed his foot on the bench seat. “Look, I know what you’re talking about. You’re talking about the good old rules of the playground. I get that. I’ve been there too. But how about if you never know who it is that’s telling you your boyfriend is cheating, or that they’re going to break your arm or throw a brick at your sister? It could be anybody. That’s a whole different ball of wax, isn’t it? It could be your best friend. It could be somebody you’ve never even met! It’s a lot different than the school bully getting in your face after school. In that case it’s just like you said. You know who he is and you get it over with pretty quickly one way or another. This is different. It never ends and you don’t even know where it’s coming from. Get the picture?”

“Maybe.”

“You don’t know when to let your guard down so you never do. You’re on guard twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Because that’s when you have to deal with it. All the time. Wherever, whenever. It wears you down psychologically. It’s not like the playground bully at all. With him you know where he is and where you’re safe. Come on Scott, think!” Lukather was angry now. “You log on to the computer at night in your bedroom, it’s there. You check your cell phone while you’re sitting at breakfast or between classes, it’s there. You can’t just man up and face it like you were talking about. You can’t stand up and take your beating and get it over with! The cowards doing it aren’t even going to show you who they are! Do you get it now?”

“I said I’m no narc,” Scott repeated, folding his arms.

Lukather pulled his shirttail out and mopped his face with it. He smoothed his shaggy hair back and wiped his hands on his pants. His sideburns were darkened with perspiration. “Sorry,” he said. “I got a little carried away there, huh? I tell you what, though. Anybody who lived through what happened in my school would be the same way. If you knew this girl you’d understand. And I’m the one who had to face her parents.” He sat back down and rubbed the back of his hand across his glistening forehead. “She’d never hurt a fly. But it’s over for her, at least. She’ll probably go to another school this year and get over this. But there’ll be others. Whoever did this loved every minute of it. We already know he’s back in action and the school year is only a few weeks old.”

“And you want me to help catch the guy.”

“We don’t know that it’s a guy, but yes.”

Scott shrugged. “Well, I guess it beats what I’m doing now. I’ll go along with it. I’ll help.”

Lukather sighed. “I don’t think that’s good enough, Scott. You sound like you’re just looking for a free pass out of here. I don’t think you care.”

“I can learn to care. Just give me a shot.”

“No, not like this. We’re done here. Maybe we can talk again later. For now, let’s get you back behind those bars.”

Chapter 3

Contact between Scott and Lukather didn’t end that day in the park. Both of them came in their own way to regret being so obstinate. Scott knew he’d thrown away a chance for a fresh start, or at least a way out of jail. Lukather knew he’d been impatient and hadn’t fully understood Scott’s cynicism and distrust of adults.

For Lukather, there was too much urgency for him to be so selective. Whoever it was that had driven his student to a suicide attempt a few months earlier was back at it again and he hadn’t found anybody better than Scott to bring onboard. Luckily for both of them, Wilma Bogues was wise enough not to let the idea die. A week later the two were face to face again in her office at the County Detention Center.

“You look good,” Lukather said to open the conversation.

“Before you start,” Bogues said to Lukather after the door was pushed closed, “Let’s get this out of the way. You understand that we’re about to file the petition to expunge his record? I don’t see any point in waiting.”

“Yeah, sure,” Lukather answered. “Whatever we need to do.”

“After it goes through we won’t have any cause to hold him here. A decision will have to be made about where he can go.”

“How long will that be?” Lukather asked.

“Some judges are quicker than others. Could be as short as a month or as long as six.”

“What?” Scott protested. “I thought I was out of here today.”

“Where would you go, Scott?” Bogues asked.

“Does that mean he’ll have to live here?” Lukather asked. “The school’s fifteen miles away.”

“There’s nothing I can do,” she answered, shrugging her shoulders. “You should have come sooner.”

“We’ll just have to work out the transportation,” Lukather said. “I was hoping to have you closer but it doesn’t sound like we have much choice.”

“Okay. Whatever. I don’t have any place to go anyway, do I?”

“I’ve almost finished getting you registered and enrolled. You’re undercover but there’s no reason not to use your real name. We may as well keep it simple.” He slid a pack of paperwork across the table. “Here’s everything you’d have gotten if you’d been at seventh grade orientation. It’s your schedule, locker number, and a few forms you’ll need to fill out. Make sure you take care of all that and bring it all on your first day. Which will be as soon as all the paperwork goes through. Okay?”

Scott nodded while shoving the paperwork off to the side, trying to make a show of his disappointment in not being released from the Center immediately.

In the two days since Bogues had talked him into the deal he’d undergone a physical transformation that he thought would help him fit in. Gone was the stringy, shoulder length hair that had hung menacingly into his eyes, and in its place was a standard crew cut. Instead of one of his well-worn rock band t-shirts he’d pulled a never-before-worn green polo shirt from the back of a dresser drawer. The stiff Reeboks that replaced his scuffed black boots had never been out of the shoebox until that day. I go to all this trouble and he can’t even get me out of here, Scott thought bitterly. All I get is ‘You look good.’

“Okay,” Lukather said. “Good. We got all the paperwork out of the way. Let’s talk about the case. Let me tell you a little bit about what happened last year. Then I’m going to show you a tape. But first I need you to understand something. You’ll be part of ongoing investigation. Anything you learn along the way is completely confidential. You have to keep it to yourself. Can I count on you?”

“Sure. I won’t talk. As long as you get me out of here when we’re done. Who would I tell, the guys in here? They don’t care.”

“If you’re thinking of backing out, now is the time. If you wait until after I brief you I’m going to be pretty ticked off. I’m really taking a chance here. Hell, it’s probably illegal to bring you in at all.” He looked over at Bogues, who managed to avoid eye contact.

“I’m in. What do you need, a contract signed with my blood?”

“It all starts with my student. Her name was Jenny Rhome. Is, I should say. Sweetest kid you’ll ever meet. Very insecure. She’s fighting a weight problem and she’s extremely sensitive about it.” He was moving around the office, setting up a laptop computer near the window as he spoke. “She was attacked over the net and she handled it badly. I remember you said you heard about her attempted suicide. This tape shows her parents telling her story. It was an interview they did with Channel Eight news that never aired. It’s just the parents answering questions. Ready?”

“Yup.”

“Oh, yeah, one more thing. They’re both remarried with kids from a prior marriage. Jenny’s mother kept her old name. So she’s actually Mrs. Ford, not Mrs. Rhome. She’s Jenny’s stepmother. I thought I’d mention it in case the names start flying around. I edited the questions out. All you’ll hear is the parents,” Lukather said as he moved the mouse and clicked.

Two seated figures appeared on the computer screen. The blonde woman looked too young to have a teenage daughter. The father was a burly man with a prominent mustache. Neither looked like they’d been crying but both looked weary. Scott leaned back in his chair and listened.

Mom: “I was worried when Jenny came to us wanting

an OurPlace account because I’d heard quite a bit

about it. All of it bad. I got the impression

that there weren’t any rules. But all her friends

were on. We ended up telling her she could join

but that we would control the account until we

were okay with the whole thing. We never gave

her the password, so she couldn’t do much without

us knowing about it.”

Lukather stopped the video. “How much do you know about OurPlace?” he asked.

“Not much,” Scott admitted. “I went on USOL for a while. I went into chat rooms and did IMs and stuff. I think OurPlace is way more advanced.”

“Yeah, I’d say so. It’s on a whole different level than USOL. She’s wrong about there not being any rules. There are about ten screens full of rules that every user has to sign off with. But accounts are free and anyone can get one. And the rules aren’t really enforced most of the time.” He restarted the interview.

Dad: “We were pretty good about monitoring the

account. We could log on anytime and see

everything that she was up to. Since we had the

password we felt like we were in complete

control.”

Mom: “Everybody always says we’re overprotective.

That was definitely true with this. We kept very

close track of this.”

Dad: “Very close.”

Mom: “A few weeks after she’s been on she gets a

‘friend request’ from a boy named Dylan.”

Lukather stopped the interview again. “Do you know what that is?”

Scott shook his head. “No idea.”

“It’s an OurPlace system message that tells a user that another user wants to establish a relationship. A connection, I guess. If you say ‘No’ there’s no way for that account to contact your account directly. If you say ‘Yes’, you’re account will have a link, or a path, to the other account. You can share pictures, notes, whatever. But remember, Jenny’s parents controlled the account so only they could say ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ You’ll see.”

Mom: “She was so excited. The request came with

a little picture. She begged us to say ‘Yes.’

It meant so much to her, being so insecure about

her weight, I guess. Here was a really good-

looking guy that seemed interested in her. She

wanted it so bad and we didn’t see why not, so we

agreed to it.”

Dad: “No. We didn’t know who Dylan was and

neither did Jenny. We’ve beat ourselves up

over this, over and over. You can only imagine.

We should have been suspicious. He claimed to

know Jenny but he didn’t go to Lakeland.”

Mom: “He didn’t go to any school. He was home-

schooled. And he didn’t have a phone, and he

never once asked Jenny for her phone number. He

wouldn’t even give her an address.”

Dad: “We should have seen all these red flags.

But she was so excited. She was so happy. It

was easy not to think it through.”

Mom: “Every day after school she’d barrel into

the house and ask me to log into the

account to see if there were any messages

from him. She just couldn’t get enough of

Dylan. And it seemed like he felt the same

way. I guess it was just too perfect.”

Dad: “He’d just moved from Florida. It was well

thought out. He didn’t have any history. He

played the guitar and always had something

interesting to talk about. Nobody could possibly

be as great as this kid seemed to be. If only

we’d seen it.“

Mom: “It’s easy to second-guess ourselves now

but Dylan just turned our daughter into an

entirely different person. She just glowed, in a

way she never had before. She finally had some

self-confidence.”

Dad: “She wasn’t so down on herself the

way she usually was. She even started to drop

some weight. She’d started diets a hundred times

but this was the first time it lasted more than a

day. I told her she was beautiful every day of

her life but it didn’t mean anything to her, I

guess. Not like when it came from Dylan.”

Mom: “This went on for about two months. A

little less, maybe. Then it all fell apart. All

in one day. I’ll never forgive myself because it

was the one day that I was so busy that I wasn’t

paying attention. I wasn’t on top of it.”

Dad: “It would have happened anyway. Just on

another day.”

Mom: “I logged her in and then I went to start

dinner. Next thing I knew she called me back in.

She was in tears. There was a nasty message from

Dylan. I’ll remember it word for word until the

day I die. ‘I don’t know if I want to be friends

with you anymore because I’ve heard that you are

not very nice to your friends.’ Jenny typed back

‘What are you talking about?’ I told her to log

off, and I thought she did.”

Lukather paused the interview. “You’re following this, right? This Dylan has been leading her on but now, out of the blue, he comes down hard on her.”

Mom: “A few minutes later I walked back through

where the computer is and she’s still at the

keyboard. Now she’s hysterical,

hyperventilating, the whole works. She said

‘Mom, they’re being so mean to me and I don’t

know why.’”

At that point the woman in the video begins to cry and her husband took over the storytelling.

Dad: “We’re still not clear on what happened. We

don’t really understand how OurPlace works. But

somehow she was bombarded with nasty messages

from other accounts that must have been hooked

up with Dylan’s. ‘Jen is a slut.’ ‘Jen is a

bitch.’ ‘Jen is fat.’ Everything in the book.

Looking back, we’re pretty sure it was all coming

from a single source, whoever dreamed up this

Dylan business, but of course we didn’t think of

that at the time.”

Mom: “I couldn’t believe the language she was

using in her answers. I sent her to her room for

it. I guess I should have taken up for her more.

It all happened so fast. But before she got up

one more message from Dylan came through. I’ll

never, never forget it. It said ‘Everybody knows

what you are. You are a bad person and everybody

hates you. The world would be a better place

without you.’”

Dad: “I was just coming down the stairs when she

ran past me up to her room. A few minutes later

we both got this eerie feeling. We looked at

each other and then ran upstairs. We ran.”

“That’s the end,” Lukather said. “Pretty much. They found Jenny unconscious in the bathtub with her wrists slit. A few minutes more and it would have been too late. That was five months ago. She’s still in the hospital under twenty-four hour psychiatric care.”

“That blows,” Scott said.

“You said it.”

“I wouldn’t even know how to slit my wrists.”

“Apparently it isn’t that hard. Millions have done it.”

“That’s who we’re going after? Dylan?”

“Dylan doesn’t exist. We’re going after whoever created Dylan. And I tell you what. I’m going to nail whoever did this if it’s the last thing I do because he’s at it again. I just know it’s the same guy. But this time I’m ready for him. This time I’ve got eyes and ears on the ground. Isn’t that right, Scott?”

Chapter 4

Wednesday morning of the third week of school marked the first time in longer than Carly could remember that she walked past her computer without turning it on. Her cell phone was off as well, another first. She was sure Lisa had been trying to reach her, but leaving it on wasn’t worth the risk of whatever else would probably happen.

It had been two days since she’d received the bathroom photo. On Tuesday she’d gone to school petrified with fear that everybody with a cell phone had been sent a copy. It didn’t take long that morning to understand that nobody else had seen it, much to her relief.

“That’s good,” Lisa had said. “I’ll bet it never sees the light of day.”

Lisa’s optimism aside, Carly’s relief was soon replaced by angst. She felt even worse knowing the picture was out there, ready to be sprung on the student body at any moment by her still-unknown enemy. If it were going to happen it’d be better to get it over with. She hadn’t been able to eat since seeing the picture for the first time, although she’d put on a good show to avoid tipping off her mother about what was going on. Still, Tuesday afternoon came and went with nothing happening except for the usual anonymous text messages, which were nasty but vague.

Everything had changed on Tuesday night. That’s when Lisa sent a frantic IM, warning Carly that the picture had been sent to her phone and probably those of hundreds of kids at school as well. Lisa’s warning hadn’t been a complete surprise. Just a few minutes earlier she’d received another anonymous text message on her cell phone:

Get ready to be famous

A few minutes later she received a fresh copy of the picture. There was no way to know for sure but she had no doubt that every kid at school with a cell phone had received it too.

She tossed and turned restlessly in bed that night fighting for sleep, wondering and worrying what the next day would be like. She didn’t know how she was going to get through it. Everybody in the halls would have that picture. She wasn’t even sure why it was so embarrassing. It wasn’t like it showed anything but her head and thighs. But it was. Painfully. When the alarm clock rang at six-thirty she had been asleep but she knew it hadn’t been for very long.

“Hi Hon,” her mother said after she’d showered and dressed before making her way downstairs. “I’ve got to get to work early. Can you get your breakfast?”

“Sure, Mom.” She’d managed to feed herself before school every day since her mother had gone back to work but the question came every morning anyway.

“I love you,” she said as she kissed Carly’s forehead. “Have a great day at school, okay?”

She was glad her mother was too rushed to notice how upset she was. Explaining what was happening would have been difficult and there was nothing her mother could do to help. But if there was ever a day that Carly knew she wasn’t going to have a great day at school, this was it. Who even knew how many kids had that picture? Most of them had probably saved it, ready to send it back out across the student network when it came up in conversation. She could expect a day -- no, a year -- of whispers, pointing and staring in the hallway as kids recognized her. It would be even worse with the kids that knew her well enough to approach her.

She thought about not going to school as she watched her mother pull away in her brown sedan. But unless she was going to stay away forever, what was the point in that? Instead of the customary bowl of cold cereal she poured a small glass of orange juice, which she ended up ignoring as she sat quietly at the table with her arms wrapped around herself. It wasn’t a good time to be alone. She wished Doug were there, but he’d been out the door and on his way to the high school at least an hour earlier. Even though she didn’t think she could tell Doug what happened, she’d feel better if he was with her. She sat like a statue listening to the ticking of the kitchen clock. If only she could run away.

At seven-thirty she pushed back her chair and poured the juice down the sink. She pulled the cell phone from her backpack and considered turning it on to call Lisa, but decided not to risk it. She could have used the landline but she knew Lisa wouldn’t answer because she wouldn’t recognize the number. She’d have to wait until they met up before homeroom like they usually did. With any luck she wouldn’t see anybody on the ten-minute walk to Lakeland.

The gawking started as soon as she walked in. Even without looking she could sense the faces turned towards her. Don’t cry. It had been broadcast. Don’t cry. Don’t cry, she commanded herself. But it wasn’t working. When she looked up in time to see two eighth grade boys holding a cell phone and snickering she felt tears welling up. By the time she reached her locker she had to wipe her eyes before dialing the combination. After she finally got it open on the fourth try she was sure the entire student body had gathered behind her. When she felt a hand on her arm she jumped.

“Carly! What happened? Who took that picture?”

The sight of her friend magnified her emotions. Don’t cry.

“I’ve been trying to call you! Where’s your phone?” Lisa asked.

Carly tried a deep breath. Crying in the hall always attracted a crowd in middle school and like vultures they knew there was a good chance it could happen here. They crept closer. Carly looked up at Lisa helplessly. “Who’s doing this?” she asked, sniffling and shuddering at the same time.

“I don’t know. I got it last night. I tried to call you.” She moved close enough to put her arm around Carly’s shoulders.

“I turned my phone off after I got the picture.”

“What are you looking at?” Lisa barked at the mob. Most began shuffling away. One punched buttons on his phone and then held the tiny screen up, grinning.

“What are you going to do?” Lisa asked Carly.

“What do you mean? What can I do?”

“I’ll find out who did this,” Lisa snarled. “There has to be a way.”

“I don’t think there is, Lisa.”

“There’s got to be. Somebody around here has to know something,” she said glaring at the kids that hadn’t left. “I’ll start knocking heads if I have to.”

“Let me know what you find out so I can get my life back.”

It didn’t get much better for Carly that day. During the morning it seemed like only half the kids in the school were staring. By the afternoon that half had grown tired of it but a whole new group had a copy of it as it trickled through the network. Tired of repairing her mascara, she slipped into the bathroom and wiped it off with a wet paper towel before fourth period. She held herself together as best she could by ignoring the staring and catcalls but by the end of the day she was in tears again as she left the school with Lisa by her side.

“I might as well kill myself after everybody saw that picture.”

“Don’t say that, Carly. Maybe we should go talk to the principal or something.”

“No. I have enough trouble as it is.”

“I wish I could find out who did it,” Lisa said. “I’d be all over her. I guess we know it’s a girl.”

“We do?”

“Unless a guy was in the girls bathroom. But I guess anything is possible.”

“I’m afraid to plug back in. For all I know there’s more pictures popping up out there. I’ve never felt so crappy in my life. Every time someone looks at me I just want to die.”

They were at the corner where they normally parted ways, so they stopped. “I’d come home with you but I have to let the dog out,” Lisa said. “Nobody else is home.”

“I’m going back online after dinner,” Carly said. “Might as well find out what else they have in store for me. There’s nothing worse than not knowing.”

“I’ll try to come over,” Lisa promised. “Or else I’ll be on too.”

“Thanks. I hope you can.”

“Try not to worry about it, Carly. It sucks but it’s probably over with now. They got their jollies. By tomorrow everybody’ll have forgotten.”

“I’d be so happy if I believed that.”

“I’m sure of it. Hey, are you still up for ‘Spiderman’ Friday night? Everybody’s going.”

“I don’t think I want to see anybody.”

“Come on, it’ll all be over by then. You can’t turn into a hermit. There are a lot of boys going.”

“Nobody’s going to be there for me, Lisa. Nobody wants anything to do with me. I’m ‘Toilet Girl’ now.”

~~~

The phone was turned back on even before she reached home. No calls or texts came in during the short walk from the corner back to her house. So far, so good, she thought, but it was only five minutes. Her mother was still at work but Doug was already home. That was unusual. Carly and Doug had never been close, at least not until their father left. Even so, she always felt safer when he was around. Mrs. Nilsson, the counselor at school, said that clinging together was normal in a family after a divorce. “Hi,” she said to Doug, who was sitting in the kitchen eating a sandwich. “Aren’t you supposed to be at football?”

“Coach canceled practice,” he said before gulping the rest of his milk. “He has to teach driver’s ed once a month.”

She looked at him, wanting to tell him what had happened but afraid to find out that he didn’t care. She would give anything for him to notice that she’d been crying and ask what was wrong. If that happened she would tell him everything. “I’ll be upstairs,” she finally said after waiting a few extra seconds.

Once in her room she decided to stay off the computer until later, when she knew Lisa would be on. The phone was still quiet. Maybe there was hope after all. She resisted the urge to turn it off, even though she knew how much it would hurt if it buzzed. If it isn’t over, at least I’ll know, she told herself. Besides, it could be Lisa.

~~~

Later, after dinner, she logged on to OurPlace and got busy with her homework. It wasn’t long before she received an IM from Lisa. Carly told her about the quiet afternoon. “They had their laughs,” Lisa typed back. “I’m sure they’re done with it. But I’m still planning on finding out who it is.”

CeeCee: I just hope it all goes away. I don’t have to know who did it

IHeart: we have cameras too

CeeCee: and were not afraid to use them

IHeart: LOL LOL!!! GTG. CUL:-)

CeeCee: OK

She felt good while exchanging IMs with Lisa but the feeling faded quickly. She looked up from her homework from time to time, but there were no more messages either on the computer or phone. She tried hard to believe that Lisa was right and whoever had done this to her was moving on to something else.

After finishing her homework she fought the urge to turn the phone off. I’ll face it, she thought. But she couldn’t. Not completely. She left it on but went into the bathroom. After she brushed her teeth she didn’t want to be back in the same room with the phone and computer. She turned out the lights and sat on the floor with her back against the bathtub. It felt good to pull her knees to her chest and rock, her face buried in her knees. She was too deep in thought to hear her mother calling her, only snapping out of it when the light came on and the door slammed into her foot.

“Carly, what’s the matter?” she said, dropping to the floor and wrapping her in her arms. “I looked all over for you.” When she saw that Carly was crying she began to dab at her own eyes. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I know all of this has been really hard on you and your brother. I’m so sorry for it. Please forgive me, Carly,” she begged.

“I’m fine, Mom,” Carly said. She wished her mother hadn’t turned on the lights. “It isn’t that. It’s nothing, really. Lisa and I had a fight today, that’s all. It’ll be okay tomorrow.”

Chapter 5

“I guess this is the last time we’ll talk before you’re in school,” Lukather said. It was the night before Scott would begin classes at Lakeland. All the other students had started school weeks earlier, of course. Lukather had made sure Scott’s teachers understood that there were special circumstances, although he was careful not to say what they were. They were meeting in a recreation room at the Center, on the first floor of the drab dormitory building that Scott lived in. Lukather pulled a few things from his briefcase and laid them onto a warped, netless ping-pong table as he talked. Scott picked up a photograph of a girl who looked about his age.

“Who’s this?”

“That’s the new victim. She’s getting the same treatment that Jenny Rhome did. My guess is it’s coming from the same source.”

“This is all on OurPlace?”

“Yeah. It started out friendly but it’s getting abusive. Sound familiar?”

“Sounds like 99% of what kids do to each other. Besides, somebody could be copying what happened to the other girl,” Scott said. “It could be anybody.”

“We still want to find out who it is. And if I’m right, and if we can track it this time, we solve both cases at the same time.”

“What’s her name?” Scott asked, holding up the photograph.

“Jamie. Jamie Hewitt. A lot like Jenny, which is another reason I think it’s the same guy. She’s shy and overweight. But even though she’s so quiet, she’s popular. Everybody likes her. I could have said the same about Jenny.”

“So what do I do?”

“I got an anonymous tip about Jenny. It was written in block letters on plain paper and shoved into my mailbox. It put the blame for the whole thing on a kid by the name of Tom Seidel. It could be a hoax but checking him out should be the first thing we do.”

“Seidel? What’s he like?”

“He’s kind of a nerdy kid if you want to know the truth. You’ll know him when you see him. Tall, thin, and pale as a ghost.”

“I know the type.”

“Seidel fits the profile as far as I’m concerned. I’m sure he spends plenty of time lurking on his computer. He’s got a mean streak, too.”

“Hey, Mr. Lukather, I was thinking. If I’m going to check this out, maybe I should get an OurPlace account. But first I need a computer.”

“I thought of that, too. I think I can borrow one from the computer lab.”

“They’re not allowed here, that’s the only problem. But it sure would help.”

“Let me work on that. I’m sure Mrs. Bogues can make it happen.” He looked at his watch and jumped up. “I better go. The rest of this stuff is general orientation about the school. I’ll just leave it for you. Sorry I didn’t bring a picture of Seidel. You’ll meet him in third period. I arranged for you two to be in the same gym class.”

“Goody.”

“I’ll probably be the one driving you back and forth from here to school. The fewer people that know about this the better. And one more thing. If you need to see me during school go to the guidance office and ask for Mrs. Chotiner. That’ll be our signal when we need a meeting. If I need you I’ll have you called to her office.”

“There really is a Mrs. Chotiner?”

“Yes, and she’s really your guidance counselor. Good luck tomorrow. No trouble, okay? I’ll be in touch.” He clapped Scott on the shoulder and walked out the door without waiting for an answer.

