"After the report is filed, there will be a hearing scheduled before the Juvenile Court Judge, and it will be up to him what punishment is meted out. It can be anything from a fine and court costs, to a curfew, probation, or, in extreme cases, a trip to juvenile hall. Real problem cases wear an ankle device that tracks them at all times."
"Oh, no." Sarah's horror-struck voice interrupted him.
He gave her a serious frown and continued, to David, "I suggest that until you hear further, you keep your daughter under supervision and monitor her friends. Let me remind you that any association with the other three girls is not a good idea."
David looked at Sarah. "Not even a phone call, understand?"
"Yes, Daddy."
Chief Hadley stood and held out his hand to David. "Your daughter needs to show more discrimination in her choice of friends." He gazed at Sarah, impassively. "Sarah, I hope I never have to see you in here again. You are all good to go, now."
Silently, they headed for the front door. Sarah cringed as she walked by the desk sergeant, aware of his eyes following her all the way.
After seeing Sarah settled in the truck David turned to Lynn. "Thanks for hanging in there with us. I needed some moral support."
She looked at him, her voice reassuring. "David, this changes nothing, you understand? We're the same as we were an hour ago. I love you. You love me. We both love Sarah. Understand?"
He put his arms around her. "I need you so much, Lynn. I'm not sure you aren't getting the short end of this deal."
She laughed. "This is only a glitch. When we have more children, things will get worse. I'll stay with Sarah this evening if you need to be at the Kensington."
"Hell, I forgot about that. I have to show up. The dining room is booked for a private dinner party for two hundred. They're depending on me. I'd appreciate it if you could be with Sarah. Otherwise, she'd have to come along and sit in the kitchen. I'm not leaving her alone tonight."
Sarah stared at him, dismayed. "You'd have to tell them why I'm there."
"Business hours are about over," Lynn said, "Violet can close out the day for me. I'll go home with you, and call the store."
"Thanks, Lynn. You didn't know what you were getting yourself into when you got involved with me. I'm sorry," David apologized.
Lynn's heart was in her eyes. "Small town people take care of their own. Don't worry about this, David. Trust the system. We have a different way of handling these things. You'll see. It'll be okay."
David's smile in return said a lot more than 'thank you.' "Come on, Sarah, let's get home."
During the short ride, Sarah kept her head down, not wanting to be seen by anyone. David pulled into their drive with an amused chuckle. "Small-town serendipity has struck again."
"Huh?"
"Looks like some of your friends have come to show their support."
Sarah looked up. Logan, Karen, Anthony and Dakota sat on the front steps.
"I don't want to see anybody. I don't want anybody to know." She slipped down on the seat, out of sight. "It's too embarrassing. They won't want to be friends anymore."
"Get real, Sarah. Everybody in town knew about this ten minutes after it happened." He got out of the truck and headed for the door.
Sarah trailed behind, reluctantly, until Logan rushed toward her followed by the rest. Stricken by the look on her face, he paused for a moment, then reached out and hugged her.
David, watching, saw his care and concern calm her as nothing else could.
"This was Ashley's doing, wasn't it? I told you she was bad news."
"Oh, Logan. I'm so glad we're still friends. You don't think I'm guilty, do you?" He shook his head.
Hugging him briefly, she pulled back. "You were right. The TAMs had it all planned out. We were arrested right out on the street. People stood around, watching. I could hear them talking about us—calling us thieves."
David put his arm around her and led her up the steps. "Let's go inside. I have cookies for everybody."
Logan laughed in anticipation, looking at the others. "What kind today, Mr. Martin?"
David grinned. "White chocolate, with blueberries."
"Awesome," Dakota said, reverence in his voice.
While the milk and cookies were being set out, the four found seats at the table, along with Lynn and David, and besieged Sarah with questions.
"Did you get fingerprinted?"
"Will they send you away?"
"Did you have to post bail?"
"What happened to the TAMs?"
"I'll bet Ashley's parents are steamed. This isn't the first time she's been caught."
Sarah sighed. "Truth? I was set up. I feel pretty dumb. I should have listened to you guys. They were acting weird, but I only figured out what they were doing when the police stopped us outside the store." Sarah told them the rest of the story, heartened by her friends' reaction of sympathy and outrage as her tale unfolded.
"We could think of a way to get even," Dakota said, hopefully. "Maybe hack into the school computer."
"Yeah," Anthony agreed. "Fix it to look like they cheated on a test, or something."
"Anthony can be very devious," Karen added, with pride.
"No way." Sarah was adamant. "Please. I'm through with schemes and plots."
Logan reached for her hand. "Sarah doesn't like to hurt people. She takes care of them."
"I want to forget about this, and about them, and just hang with you guys. You're my real friends. There's nobody else in that school I want to know, or even talk to."
Lynn said, "Sarah needs some cheering up. I think we should all go out for pizza. My treat. You kids call your parents while Sarah cleans up a bit. We'll go in my car."
"Oh, no. I'm not going anywhere. I don't want people looking at me. I'll die because they'll know what happened."
"You need to go, Sarah," Lynn said. "The first time you're in public will go much better if you're surrounded by your friends. We're here to lend moral support."
"Yeah," Anthony offered. "Each time you go out, or talk about it, it gets better, until it doesn't hurt anymore."
"Anthony's right, Sarah," Karen added, nodding her head in agreement.
Reluctantly, Sarah rose to leave the room. "I'll be back in a minute."
"Cool," Dakota declared. "It's settled then." He asked David, "Can we order what we want? Anthony likes anchovies and I can't stand them." He made gagging sounds at Anthony.
"Don't yuck my yum," Anthony said calmly.
"I could do without pepperoni," Logan said, and then, with a sudden thought, asked David, "You don't eat weird pizza, do you, sir? I mean, like artichokes or feta cheese? Stuff like that?"
