Chapter 8 
“It’s gone!” Lucy exclaimed! 
“What’s gone?” Mary asked ringing out her hair 
“My necklace its not here!” She squealed looking all over the ground where she had hid 
it so no one would take it. 
“Lucy it wasn't even your ring in the first place. Big loss.” Mary pointed out. 
“Yeah I guess your right.” agreed Lucy. “I really liked it though.”  They walked back to 
the hotel sopping wet drawing some attention. Lucas noticed them and decided not to 
confront them right away instead he followed them back to the hotel just so he would 
know where they were living. 
“I feel like a idiot” Lucy said 
“Maybe that’s cause you are” Russ said jokingly 
“funny” replied Lucy sarcastically “Every one’s staring at us” 
“Let em stare I don't care...that rhymed” said Mary 
“We shoulda' drove” Russ commented 
“Mmhmm” agreed Mary squinting at the sun. 
**************************************************************************
**** 
Taylor doodled on a sheet of paper while listening to the radio of there parked white van. 
Waiting for his mom and sister to come back from the store. He didn't really feel like 
going in. He heard some laughing and talking outside his tinted window and glanced up. 
He saw 3 wet teenagers and slightly laughed they reminded him of him and his brothers. 
Except of course 2 of them were girls. He had never really seen them around and then he 
noticed the younger girl and the guy go into the hotel and the older girl say  
“Im gonna go grab some bottled water I’ll meet you guys in the room” and head off to the 
Market that his mom was in. He thought about getting out and saying ‘Hi’. he thought she 
was really pretty. But then decided not to. He’d probably just end up looking stupid and 
he thought she had to be at least 16 or 17. 
**************************************************************************
**** 
Mary headed into the store. She wasn’t dripping wet anymore from the sun. She headed 
down the cereal isle. She passed a little girl who looked about maybe 9 years  old and the 
girl said 
“Excuse me? Can you hand me that?” she said pointing to a cereal that was on the second 
to highest shelf.  
“Sure” Mary said reaching for it and then handing it to the little girl. 
“Thank You” she said just as a woman at the other end called her 
“Jessie, could you find it?” 
“Yeah” She said putting the cereal in the cart. 
“C’mon let’s go your brother’s waiting” the woman said as they headed off. Mary 
thought that the girl looked a little firmillier. She shrugged it off and continued on her 
way. 
	When she got back up to the room Lucy was sitting on one of the beds with a lap 
top computer. 
“I didnt know you brought that.” Mary said shutting the door.  
“I didn’t Russ did. but check this out. It has the internet on it and theres this thing called 
Who? Where? and you just type some ones name in and if there listed it’ll give you the 
adress and phone number. So now we have there adress!” Exclaimed Lucy “theres a 
number here too but thats just for the hotline. 
“Cool” Mary agreed taking a sip of her water. Just then they heard a knock at the door. 
They both dashed for it but Mary got there first. She opened the door but no one was 
there. 
“Hmm, weird” she said shutting the door. 
“No wait” exclaimed Lucy spotting something on the ground. Mary opened the door back 
up and Lucy picked up the white peice of the hotles paper. 
“It’s a note” Lucy said some what excided “Dear Reader,” Lucy began “I dont want 
things to get to complicated. This is a simple problem with a simple salution. You have 
someting of mine, that I would wish to have returned. Leave the ring in the ash tray 
outside of the main entrance to Towne West Shopping Center tomorrow at 3:30. Do this 
and no harm will come to you or your freinds.”  
“LUCY!” Mary said 
“Mary?” whined Lucy 
“Lucy,” Mary said sternly 
“What am I gonna do Mary! I lost the ring!” 
“Um, I don’t know try to explain it to them?” Mary suggested 
“Yeah like these really sound like guys who will listen to explaining” Lucy said sitting 
down 
“Listen to what explaining? What guys?” Russ questioned entering the room. Mary and 
Lucy exchanged glances. 
“Read this” Lucy said handing it to him 
“Simple” Russ said when he had finished reading it “Just give them the ring back.” 
“I lost the ring remember” Said Lucy snatching the note from him 
“Oh yeah” He said. 
“What are we gonna do?” Lucy said more to her self then n e one else 
“Maybe we should tell the police, I mean it is sort of a threat” said Mary. 
“No,” said Lucy “then they would call mom and dad and make us go home” 
“Lucy, would you rather A) stay here meet Hanson and possibly get killed by these 
people or B) go home and be safe and sound” Russ asked 
“A!” Lucy exclaimed with out hessitation 
“do you relize how twisted that sounds, Lucy?” Mary asked 
“Lets not alk about it guys we have the adress so lets just go out get some lunch and then 
go to their house.” 
“What ever you say Lucy” Said Mary getting up to change.