“Bye,” Scott said to the empty room. He picked up the picture of Jamie and studied it. He could see the extra pounds in her face but she was pretty, with reddish hair that hung to her shoulders. Getting to know Seidel would be easy, but how was he going to get anywhere near Jamie Hewitt if she was part of the ‘in’ crowd? Most of those kids didn’t have much use for guys like him, and they knew it as soon as they laid eyes on him. Maybe the haircut will help, he thought as ran his fingers through the stiff bristles on his head.

~~~

Scott recognized Seidel as soon as he saw him in gym class. Lukather’s description had been right on. When the teacher told the class to choose a workout buddy for the weight-training module they’d begin the year with, Scott watched Seidel carefully. When it was clear that nobody was seeking Seidel out he seized the opening.

“Got a partner yet?” he asked casually after walking over to Seidel.

“Not yet,” answered a surprised Seidel.

“Me neither. What do you say?”

“Sure. I guess. I’m not the world’s greatest weight lifter.”

“Me neither. I’ve never even done it before.”

“Same here,” said Seidel, obviously relieved. “Birds of a feather conquer all.“

~~~

On the other side of the building Carly Gillette was taking notes in general science when she heard her phone vibrating in her purse. She thought about ignoring it. It was probably something she didn’t want to see anyway. Even if it was from Lisa, a text message wasn’t worth getting in trouble over. But with everything that had happened she just had to know. She waited until the buzzing stopped. When Mrs. Stewart’s back was turned she pulled the phone out and flipped it open to expose the screen. When she read it she knew it wasn’t from Lisa.

Where did you get those shoes. Kmart?

She felt her face redden as she scanned the room without moving her head. For all she knew, somebody sitting a few desks away had sent that text. At that exact moment the sender might even be looking at her shoes, or looking at her looking at her shoes.

“Miss Gillette!” snapped Mrs. Stewart. “Bring that phone up and place it on my desk. You know the rules.”

Carly knew not to protest. The rule on cell phones was well known at Lakeland. If you showed it during class you lost it. Her head drooped as she closed the phone. Every time she’d seen a phone confiscated she was amazed at the student who chanced it. Now she was the one. Trouble in class wasn’t something she was used to. Somehow she made her legs work. When she reached the front of the room Mrs. Stewart scowled at her. “See me after class,” she ordered Carly. The walk back to her desk seemed to take hours. Everybody’s eyes were riveted on her. If she thought she could bolt out the door without tripping over somebody’s feet she would have.

Mrs. Stewart was as stern after class has she had been during class, although she uncharacteristically handed the phone back without an explanation. “Rules are rules, Miss Gillette. What were you doing? You’ve never done this before.”

If not for the risk of bursting into tears Carly might have explained that she was merely checking a message. But it didn’t matter anyway.

“What’s going on, Carly?” Stewart continued, losing the formality. “You were an A student for three weeks. Ever since then you’re a mess. You don’t hand in homework, you don’t participate in class anymore, and now you’re on the phone. What happened? You aren’t doing something you’re not supposed to do between periods are you?”

Carly shook her head. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Stewart,” she said hoarsely. “I’ll do better. It won’t happen again. I don’t know what got into me.”

As she hustled to make it to her next class Carly was sure that other teachers besides Mrs. Stewart must feel the same way. General Science wasn’t the only class where she wasn’t getting her homework turned in. Hitting the books was hard when she had one wary eye on her computer and the other on her phone every night. And the last thing she felt like doing in class was participate in discussions. Why draw attention to herself? Progress reports would go out in early October, and for the first time in her life, she knew the news was going to be bad.

~~~

Over the next week Scott and Tom Seidel developed a casual friendship while battling barbells and squat racks. The opportunity to learn about Tom was limited to one period per school day, which frustrated Scott. He moved slowly because he could see that Seidel was a smart kid. Being too aggressive would tip him off. It wasn’t long before Lukather was unhappy about the lack of progress.

“It’s got to be him,” he said to Scott after calling him to his office. “What’s taking so long? Has he told you anything?”

“What do you want me to do, just come right out and ask him? ‘Hey Tom, have you trashed anybody on OurPlace today? Did you cause any suicides lately?’”

“You know what I mean. You’re not putting any effort into this. I bailed you out of jail and I expect results.”

“Bailed me out? Where do you think I woke up this morning? Where do you think I’ll go to sleep tonight?”

Lukather stood and walked to the window and forced two venetian blind slats open with his fingers. “The principal’s leaning on me, Scott. He didn’t like my idea about bringing you in but I talked him into it. Now he’s watching close and he wants answers.”

“So? That’s his problem. I can’t go any faster. Seidel’s too slick. He’ll know if I try too hard.”

“Oh, by the way, I got a call from your counselor back at the Center. She’s moving you to a private room. That’ll give you some room to operate. I found you a computer, too. I’m sending somebody over to make sure you’re wired up.”

“Private room,” Scott muttered.

“Listen, I did something else to help you out. During fourth period I went into his locker and took this.” He pulled a desk drawer open and pulled out a grimy brown paper bag, which he held up. “A bag full of porn. I figured I’d find something useful in there. Now you can be the hero and return it to him. He’ll know he can trust you after this. What do you think?”

Scott stared at the bag and then at Lukather. “No way.”

“What do you mean, no way?”

“Just what I said. How am I supposed to explain how I got it?”

“Easy. He left it in class, or you found it in the gym. You fill in the blank. Whatever makes sense.”

Scott shook his head. “There’s no way it can make sense, even if he was dumb enough to be lugging it around school, which he isn’t. I was just with him a few minutes ago at lunch. Don’t you think I would have mentioned it then? The guy’s not an idiot. He’ll know it’s a setup. You don’t carry stuff like this around, and you definitely don’t leave it anywhere. No way, Mr. Lukather.”

“I just thought you needed a jump-start.”

“Maybe I do, but not this.”

“What if I tell you that you don’t have a choice?”

“You mean you’re going to force me to do it? You stole this from a student’s locker and now you want to plant it on me? I don’t think so.”

“I think it’s worth a try.”

“It isn’t, Mr. Lukather. I swear, he’d know right away.”

“What am I supposed to do with it then?”

“Can’t you just shove it back in the same way you got it?”

Lukather dropped it back into the drawer and slammed it shut. “I’ll fix this. But you’re not living up to your end of the bargain. I need you to work with me on this. So far you’ve done nothing.”

“This idea was worse than nothing. If he thinks I’m rooting around in his locker it’s all over.”

“We need something.”

“He invited me to the movies on Friday. That’ll help a lot. So far it’s all been in gym class. I should get somewhere Friday night.”

Lukather brightened. “Really? That’s good. If you guys mix it up outside school maybe he’ll loosen up.”

“I might need a ride. It’s probably not a good idea for his mom to pick me up at the county jail.”

“Hmm. When I dreamed this up I didn’t think you’d still be living there,” Lukather said. “For now, I guess I’ll have to be the chauffeur.”

The bell rang before Scott could answer. “Oops, I better go.”

“Keep me posted. Maybe you’re making better progress than I realized.”

Chapter 6

Getting to the theater had been much more complicated for Scott than it had been for most of the middle-schoolers. He’d been unable to get in touch with Lukather all day to make arrangements. Finally, late in the afternoon, a teacher handed him a note from Lukather. It turned out that he’d left unexpectedly during the morning. That meant, of course, that he wouldn’t be available to take Scott to the movies. At least he’d thought to dispatch an administrator to drive him back to the Center after school. Vice principal Moser didn’t say two words during the fifteen-mile ride so Scott didn’t feel comfortable asking him for help getting to the theater later that night.

Desperate for a ride, Scott skipped dinner so he could catch Mrs. Bogues before she went home. She agreed to take him to the theater but worried about how he’d get home. “I can’t be driving around at ten o’clock on Friday night,” she warned him.

“I’ll worry about that later,” he’d said.

“If you don’t get back here before lock down you’ll have plenty to worry about. You’ll know trouble if that happens.”

It was an important point. There weren’t many offenses more serious than being caught outside the fence after hours. He knew he should stay in. Surprisingly, though, he found that he really wanted to go and not just because of Lukather’s investigation. A night out with a bunch of kids his age was something he hadn’t experienced in a long time. He didn’t know Seidel very well and there were some things he didn’t like about him, but it felt good knowing that maybe he had a friend.

Seidel was waiting alone in front of the theater when Scott arrived. “I was starting to wonder,” he said. “Tons of people from school are here. I already got you a ticket.”

“Thanks,” Scott said as they walked into the lobby and were overwhelmed by the smell of buttered popcorn. He looked around at clusters of kids, many of whom he recognized from Lakeland. “I guess I’m still the new guy. Everybody acts like they’ve never seen me before.”

“Same here. I recognize everybody but they never recognize me. Or even if they do, they don’t.”

“Did you know that girl that killed herself?” Scott asked. “Last year?”

Seidel turned his head sideways at Scott. “Where did that come from? She tried to kill herself. She slit her wrists but she’s still alive. How did you know about that?”

“I heard some kids talking about it today.”

“Today? You heard kids talking about it today?”

“Yeah. Something happened on OurPlace, I think.”

“Sure, I knew who she was. I know who everybody is. I know what happened. What about it?”

“I don’t know. It just seems kind of sad. I heard it’s happening to somebody else now. Jamie Hewitt, or something like that?”

“I know her. Whatever. What difference does it make? What, did you sign up as a reporter for the school paper or something?”

“I was just wondering if she was here. I’m trying to learn who everybody is. No big deal,” Scott stuttered. He’d forced it. Seidel was too smart for that. But at the same time it sure felt like Seidel was tipping his hand. He knew too much about everything that Scott threw at him.

“I don’t see Jamie Hewitt. She’s not here. See the girl over by the water fountain? Did you hear what happened to her?”

“Is that the girl in the bathroom pictures? I heard about it.”

“That’s Carly Gillette. It was only one picture. But it’s all over the school. Pretty nasty.”

“I never saw it.”

“Want to see it now?” Seidel said, reaching into his pocket.

“Not really. I feel kind of bad for her.”

“Looks like they’re letting people in. Come on,” Seidel said. “Let’s see if we can get behind her.” They headed for the entrance along with a hundred other kids. It seemed to Scott that at least half of them were from Lakeland. He was hungry after skipping dinner but it was too late to stop by the snack bar. The mob winnowed down to single file as it closed in on the lone usher who was ripping tickets. Scott laughed to himself when he found himself behind Carly Gillette. Seidel was good at making things break the way he wanted. Maybe Mr. Lukather knew what he was talking about after all. He poked Scott from behind and gestured towards her with his head, wearing a goofy, triumphant smile on his face.

“Ask if she’ll pose for a picture,” Seidel whispered. “Come on, it’ll be funny.” Gillette must have heard because she turned her head for an instant before turning away.

“Anyway, Jamie Hewitt’s not here?” Scott asked.

“Geez, get off it, will you? Are you obsessed with her or something?” By then they’d handed over their tickets and were heading into the auditorium. Gillette and a friend were directly in front of them until the friend darted ahead to talk with another group of girls.

“I don’t even know her. I just want to see who she is.”

The rows of seats were filling up fast. Everybody seemed to be out to see ‘Spiderman’ that night. Just before Gillette entered a row she looked around anxiously for her friend, who was suddenly nowhere to be found. She pursed her lips as she moved as slowly as she could, presumably to give her friend time to get back. “I’ll just save her a seat,” she said to nobody in particular, before walking down the row. She stopped one short of the next open seat and plopped down.

Scott dutifully followed and took the seat next to her. “Sorry,” he said to her without understanding why.

“For what?” Carly mumbled, while continuing to stare at the floor with her hands stuck in the pockets of her denim jacket. “I guess I’ll have to turn on my phone,” she continued. “She’s probably calling me.”

Scott wondered who she was talking to but he knew why turning on her phone didn’t appeal to her. Again Scott felt Seidel’s elbow digging into his ribs. Talk about being obsessed, he thought. What’s with him and this Carly Gillette? Something seemed wrong.

“I don’t know where Lisa went,” Carly said to Scott, finally looking at him. Her eyes were red. “I hope I can hold on to her seat.” As if on cue, while Carly wiped her nose with the sleeve of her jacket, the girl from the other side of the empty seat moved into the one Carly wanted to hold. She sagged and closed her eyes.

She’s way too upset about that seat, Scott thought. I guess that’s what happens when you know everybody has a picture you of sitting on the john. “She can have my seat,” he offered as he stood up. “It’s no big deal, really.”

She looked up and tugged on his shirt. “Stay here, okay? I don’t see her anywhere.” He slid back into the chair, forcing the cushioned seat back into position. “Do you go to Lakeland?” she asked as she glanced past him at Seidel.

“Yeah. I’m new. I’m Scott. This is Tom, over here,” he said, pointing across his body with a thumb. He figured she knew who he was but watched closely for clues about any history between them.

“We already know each other,” she told him.

Seidel nodded. “Hi, Carly.”

Carly smiled weakly back at Seidel and then locked her eyes back on the chair in front of her.

“Really,” Scott said. “I don’t mind. This seat’s hers as soon as she gets back. I’ll even go look for her if you want.”

“You’d never find her. Just stay here, okay?”

“Sure, I guess.”

“I don’t want to sit here alone.”

The lights dimmed before another word was spoken, and the screen blinked to life. Pale bursts of lights erupted like flashbulbs throughout the auditorium as hundreds of teens checked their cell phones. When Scott heard Carly’s buzzing he watched carefully in the dark. She rolled the top of her purse closed to deaden the sound and pushed it between her thighs. A few minutes later she retrieved the phone and examined the screen. He already knew about the bathroom picture, but was there more? Had he accidentally sat next to Lakeland’s latest electronic bullying victim?

He replayed the previous few minutes in his mind and began to wonder if in fact it had been so accidental. Seidel had clearly and purposefully managed the situation so that they ended up sitting with Carly. He turned his head slowly toward Seidel, not sure what he was looking for. It appeared that Seidel was watching the movie screen and nothing else. If he was interested in anything going on two seats away he was doing a good job at hiding it. But his insistence on sitting near Carly reminded Scott of how sure Lukather was that Seidel was guilty.

Just after he settled back in his seat to watch the movie Carly fussed with her purse long enough to take the phone out a third time. He tried to see what Seidel was doing with his hands but it was too dark. When he turned back to Carly she was staring into the phone’s square screen, her face bathed in a white glow. She looked at Scott and then snapped it shut. Her head flopped back against the top of the seat. “Sorry,” she whispered when he didn’t look away. Then the phone buzzed and lit up again. This time she jammed it back into her open purse without even looking at it.

Scott carefully turned back to Seidel but was again unable to see his hands. There was a weird smile on his face, but then again there was almost always a weird smile on Tom Seidel’s face. Scott wondered if he’d caught him in the act.

He looked back when he heard Carly shuffling towards the other aisle. “Be right back,” he whispered at Seidel before sliding out of his chair to follow her. By the time he got to the aisle he knew by the jarring light that briefly flooded the auditorium that Carly had just walked out the door. When he came to the lobby, now empty but littered with popcorn and food wrappers, he saw her sitting on a bench against a wall papered with movie posters. One hand was pressed against her forehead as she hunched forward. Scott worried that she was about to vomit. She looked up just before he reached her. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to make sure you were okay. I could tell something was wrong.” Besides, Lukather wants this solved, he didn’t add.

“And you’re Tom’s friend? Hard to believe.”

“Are you okay? I saw what was going on with your phone.”

“You don’t have to play dumb. I’m sure you saw the picture of me just like everybody else. This is just more of the same,” she said, holding out the phone. He hadn’t realized she was holding it. There must have been another call he hadn’t known about since she came out.

“I’ve never seen it. Did you get another one?”

She wiped at her nose and sniffed. “Not a picture, just messages. Somebody thinks I know something, or did something to them.”

He sat down on the bench. “Can’t you just block out whoever the caller is? Like on OurPlace?”

She laughed. “It happens on OurPlace, too. I don’t know how to block it on the phone. I think I’d have to call the phone company, and it probably costs money, which means my mom would find out. And every time they used a different phone number to call I’d have to call the phone company again.”

“I didn’t know it was so complicated. I never had one.”

“You never had a phone?” she asked in disbelief.

“Never needed one, I guess.”

“Actually, that sounds pretty good,” she admitted. “You’re the smart one.”

“I shouldn’t have followed you out here. You must think I’m a stalker or something. I could tell you were bummed out, that’s all.” He stood up to leave.

“Can you stay for another minute? Until I find Lisa? Whoever it is knows I’m here. They said they were watching me, and ‘enjoy the movie.’ I don’t want to be alone.”

“Sure,” Scott said. That was interesting information. If the sender had been in the theater it was even harder not to suspect Seidel. He watched as Carly expertly slid a tiny keyboard out from the underside of her phone and began to pound keys with her thumbs.

“If I text her she’ll read it right away. I’ll tell her I’m out here.”

“I can’t believe how fast you do that.”

“Practice.” When she finished she put the phone away. He realized how upset she still was when she grabbed his bicep and leaned against him. He wanted to ask if he could see the messages, to look for any indication that Seidel was behind them. But he was enjoying the vibe he was getting from her and didn’t want to disturb it. Besides, he wouldn’t know what he was looking for anyway.

“What happened?” Lisa demanded as she rushed over to where they were sitting. “Tell me what happened.” She glared at Scott.

“This is Lisa, the girl I texted just now.”

“I’m Scott.”

“Hi,” Lisa snapped before turning back to Carly. Her mouth hung open as she spread her arms with palms up as if to ask “Well?”

“I already told Scott about it. I got four or five after we were in the theater. Somebody sent it from inside, or at least that’s what they said.”

“I’m going to sit and watch everybody walk out of there,” Lisa snarled. “At least I’ll have a shorter list of who it could be.”

“I better get back inside,” Scott said. “Tom probably thinks I’m lost.”

“Who’s Tom? Not Tom Seidel, I hope,” Lisa said, wrinkling her nose.

“That’s the guy.”

“My list just got a lot shorter. He’s my A-number-one suspect. Don’t think he hasn’t done something like this before. You weren’t here last year.”

“He was practically sitting right next to me, Lisa,” Carly said. “I don’t think so.”

“Practically right next to you?”

“Well, next to Scott.”

“Oh. That’s different,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You two know each other so well.”

“I’ll ask him about it if you want,” Scott offered. “I was going to anyway.”

“Like he’d tell you,” Lisa scoffed.

When neither girl appeared to have anything more to say he got up and walked back into the auditorium without saying goodbye. A direct question like “Did you send those texts to Carly?” wasn’t the kind of question he relished asking of somebody like Seidel, but he was determined to find the answer just the same.

~~~

“Why did you leave me?” Carly asked Lisa after Scott was gone. “You drag me out tonight and then you leave me alone?”

“Sorry. I got stuck in a long conversation. Then I saw you but you didn’t save me a seat.”

I tried.”

“You were awfully cozy with that guy. He’s cute. But I don’t trust him. How’d you end up sitting with him? What’s his name again?”

“Scott. He was just there, all of a sudden. Him and Tom.”

“I just know Tom Seidel has something to do with this. He’s such a creep. I bet he was texting you right there so he could watch you freak out.”

“It was dark. He couldn’t even see me.”

“You know what I mean. You may as well ask Scott about it. It’ll give you something to talk about.”

“I just met him tonight.”

“So? Does that make him any less cute?”

“Maybe I’ll ask him if I see him again. Right now I just want to go home.”

Chapter 7

Scott didn’t say anything to Tom when he returned to his seat because he still wasn’t sure what was going on. Part of him, his street-smart side, thought that a thirteen-year-old girl should be tough enough to handle the modern day equivalent of a few prank phone calls. Then again, whoever it was that was doing it had taken it beyond harmless by broadcasting the picture and not letting up with the text messages. Carly wasn’t even part of the case he was supposed to be working on. But now that he’d met her, he was determined to help. Now it was personal.

As the crowd funneled out towards the lobby Scott looked at his watch and knew he had a more immediate problem to deal with. It was nine-thirty, meaning he had an hour and a half to get back to the Detention Center. “I’ve got to find a way home,” he said to Tom’s back as they trudged along with the crowd toward the door. Tom didn’t respond.

When they reached the lobby, loud with the voices of rowdy teenagers, he said it again. Tom said nothing but Scott knew he’d heard it that time because he turned his head.

“Screw it, maybe I can hitchhike,” Scott grumbled as they moved toward the door where it was quieter.

Tom whirled to face him. “It isn’t me!” he blurted. “I know what you’re thinking but it isn’t me. I didn’t do it.”

“What are you talking about?” Scott asked, even though he was sure Tom knew everything. He always did.

“What are you talking about?” Tom mimicked. “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t mess with me. I know why you’re snooping around. I knew it all along.”

“Geez, man. Why didn’t you tell me you knew?”

“I wasn’t sure until tonight. But after all your questions, I knew. You’re not much of a detective. I read you like a cheap suit.” They walked through the door and outside. Scott looked around for Lisa and Carly but didn’t see them. Tom moved ahead and sat down on a bench, where Scott joined him.

“Everybody else thinks it’s me, so why wouldn’t you think the same thing? But if it was me nobody would know. Take my word for it.”

“Whoa, whoa,” Scott said. “Nobody thinks it’s you. Nobody’s saying that.” Except for the vice principal and Carly’s best friend about fifteen minutes ago, he thought.

“Bull, man. Don’t even try. Everybody thinks it’s me, just like they blame me for that Hewitt girl and the girl last year. I know you’ve heard it.”

“I guess your name did come up.”

“I don’t know where you came from but I know you’re here to try to pin this on me. I’m not fooled. I know why you’re here and what you’re up to.”

“But why do you know so much about everything that happened?”

“That’s a sin? A lot of kids think it’s me because I’m so good with computers. I could do it if I wanted to and get away with it, and they all know it.”

“Because you’re smarter than everyone else, is that it?”

Tom shrank back against the bench and watched the procession of cars dropping and picking up at the curb. “They just don’t like me. I’m a geek, you know.”

Scott laughed. “I know how you feel. I take a lot of flak because of the way I am too.”

“You? You’re just a regular guy. Come on.”

Scott made a quick decision. “I’m a jailbird, Tom. A loser. If you’re a geek, I’m a thug.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Do you know where I live? Do you know how I get to school every morning? I live in the County Detention Center in Blackwood. I get picked up there every morning. They let me out so I can go to school but then I go back every night. I’m in jail. Locked down every night.”

“Cripes, I didn’t know that. Nobody does. What did you do?”

“You name it, I did it. I got busted for shoplifting last May. Third offense. That was it for me.”

“I had no idea. I thought I had problems. Cripes.”

Scott looked at his watch again. “Look Tom, I don’t think you did it. Really, I don’t. I was sitting right next to you when Carly got those texts tonight.”

“Still, I could do it. But I didn’t.”

Scott shook his head. “You’re weird, man. That’s your problem. If you keep bragging about it no wonder they think you did it.”

“I know. I can’t help it.”

“If I tell you the whole truth will you help me?”

“Help you what?”

“And can you get me home to jail tonight? I don’t have a ride.”

“I guess we could drop you off. That’s kind of far, isn’t it?”

“About fifteen miles. If you could just get me close enough, I’ll walk the rest.”

“Sure. It’s just my big brother. He won’t care.”

“I’m working for Mr. Lukather. Do you know him?”

“The vice principal? Of course.”

“He offered me a deal. Come here and nail the e-bully, as he calls him, and I get out jail and my record is wiped clean. I took the deal. That’s why I’m here.”

“Incredible! You’re undercover. You’re an undercover geek. That’s classic. And let me guess. Lukather told you to watch me real close. That’s why you wanted to be my friend. I knew there had to be a reason.”

“Yeah, pretty much,” Scott admitted. “At first. But I think we’re over that by now. We’re pretty good friends now, don’t you think?”

“He called me in a few times and tried to get me to confess to stuff I didn’t do. He’s always thought it was me, long before you came.”

“I’ll tell him I don’t think you had anything to do with it. But will you help me catch whoever is doing it? That’s the best way to clear your name.”

“I don’t know. Seems risky. It seems like a way for me to get even more unpopular.”

“Nobody will know. I promise. Nobody knows the case like you. And you know everybody at school.”

“You could use my help on the technical side, I think.”

“I sure could. See, one of the things I got busted for was hacking into school computers. All I did was steal a password but Lukather thinks I’m some kind of computer wizard. I need somebody like you.”

“Okay. I’ll help. But I don’t want anybody to know, at least until it’s over. It’ll make them hate me more than ever.”

“I won’t even tell Lukather. He wouldn’t like it. He’s pretty sure you’re the e-bully.”

“The e-bully,” Tom repeated. “I like it.” He stood up suddenly when a Plymouth Duster painted with grey primer from bumper to bumper lurched to a stop in front of them. “Come on. That’s my brother Kevin.”

“Don’t tell him I live in the jail, okay?” pleaded Scott. “You can just drop me nearby.” He hung back, giving the brothers a chance to work it out. Then Tom waved him over and directed him to the back seat.

Kevin Seidel was nothing more than a grizzled version of Tom. He had the same short haircut and wore the same wire glasses but sported a set of sideburns and face full of patchy red stubble. Scott guessed he wasn’t much different than his little brother, although the hot rod and rock music threw him off. It made him smile that somebody related to Tom could look so cool.

“What year is your car?” he yelled at Tom’s brother, trying to be heard over the Korn that was blasting from every direction. “A ‘73?”

“It’s a ’74,” Tom answered for his brother. “He’s been working on it in the driveway for years.”

“I bet if flies. I love these old cars,” Scott said, hoping Kevin was listening.

After the car was moving Scott realized with terror that he had no idea how to get to the Center, especially from the theater. When Tom turned and draped his arm on the back of the seat Scott knew he was about to ask for directions. “I don’t know how to get there!” he shouted before Tom could open his mouth.

After Tom said something to Kevin the music was turned off. “You don’t know where you live?” Kevin asked.

“I’m sort of living at the County Detention Center, okay? I never paid attention. I don’t know how to get there.”

Kevin Seidel looked at his brother. “What’s going on, Tom?”

“It’s okay. They let him out during the day,” Tom said.

“And this guy goes to your school?” Kevin asked, speaking as if Scott wasn’t even there.

“Yeah.”

“It sounds screwy to me. You’re in Blackwood but they send you all the way over to Lakeland for school?”

“It was Lakeland or nothing,” Scott answered.

Kevin shrugged. “I never knew anyone in there before.” He reached for the radio and cranked the Korn back up. Tom winked at Scott before turning back around.

