We Have the Suspect

Jon went to bed, but before turning out the light, he dialed his home number to check his messages. "Mr. Van Horne, this is Leta Huntsinger with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. I'm sorry to disturb you on a Sunday, but I thought you would be interested to know that the Los Angeles police have taken into custody a suspect in the drive-by shooting incident at your residence on April eighth. The young man was apprehended during a gang incident in the Valley. Slugs from his weapon match the slugs removed from your property in April. The gun could have changed hands several times since then, but one of the suspect's 'homeys' slipped up and implicated him in the shooting. I'd like to talk to you before Tuesday morning when the suspect will be arraigned. We need to discuss the procedures and determine your intentions about pressing charges.”

Jon's first reaction was surprise that a suspect had materialized. Drive-bys were conducted by phantoms; few were ever apprehended. Jon's second reaction was toward the faceless individual who had unleashed a burst of deadly bullets, barely missing Stevie and Collin. Of course he would press charges. Kid, he thought, you should thank God above that I'm not the one in charge of your punishment.

Pushing the Edge

There was a new side to Shawna's friends. Underage drinking, apparently condoned—more like encouraged—by a so-called responsible adult. Shawna knew it happened all the time, even among good kids like her new friends. But if her mother ever found out, it would be the end of it. Shawna flashed on a mental picture of her and the beer-drinking girls being caught on the lake by the sheriff. Anticipation of the consequences made her shudder. And who knew where else Terilyn, Josie, and Alexis might push the envelope on the law and drag Shawna into it?

Shawna's mind drifted to another friend—former friend, actually—who had pushed her to the edge and gotten her into a lot of trouble. For all the excitement Destiny brought into her life, Shawna was glad to be separated from her by five hundred miles. Terilyn was not Destiny by a wide stretch, but Shawna sensed in her new friend the same magnetism to the outer limits. Why is there always someone around trying to turn me the wrong way? she asked herself.

A Daring Edge

Shawna's three new friends were so nutty and uninhibited. They were so into having fun together that they did not have much time to be boy-crazy. Of course, they were interested in boys; they had all noticed the hunks at the pool and had commented and giggled about them more than once. But they were not obsessed with them the way Destiny had been. Shawna was glad for that.

Still, there was a daring edge to the girl's' outlook on life, something Shawna just could not put her finger on. Nor could she explain the inner attraction she felt to such excitement. In fact, she was not even consciously aware of it. She knew only that she wanted to stay close to the zany girls who transformed otherwise boring summer days at the pool into wild fun.

Girls Having Fun

Terilyn asked, "Are you freaked that we went skinny dipping Shawna?" "Somebody could have seen you," Shawna argued weakly. Terilyn's answer shocked Shawna again. "So what if somebody saw us? So what if a perverted old fisherman out in the middle of the lake with a telescope got an eyeful? That makes it even more exciting. I hope he enjoyed it. We sure did." Terilyn continued, "It was just us girls having some fun, Shawna. It's not like there were guys there or anything. It was something different, something spontaneous and exciting and, like I said, spiritual. There aren't that many exciting places to go. So me and the girls make our own fun. We never know what we're going to do next. And we all want you to come next time."

Shawna felt torn. For her money, meeting Terilyn, Josie, and Alexis was the best thing so far about moving to Redding. The last five weeks would have been completely boring had she not hooked up with Terilyn and her friends at the Commons pool. Having been so quickly accepted by them, Shawna felt she belonged—a feeling that did not come over her often.

Skinny Dipping

Terilyn said excitedly, “You can go all day without seeing a sheriff's boat on the lake. In fact, you can get back in one of those long arms of the lake and not see anybody all day. That's where we went skinny-dipping." Shawna couldn't disguise her shock. "What?" Terilyn hooted with laughter. "Yes, Miss never-done-anything-wrong. Skinny-dipping."

"In broad daylight, all of you, even Uncle Jack?" "No, silly," Terilyn said, still laughing. "It was just the three of us girls. Uncle Jack dropped us off, then he took Sweet Charlotte to find their own private little cove. We didn't plan to go skinny-dipping. It just kind of happened. Josie dared us. We dared her back. Nobody chickened out. It was so much fun. You would have loved it. It was actually a very spiritual experience, a great way to get in touch with your inner self."

I would not have loved it, Shawna objected silently. And I don't think I want to be in touch with any "inner self" that would think of something like skinny-dipping as a "spiritual experience." How embarrassing. I don't care if the cove was deserted. I don't want anybody to see me naked, not even other girls. What a dumb dare. I'm so glad I didn't go. (To be continued.)

Beer at the Lake

"So how was the lake yesterday with Uncle What's-his-nose?" Shawna asked Terilyn. "It was fantastic!" Terilyn exclaimed. "We skied and tubed our brains out. Uncle Jack loved showing off his big powerboat to his new plaything, Sweet Charlotte. You have to go next time."

Terilyn went on excitedly. "We brought sandwiches and stuff, but Captain Macho sprang for a big lunch at the marina. And he had a cooler full of cold brewskis for everybody." "Brewskis?" Shawna repeated. "You mean, beer?" "Yes, in the native tongue of the North California lake people, brewski means beer," Terilyn said in a funny voice. "Are you telling me that your uncle let you drink beer?" "No, he practically forced us to drink it," Terilyn said, giggling. "That's all he had in the cooler. Ain't it a shame?"

Shawna had not taken Terilyn, Alexis, and Josie for the beer-drinking kind. She asked, "What about the sheriff? You could have been picked up."

Time with Dad

"Hello?" "Terilyn, this is Shawna." “You must be back from the dead. Where have you been, girl?" Terilyn said with a laugh. "I told you: My dad came up from L.A. Me and my little brother have been with him the whole weekend, " Shawna replied. Terilyn snorted a laugh. "Doing what? I mean, what can you do with a dad for forty-eight hours straight?" Terilyn was not fond of dads in general, Shawna had learned. Both her real father and her stepfather had run out on her and her mother. "Went to the batting cages and a movie," Shawna answered. "Then ate barbecue and watched fireworks at the lake. Today we drove to the redwood forest in Mom's Cherokee. Just got back."

"Your mom let your dad drive her car?" Disbelief marked Terilyn's tone. "Of course," Shawna answered. " What's wrong with that?" "Too bizarre," Terilyn said. "If my mom loaned a car to my dad or step-dad, it would have a bomb planted in it. And me and her would fight over the remote control to see who got to make the car go boom." Shawna wrinkled her nose. "That's sick." "Not if you knew Charlie or Gil." Terilyn spat the names more than spoke them. Shawna felt badly about her own parents being divorced, but at least her dad and mom could talk to each other. She felt a little sorry for Terilyn.