The way Big Mike was taking her in said he was still trying to place her face. She looked down.

“I didn’t do anything,” Toby said again.

Lucy decided wearing a cologne-saturated T-shirt was sufficient punishment for Toby. “I don’t want you spying on me anymore. If it happens again, I’ll talk to your grandmother.”

Toby screwed up his face. “My grandmother’s not home right now, so you can’t talk to her.”

Not even a smart-aleck kid could ruffle Big Mike’s amiability. “You know what I think, Toby? I think you owe Miss Viper an apology.”

She wasn’t a big believer in forced apologies, but Big Mike patted Toby’s shoulder. “Don’t you have something to say to her? Or would you rather wait till she comes to your house?”

The boy looked at his feet. “Sorry,” he muttered.

Big Mike nodded, as if Toby had spoken from the depths of his heart. “That’s better. I’ll take Toby home now. He won’t be giving you any more trouble, will you, Toby?”

Toby scuffed his feet and shook his head.

“I didn’t think so.” Big Mike still held the pizza, and he extended the box toward Panda. “The two of you go ahead and enjoy this. I can come over and talk to you later about the boat.”

“The boat?” Panda said.

“A twenty-foot Polar Kraft. The owner only took it out one summer, and he’s practically giving it away. Miss Viper told me you were in the market.”

Panda glanced down at her. “Miss Viper misunderstood.”

Big Mike knew how to roll with the punches, and his smile grew broader. “She seemed pretty sure, but hey— You have my card. When you’re ready, you give me a ring. That boat’s a real bargain. Now you two enjoy that pizza. Come on, Toby.” He steered the boy along the path in the opposite direction from the house.

As they disappeared, Panda looked down at her. “You told him I wanted to buy a boat?”

“You might want to buy a boat. How was I supposed to know?”

He shook his head and turned toward the house only to stop and lift the box closer to his nose. “Why does this pizza smell like perfume?”

“Big Mike believes in marking his territory.” She quickened her steps and left Panda to walk back to the house alone.

BREE HEARD TOBY COMING THROUGH the woods before she saw him. It was almost seven, and once again she’d forgotten to fix him dinner. Usually when that happened, she’d go inside and find him sitting at the kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal from one of the many boxes Myra had picked up on her last trip to Sam’s Club before she’d gotten too ill to travel to the mainland.