After the Seidels dropped him at the entrance and the Duster had disappeared Scott walked to the glass booth holding his ID badge up. He knew Ramon would badger him but he wasn’t worried about getting into trouble since it wasn’t lock down time yet.

“You can’t just walk in like this,” Ramon said into the microphone after he put down the sports page. “I need to see your escort’s ID, too.”

“They already left. Come on, Ramon, it’s me. Cut me a break, will you?”

“Where were you? You weren’t partying, were you?”

“Yeah, I was getting stoned. We knocked over a few gas stations too. Then we were drag racing on the pike. Come on, man, open up!”

“Where were you?” Ramon repeated. He sounded like a robot over the electronic intercom.

“I was at the movies, okay? Mrs. Bogues knows all about it,” he said, knowing that invoking her name would simplify everything.

“I’ll have to write you up,” Ramon warned, but Scott knew he wouldn’t.

“For what? It’s only ten-thirty?”

“No documentation, that’s what.”

“Knock yourself out, just let me in.”

Scott watched him fighting off a smile. “Go ahead in,” he said as he reached for a button on the console. The steel gate shook open with a loud metallic snap.

“Later,” Scott said. He pushed through the gate and went inside. Before long he was back in his room, the new single on the second floor that he’d moved into the day before. He was pleased to see the components of a computer system stacked in the corner. Lukather and Mrs. Bogues had gotten that done quickly. Good, he thought. If I’m going to get anywhere I need to get online somehow. He thought about setting it up but decided to leave himself something besides homework to do the next day. There was no way to plug into the internet anyway. Instead, he went to sleep.

~~~

There was more bad news for Carly when she got home from the movies and bolted for her room. She would have avoided OurPlace altogether except she thought Lisa might be on, looking to pass on anything she’d forgot to mention about the night out. She stopped breathing as she saw her name in the title of a new poll on the message board in ‘Lakeland Zone.’ When she clicked it open it was as horrifying as she expected.

What’s the worst thing about Carly Gillette?

a) closet lesbian

b) She gets all her clothes at Walmart and the Salvation Army

c) She’s a smelly dork

d) All of the Above

Nobody had voted. Not yet, anyway. She logged off without waiting for Lisa. When she heard her mother’s television she considered going in to lay in bed with her, the way she sometimes still did, but decided against it. She didn’t want to be alone, but her mother would know immediately that something was wrong. If she confided in her mother it would bring trouble. Instead she changed into pajamas and lay in bed trying not to cry too loudly.

Chapter 8

When Doug Gillette came home the next evening he found his sister stretched out on the living room carpet with a textbook in her lap and a notepad on the floor. More and more he’d noticed that she was doing homework downstairs rather than sealed up in her bedroom. He was spending less time alone in his own room these days, too. The house was so quiet. Everybody was looking for company wherever they could find it.

“Hi,” Carly said when she saw him. “How was practice?”

“The usual,” he answered. “Knocked people down, got knocked down. Mom’s not home yet?”

“She had to go back out to show a house.” Mrs. Gillette had resumed her career as part-time real estate agent and was still struggling with the irregular hours. “She wasn’t sure when she’d be back.”

“Is there any chow for a guy to eat around here?”

“I made a ton of spaghetti if you want it. It’s in the refrigerator.”

“Cool, thanks. Don’t mind if I do.” He started towards the kitchen but stopped before he was out of the room. “Better get some laundry going first.” The household chores had been divided up when Mrs. Gillette went back to work. Doug had surprised himself by volunteering to take care of the laundry. He dropped his gym bag onto the floor and left the room. Carly heard his heavy footsteps on the wooden basement stairs. Her nose was back in the textbook when he passed through carrying a plastic laundry basket. “I’m off to grab all the dirty duds.”

He collected the dirty laundry from his mother’s room and then his own. He was about to dump the contents of Carly’s wicker hamper into the basket when he heard a sound from her computer. Curious, he looked over and saw the familiar OurPlace screen. Although he didn’t spend as much time online as his sister did, he’d messed around on OurPlace enough to know he was looking at an Instant Messaging window. Figuring that he could tell Carly that someone was looking for her, he walked to the computer for a closer look to see who it was. He didn’t recognize the sender’s name but the message grabbed his attention.

Slice4: Hey btch READY FOR MORE PIX

Doug knew all about what had been happening to his sister. She’d been able to fool her mother but he’d known something was wrong and was angry when she told him what it was. It was all he could do not to head over to Lakeland Middle School and start punching kids until somebody told him who was behind it. So far he’d done nothing but he wasn’t going to let this opportunity pass. He put the basket down and bent sideways to stretch his sore leg muscles without taking his eyes off the screen. He didn’t have to wait for long.

Slice4: I know ur there. U will pay for what u did

Although he couldn’t know everything Carly was up to he was certain she’d never done anything to warrant this. He pushed the door closed, hoping Carly wouldn’t hear. Maybe he could learn something. Anything. He sat down to type in the IM box. Under any other circumstances he’d have laughed that his words were tagged with ‘CeeCee.’

CeeCee: What did I do?

Slice4: dont even ttry

CeeCee: it wasnt me

Slice4: ur 2 late. Next pix 2morow

CeeCee: who are you?

Slice4: I h8t u. u are going down.

“You suck!” Doug yelled at the empty room. Nobody was going to talk to his sister like that and get away with it.

CeeCee: I know who you are. You will get your ass kicked soon

Slice4: u wish. so tuff now

Slice4: by who, ur fag brother? Puleez

That hurt, Doug thought. Ouch.

CeeCee: keep talking you are only making it worse

Slice4: LOL, same to u. I know u. u cant fool me with the big talk

Slice4: u think its bad now wait until 2morow. Later loser.

The IM window greyed out, indicating that the other user had logged off. That made him even angrier. He didn’t want Carly to know about what just happened. No good could come of telling her. If another picture was going out the next day she’d find out soon enough. He logged off, wiping from the screen any evidence that the IM session had ever taken place. Then, hoping Carly wouldn’t wonder what had taken so long, he pitched her laundry into the basket and went back downstairs.

~~~

“So, let’s catch up. How close are we to nailing Seidel?” Lukather asked. They were back in the park across the street from the Center where they’d first met about a month earlier. Lukather had insisted they stop off and talk on the ride back from school.

“I’ve been watching him real close. I hate to disappoint you but I’m pretty sure he’s not the one. I need to tell you about Friday night at the movies.“

“You went after all? How’d you get there?”

“I talked Mrs. Bogues into driving me there after dinner.”

“How’d you get back here?”

“Tom’s brother dropped me off.”

“You’re really working your way in with Seidel.”

“I sat next to a girl named Carly Gillette. Know anything about her?”

“I know Carly. That’s ironic. She and Jenny used to be friends, back in grade school. Once they got to Lakeland they soured on each other. Jenny’s mother told me about it. They both had a crush on the same boy, something like that.”

“She was pretty upset.”

“About what? I’ve heard something but I haven’t looked into it yet.”

“I sat between Carly and Tom at the movies. She was getting some pretty bad texts.”

“And you think they might be coming from Tom?”

“No, I don’t. If Tom had been sending them, don’t you think I’d have noticed it? I was right there.”

“Maybe,” Lukather conceded. “But let’s say it isn’t Tom harassing Carly. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t him last year. And what about Jamie Hewitt?”

“Yeah, but it does show that there’s at least one other person out there doing this.”

“You’re getting awfully close with Seidel. Are you giving him a free pass here?”

“You told me to get to know him,” Scott argued. “Now you’re against it?”

“No, no. You’re doing well. I’m not exactly sure what I mean.”

“My mission is to find out who’s sending out these messages, right? All of them, not just the ones to Jamie Hewitt?” Scott asked.

“Of course,” agreed Lukather. “We want to look at Carly Gillette, too. And I’m keeping an open mind about who’s sending them.”

“As long as Tom gets nailed for something,” Scott replied pointedly.

“If he’s innocent I’ll be the first to admit it.”

Scott knew he’d been wise not to tell Lukather that he’d asked Tom to help. Lukather was still sure that Seidel was the one and he wouldn’t like the idea. “I’m losing track of who did what,” he admitted. “That’s the problem with not knowing anybody.”

“Let’s go through it right now. Maybe that will help.”

“Sure.”

“I’ll start,” volunteered Lukather. “Jenny Rhome gets bullied last year. She happens to have a rocky history with Carly Gillette. Then, this year, Jamie Hewitt starts getting hammered.”

“Does Jamie Hewitt have any connection to anybody else?”

“None that I know of.”

“Is she getting it as bad as Jenny did?”

“I haven’t even heard from her parents for at least a week. Maybe not.”

“Next is Carly. Now she’s getting it bad. Is that it?” Scott asked.

“That’s where we’re at.”

“That’s not much. All of a sudden it feels like we haven’t gotten anywhere.”

“The important thing is that you’re getting to know the people involved. When something happens you’ll be right there. You’ll figure it out. That’s something I can’t do.”

“I hope I can.”

“Me too. Let’s get you checked back in at home. We’ll talk again soon in school, okay?”

Home, he called it, thought Scott as he passed through the gate and into the Center. I guess that’s what my life has come to.

~~~

Scott found an open door and a couple of technicians in his room when finally got there after meeting with Lukather. “What’s up?” he said when he walked in.

“We’re running internet cable for you, my friend,” one of them said. “We just ran it up the exterior wall and in through the window like they told us to. You’ll have a jack right here next to the desk. The last thing we’ll do is set up your machine. You must have some pretty good connections around here, kid. I don’t see anybody else getting high-speed internet.”

This was unexpected. He figured it would be weeks before the room was wired. Lukather must have leaned on somebody. After they left Scott logged onto OurPlace and set up an account. Now he had the perfect way to check on Carly. He couldn’t think of a clever screen name so he ended up using his last name. It seemed too early for Carly to be online so he ran over to the dining hall and choked down a plate of soggy chicken nuggets. When he returned to his room he logged on and sent an instant message.

HaliFax: Hi Carly

He waited a few minutes and then remembered that she was unlikely to respond to an IM from somebody she didn’t recognize. He tried again.

Halifax: Hi Carly. It’s Scott from the movies.

CeeCee: Hi Scott. Sorry I was about to block your screen name. how r u?

Halifax: Ok. How about you?

CeeCee: never better. What does your screen name mean

Halifax: my last name.

CeeCee: oh, sorry. Just hanging around at home tonite?

Well, not ‘home’ the way you mean, Scott thought. But there was only one way to answer that one.

Halifax: yup.

CeeCee: do you live close to school?

Halifax: no I ride the bus every day.

CeeCee: How did u kno my screen name

Halifax: Tom s told me

CeeCee: he knows everybodys

CeeCee: I have a big stack of homework to do. Not been doing well in school

lately.

Halifax: I’ll let u get to it. Just wanted to say hi.

CeeCee: Scott, come say hi in school if you see me tomorrow. Please?

Halifax: okay, it’s a deal.

CeeCee: TTFN

He had no idea what that meant but was pretty sure it was something good. He typed in a goodnight and logged off. Cool, he thought. He liked Carly. He was worried about her, too.

There was plenty of schoolwork that he should have sat down to tackle but he still wasn’t sure about that part of the deal he’d made with Lukather. If his grades didn’t cut it he didn’t think Lukather would pull the plug on him, so he didn’t usually bother himself with homework. He doubted if he had a passing grade in any of his classes, except maybe gym. Lukather would just have to explain it to the teachers. Instead he poked around the internet for a while on his new computer. By the time lights out was called he had been in bed for nearly an hour.

Chapter 9

Mrs. Gillette was still at work when Carly came home from school the next day, just like she had been all week. As soon as she was inside the house, the only place she felt safe, Carly turned her phone back on and set it on the kitchen countertop. After perusing the collection of leftover-filled Tupperware in the refrigerator she decided on Monday night’s macaroni salad, which she transferred to the microwave oven. Doug walked in just she was popping the last bite into her mouth while flipping through the stack of sales flyers she found on the table.

“Hi,” she said. “Sorry, I just finished this off,” gesturing at the empty bowl on the table.

“I’ll find something.” He headed for the refrigerator but stopped at the sight of Carly’s pink phone. “Did you get anything today?” he asked, holding up her phone.

“No,” she answered quickly, feeling somehow invaded now that the phone was in his hand. What if it rings while he’s holding it? She tried to remember how much he knew.

“Let me guess. This is the first time it’s been on all day, right? Or is it all week?”

“Sort of. I guess no news is good news when it comes to my phone.”

“How about in the last few days? Any pictures or anything? Tell me the truth.”

“Nothing. You’ve asked me the same thing every night this week.” So he was keeping track. She wondered if he’d ever seen the bathroom picture. She hoped not.

“I’m still worried about this. We’ve got to stick together, Carly. You, me and Mom.”

“I know.” She felt tears coming on. “I don’t know why I cry so much anymore. Maybe I’m going through a phase, like Mom always says.”

He pulled up a chair next to her. “Maybe I can help. If you know who’s doing all this you have to tell me. I know that jazz about picking on someone my own size but if my little sister’s in trouble that rule is out the window.”

She tried to smile as she picked up her plate and stood. “I appreciate it, really, but it’s not that big a deal. It’s probably over with already.”

“You know who it is, don’t you?” Doug challenged. “Why are you protecting him?”

“No, I don’t. I have no idea.”

“Too bad.” He rummaged through the refrigerator before pulling out several containers, which he lined up on the counter. The microwave beeped as he pushed buttons. After starting the first one off he disappeared from the room. A few seconds later, when her phone went off, she heard him pounding down the stairs even before the second ring.

“Who is it?” he asked, out of breath as he stormed into the room. He raced to the countertop but Carly already had the phone in her hand.

“It’s Lisa.”

“Aren’t you going to answer it?” he asked, maneuvering closer for a peek at the screen.

“I’ll just text her later. I don’t feel like talking.” She held the phone up so he could see it. “That’s Lisa’s number.”

“That’s good. Hey, maybe I should talk to her sometime. Maybe she knows something about this.”

“Like what?”

“Like who’s doing it.”

“If she knew she’d tell me. She doesn’t want you bothering her,” Carly said, trying to smile.

“Get out. I’m all-conference linebacker. That isn’t good enough for her?”

“Well, since you put it that way. I’ll tell her a certain linebacker was asking for her but I won’t use your name.”

Doug turned away to work on his dinner. Carly scooped up her dishes and left them in the sink. She would come down later, after Doug and maybe her mother had eaten, to clean it all up. She slipped the phone into a pocket and slung her backpack over her shoulder before heading upstairs. There was a history chapter to skim and some algebra problems to work on but except for that it was a light night for homework. Instead of texting Lisa she logged onto OurPlace and sent an IM.

CeeCee: Whats up girl? Saw u called. Im online.

Waiting for a reply was always a good excuse for some empty-headed net surfing as well as a good way to put her homework off. She was halfway through a “Before They Were Stars” photo feature when the chimes finally rang.

IHeart: Hey. Guess u dont like the phone anymore

CeeCee: ya, too dangerous. Doug and I were eating dinner. He askd about u

IHeart: you know it. They cant keep there eyes off me

CeeCee: LOL

When’s the last time I typed LOL when I laughed out loud for real? Carly wondered.

IHeart: Any bad IMS or pix lately?

CeeCee: 2 texts on Monday 1 on Tuesday. NO pix.

IHeart: GFY

CeeCee: GFY?

IHeart: Good for you. I just made it up

Carly heard the front door open. Her mother must have just walked in. The floor creaked and she looked up in time to see a shadow move under the door followed by footsteps going down the stairs. Had Doug been spying on her?

CeeCee: Mom just got home. brb

IHeart: K

She wasn’t gone for more than five minutes. Her mother was exhausted and wanted only to get to bed. Carly was pretty tired herself. She planned to wrap it up with Lisa and get the schoolwork done before it got late.

CeeCee: Still there?

IHeart: Yup

CeeCee: I have a ton of homwork.

Before Lisa’s response came in another Instant-Messaging window opened up in another corner of her screen. Carly recognized the sender instantly.

Slice6: Hi Carly!!!!

The nauseous feeling in Carly’s stomach was back. It wasn’t over after all. Would it ever be? Carly quickly tapped out a message to Lisa with shaking hands.

CeeCee: Lis I’m getting IMed right now

Then she waited for another message from Slice, who never went to the trouble of sending an instant message unless there was a reason. It didn’t take long.

Slice6: just dropping by so you wouldn’t forget about me

IHeart: From who? Bad guy?

CeeCee: Yup. hold on

Carly carefully moved the mouse back to the “Slice” window. The last thing she wanted to do was send the wrong message to the wrong person, which would be easy to do now that there were two IM sessions going at once.

CeeCee: whats ur prob with me?

Slice6: You know what

Slice6: Is this where you turn into the tuff guy again?

Slice6: how do you like the new picture

What was he talking about, Carly wondered. Tough guy? New picture? And I didn’t get anything new. Then she remembered that she’d gone downstairs when her mother came home. The phone could have gone off while she was out of the room. She picked up the phone from the bed.

There it was. It was almost as though Slice had waited for her to leave the room before sending it so he could be there when it was discovered. But of course, how could he know she’d left? She remembered the shadow and the creaking floor from a few minutes earlier but put it out of her mind. That would be too much to bear.

What could it be this time? The only thing that could be worse than the last one would be a full-body locker room shot but she was sure she’d have noticed if somebody had taken her picture in there. Instead of opening the message she went back to the computer. There was a message from Lisa waiting.

IHeart: Whats happening???

CeeCee: not sure yet. hold on.

Then she moused into the other IM window.

CeeCee: what do u want from me

Slice6: you little bitch. You thought you would get away with it

CeeCee: get away with what?

Slice6: that picture was nothing but the next one will be bad for you

Slice6: proly tomorrow

Carly picked up the phone, opened the message, and saw a picture of herself walking along a sidewalk. Is there anything more to it that I’m not seeing? she asked herself. She thought she could see a faint reflection, as though the picture had been taken through a window. Probably from a passing car, she guessed. The most eerie part was that she knew by her clothes that it had been taken earlier that day. She was still wearing them. She recognized the location immediately. It had been on Rocky Spring Street about halfway home from school. She was wearing her backpack and looking at the ground. Too bad I didn’t look sideways real quick, she thought. But they probably had that covered.

All in all it wasn’t bad except it was a reminder that whoever was doing this was close. Very close. She suddenly decided she couldn’t stand another message from Slice. It was time to shut down for the night.

CeeCee: It’s a pic of me walking home from school. NBD. Got to go.

She turned everything off without waiting for an answer and tried to slow her breathing down. There was still homework to do. When a knock came at the door she startled and jumped out of her chair. “Who is it?” she answered in a voice she hardly recognized because the pitch was so high.

The door opened and Doug stuck his head in. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”

“I’m fine. You just scared me is all.”

“Phone’s for you. The good old-fashioned landline. At least it’s cordless. It’s your friend Lisa,” he said, holding the white phone out to her. It was at least three times as large as her cell phone.

“I was just on with her,” Carly said as she walked over and took it. “Hello?”

“Carly! What happened? You disappeared!”

Carly was sure Doug could hear Lisa’s voice and probably make out the words. That’s probably why he hadn’t moved from where he was standing. There was no way she would get away with not telling him about the new picture eventually, but she wasn’t ready to do it yet. “I got it,” she said to him politely as she covered the mouthpiece with her hand. He nodded and backed out the door, pulling it closed behind him.

“He sent a weird picture of me. Well, not weird. Just weird because it wasn’t weird, know what I mean? It was me walking on Rocky Spring Street on the way home from school today. Why would he take my picture there?”

“Just to show you he could. It’s got to be that little twerp Tom Seidel. Can you send it to me?”

“There’s nothing to see. But okay, I’ll send it.”

“Carly, aren’t you getting tired of this? Would it be so bad if we just got in his face and told him to cut it out? I’ll do it myself. I’m sure I could knock him out.”

“I told you, it isn’t him. He was sitting with us at the movies when I got one. Scott would have seen him.”

“I know kids who can send a text without taking the phone out of their pocket. Besides, you don’t even know this Scott guy. Even if he is hot.”

“I just don’t think it’s him. I don’t know why.”

“Maybe.”

“I IMed with Scott the other night. He’s nice. I don’t think he’d help Tom if he was doing this. I think he’s telling the truth.”

“Scott’s online? How did you get his screen name?”

“I didn’t. He got mine. And before you ask, you’re right. He got it from Tom.”

“There you go. It all keeps going back to him. Dweeb dirtbag.”

“I better go, Lisa. I have some stuff to finish. Thanks for checking on me.”

“Just let me know when I can go knock this guy out for you.”

Carly trudged down the stairs to put the phone back and take care of the dishes. If only it were that simple. What was she going to do?

Chapter 10

“I was practicing on OurPlace last night,” Seidel said between bites of baloney sandwich. “Everybody’s so full of it on there. Every guy is six-foot-four and every girl looks like Pamela Anderson. You’ve got to get an account on there so we can test stuff out.”

“I have one now,” Scott answered. “They hooked my computer up a few days ago.”

“Good. There’s got to be a way to smoke this guy out. Eventually he’s going to get tripped up. Anybody would if they hang out on there too long, especially when you’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong. It’s hard to keep all your lies straight when there’s a record of everything you say. But he probably gets away with murder because nobody’s watching. Nobody who knows what he’s doing, at least.”

“That would be you, I take it?” Scott asked. He tore open a pint carton of milk and drank it in a single gulp. “Did you come up with anything?”

“Well, I have a couple ideas that I’m working on. First of all, we need Carly’s screen name. And the attacker’s.”

“I know hers.” He ripped a piece of Tom’s lunch bag off and scrawled on it with a pencil he pulled from his pocket. “I put mine on there too.”

“Halifax. A little obvious isn’t it? You might want to go with something different once we go after this guy.”

“Yeah,” Scott said sheepishly. “It was late.”

“I have a few different ideas. Mostly, I’m thinking that if we can draw him into a chat room, somehow we can find an opening. Especially if the two of us are in the room with him. Maybe we can figure out who he is. He might suspect one of us is a spy but I doubt he’ll suspect us both. I’m still working on it. Maybe some kind of good cop, bad cop type thing. I bet we can get him to say something he didn’t mean to say.”

~~~

Halifax: Hi Carly

CeeCee: Hi Scott!

Halifax: how’s everyting?

CeeCee: okay. I used to like hearing the chimes

CeeCee: now it makes me feel horrible. When I hear them its scary.

CeeCee: so glad it was you this time

Halifax: any bad IMs tonight?

CeeCee: no. I don’t stay online very long anymore.

Halifax: sorry, guess im slowing you up.

CeeCee: Scott, where do you live. Maybe we could hang out sometime:-)

This was the second time she’d asked him about where he lived. Was she onto him? He didn’t think so. It was a pretty typical question. Unfortunately there was no way he could answer honestly.

Halifax: over towards Blackwood.

CeeCee: is it in our district?

Halifax: yup

CeeCee: Im close enough to walk. Good except when its cold.

CeeCee: so do you have any brothers or sisters?

CeeCee: I don’t think I ever knew any other Halifaxes. U just moved here

right?

Scott snorted. It wasn’t even his name, whatever that meant. He didn’t even know his own name, really. Halifax was the name of whatever foster parents he was with when it was time to register for kindergarten. Why am I bothering with this?

Halifax: look, I better go. See you in school

That was fast, she thought. But it was okay. Scott was turning out to be a nice guy. She hoped he’d IM her again.

Everything alright?” asked Doug.

“You scared me!”

“What’s going on? When are you going to let me go after this guy?” He looked at the screen. “Halifax? Is that the guy doing this?”

“No, this is somebody else,” she said as her face flushed. “He’s a friend.” She scrambled to clear the screen before he read anymore but she wasn’t sure exactly why.

~~~

It took three nights of lurking in the hallway before Doug Gillette saw the opening he was looking for. Carly was spending less and less time online and most of the time she spent logged in was for short sessions. He was beginning to wonder if he would have to find a way he could trick her into staying away from the computer long enough after logging on. Finally, just after dinner one night late in the week, she left the room after logging onto OurPlace. He watched her carefully. When it was clear that she was settling into the living room he sneaked into her room and took a seat at the keyboard. Still logged on, he noted. Perfect.

The ideal scenario would have been for a hostile IM to come in while he was there but he didn’t have the luxury of time to wait. He thought he remembered the screen name from the last attack he witnessed, except for the number at the end. The first four IMs fizzled because the screen names he called up, all variations of ‘Slice’, didn’t exist. Finally on his fifth try the IM window stayed open. As he waited for a reply he vowed to make sure of one thing. Whoever it was that was picking on his sister was going to regret it, even if he was just a thirteen-year old kid who didn’t know what he had started.

~~~

On Thursday night Scott and Tom exchanged e-mails and IMs. Scott was just goofing around but he knew Tom well enough to know that he was testing the system, looking for an angle. If the bully did his work online, that was where it would all have to start if they were going to expose him.

During fourth period the next day he was told by his teacher that he was to report to Mrs. Chotiner’s office for a lunchtime appointment. That meant a meeting with Lukather. Something must have happened, he told himself.

“A few things have changed,” Lukather began. “Remember Jamie Hewitt? It was a false alarm. Her own brother was playing games, sending her phony messages. I talked to Mrs. Hewitt yesterday afternoon. So that’s done with.”

“Punked. Maybe that’s why I never found out anything about that,” Scott said. “There was nothing to find.”

“But we still have work to do. I think you’ve stumbled onto something with Carly Gillette. It came up at the staff meeting this morning.”

“I pretty much already knew it. I mean, I saw it with my own two eyes. She’s the one who’s getting ripped.”

