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Once inside, he cruised the preh closets and dresser drawers Home offices were a rich source of inforrances they used, their personal hygiene He didn’t steal anything That wasn’t the point Breaking and entering gave hihtened fear level washed away the stress he carried and his equilibriuh his junior year, he started cutting classes at Clily, his grades tu that went on behind his back There were conferences at school and conferences at hoed Lionel didn’t want to be the bad guy, so Mona was the one who finally lowered the boo, and Jon ht face while she read hith You have great potential, Jon, but you’re not putting forth your best effort Since you’re doing so poorly, we think it’s a waste of ourto apply yourself at Clih"

Jon knehat she was up to She thought the threat of public school would give her leverage He shrugged "That’s cool Santa Teresa High School Let’s do it"

Mona frowned, unable to believe he wasn’t going to protest her ruling and proraduate with your class to discuss it after the first se you do better If you show us you can bring your grades up, we’ll see that you’re transferred back The decision is yours"

"I already decided I’ll take the public high school"

The fall of 1966, at the end of Jon’s first day at Santa Teresa High, he was standing at his locker when a kid at the locker next to his looked over and s We’re in the saht I remember I’m Jon Corso"

The kid extended his hand "Walker McNally"

The two shook hands and then Walker said, "Where you frohed "Good job I like it Welcoh" He opened his locker and dued hih, this see You have a car?"

"In the parking lot"

Walker reached into his jacket pocket and reood sir?"

The first tihed in years The laughter was hard-edged and uncontrollable Later he couldn’t even remember what he found so funny, but in the moment it had felt like happiness, however empty and artificially induced

16

Wednesday, April 13, 1988

Wednesdayblock As usual, I’d rolled out of bed, pulled onshoes, brushed my teeth, and headed out the door I used the walk fro a brisk pace to priBy the time I reached the wharf at the foot of State Street, I’d break into a trot, picking up the teed on the bike path and so on the nuivenchunk of the bike path, walking four people across and eight to ten people deep, in two separate clusters I opted for the sidewalk to avoid the stragglers On my left I passed a row of coin-operated newspaper stands and I gave thelance A name popped out at me and I paused to read the headlines, most of which were dated the day before The latest edition of the LA Times, the Perdido County Record, and the San Francisco Chronicle would replace the old issues as soon as the delivery truck ht my attention was an article in the Santa Teresa Dispatch, on the left-hand side of the front page, just above the fold The heading read:

UCST COED KILLED IN DRUNK DRIVER MISHAP

In the next line down, I saw Walker McNally’s name

I tried to peer past the frame, but the balance of the story was blocked from my view I don’t carry money when I run so I was forced to circuave theflap a quick couple of jerks and up it popped I removed a copy of the Dispatch and let thesnap back into the locked position I turned to the first section and read the article while I walked When I reached the bus stop, I sank onto a bench and read the whole of it again