"We know that JeffLaConner beat up on a boy who's only about half his size," she said. "And I don't care what provocation Jeff may or may not have thought he had. He's not going to just get off scot-free."

"Honey, no one's even suggested that he should," Blake said now. "But let's just take one thing at a time, okay? Go to the hospital with Mark, and I'll get a ride with Jerry. When we know exactly what happened, we'll take it from there."

Sharon seemed about to say something more, then appeared to change her mind. One of the attendants opened the back of the ambulance again and she climbed inside, crouching by her son. A moment later, moving quickly but with its siren silent, the ambulance pulled away.

It seemed to Sergeant DickKennally as if half of Silverdale had tried to jam themselves into the tiny waiting room of County Hospital. When he'd first heard the wailing of the ambulance's siren a little more than an hour before, he'd half expected the phone to ring, summoning him to the site of an automobile accident. But when the phone hadn't rung, he'd decided that whatever had required an ambulance wasn't a police matter, and gone back to the crossword puzzle he'd been half-heartedly working on ever since he'd come on shift at four o'clock that afternoon. Indeed, he'd all but forgotten the siren when the call finally came shortly after eleven.

Why did situations like this always have to come up just before the end of a shift? he wondered as he drove to the hospital. Why couldn't people wait until after midnight to call the cops? Wes Jenkins, who usually took the graveyard shift, was always complaining he didn't have anything to do, anyway. But of course after ten years on the tiny Silverdale force,Kennally knew the answer-by midnight most of the town was already in bed, and those who were up and about weren't the sort who would call the police. Rather, they were the sort other people would call the police about.

He'd been surprised to find Jerry Harris, together with his wife and kids, sitting with the Tanners when he'd arrived. Harris tried to explain what had happened, but even as he listened to Jerry's words, he found himself watching Sharon Tanner. Her eyes were flashing with barely suppressed anger, and several times she seemed about to interrupt Harris. Each time, her husband stopped her. Finally, after Jerry had sketched the situation for him,Kennally turned to Linda Harris.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened?" he asked, his voice gentle.

Linda shrugged helplessly. Her face was pale and her cheeks stained with tears. "Idon'tknow what happened," she said unhappily. "We were just walking down the street on the way to my house, and Jeff came out from behind a bush. It-Well, it was almost like he was waiting for us. At first we didn't think anything about it. But then we saw his face-" She stopped talking and her whole body shuddered violently.

"His face?"Kennally repeated. "What about it?"

Linda struggled to find the right words. "He-I don't know. He just looked crazy. His eyes were all glassy, like he didn't really know who we were. It was Mark who figured out he was coming after us. We got scared and started running, but Jeff caught up with us right away."

"Why?"Kennally asked bluntly. "Why was he mad at Mark Tanner? What did he say?"

Linda shook her head. "Nothing. He didn't say anything at all. It was-well, it was really spooky. He just jumped Mark and started beating up on him."

Kennallychewed thoughtfully at his lower lip. "You were dating Jeff, weren't you?" he asked.

Linda hesitated, then nodded. "But that was over weeks ago. Jeff was mad at me when I told him, but he got over it. He's been fine ever since."

"No, he hasn't," Robb Harris interjected. Until now he'd been silent, sitting quietly by his father. WhenKennally looked at him questioningly, Robb tried to tell him what had happened at the pep rally earlier. "It was weird," Robb concluded a couple of minutes later. "It's like Linda said- his eyes were kind of glassy and he was just staring at them like he wanted to kill them or something. Then all of a sudden he was fine. In the locker room afterward he was acting like nothing had happened."

Kennally'sbrows knit into a deep frown. At first, listening to Jerry Harris, he'd thought maybe the fight had been nothing more than a squabble between a couple of schoolboys. But now… He sighed heavily, and finally turned to face Sharon Tanner, who had called him as soon as she'd gotten to the hospital-exactly as she had promised Jerry Harris. "You're sure you want to press charges?" he asked, though the expression on her face answered his question clearly enough.

To his surprise, Sharon's eyes reflected a degree of uncertainty. "I-I didn't say that," she said. "But I certainly think you ought to talk to him. I'm willing to listen to his side of the story, and then we can decide what to do. But if what Linda and Robb say is true, certainly something has to be done about him."

Kennallyreluctantly nodded. He liked JeffLaConner – always had. It was a shame to have to pick him up tonight. Saturday, after all, was a game day, and without Jeff playing…

Still,Kennally had no choice. Letting himself into the small office adjoining the waiting room, he first called ChuckLaConner, who told him that Jeff wasn't home yet. Briefly,Kennally told Chuck what had happened and heardLaConner curse softly.

"How's the Tanner boy?" Chuck asked a moment later.

"Don't know yet,"Kennally replied. "MacCallum'sstill working on him." His voice dropped and he turned away from the window to the waiting room. "If I were you, Chuck, I'd get down here pretty fast. Mrs. Tanner's mighty upset, if you know what I mean."

There was only the slightest pause before ChuckLaConner replied that he'd be at the hospital within minutes.

NextKennally called the police department, and when Wes Jenkins answered, filled him in on what had happened. "Call some of the boys," he said. "We're going to have to go out looking for him."

"Any idea where he might have gone?" Jenkins asked.

"Not really. But it shouldn't be too hard to track him. We know which way he headed after the fight."Kennally finished issuing his instructions to the night sergeant, then left the hospital. But he drove only a few blocks before pulling into a deserted parking lot illuminated by the soft glow of a phone booth in one of its corners. Stepping into the booth, he dialed the department number once again.

"Wes? Me again. One more thing-tell the boys that if they get hold of JeffLaConner, I want him taken out to Ames at the sports center."

"Ames?" Jenkins replied. "How come? TheLaConner kid sick?"

Kennallyhesitated. "Dunno," he said finally. "But I just have a feeling, okay? I'mgonna call Ames right now, and if there's any change, I'll let you know."

He hung up, then fumbled in the inside pocket of his jacket for the small book of unlisted phone numbers he always carried with him, on duty or off. Flipping through it, he squinted at a number, then dropped another quarter in the phone. A sleepy voice answered on the sixth ring.

"Yeah?"

"Dr. Ames? It's DickKennally. From the police department. Sorry to have to call you so late."

Instantly, all vestiges of sleep drained out of the doctor's voice. "What is it?" he asked. "Has something happened?"

Kennallytalked steadily for five minutes, even consulting his notebook to be sure he'd forgotten none of the details. "I've already told Jenkins to bring theLaConner boy out there if we find him. I can change that, if you think it's best."

"No," Ames said immediately. "You did the right thing. I'll get a team ready to admit him, and keep me posted. And Dick?" he added.

"Yeah?"