“That’s what her teachers said. They all said she’s losing it, if you follow. She’s always been a good student but now she doesn’t pay attention, doesn’t get her homework done, that kind of thing. Her grades are horrible. She’s never had a progress report like the one she got this time.” He stopped himself. “I forgot to mention – you remember that everything we say is confidential, right? Not a word of this to anybody.”

“I know,” Scott answered. “Who would I tell?”

“Mr. Vickers, her social studies teacher, said she was a wreck when he called her over after class. She was shaking like a leaf. He thought she was going to break down right in front of him. And they all said she’s paying a lot of attention to her phone. So I don’t think there’s any question about what’s going on.”

“You heard it here first,” Scott said.

“I’ve got a few messages in with her mother but so far she hasn’t returned any calls. I’ll try again tonight.”

“I wish I lived closer,” Scott complained. “It’s kind of hard to get involved in anything when I get driven off to jail every night.”

“I just don’t see anything we could do. Even if we got you out there’s no place they’d let us put you except for the orphanage, or whatever they call it these days, over in Logan. That’s even further away.”

“I’ll pass. I don’t like porridge.”

“Carly’s pretty far along a path we don’t want her going down. Everything her teachers said tells me she’s falling apart fast. That’s exactly what happened with Jenny last year. I don’t know how much time we have before she snaps. We need to get this solved before she ends up in the bath tub with a razor blade. I can’t let this happen all over again.”

“Carly’s best friend Lisa is sure it’s Tom Seidel doing it. She tells me that every chance she gets. I can’t talk her out of it.”

“Why are you trying to talk her out of it? Keep an open mind but keep a close eye on that guy. If he’s got you fooled you wouldn’t be the first.”

“No wonder he thinks everybody hates him. Everybody really does.”

“He’s certainly well-known, I’ll give him that.”

“I started up an OurPlace account. I think I might be able find something out there.”

“Good. Carly Gillette is now our number one priority. Agreed?”

“Agreed. To be honest she already was my number one priority. I’m on it.”

~~~

There wasn’t much going on in the Center on Friday nights but that didn’t bother Scott, who didn’t have much use for the other residents anyway. He logged onto OurPlace when he came back from dinner, determined to help Tom come up with some ideas, and was quickly overwhelmed by what he found. It wasn’t the same as hanging out in person but it was a lot closer than he’d expected. There’s so much here, he thought. It’s almost like going to a party. Most users had profiles so it was easy to get a feel for their personalities. Of course, it could all be phony but that was true in real life too. There were a few advantages to be had online as well. When he got tired of the company in a chat room he could click out without having to explain himself or even say goodbye. If somebody he didn’t like approached him they were easier to ignore. Being rude in other ways was easy too, because even though he knew there was a person attached to every screen name it just didn’t feel that way. He knew he was behaving in ways he never would in person.

Tom eventually appeared online and he exchanged a few IMs with Scott. In one he pointed out a chat room for Lakeland students. They both spent a few hours there reading gossip and looking for information about Carly. Neither said much nor learned anything. Scott stayed online long after lights out was called at eleven o’clock. At one o’clock he stood up from his plain metal chair to stretch. His legs were stiff and his eyes bleary, reminding him how long he’d been online. He stretched out on the bed and passed out without bothering to log off or change his clothes.

~~~

It was just after three o’ clock in the morning when he woke up. It was dark and quiet and his head ached. All he wanted to do was get back to sleep but the sneakers had to come off. He pulled himself to sitting position and rubbed his eyes. He could see his computer screen glowing in the corner but his grainy eyes didn’t want to focus. They felt fatigued in a way he’d never felt before.

The room was hot. He kicked the sheet from around his ankles and stumbled across the room to look for a pair of shorts. On the way back he tore off his shirt and threw it towards the closet. When he sat down by the desk to pull his shoes off he inadvertantly bumped the mouse, causing the dormant OurPlace session to spring to life in place of the screen saver. There was a series of messages filling the screen from top to bottom, all from Tom.

Meister: Unbelievable, you got to hear this

Meister: Come on, answer, I have to tell you about something

Meister: come on, this is way more importatn than whatever you are doing

Meister: What’s up?

Meister: are you there?

Meister: big news. I heard something you need to know

Meister:about your friend CG. Something big going on

Meister: call me in the morning. urgent. Later.

If only there were time stamps on these, he thought, wondering how long it had been since these messages came in. He checked for e-mail, hoping for more details, but there were none. Why didn’t I stay awake? Tom wasn’t the type to exaggerate. If he said something big was going down, there almost surely was. Now there was nothing he could do except wait for morning to come.

Chapter 11

For the first time Scott could remember he was up early on a weekend. By eight o’clock he was poised in front of his computer waiting to hear from Tom. Several times he sent instant messages, none of which were answered. Rather than wait and wonder, he ran out long enough for a quick shower. When he was back there was a short message from Tom to call him, along with a phone number. That wasn’t as easy as it sounded, he thought angrily. But rather than waste any more time on the computer he grabbed some change and headed to the pay phone on the first floor.

“You’re not going to believe this!” Tom said. “The other shoe just hit the fan! I was in the chat room fishing and I got a bite. Are you busy later? I hope not because we have work to do. We might have this thing wrapped up by bedtime tonight.”

“Slow down, man. What happened?”

“Well, let’s put it this way. Sherlock Holmes has nothing on me. I got everybody to talk about whatever I wanted.”

“Come on, just tell me what happened. I can’t hold onto this phone long once kids start lining up for it.”

“I was in that Lakeland chat room. They were just telling lies about anybody who wasn’t there. I steered it to get everybody talking about Carly Gillette. I tried not to be too obvious about it. I pretended I didn’t know much about it, like I was from a different school or something. An outsider, kind of like what you’re doing but I was a little slicker about it.”

“What screen name were you using?” asked Scott.

“I don’t think it matters. Nobody knows my handle.”

“Everybody knows everybody else’s handle. What one were you using?”

“I only have one screen name. Don’t worry about it, I know what I’m doing.”

“You call that slick? So what did they say?”

“We were all talking about it,” he continued, “and one guy seemed to know a little too much about everything.”

“That’s what Lukather always says about you.”

“I zoned in on him and all of a sudden an IM window pops up. Now the guy in the chat room wants to have a private chat with me.”

“This is the guy who knew too much?”

“Yeah. He said something like ‘You know, this is all going to be over in about twenty-four hours.’ I was still in shock that he IMed me at all. I said something lame, I can’t remember what.”

“Do you even know it was a he? What was he talking about?”

“He said he heard that Carly had confronted the e-bully.”

“Please tell me he didn’t call him the e-bully.”

“No, that was me. But they’re meeting face to face outside the school today. So all we have to do is show up and see who it is. I’m telling you, I nailed this whole thing last night.”

“What do you mean by ‘confronted?’” Scott asked suspiciously. “If she confronted him, they already met face to face. We missed our chance.”

“It was all online,” Tom explained. “I guess he was sending her something and she came on and got all in his face, so they agreed to meet.”

“Does she know who it is?”

“I doubt it. Not yet.”

“That doesn’t sound like Carly. It doesn’t even sound like our e-bully. Are you sure about all this?”

“It’s ironclad. Slam dunk.”

“It could be that somebody snookered you,” Scott said. “Who is this person and why would they tell you?”

“Well aren’t you a dash of sunshine? Come on, cut me some cord here. At least I’m out there digging.”

“ What was his screen name?”

“It was ‘Slice.’ Kind of gay, isn’t it?”

“Why would this person tell you about all this? You, of all people. How would they know themselves?”

“I don’t know. I guess because I seemed to be the one who was most interested. Some people get off like that, knowing something nobody else knows. Who cares why he told me?”

“I do. It’s fishy. I don’t like it,” Scott said. “How does this person know so much? And I guarantee he knows who he was talking to.”

“Who cares? Even if it’s the e-bully himself, who cares? They always say these guys want to get caught. Maybe he’s trying to give us clues.”

“Who always says that? You lost me, pal.”

“The point is there’s going to be a showdown at the school and we need to be there to see it.”

“I wonder how many other people he told.”

“Who knows? Maybe they’ll be selling tickets.”

“I won’t believe it until I see it. But yeah, we better get there just in case. You don’t think Carly would actually agree to this, do you?”

“Why not? What better way to end it? Can you get out of there today? I can get my brother to come get you, no questions asked.”

“That’s complicated. I’ll have to call Lukather. Are you going online?”

“Probably.”

“After I talk with Lukather I’ll get on too and let you know what the deal is.”

~~~

Kevin Seidel dropped them at the middle school at a few minutes before four that afternoon without asking any questions just like Tom had said he would. The showdown wasn’t scheduled for nearly two more hours but they wanted to get there early enough to hide.

“It’s supposed to be by the tennis courts. I was thinking we could hide around the trash bins,” Tom suggested. “We’ll be close enough to see what’s going on. It’s not like anybody will be looking for us so we don’t need a perfect hiding place.”

They walked around to the back of the school. A group of steel green dumpsters offered an unobstructed view of the tennis courts from inside a brick enclosure up against the building. Scott knew immediately that Tom had chosen the best spot. A row of trees that lined Governor’s Road on the other side of the courts would have provided cover, but it wouldn’t have been as secure as the dumpsters and would have required them to cross open space to get there. Besides, Scott noted, there was a vehicle parked in the grass underneath the trees. Probably for easy access to the courts, Scott thought. He could see somebody moving inside it. They probably just finished playing. We’re better off here.

“Just so you know, I don’t believe any of this,” Scott said as they walked toward the dumpsters. “But if by some miracle Carly shows up I’m not going to leave her to get abused by anybody. If it gets ugly, I’m over there. I hope you’ll help.”

“Yeah, sure, of course,” Tom said. “But the important thing is that we find out who it is.”

They slipped in between the dumpsters and found the best vantage point. A thick layer of dark, greasy slime coated the sides of the dumpsters and the concrete pad they rested on. They sat on the pad anyway and watched flies as they buzzed around and crawled in and out of the dumpsters. “This place stinks,” Scott finally said, breaking the silence.

“That’s why they call it garbage,” Tom said. “Because it’s garbage. That’s animal fat,” he said, pointing to the black slime. “Must have come straight from the cafeteria.”

“Whatever it is, it smells.”

“I was thinking about what you said. Do you think it’s smart to go help her? We’d give our location away.”

“Are you a nitwit?” Scott sputtered. “Of course I’m serious. You’d sit and watch a girl get trashed and not do anything?”

“Of course not. I mean, you know.” His voice trailed off.

“I’d be scared too,” Scott said. “But it doesn’t matter. Scared is no way to go through life. If you’re scared, get a dog. What time is it?”

“Five o’clock.”

“We’re pretty early. I guess that was the idea.”

Tom pulled out his cell phone. “I’m going to take pictures. It won’t flash or anything.” He held up the camera to check the angles before moving to his right. “Perfect, I have the whole court in the frame,” he said as he snapped the practice shot off. “Check this out,” he said, holding the phone out for Scott to see. “Like I said, I think we’ll wrap this up right here. We’ll even have pictures. Case closed.”

More time passed with nobody coming or going from the tennis courts. The only movement was the rush of passing cars on the road. Tom finally spoke. “I was wondering. If this all ends tonight, what happens to you? Do you get to stay at Lakeland?”

“I’m not sure. We never talked about it. I hope so.”

“Me too,” Tom said. Scott scowled but could feel a smile underneath. He hoped it didn’t show.

As the minutes passed the eyes of both boys were riveted on the tennis courts. Neither was aware of the burly teenager until he was right behind them. Tom heard him first. He turned his head just before the intruder spoke.

“Who are you guys? Why are you here?”

Scott had only seen that look in somebody’s eye once before. He didn’t know who this intruder was but unless he got what he wanted he knew somebody was going to get hurt.

“Who are you?” the intruder repeated. He stepped towards them until he was standing at their feet. “I’ll beat it out of you,” he warned. “Don’t think I won’t.”

“We’re just hanging out,” Scott said. “Don’t blow a gasket. It’s not good for you.”

The intruder’s eyes bulged with rage. He kicked Scott savagely in the ribs several times. Scott wrapped his arms around his mid-section and rolled into the fetal position as he groaned in pain.

“Hey!” Tom yelled. “What’s your problem?”

“Stand up, scarecrow!” the intruder told him, but he didn’t have the patience to wait. Biceps bulged out of his t-shirt as he pulled Tom to his feet. Before Tom could protest he was slammed against the side of the dumpster. His glasses flew off and blood oozed from a fresh wound on his cheekbone. When the intruder let go Tom stumbled backwards and fell back into a sitting position.

“I’ll ask you again. Why are you here? You better tell me or this is going to get a lot worse. Who told you to come?” Scott eyed him as he lay on his side. He was scared because he knew this guy meant every word he said. He looked to be about high school age and judging by his size he could do a lot of damage. For the first time since the one-sided rumble began his brain began to work. This had to be the e-bully. Otherwise, why was he here? And how had he found out that he and Tom were on his trail?

When neither Tom nor Scott answered the intruder’s question he kneeled next to Scott and punched him twice in the face. He had drawn his fist back to strike again when Scott heard Tom’s voice. “Wait!”

The intruder stood and folded his arms. Scott used his finger to check for blood.

“Start talking!” When nobody did he stepped towards Tom with a menacing leer on his face.

Tom broke. “We’re just here to watch, that’s all!” he blurted. “We won’t turn you in!” blood trickled down the side of his face.

“Turn me in for what? What are you talking about?” He grabbed Tom’s shirt and pushed him against the dumpster again. “Talk!”

“Turn you in for what you’re doing to Carly!” Tom yelped. “We know about it!”

Scott pushed himself into a sitting position. Pain stabbed his ribcage. He wondered if he looked as bad as Tom did.

“I’m not doing anything to her,” the intruder said. “I think you are. Why else would you be here?”

“Not us,” Scott croaked. “We heard she was meeting somebody here. We’re just here to protect her, I swear, man. We’re wondering why you’re here.”

“How did you find out about it in the first place? What are your names, anyway?”

“I’m Tom Seidel and he’s Scott Halifax,” Tom answered immediately. Scott would have laughed if his face wasn’t numb. He’d never seen anybody lose his nerve as quickly and completely as Tom had. “We go to school with Carly.”

“Halifax? Did you say Halifax?”

“I’m Halifax.”

“So you do know my sister. Weren’t you talking to her on the computer yesterday or the day before?”

“Something like that,” Scott answered, before spitting a mouthful of blood onto the concrete. “You’re her brother?”

“Why are you here? How did you even know about this?” Doug demanded.

“I told you,” Tom said. “Somebody on the internet told us about it. We’ve been trying to figure out who’s doing this to Carly.”

“You’re Carly’s brother?” Scott asked again.

“Yeah. I’m Doug Gillette.”

“I think we’re all on the same side,” Scott said.

“So wait a minute,” Tom said. “You’re not the e-bully. We’re not the e-bully. Carly isn’t even here. What’s going on? I have the right to know, seeing as I just had the piss beat out of me.”

“No, I’m not the e-bully,” Doug said. He picked up Tom’s glasses and handed them over. “If I’m out of line, sorry.”

“What do you mean, if?” Scott said.

“I set this all up,” Doug said. “I thought I was setting a trap. It didn’t turn out the way I expected.” He recounted for them the session he had on OurPlace two nights earlier when Carly had logged on and then left the room.

~~~

CeeCee: Are you on?

Slice7: This is a first. You talkin to me?

Slice7: Are you coming after me now?

CeeCee: I just want to talk

Slice7: I play rougher than your used to. No easy target

Doug had no clue what this person was talking about, same as his sister. Worried about running out of time, he’d ignored everything Slice had said and gotten to the point.

CeeCee: lets meet up and work it out.

CeeCee: this is no good this way.

CeeCee: what do u say

CeeCee: ill come alone. We can work it out. No harm no foul

He didn’t think at the time that there was much chance that Slice would agree to it. Not the first time, anyway. Meeting up with a stranger was a scary idea. He had braced himself for a rejection. He wouldn’t give up easily.

Slice7: When. Tonigt?

He told Tom and Scott how he hadn’t been able to believe his eyes. Slice was considering it, and as soon as that night? That’s when he’d begun to worry. Maybe this hadn’t been a good idea after all, if this was the kind of person who didn’t have a problem with meeting a stranger under these circumstances. He’d have preferred that Slice be as wary as he was. But it was too late to turn back. He stuck to his plan.

CeeCee: how about this weekend. Saturday. Behind the school by the tennis

court.

Slice7: what time

He answered awfully fast, Doug had thought. Maybe too fast. Do I know what I’m getting into?

Slice7: what time? Ill be there.

CeeCee: How about 6:00. I don’t want it to be dark.

Slice7: Come alone. I’ll be watching.

The IM window had closed out before Doug could answer. It didn’t matter. He had everything he needed. He’d been completely surprised that it had worked. Maybe this Slice character wasn’t too smart. Could he really think that a thirteen-year old girl was going to show up alone behind the school on a Saturday night? Even a thirteen-year old boy should have been smarter than that.

~~~

“So the real bully knew about this meeting. He just didn’t show up,” Scott observed. “He’s probably watching us right now and laughing his butt off.” They all looked around nervously.

Doug sat down against the brick wall. “I had a game this afternoon,” he explained. “I’m pretty ragged. And I’m still confused. Why would he tell you guys about it?”

“It must have been a setup,” Scott answered. “Whoever it is knows Tom here is everybody’s favorite suspect. He probably thought it would be funny and Tom snapped the bait right up. Isn’t that right, Tom?”

Tom, busy mopping his bloody temple with his sleeve, looked up but didn’t answer.

“I feel like a schmuck,” Doug said. “But how was I supposed to know? I’m sorry about roughing you guys up. If you’re serious about helping my sister maybe we should work together.”

Chapter 12

“Scott IMed me again,” Carly said. She and Lisa were in the back of a mini-van on the way to visit Lisa’s older sister. Both girls were sunburned after sitting in the bleachers at Doug’s football game for three hours. The adults were engrossed in conversation up front so she didn’t worry that they would overhear.

“That’s twice now, right?” Lisa asked.

“Yeah. What do you think of him? He’s sort of, you know, mysterious.”

“What’s so bad about that? Who doesn’t want a man of mystery, as long as he looks good?”

“Seriously. Not the good kind of mystery. I mean, like, I don’t know where he lives or anything about his family. He says he rides a bus to school but I watched yesterday and didn’t see him come in from the bus lanes. I think he might be lying about something but I’m not sure what. Or why.”

“And you’re leaving out the worst part of all.”

“What’s that?”

“He’s friends with Tom Seidel.”

“Yeah, I forgot about that.”

“Is your phone on?” Lisa asked.

“No way.” Carly stared out the window. “I just don’t know what to think about Scott. He seems nice but it’s hard to tell. When I ask him anything personal he just clams up. I guess I was being nosy.”

“You like him, don’t you? Come on, I can tell.”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile. “I just wish I knew where he came from. It’s like he dropped onto the planet out of a spaceship or something.”

“If you’re talking about aliens I think you’re confusing him with Tom Seidel. Now there’s a space case.”

~~~

“I guess we’re done here, then,” Tom said. He, Scott and Doug were still between the dumpsters at the middle school. “Should I call my brother to tell him to come get us?” he asked Scott.

“Yeah, why not,” Scott answered as he probed his chin and jaw with his fingers. “Brave guy, beating up a couple of seventh-graders,” he said to Doug.

“It looks like a crummy move now,” Doug admitted. “But cut me a break. I’m standing up for my little sister. I’ll beat up the Pope if I think he’s treating her wrong.”

“Kevin’s going to freak when he sees us,” Tom said. “Do I look as bad as you?” he asked Scott.

“You could come back to my house to clean up first,” Doug suggested.

“I think we’ll be alright,” Tom said. “He’ll be okay with it. I’ll make something up. It’s only my brother.”

“Will Carly be there?” Scott asked.

“I heard her making plans with her friend Lisa after my game. They were going to visit Lisa’s sister. She just had a baby or something.”

“What game is that? Got to be football,” Tom grumbled.

“Yeah, football. You got a problem with that?”

“I’ve got a face full of problems with that. So does Scott.”

“Throw in half my ribs, too,” Scott said. “They feel like they’re busted.”

“Come on home with me, then. I’ll get you fixed up.”

Scott looked at Tom, who nodded. “Okay. I just hope I can walk,” Scott said. He winced as he climbed to his feet. When Doug reached to help him he jerked his arm away.

“Suit yourself,” Doug said. He led them away from the dumpsters and around to the front of the school. The first steps were painful but by the time they had left the school and were walking through neighborhoods his ribs actually felt better, so long as he moved slowly. Tom and Doug led the way with Scott falling further and further behind as they walked. When they reached a modest Cape Cod with an empty driveway they stopped and waited.

Doug opened the front door and gestured for Tom and Scott to enter first. “Let’s get some ice. You guys are in pretty bad shape.”

“You were a real jerk to do this to us,” Scott said. “You could have asked first and punched later.”

“I said I was sorry, didn’t I? Do either of you guys have a sister?” Both Tom and Scott shook their heads as they took seats at the table. “Then there’s no way you could understand. She’s not even the same person anymore. Some snake out there is ripping her to shreds. Sometimes I think she wishes she was dead. If you had to watch your sister go through that, and then you thought even for just a second, that you’d found the people who were doing it, well you’d go a little crazy too. But still, I’m sorry.”

“I sat with her at the movies last week,” Scott said. “I never saw somebody my own age look so unhappy.”

“Is it just the text messages and OurPlace?” Tom asked.

“That’s all I know about,” Doug answered. “And of course, there are the pictures. You know about that, don’t you?” He reached under the sink and pulled out several washcloths which he dampened and handed to his guests. While they dabbed at their faces he moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a bucket of ice, which he placed on the table between them. “Help yourself.”

Scott wasn’t sure how the ice could help his sore ribs but he filled his washcloth with cubes and held it against the tender spots on his face. Tom did the same and pushed it against his temple, which was still bloody and raw. “I saw the bathroom picture,” Scott said. “Were there more?”

“There was one more that I know about,” Doug answered. “I got it off Lisa. It’s weird but nothing too bad. It’s just her walking home from school. I don’t know why they bothered with it.”

“Maybe it was just to show her that somebody’s always around,” Tom suggested. “It’s just a way to shake her up.”

“Well, it did that. Lisa told me that Carly’s more upset about that one than the bathroom picture.”

“There’s definitely nothing going on in the picture at all?” Scott asked.

“Nothing I could see. I’ve got it on my phone. Let me grab it and I’ll show you. He walked out but was back quickly with a phone in his hand. He pushed some buttons and passed it over to Tom. “See? It’s so plain it’s scary. Maybe I’m missing something.”

Tom picked up the phone and held it close to his face. His forehead wrinkled as he turned it in different directions and angles. “We just walked past there,” he said without looking up. “Right? She must have been walking home from school along the same route we just took,” he declared proudly.

“Right,” Doug said. “Carly said it was just a few days ago. She got the picture the same day.”

“Can you send a copy of this to me?” Tom asked.

“Just do it yourself. Go ahead.” Tom busied himself with the task. When he was done he called the picture back up and studied it.

Scott groaned with pain as he stood and moved behind Tom so he could take a look. “Did it get sent all over the place like the other one?”

“No, just to Carly. She sent a copy to Lisa, who sent it to me, but that’s it.”

“It looks like it was taken from the street,” Scott said. “Maybe from a passing car.”

“If you look real close you can see a reflection like it was taken through a car window,” Doug agreed. “But that doesn’t help us much.”

“There’s a lot more information in this picture than you guys realize,” Tom announced. “Not about Carly, but about whoever took that picture.”

“Yeah?” challenged Scott. “Like what?”

“Stop talking and look closer.” Doug obediently walked over and stood next to Scott so he could see the picture over Tom’s other shoulder.

“You aren’t going to slug me again are you, big guy?” Scott asked. “You still make me nervous.”

“I’m sorry, okay? Can we just forget it?”

“Easy for you to say.”

“Like you said,” interrupted Tom. “You can see the reflection. This was definitely taken through a glass window.” He ran his finger across the center of the screen. “But see this metal spar across the glass? And look at this,” he continued as he touched the lower left corner of the screen. “It looks like the back of a shiny green seat but it’s very tall. Think about it. Is it starting to look familiar?”

“Your brother’s Duster?” Scott sneered. “Come on, spill it.”

“I’m pretty sure somebody took this picture from inside a school bus as it rolled past Carly,” Tom said as he placed the phone gently on the table. Scott noted the increasingly familiar gloat spread across his face. It was a tiresome expression but he knew even before he took another look at the picture that Tom was correct.

“Hey yeah, you’re right!” Doug exclaimed after picking up the phone and examining the screen. “Definitely a school bus. I can’t believe I didn’t see it.”

“Look how high up from the ground the angle is. No way that was taken from a car,” Tom said.

“Good call, Tom,” Scott said. “Too bad it doesn’t really help. Even if we knew it was taken from a 1997 cherry red Corvette with purple tires, what good does it do us?”

“I’m not done yet. Take a look down in the bottom right corner. What do you see?”

Doug picked up the phone and pulled it toward his face while Tom smiled smugly. “It’s got the date and time. Carly already told us when the picture was taken.”

“We were reasonably sure about it but that’s not the same as knowing it for certain,” Tom replied. “That stamp tells us for sure when it was taken.”

“We get it, okay?” Scott said. “You’re smarter than everybody else. Just tell us what you’re talking about.”

“Simple. We know it was a school bus. We can assume, I think, that it came from our school. We know where it was at exactly 3:07 p.m. that day. And we know that somebody on that bus took that picture.”

“So if we figure out what bus it was, maybe we can go see who rides it, right?” asked Doug.

“There’s no maybe about it. We can find out for sure what bus it was and exactly who rides it. There’s our list of suspects. A short, finite list. They just made their first mistake.”

