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ballcap on his head.
    â€œYou look ready for a two-week trip to the Carlsbad Caverns,” Kate said, her eyes wide with disbelief. “All this to take a few pictures?”
    Brodie grinned. “Always pays to be prepared,” he said, striding off across the lawn. “Are you guys going to wait around all day? Let’s get going!”

    Darrell and Kate caught up quickly and Delaney led the trio down the curving path to the beach.
    â€œThought you might be interested in a little conversation I just had with Mrs. Follett,” Brodie said, as they made their way down the steep path.
    Kate raised an eyebrow. “An interesting conversation? That’ll be a first. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an interesting word come out of that woman’s mouth. ‘Where are your registration forms, Ms. Clancy?’ ‘Did you remember your inoculation records, Ms. Clancy?’”
    Brodie grinned. “You are a nasty piece of work this morning! Must have had an early wake-up call from Lily.”
    Kate stuck out her tongue as they stepped off the path onto the beach.
    â€œMrs. Follett doesn’t have to be interesting to do her job as school secretary,” said Darrell. “Besides, she knows everything that goes on around here. What did she say to you?” Darrell turned to hear Brodie’s story.
    â€œI popped into the office to grab a field trip form, and Mrs. Follett was talking on the phone. I heard her say: ‘She’s got to be somewhere. As soon as you find her, please have her contact the school.’ I didn’t want her to think I was eavesdropping —”
    â€œEven though you were,” interrupted Kate.
    â€œâ€” so I cleared my throat as she was hanging up the phone,” Brodie continued. “She looked so startled to see me, I asked her if everything was okay, and she said ‘Of course it is,’ handed me my form, and practically pushed me out the door.”
    â€œSo what’s interesting?” Kate said, using the rocks littering the beach as stepping stones.

    â€œI bet I know,” Darrell added. “It was Conrad she was talking about, right?”
    Brodie nodded. “His mother, I think. His file was wide open on the counter.”
    Kate stopped her balancing act on the rocks and planted her feet in the sand. “His dad’s in jail and his mother’s missing. Some life that kid’s got.”
    â€œY’know,” said Darrell, her voice heated, “some of us have awful lives but don’t turn into complete jerks.”
    â€œI never said you were a complete jerk,” said Kate, grinning. “Just a little jerk, that’s all.” She took off like a rabbit, leaping over rocks as Darrell and Delaney chased her down the beach.
    Out of breath and good humour restored, they followed the shoreline, Darrell setting the pace with her unique hop-skip stride. Brodie struggled along beside Kate.
    â€œFor a girl with only one leg, you move pretty fast,” he said good-naturedly.
    Darrell turned around and flashed him a grin. She dropped back beside her friends.
    â€œI guess I’m kind of excited. Even though I know it’s all over, walking this way still reminds me of last summer.”
    â€œI’m
glad
it’s all over,” said Kate. “I still don’t understand most of what happened. We were very lucky things turned out as well as they did. Conrad might have caught you in the cave, Darrell, and his dad is a very violent man. It could have been a nightmare.” She glanced over her shoulder.
    Brodie laughed. “You look as though you are expecting him to jump out from behind a rock,” he said. “Ichecked. He’s off on some kind of a family visit with his dad at the prison. He’ll be away for the whole weekend.”
    â€œAnyway,” Darrell added, “he’s out of our hair for now. And there are no more glyphs on the cave walls. This is only a