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Authors: Jerry B. Jenkins, Chris Fabry
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no,” Ashley said.
“We knew him and his family. He was a great father. Three little children. Danny ran to the nearest house and called an ambulance, but the man died on the way to the hospital.”
“How awful.”
“Danny felt terrible. The police talked about charges, but everybody knew it was an accident. Everybody but Danny. He dropped out of school and never went back to the golf course. Fell in with a bad crowd and started drinking. We moved here to make a fresh start, but Danny just couldn’t get over it. He left the house about a year ago and started living on the street. Every now and then we’d hear he was back in Red Rock, and we’d try to get him to come home.”
“Mr. Crumpus says nice things about him,” Ashley said.
“Bob Crumpus is one of the bright spots in our lives. I’ve always thought the Lord could change my son, but I don’t think he hears my prayers anymore.”
Ashley put a hand on the woman’s arm. “Where do you think Danny might have gone? Bryce and I would like to help.”
She stared at Ashley with red eyes. “I’d love to have Danny back, but even if you did find him, it’s too late. Our son is gone for good.”
Chapter 51
We made it inside the school doors just as the first bell rang. I could see the relief on Bryce’s face as we hurried to our lockers.
I thought about Danny the rest of the day. He must have felt so guilty. I remembered seeing him at the Toot Toot Café and thinking he was just a bum. I was ashamed I had judged him without knowing anything about him.
At lunch I took my tray across the cafeteria and sat near some of the eighth graders. Cammy and Tracy had their usual crowd of giggling girls. I caught only bits of the conversation.
“. . . won’t mess with us anymore . . .”
“. . . lucky we took care of him when we did . . .”
“. . . everybody knew he was dangerous . . .”
“. . . catch him and bring him back here for the trial . . .”
“. . . hope he stays gone for good.”
Cammy looked at me, and I focused on my lunch. She kept staring until I looked up. “Hey, Timberline, what do you think they should do with the guy who attacked us?”
The other girls were suddenly quiet.
“Get his side of the story, for starters,” I said.
“We know what happened,” Cammy said. “We were there.”
I nodded. “I guess you’re right.”
“So answer the question.”
“Justice,” I said.
I didn’t look back, but from their silence, I assumed Cammy and Tracy weren’t happy.
Chapter 52
Sam drove me to basketball practice. I still had bruises around my eyes.
Coach Baldwin worked on fundamentals. That meant we ran a lot, passed a lot, and didn’t shoot much. The tournament was coming, and he wanted us in shape. We had beaten every team we faced except for Coronado, so we felt good about our chances.
“It’s tough to beat a team three times in the same year,” Coach said. “I’ve got some strategy for that big guy.”
“Use Bryce’s head for defense,” Duncan Swift said.
Everybody laughed, including me, but it hurt. Duncan’s the kind of guy who competes at everything. Sports, math, even bathroom visits. After a Super-Mega Slushie, I once timed myself and told Duncan I had gone for 58 seconds. The next day he said he had gone a minute and 20 seconds after drinking 16 lemonades. I didn’t believe him, but I vowed never to tell him anything concerning bodily functions again. I figured I might need a transplant if we kept it up.
As we got dressed, Riley Coleman, our biggest player, started talking about how cute Cammy and Tracy are.
“I hear Cammy’s dad is mean as a snake,” Duncan said.
“ Mean isn’t the word for it,” Riley said. “And it’s her stepdad. You know how they can be.”
I shivered. Sam was our stepdad, and though he had never been mean to us, I had my questions.
“My sister says Cammy’s mom is no better,” Carlos said. “She yelled at my mom at the
“We knew him and his family. He was a great father. Three little children. Danny ran to the nearest house and called an ambulance, but the man died on the way to the hospital.”
“How awful.”
“Danny felt terrible. The police talked about charges, but everybody knew it was an accident. Everybody but Danny. He dropped out of school and never went back to the golf course. Fell in with a bad crowd and started drinking. We moved here to make a fresh start, but Danny just couldn’t get over it. He left the house about a year ago and started living on the street. Every now and then we’d hear he was back in Red Rock, and we’d try to get him to come home.”
“Mr. Crumpus says nice things about him,” Ashley said.
“Bob Crumpus is one of the bright spots in our lives. I’ve always thought the Lord could change my son, but I don’t think he hears my prayers anymore.”
Ashley put a hand on the woman’s arm. “Where do you think Danny might have gone? Bryce and I would like to help.”
She stared at Ashley with red eyes. “I’d love to have Danny back, but even if you did find him, it’s too late. Our son is gone for good.”
Chapter 51
We made it inside the school doors just as the first bell rang. I could see the relief on Bryce’s face as we hurried to our lockers.
I thought about Danny the rest of the day. He must have felt so guilty. I remembered seeing him at the Toot Toot Café and thinking he was just a bum. I was ashamed I had judged him without knowing anything about him.
At lunch I took my tray across the cafeteria and sat near some of the eighth graders. Cammy and Tracy had their usual crowd of giggling girls. I caught only bits of the conversation.
“. . . won’t mess with us anymore . . .”
“. . . lucky we took care of him when we did . . .”
“. . . everybody knew he was dangerous . . .”
“. . . catch him and bring him back here for the trial . . .”
“. . . hope he stays gone for good.”
Cammy looked at me, and I focused on my lunch. She kept staring until I looked up. “Hey, Timberline, what do you think they should do with the guy who attacked us?”
The other girls were suddenly quiet.
“Get his side of the story, for starters,” I said.
“We know what happened,” Cammy said. “We were there.”
I nodded. “I guess you’re right.”
“So answer the question.”
“Justice,” I said.
I didn’t look back, but from their silence, I assumed Cammy and Tracy weren’t happy.
Chapter 52
Sam drove me to basketball practice. I still had bruises around my eyes.
Coach Baldwin worked on fundamentals. That meant we ran a lot, passed a lot, and didn’t shoot much. The tournament was coming, and he wanted us in shape. We had beaten every team we faced except for Coronado, so we felt good about our chances.
“It’s tough to beat a team three times in the same year,” Coach said. “I’ve got some strategy for that big guy.”
“Use Bryce’s head for defense,” Duncan Swift said.
Everybody laughed, including me, but it hurt. Duncan’s the kind of guy who competes at everything. Sports, math, even bathroom visits. After a Super-Mega Slushie, I once timed myself and told Duncan I had gone for 58 seconds. The next day he said he had gone a minute and 20 seconds after drinking 16 lemonades. I didn’t believe him, but I vowed never to tell him anything concerning bodily functions again. I figured I might need a transplant if we kept it up.
As we got dressed, Riley Coleman, our biggest player, started talking about how cute Cammy and Tracy are.
“I hear Cammy’s dad is mean as a snake,” Duncan said.
“ Mean isn’t the word for it,” Riley said. “And it’s her stepdad. You know how they can be.”
I shivered. Sam was our stepdad, and though he had never been mean to us, I had my questions.
“My sister says Cammy’s mom is no better,” Carlos said. “She yelled at my mom at the
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