Free Hiding in Plain Sight by Valerie Sherrard Page A

knack for thatsort of thing. So, let me get that file from the other room and you can have a look at it.”
    I took it from her feeling like a total fraud. I’ve been lucky and happened on to some solutions in the past, it’s true, but I was getting nowhere with this, and I hated to see her so hopeful when I was probably going to let her down.
    â€œI’ll take this home and look at it where I can concentrate,” I said after I’d glanced through it quickly. While I’d flipped pages, she’d stood beside me with an expectant air, like I might, at any minute, leap to my feet, shout “Aha!” and solve the whole thing.
    â€œOh, well, okay.” She sounded disappointed but covered it with an overly bright smile.
    â€œYou know, I really can’t promise anything,” I said, feeling like a criminal myself.
    â€œOf course not, dear. You just do your best. I’m sure it will all be fine in the long run.”
    Betts walked part of the way home with me. “You must have
some
ideas,” she said.
    â€œThe thing is, Betts, I don’t know any of these people. It’s hard when I have no background or anything to go on. I mean, I can’t even tell if someone is doing anything unusual or out of character.”
    â€œI see what you mean,” she agreed, nodding, but then shrugged it off. “You’ll still figure it out, though. I know you will. You
have
to.”
    â€œI’ll sure try,” I said, pushing down feelings of hopelessness. Changing the subject, I asked her how things were with her and her boyfriend, Derek.
    â€œOkay, I guess.” She shrugged.
    â€œHe knows you’re home, right?”
    â€œYeah. I called him Saturday, after you left. He’s supposed to come over tonight.”
    Something didn’t seem quite right about that. If he hadn’t seen her for two weeks before she called, why was he taking until Tuesday to see her?
    â€œWas everything okay with you two before you went away? Uh, I mean…”
    She laughed. “Before we
pretended
to go away. I know, it’s weird. My mom was kind of in a state and some of the ideas she came up with then weren’t what you’d call totally sane.”
    â€œI guess anyone would be pretty upset over some-thing like that and not thinking exactly straight.”
    â€œI guess. It was awful, though, stuck in the house, not allowed to go anywhere or call anyone.”
    â€œI’m surprised your mom answered the door the day I saw her and went over to your place.”
    â€œThat’s only because I saw you and I told her if she didn’t let you in I was going to.”
    â€œRight. Well, anyway, like I was asking, were things okay with you and Derek the last time you saw him?”
    â€œI suppose. But you know, it’s not the same as it was before. I’m thinking it might be time to dump him.”
    â€œWhat do you mean, it’s not the same? What’s changed?”
    She stopped walking and turned to face me. “He’s, like, all wrapped up in other things all the time. When we started going out everything was great. He used to pay a lot of attention to me. Now there’s hardly any, I dunno exactly, romance, maybe. No, it’s more like excitement. That’s just not there anymore.”
    â€œYou still like him, though, don’t you?”
    â€œYeah, I like him. I’m just not sure if it’s
that way
now.” She laughed and shook her head. “This probably isn’t the best time for me to make this kind of decision. Anyway, I’m starting to sound like some stuck-up, high-maintenance girlfriend, which I don’t really think I am.”
    â€œNo, you’re not,” I agreed. And she isn’t. She just never seems to really know what she wants, and every relationship ends like this — with a note of dissatisfaction. Derek had outlasted all previous boyfriends, though, and I’d thought she was