I'd rather walk in on a crowd, than have one walk in on me."Yeah, sure," she said. "Just so I know when to be standing at the door to meet you."We bot... chuckled nervously, and then I was at a loss for what to say next. And, the strange thing is, I also got the impression Gayle felt the same way. There was a second or two of silence."So, um... casual then, right?" I asked, desperately fishing for something to fill the uncomfortable void."Yeah," she replied. "But don't get all dolled up for me.". We already had the streets blocked off, so they must've been taken through the backyards." We caught the foster parents two blocks away," Maria explained, "but by then the kids had already been handed off to someone else. I swear, this case is like a game of Whack-a-Mole! Too many perps hiding in too many places, not enough of us. God! They must have seen a gold mine in those poor kids. How'd they wind up in a trap like this?"Mrs. Swain sighed. "They were born behind the eight-ball. Their mom. Soon everything went dark. **** The early morning sun left shadows that greeted Zach as he opened his eyes. Slowly he scanned the room and realized he was in a hospital. He started to raise his hand to rub his eyes but a sharp pain in his chest prevented it. He let out a groan and heard a soft rustling to his left. Turning his head, he found his mother’s tear-streaked face smiling back at him. ‘Welcome back, honey,’ she whispered. His throat burned but he tried to speak. ‘Shannon?’ he. I must have your recipe before Ileave." You are leaving?" Codii cries out, sounding heartbroken."NO! Not right away! Eventually, later on today but not right now. Wasthere something you wanted of me before I left?"Now she turns all shy on me, leaving me to coax whatever she wants meto know out of her. After several, quiet requests, she finally relentsand blurts out what she wants."I want to see your dragon!" Well, unfortunately, Lilly's not with me today. I didn't want to scarea bunch of people.