Free The Stranger Next Door by Peg Kehret Page A

confidentthat you can rent one of those. You should be able to move in within a day or two, as soon as we can buy some furniture and get the utilities turned on.”
    At least I won’t have to go to another new school, Rocky thought. Even so, he knew it would be a long time before the memory of waking up to smoke, flame, and instant fear would fade.
    Half an hour later, Rocky sat shivering on the motel bed as Blake and Mr. Franklin watched a newscast about the fire. Although he wasn’t cold, he couldn’t stop shaking. He kicked off Mr. Kendrill’s too-big shoes and got under the covers.
    He longed for the real Rocky, the one with four legs and a wagging tail. He wished his dog would jump on the bed beside him right now, and lick his hand, and beg to be petted. He knew it couldn’t happen.
    “A dog is too easily tracked,” Mr. Valdez had explained. “Airline or hotel employees see hundreds of people each week but only a few animals. If questioned, those employees could remember a dog and provide information about you or your destination.”
    Rocky knew Mr. Valdez was right, but he still wished he could have kept his dog. In his imagination, he could feel once more the coarse fur and the velvety ears and the cold nose.
    Rocky closed his eyes, fighting back tears. He wantedto be Clifford again; he wanted to quit pretending and quit being scared that someone would recognize him. He wanted his mother to be home, reading or listening to music or making popcorn, instead of on the other side of the continent getting ready to testify that her former husband, Rocky’s father, was a drug smuggler.
    Rocky wanted to go back to his old life, when he wasn’t so afraid.

9
    A lex hurried into his classroom the next morning, hoping to see Rocky, but Rocky wasn’t in school.
    Duke stopped beside Alex’s desk, just before the bell rang. “My brother and I drove through Valley View last night. We saw the fire.”
    Saw it or set it? Alex thought, but he said nothing.
    “Bad things happen when you go where you aren’t wanted,” Duke said.
    Henry came to stand beside Duke. “That’s right,” he said. “Bad things happen.”
    “Bad things happen to people who break the law, too,” Alex said.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Duke said. “Are you accusing me of something?”
    “No. I’m only saying that the arsonist will get caught, and so will the vandals who cut down all our street signs.The fire trucks got lost trying to reach the fire because the street signs were missing.”
    Alex watched Duke’s face for signs of surprise or concern, but Duke was expressionless. Alex wondered again if Duke and Henry were responsible for cutting down the signs and setting the fire. He had heard that arsonists sometimes stay to watch the fires that they set. Is that why Duke and his brother had driven past? If so, he hoped they were plenty worried about getting caught.
    “Where’s your pal, Rocky?” Duke asked.
    “I don’t know. It was his house that burned.”
    “It was?” Duke looked surprised. “I thought it was yours.”
    Alex realized that the night Duke, Henry, and Duke’s brother had walked past, Alex and Pete had been on the Morrises’ front porch. Duke had probably assumed Alex lived there. If Duke had intended to set fire to Alex’s house, he would have been at the wrong place.
    Other kids reacted immediately to the news that a classmate’s house had burned.
    “How bad was the fire?” someone asked. “Did Rocky lose everything?”
    “I gave him some clothes,” Alex said, “but my shoes didn’t fit him. Maybe he’s buying shoes this morning.”
    By the time the bell rang, the class had agreed to bring household goods and clothing to school on Monday, to help Rocky’s family.
    As Alex listened to the concern of the other kids, he felt better. They apparently had no resentment toward Rocky because he lived in Valley View Estates. Perhaps Duke and Henry were the only ones who felt that way.
    Alex made up his