Gwendy's Magic Feather

31

“WHO WAS THAT?” GWENDY nearly shouts, frantically scanning the throng of shoppers behind the bench. “Who were you just talking to?”

Mrs. Peterson looks up in surprise. “What… what’s wrong?”

“The man with the black hat, the one you were just talking to… did you know him?”

“No. He said he’s visiting with friends in town. He asked me a couple of questions and went on his way.”

“What friends?”

“I didn’t ask him that,” Mrs. Peterson says. “What’s going on, Gwen?”

Up on her tip-toes now, still searching the crowd. “What kind of questions did he ask?”

“Well, let me think… he asked how I liked it here in Castle Rock. I told him I’d lived here my entire life, that it was home.”

“What else?”

“He wanted to know if I could recommend a good restaurant for dinner. He said he hadn’t had a decent hot meal in weeks and was very hungry, which I thought was rather odd considering how nicely he was dressed.”

“What else?”

“That was it. It was a very brief conversation.”

“What did he look like? Can you describe him?”

“He was…” She thinks for a moment. “Tall and thin and probably about your age. I think he had blue eyes.”

Mrs. Peterson stands and picks up her shopping bags from the bench. “Now are you going to tell me what’s going on, or do I have to start worrying about you, too?”

Thinking fast, Gwendy looks at her mom with that same blank poker face. “There’s a reporter who’s been bothering me these past few weeks. He’s persistent and not a very nice man. For a minute, I was afraid he followed me all the way up here from DC.”

“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Peterson says, and Gwendy immediately feels horrible for lying to her. “This gentleman seemed very kind, but I guess you can never really tell, can you?”

Gwendy gives her a quick nod. “It’s getting harder and harder, that’s for sure.”