“We should wait and see what bus goes past there at that time of day and then follow it to see who gets off,” Doug suggested.

“It won’t be even that hard. All we have to do is find out from the school office. We won’t even have to break a sweat.”

“But we can’t just go into the school office and ask for all that,” Doug protested. “They won’t give that to a bunch of kids.”

“They’ll give it to him,” Tom answered, pointing at Scott. “I think they’d be pretty happy about it, too. He can walk in, find out what bus it was and get a list of the kids who ride it. It shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes. After all, that’s what he’s here for.”

Doug turned and stared at Scott like he’d never seen him before.

“He’s a narc,” Tom explained. “He works for the vice principal. If he finds out who’s bothering Carly he gets let out of jail.”

“What? Is that true? Jail?”

Scott glared at Tom and slapped the table. “Thanks, Tom,” Scott said, shaking his head. “Thanks for blowing my cover. You’re not even supposed to know about it yourself. I could get screwed over this. Just because you know something doesn’t give you the right to shoot your mouth off about it.”

“You’re some kind of cop?” Doug asked. “What’s going on here?”

“Look, it’s just like this loudmouth said. I got busted for stealing and I live in the County Detention Center. Lukather brought me in and offered me the deal. I took it. I asked Tom to help me. If I’d known he can’t keep his trap shut I wouldn’t have. And don’t call me a narc.”

They all looked up when they heard the front door open. “Anybody home?” called out a voice that they all knew was Carly’s. Nobody spoke as they heard the door close. As her footsteps approached Scott wondered how they would explain why he and Tom were there, and of course, why her brother had beaten them up. He knew there wasn’t any way to do it without letting yet another person in on the secret. Meanwhile, a door was pulled shut in the hallway.

“Where’d she go?” Scott whispered.

“Sounds like the bathroom,” Doug whispered back.

“I think we better go. She’s not ready for this yet.”

“You can go out the back way,” Doug offered, pointing at a door Scott hadn’t noticed.

“Good.” He and Tom moved toward the door. Scott held his finger over his lips when he thought Tom was making too much noise. “I guess you’re in on this with us now,” he whispered to Doug.

“I won’t blab about it,” he promised. “Will you keep me up to date?” He followed them out the back door.

“We will,” Tom said. “Actually, it might be a good idea to have somebody so close to Carly working with us. We’ll keep you up to date but you need to keep us up to date too.”

Chapter 13

“I don’t even need to be on-line anymore to get hassled,” Carly said to Lisa, who was sitting across the lunch table peeling an orange. “Those girls over there are all watching me.” Lisa turned in time to see a group of kids pointing and giggling from two tables away.

“I’ve got news for you,” Lisa said. “It’s not just girls.”

“I guess you know what they’re talking about, right?”

“I heard something during gym. What happened?”

“They had a long talk about me in a chat room. Somebody sent the whole thing to me in an e-mail just before I went to bed last night just in case I missed it.”

“Who? Who sent it?”

“The same one who sends me everything else.”

“So what exactly happened?”

Carly cringed. “Ever heard of Irritable Bowel Syndrome? Apparently I have it.”

“Yuck. I don’t even want to know.”

“Exactly. I don’t know what it is either but now everybody in the school thinks I have it. They think I can’t stop going to the bathroom or passing gas. So that’s why I smell so bad, yada yada yada. It just went on and on. I didn’t read the whole thing. Today, every time I look up somebody’s holding their nose and everybody else is laughing. At me.”

‘Who comes up with this stuff?”

“It isn’t Tom, so don’t start,” Carly warned. “Scott would tell me.”

“Maybe.”

“I don’t really care except I hate that they’re all staring at me, thinking about my body. It’s so creepy.”

When lunch was over they headed in separate directions. Carly could feel the stares as she walked the halls, though she was careful never to make eye contact. After she passed the home economics classrooms she made her customary post-lunch trip into the bathroom. On her way out she nearly collided with a girl who looked so young that she just had to be a sixth grader. “Sorry,” they both said at the same time. Carly walked into the hallway but then looked back. She looked familiar. It wasn’t until she was tucked into her seat in art class that it came to her. She’d seen her in the bathroom earlier that day, just after first period. She remembered because the girl had done nothing but wash her hands, and for longer than it should have taken. Was she being followed? Or was she being paranoid? Who was that girl?

~~~

Just after lunch Scott saw Carly for the first time all day. As a matter of fact, he thought, it’s the first time I’ve seen her since last week. He had, however, sat in her kitchen holding ice on his swollen face after being battered by her brother, but she didn’t know anything about that. At the time they had agreed it was too early to tell her what was going on but when he saw her shuffling into the bathroom like an old woman he changed his mind. She needed help, and she needed to know that somebody knew she needed help.

On an ordinary day he would have waited for her to come out but on this day there was no time. He was already rushing to get to the appointment he’d made in Mrs. Chotiner’s office. This was the first time he’d called the meeting himself.

“I think we have something, Mr. Lukather,” Scott said before the door was even closed. “Something solid. But I need some information.”

“Okay,” Lukather said as he settled into the high-backed leather chair behind his desk. “First, how about updating me on what’s been going on? How’s that computer working?”

“Great. I log on every night and hang out on OurPlace. There’s a lot of chatter about Carly on there. I try to keep track of who’s doing it.”

“That’s the idea. Hopefully we’ll have a breakthrough soon.”

“We may have one already. I’ve been zeroing in on the cell phone stuff, too. She just got another picture the other day. I got somebody to send it to me so I could take a good look.”

“Do you have a phone now?”

“Well, not exactly.” He exhaled slowly. “You might as well know now. Tom is helping me. He knows everybody and he’s good at this stuff.”

Lukather frowned. Scott knew he was having trouble letting go of the idea of Tom as the prime suspect. “You’ve got to let me do this my way,” Scott continued. “I see a lot of stuff you never see.”

“I don’t like it.”

“It’s the only way I can get this done,” Scott said stubbornly.

Lukather sighed. “What about the new picture?”

“It’s a picture of her walking home from school. We know exactly where it was taken. There’s a time stamp on it so we know exactly when it was taken. And we can tell by what’s in the picture that it was taken from inside a school bus.”

“I think I see where you’re going with this.”

“Tom thought of it. We need to know what bus was at that place at that time. And we need a list of the students who ride that bus. Then we have a short list of people to focus on.”

Lukather thought about it for a moment. “That’s pretty good, Scott.”

“Is that easy to get?”

“I would think so. We’re assuming the bus is from this school but I think that’s a safe assumption. Dempsey handles transportation. I’m sure he can help us out. But Scott? When you get the list make sure nobody sees it but you.”

~~~

While sitting in class after lunch Carly cheered up momentarily when she happened to look out the door and see Scott walk by. What’s he doing out of class, she wondered.

Joe Poynor and Pam O’Malley noticed him too. “That was that new kid,” Poynor said. “Scott Halifax. I heard something crazy about him. My brother is friends with Tom Seidel’s big brother. You know Halifax and Tom Seidel pal around, right?”

“Yeah. The new guy must be desperate for friends.” They were whispering, hoping not to be heard by Mrs. Hall, who was grading projects at her desk. By now Carly was listening closely after hearing Scott’s name mentioned. She leaned forward in her chair, straining to hear the conversation.

“Remember that night we all went to see ‘Spiderman’?”

“Yup. Just a couple weeks ago.”

“Seidel’s brother took him home that night. Guess where that was?”

“Where?” O’Malley whispered.

“Jail, that’s where. The county jail for juveniles. The dude’s in jail! He’s some kind of convict!”

“No way! How could he be going to school?”

“I don’t know. I made my brother check with Seidel’s brother because I didn’t believe it. He said it was true but we shouldn’t go spreading it around.”

“How many people have you told so far?”

They snickered, drawing a look from Mrs. Hall. Carly slouched back in her seat, stunned at what they’d said. Everything she’d observed about Scott told her it was true. He usually did look like he had something to hide.

She could see several students around her tapping out text messages on their phones, which they held under their desks out of Mrs. Hall’s view. It had gotten to the point where she just assumed they were texting about her. Nothing was going right anymore. She had to be the only thirteen-year-old girl in the world to find out that the boy she had a crush on was an inmate in prison.

~~~

During the last period of the day a sealed envelope was delivered to Scott. Trying not to attract attention he tore the envelope open and pulled out a list of students.

Pamela Allen

Kenneth Albitt

Claire Baughman

Susan Bennett

Carolyn Broadus

Jennifer Brown

Alfred Cassidy

Brendan Coffey

Patricia Cook

Bryan Flaherty

Jeffrey Flanagan

Tracey Ford

Sara Grabowski

Anthony Griffin

Derek Griffin

Charles Kerr

Angela Lewes

Amy McPherson

William Mullens

James Parte

Colin Patella

Frank Pelcher

Caroline Pond

Elizabeth Pringle

Kathryn Purzio

Victoria Rogers

Dona Remeu

Rebecca Roberts

Jill Wedinger

Philip Whitman

Elizabeth Whitsle

Thomas Wu

Richard Zorch

It felt strange to look at the list of names, knowing that one of them probably belonged to the e-bully. He knew exactly what the list was. Now he needed to figure out how to use it.

~~~

At midnight, after lying in bed for at least two hours, Carly gave up on getting to sleep. There was just too much to be upset about. She climbed out of bed, grabbed a sweatshirt and headed downstairs. Maybe a glass of milk and something to eat would make her feel sleepy.

As she reached for a glass she eyed the liquor bottles her mother kept in the back of the cabinet. She’d never consumed a drop of alcohol in her life but everything she understood about it made her think that it might help her feel better. The glass clinked as she put it down on the counter before she studied the selection in the cabinet. The clear ones somehow intimidated her, leading her to choose one of the brown ones. It smells good, she thought as she unscrewed the cap. After filling the glass nearly to the rim the put the cap back on the bottle and pushed it to the back of the countertop. Moving slowly, trying not to spill, she carried the glass to the table and sat down in front of it.

She stared at the glass as if she was debating what to do but she knew what was going to happen. The glass felt heavy as she lifted it off the table. The sweet smell pleased her. She paused when the glass was at her lips. Then she opened her mouth wider and tipped the glass to pour a gulp of bourbon into her mouth and down her throat.

The sensual explosion that followed was something she never expected. Vapors from the drink filled her lungs, making it difficult to breathe, but that didn’t last long. The inside of her mouth, throat and stomach burned as though she’d drunk hot lava. That was followed by a spasm of coughing, which hurt even more when she tried to muffle the sound. Bourbon spilled onto the table as she put the glass down unevenly. Breathe, she told herself. Keep breathing.

It didn’t feel as bad a minute later after the coughing stopped and the fires died down. She looked at the glass. About an inch of brown liquid was gone. She didn’t feel any different except for the warmth, which felt good. Would another drink make her feel even warmer? Maybe a smaller sip, she told herself. She picked the glass up and poured more bourbon into her mouth. This time she let it sizzle on her tongue and trickle into the bottom of her mouth. Now that she was more careful the warmth felt comfortable and reassuring without the burning. Finally she closed her mouth and swallowed. Two hours and a few glasses later she made her way back to bed, knowing that this time she wouldn’t have any trouble sleeping. She felt warm inside. She felt safe. Life felt better. The hurt was gone.

Chapter 14

Am I sick? Carly asked herself when she woke up at dawn. Her head hurt and her stomach was turning. She forced herself out of bed and into the bathroom. Her mouth felt as though it was stuffed with cotton. At first she thought she was going to vomit so she kneeled in front of the toilet. After the feeling passed she stood at the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror as she wondered what was wrong. Determined to wet her mouth and quench her insatiable thirst, she twisted until she could get her head in the sink and took a long drink straight from the faucet. She still wasn’t sure what was happening when she crawled back into bed for another hour of sleep before the alarm rang.

~~~

Her mother was still home when Carly came down the stairs after her shower. When Carly heard her in the kitchen she stopped halfway down to make sure everything was in order. That was the best way to avoid too many questions. She wiped her nose, smoothed out her clothing and practiced smiling. When she came into the kitchen her mother stopped what she was doing and walked over. “Hi, Hon,” she said, reaching out to touch Carly’s shoulders. “Sorry, I’m in a rush. Can you feed yourself?”

“Of course, Mom,” Carly answered, knowing that she wouldn’t be eating anything for breakfast that morning.

She kissed Carly on the forehead and stepped backward. “Is everything okay with you, Hon? You haven’t been yourself lately.”

“Yeah, I’m good. I’m just tired lately. School’s a lot harder this year, that’s all.”

“That must be it. Oh, the principal called from school. He said somebody’s giving you a hard time. Let’s talk about that tonight, okay?”

“He did? It’s nothing, really. I can’t believe he even knew about it.”

She scooped up her keys and picked up speed as she moved toward the front door. “I’ll see you at dinner time,” she called. “Have a great day, okay?”

“You bet.” That was easy, she thought after the door closed. Except how did the principal find out?

~~~

“How many of these kids do you actually know?” Scott asked Tom during lunch a few days later. The list was on the table between them in the school cafeteria. They’d studied it for days trying to decide how to attack it. Anytime anybody came too close Scott carefully covered the list with his hands, remembering Lukather’s warning.

“Some of them are sixth graders,” Tom answered. “I was going the other way with it. I think it’s somebody older, not younger.”

“We’ve got kids from all three grades on the list. As far as we’re concerned it could be any of them.”

“Yeah, I know. We have to look at it that way.”

“I thought a list would help but I still don’t know what to do. It’s not like we can follow thirty people around all day.”

“Or all night. Maybe we should talk to Carly,” Tom suggested. “We could show her the list. Maybe there are some names on there that would jump out at her. Then the list would be even shorter. Maybe even short enough that we could follow them all around.”

“The only problem with that is she doesn’t even know we’re working on this. Nobody ever told her why I’m here. I think I’d have to talk to Lukather first before we could do that. Besides, she’s been avoiding me. I can’t even get her to answer an IM.”

“Lukather’s got to give you some space,” Tom argued. “If you passed every little question on to him you’d be in his office all day. He doesn’t even know about me, does he?”

“Oh, he knows about you, alright.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, he knows you’re helping. He didn’t like it but I didn’t give in.”

“Really?” Tom beamed. “And that goes to show you, he doesn’t mind if you think for yourself once in a while. I say we show her the list.”

“Maybe I’ll do it this afternoon if I see her. I wish I had more time. Lukather has me back at the Center every day right after school’s out.”

“You could always IM or call. I’d offer to do it but it should probably come from you.”

Scott never had a chance to show her the list that afternoon. He thought he’d caught her eye between fifth and sixth periods. He was sure he had, as a matter of fact, but she turned away as soon as she saw him. What’s with her? But it’s just as well. There isn’t enough time anyway.

~~~

Carly’s phone buzzed just as she pushed her locker closed and was hoisting her book bag onto her back. It was another anonymous text message:

Weaseled out on me. Ruined my whole weekend. U should have showed.

Now im really mad

As usual she didn’t understand the message but it upset her anyway. The relief she always felt when it was time to go home was suddenly gone. She snapped the phone shut and looked up to find Scott Halifax standing next to her.

“Hi,” he said. “How’s it going?”

“Go away,” she said as she turned her back and walked the other way.

“Carly, what happened? Why are you doing this?” he asked as he trailed behind her.

“You better not follow me,” she warned.

“Just tell me what’s wrong. Then I’ll go away.”

She stopped and let him catch up. “Where’s your phone? Used it in the last few minutes?”

“I told you. I don’t even have one.”

“You had me fooled but you were lying to me all along. I found out all about you. I know where you live. And I’m starting to think it was you doing this the whole time!” she said, holding up her phone. “Now leave me alone!” This time Scott let her go. He’d left her in the dark for too long but he never thought it would come to this.

He wanted to chase her but dutifully made his way to the main office instead. The secretaries waved him through to Lukather’s office the way they always did at the end of the day. He pushed the door open without knocking only to find that Lukather had a visitor. He recognized her immediately from the video Lukather had shown him – it was Jenny Rhome’s mother.

“Oops – sorry,” he said, backing out as quickly as he could. He’d been in the doorway so briefly that he didn’t think they’d seen him. Embarrassed, he retreated to a sitting area near the guidance offices and waited for Lukather to finish up.

~~~

“Wasn’t that Jenny’s mom that was in with you?” Scott asked once they were on the road back to the Center in Lukather’s car. “What’s she doing here? Jenny’s gone, isn’t she?”

“Was that you that stumbled in and out? Good eye. You remember from the video. Jenny’s being released from Chester next week,” he explained. “That’s the psychiatric facility she’s been in. She’ll be going back to school, but not here. She’s transferring to Pius VI so her mother’s here picking up transcripts. She asked if we had any leads on Jenny’s case. I hated that I had to tell her we didn’t.”

“So Jenny’s okay?”

“They think so at Chester. The faculty at Pius will be watching her closely. They can do that because they’re small. It doesn’t hurt that they have a strict no electronics policy. I wish we could do that. It would solve so many problems.”

“They think they can get rid of cell phones?”

“They know they can. They already did. No phones, no pagers, no iPods, you name it.”

“Wow, I can’t believe they can get away with it.”

“Those things have no place in school. That’s one of the benefits of being private. They can do whatever they want. It isn’t hard to enforce, either. If it’s seen or heard, it’s confiscated. It’s a good move and not just for the problem kids like Jenny. And Carly. There’s so much time wasted. Kids are texting each other, constantly checking for mail, fiddling with iPods. All that time adds up. And now they’re coming up with ways to use this stuff to cheat on tests. Most of the teachers don’t have a clue about this technology. That makes it too easy for kids that want to abuse it. I’d love it if we could just shut it all down here the same way.”

“It’ll never happen.”

“Just the other day we busted kids for taking pictures of a test and sending them to their friends who were taking the test later in the day. I’m sure it happens all the time. They were sending out pictures of the test in real time.”

“Aren’t you afraid of giving me ideas?”

“No. By the time I know about these schemes they’re on to something new. All these gadgets are wrecking what we’re trying to do here.”

“Tell me how you really feel, Mr. Lukather.”

“Sorry for the sermon. It’s just something that gets under my skin.”

~~~

That night Carly ventured onto OurPlace after a feeble attempt at getting some homework done. Slice had peppered her with text messages all week, but so far there hadn’t been any IMs. She dreaded hearing from Slice but wanted to IM with Lisa about what happened with Scott. Ironically, Lisa wasn’t online but Scott sent her half a dozen messages in ten minutes, none of which she answered. She left the last one on her screen while she sipped from the glass that sat in front of her on the desk.

Halifax: Carly please talk to me

All week she’d been giving in to her craving for the warmth and security that her first drink from the Jim Beam bottle had brought a few nights earlier. Before anybody else had been home the next day she’d pulled the bottle, nearly full, from the cabinet and carried it upstairs where she hid it in a desk drawer. Now the bottle was almost two-thirds empty. She’d just finished locking the door and pouring herself a glass while watching Scott’s messages flash across the screen.

She didn’t really think Scott and Slice were the same person, and not just because it had all started before he had even come to Lakeland. But even if it wasn’t him, he had fooled her into thinking he was her friend when it turned out everything he’d said had been a lie. She’d told him things she wouldn’t otherwise have told him. That stung.

The knock on the door startled her. She instantly reached for the bottle but in doing so brushed the glass enough to spill a few drops. After shoving the bottle back into the desk drawer she froze, unsure what to do with the glass.

“Carly? Are you okay?” It was her brother.

“Just a second,” she yelled as she pushed the glass behind the computer monitor and wiped the spill with her sleeve. “Come on in,” she said as she turned around to face the door. She could only hope that she’d hidden all the evidence of what she was doing. If not, it was too late.

“Hi,” he said. “Got a second?”

The IM chimes rang out, announcing another message.

Halifax: come on I know your there

Doug chuckled after reading the messages on the screen. “Are you giving Scott a hard time?”

“You know Scott?” Carly asked in amazement. “How do you know Scott?”

“We need to talk,” he said as he sat on the bed. “I was going to ask you about a certain bottle I found on the counter Monday morning but I know the answer already by the smell of this room.”

“What bottle?” Carly feigned. Can’t I do anything right, she asked herself.

“I put it away before Mom saw it. Carly, what are you doing? I think I might have to tell Mom about this.”

“It’s nothing, really. I just wanted to try it. Don’t make such a big deal about it.”

“It is a big deal, Carly. Because I know you’re not just trying it. You thought it might help get you through this,” he said, waving at the computer. “Right?”

“I just had a tiny sip. I didn’t even like it.”

“But you went back for more. Come on, Carly, I can smell it.”

Tears began rolling down her face. “I need help,” she said. “I can’t even get to sleep anymore. Everybody at school hates me and it’s getting worse. I thought I could trust Scott but he’s phony, too. All he’s done is lie to me. I really thought I could count on him, Doug. He might be the one who’s doing all this.”

“Come over here for a second. Let me tell you about Scott.” She got up and moved toward the bed, not because she cared about what he’d say but because she wanted to be close to somebody, even if it was her own brother.

Before she sat down the chimes rang again. Doug leaned towards the computer. “Another one from Scott.” He stood and walked to the desk. “May I?” When she nodded, he put his hands on the keyboard and began to type.

CeeCee: Scott, this is Doug. hold up for a bit. Me and Carly are talking

As she watched her high school football star brother type a message to the new seventh grader at Lakeland Middle School Carly gave up trying to understand. There was no way she could make sense of what she was seeing. It seemed as though everything had been turned on it’s ear.

“How do you know Scott?” she asked Doug when he was back from the computer.

“Carly, I’m worried. How long have you been drinking? That isn’t going to help anything.”

She considered lying but ended up telling him the truth, which wasn’t really that bad. “Not long, really. Just this week. It helps me relax, I guess. It helps me sleep.”

“It’s no answer, Carly. Sure, I drink plenty of beer and it’s fun and all, but after it’s over I still have the same problems. They don’t go away.”

“Yeah, but they don’t hurt as much.”

“I’m not so sure about that. But let’s talk about Scott.”

“I heard he lives in jail. Boy, did he turn out to be a sleazebag.”

“Not really. I met him on Saturday. Him and his friend, Tom something or other.”

“Tom Seidel? Oh my God.”

Doug told her all about how he’d used her OurPlace session to challenge Slice to meet up, and then finding nobody but a couple kids lurking by the dumpsters. “I beat them up pretty good. Take a close look at their faces next time you see them.”

“That explains some of the messages I’ve been getting. But why beat them up?”

“Because I thought they were the ones, that’s why. That’s when Scott told me the whole story.”

“About what?”

“He works for Vice Principal Lukather. Know him?”

“Sort of. What do you mean, works for him?”

“Scott’s working undercover to find whoever’s doing this to you. That’s why he showed up at the school on Saturday. He got a tip and wanted to be there.”

“Oh my God,” Carly said again. “So it’s like he’s not even a real student? Is he even a kid?”

“He’s the same age as you. He got in trouble and got locked up in the county juvenile jail, whatever they call it. Lukather brought him in and promised to get him released if he caught whoever is doing this.”

“He doesn’t really live in jail, does he?”

“He does. He goes back every night.”

“So when I was IMing with him he was sitting in a jail cell?”

“I doubt if it’s a cell with bars, like on TV, but yeah, pretty much.”

“One time I kept asking him where he lives. He finally just logged off. I guess I can’t blame him for lying about it. It’s embarrassing.”

“It isn’t just embarrassing. It’s secret. He’s supposed to be undercover, remember? Even if he wanted to he can’t tell you where he lives.“

“This is so weird.”

“He was onto something. He and Tom were talking about it Saturday.”

“Tom’s undercover too? This is so weird.”

“No, Tom’s just Tom. Talk about weird. He’s an oddball.”

“That’s for sure.”

“But if they ask you anything you should work with them. They’re on our side.”

“Okay. I guess I blew Scott off pretty bad today.”

“And Carly? No more of that stuff, okay?” he insisted as he pointed at the glass, clearly visible from the bed. “That’s a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Okay. I promise.” She wrapped her arms around him. “I don’t know how you got so involved, but thanks.”

“No problem. Hey, a guy’s got to do what he’s got to do when his little sister’s in trouble.”

Chapter 15

Mathematics just wasn’t something that Scott had ever mastered, or was even interested in. He still resented that he was in a math classroom at all. When Lukather had set his class schedule up he insisted on enrolling him in a typical set of courses, which naturally included math. Scott had no illusions that his grades in that or any other class would ever matter. Like every other place he’d been, he was sure Lakeland was a temporary stop on the way to a bleak destination.

Mrs. Holmes was at the blackboard clicking away with a stick of chalk but Scott was looking anywhere but the front of the room. Halfway through the period, when he happened to be looking out the window, he saw Jenny Rhome’s mother walking away from the building carrying a sheaf of papers. She must have needed more transcripts, he thought. Disinterested as he could be in whatever Mrs. Holmes was saying, he watched Jenny’s mother walk along the sidewalk and into the parking lot. His attention was jerked back to the classroom when the girl sitting directly in front of him began reciting some mathematical theorem. It meant nothing to Scott except that everybody in the room, including Mrs. Holmes, was looking his way.

When it was safe again he looked back outside in time to see an SUV rolling through the lot. Since there had been nobody else out there he assumed that Jenny’s mother was behind the wheel. As the car approached the building and veered toward the exit he catalogued it’s features: green Chevy Blazer, hubcaps missing even though it looked new, and a red string or ribbon fluttering from the roof rack.

It came to him before the end of the period. Either that Blazer or one just like it had been parked in the trees near the tennis courts when he and Tom had been hiding by the dumpsters. He wasn’t good at math but he was good at cars.

As he turned the memory over in his mind he was overwhelmed with questions. Did it make sense? If it was even the same car, was it a coincidence or did Jenny’s mother have some kind of stake in Carly’s current troubles? He didn’t see how that could be true unless Lukather had been keeping something from him. Even if she did, how could she have known about the showdown at the tennis courts? On the other hand, he knew from Lukather that Jenny Rhome was up and about. Maybe she and her mother were just playing tennis.

When he saw the rest of his classmates filing out of the room he realized he hadn’t heard the bell ring. He grabbed his books and followed everybody out, lamenting that there were still two periods before lunch. He’d have to wait to ask Tom what he could remember about the Blazer.

