Read Perfect Glass (A Young Adult Novel (sequel to Glass Girl)) for Free Online

fear in the lumber store and taken him out of there. I should’ve never brought him here.
    An officer jerked me up by my wrists. My arms cranked out behind me, making my shoulders scream. Raf was in the same boat.
    They put us in separate squad cars.
    As we drove away, I saw John park the old car he’d bought for Kate. He jumped out, spotted me in the squad car, and shook his head. A pained tremor crossed his face.
    The next few hours ran together. They processed me, taking fingerprints and searching me for drugs. For the most part, they treated me fine, but their disdain for Americans was clear. They moved me from room to room to talk to different people and, during one move, I saw the American witness in another interview room.
    John drifted between where I sat cuffed to a chair in the waiting room and Raf in the holding cells. He filled out form after form detailing his relationship to both of us. He talked on his cell with an attorney in Denver. He called the duty officer at the American Embassy. He sat, staring blindly out the window, rubbing his temples and the back of his neck, waiting for news.
    Sometime in the late afternoon, a woman from the embassy came in, all business and pressed for time. She spoke to John, but she stared into my eyes, trying to figure me out, not even attempting to hide her suspicion.
    She told John the timing couldn’t be worse. Things were happening to institutions affiliated with American groups faster than they’d anticipated. John sighed and nodded.
    The woman, Ms. Cataño, went into a closed-door meeting with the police inspector in charge of our case. Twenty minutes later, they unlocked my cuffs. Raf, who wouldn’t look at me, was escorted to John.
    My American witness appeared, having given his statement in an interrogation room. He reached out to shake my hand and introduced himself as Patrick Lane from Oklahoma.
    “Thanks for everything,” I said, introducing myself, John, and Raf.
    “I hope they do the right thing.” He took out a business card and handed it to me. “I knew it wouldn’t go well for you, man, if I didn’t tell the authorities what I’d seen you do. You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that much. Not sure about brains, but guts…uh, yeah.”
    When he left, John sighed like a man who’d just tied a knot so he could hold on a little longer. “Thank God for Patrick Lane from Oklahoma.”
    Ms. Cataño and the inspector emerged from his office and she gave us a secret thumbs up behind the inspector’s back. He read a form in Spanish, which she translated as he spoke.
    “Based on the statements given by several witnesses, we believe Mr. Whitmire acted on behalf of Mr. Garcia, who was under his guardianship at the time. The resulting injury of a minor was accidental and due to a fall. Rafael Garcia is a known gang informer who was under court order to avoid Managua. A review of Rafael’s file will be conducted to determine if Quiet Waters is still the best guardian for him. No charges will be filed in this case.”
    I signed on the dotted line at the bottom of the statement and John signed for Raf.
    “You need to remain accessible to us, John,” Ms. Cataño said as we left the police station.
    “Yeah, I figured,” he said. “How bad is it?”
    “I’ll be honest, this little incident might have shortened the life of your work here. You’re already hanging on by a thread, and now you’ve got a volunteer who broke a court order. I told you weeks ago the key to lasting in Nicaragua was invisibility.”
    John glanced pointedly at me. “We’ll get things under control.”
    “The inspector suggested you fire your brother-in-law to send a message to the Ministry of Family that your first priority is protecting the kids.” She shrugged one shoulder as if to say this was something to consider. “Of course, he has no say in Ministry of Family business. There’s a chance, though, that Henry’s courtesy visa will be suspended if they feel you haven’t