Kyle was immediately relieved. If the garage owner had a junk VW van, they wouldn't have to wait for parts. Kyle could strip what he needed from the other van. Leaning over to Isabel, he said, "About time we caught a break.”

"That'll be fifty dollars," Gomer said.

"But you haven't taken it anywhere yet!" Michael said, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

Gomer stopped and stared at Michael for a long moment, then he turned to Max and said, "In advance. I don't know you folks.”

Shrugging, Max nodded, and Liz counted out fifty dol- lars. Then she handed it to Gomer.

Turning for the van, Kyle said, "Let us get in before you raise it.”

"No," Gomer said, stopping Kyle short. "I can't have you in the van during a tow. It's against the law and it voids our insurance.”

Isabel stepped forward. When she spoke, she sounded firm, assured… more like herself. "You can't leave us all out here, five miles from town.”

Giving her an appraising glance, Gomer said, "I wouldn't do that." Then he gestured to the girls. "You three can ride with me in the truck.”

"No way," Liz said.

"Go ahead, Liz," Max said. "We'll catch up.”

"We'll be fine," Max assured her. Then he lowered his voice and said, "Stonewall might be dangerous, better if you go first.”

Liz smiled. "Okay.”

"Get yourselves something to eat. We'll be along," Max said.

By then, the van was raised, and Gomer was ready to roll. "Come on," he called from inside the tow truck.

The girls got inside, and the truck pulled away.

"This has been a long day," Kyle said as the three boys looked down the road after the van.

"Cheer up," Michael said. "The day isn't over yet. Things could still go our way.”

To Kyle's surprise, there was a small smile on Michael's face. Max was unreadable, as usual. But that smile still seemed out of place on Michael's face. Something was going on with him.

Aliens, Kyle thought, shrugging his shoulders.

Kyle, Michael, and Max started walking toward Stonewall.

5

Not much of a town, Liz thought as the tow truck approached Stonewall. They traveled along Main Street, which looked like a smaller version of the small New Mexico main streets she had seen in little towns near home. Maybe less of a Mexi- can influence in the architecture, but the same basic run- down appearance.

Maria made a face that said, We left Roswellfor this? Liz saw a place called Bell's Diner and said, "Could you drop us here?”

Gomer brought the truck to a stop and said, "Johnny's Garage is at the end of the street.”

"We'll come by when the guys get here," Liz said as Isabel and Maria hopped out of the truck. "Thank you," she added as she jumped out last.

"It's not the Crashdown," Isabel said, giving the store- front an appraising stare.

It certainly was not, Liz had to agree. The paint in the front was cracked and peeling.

"Hey Liz, look. Opportunity," Maria said, pointing to a help wanted sign taped to the inside of the window. Liz smiled at Maria. One thing was certain: They hadn't left Roswell to become waitresses again… not in a place like this.

Reaching for the door, Liz was stopped by another sign. This one was written in a childish scrawl and read, have you seen my sister? Then there was a photocopied picture of a teenage girl and a phone number.

Liz felt a chill as she looked at a yearbook picture of a girl about her own age.

Maria and Isabel gently nudged her into the diner. As they stepped inside, Liz saw ancient linoleum on the floor and some well-worn tables and booths. Her parents' restaurant, the Crashdown, was fancy by comparison. Whoever ran Bell's Diner was not particularly meticulous, On the other hand, Liz was sure that there was less money going around in Stonewall than in Roswell.

"Sit wherever you like," an older woman with graying hair was pouring coffee behind the counter. Though she wasn't wearing a uniform, Liz assumed she was a waitress. Liz chose a booth by the window, where they could see Main Street. That way, they could see when the guys showed up.

Maria threw herself into the booth and said, "I am starving.”

The waitress dropped menus off without a word. Maria and Isabel immediately opened theirs, but Liz waited a moment. "Maybe we should wait for the guys.”

"Liz…," Maria said. "Starving won't help them. Trust me, Max would want you to eat.”

Liz thought about if for a moment. Maria was probably right. Still…

The waitress arrived, interrupting her thought. Without hesitation, Isabel looked up and said, "I'll have a cheeseburger deluxe and a Coke." Well, that settles it, Liz thought.

The faded and chipped sign read welcome to stonewall.

"See, they said welcome, they must be friendly," Michael said.

Kyle stumbled, and Max immediately held out his hand to grasp his arm. "Are you okay, do you want to take a break?" Though it was just about eighty degrees out, the sun had been blasting them for the whole trip. And because of Michael's pushing, they had not stopped once. "Football has conditioned my body," Kyle said. "And walking Buddha's Middle Way has conditioned my spirit." "What the hell does that mean!?" Michael asked, mak- ing a face.

"I'm good," Kyle said.

They approached the town, and Max felt the begin- nings of relief. He would feel even better when they had the van fixed and were back on the road. The farther they traveled from Roswell, the harder they would be to track. They passed a Laundromat, which was the first store on Main Street. There were three women outside who stared at the boys as they came closer.

"Look, some of Stonewalls friendly citizens," Michael said. Then he raised his hand and waved to the women.

"Afternoon," he said as the strangers quickly looked away.

"Michael," Max said softly. "We are trying to avoid attracting attention.”

"Maxwell, I think the arrival of the morning paper attracts attention in this town. I get the feeling that we're the most excitement they've seen in years.”

Michael was right, Max knew. The Main Street was nearly empty of people. As strangers in such a small town, they couldn't help attracting attention. But that didn't mean they had to go out of their way to alert people to their presence.

Up ahead, they saw a sign for Bell's Diner.

"There we are," Michael said, "pointing to the sign. Let's eat," Michael said.

"Wait," Max said. "I'll feel better when we have money in our pockets, and it wouldn't hurt to make sure the garage has gotten started on the van.”

"Max, we left aliens and conspiracies hundreds of miles back there," Kyle said, pointing back the way they had come. "You can relax a little. We all can.”

That was it, Max realized. Kyle was relaxing.

Max wasn't there yet. And for a moment, he wondered if he would ever be. But he was done taking charge of every situation. "Okay, but let's stop and turn this into cash," Max said, patting the pocket that held the gold.

"And how are we going to do that in this town?" Kyle said.

"We're going to have to if we want to get the van fixed and get out of here," Max said.

"There you go, Maxwell," Michael said, pointing out a storefront that said simply, pawn.

Max nodded. "We won't get the best price here, but it doesn't look like the town has a jewelry store.”

Actually a pawnshop was the perfect place to sell their gold. From what he understood, pawnshops operated on just this side of the law… often dealing in stolen merchan- dise. There would likely be fewer questions here than any- where else.

Of course, everything he knew about pawnshops came from television and the movies, he realized as the three boys headed for the door. Taped to the outside was a homemade flyer that said missing and had a photocopied picture of an adult woman.