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She doesn’t argue, but she starts sending little snacks for me with Bea’s lunch. I made an impression. Everything’s right on track when Dad’s con and mine cross.

If we had realized, we might have avoided the worst. Unfortunately, we didn’t figure out the connection until it was too late. What threw us off was the stupid tiny town crap. We had no way of knowing that Bea’s stupid dad knew the real estate guy Dad was working.

Or that the real estate guy had a few good friends he trusted implicitly who helped him. The whole thing was a mess, and Dad got caught with his hand in the cookie jar, or that’s what he said.

I’m there on the day Dad’s taken away. He’s in cuffs when they shove him into a car. I would have been freaking out, but he’s just chatting with some uniformed officer.

They call a social worker to deal with me, and Bea’s crying. I’m not sure whether she’s more angry with me or mad at herself. That’s pretty common, I think, when saps realize they’ve been conned. This is a little different because our plan failed. But the idea’s the same.

The worst thing I could imagine was being stuck here to deal with the people I’d almost duped, but that’s exactly how it goes down. Only, when I knew they’d be coming to yell at me, they don’t.

Bea throws her arms around me, tears running down her face. “Does that mean you’re not really sick?” She’s beaming. “Because that’s amazing news.”

Any sane person would have yelled at me. Any normal person would have given me a pounding. But Bea, the idiot, she’shappy.

“My dad’s going to jail, dummy.” I shove her. “Leave me alone.”

“But you’re not sick, right?” The way she looks up at me from the dirt, it brings that feeling back, the uncomfortable, twisty one I had the first time I was braggingabout how well I’d set things up. She looks like she’s more worried about my well-being than about how I tricked her.

I roll my eyes and walk away.

Before anyone can come running after me, Bea’s foster mom crouches down on the ground and holds out her hands to stop me. “Hold on just a moment, Jake.”

“What?” My dad’s right behind her, glaring at the officer who’s asking him things.

And there’s nothing I can do about it.

My one person’s about to go away for a long time.

It’s all my fault. Dad wouldn’t ever have screwed up like this—I messed it up.

“Your father may be unable to care for you for quite some time.” She’s amazing at stating the obvious.

“Yeah.”

“Bea thinks the world of you.”

Because she’s a moron.

“She begged us to invite you to join our family.”

I don’t laugh, no matter how much I want to. “To join your family?” Dad taught me, whenever I’m having trouble with something a mark says that’s so painfully stupid that I’m going to react badly, that I should just repeat it back to them.

It works.

“Exactly. It’s just Dave, me, Emerson, and Bea. I think you’ll like our house, even though it’s small. It’s comfortable, and no one smokes.” She winks at me.

Does she get that it was a lie? I don’t have asthma, and I don’t need new lungs because of Dad’s crew smoking. I’m totally lost about why she would even ask me to come live with them, and it’s even stranger that Bea and her crazy mom aren’t mad at me.

“Please say yes.” Bea has brushed herself off and is standing behind her mom now, peering over her shoulder. “Please.” She smiles, and it hurts. It makes my heart hurt really badly.

“It’s real nice of you to offer,” I say, “but?—”

“Son.” Dad’s voice is curt when he lifts his hands and waves me over. It’s painful to watch, because they’re cuffed, but the officer next to him nods.

“Five minutes or less.” His voice is gruff, but he moves a few dozen feet away.

“I’m not sure when you’ll see me again,” Dad says. “But you know the basics—the important stuff.”

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