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"She’s okay," I said "She called --she ured that Juliet would be asleep and I wouldn’t be back fro voice lad! Such a relief Where is she?"

"She didn’t say"

Mrs Butterworth shook her head, s "That Tina certainly is a pistol, isn’t she?"

"She’s so if I could search Tina’s room, but I doubted Mrs Butterworth would let me Besides, there was no point Tina hadn’t been back here since she left yesterday afternoon The sould be wherever she was

Maybe the house mother would have a clue about that "Do you knohere Tina likes to hang out?"

"Oh, I don’t know The usual teen places, I suppose I just supervise the house"

Teen hangouts--in Deadtown? There was no such thing Only a handful of teenagers and children had been caught in the plague zone Like Tina and her friend I had no idea where they went, besides school

Maybe her friend could help "Can I talk to Jenna?"

Mrs Butterworth smiled "That Jenna She and Tina are like this" She held up tined fingers "It’s so nice for the young ones when they have a friend But Jenna’s not here, dear She didn’t coirls is, you’ll find the other as well"

I TRUDGED AROUND DEADTOWN FOR A WHILE, TRYING TO think where Tina could be I was alone on the empty streets The olves were on retreat Vaht, andwas shuttered and silent Deadtoas shut down for the day and, true to its na s that housed Boston’s paranormal population Blackout shades blocked everyTina could be behind any one of the to locate a zo, blindfolded, to find one particular grain of sand on abeach

Hopeless, I wandered the streets until it was tio meet Gwen

QUINCY MARKET, NEAR BOSTON’S WATERFRONT, HAS BEEN a marketplace for nearly two hundred years The Colonnade is the food hall, a central building ranite, two stories tall andVisitors walk up a few steps and past et inside, where they can stroll down the long central aisle and buy food ranging froland clam chowder, from kebabs to enchiladas to ice creaular buildings, less grand, called North Market and South Market These hold restaurants, clothing shops, jewelry and housewares stores, and carts where tourists can buy all kinds of souvenirs

It was a beautiful, crisp, clear October day, and the market was packed Tourists and locals jostled each other as they h the pedestrian areas and in and out of buildings I was glad I’d gotten there early; I’d had to waita table for five

I was sitting in a pizzeria in North Market, with a good view of the open brick plaza in front of the Colonnade, a favorite spot for street perfor statues"--Sareen--posed stiffly as passersby stopped to see if they’d blink Occasionally, one or the other wouldhalf the audience jump I spotted Gwen and the kids when Zachary ran up and poked the Statue of Liberty Gwen dragged him away, and thirty seconds later they stood in the doorway I waved the’s normal, I reminded myself as the older kids ran over, followed by a frazzled-looking Gho carried Justin on her hip In just a few hours, they’d be safely back in Needhaave Maria a hug and a kiss on the top of her head Zack shook h chair for Justin, and as Gwen got hiet Maria didn’t like anything spicy; Zack didn’t like anything that ree plain cheese pizza for the kids and a small one with artichoke hearts and black olives for Gwen and h "They’ve had enough stimulation for one day," Gwen said

She produced three s pictures on the backs of their paper place-mats She watched them for a moment, then smiled at me "I should’ve been a Boy Scout," she said "With kids, my motto has become ‘Be prepared’ "

She sat back in her chair, blew out her cheeks, and smiled at me "Hey, I like your necklace" She motioned at the aift froin school, Maria’s soccer gahborhood gossip, Nick’s hopes for a promotion at work When the pizzas came, she chose a skinny slice from the plain and cut it into s tomato sauce all over his face Zack wouldn’t let his mom cut up his pizza for him; after one slice, his face wasn’t uys been doing all ?" I asked "You left awfully early--I tried to call around eight, but you were already gone"

Gwen’s eyes slid away from mine "Oh, we--"

"We went to the hospital an’ saw a doctor!" Zack shouted "We got stuck with needles this big"--he held his hands about ten inches apart--"an’ it hurt!"

"Zachary" Gwen’s voice held a warning tone

Maria whacked her brother under the table "Shut up, due whisper loud enough to be heard two tables over

Gwen sht-lipped way that said she didn’t want to talk about it Fine with me I was more than happy to avoid the details of the kids’ medical charts

Then it dawned on me Oh, no "Gwen, you didn’t"

"I don’t want to discuss this now, Vicky Not in front of the kids"

"Sheila Gravett is not interested in helping you I don’t care what lies she told you" My voice was rising, but I couldn’t help it "The woman has no ethics You kno those olf experiments turned out What’s next--a Cerddorion clone?"