out.”
“Stretch is the short guy bringing the ball up the court now,” Kyle said.
“Really? With a name like Stretch, I thought he’d be tall,” Alyson observed.
“Naw, he’s the shortest guy on the team. He got his name because he always manages to stretch himself enough to steal the ball or make a basket. He’s one of the best shooters on the team.”
Kyle wasn’t exaggerating about Stretch’s ability to somehow elongate himself to make the play. He was one of the best players on the team. After the coach called an end to practice Kyle called Stretch over to meet them.
“They want to ask you some stuff about your brother,” Kyle explained after introducing everyone.
“You a cop?” he asked Devon.
“No, just a friend. A friend of a friend, actually. Spyder’s friend Caleb doesn’t necessarily agree with the police’s assessment that Spyder ran away.”
Stretch looked them over for a minute, as if deciding whether or not to trust them.
“Spyder didn’t run away,” he said. “We stick together. He wouldn’t leave me. You see, our parents are kind of . . . self-involved. They really don’t have time for me and Spyder. So we sort of take care of each other.”
“Did he say anything at all to you about going away?” Alyson asked.
“No. He was going to take me to the batting cages, and then to a movie on Saturday night, but he never came home.”
“Do your parents think he ran away?” Devon asked.
“Yeah. They don’t really get him. He’s the way he is because of them, you know. They never even see us. We could tell them we were going to rob a bank, then burn down city hall, and they’d probably say ‘okay, have fun.’ It’s like they know we’re there, but we always seem to be just below their cognitive radar.”
“Wow,” Alyson observed. “You have quite a lot of insight for a seventh grader. And cognitive. Where’d you learn a word like that?”
“My mom’s a psychologist. Just because she doesn’t see me doesn’t mean I don’t see her. Sometimes I just sit and listen to her talk to patients and she doesn’t even notice. So what about Spyder? Can you find him?”
“Honestly, we’re not sure. We think he was trying to protect a friend of his who was in trouble,” Alyson explained. “Does that make sense to you?”
Stretch hesitated. “Maybe. But I still think he would have said something to me if he were going to take off. We’re really close.”
“Is anything missing from his room?” Mac asked. “Clothes? Toothbrush? Money?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t think so.”
“Would it be okay if we looked around his room?” Alyson asked. “For clues that might help us find him?”
“Sure; you can follow me home.”
“I can give you a ride,” Devon volunteered.
“I have my bike.”
“No problem. I have an Expedition; it’ll fit in the back.”
They dropped Kyle off on the way and then followed Stretch’s directions to a huge modern house in the newest part of town. Cutter’s Cove was a working man’s town and most people lived in small, boxy houses. With the arrival of telecommuting, a new breed of resident had come to live in Cutter’s Cove, although they were employed in cities like Portland and even Seattle.
“Nice house,” Mac complimented.
“It’s okay. I liked our old one better. It wasn’t so stuffy. You guys can come in,” he offered after getting his bike out of the back of Devon’s SUV.
“Are you sure this is okay?” Alyson asked cautiously. “I wouldn’t want to do anything to upset your parents.”
“Don’t worry. No one’s home. No one’s ever home.”
Alyson, Devon, and Mac followed Stretch into a very nicely and expensively furnished living room.
“Spyder’s room’s up here.” Stretch jogged up an elaborate spiral staircase.
“The house looks like a museum,” Mac whispered as she followed him up the stairs. “Not a speck of dust in sight. And where’s all the stuff? You know, shoes,
“Stretch is the short guy bringing the ball up the court now,” Kyle said.
“Really? With a name like Stretch, I thought he’d be tall,” Alyson observed.
“Naw, he’s the shortest guy on the team. He got his name because he always manages to stretch himself enough to steal the ball or make a basket. He’s one of the best shooters on the team.”
Kyle wasn’t exaggerating about Stretch’s ability to somehow elongate himself to make the play. He was one of the best players on the team. After the coach called an end to practice Kyle called Stretch over to meet them.
“They want to ask you some stuff about your brother,” Kyle explained after introducing everyone.
“You a cop?” he asked Devon.
“No, just a friend. A friend of a friend, actually. Spyder’s friend Caleb doesn’t necessarily agree with the police’s assessment that Spyder ran away.”
Stretch looked them over for a minute, as if deciding whether or not to trust them.
“Spyder didn’t run away,” he said. “We stick together. He wouldn’t leave me. You see, our parents are kind of . . . self-involved. They really don’t have time for me and Spyder. So we sort of take care of each other.”
“Did he say anything at all to you about going away?” Alyson asked.
“No. He was going to take me to the batting cages, and then to a movie on Saturday night, but he never came home.”
“Do your parents think he ran away?” Devon asked.
“Yeah. They don’t really get him. He’s the way he is because of them, you know. They never even see us. We could tell them we were going to rob a bank, then burn down city hall, and they’d probably say ‘okay, have fun.’ It’s like they know we’re there, but we always seem to be just below their cognitive radar.”
“Wow,” Alyson observed. “You have quite a lot of insight for a seventh grader. And cognitive. Where’d you learn a word like that?”
“My mom’s a psychologist. Just because she doesn’t see me doesn’t mean I don’t see her. Sometimes I just sit and listen to her talk to patients and she doesn’t even notice. So what about Spyder? Can you find him?”
“Honestly, we’re not sure. We think he was trying to protect a friend of his who was in trouble,” Alyson explained. “Does that make sense to you?”
Stretch hesitated. “Maybe. But I still think he would have said something to me if he were going to take off. We’re really close.”
“Is anything missing from his room?” Mac asked. “Clothes? Toothbrush? Money?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t think so.”
“Would it be okay if we looked around his room?” Alyson asked. “For clues that might help us find him?”
“Sure; you can follow me home.”
“I can give you a ride,” Devon volunteered.
“I have my bike.”
“No problem. I have an Expedition; it’ll fit in the back.”
They dropped Kyle off on the way and then followed Stretch’s directions to a huge modern house in the newest part of town. Cutter’s Cove was a working man’s town and most people lived in small, boxy houses. With the arrival of telecommuting, a new breed of resident had come to live in Cutter’s Cove, although they were employed in cities like Portland and even Seattle.
“Nice house,” Mac complimented.
“It’s okay. I liked our old one better. It wasn’t so stuffy. You guys can come in,” he offered after getting his bike out of the back of Devon’s SUV.
“Are you sure this is okay?” Alyson asked cautiously. “I wouldn’t want to do anything to upset your parents.”
“Don’t worry. No one’s home. No one’s ever home.”
Alyson, Devon, and Mac followed Stretch into a very nicely and expensively furnished living room.
“Spyder’s room’s up here.” Stretch jogged up an elaborate spiral staircase.
“The house looks like a museum,” Mac whispered as she followed him up the stairs. “Not a speck of dust in sight. And where’s all the stuff? You know, shoes,
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