Free Don't Scream (9780307823526) by Joan Lowery Nixon Page B

said, and felt myself blushing, because I really hadn’t thought of that at all.
    â€œI’d compliment her on her garden,” Robinsaid, and giggled again. “My grandmother loves to garden, and she turns into a marshmallow when people compliment her plants.”
    â€œI think the point Robin is attempting to make is that common friendliness is a better approach than charging in officiously with a list of questions.”
    â€œSure. That’s it,” Robin said.
    Mr. Clark lowered his eyebrows and glanced around the classroom. “I hope all of you are taking notes assiduously,” he said.
    No one asked him what
assiduously
meant. We just began writing like crazy.
    â€œA neighbor,” Mr. Clark said, “might tell you if the contractor’s family had financial problems. Maybe his wife is a compulsive shopper. Maybe the contractor and his wife take periodic trips to Las Vegas and gamble heavily. Maybe they’re having problems with aging parents who need nursing-home care or a son who’s been accepted at an expensive university and isn’t able to get scholarships or financial aid.”
    â€œYou mean that talking to the neighbor is one way to find out if the contractor needs a lot of extra cash,” Bubba Jones said.
    Although Bubba wasn’t too swift about some things, I knew he’d understand any problem in which someone needed extra cash. Bubba borrowed money from anyone he could.
    â€œCorrect. Let’s move on to the civil courts now,” Mr. Clark said. “You can find out if any lawsuits have ever been filed against the contractor.If any have been, then you can also discover if he’s connected to any other businesses or partnerships.
    â€œThrough the criminal courts division you will find records similar to those in the civil court office and also pretrial release forms that everyone who goes through our jail system must fill in, including background, relatives, home addresses, and Social Security numbers.
    â€œAnd in the County Administration Building—
    â€œWait!” Robin cried, and rubbed her hand. “You’re going too fast.”
    Mr. Clark paused for less than a minute before he went on. “You’ll find tax rolls and property records. In the same building you’ll find Uniform Commercial Code Records, which are filed by people to protect their debts. Their assets, such as jewelry, real estate, and collateral on loans, are on record. Also records concerning marriage and divorce and probate. You can discover if the contractor has inherited through a relative’s will.
    â€œYou can gain information through voter registration records, and …”
    Robin stopped, put down her ballpoint pen, and rubbed her hand again. “I don’t understand most of this stuff,” she said. “What has it got to do with putting out a school newspaper?”
    â€œWriting, editing, and publishing the newspaper are just part of your journalism course,” Mr. Clark told her. “By the time the semester is over, you’ll learn how to be journalists.”
    As I glanced over my notes, I felt uneasy. “Aren’t our private lives supposed to be secret?” I asked him.
    â€œVery few facts about our lives are secret,” Mr. Clark said.
    â€œWhat if I don’t want someone to know my Social Security number?”
    â€œYou don’t have a choice. You have a job with Bingo’s Burgers, Jess. Your employer has your Social Security number in his records. A number of agencies have a record of your Social Security number. These numbers are often used in tracking people. Like someone who has moved to another state to avoid paying debts.”
    â€œIsn’t anything kept secret?”
    â€œYes. On the basis of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution and various legal precedents set down by court rulings, people have certain protections against invasion of privacy. For example, criminal