~~~

“Let me know if you see Scott,” Carly said to Lisa as they walked into the cafeteria for lunch. She’d just finished telling Lisa everything her brother had explained about who Scott was and why he was at Lakeland. “I was such a jerk to him. I should say I’m sorry, at least.”

Lisa wasn’t ready to accept it. “If it didn’t come from Doug I wouldn’t believe a word of it. They hire some criminal to come into our school, pretending he’s just a regular guy, and he’s going to save the day? You didn’t even tell anybody what was going on. How do they know so much?”

“I don’t have to tell anybody. Everybody knows. But I just feel bad about how I treated him.”

“It’s not your fault,” Lisa defended. “How were you supposed to know? He’s all snooping around and then he’s got his nerdy friend in on it.”

“Yeah, but now I know he’s here to help me. I don’t know, I just feel bad.”

“I’m sure he’ll be here. They always are.”

~~~

“Check this out,” Scott said after Tom finally came in and sat down at the lunch table. “I’m looking out the window this morning and guess who I see? Jenny’s mom. You know, Jenny Rhome from last year.”

“How’d you know it was her?” Tom asked as he pulled a wrapped sandwich from a brown paper bag. “You weren’t even here last year.”

“I saw her yesterday in Lukather’s office. She was here getting transcripts. Jenny’s transferring.”

“She’s back in school? I never saw her once.”

“She’s going back next week, but not here. She’s going to Pius.”

“Oh, Pius,” Tom grunted, his mouth full of sandwich.

“But anyway, check this out. I’m watching her, and next thing I know there’s this car pulling out. Well, a truck, really. But it looked really familiar. Then I remembered where I saw it before. And you were there too.”

“At the movies? No, wait a minute, Jenny wouldn’t have been there. I give.”

“Remember at the tennis courts? When we were hiding?”

Tom ran his fingers over the scab that had formed on the side of his face. “How could I forget? But I don’t remember every car in the parking lot.”

“It wasn’t in the parking lot. You know those trees on the other side of the courts? The ones right up against the road? It was parked in there. It was hard to see it at all. I figured it was somebody who just finished playing tennis.”

“Maybe it was.”

“Yeah, maybe. But I’m really sure it was the same car.”

“And you’re sure Jenny’s mother doesn’t play tennis? Or maybe even Jenny?”

“Come on. It’s too much of a coincidence.”

“Probably true. What kind of car was it?”

“A Blazer. An SUV.”

“That’s a pretty common car.”

“This one had missing hub caps. I thought that was strange because it looked almost new.” But he knew Tom had a point. “You’re right. There are green Blazers all over the place. Maybe I imagined the hubcaps and all.”

“Didn’t I snap some test pictures with my phone? Just before Superman popped out and showed us who’s boss? If I took a picture of the courts the trees would be in there too.”

Scott smiled. Sometimes Tom had a way with words. “I don’t remember.”

“I’m sure I did. Hopefully I didn’t delete them.” He dropped his sandwich onto the bag and wrestled his phone out of a pocket. After studying the screen he pushed buttons with his thumb while feeling around for the sandwich with the other hand. “Oops. Here comes Carly,” he said before finding the rest of the sandwich and jamming it into his mouth. “I thought she wasn’t talking to you.”

“She wasn’t.”

Nothing more was said as she arrived at their table and took a seat next to Scott. “Hi,” she said with little emotion.

“Hi,” Scott answered. After that there was more silence. Scott suspected that she had something to say that she didn’t want Tom to hear. He could have dismissed Tom but he was too annoyed with her to make it so easy. She finally handled it herself.

“I need to get something out of my locker, Scott. Will you walk over with me?”

“Sure,” Scott said. Neither of them said a word until they were out of the cafeteria.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been so friendly to you,” she told him.

“It’s okay. Who ever said you had to be friendly?”

“My brother told me all about what you’re doing here. I know you’re here to help me. I should have been nicer.”

Another rat, he thought. Can’t anybody around here keep their mouth shut? They reached the end of the hall. He could see the tennis courts from the second floor windows and knew the dumpsters were just below. Without even thinking about it he probed his chin, feeling for the damage done by Doug’s fists. That made him angry. He’d done a lot for this girl. She owed him more than ‘Sorry I wasn’t so friendly.’ “You don’t seem like you’re so sorry. But I’m going to help you anyway. It’s the only way for me to get out of jail. Not that I have any place to go but it’s a start.”

“Come on, Scott. I meant it.”

“Whatever. Hey, will you take a look at a list of names Tom and I came up with? It’s our ‘most wanted’ list. We have it back at the table.”

“Okay. Sure.”

“Alright. Let’s go, then.”

“Why are you acting like this?”

“I don’t know. Maybe because you pissed me off.”

They moved through the growing crowd in the halls on the way back to the cafeteria. A group of rowdy boys passed them from behind. Scott wondered if any of them were on his list. After the boys were out of earshot Carly spoke. “You know, you could be a little nicer too. I’m having a really hard time,” she said, her voice cracking.

“My whole life has been a hard time but you don’t see me looking for any favors.”

She stopped in her tracks. “Forget your list. I don’t need any more help. Just don’t bother me anymore.” She turned on her heel and melted into a crowded hallway. Scott stopped and watched her walk away. She never looked back.

~~~

“I can’t deal with her,” he told Tom when he returned to the table. “Not today, at least.”

“I’ve been thinking. We lost our momentum when we got this list,” Tom said. “Once we had it in our hands we thought it was all over. But it’s just a bunch of names on paper. We can write all the lists we want but it won’t get us anywhere. I say we put it aside for now.”

“We should still have Carly look at it,” Scott said. “Maybe one of them’s her arch enemy, somebody we wouldn’t even know about.”

“What are you two so mad about anyway?”

“It’s no big deal. I’m not even sure anymore.”

“I still think the way we catch this guy is by trapping him in the act. Online, right where he does his thing. Mind if I get back to concentrating on that?”

“No, I think it’s a good idea. I think it’s our best shot. Did you look for those pictures?”

“No, hold on.” The bell rang just as he picked the phone up. “Shoot. Sorry. I’ll check it in class,” he promised.

~~~

Lukather wasn’t pleased when Scott told him the investigation was stalled on the way home that afternoon. “What about that list?” he demanded.

“What about it? Like Tom says, it’s just a bunch of names.”

“Just a bunch of names?” repeated Lukather. “What happened to ‘short list of subjects’?”

“It didn’t work out that way.”

“I thought once I gave you that list it was just a matter of time. You haven’t gotten anywhere with it?”

“A bunch of names on a sheet of paper doesn’t tell us anything. It could be any of them, or it could be somebody else. And you didn’t give me that list. We came up with the idea ourselves. You just delivered a piece of paper.”

Lukather turned and glowered. “I was hoping for some progress, Scott. You have pretty good cause to believe it’s one of the people on the list.”

Scott balled up his fists and pressed his head back against the seat. “Yeah, I know,” he answered after a moment passed. “We have the list but I guess we just don’t know what to do with it.”

“We might be running out of time. From what I hear, Carly’s fading fast. At this rate her report card’s going to get her on academic probation. And we’re talking about an honor student. Who knows what she might do? It’s looking more and more like Jenny Rhome all over again.”

~~~

That night Scotted logged on to OurPlace after dinner, and it wasn’t long before he heard from Carly.

CeeCee: don’t be mad at me scott

CeeCee: Sorry about everything OK?

He didn’t want to be mad at Carly. He liked her, and he liked her brother too. How to respond was an easy call.

Halifax: sorry for how I acted. Im not mad

CeeCee: [smiling big over here]

Halifax: will u look at our list of names tomorrow

CeeCee: of course. At lunch?

Halifax: ok

CeeCee: im getting some nasty IMs. Going to log off

Halifax: whats the screen name on the IMs

CeeCee: Sunnee. New name but I can tell its the same guy.

CeeCee: by scott

She was gone before he could respond, but it didn’t matter. He considered checking in with Tom, to see if he’d found the pictures, but decided it could wait until tomorrow. Instead he logged off and fell asleep in his clothes on top of the covers.

Chapter 16

The ride to school the next morning was a quiet one. Scott considered mentioning the green Blazer, something he couldn’t stop thinking about, but in the end decided not to bring it up. Lukather wasn’t going to be happy that he and Tom had staked out the tennis courts without his knowledge. Why tell him at all until he knew for sure whether or not it mattered?

Tom was leaning on Scott’s locker when Scott arrived. He was still twenty yards away when he realized by Tom’s expression that he’d discovered something important. “Did you check your mail this morning? I mailed you a picture.”

“No I didn’t have time. Is the car in it?”

“It sure is. I knew I took that picture. It’s harder to see on here,” he said as he pulled out his phone. “But when I blew it up on the computer it was as clear as the nose on your face. Here, look.” He passed the phone over.

As far as Scott was concerned the picture was clear enough, even on the tiny screen of the phone. The tennis courts were in the foreground and the Blazer was clearly visible between two trees on the other side. It was just like he remembered. The driver’s door was open and an arm and a foot were visible in the picture, something Scott hadn’t even seen that day. “Holy smokes! I can see where the hub caps should be, even. That’s definitely the same car.”

“We ought to do a drive by at Jenny’s house and see what’s in their driveway. Just to be sure.”

Scott looked up at the clock. “I’ll make an appointment with Lukather today. He needs to hear about this, pronto.”

“I don’t know, Scott. Shouldn’t we make sure it’s their car first?”

“He’ll be mad if I don’t tell him about this right now. He’s already going to be mad.”

“Do you want my phone so you can show him?”

“No, he’ll believe me. I don’t know how to work it, anyway.” They backed away from each other, knowing they were both going to be late. “I’ll fill you in at lunch. Later,” Scott said before turning and jogging down the hallway. Tom put his phone away as he ran off in the other direction.

~~~

Just after second period Carly saw the girl in the bathroom again. After they made eye contact the girl turned quickly and walked back out. That’s it, Carly thought. Something’s going on with that girl. Whoever she is, she’s probably the one who took my picture and she’s probably looking for a chance to take another one. She wiped her hands on her pants and yanked her backpack from the peg on the wall as she charged into the hallway to give chase but it was too late. The girl had disappeared into the crowd.

She’d remember the face, though. She would make a point of it. Living in fear of an unseeable attacker was one thing, but coming face to face with a scrawny sixth grader in the bathroom was something else entirely.

~~~

After homeroom Scott dropped by the main office and made a third period appointment with Mrs. Chotiner. For two periods he rehearsed what he would say to Lukather. Part of him wanted to gloat, remembering Lukather’s skepticism about their progress. He reminded himself that so far they’d proven nothing and nailed nobody. It would be smarter to play it straight.

After third period finally came it took nearly a half hour to explain to Lukather what had happened that day at the dumpsters. He wanted to press ahead but it was important that Lukather understand the setting before they could talk about the SUV in the trees. Every time he finished a sentence Lukather spat back a question. He couldn’t tell if Lukather was excited or angry but he was determined to tell the story. It was the only way to know what to do next.

“You may have gone too far,” Lukather said after hearing about the fight. “I never thought there’d be fights, especially on school grounds. I didn’t even want anybody else involved, but you brought Tom in and now you’ve called Carly’s brother in.”

“Hey, I didn’t call him in. He forced himself on us. But come on, it’s his own sister. It’s not like we’re telling secrets to strangers. Isn’t this what you wanted me to do? The things you aren’t allowed to do yourself?”

“No, this isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

“Something else happened that day. It’s the real reason I came by. There was a car parked in the trees while all this happened. I didn’t think anything of it until I knew it was Mrs. Rhome’s car.”

“Who? What’s she got to do with it?”

“Just listen, Mr. Lukather. It was a green SUV. A Chevrolet Blazer with missing hubcaps. Tom happened to take a picture of the courts that day, so we know for sure. It was there. Mrs. Rhome’s car was there.”

“Wait, slow down,” Lukather interrupted. “You’re at the courts that day, waiting for this confrontation. Then you notice this green car parked off to the side? And by chance you have a picture of it? And you think it has something to do with Jenny Rhome, who just happens to be last year’s internet bullying poster child? Am I missing something? What aren’t you telling me?”

“I’m getting there. Yesterday I’m looking out the window and I see Jenny’s mom driving that very same car through the parking lot. There’s no question. It was their car at the tennis courts that day.”

“Come on Scott, that’s a real stretch. What do they have to do with any of this?”

“Nothing, I didn’t think. Until now. I’m ninety-nine percent sure it’s the same car I saw her driving in the parking lot. I just don’t know what it means.”

“Not a hundred percent?” Lukather asked, chewing on the end of his pen. ”You know, we might be able to get a look at security camera footage from the parking lot if we could cut through some red tape.”

“Tom and I thought we could drive past their house and see what’s parked there.”

“Hmm.” Lukather nodded. “That’s a much better idea. Low tech. You and I can do it on the way home today. It can’t hurt to take a look. But can you get that picture to me first?”

“I’ll bring Tom’s phone. Or maybe I should just bring Tom.”

Lukather grimaced. “I suppose. But listen, let’s keep calm about all of this. There’s a lot going on here. I’m confused. I don’t mind admitting it. Let’s promise ourselves to go slowly. Don’t do anything before we talk about it. I’ll do the same. Okay?”

“Okay. Tom and I are pretty confused, too. It seems too screwy to be true.”

~~~

In another corner of the school, Carly and Lisa were leaning against a wall of lockers as clumps of students hurried past on the way to lunch. “I saw that little twerp in the bathroom again,” Carly said.

“What little twerp?” Lisa asked. “Tom?”

Carly smiled. “No, some girl. I don’t know who she is but I’m going to find out. I just know she’s the one who took the picture.”

“I’m glad to see you fired up. About anything. You’ve been such a robot for the past month.”

“I know I told you about her. She’s this little sixth grader. It seems like everytime I go into the bathroom she’s always there. She always walks in right behind me. I just know she’s trying for another picture. Today she got scared and ran out.”

“What does she look like? Did you get her name?”

“Not yet. I think she’s in sixth grade so she wouldn’t be in the yearbook.”

“Next time you see her point her out.”

“Of course, but what if you’re not there?”

“Just follow her next time you see her. At least you can find out one of her classes or where her locker is.”

“Or else I’ll just pound her right on the spot.”

“That might work too. But it doesn’t sound like you. It sounds more like me.”

“She’s always there. Maybe we can figure out some way for you to trap her from behind once I go in.”

“Let’s go to lunch,” Lisa suggested. “She’s got to eat. Maybe she’s in there. Besides, you should tell Scott about this anyway. Unless the dweeb is with him.”

~~~

“Lukather wants all three of us to check out the Rhome’s driveway after school,” Scott said to Tom when they met at lunch. “Are you up for it?”

“Me? He wants me to come?” Tom answered, a huge smile across his face. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I guess I’ve worn him down. But don’t be too annoying, okay? And bring your phone. He wants to see the picture. Let’s meet at my locker.”

“Sure! Cool, I’m on the team!”

“Big deal. We haven’t done anything yet.”

“That’ll change in a few hours, my friend,” Tom said with confidence. “You’ll see.”

~~~

After the three were inside the car Lukather turned to Tom, who was alone in the back seat. “I already gave Scott the speech a long time ago. Now it’s your turn. You get the short version. No blabbing. Anything you find out is confidential. I mean it.”

“Understood,” Tom answered. “I can keep a secret.”

“I’d like to see that picture before we go,” Lukather said. Tom called it up on his phone and then passed it forward.

“Look in the trees,” Scott said.

“Kind of hard to see,” Lukather said. “But it’ll do. I’ll know that car if we see it.”

“I have a bigger version on my computer,” Tom volunteered. “I converted it to a GIF file. It’s got better resolution.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lukather said. Scott heard him mutter “jiff file,” under his breath. He’d forgotten that there was history between Lukather and Tom and they weren’t on the best of terms.

They left the school and drove through a few neighborhoods, passing Lakeland students who lived close enough to walk home. Scott stared out the window intently when he saw Carly’s house but there was nothing to see except for the empty driveway. “I called up a picture of their house on Google Earth,” Lukather told them as they turned into a development filled with battered post-war era tract houses. “Once we turn onto the street, start counting houses on the right. It’ll be the eleventh one.”

Tom began counting out loud while Scott watched silently. When they’d reached the seventh Lukather slowed the car, but not enough to draw suspicion. “Here we go.”

“I see it already,” Scott announced triumphantly. “It’s right there. Nice hub caps. Definitely it.”

“Affirmative,” Tom added from the back.

“Try not to look too obvious as we go past,” Lukather said, but all three faces were pressed against the windows anyway.

“There’s the string hanging off the top,” Scott said. “No question about it. That’s the car we saw at the courts.”

“Sure looks that way,” agreed Lukather. “But why? What does it tell us?”

“Beats me,” Scott said.

“We’re working on it,” Tom said.

“Okay, I think we’ve seen enough,” Lukather said after they’d reached the end of the street and doubled back for a second look. “I’ll take you guys home. Not a word of this to anybody, understand? We may finally be getting somewhere. Don’t blow it by spreading a bunch of rumors.”

Both of them nodded. They’d gotten used to keeping it to themselves.

“Good work, boys. Good work. I don’t understand what it means yet but this could definitely be our first big break.”

Chapter 17

“Before you go, do you have that list with you?” Lukather asked. “The kids on the bus? There’s something I need to check.”

Lukather and Scott had just pulled into the school parking lot the morning after observing the Blazer in the Rhome’s driveway. Scott had already opened the door, anxious to get inside to talk with Tom about an idea they’d discussed online the night before.

“You didn’t even look at it?”

“I never even saw it. I told Dempsey what you needed. Apparently he sent it straight to you without passing one to me.”

Scott unzipped a backpack pocket and pulled out his now-grimy copy of the list. It was covered with scrawled notations that had led nowhere. He smoothed it out on the dashboard before handing it over.

“Bingo. Tracey Ford,” Lukather said after scanning the list.

“What?”

“It’s something I thought of last night. Ford.” When Scott didn’t answer he continued. “You don’t remember, do you? I know you don’t because you keep talking about Mrs. Rhome. The woman you think of as Jenny’s mother is Mrs. Ford. Remember from the tape? Jenny Rhome’s half-sister Tracey was on that bus. She could have taken that picture. Maybe that’s the link we’re looking for.”

Scott’s mouth fell open. He stared at Lukather without saying a word.

“You two were right. The Rhome’s do seem to have some kind of connection to all this. First the car and now Tracey’s name on the bus list. Not that I can make any sense of it.”

“What do we do now?” Scott asked.

“Nothing. We still don’t have any proof that anybody has done anything. All we have are some weird coincidences that we can’t make heads or tails of. I’m going to make some phone calls. One, anyway. Maybe Mrs. Rhome can clear this up. I just have to make sure I understand it myself before I get on the phone and ask her about it.”

~~~

Carly felt her phone vibrating just as she crossed the street on the way to the main door of the school at about the same time. She’d been experimenting since the night before with leaving it on more and so far there hadn’t been any bad calls. One look at the screen and she knew the run of good luck was over.

Carly = HOT

She felt like she couldn’t breathe when she saw the attached picture. It was on obvious photoshop job, with her face pasted onto the body of a naked teenager. Until she saw the picture she’d continued walking, but now she stopped outside the building. Everybody on the other side of that door was probably looking at the same thing she was. There was no way she was going to school now that everybody had it. Would they know that it wasn’t really her body? Would they care? She closed the phone, put her head down and turned around. Lakeland Middle School would have to make do without her for a day. Maybe more than a day.

~~~

As soon as they were together at lunch Scott filled Tom in on what he had talked about in the car with Lukather. Tom was jubilant. “Tracey Ford! That’s all I need! A name!” he said. “I have a plan to trap the perp, but we didn’t have a perp yet.”

Scott nearly choked on his milk. “What are you talking about? We don’t have a what?”

“You know, the perpetrator.”

“Oh brother. And you have a plan to go with that perp?”

“Yeah, but we’ll need some help. Lukather could probably get it done.”

“Let’s hear it.”

“Do you know what an I.P. address is? It’s a number that identifies each actual computer. Like, if you go home and send an OurPlace email, and then you send one from someplace else, some other computer, it would be from the same account but it would have a different I.P. address.”

“Because it came from a different computer? Even if I was the one who sent them both?”

“Exactly. You get it. The I.P. is unique for every computer. Now, it can be monkeyed with by somebody who knows what they’re doing but most people never even heard of it. I don’t think we have to worry about that.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“Simple. We find out this Tracey Ford’s I.P. address, and then we check the nasty stuff that Carly gets to see if it matches. It’s a little fuzzier but that’s basically it. Easy as a piece of cake.”

“If it’s so easy why didn’t we do it in the first place?”

“Too many suspects. It would take months to nail down an I.P. address for everybody in the school. It only works if we have just one or two people to track.”

“How hard is it to find her I.P. address?”

“Pretty hard. That’s where it get’s tricky,” Tom admitted. “That’s where I thought we’d need Lukather’s help.”

“Hey.” They looked up to see Lisa standing on the other side of the table. Her arms were folded as though she’d been there for a while but didn’t want to interrupt.

“Hey,” Scott answered.

“Making any progress?” she asked, sitting down.

“I guess you know all about who I am now, huh?” Scott asked.

“Pretty much.”

“Yeah, we’re making progress,” Tom told her before turning back to Scott. “By the way, I forgot to tell you. Another Carly picture came out today.”

“Yeah, so I heard. How bad?” Scott asked.

“Awful,” Lisa said. “Completely nude. It wasn’t really her, of course, but what’s the difference? The whole school got it. She didn’t even show up today. I know she left the house, but she never made it here. She probably saw the picture and went back home.”

“Shoot,” Scott said. “We are making progress. Just not fast enough.”

“See that girl over there by the middle window?” Lisa asked. “Wearing the yellow shirt?”

“I see her,” Tom said after they both looked over. “Looks like a jar of mustard.”

“She’s why I’m here. Carly’s been running into her a lot lately. Always in the bathroom. She thinks she’s the one who took the toilet picture. I thought I’d pass that on. I asked around. Her name is Tracey Ford.”

Both boys had been staring across the cafeteria but when they heard that name their heads jerked back at Lisa. “Tracey Ford?” they both asked at the same time. “Holy crap,” added Tom.

“What, you know her?”

“We do now,” Tom replied. “Mystery solved.” He pulled out his phone, zoomed in and took half a dozen pictures of her.

“That’s Tracey Ford?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, so I’m told. What exactly do you guys know about her? What’s going on?”

Scott explained everything they knew about the green SUV and the picture that was taken from the school bus. “We only had her name, though. It’s good to have a face to go with it.”

“Not just a face,” Tom said. “A mug shot.”

“So, let’s see, we have three different reasons to think it’s her, right?” Lisa asked. “Her car, Carly sees her in the bathroom and we think she took the picture from the bus. I say we walk right over there and finish this off.”

“Bad idea,” Scott said. “Why tip her off before we can nail her? She’ll just deny it. Then where will we be?”

“We can nail her. I just gave you three reasons.”

“Those could all be coincidence.”

“We think it’s her too, but the last thing we want is for her to know what we’re thinking,” Tom said. “Not unless we can prove it. We’ve got a plan, don’t worry. We’re going to catch her in the act.”

“What’s the plan?” Lisa asked.

Tom began rattling off a description that included I.P. addresses and computer accounts but Scott interrupted him when he saw Lisa’s eyes glazing over. “We’re still working on it. We’re talking it over with Lukather, probably this afternoon. Maybe you should come.”

“Are you crazy?” Tom sputtered. “You’re bringing half the school in on this.”

“Oh, now you’re worried,” Scott said, trying not to laugh. “You should come,” he told Lisa. “We need somebody who knows Carly better than we do.”

“Sure. When?”

“Probably after school. Just come by my locker. Once you’re there he won’t be able to say no.”

~~~

“I guess you haven’t heard from Carly, right?” Scott asked when the three met later that afternoon. “Do you think she just went home?”

“I don’t know where else she’d go,” Lisa answered. “I tried calling but she didn’t answer. I guess she’ll get in trouble for skipping.”

“We’ll take care of that,” Tom boasted. “Don’t worry about it. She’ll be fine.”

Scott was amused at Tom’s arrogance but said nothing of it as he led the way to the main office. Nobody was around so they walked all the way back to Lukather’s office without stopping. “I’ve never been back here before,” Lisa remarked. “Not this far.”

“I have,” Tom said. “Just about every week.”

Lukather’s door was open but the office was empty. Lisa and Tom took the chairs by the cluttered desk while Scott walked over to stand between the windows. Seconds later Lukather walked in. When he saw three students instead of the two he expected he shook his head. “What are you doing?” he said, looking directly at Scott. “Level with me, will you? Are there any kids left in the school that aren’t in on this? It’s getting to be like a parade.”

“Sorry Mr. Lukather, but we need somebody close to Carly,” Scott argued. “Did you hear she left school today?”

“She never came to school,” he answered. “Let’s not make it even more complicated than it already is. She’s home safe and sound. It’s a non-issue. At least that part.”

“She’s okay?” Lisa asked.

“She’s fine, Lisa. I had a long talk with her mother on the phone this morning. And welcome to the team, I suppose. Any more and we’ll have to start wearing name tags.”

All three students smiled. Then Lukather did. “It’ll be alright.”

