Marked Read Online Free PDF Page A

rubbed them out.
    I did the same at the next stop. Besides initials that I recognized, there was another one of those neon orange triangles. This one said
W
to the left, 7 to the right, and
S
underneath. I copied it and cleaned it off along with the rest of the tags on the pole. I was moving down to the end of the street when I passed a house that had a tall hedge all the way around it—so tall that I couldn’tsee the property until I was riding past the end of the driveway.
    An ambulance was parked beside the house. There was a cop car next to it.
    A couple of people were standing in the driveway talking to the cops.
    One of the cops turned as I rode by. He looked right at me. It was the same cop who had asked if I’d seen anything the day the suv was stolen. I was shaking all over as I passed him.
    My next stop was at the end of the street, practically out of sight of the house where the cops were. I wanted to keep going, to get as far from the house—well, the cops—as possible. I had to tell myself that I had a job to do and that I hadn’t done anything wrong.
    I stopped where I was supposed to stop. I tried to concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing. But I couldn’t keep myself from looking back down the street to the house where the cops were.
    Every so often a few neighbors would come and stand on the sidewalk at the endof the driveway. They were probably trying to find out what had happened.
    I worked quickly.
    Two women in running gear jogged toward the house. They stopped at the end of the driveway and ran in place while they talked to the people who were just standing around. After a few minutes, they started running again. They ran past me and then stopped. One of them jogged in place while the other one bent down to tie her shoelace. The one who was jogging in place said, “If she hadn’t gone downstairs to get a glass of water when she did, she never would have heard a thing—she’s as deaf as a post. I hope she’s going to be okay.”
    â€œThis area used to be safe,” the other one said. She started to re-tie her other shoelace. “But that’s the third break-in in a few weeks. Joe’s got a call in to a home security company.”
    â€œI wish Rob would do that too,” the first one said. “He put security stickers on the windows. He thinks that’s enough to deter a break-in, but I don’t know.”
    Just like that she turned her head and saw that I was listening to her. She gave me a frosty look, like, how dare I eavesdrop on her. I finished up what I was doing. The two of them started running again.
    I was packed up and was getting back on my bike when someone called my name.
    It was that same cop.
    I stood where I was while he walked down the sidewalk toward me. He wasn’t that tall, but he was built. I bet he worked out. I bet if you punched him in the gut, it would feel like punching a brick wall. He had a way of walking that let you know he wasn’t afraid. Well, why should he be? He had a gun and one of those batons, plus pepper spray and a radio right there on his right shoulder so that he could call for backup anytime. I had nothing.
    â€œCan you account for your presence here?” he said.
    â€œYes, sir.” I unfolded my work order and held it out to him.
    He scanned the pages, looking up at me every couple of seconds to make sureI didn’t try anything. He handed the pages back to me.
    â€œYou’ve been in a few scrapes before, isn’t that right?” he said.
    He must have checked up on me after the last time he talked to me, so there was no point in denying it.
    â€œYes.”
    Across the street, I saw the girl with the dogs. She was heading back toward the house that had been broken into.
    The cop asked me some questions about my job.
    The girl with the dogs paused for a moment opposite the house that had been broken into. Then she crossed the street and talked to the people