Mrs. Park pulled out a pen and a piece of paper from underneath the counter. She began writing down the address and a few quick directions with a shaky hand. “Beverly grew up here in Shady Oaks, you see. I’ve known her since she was a small girl,” she said. “People here are so hard on her. Everyone always assumes the worst. She really doesn’t deserve it.”

“I’m sure she doesn’t,” I said. I was surprised that I actually meant this. I didn’t think Beverly deserved all the hostility she got, though I wasn’t completely sure why.

Mrs. Park finished writing and handed the slip of paper over to me. “Here you are,” she said.

“Thank you,” I told her. “You’ve really helped us.”

Mrs. Park nodded at me and smiled. I turned away from the counter and headed back toward Bess and George.

“All right,” I said. “Let’s head over to Beverly’s house and—”

Before I could say anything else, Bess called out, “Riley!” She said it loud enough to drown out what I was saying, and when I looked at her, I could see she was looking over my shoulder and waving.

I turned around and sure enough, Riley had just walked into the store. With the photographic warning, it was clear someone was watching the investigation. And I really wasn’t sure who I could trust. I certainly couldn’t tell anyone else that I was about to visit Beverly DeSantos, and for a moment I was worried about sneaking away from Riley long enough to go through with my plan.

“Hey, guys!” called Riley. “I saw you from outside.”

She began walking toward us. “George,” I whispered quickly. “Show Riley the dog plates.”

“What?” said George, looking confused. “Why?”

Before I could answer, Riley was already standing next to us. For a moment, George didn’t say anything. I nudged her shoulder.

“Um,” said George. “Riley. Come look at these cool dog plates with me.”

It wasn’t the smoothest distraction ever. Bess and I both smiled as if nothing was wrong, and even though Riley looked a bit skeptical, she eventually said, “Okay. That sounds… interesting.”

George and Riley headed in the direction of the wall of plates, and I pulled Bess farther away from them.

“I have to go visit Beverly,” I whispered to her. “But I don’t think we should tell anyone.”

“Got it,” Bess whispered back, and gave me a serious nod. “But please be careful. I’ll make up something to tell Riley.”

“Thanks, Bess,” I said.

I stepped back outside. It was raining steadily now, and I pulled my hood up over my head. I looked over Mrs. Park’s directions, which were fairly simple, and headed off to find Beverly DeSantos.

CHAPTER NINE Some Better Lighting

THE WALK TO BEVERLY’S HOUSE was the farthest I’d had to travel since arriving in Shady Oaks. It still wasn’t too far, though, and it took me a little over twenty minutes to get there. The rain was falling heavily enough that it was pooling in the creases of my raincoat and falling in thick droplets off the edge of my hood.