The Babysitter Murders - By Janet Ruth Young Page 0,45

make sure their clothes fit right and their skin smells good. And in Meghan’s case, who of either orientation wouldn’t want to be around her? The way she moved, her easy manner of chatting people up. But once Shelley admitted to Dani that she was gay, 181

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she could accept her true feelings about Meghan. She was falling in love with her.

Now the only person who knows who Shelley really is has disappeared. It’s as if Shelley never even came out to Dani. As if her gayness and her secret love were dropped into the ocean fath-oms down. The one person she was ever completely comfortable with is someone she will never talk to; not ever again.

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Dani walked all last night, assuming it was safest to be on the move. Her feet are sore from the stones and gravel poking into her flip-flops, and her face, neck, and legs are welted with bug bites. She peers through the branches at Havenswood’s sparkling reservoir. She would love to step into it, but it’s the town’s water supply. If she can find a receptacle she can carry some away to drink and wash with. She sees a Shane’s Supermarket bag and kicks it open to make sure it hasn’t been used for dog poop. She dips the bag into the water and watches it fill.

Dani goes back into the woods with her pack and water pouch, staying close to the trees in case she needs to hide. She hears traffic on Route 133. She wonders who threw that rock with the message—Mrs. Alex? Mrs. Alex’s friends? The police?

A stranger?—and how soon they’ll find her. She has little experience with hiding. She wishes she had paid more attention to books and movies that discussed clues like trampled grass.

She’ll need to sleep tonight. While it’s light she finds the Shark’s Jaw boulder she stood on with Gordy. The hollow between the jaws will be her base. She hangs her bag of water on a tree and gathers armloads of leaves to pad the crevice. She has only her summer dress and hoodie to wear. She should have brought food, running shoes, pants, a T-shirt, a towel.

She wonders what Beth thought when she found the rock and JANET RUTH YOUNG

saw Dani was gone. Beth must be trying to find her. She wishes Beth wouldn’t worry. In a way she’s glad that the person who threw the rock drove her out of Hawthorne. For the first time in months, she feels relaxed. She doesn’t have to touch her mouth or squeeze her hands together. They did me a favor, she thinks. Finally, I can’t hurt anyone.

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New message from: Rowdie

Attention, POK Mass and NH!

What can you do to protect kids in Hawthorne?

1. Hang this Dani Solomon Potential Child Killer poster everywhere you can. It includes contact info for state and national POK.

2. Call police chief at H. station EVERY 10 MINS

and demand DD apprehension. Name is Scola 1-978-555-6530

3. Sheepdogg to distribute phone numbers of entire HHS junior and senior class, music groups, tennis team. Call assigned numbers to see if DD staying there. OK to say you are reporter from Hawthorne Beacon-Times or any newspaper or large media. Offer any payment or reward you want—not necessary to actually pay anyone!

Pok over police

We care about community

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Hawthorne Beacon-Times

Monday, May 17

OPINION

Hawthorne’s Warning

By Cecilia Martin

A student, one of our own, has been questioned about her possible intent to harm a very young child, and has now disappeared. Educators and parents in our community are asking themselves, How well do we know the kids we teach? How well do we know the kids we raise? And how did this situation progress so far without anyone knowing?

Dani Solomon is an honor student, a star athlete, a promising musician, and a very popular young lady.

But she fooled all of us. Because deep inside, allegedly, is someone very different. Now we are shaken by how close to tragedy our community may have come.

Our schools need to do a much better job of finding the Dani Solomons that lurk behind an appealing facade. We can do this by conducting psychological assessments on each incoming high school student at the beginning of freshman year. We can do it by T H E B A B Y S I T T E R M U R D E R S

establishing a “see something, say something” policy by which all students become mandated reporters of suspicious activity by their fellow students.

Complying with this policy can be tied to