RichEisbrouch

Not quite sure what you mean by "tool," but thanks for the observation.

One hopes. But all it takes is one innocent mistake, and the trust is lost. And, as usual, thanks. This story is just fun to write.

Making plans was somehow not as hard as they thought. They started quietly, with each of them poking through their own parts of the community, asking how people felt. And people were surprisingly happy. “Wow! I didn’t think we had that kind of power,” one of Ike’s friends said. “Telling politicians they’d just spent a lot of money on something that had to be trashed – and them actually listening.” Jae heard it, too, from her somewhat younger friends. “Hey! Someone paid

Thanks.

Thanks for the thought. It's a quiet little suburban town, full of commuters and artists, so not a lot happens. Still, the townspeople expect anything that does happen to be immediately taken care of, and it is, so the police force needs all the money it can get -- read the current "Fix It."

You'd have to have seen the offices in the almost 150-year-old building to understand why the police department needed something contemporary. And the new police department offices really weren't that far away -- as Owen said, "Only four blocks." But the officers couldn't have accounted for the preference of the townspeople, who liked the station just where it always had been. So it really isn't the officers' faults.

“Oh, the crap I’ll have to eat for this,” Owen had left off. “It’ll be worse than frat hazing.” Don laughed to himself, remembering a much younger Owen, miserably squirming on a block of ice. It wasn’t an image he’d share. “Would they let us take our new stuff?” Ike quietly asked, as always practical. “I’m sure they’d bargain for it,” Owen said unhappily. “But if we start a list of what we need...” “And what would fit,” Elena considered. “Remem

Thanks. As I said, this is just a short, lightweight piece.

The Waldron police -- Chief Owen Neland, Lt. Ike Omari, Detectives Elena Petrakis and Don Burris, and Sgts. Jae Ryu and Rob Perez -- are on another case. But this time, it's their own

They made a mistake, and it took them a while to admit it – though not because people were slow to point it out. That happened from the beginning. “It took me fifteen minutes to find this place,” one of their first visitors said. “Good thing it wasn’t an emergency.” “This place is great,” another offered. “And I know you waited for years. But, geez, it’s a hike...” “The old building was falling apart. Anyone could see that. But it sure was convenient.”

Thanks. Massachusetts also has laws that protect and provide safety limits for people under, I think, eighteen -- maybe sixteen or seventeen.

Yeah. That was always the intention but that slight bit of suspense and tension was why I couldn't assure some readers that the police weren't framing Henry Chang. Again, thanks for reading.

Owen wasn’t entirely pleased. He didn’t exactly shout, “You did what!” but the feeling was there. Everyone in the station knew that while he liked and respected Noah, he wasn’t entirely comfortable with his longtime best friend Don being gay. “He knows he believes in it ideally,” Don had told Elena, “but watch him tense if I even accidentally touch his shoulder.” So Don bringing sex into what was supposed to be a drug investigation, especially one involving a teenager,

Thanks, but unfortunately, if you have those kinds of expectations for a week, for what's just another one of my little low-key stories, you'll only be disappointed. If I were that kind of writer, I might be rich in more than name. But my name alone will do.

Again, we'll have to see. But Henry Chang did seem interested.

“Why do you say that?” Elena immediately asked Don. “Well, it’s not just me,” he defended. “Because I’m sometimes not very good at these things – especially with younger guys. But after I saw what I did – or what I thought I did – I met Noah at Theo’s for a late lunch – but really just to watch Henry Chang. And he confirmed what I was feeling.” “Do you think he knows? Henry Chang – not Noah.” Don laughed. “Oh, yes.” “Because you and Noah did at

Yep, just a cute little afternoon adventure in shopping. Glad I could share it. Thanks.

Let me start by saying that I usually don’t use coupons because they’re rarely for anything we need. But last week in Walgreen’s, I was given a “5 Dollars Off Your Next Purchase” coupon, so I thought, “OK, I’ll pick up some vitamins next week.” Except today, with my five dollar coupon, I discovered that the store didn’t stock my vitamins. So I walked around looking for something we needed. Failing at that, I called Tom. “Eye drops,” he said. Luckily, his brand was on s

I could tell you, but that would give away the next chapter. Glad you're curious though. Thanks.

“I can’t see why we don’t just believe him,” Elena told the group, as she’d told Owen an hour before. “Just because he seems open with you,” her boss had replied – and repeated now – “doesn’t mean there aren’t still things he’s hiding.” “I know that – like these two students’ names – possibly his friends.” Elena knew that Owen wasn’t simply being stubborn. He was protecting them all by being careful. “But from what Maureen says, there aren’t any more drugs going around

Perhaps there are a couple of things being underestimated here. First, as I just wrote in a comment to chapter 9, the scandal over discrimination at the high school four years earlier was enormous, vehement, expensive, embarrassing, and involved many people in the town. The police department wasn't involved with that, but it is with this one because of the drugs. So it absolutely has to cover itself before it can go to the school board and report. That's why Owen Neland is steadily playing devil's advocate. It's his job. Second, if Henry Chang has just spoken honestly with Elena Petrakis when she first approached him, and said, "Hey, call my parents. Here are their numbers. They'll tell you exactly what's going on," his problems would have gone away. He may make a lot of good decisions for himself, but maybe that one wasn't his best. Maybe. The story isn't over. And thank you all for helping me see the story as you do. It's lets me know what you feel is important and has helped me clarify and expand the ending. The same thing happened with Recycle.

To be fair, I think in the minds of the members of the school board, there has been a crime: the selling of drugs at the high school. And they're very aware of the scandal four years earlier, which happened because they didn't do anything when the discrimination problems began, so they're trying quickly to get ahead of this.

I don't know. Maybe either you or I need to read just a bit more carefully and sort out what we're thinking from what's actually been written. To me, Elena Petrakis seems to be doing everything she can to protect Henry Chang, and she seems to have the support of her boss, Chief Owen Neland. She'd just like to have the tiniest bit of proof. But after this chapter, where Henry Chang has given Elena almost everything she wants, and she's about to run defense for him, her intentions seem pretty clear.

Swell. If people see your note first, now no one needs to read chapter 12, he said, giggling. And I'll bet it took you a lot less time to write your summary than it took me to write that pivotal chapter. Wanna write chapter 13 for me? I'll pay you in M&Ms.

If you think about it, you already know who started the rumor.