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asked the chief of police to check on my place?” Gary Wohnt and I had a complicated relationship. As in, he was perpetually gunning to arrest me for something and I wanted to stay out of jail. It made small talk tricky. “And Johnny’s mom knows about this Portland plan? Does that mean Johnny knows, too?”
    Mrs. Berns and Kennie nodded in unison, both sporting a satisfied expression. They genuinely thought they were doing something nice for me, and getting something good for themselves out of it. That’s why they’d moved so fast on it. I couldn’t fit it all in my brain.
    â€œThink of it this way,” Jed said, trying his best to look thoughtful. It was a hard expression to hold when you’ve smoked as much pot as him. “If you leave Battle Lake with us, you might not find a dead body this month!”
    â€œWith us ?” I asked. “You just heard about this ten minutes ago, and you’ve already made up your mind to come along?”
    He nodded happily. “Sure. Then I can tell you my secret on the train and get in some kick-butt snowboarding at the end of the trip. Whoo-hoo!”
    I couldn’t fight all four of them.
    I was going to Portland.
    I just wish Jed had been right about me not finding a dead body if I left Battle Lake.

Five
    I used all of Tuesday night to say goodbye to Johnny in a way that I hoped would keep him warm for a while. I’d be in Portland for only a few days, and there was no guarantee we’d get much time to spend together there before I had to return home and he stayed on. Turns out two can play the tie-up game. His mom and I drove him to the airport early Wednesday, and I spent the rest of the day training Kennie at the library—not as bad as I thought it’d be, once I got it through her head that yes, there were people in Battle Lake who really did read for pleasure, and no, I’d so far never been called on to fulfill librarian fantasies during my tenure, but she was welcome to wear what she wanted while working.
    After closing up the library Wednesday afternoon, I spent the evening prepping my house and animals for my eight days away. Though I was going to miss them, I felt good dropping off Luna, Sunny’s sweet German Shepherd, and Tiger Pop, my sassy calico kitty, at Johnny’s mom’s house Wednesday night. Mrs. Leeson was so grateful for the happy bodies to keep her company. She was through chemo and radiation and doing well, with a lot of friends looking out for her in Battle Lake. She was going to miss Johnny just as much as I was, though, and watching Tiger Pop curl around her leg, and her delighted smile, went a long way toward addressing that.
    Come Thursday, it was weird to wake up in a quiet house. It made me feel hollow. Then I remembered that my furry friends were in good hands and that I was going on a train trip, and that Johnny was going to be at the end of it. That lonely spot began to warm, and then started to buzz. I was going on a train trip! Mrs. Berns had booked the last sleeper car available, meaning Jed would have to sleep with the masses in coach class. (She’d agreed to let me pay her back on an installment plan. No way could I let her foot the entire bill.)
    I’d researched the sleeper cars on the Miss-Sea route of the AmeriTrain, the only passenger-class rail system in the country, and that was a big part of my excitement. The cars looked roomy, with two comfy chairs that transformed into a bed as well as an overhead bunk that served as a shelf until it was time to sleep. There would even be two tiny bottles of champagne waiting for us!
    The world would fly past outside our wide windows, and we’d be tucked safe inside, reading, talking, and exploring the rest of the train. I had to admit, for someone who had balked at traveling, I was beginning to look forward to it. That is, I had been looking forward to it right up until Mrs. Berns made a small