They all looked at David, expecting the worst. Apparently Logan had clued them in about the eggplant.
David laughed. "I'm not going. I have to be at the Kensington, but it's definitely my treat." He pulled several bills out of his wallet and handed them to Lynn. "You can each order your own pizza and whatever else goes with it."
Lynn looked at the bills in her hand. "That's a lot of pizza."
He shrugged. "Leave a tip. Excuse me, I've got to change and get going."
"You're going to have to drop me off at my house on the way to the Kensington so I can get my car."
He looked at Lynn. "Later, you'll be here? About ten?"
She nodded, watching him leave the room. "Okay, guys, we're on for pizza as soon as Sarah gets back. Use your cells to call your parents. Logan, you can use mine." She put her phone on the table and went outside to wait for David.
Dakota sighed, and said to Logan, "You've got Sarah; Anthony and Karen are together. I'm never going to have a girlfriend."
"Sure you will, Dakota," Karen said. "She'll have to like computers a lot for you to even notice her."
"I'm weird. Girls don't like computer geeks."
Logan shrugged. "Sarah likes me, and I'm weird."
"You're not weird, Logan," Anthony said, "you're just so much smarter than the rest of us, and Sarah needs you. She's not all that smart. Especially about how life works. She needs you to watch out for her, and keep her out of trouble."
"Who needs somebody to watch out for them?" Sarah had returned, clothes changed, smiling, and looking much better.
"Dakota," Karen said. "His love life needs help."
The sound of David's truck backing out the drive interrupted Dakota's reply.
The moment Lynn led her group into the Pizza Palace she knew coming here had been a good idea. All the comfort triggers were in place. The soft light from lamps suspended from the low, wood-beam ceiling gave the room a homey atmosphere, and ferns hanging in front of the wrap-around windows made the room seem like a safe haven. Red and white checkered plastic tabletops added color, as did the posters on the walls, but the Palace's best feature was the luscious smell of baking bread, tangy tomato sauce, spicy meat, and the unmistakable bite of Parmesan cheese loading the air.
"Man, I'm hungry," Dakota said.
Lynn was relieved to see the restaurant wasn't crowded. The only occupied booth held four girls she knew from the high school, who gave Sarah a hostile stare.
"We need a table 'cause there's six of us," Sarah said, and led them to the rear of the room.
Logan's whispered reminder to act like nothing was wrong apparently encouraged Sarah. She held her head high as she walked by. A family of five at another table were the only other patrons in the room.
Heated debate over the pizza began as soon as they were seated. Lynn enjoyed every minute, listening as Dakota insisted on stuffed crust, cheese, and sausage. Anthony and Karen decided to share, of course, and ordered a large with one half mushrooms and one half anchovies, prompting Dakota to resort once more to his gagging routine.
Laughing, Lynn wondered how she had ever managed without young people in her life. This day in David's company had cracked the wall around her heart. It wouldn't hurt, would it, to dream a little of life with a loving man with a daughter like Sarah? Every minute with this active bunch brought more enjoyment. That their friendship was good for Sarah was evident. The trauma of the day was apparently forgotten as she and Logan planned their pizza.
The waitress, no doubt used to tourists, patiently recorded their instructions: thin crust supreme, hold the ham, pepperoni on one side only, one quarter anchovies and extra cheese, and, oh, yeah, no red pepper flakes; three cheese stuffed crust with everything except pineapple; thin crust cheese and sausage, half mushrooms, half olives.
Lynn threw her a sympathetic look. David's suggestion of a large tip wasn't misguided. After all that, she decided on the soup and salad bar. Simply inhaling the odor from that much food was sufficient calories for the night.
"Hey," Dakota said, motioning to the family seated nearby, 'newcomers.' He eyed the girl, about his age, wearing a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt and jeans. Lynn noted her beautiful hair—shoulder-length, auburn, and naturally curly—with envy. For most women, that look required a hundred-dollar permanent.
"Wow," Dakota said, wistfully. "She sure is pretty."
"Maybe they're not tourists," Karen said. "Look, she's going to the salad bar. Go on, Dakota. Go up and say hello."
"You gotta be kidding. I can't do that."
"Look man," Anthony said, "if you want a girlfriend you're going to have to talk to a girl. They don't communicate any other way."
"Dakota wants a girlfriend?" Sarah asked.
"That's what he said at your house," Anthony replied.
"Then I'll go." She stood and went to the salad bar, picking up a plate and moving behind the girl. "The fruit is good, but stay away from the coleslaw. It has pickles in it."
"What? Uh, thanks." The girl eyed her cautiously.
"I like your sweatshirt. I'm from Chicago, so I know the Pack."
"We just moved here this week, and it's a long way from Wisconsin."
"In more ways than one. Where are you going to school?"
"I'm a sophomore at Eureka Springs High School."
"Cool. That's where we all go—all those guys at that table." She motioned with her chin, noticing Dakota looking at her hopefully. "Hey, since you're going to live here and you don't know anybody yet, come eat with us. I'm Sarah Graham, and I'm new, too, so I know how hard it is to fit in."
"I'm Emily Paxton." She called across the room, "Hey, Mom, I'm going to sit with these guys, okay?"
Lynn, recognizing her cue, immediately stood and went to the other table.
"I think I'd better introduce myself, in case you think we're remarkably forward in this town. I'm Lindsay Keith and these kids are all friends in their freshman year at the local high school. Sarah, who is not at all shy, apparently introduced herself to your daughter. Would you mind if she sat with us?"
The woman gave her a grateful smile. "We're Ruth and George Paxton, and our two sons, Kevin and Eric. We've just moved here from Milwaukee. Emily, our daughter, starts school Monday, so I think it would be lovely if she got to know someone in advance. Thank you."