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as far as I could tell we were already in pretty deep. "Well, I suppose we can tell her our social

security cards were stolen . . . and we'll have to just

make up our addresses," Crystal conceded.

Raven finally spoke up. "What if Patsey checks

up on us and finds out the addresses are fakes?" "She won't," I answered, trying to sound

confident.

Once again, I had the feeling the our lies were

tangling up around us, trapping us in a web of

deception that we'd never be able to flee.

9 Caught in the Act

That night Crystal worked out what everyone's home address would be. She did have her social security card with her and decided she would give hers to Patsy and explain how ours were stolen.

"I think we'll get by with this, but I don't know how much longer we should stay here under false pretenses," she said. "Lies are like bubbles. They eventually float to the surface."

"We'll stay until we get enough money, at least, won't we?" Raven asked. She was pacing by the cottage window. Taylor hadn't shown up as he usually did after the dinner rush and Raven was getting anxious.

"I can't make any promises, Raven," Crystal said in a careful, noncommittal tone.

"Promises? Why does everyone all of a sudden think I'm looking for promises?" Raven cried. She went out, slamming the door behind her.

"Why is Raven so upset?" Butterfly asked.

"I think she and Taylor had a fight. At least he hasn't shown up yet tonight," I told her.

Crystal sat at the table working on some kind of revised budget for us based on the money we had already made and the money we could anticipate making. Butterfly wanted to go out and be with Raven, but Crystal told her it would be better to leave Raven alone for now.

"You can help me, instead," she told her and spread the map out on the small table before them. "Let's look at where we should go next and what we can see along the way."

I went to take my shower. When we had first moved into the cottage, the water had come out brown and it took a while to get it reasonably clear. It was running clear now, but there wasn't very much pressure. Taking a shower was more of a pain than a pleasure. For one thing, the shower head wasn't tall enough, so all of us but Butterfly had to crouch. There wasn't much room to move and adjusting the hot and cold took a laboratory technician, but we managed.

I went into the bathroom and began to undress. Naked, I played with the faucets and worked on getting the water not too hot and yet warm enough to enjoy. As I did so, I caught some movement in the corner of the small window above the tub and I froze. I waited and saw it again. It was definitely someone's head.

I didn't scream. Calmly, pretending to still be interested in my shower, I backed away until I was out of sight and slipped my shirt and pants on as quickly as I could. Then I crouched down, keeping below the sight line of the window, opened the door and crawled out.

Crystal turned, a look of confusion on her face when she saw me on all fours.

"What are you doing?"

I put my finger to my lips and both she and Butterfly became paralyzed with fear and curiosity. Then I rose and charged out the door and around the house to find Danny and his two friends squatting by the window. None of them had heard me and they all had their backs to me.

"Enjoying yourselves?" I asked, and they spun around. "I suppose this is how you get your kicks. Is it the best you can do?"

His two friends laughed nervously, but Danny showed no embarrassment or guilt. He sauntered toward me.

"We just wanted to see if you were a male or female," he quipped.

"How would you know the difference?" I shot back. His friends laughed at him, and in the dim glow of the-light that flowed from the bathroom window, I could see him turn a dark crimson.

Raven, who had been waiting in the parking lot, started to hurry around the side of the building. Crystal and Butterfly were behind her.