On Pins and Needles Read Online Free PDF Page A

begun?”
    That made him chuckle. Clearly at some point he’d begun to enjoy himself.
    â€œI don’t think this could be considered an interrogation. But that is one of my questions, yeah.”
    â€œEighteen years ago—yes, that’s when my family left Elk Creek,” she supplied what was no secret. “What month?”
    â€œJune. Right after school let out for the summer.”
    â€œWhat do you remember about that time?”
    Megan rolled her eyes. “This is just silly.”
    â€œHumor me,” he suggested, his tone cajoling now.
    She took a deep breath and decided it wasn’t going to do anyone any good to go on being hostile. Besides, Josh Brimley was getting too much pleasure out of it and she didn’t want to contribute to that.
    So, after a sigh, she said in a calmer tone, “What I remember about June, eighteen years ago, is that I didn’t want to leave. That my parents had turned an old school bus into a mobile home so we could live on the road going from one cause to another because they’d decided that being here was basically living with their heads in the sand and they couldn’t go on doing that when therewere so many social and environmental in justices that needed to be ad dressed. They wanted to be active, not passive, and that meant not staying in Elk Creek.”
    â€œHow about the exact month you left? Do you remember anyone being around besides your mother and father?”
    â€œMy sister.”
    â€œAnyone besides your mother, father and sister? ” he amended.
    â€œNo.”
    â€œThink about it.”
    â€œI don’t have to think about it. I don’t remember anything except not wanting to go.”
    Josh Brimley’s navy-blue eyes stayed on her, as if he knew better and would stay in a stare-down with her until she told him the truth. But that was the truth—she didn’t recall anything but being miserable at the thought of leaving her home to live in a bus and be taught by her mother rather than staying in one place and going to school like everyone else.
    Maybe her continuing silence finally convinced Josh that she didn’t have any more to say on the matter because after a few moments he seemed to decide to make an attempt at sparking her memory rather than merely waiting her out.
    â€œWhat about friends your parents might have had or maybe an uncle or a cousin? Do you remember anyone like that being around?”
    â€œNeither of my parents have a brother and even if they did, both their families steer clear of them because theythink my folks are lunatics. And as for friends, what I do remember was that there weren’t a lot of people around Elk Creek who my parents were close enough to to call friends. Their friends then and now are other people like them.”
    â€œOkay, they didn’t have a lot of friends around town—that’s one thing more that you’ve remembered than you had a minute ago. Keep thinking about it. Did they maybe have a visit from a friend from some where else? Maybe who was here and then gone just before you left?”
    â€œI don’t remember anyone. It was a long, long time ago. Do you remember who might have been around your house when you were twelve? Who your parents hung out with? Go ahead, June, eighteen years ago—tell me what you remember about it.”
    Josh held up both hands, palms outward as if to ward off an attack. “Okay, point taken,” he conceded.
    â€œFinally,” Megan said on another sigh.
    â€œBut I’m going to need to talk to your folks,” he said then.
    â€œI know you’ll probably see this as my being uncooperative,” she prefaced. “But talking to my folks is easier said than done. They’re on board a ship off the coast of Peru trying to stop the dumping of waste solvents. It isn’t as if I can just pick up the phone and reach them.”
    â€œHow can they be