Miley noticed Sydney giving the little girl a bracelet and a shocked look on her face. Curiously, she walked over to where they were. Even though she was standing near boht of them, she decided it would be best not to speak as of right now.

Weydon slowly too the bracelet in her hand and looked at it. It was very pretty, she thought. "Umm... thank you." This was all very odd to her. People never gave her gifts. "What is this for?" she asked.
She noticed Miley walk up to them too. It looked like she wouldn't be getting a moment to think by herself, after all. "Hi," Weydon said to her.

Sydney showed the little girl her wrists, which were covered in bracelets of all kinds. "Because I have too many and you have none."

Sydney tilted her head, her bangs falling across her face. "Why did you run away?"

Miley saisd "hi" to the little girl, then listened as Sydney asked why she ran away. She was curious about that also, as Karver seemed a little off. Peter was already suspicious.

"Thank you," Emmy said to the man behind the counter at Sub-Way, as she turned to walk away with a 6-inch turkey on wheat bread sub. Just as she turned around, however, a little girl nearly ran into her, darting past. Emmy gasped in surprise and stepped back, wondering curiously what was going on. After a few moments she simply shrugged and took her sandwich back to the table. That's when she saw Sydney and some other girl going after the little girl. "What's going on?" Emmy asked the others.

"That girl's name is Karver, she's the little girl's babysitter - Weydon, I think," Logan explained casually, as if he didn't care much about what was happening. "She came over and was talking with us, but then the little girl just took off." Logan shrugged, and then turned his attention back to his half-finished pizza.

Emmy looked sympathetically in the direction of the little girl. "I hope she's alright." She noticed Sydney speaking with Weydon. "Does Sydney know her?"

"Only about as well as we do," Logan answered. "At least, I don't think they know each other."

"Why did you run away?" Sydney had asked her.
Weydon was about to give a vague answer, or merely change the subject (as she was always instructed to do). But then, she stopped and thought for a moment. Maybe this was her chance.
She looked up at Sydney. "I want to tell you something..." She swallowed hard, beads of sweat appearing on her forehead. "It may be hard to believe. But, Karver--"
Just then, Karver ran up, interrupting the sentence. "There you are, at last! Don't run away from me again!" She turned to the others. "I'm sorry Weydon has caused such a problem. And thank you for letting us sit with you. We really need to be going now. Maybe I'll have the pleasure of seeing you all another time."
And with one last pleasant, cheerful smile, Karver walked away, leading little Weydon along before she could say another word.

Sydney stood as Karver approached, interrupting Weydon. "Oh..." she said, looking at Karver. What was she going to say?

Sydney pushed her bangs to the side and looked at Miley. "What do you think she was going to say?"

Miley stared after the two walking out, then turned to Syd. "Well, Karver does seem off. Do you think she abuses her?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jen found Karver's driver's license on the table. Since Miley wasn't there, she had Justin drive her by Karver's house. When she and Peter got to Karver's apartment, Peter exclaimed, "Jen! look!"
Jen turned around, to ssee a totally empty-looking apartment across Karver's. Strange. Didn't Karver say Weydon's family lived there.She walked towards the dorr and opened it. Finding it strange the door wasn't locked, she turned a light on and called out. No sound. Her face turned pale white as she slammed the door shut.
Peter rushed to Jen's side, concnerned about the look on her face. "No one was there, were they?"
Jen shook her head. "Quick, knock on Karver's door to give the liscense. We can peek in to se if Weydon is there.
Peter knocked on the door of Karver's apartment.

The door of the apartment opened, revealing Weydon inside. She was wearing a spaghetti-strap shirt, which showed her shoulders were covered in many bruises and scratches. In her hands she held a box of bandages which she obviously was about to apply to her torn-up skin.
When Weydon saw the visitors were Jen and Peter, a look of shock came over her. She quickly grabbed a nearby towel and used it to cover up her shoulders. "I didn't expect it to be you!" she cried. "Why are you here? How do you know where we live? I-I mean where Karver lives..." her voice trailed off.
"Who's there?" called another voice from within the apartment. Looking inside a little, Karver could be seen coming out of one of the rooms. When she saw Jen and Peter at the door, a look of confusion -- and fear -- registered on her face. She tried to hide the fact that she was locking the door she had just come through. Her concerned expression melted into one of friendliness.
"Hey!" she said, welcoming them. "How are you doing? It's nice to see you again! What brings you guys here?"

