Free False Witness by Aimée and David Thurlo Page B

for a moment, then closed up the phone. “Gotta go. There’s a problem back at the station.”
    After he drove off, Sister Agatha fastened her helmet and continued north through town, intending to return to the monastery. As she passed the Burger Biggins, the new local hot spot for the town’s teens, she caught a glimpse of Liz standing beside a customized car talking to some tough-looking kids.
    Away from authority figures like the police and her mother, Sister Agatha suspected that she would have a better shot at getting answers from Liz—that is, of course, providingshe could find a way to separate her from her friends for a few moments. To that end, she came up with an idea that was practically foolproof. With a smile, Sister Agatha made a left turn. She had work to do at the Burger Biggins.

6
    L IZ STOOD WITH THREE BOYS WHO WERE WEARING EXTREMELY baggy pants, dark, sleeveless T-shirts, and amateur tattoos with a stylized font that reminded her of old English.
    As Sister Agatha pulled into the parking slot next to them and stopped, one of the boys whistled. “Hey, Sister, primo set of wheels there!”
    Sister Agatha removed her helmet and placed a hand on Pax, making sure he stayed inside the sidecar at sit. “Ernesto, I haven’t seen you in years,” she said, recognizing him from his grade-school days at St. Charles despite the peach fuzz haircut.
    “Nobody but Tia Rosita calls me Ernesto anymore, Sister. My name’s Macho.”
    “Really? Well, I have to agree with Tia Rosita. To me, you’ll always be Ernesto.” She looked at each face, making eyecontact with every member of the group. “I was just talking to Sheriff Green, and I believe he’s looking for some volunteers to help scrub off some of the graffiti on the sides of buildings downtown. Would you guys like to lend a hand?” she asked. Tom had said no such thing—not this time—but there was a project going on, sponsored by the Police Athletic League, so it wasn’t a total lie.
    Ernesto and his two male companions reacted exactly the way she’d hoped.
    “Uh … okay, Sister. Maybe later. But I gotta go now,” Ernesto said, reaching for the door handle on the low-slung car just behind him.
    The other two boys with him avoided eye contact with her as well and, muttering excuses, shuffled toward an adjacent vehicle as quickly as their “cool” walk would allow.
    By the time Sister Agatha looked back at Liz, she saw the girl was trying to slink away. Using her best teacher/nun voice, she snapped, “One moment, Liz.”
    The girl stopped in her tracks, rolling her eyes as Ernesto drove away, in case he was watching, then finally turned to face her. “You want me for something else, Sister? Please tell me it isn’t that gate thing again!”
    “Liz, it’s just you and me here now … well, and Pax,” she said, noting that the girl had her eyes on the dog, who was still in the sidecar. “Relax.”
    “You’re so lucky to have him, Sister,” Liz said, going over to pet him. “He’s really beautiful. When I leave home that’s one of the first things I’ll be getting,” Liz said, then started to put her hands into her pockets before she realized her slacks had no pockets. Awkwardly, she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
    Sister Agatha allowed the silence to stretch out betweenthem, sensing Liz wanted to tell her something, but was finding it difficult to put into words.
    “You
know
I’m not involved in what happened at the monastery, right, Sister Agatha?” Liz said. “And I don’t drink or go cruising with anyone who would do that either.”
    “You’re still hanging around with the wrong crowd,” Sister Agatha said softly. “And when that becomes a habit, you can get caught up in trouble you never intended.”
    “I’m not part of a gang, honest. But the people I
thought
were my friends at St. Charles just don’t want to hang with me anymore. Guys like Ernesto at least don’t look down their noses at me.”
    “Liz,