* * *
Nora suddenly met her foster brother on the stairs as she was going down to watch her favorite series on TV. He just came back from school and looked worn-out, tired and angry with himself. Who knows how his mates were treating him and the number of friends he must have lost ever since all this started?
Her heart went out to him.
Being an adopted son must be a hard way to live, especially when you have nobody but your foster parents and younger sister to support you.
Again, Nora felt so ashamed of the part she’d played in creating this bitter atmosphere for him and touched his shoulder when he decided to ignore her. “Matthew, I’m sorry . . .” she began.
“It’s too late, Nora,” Matthew snapped. “You’re already in my book.”
“What?” Nora’s cell phone rang and her adopted brother took that opportunity to evade her. “Yes?” she said after picking the call.
“Nora, I’ve a plan,” Linda announced. “You’ll love it.”
“Shoot.”
“Tricia’s got another boyfriend. As in a lover?”
“How did you—”
“Find out? Peter approached a guy, who happens to be Tricia’s neighbor, and he revealed everything to him.”
“Peter?” Nora thought she was going deaf.
“Yeah, the Jew?” Linda pointed out. “Said he heard what happened and wanted to help you.”
“But how did he—”
“Make the guy talk? He didn’t. This fellow just . . . talked,” the other girl replied. “Eden—that’s his name—seems to be madly in love with our girl and he got angry when Peter came around asking about her.”
“You knew this before, didn’t you?” Nora accused.
“Yes, Nora. I didn’t want you doing anything stupid. Besides, Eden has agreed to break up Patricia’s relationship with Leonard.”
“You told him?”
“Sure,” Linda said. “He’s the neighbor I was telling you about the other day and he’s really going crazy about this.”
“So, how do we do this?”
“We’ll make Leonard see them together . . . unclad?”
“I think I like it,” a delighted Nora said.
“Yeah, Leonard hasn’t been to Patricia’s house. Close sources say she’s yet to invite him over, so we’ll send him an invite from her.”
“When are we doing this?” Nora demanded with glee.
“Tomorrow? After school?”
“Great,” the blonde girl said in agreement. “And thanks! You’re the best.” She was smiling as she ended the call. Matthew was now the last thing on her mind.
The doorbell rang.
“I’ll get it,” Nora called out to Mom, who was busy in the kitchen. Stephanie sat in the sitting room eating candy while watching the Smallville series on TV. Nora cursed herself for forgetting her favorite show altogether.
Sergeant Bradley grinned at the teenager who opened the entrance door. She seemed surprised to see the two people with him: a female officer and a young boy with an oriental face. “Hello, Nora,” he began. “Can I see your father?”
“Um. . . . Sure. Please, come in.” Nora went to get Dad from his library. The sergeant remained standing with the two behind him.
“Good day, Brad,” Mr. Quentin said to the sergeant, beaming as he shook the other man’s hand when he came in with Nora. “What can I do for you?”
“It’s about your son, John,” Bradley began, still standing.
“Matthew?” Mrs. Quentin demanded, cleaning her wet hands with a cotton towel outside the kitchen’s door. “What about him, Brad?” She feared the worst.
Matthew came out from his room and peeped through the balcony railings while Stephanie came up behind Nora and stared at the uniformed people. Was that Yung Ji with them?
“Well, Lora,” the policeman said, “another kid in his class has been reported missing and this young man says he saw Matthew beating her after school today.”
“A second kid?” Lora asked incredulously.
“I just want some answers from him, that’s all,” the sergeant said.
“He’s lying,” Matthew shouted as he ran down the steps. “I didn’t do what he said I did.” Yung Ji hid himself behind Bradley’s partner. His parents migrated from China five years ago and Matthew never knew him to be this funny.
“He’s gonna kill me, too,” the American-Chinese boy stammered from where he was hiding. “Either her body’s inside the lake or he hid her in the house.”
“I’m sorry I have a warrant for your house, John,” Sergeant Bradley told Mr. Quentin, who nodded solemnly, and allowed them to go upstairs.
“Don’t you see?” Matthew pressed on. “They’re both in this together! Fat George must be avoiding school with Mary Ann. They must have hidden somewhere.”
“Where?” Nora asked him, wondering whether to believe him or not.
“You don’t care,” Matthew indicted. “Why do you even ask?”
Nobody noticed he’d mentioned a name when the officers were yet to do so.
The sergeant came down and searched the basement afterwards. It was futile and he met his junior to confirm a negative result from her. Mr. Quentin met him on his way out and raised questioning eyebrows.
Bradley shook his head and smiled. “Nothing, John,” he said and started for the main door. “Just let us know when you remember something, Matthew,” he told Lora’s adopted son on his way out with the other two. “And thanks, John . . . Lora. Thanks for understanding. Sorry about this, though.”
And they were gone.
“I didn’t beat her, Mom,” Matthew protested. “Mary Ann’s bigger than me, I can never do that to her.”
“And she’s a bully, Mom,” Stephanie added.
“What do you mean by that?” Mom asked. “A girl?”
“She beats up girls and talks down boys,” Matthew explained.
“And what’s the school doing about this?” Dad asked.
“Nothing?”
“Impossible. I must talk to Mr. Pebblestone about this.”
“But you must believe Matthew first, Dad,” Stephanie persuaded.
Matthew was touched.
“I know you didn’t do it, Matt,” his adopted mother told him, ruffling his hair, “but why is this . . . Mary Ann . . . missing just a day after Albert’s son disappeared?”
They all had no answer for this.