“Tom has a plan for catching Tracey Ford red-handed,” Scott said.

“Okay, but let me say this. She’s our number one suspect, but don’t go saying anything about it to anybody. First of all, we don’t want her to know we’re onto her. I’m still not completely convinced. It just doesn’t add up for me. Secondly, I could get into hot water with her parents. Just keep cool. When we know for sure we’ll move, rest assured. All you two are supposed to be doing is investigating. You three, I mean. When the time comes, let me do it, whatever it is.”

“Okie Dokie,” Tom replied.

“Let’s hear your plan. We need to get this done. Otherwise, we may lose Carly. Her mother says she’s near her breaking point. She doesn’t think she’ll be able to get her to come to school tomorrow.” He listened as Tom presented the scheme. Scott knew he was peppering it with too much technical detail but somehow he didn’t seem to be losing Lukather. When he finished Lukather spoke up.

“Not bad. Let me make sure I understand. We get one of her teachers to assign something for extra credit where they take information from their home computers. If that goes as expected, we’ll have an I.D. number for her home computer.”

“An I.P. address,” corrected Tom. Scott cleared his throat loudly.

“Then, once we have this I.P. address, we’ll know anytime anything comes from her. Right?”

“Or doesn’t come from her,” Scott said. “But at least we’ll know.”

“The last part might not be quite so simple,” Tom conceded. “For one thing, it won’t help us at all on text messages. Phones have nothing to do with I.P. address. And we’ll have to wait for a new IM to check it. That’s the only way I was able to get OurPlace to show another user’s I.P. address.”

“Well? Can that be done?”

“Sure,” Tom said. “And we’ll teach Carly how to check the IMs. Shouldn’t be too hard. Or if that’s too much of a drag she could just give us her account and password. We could check them for her.”

“This sounds like a go, however you do it,” Lukather said. “Let me take a look at Tracey Ford’s schedule. I’m not sure which class should do the assignment. We don’t want her getting suspicious.”

“Will the teacher do it?” Scott asked.

“I’ll choose carefully,” Lukather answered. “But it’s not going to be on a voluntary basis. It’ll be an order. This is very important to me. I’m not going to lose another one.”

Chapter 18

It had only been a few hours since she’d left school but Carly felt as weary as she’d ever felt as she lay on her bed. Leaving had been a tough call but now she felt good about her decision. There was no way she could have kept herself together if she had stayed. Not for an entire day. If she decided to go to school the next day that would leave almost twenty-four hours to settle down. Maybe that would be enough.

When she heard the front door open she knew it was her mother even before she called Carly’s name out. Who else could it be? Dang, she thought. Mom hates missing work. Why did she have to find out about this? And so fast.

“Are you okay?” her mother asked after opening the door and coming into the room. She sounded more sympathetic than angry.

“I just felt sick, that’s all. I was too sick to be in school. I know I should have called you.”

“I know what happened at school,” her mother said as she strode across the room. “I just talked with Mr. Lukather and I know all about it.” Carly wondered how he knew anything about it. Her eyes bored into a nail-pop directly over the bed. “Hon, I’m so sorry about all of this. Mr. Lukather said it won’t be long before it’s all over. Can you hang on? Did you know he’s got a little team working on this?” She sat down on the edge of the mattress and put her hand on Carly’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I know about the team but it never makes any difference. It probably never will.” She rolled away from her mother, trying to hide her tear-stained face.

“I’m always here for you and so is Doug.”

“I know, Mom, but that doesn’t help when I’m walking around at school with everybody talking about me.”

“No, I don’t suppose it does. Just try to be strong, Carly. I’ll talk to Mr. Lukather again this afternoon. Maybe things will have changed by the time you go back to school tomorrow.”

Carly sat up. “Sorry, Mom, but I’m not going to school tomorrow either. I can’t do it. I’d rather flunk out.”

~~~

Doug Gillette actually smiled after he opened the door and saw Tom Seidel standing on the porch. “Hey, Tom, come on in. We were just cleaning up. Your face is looking a lot better.” He pushed the door closed behind Tom and led him into the kitchen where Carly stood in front of the sink. “Look who’s here.”

“Hi Carly,” Tom said. “How’s it going?”

Carly glanced at him before turning back to the dishes she was drying. “I’m sure you know.”

“I wanted to show you something.” Since Carly wouldn’t look at him he turned to Doug. “We’re setting a trap. We may be able to find out who it is but it has to be when they send Carly a message on OurPlace. I need to show Carly how to work the trap.”

“Carly, did you hear that?” Doug relayed.

“Yeah. Is there really a chance?” she asked, finally looking back in Tom’s direction.

“There’s more than just a chance. I’m not allowed to say too much but there’s a really good chance. I need to show you how to check for the I.P. address. And you need to get online and do exactly what I say.”

“What’s going on?” Doug asked. “Come on, you can tell us. You owe that much to us.”

“I really can’t. I swore I wouldn’t. But it won’t be long if she works with us. And it needs to start right now.”

“We’re in, right Carly? What do we need to do?”

“When you get a chance, can we log on? Sooner would be better than later because my brother’s waiting for me outside.”

“How about it, Carly?” Doug prodded.

“Okay. Let’s do it now.” She tossed the dishrag onto the counter. As they walked up the stairs she thought about what was happening. On top of everything else, Tom Seidel was going to be sitting in her bedroom. Hopefully nobody would ever find out.

“Log on now?” she asked after sitting in front of the keyboard. A dirty glass sat against the monitor.

“Yeah, onto OurPlace,” Tom said. She typed her account name and password while Tom watched. It didn’t feel right that he could see what she was typing but she did it anyway. She could always change her password later. He made her uncomfortable but she reminded herself that he was there to help.

“Okay, now you should probably write this down,” he said, but continued without waiting for her to find something to write with. “Whenever you get an IM you need to check their full profile I.D. You do that by typing three keys at the same time. <Control>, <Alt>, and <P>. Go ahead and try that out. It’s a stretch for one hand, especially for a girl. Just use both hands. It won’t do anything right now but you should get used to it. It’s not easy.”

Her fingers fumbled around the keyboard but before long she’d mastered the key sequence. “It’s like playing Twister with your fingers,” she said.

“Now somehow we have to get somebody to IM us. But you can’t tell anybody I’m here,” he warned.

Trust me, Carly thought. Your secret is safe with me. “Lisa’s probably on,” she said, but it turned out that she wasn’t.

“Try Scott,” Tom suggested.

She thought about pretending she didn’t know his screen name but decided not to bother.

CeeCee: Hi.

“Well, he’s online anyway,” Tom said.

Scott answered right away.

Halifax: Hi Carly. Whats up ? are you home? Are you ok

“Okay,” Tom said. “Perfect. Now hit those three keys and let’s see what we get.”

“I better answer him first.”

CeeCee: im good. U?

Halifax: pretty cool. we willcrack this case soon

CeeCee: I hope so. Thanks to u guys

Halifax: were trying. Sory toms such a dork but he knows a lot about this

stuff. We def Need him

Oops, Carly thought. She felt her face flush but she couldn’t bring herself to look at Tom, who obviously saw the message. When she heard her brother burst out laughing she couldn’t stop herself from doing the same.

“At least we know Scott has no idea that you’re here,” Doug said.

“What a kidder. I’ve got to have a heart-to-heart chat with that guy,” Tom said. “You better check the I.D. before he logs off.”

Carly pressed the keys. A rectangle of information popped up on the screen. “See that one right there?” Tom said, reaching over her shoulder to touch the screen. “I.P. address? That’s a personal I.D. number for Scott’s computer. Nobody else in the world can have that number. At least it’s supposed to work that way. Everytime you get an IM, type in those keystrokes and write that number down. All you need is the I.P. And let us know right away.”

“Is there a way to look up who that number goes to?” Doug asked.

“Not really. But we have the I.P. addresses of some people we suspect. This could prove it.”

“Who?” she asked.

“I’m not supposed to tell you. If I do Scott will really think I’m a dork.”

“I’m sure he was just joking around about that,” she said. “Maybe he knew you were here after all.” It didn’t look to her like Tom agreed. She could tell by the look on his face.

“Yeah, he likes you just fine. You guys make a good team.” Doug said. “Carly, you better keep a pad of paper right here. And stay logged on, right Tom? If you want I’ll babysit the computer too. We need to get this guy.”

“Or girl.”

~~~

“Anything going on?” Lisa asked Tom. He was alone at the lunch table, anxiously waiting for Scott. Lisa was without her usual dining partner as well. Despite the urgings of her mother and brother Carly hadn’t returned to school since the nude picture was broadcast two days earlier. Tom was glad Lisa had wandered over because it would make the waiting easier.

“I think something must be up. Otherwise Scott would be here. He must be in with Lukather.”

Lisa set her lunch tray down and took a seat next to Tom. Shocked that she was willing to be seen sitting alone with him, Tom’s eyes swept the room looking for eyewitnesses.

“She can’t miss many more days,” Lisa said. “Or it’s going to be a problem. Her grades are already in the toilet.”

“We’re close. I know we’re getting close.”

“There he is,” Lisa said. Tom looked over in time to see Scott burst through the doorway. He dodged lunch-toting kids while hurrying to the table, breathing hard all the way. After he sat he pulled his shirt up and wiped his face with it. “Lukather got the extra credit projects,” he panted. “We can go through them whenever we want. Does sixth period work for you guys? He’ll get us out of class.”

“If he can do it, I can do it,” Tom said.

“Sounds like work,” Lisa said. “I’ll pass on this one.”

“It won’t be much work,” Tom countered. “All we have to do is find Tracey Ford’s and copy the number down.”

“Well, there’s more to it than that,” Scott said. “We thought we should look at all the names. Maybe there’s somebody else we hadn’t thought of. If we have their I.D. addresses we’ll be ready when Carly gets an IM.”

“I.P. addresses,” corrected Tom. “But what are the chances that any other suspects happen to be in her class? Pretty slim. It seems like a waste of time to bother looking at anybody but Tracey Ford. At least until we rule her out.”

“Lukather wanted you to come,” Scott said to Lisa. “You know Carly better than anybody. You could probably pick out somebody who might do this if you saw their name.”

“Okay,” she said with resignation. “Just get me out of class and I’m there.”

“If this Tracey Ford actually sent in her real I.P. address we know she’s completely clueless,” Tom remarked. “Or else she’s innocent.”

“What do you mean?” Scott asked.

“Well, unless she’s a total dope she’ll know her I.P. address could give her away. She’s got to know it could link her to what’s happening to Carly.”

Scott laughed. “Tom, I guarantee you’re the only kid in school who knows what an I.P. number is. I think we’re safe. But we’ll have to get Carly up to speed on how to check the I.P. number. We better do that soon.”

Lisa looked at Tom, who looked at Scott. “Well, I kind of already did that, partner. I went over there last night. I thought we needed a head start.”

Scott wasn’t sure how he felt about that. A head start was good, he reminded himself, but Lukather was depending on him to maintain control of the team. The last thing he would want to hear was that Tom or anybody else was making decisions. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, mostly to remind Tom what the chain of command was.

Tom shrugged. “My brother wouldn’t drive over to get you. I thought you’d be pissed so I kept it to myself.”

“I am pissed. But it was probably a good idea,” he conceded. “Just don’t tell Lukather I wasn’t there, okay?”

“Sure, whatever.”

“So she knows how to do it?”

“Yup.”

“We’ll have to get in touch with her one way or another,” Scott said. “I’ll try tonight. We should have Ford’s I.D. by then. Maybe we’ll strike gold. I’ll tell Lukather to send passes to you both for sixth period.”

Chapter 19

“What Mrs. Gordon did was hand out these questionnaires,” Lukather said as he tapped a stack of papers on his desk. “It’s a series of technical questions about the computers they use at home. Right in the middle of the page is I.P. address. I think we’re in business here.” Tom reached for the stack but Lukather snatched it away and handed it to Scott.

Scott flipped through the pile until he found the one he was looking for. “Here we go,” he said, holding it up. “Can we get some copies made of this?”

“Just jot it down on some scrap paper,” Lukather said. “Save a tree, will you?”

“What’s the number on hers?” Tom asked. “Let’s make sure she understood the question. She might have given her computer model number or her shoe size or something.”

“58.104.236.197,“ Scott said, reading from the page. “Does that sound right?”

“Yup,” Tom answered as he fished out a folded sheet of paper from his pocket. “And it sounds familiar.”

“Now we just have to wait for the next IM so Carly can tell us the code number thingamajiggy, right?” Lisa asked.

“No need to wait,” Tom said as he unfolded the rumpled page in his hand. “She got one last night and sent the I.P. to me. Read it back to me again.”

Scott read the number. “It’s a match,” Tom said, passing his handwritten page over to Scott. “We have a winner. Tracey Ford IMed Carly last night.”

“Holy crap,” Scott breathed. “You’re crazy plan worked!”

“Wow,” Lisa said. “I can’t believe this worked. She made it so easy. Next time I see her I’m going to wring her neck.”

“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” Lukather said. “Settle down. Please. Even if we’d proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was her, which we haven’t, that’s not how we’re going to handle it.”

“Sure we have,” Scott protested. “The I.D. numbers match.”

“I.P. address,” corrected Tom.

“Yes, so they match,” Lukather answered. “Is that enough? Do we know enough about this to be so sure? Tom?”

“Well, technically speaking, we do. That’s what an I.P. address is. A distinct number identifying a distinct computer. I’ve heard of times when somebody faked it but I doubt if anybody in this school is smart enough to fake an I.P. address. Except for me.”

“Aha!” Lisa said. “So it could be you after all.”

“Doesn’t this mean we know that all this time Tracey Ford’s been sending the messages?” asked Scott.

“Well, this one was from her, according to the I.P. address,” Tom said, waving the paper he still clutched in his hand. “The one from last night. And Carly said it was from one of the usual Slice screen names.”

“I don’t know,” Lukather said. “The whole thing still seems like an awfully strange coincidence. Our internet bully just happens to be the half-sister of the girl who tried to kill herself because of a different internet bully? That’s hard to accept.”

Nobody said anything. Lukather got up and walked over to the window and looked back. “On the other hand, it’s not our job to explain the coincidence. If it is her I’d be curious to know why she did it but that’s not our problem. All we have to do, at least for the moment, is prove that she did it. We don’t have to say why.”

“At any rate, it sure is looking like she did it,” Scott said.

“Yes it is,” Lukather agreed. “But don’t do anything about it. Any of you. Please. Lisa, are we clear on that? We have to be very careful about what to do next. And I should be the one doing it.”

~~~

As soon as he was back at the Center Scott made a point of IMing Carly to give her an update about Tracey Ford. He wasn’t surprised that she was logged on. She must have been bored out of her mind after three days of sitting home alone.

Halifax: Carly?

CeeCee: Hi

Halifax: How are you feeling these days

CeeCee: ok i guess

Halifax: we’re pretty sure we kno who is doing this

CeeCee: Tracey Ford right?

Halifax: yes. I guess it isnt a surprise but now we proved it

CeeCee: Lisa told me

CeeCee: I got a nasty 1 just after school. I checked the Id, it matched the

other one

Halifax: good. More proof. You should keep a log of these, Tom says.

CeeCee: I knew it as soon as I saw her following me in the bathrooms

CeeCee: its not as scary when I imagine just her on the other end

Halifax: it will be over soon. Coming to school tomorrow?

CeeCee: i hope so

CeeCee: I’ll try to get in to school tomorrow. Bye Scott

~~~

Tom smiled when he heard the Star Trek ringtone the next evening because it had only been five minutes since he’d programmed his cell phone to use it. When he saw who the call was from he stopped smiling and started worrying. One thing he was sure of was that Lisa Beckwith didn’t like him. There was no way she was calling him unless something important was going on.

“Hello?”

“Tom? Is this Tom?”

“Yeah. Hi Lisa.”

“Tom, I’m at the carnival at Echelon Plaza. She’s here! I’m watching Tracey Ford right now. You’ve got to get up here!”

Tom couldn’t see any reason for any of them to be tailing Ford. Walking around at a carnival had nothing to do with sending malicious messages and there wasn’t much chance that they’d learn anything useful. Then again, he didn’t get to hang out with girls like Lisa very often, especially at a place where he might be seen doing it. And who knew what Lisa might do when she caught up with Ford if nobody was there to calm her down. He had no choice but to go.

“Okay. I’ll have to ride my bike. It won’t take long.”

“Meet me at the Gravitron. No, wait. Just call me when you get here. I don’t want to lose her.”

The shopping center was two miles from Tom’s house but he was there within fifteen minutes. After a quick phone call to Lisa he walked around until he came to a row of carnival games where Lisa had told him she was lurking. Total ripoff, he thought as he eyed the huge stuffed animals that hung over each booth. The games are rigged and you’d have to play all night to win one of those prizes. “Hey,” Lisa said after creeping up from behind. “That was fast. Look, she’s right over there throwing beanbags with a bunch of sixth-graders. I haven’t let her out of my site.”

Tom looked over and couldn’t pick her out. “Which one?”

“We just saw her the other day in the cafeteria, remember? She’s in the red shirt and jeans. Skinny little thing. I’m thinking of walking over and grabbing her by her skinny neck.”

“That’s not going to do us any good,” he warned. “And it might screw us up. She’ll know we’re onto her.”

“I’ll be on her, alright. That’s what you get when you mess with my best friend.”

“Hey Stud!” interrupted a barker from behind a counter who was holding out three softballs in his huge hand. “Wanna’ try to win a bear for your sweetie there?” he bellowed through a megaphone.

Tom peered behind him at the pyramids of milk bottles. He knew they were a lot heavier than they looked. “No, thanks,” he said, smiling weakly. “And she’s not my sweetie,” he added, feeling he owed that much to Lisa to preserve her dignity.

“Awe, gee, Tom, not even for me?” she asked playfully.

“I could never hit those things. And they weigh a ton.”

“Look, there they go,” Lisa said, pointing at the girls as they walked away.

“Should we follow them?”

“Why bother if you won’t let me do anything?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to see who she hangs out with.”

“Come on,” she said, pulling him by the arm in the opposite direction. “Let’s go get something to eat. It’s almost eight o’clock. I haven’t eaten a bite since lunch.”

They wandered through the crowds without speaking. Tom wondered how far they’d get before she released his arm. He struggled to maintain the pace without stumbling as they weaved from one end of the carnival to the other. It reminded him of being dragged through the mall by his mother when he was little. He tried not to look out of place each time she nodded or greeted somebody. How does she have so many friends? They didn’t stop until they were in line at a white trailer that was doing a brisk business selling burgers and hot dogs. She let go only after they stopped moving.

“Did you come here by yourself?” Tom asked.

“Carly was supposed to meet me but she called to blow it off after I was already here. Then I saw the enemy and got all crazy. That’s when I called you. I guess I should have called Scott, too.”

“He couldn’t have come anyway. They don’t let him out on weeknights. I’ll tell him about it,” Tom promised.

“That must be tough for him. I couldn’t stand it.”

“He’s not like us. He’s used to it.”

When they reached the front of the line they each ordered a cheeseburger and a coke. There were no empty seats in the pen of plastic tables and chairs so they sat on a nearby curb. “I guess I brought you here for nothing,” Lisa said after three quarters of her cheeseburger was gone. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. I wanted to check the carnival out anyway.”

“Carly got another IM this afternoon. From her,” she added crossly. “She’s getting good at it. She says she can check that IM number in about five seconds.”

“I.P. address.”

“So Tracey Ford was busy today. She got home from school, sent some nasty messages and then headed off to the carnival with her little friends.”

“The evidence is piling up,” Tom assured her. “We’ll have the last laugh. Just keep your cool and we’ll be fine.”

~~~

Scott had been logged on to OurPlace since coming home from school hours earlier. Mostly he was waiting to hear from Carly about any more IMs, and of course what the I.P. addresses looked like. He never connected with Carly but he finally heard from Tom a little before nine-thirty that night.

Meister: Scott, you around?

Halifax: Yeah, I’m hanging out. What’s up?

Meister: Gess who I was with 2nite

Halifax: Hannah Montana

Meister: LOL. Close. Lisa. At the carnival

Halifax: you moving in on her, big guy?

Meister: it wasn’t a date or anything.

Halifax: hold on, I’m getting an IM from Carly

Meister: K

Meister: LOL, I just got one from Lisa, and she’s IMing with Carly.

Halifax: too complicated.

Halifax: Carly said she got more nasty ones today.

Meister: Let me set up a private chat room so we can all talk together

When Scott returned to the computer after changing into a pair of sweats there was a message from Tom telling him how to click into the private chat room. When he did he found that Tom, Carly and even Lisa were already there.

IHeart: Hey Scott

Meister: greetings.

Halifax: very cool. is carly here

CeeCee: Hi

Halifax: Carly already told me she got an IM this afternoon. Confirmed to be

Tracey Ford.

Meister: another nail in the coffin. what did she say?

CeeCee: the usual, nothing much. Go to hell or something

Meister: runing out of material

CeeCee: and I got another one tonight. It was some kind of threat about

school.

Meister: tonight? What time?

CeeCee: 7:42

Meister: Are you sure? About the time?

CeeCee: yes. I wrote it down

IHeart: Carly, check again

Halifax: whats going on

IHeart: that cant be right. We saw her at the carnival

Halifax: saw who?

Meister: we were tailing Tracey Ford at the carnival tonight. I know for a

fact that she was there at 7:42. we saw her with our own eyes. She

wasn’t using a handheld.

Halifax: handheld?

Meister: No way Tracey Ford sent anything at 7:42

IHeart: she was definitely there by 7 and stayed at least til 8

Halifax: but what about all that Ip garbage?

Meister: duh. I know.

Halifax: so it isn’t her after all?

Meister: let me think

Halifax: you got to be kidding. what a waste of time.

Meister: If you remember I did say that they could be faking the I.P. I guess I

was right.

Halifax: You’re always right even when you’re wrong. Funny how that goes.

Scott was stunned at the setback. It had all been a waste of effort. Tom’s I.P. address scheme sounded good before but now they were right back where they started. Lukather wasn’t going to be happy about this, especially since it had been Tom’s idea. Without saying goodnight or goodbye he logged off and vaulted onto the bed. It was hours before he was able to get to sleep.

Chapter 20

“You know, Mrs. Ford’s coming in tomorrow morning,” Lukather told Scott as they drove away from the Center on the way to school the next morning. “To finish up some paperwork on Jenny’s transfer to Pius. It’s a good thing you called me last night. If she called today I was about ready to let her have it about what her daughter was doing.”

“Sorry Mr. Lukather,” Scott said. “I really thought we had her.”

“So did I. Though in a way I’m glad it wasn’t her. That family has been through a lot in the last year. But still, I was ready to deal with it if that’s what happened. I was feeling pretty good about having this thing solved.”

Scott stared out the window, watching the suburban landscape whiz by. He’d been even more sure than Lukather that they’d wrapped the case up. “What time does she come in?” he asked, not sure why it mattered.

“Really early, before school. She’s stopping by on the way to work. As a matter of fact, that reminds me. I’m going to have to send somebody else over to pick you up tomorrow morning because I’ll be with her.”

“I’ll look for her car in the parking lot when I get to school.”

~~~

Later that day Tom, Lisa and Scott were quiet as they sat at the lunch table. Scott couldn’t stop watching Tracey Ford as she ate with her friends. When he wasn’t watching her he was watching Tom and Lisa watching her. “No Carly again today?”

“Nope,” Lisa answered.

“That’s four days now,” Tom commented.

“I don’t care what anybody says,” Lisa declared without taking her eyes off Ford. “She’s a little weasel. We had proof. I know she did it.”

“You saw her with your own eyes,” Tom countered. “So did I. She was offline. She was throwing freaking beanbags.”

“Maybe we’re off on the time a little,” she suggested.

“I don’t think so,” Scott said, speaking for the first time. “You guys said you were watching her at the carnival from seven to at least eight-o’clock. The IM was at what, seven-forty? That’s right in the middle. There’s no way we were off by that much. It just couldn’t have been her. Face it.”

“We were right on top of her at seven-forty,” Tom said.

“Well, maybe she knows how to set it up to send it, like, at a certain time automatically,” Lisa said. “I bet it works like that.”

Tom snorted. “No way. Can’t be done.”

“Says Mr. I.P. address expert,” Scott replied. “Her mom’s coming in to see Mr. Lukather in the morning. He was going to lower the boom.”

“Good thing he waited,” Tom said.

“I wonder if we could find a way to trap her, just to make sure it isn’t her,” Scott said. “You know, give her fake information in an IM or something like that. We could say ‘Monday is wear polka-dot shirt day’ or something. Then if Tracey shows up in polka-dots we know we’ve got her. Nothing as dumb as that, but you know what I mean.”

“Maybe we could make something up about school that might make her mother say something to Lukather,” Lisa suggested.

“Interesting,” Tom said after a few seconds went by. “But we’d have to hit really close to home to get her mother to say something to Lukather about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, if Carly told Slice the Cubs won the World Series last year, trying to trick her, it wouldn’t work. She wouldn’t care, and her mother’s not walking into Lukather’s office and saying ‘Hey, can you believe the Cubs won the World Series?’ even if she did care. The World Series has nothing to do with why she’s there. She wouldn’t even think of it.”

“It has to be something about Jenny,” Scott said.

“Sort of,” Tom agreed. “But it can’t be anything obvious. We’ll really have to think about it. This might work but we have to strike while the iron is ripe.”

“We don’t have much time for thinking, Tom,” Scott pointed out. “The meeting is in about twenty-four hours. If we’re going to set her up we’d have to get it done today or tonight.”

“I’ll think about it this afternoon,” Tom told them.

“Me too,” Lisa said.

Scott shrugged. “Count me in, too. Beats paying attention in class.”

