Free Over the Edge by Gloria Skurzynski

how did you know about that?” Olivia gasped.
    â€œI—I was listening in when you guys were talking. I know about what he said about me on Snipe’s Web page. Sort of. And now he’s going after you!”
    Steven took a step toward his daughter. “That’s enough! Morgan didn’t have access to your mother’s laptop. It’s impossible.”
    â€œBut Dad, he disappeared when we were back at headquarters. Jack went looking for him. He could have gone into an office and e-mailed it from there.”
    â€œThat is so stupid I’m not even going to answer,” Morgan retorted. His eyes had changed from blue to the color of steel, cold and distant. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest.
    Jack couldn’t stand it another minute. How could his own sister accuse Morgan that way! Sure, Morgan was hard to take, stubborn and smart and arrogant. But Jack knew him better now. The accusation was one hundred percent impossible. “Stop it, Ashley. Morgan wouldn’t threaten Mom, and you know it!”
    For a second, Ashley looked uncertain. “Look at what he did in Dry Creek,” she said defensively. “Think about how he trashed Mom and me—”
    â€œI didn’t know Snipe was going to post that and those people in Dry Creek were never my friends—” Morgan shouted at the same time Jack cried, “Oh, come on— that’s not anything like the same thing—”
    Suddenly Steven was in the middle of them, thrusting out his hands as though he were a traffic cop. “Hold it! Time out!” he shouted. “This has gone far enough! Everyone stop talking —now!”
    The room became still, as if the volume button had been switched to mute. Steven looked each one of them full in the face. “All right. That’s better. Now listen to me, all of you. We have a problem, and we have to deal with it logically. No more shouting, no more turning on one another—we have to calm down and think this whole thing through carefully. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
    Jack and Ashley nodded. Morgan stood, sullen, his eyes locked on the floor.
    â€œAshley, why don’t you and your brother go into the other room for a minute, and see what you can find on TV,” Olivia said, putting her arms around Ashley’s shoulders and guiding her to the connecting door. “I think your father and I need to talk to Morgan.”
    â€œWhy do I always have to leave? It’s not fair!”
    â€œAnd why do I always have to stay?” Morgan practically shouted. “You’re not taking what she said seriously, are you?”
    When Olivia didn’t answer, Jack watched the blood drain from Morgan’s face. “But I didn’t do anything. Great. Perfect. You think I’m guilty, just like that!” Snapping his fingers, he glared at Olivia. “Jack, you don’t think I wrote that message, right?”
    The question caught him off guard, but before he could think it through he blurted, “No way.”
    â€œSee—Jack believes me!”
    â€œSon, go into the other room with Ashley. And shut the door, please. Come here, Morgan, and sit down.” Olivia’s voice was surprisingly cool as she dropped onto the bed and tapped the mattress beside her. Jack would have liked to hear more, but his father nudged him through the door, then shut it, cutting him off. He heard the lock slide in place with a loud click.
    For the second time in as many days Jack and Ashley had been shoved into another room while the action went on without them. Why couldn’t he be a part of the conversation? Morgan was his friend. Pressing his ear against the rough wood, Jack strained to hear. He could make out voices rising and falling, Morgan’s words coming in a rush while his mother’s and father’s replies sounded muffled. What little Jack could hear was suddenly drowned out by the sound of the television.