They rinsed off the muck from the service tunnel in the river, then, soaked and shivering, raced down the shore toward Katie’s house.
“Almost there,” Katie said.
“What if your dad sees us?”
“He won’t. He’s probably downtown helping out.” Katie said this with an obvious pride that seemed to surprise her.
A few minutes later, Katie changed direction, climbing slowly up a well-traveled dirt path through the stones and weeds, then onto her neatly cropped yard.
“This way,” Katie whispered, and Penny crept nervously behind her.
They didn’t go to the front, but around back, to the side of the house facing the church and the park beyond it. They stopped for a moment to watch.
Most of the town seemed to have turned out for the spectacle, gathered in the park behind a barricade of cars, tr