“Okay. Maybe we should meet at Carly’s tonight if we think of something,” Tom suggested. “It would have to come from her account.”

“Tonight’s outfor me,” Scott said. “Same as every night.”

“Can you at least be online? We can talk about it then and maybe the rest of us can get together,” Tom said. “Do you think Carly would let us come over?” he asked Lisa.

“I’ll tell her she doesn’t have a choice. Let’s just plan on going over there. I feel like I haven’t seen her in weeks.”

“I won’t be able to get out,” Scott repeated. “You’ll have to do it without me.”

“We’ll patch you in,” Tom promised. “It’ll be like you’re sitting there with us. But we still have to think of a plan.”

~~~

Mrs. Bogues yelled into the hallway at Scott as he walked past her office on the way in from school that afternoon. “Come in here for a second,” she commanded. He trudged in and took a seat.

“You’re paperwork is almost through. You know, your Petition for Dismissal of Actionable Charges?”

“My what?”

“Your Mr. Lukather’s really been pushing. It looks like it might just be a matter of weeks before you’re released. I thought you’d like to hear the good news.”

“Hooray,” Scott droned. “Where am I supposed to go if you kick me out of here?”

“Kick you out? Do you know how crazy that would sound to the other three hundred residents?”

“They’re not me. They probably have a place to go.”

“Where you go is a question for CWC,” she said, referring to the state Child Welfare Commission. “But at least you’ll be out of here.”

“I kind of like it here. The food’s great,” he said as he pulled himself out of the chair. “Probably better than foster home number twenty, or how ever many it’s been.”

“Try five, Mr. Complainer.”

“Gee, maybe I’ll get lucky this time,” he said over his shoulder as he walked out the door and back to his room.

~~~

There was an email from Tom waiting when he returned to his room after dinner. All it said was to send an IM to Carly as soon as he could. The update from Mrs. Bogues had rattled him. He had no idea it would happen so soon. He hadn’t thought about anything else since leaving her office. The Center was jail but he’d been as happy there as any other place he’d lived. It didn’t hurt that he had Mr. Lukather looking after him. Did that make sense? Was it unrealistic? Not really, he decided. No different than having parents that cared.

With so much on his mind he was relieved to see the message from Tom. It would be good to have a distraction, and he knew something was going to happen for Carly that night. They would make sure of it.

Halifax: Hi Carly

CeeCee: all of us are here Scott. T, L and C.

Halifax: cool.

CeeCee: this is Tom at the keyboard

CeeCee: We’re waiting for something from Slice.

Halifax: u could always send her something. Whats the plan

CeeCee: were going to tell her something that might come up when she talks

to luk tomorrow.

Halifax: No kidding, but what?

CeeCee: can u sit in on that meeting? That would be interesting

Halifax: no way. He wont let me.

CeeCee: it would really help

Halifax: he wont go for it, trust me

A few minutes passed with no messages. Scott finally checked to make sure he wasn’t alone.

Halifax: u guys still there?

CeeCee: yes. We’re IMing her now.

Halifax: cool.

Halifax: What’s the plan? What are you telling her?

Again, time passed with no answer. A month earlier he would have worried about what Tom would do on his own, but he’d grown to trust him. Despite the I.P. fiasco he was sure that whatever Tom came up with would be as good as anything he could have thought of himself. Rather than stare at a blinking cursor he walked over to the window. For the thousandth time he found himself wishing it wasn’t permanently sealed. Air conditioning was nice but sometimes fresh air was better, even when it was hot outside.

He knew he should be desperate to know what was going on at Carly’s house but the news from Mrs. Bogues had driven that right out of his head. Everybody would think he was crazy if he asked if could stay at the Center rather than move on to a new foster home. He wondered if he was even allowed to request it as he stretched out on the bed to wait.

It felt a lot later when he woke up. Cursing himself for falling asleep, he swung his legs off the bed and jumped to his feet. The room was much darker. He made his way to the computer and saw a screenful of fresh, unanswered messages.

CeeCee: scott

CeeCee: u there?

CeeCee: guess u crashed

CeeCee: the fix is in. got to go. We’ll tell you tomorrow.

CeeCee: it might work.

Yeah, it might work, Scott thought. But it might not. Sounds like the story of my life. He logged out and threw himself back onto the bed. A lot was going to happen the next day. At least he’d be well-rested.

Chapter 21

At seven-thirty the next morning, ten minutes after Lukather usually picked him up, Scott was still waiting on the bench just inside the door near the Center’s visitor entrance. He knew a substitute driver was coming but that didn’t mean he had to be late, he grumbled as he watched the minutes tick away on the clock over the door. When he couldn’t stand waiting passively anymore he walked outside. After knocking on the window of the guard booth he tapped his wrist where a watch would have been, but Ramon shrugged helplessly and shook his head. Finally at ten minutes before eight the driver arrived. Scott remembered him from previous rides. He thought about complaining about the time after the driver checked in at the booth, but changed his mind and got into the back seat of car without saying a word. His hopes for a quick briefing from Tom and Lisa before homeroom were dashed.

The reason for Scott’s anxiety was the same reason he was stuck with a backup driver -- Lukather was going to be busy with Mrs. Ford. For all Scott knew, the meeting had already started, or was about to. By the time he walked into the building the homeroom bell was about to ring. Tom rushed towards him as soon as he was inside. “Where were you?” he demanded.

“My ride was late. Get off my back. What’s going on?”

“What isn’t? I’ve got Lisa watching the office. So far Mrs. Ford hasn’t shown up. But we baited a trap last night, Scott. I already talked to Lukather. He knows what to look for.”

Before Scott could answer Lisa ran over to them, breathing hard. “She just walked into the office! I don’t think she saw me!”

“She doesn’t know you anyway,” Tom said. “This is it. I’ve got a good feeling about this.”

“What did you guys cook up last night?” Scott asked. The bell rang before he’d finished the sentence.

“We need time to talk. Can you get out of class during first period? To go to the bathroom or something?”

“Probably. Why?”

“Meet me in the bathroom next to the wood shop during first and I’ll fill you in on everything.” He swung his backpack into position and ran off without waiting for an answer.

~~~

Lukather rose from his seat when he heard the knock. “Come on in, Mrs. Ford,” he said, walking around from behind the desk and gesturing toward the chair on the other side. “You already know where to sit by now.”

She took a seat as Lukather walked over to a filing cabinet. He pulled a drawer open but closed it just as quickly. When he returned to his desk he was empty-handed. “I’m confusing two different transfers. One public and one private. Was it the supplemental transcript form that you needed? The one the principal had to sign?”

“Yes. That’s the only thing they’re still asking for.”

“Right, right. We got that signed for you yesterday.”

~~~

After begging for a hall pass to get him out of history class Scott hurried to the bathroom where he and Tom agreed to meet. When he entered there was no sign that anybody was there except for a pair of raggedy tennis shoes showing below one of the stall doors. Recognizing the footwear as Tom’s, he slipped into the adjoining stall and latched the door shut. “It’s me,” he said quietly.

“I thought it was better if we stayed out of sight,” Tom said.

“Brilliant. You’re a stinking genius. What’s going on?”

“Stinking genius, I get it,” Tom chuckled. “We did our best to set her up last night. First, Carly told her that she was transferring to Pius. It was like ‘You won, you drove me out of school, I’m going to Pius, now will you leave me alone?’”

“I can hardly keep this straight anymore.”

“We’re thinking she’ll tell her mother that Carly is going to the same place Jenny’s going. If they dislike Carly so much I can’t imagine they’d be happy about that. Maybe that’ll get mom to say something to Lukather about it.”

“Maybe. It seems weak but I guess it’s believable. Carly hasn’t been seen at Lakeland in almost a week. Tracey Ford would know that as well as anybody.”

~~~

“By the way,” Mrs. Ford asked as she watched Lukather return to the filing cabinet. “Are there any other students transferring to Pius?”

Lukather shot a look back across the room at her. “Not this marking period,” he answered, trying to keep his voice from trembling. “Not yet, anyway.”

“Are you sure? I heard something from a friend of a friend.”

“Who did they say was transferring?” Lukather asked. With trembling hands he pushed the drawer closed and walked back over with a folder in his hand.

~~~

“Maybe it can work,” Scott said. “It doesn’t really get my hopes up.”

“It’s a longshot. It’s all we could think of. Oh yeah. One other thing. Carly told her that yesterday was the last day the transfer papers could be turned in to Pius. She told Slice that her mother - - this is Carly talking - - got everything turned in at the last minute yesterday afternoon. Of course, it’s complete garbage. We don’t even know if there’s a deadline at all.”

~~~

“One more thing,” Mrs. Ford said after taking the two-page document from Lukather’s hand. “Am I on time with all this? I heard I missed the deadline. You’ve been in touch with Pius all along, right?”

Lukather frowned. “If we missed any deadlines that’s news to me. The deadline is still November first, same as always. Who is this friend of a friend?”

~~~

“When do you think the meeting is?” Tom asked. “If Mrs. Ford is here they could be meeting right now for all we know.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised. I’ll make an appointment to go see Lukather before lunch and find out if anything happened.”

“Okay.”

“It’s not bad, Tom. You and Lisa did good. Maybe we have a chance after all.”

~~~

“We need to talk,” Lukather said as Mrs. Ford slipped the papers into a briefcase. “We may have a serious problem. Can you stay?”

~~~

Scott waited until Tom had been gone for a minute before walking out of the bathroom, thinking it would be less suspicious if they didn’t leave together. Lisa popped out of the adjacent girl’s bathroom almost immediately after he was back in the hallway. “I heard you guys say you were meeting here,” she explained. “Any news?”

“No. Tom told me about the trap, that’s all. Let’s hope it works.”

“Do you think it will? I worry about Carly sitting home by herself. What if she does something crazy like the girl last year?”

“You mean Tracey Ford’s half-sister?”

~~~

“At the tennis courts?” Mrs. Ford asked, raising her voice in volume and pitch. “It’s possible. Why not? Is there a law against that? How do you know me or my kids don’t play tennis? I don’t care for your tone, Mr. Lukather. Or your accusation.” She stood up and turned on her heel to walk out.

~~~

Instead of returning to class Scott decided to go directly to the office to make the appointment with Lukather. History class would be over by the time he was finished there but he didn’t care. He wasn’t going to pass anyway. Not that class or any others. Maybe he could get an idea of what was going on in Lukather’s office.

~~~

“How dare you accuse my daughter!” Mrs. Ford railed. “Of all people! Nobody understands the pain of internet bullying more than my family! Why do you think Jenny’s going to Pius? How dare you!”

“There’s a lot of evidence, Mrs. Ford. Do you think I’d bring something like this up if I didn’t have a lot to go on?”

“This meeting is over,” Mrs. Ford said. She stomped to the door and yanked it open.

“We’ve been watching carefully,” Lukather told her. “Very carefully. Just because you walk out that door doesn’t mean this is over. If you stay I’ll lay it out for you and give you a chance to explain. But first I’m going to have Tracey excused from class and sent in to meet with us. I’ll call her in even if you leave,” he threatened.

He picked up the phone but put it back down when Mrs. Ford pushed the door closed. “No,” she said without turning around. Her voice was quieter now. The edge was gone. “No. Don’t call Tracey. There’s no need. She didn’t do anything wrong. It was me. I can tell you everything you need to know. I’ll tell you why I did what I did to that little tramp.”

~~~

The lunchtime appointment with Mrs. Chotiner had just been entered in the books when Scott saw Lukather’s door open from where he stood at the counter. He strained to see or hear anything in the office but then the door clacked closed again. Something was going down. Something big. He could feel it.

~~~

“What’s going on?” Lisa asked later that day when she walked into Lukather’s office where Tom and Scott were already waiting.

“We don’t know,” Tom told her. “Hopefully we’re about to find out. It’s probably something important for him to have pulled all three of us out of class.”

Lukather came in then, throwing the door closed behind him. His tie was loosened and his shirt was on the verge of coming untucked. “Hi team,” he said while running a hand through his hair. “Good news. You succeeded.”

“Yes!” Tom shouted. “The fat lady has left the building!” He turned to high-five Lisa, who pretended not to notice.

“Tracey Ford?” Scott asked. “It’s definite?”

“How did she send messages when she wasn’t at the computer?” Tom asked. “I have to know how she did it.”

“I don’t have a lot of time,” Lukather said. “Now that this broke there’s a lot to do. But I thought you three should know. As always, keep a lid on this.” All three students nodded. “We caught the e-bully. But it wasn’t Tracey Ford. It was Mrs. Ford.”

“What?” Lisa gasped.

“The mom?” Scott asked incredulously.

“So that explains how she did it,” Tom said.

“You all remember what happened to Jenny last year, right?” Lukather asked. “Apparently she was sure Carly was behind it. She and Jenny were friends at some point a few years ago but they had a falling out. It looks like she thought something was still going on between them. And if nobody else was going to punish Carly she was going to do it.”

“Carly? She’d never do anything like that,” Lisa said.

“Yeah, why Carly?” Scott asked. “I can’t think of anybody I’d be less suspicious of.”

“It’s hard to comprehend,” Lukather said. “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of this it’s that there’s no limit to what somebody will say or do when they find themselves in front of a computer. Especially when they think nobody will ever know who they are. Sounds like Mrs. Ford felt the same way.”

“Yeah, but I never thought it would be a grownup,” Lisa said.

“A grownup is just a kid who got old,” Lukather answered. “Don’t ever forget that.” He looked at his watch and then cinched his tie back into a knot. “I have to run to a meeting with somebody from the prosecutor’s office. We’re moving fast on this. I just wanted you to know. Leave your home phone numbers with the receptionist, okay? We might need to be in touch over the weekend.” By then he was out the door, leaving the three to look at each other. None of us saw this coming, Scott thought. None of us.

Chapter 22

Scott waited anxiously all weekend to hear from Lukather or anybody else about the case. Finally, late in the afternoon on Sunday, Tom e-mailed to tell him that they’d be getting together at Sal’s Pizza in Echelon Plaza. They were all there at six o’clock. Lukather ordered a couple of medium pizzas and then without a word Tom, Lisa and Carly pushed their chairs back and left the table.

“What happened to them?” Scott asked as he watched them walk past the jukebox and out the front door.

“I asked them to leave us alone for a few minutes,” Lukather answered. “Before we talk about the Fords I had something personal to bring up with you.” Scott felt his insides tense up. This kind of setup always meant something bad.

“Mrs. Bogues tells me your petition will be approved by Thanksgiving. Have you given any thought to where you want to go? Or what you want to do? You’re getting to the age where you should have some say in it.”

“Not really. I usually just go where they tell me. I figure I’ll keep doing that until I’m eighteen.”

“I did some checking. The way I see it you have three options. You could go back into the foster program. Or, if you’ve had enough of that you could transfer to the Residential Treatment Center. Or, I suppose you could turn down the waiver and stay at the Detention Center.”

“What’s the Residential Treatment Center? Is that the place in Newcastle where the misfits go?”

“The county runs it just like where you are now. It’s pretty much the same kind of place except there aren’t any bars on the windows. It’s normally for kids who don’t work out in the foster program but have no place to go. They run all the rehab programs there, too.”

“I’d rather just stay where I am now. I’d rather have the bars than be around a bunch of druggies.”

“I’m not sure you’re allowed to stay where you are indefinitely. You’re probably the first kid who ever wanted to. What about the foster program?”

“I don’t want that anymore. Nobody wants me living in their house. They don’t trust me. If they put me back in foster I’ll make plans to get in trouble so I can get back to the Center. At least nobody’s pushing on me there.”

The waitress brought a round of drinks, interrupting the conversation. Lukather thanked her after she dropped a handful of napkins and straws on the table. When she was gone he leaned towards Scott.

“There’s one other possibility, Scott. You could come live with me.”

“I could?”

“I’m pretty sure we could get it done. Not through the foster program. They don’t place kids with single people like me and it would take too long anyway. But we could apply for a temporary guardianship. I’m sure they’d expedite it since your petition is about to go through.”

“What’s guardianship?” Scott asked suspiciously.

“As far as I could tell it’s not much different than being with foster parents but the paperwork is different. I guess it’s less permanent, but your foster arrangements haven’t exactly been permanent anyway.”

“You’d want me? In your house?” He could feel the sting of tears in his eyes but tried to blink them away.

“Sure I would.” He took a sip of iced tea. “I think we get along pretty well, don’t you? What do you think?”

“I guess,” Scott stammered.

“You’ll have to do better than that. Think about it, okay?”

Not wanting anybody to see tears roll down his cheeks, Scott got up and slipped into the bathroom. When he came back everybody was there. Two steaming pizzas rested on the table with a slice on everybody’s plate but his. He hoped nobody noticed his raw eyes as he picked up the spatula and helped himself.

“I wanted to treat you kids to some pizza to thank you for a job well done,” Lukather said between bites. “I didn’t know how this would work. I didn’t even know if it would work. But it did. I lost a student last year and I was about to lose another one.”

Carly raised her hand. “That’s me.”

“So thanks,” Lukather said.

“It was fun,” Tom said.

“Speak for yourself,” Carly told him.

“Did Mrs. Ford admit it all?” Lisa asked. “It’s so kooky.”

“She did,” Lukather answered. “Oh, Tracey had a hand in it. She did some spying and took the pictures, of course. She’ll be suspended from school for her part. But she was doing what her mother told her to do. And her mother had her brainwashed into believing that it was all about avenging what happened to Jenny. Mrs. Ford was convinced that Carly was behind what happened last year.”

“Of all people,” Scott remarked. “How could she think it was Carly?”

“She thought you created the Dylan character that eventually turned on Jenny,” he said to Carly. “She still does, as a matter of fact. She’s dead certain.”

“That explains a lot,” Scott said.

“All those text messages? All those IMs? It was Jenny’s mom that was on the other end the whole time?” Lisa asked. “That’s bent. Too creepy.”

“It’s inexcusable,” Lukather said. “But look at it from her perspective. Whoever did that to Jenny was close by. They knew a lot about Jenny. It probably is somebody in our school. She guessed the wrong person but she couldn’t look at her daughter without being reminded of what happened. As far as she was concerned somebody had to be punished. Since nobody else was doing it she took it into her own hands.”

“What’s going to happen to her?” Carly asked.

“You might not like that part,” Lukather said.

“What?” Tom said. “What do you mean?”

“I mean this. The prosecutor’s office has been combing the law books for three days now and so far they haven’t come up with any crime to charge anybody with. And they’re probably not going to.”

Tom’s glass slammed to the table. “After everything we came up with? How could that be? Don’t they know what they’re doing?”

“What crime would you charge her with, hotshot?” Lukather shot back. “There are harassment laws, stalking laws, slander and libel laws, but none of them are written to deal with the internet, especially for anonymous communications. There are just too many holes in the laws for the case to fall through. The guy told me that even if he got an indictment there’s very little chance a jury would go for it. And the prosecutor is so overwhelmed that they won’t waste time on it since there’s not much chance for a conviction.“

“You can’t tell me that the police and the phone company, or the cable company, can’t get together on this and nail down exactly where this stuff came from,” Tom persisted. “There’s got to be an electronic trail.”

“Tom, that’s almost exactly what I said to the assistant prosecutor. You know what he said? He told me I’ve been watching too many ‘Law and Order’ episodes. It’s not so simple. Maybe someday it will be. All this technology is too new for anything so cut and dried as that.”

“Doesn’t seem that hard to me,” Tom brooded.

“Well, it is, as it turns out,” Lukather assured him. “And anyway, what if they could establish, in a technical way, that those messages came from a computer inside the Ford house? So what? That gets them nowhere. The Fords, or the Rhomes, would just claim that they have no idea who could have done it and that would probably stand up in court. Maybe it was the plumber who was there unclogging drains. Maybe it was a friend who dropped by. There’s no legal precedent here. It’s too risky for the prosecutors to invest themselves in this when the odds on a conviction are so long. It’s not like they’re sitting around with nothing to do.”

“This is lame. What if we hadn’t stopped her and something terrible happened?” Scott asked.

“Something terrible happened to Jenny,” Lukather pointed out. “Nobody did anything about it that time. That’s where this all started.”

“That’s not right,” Lisa said.

“It’s not right, but it’s not wrong either,” Lukather said. “Some laws need to be tweaked. We might need some new ones. It’s too late this time. At least it’s over and nobody got hurt.”

~~~

“You’ve all shown that you’re good at keeping secrets,” Lukather said when there were just a few slices left on the round pizza pans that rested on the table. “There’s something that I wanted run past you.”

“Don’t tell me. Mum’s the word,” Tom said.

Lukather laughed. “As always. They’re having a little problem over at Douglass Middle School in Winfield. Ever heard of it?”

“Douglass?” Lisa asked. “I think some of the girls I was in Brownies with go there now.”

“I was talking to their security chief on Friday when we were both waiting for the prosecutor. When I told her about what you kids did she was impressed. She was saying she wished there was time to set up something like that in her school. As bad as our trouble is, theirs could end up being much worse.”

“What’s going on?” Scott asked.

“Apparently somebody’s threatening to do a ‘Columbine’ over there. Do you remember Columbine?”

“Sure. That’s where the two kids ran through the school shooting everyone up with assault weapons. I think they killed themselves when they were done.”

“Right. And they smuggled at least one homemade bomb into the school. Luckily that part didn’t work for them. Somebody at Douglass is taking a page from that book, including the bomb. Or at least they’re talking a good game.”

“If they know about it why don’t they just grab the people before they have a chance to do it?”

“Because they don’t know who’s threatening to do it. All they have are anonymous threats and warnings, most of them by computer. Sound familiar? They’ve found some evidence that the threat is legitimate, too. I don’t know what they found but they’re quite worried over there.”

“I know where you’re going with this,” Tom said, with Lisa nodding from across the table. “Undercover students. That would be the way to find these guys before anything happens. I’ll bet if we were there we could do it,” he boasted.

“The thought had crossed my mind,” Lukather admitted.

“You’re kidding, right?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, if you say so. But they need help. It occurred to me that we could loan you kids to them for a couple of weeks. Before they knew it you’d be handing over a list of names. Call me crazy, but sure, that’s what popped into my head.”

“Awesome!” Tom exploded. “If you’re serious, I’m in! They might end making a TV show about us or something!”

“What about me?” Lisa asked.

“And me?” echoed Carly.

“Look, I’m making this up as I go along. Don’t take this too seriously. But yeah, I was thinking about all of you. We’d need to cover a lot of ground, so the more diverse we are the better.”

“You really are serious about this,” Scott said slowly.

“It might be tough to come up with a cover story for all of you showing up at Douglass at the same time but it could be worked out.”

“Crazy,” Scott said. “But what the hay? I’d do it. What else do I have going on?”

“Me too,” both girls said at the same time.

“We’ll talk about that tomorrow. If you’re still interested maybe I’ll call Douglass and we’ll kick it around. In the mean time, let’s enjoy what we accomplished on this case before we get wrapped up in the next one.”

~~~

“That’s my mom,” Lisa said when a minivan appeared at the curb outside the restaurant. “See you all tomorrow.” She slipped her jacket from the back of her chair and went outside.

“I have to go,” Lukather said. “I guess that means you, too, Scott. Do you two have rides home?” he asked Tom and Carly.

“I don’t yet,” Carly said. “I was about to call home.”

“My brother’s coming,” Tom said. “He can drop Carly off at home if she needs it.”

“I’ll be in touch,” Lukather said. “Ready, Scott?”

Tom and Carly followed them outside. “He should be here soon,” Tom said. He leaned on a brick pillar while Carly sat on the curb to wait.

“This whole thing was crazy, wasn’t it?” Tom asked. “It turned out to be like a Scooby Doo episode. We pulled the mask off the bad guy and it was Jenny’s mother. I never expected that in a million years.”

“Jenny’s not too smart, the way she fell for that whole Dylan thing. Nobody else would have been so easy to trick.”

“That’s pretty harsh.”

“We were friends until Lakeland. Then I saw what she was really like. She moved in on the guy I liked right in front of my face.”

“Weren’t you just in fifth grade?”

“If anything that had to do with boys came up, she was like, bonkers,” Carly continued. “Like the whole Dylan thing. Some guy nobody’s ever heard of IMs her with a cute story and she buys every word of it.”

Tom kicked a stone from the curb into the street. “I guess I didn’t know her as well as you did.”

“He moves in from Florida. He knows all about her but can’t explain why. She doesn’t even ask. No phone number, no address, no school. He’s Mr. Perfect and she just believes every word of it. Then he asks her to go steady and she says ‘Yes.’ To a guy she’s never even met! I couldn’t believe it. I thought she’d stall for time on that but she answered back right away.”

Instead of kicking another stone Tom turned and stared. “Carly, you’re scaring me. You’re making it sound like you were there. How do you know so much? You know way too much.”

“Come on, everybody knows.”

“No they don’t. Not like this. You weren’t there were you? Tell me you weren’t there. Please.”

Carly stood up and began walking down the line of storefronts. Tom ran ahead and blocked her path. “What are you saying, Carly? Tell me. Right now.”

“What are you getting all freaked out about?” Tom heard rock music an instant before he saw his brother’s Duster roll to a stop. “Come on!” Kevin Seidel mouthed at him through the open window.

“You better tell me right now if you know more than you’re saying. I mean it. You owe it to us. God, you better be yanking my chain, Carly,” he warned.

The horn of the Duster blared. “You should go,” she advised him. “I think I’ll just walk home.” She stepped around Tom and ambled away like she didn’t have a care in the world.

“Hey!” Tom yelled at her back, but she kept walking. He walked to the Duster and looked in at his brother, who gestured for him to get in the car. He wasn’t sure what had just happened. When he turned back she was gone. It didn’t matter. She probably wasn’t going to tell him what she was talking about anyway. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

THE END

Contact Dave Conifer by email: daveconifer@rocketmail.com

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