Jen noticed Weydon's bruises and how quickly the girl tried covering them up. She turned to Peter, who had a mixture of anger and fear on his face. She held up Karver's license. "I see you were able to drive without this." Maybe she was being a little dramatic in her approach, but she needed to put on an air of toughness. That fearful look on Karver's face said all.

Karver looked at her in confusion. Then she saw the licence. "Oh!" she laughed. "Did I leave that behind? Whoops!" she chuckled again. "It's a good thing I don't have a car yet, otherwise I might have gotten in trouble. I take the bus actually. Still saving up for a car. Anyway, how are you guys doing? You dont look so well. Was it the flight of stairs up here? That can do that to you. I wish they'd get that darn elevator fixed!"
She opened the door a little wider. "Come on in and rest. I'll get you both a glass of water. Would you like me to make you some popcorn? I was just going to have some myself."

Peter said, "It's getting late. Justin is waiting for us in the car."
He took one last sorrowful glance at Weydon, then the two of them walked away.
When they got to Justin's car, Jen said, "Something is up. We saw the apartmetn across Karver's was empty and Weydon had bruises.
~~~~~~~~
Justin thought abotut what the teens were saying. "Well, maybe the parents weren't home."
He heard his cousin's defensive voice. "But the door was unlocked! Jen went in and called out. No one was there."
Jen added, "Still doesn't explain the bruises."
Justin remebered getting in all kinds of scrapes as a kid. However, the teens have a point. He called the cops, explaining everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As it turns out, the the person at the door was a harmless, young girl scout. He heard her sweet voice asking Ian to buy cookies. Sighing, he got up. She was so cute, in her little pigtails. The epitome of innocence.

Later that night, Karver was pacing in her apartment. She knew something bad would come of Jen and Peter's visit. She just knew it. They looked so upset when they left.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Karver opened it, and saw a police officer staring at her grimly. He showed his badge. "Officer Harrison. We have a few questions for you down at the station."
He grabbed hold of her arm.
She had expected something bad to happen. But not this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Down at the station, Karver sat at a plain gray table, in a plain gray room, as another officer, Officer White, paced the floor in front of her.
"We know for a fact that that Weydon is not your daughter," he said.
"I never said she was," answered Karver.
"Correct," the officer replied. "BUT -- You DID say that her parents lived in the apartment across from you. And that apartment has been empty for nearly two months, long before -- by your own testimony -- you even moved here. Therefore it is impossible that you could have met Weydon or her parents during your time here."
She didn't reply.
Officer White leaned in closer. "Who are her real parents?"
Karver shut her mouth tightly.
"How did Weydon come into your custody? Did you kidnap her?"
No answer.
"We have found bruises and scars all over her neck and shoulders. Did you beat that little girl?"
A look of confusion came over her face, but again she didn't answer.
"Miss," he adressed her sternly, "If you do not cooperate or answer our questions, we will have no choice but to assume your guilt and keep you locked up here until your trial. Now, I will ask you one more time -- How did Weydon come into your care, how did she acquire her injuries, and where are her real parents?"
Karver merely stared at him, and gave no reply.
"Then you give me know choice," he said. Officer White grabbed a ring of keys and, pulling her up, took Karver away and locked her in her cell.

Jen said, "weel, my mom's gonna have it for me and Peter if I'm home late. So, do you mind taking me home, then going to the station?"
Justin agreed, then walked into the station with Peter in tow. He sent a text to his parents, saying that Peter was with him.

Back at the station, Officer Harrison sat at the main desk and sighed. He hated to hear that the suspect was not cooperating.
The door opened, and he saw Justin come in. Justin was the husband of Officer Harrison's childhood friend Maralyn. "Justin! Hey!" the officer said, smiling. "What brings you here?"